lós

flower

lós (þ?) noun "flower" (PE17:26). If this is to be the cognate of Sindarin loth, as the source suggests, the older Quenya form would be *lóþ.

lós

noun. inflorescence, mass of flowers

Changes

• lusse → lōs ✧ PE17/026

Cognates

• S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ PE17/026
• S. lûth “blossom, inflorescence, blossom, inflorescence [on a single plant]” ✧ PE17/161

Derivations

• √LOT(H) “flower” ✧ PE17/026
• ✶loth “inflorescence” ✧ PE17/160
  • √LOT(H) “flower” ✧ PE17/160

Element in

• ᴺQ. helillos “wisteria, (lit.) purple cluster”
• ᴺQ. lindelos “laburnum, (lit.) singing cluster”
• Q. olos “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant), inflorescence, mass of flowers”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LOTH > lōs	[lōtʰ] > [lōθ] > [lōs]	✧ PE17/026
✶loth > lós	[lōtʰ] > [lōθ] > [lōs]	✧ PE17/160

Variations

• lōs ✧ PE17/026
• lusse ✧ PE17/026 (lusse)
• loste ✧ PE17/026 (loste)

lóte

noun. flower

lótë

flower

lótë noun "flower", mostly applied to larger single flowers (LOT(H), LT1:259, VT42:18). (The shorter form -lot occurs in compounds, e.g. fúmellot, q.v.) In the names Ninquelóte *"White-flower" (= Nimloth), Vingilótë "Foam-flower", the name of Eärendil's ship (SA:loth), also in Lótessë fifth month of the year, "May" (Appendix D). See also olótë, lotsë.

alba

noun. flower

alma

flower

alma (2) "flower" (PE17:153), said to be the "usual Quenya word" or "general Quenya word" (i.e. for flower), but its coexistence with #1 is problematic. Compare lós, lótë, lotsë, indil.

alma

noun. flower

A word for “flower” derived from primitive ✶galmā in notes on flowers in the same bundle containing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 (PE17/153). Initially Tolkien said alma meant both “a blessed thing and a flower”, then said that Q. almë was “a blessed thing” and alba was “flower” (< √GAL-AB), before saying that alma was “flower”. Tolkien implied that alma was a usual or general word for “flower” in Quenya. These same notes also said the word alda < ✶galadā was used mainly of flowering trees. It seems in this instance Tolkien connected the root √GAL (normally just “grow, flourish”) specifically to flowers, giving it the gloss “bloom” along with other glosses like “grow, flourish, be vigorous”.

Neo-Quenya: Elsewhere alda was the general word for a “tree” and √GAL had no special connection to flowers. I think alma as a “flower” word was a transient idea. I would use lótë “flower” instead for purposes of Neo-Quenya, since it is much better established.

Changes

• alma → almë “a blessed thing and a flower” ✧ PE17/153
• alba → alma “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Cognates

• S. alf “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Derivations

• ✶galmā “flower” ✧ PE17/153
  • √GALAM “elm”
  • √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153
• √GALAB “flower” ✧ PE17/153
  • √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶galmā > alma	[galmā] > [ɣalmā] > [almā] > [alma]	✧ PE17/153
√GAL-AB > alba	[galba] > [ɣalba] > [ɣalβa] > [alβa] > [alba]	✧ PE17/153

Variations

• alba ✧ PE17/153 (alba)

insil

noun. flower

TQ. flower, lily