Quenya 

leuca

snake

leuca (1) noun "snake" (Appendix E)

leuca

noun. snake

The best known Quenya word for “snake”, appearing in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). In 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), Tolkien said it was derived from the root √LEWEK “worm” (PE17/160).

Cognates

  • S. lŷg “snake” ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/121; PE17/160

Derivations

  • √LEWEK “worm” ✧ PE17/160

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√LEWEK > leuka[leuka]✧ PE17/160

Variations

  • leuka ✧ PE17/160
Quenya [LotR/1115; PE17/121; PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wembë

worm

'wembë noun "worm" (QL:103). Read *vembë if the word is to be adopted to Third Age Quenya according to Tolkien's later ideas.

hlócë

snake, serpent

hlócë ("k")noun "snake, serpent", later lócë ("k")(SA:lok-)

ango

snake

ango noun "snake"; stem angu- as in angulócë (q.v.); pl. angwi (ANGWA/ANGU)

vembë

noun. worm

Cognates

  • ᴺS. gwem “worm”

Derivations

  • ᴺ✶. WEB “*worm”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. ulumpembë “caterpillar, (lit.) camel worm”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

Sindarin 

leweg

noun. snake

_ n. _snake.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:160] < LEWEK worm. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

leweg

noun. worm

A word for “worm” in 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), a derivative of the root √LEWEK of the same meaning.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. tereg or terch “a worm” (GL/70), likely related to the early root ᴱ√TEÐE “pierce” from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon which had a derivative ᴱQ. teste “small worm” (QL/91). The Gnomish Lexicon also had G. gwem “worm” (GL/45), probably derived from ᴱ√GWEVE (QL/103). Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱN. lhiw “worm” < ᴱ✶slingwé (PE13/149).

Derivations

  • √LEWEK “worm” ✧ PE17/160

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√LEWEK > leweg[lewek] > [leweg]✧ PE17/160
Sindarin [PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lýg

noun. snake

_ n. Zoo. _snake. Q. leuka.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:121:160] < LEWEK worm. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

lŷg

noun. snake

Sindarin [LotR/E] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lŷg

noun. snake

The best known Sindarin word for “snake”, appearing in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). In 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), Tolkien said it was derived from the root √LEWEK “worm” (PE17/160), likely from ✱leukā where the ancient eu became ȳ as was usual in Sindarin (LotR/1115).

Cognates

  • Q. leuca “snake” ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/121; PE17/160

Derivations

  • √LEWEK “worm” ✧ PE17/160

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√LEWEK > lýg[leukā] > [leuka] > [liuka] > [lȳka] > [lȳk] > [lȳg]✧ PE17/160

Variations

  • lýg ✧ PE17/160
Sindarin [LotR/1115; PE17/121; PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lhûg

noun. snake, serpent

Sindarin [Ety/370, S/434] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwem

noun. worm

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴺ✶. WEB “*worm”

Element in

lŷg

snake

1) lŷg (constuct lyg), no distinct pl. form. 2) lhûg (construct lhug, with article ?i thlûg or ?i lûg the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (dragon, serpent), pl. lhuig (?i luig). See SERPENT.

Primitive elvish

lewek

root. worm

A root glossed “worm” appearing in etymological notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s serving as the basis for Q. leuca and S. lŷg “snake” (PE17/160), words that also appeared in Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). A possible precursor to this root is indicated by “snake” words from the Qenya and Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s: ᴱQ. lin (ling-) and G. ling (QL/54; GL/54), probably derived from ✱ᴱ√LIŊI.

Derivatives

  • Q. leuca “snake” ✧ PE17/160
  • S. leweg “worm” ✧ PE17/160
  • S. lŷg “snake” ✧ PE17/160
Primitive elvish [PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

lhûg

noun. snake, serpent

Noldorin [Ety/370, S/434] Group: SINDICT. Published by

am-

prefix. snake

A prefix for “snake” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√ANGWA of the same meaning, most notably an element in N. amlug “dragon” (Ety/ANGWA).

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ANGWA “snake” ✧ Ety/ANGWA

Element in

  • N. amlug “dragon” ✧ Ety/ANGWA

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ANGWA > am-[aŋgwa] > [amba] > [amb] > [amm] > [am]✧ Ety/ANGWA
Noldorin [Ety/ANGWA] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Middle Primitive Elvish

angwa

root. snake

The root √ANGWA “snake” with variant √ANGU appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for the words ᴹQ. ango “snake” (Ety/ANGWA) and angulóke “dragon” (Ety/LOK). The Noldorin equivalent am- seems to have survived only as a prefix (Ety/ANGWA), and is a good example of how [[on|[ŋgw] > [mb]]] in that language. There are a variety of other words for “snake” in Tolkien’s later writings, so whether this root remained valid is unclear.

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. ango “snake, dragon” ✧ Ety/ANGWA
  • N. am- “snake” ✧ Ety/ANGWA

Element in

Variations

  • ANGU ✧ Ety/ANGWA
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ANGWA; Ety/LOK] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

tereg

noun. worm

Cognates

  • Eq. teste “small worm”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√TEÐE “pierce, boring”

Variations

  • terch ✧ GL/70

gwem

noun. worm

A noun appearing as G. gwem “worm” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/45), probably derived from the early root ᴱ√GWEVE that was the basis for “worm” words in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/103).

Neo-Sindarin: I think this word is worth retaining as (archaic?) ᴺS. gwem “worm” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin as a derivative of the Neo-Root ᴺ√WEB, though I expect the 1964 word S. leweg “worm” is more commonly used.

Cognates

Derivations

Element in

lûg

noun. snake

Cognates

  • Eq. lóke “snake, dragon” ✧ LT2A/Foalókë; PE15/28; PE13/105

Element in

  • G. fenlug “snake” ✧ GL/34 (fenlug)

Variations

  • lug ✧ GL/34 (lug)
  • Lûg ✧ LT2A/Foalókë; PE15/28
  • Lug ✧ PE13/105
Gnomish [GL/34; LT2A/Foalókë; PE13/105; PE15/28] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fenlug

noun. snake

Variations

  • fenlog ✧ GL/34 (fenlog)

lingos

noun. snake

Cognates

fent

noun. snake

A word for “snake” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, along with a deleted variant fenlug (fenlog-) (GL/34), the latter probably a combination with G. lûg “snake”. It was clearly a cognate of ᴱQ. fent “serpent” from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/38).

Cognates

  • Eq. fent “serpent, dragon”

Derivations

Element in

  • G. Fenthur “King of Serpents” ✧ GL/34

terch

noun. worm

Early Noldorin

lhiw

noun. worm

Cognates

Derivations

Early Noldorin [PE13/149] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

liŋi Reconstructed

root. snake

Derivatives

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

lingo

noun. snake

wembe

noun. worm

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. {wembe >>} ’wembe “worm” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√GWEVE; it had a longer variant *’wembil** (QL/103). Wembe “worm” was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa* (PME/103).

Neo-Quenya: Helge Fauskanger adapted this word as ᴺQ. vembë “worm” in his NQNT (NQNT), and I follow his suggestion in part for better compatibility with adapted Gnomish forms from the Neo-Root ᴺ√WEB.

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√GWEVE “*worm” ✧ QL/103

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√GWEVE > ’wembe[gʷemβē] > [gʷemβe] > [gʷembe] > [wembe]✧ QL/103

Variations

  • ’wembe ✧ QL/103
Early Quenya [PME/103; QL/103] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wembil

noun. worm

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√GWEVE “*worm” ✧ QL/103

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√GWEVE > ’wembil[gʷemβil] > [gʷembil] > [wembil]✧ QL/103

Variations

  • ’wembil ✧ QL/103
Early Quenya [QL/103] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lin

noun. snake

A word for “snake” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with a stem form of {linge- >>} ling- (QL/54).

Cognates

  • G. ling “small snake”

Derivations

Element in

Variations

  • lin ✧ QL/043
  • Lin² ✧ QL/054
Early Quenya [QL/043; QL/054] Group: Eldamo. Published by

oqi

noun. snake

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OQO “curve, bend” ✧ QL/070

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√OQO > oqi[okʷī] > [okʷi]✧ QL/070
Early Quenya [PME/070; QL/070] Group: Eldamo. Published by