lavan

noun. animal

A word for an “animal” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, where Tolkien said it “usually only applied to four-footed beasts, and never to reptiles or birds” (WJ/416). It was derived from the root √LAM in the sense “inarticulate voiced sound”.

Conceptual Development: ᴱN. lafn was mentioned as a cognate to ᴱQ. lama “animal” in the Early Qenya Phonology from the 1920s, derived from primitive ᴱ✶labna (PE14/70).

lavan

noun. animal (usually applied to four-footed beasts, and never to reptiles or birds)

lavan

animal

(quadrupedal mammal) lavan, pl. levain (WJ:416)

lavan

animal

pl. levain (WJ:416)