iaeth

noun. neck

A word for “neck” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶yakta- under the root ᴹ√YAK (Ety/KEM), where the primitive k spirantalized and vocalized to i and the resulting diphthong ai became ae, sound changes that remain plausible in Sindarin as well.

Conceptual Development: There was a similar word G. gath “neck” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s from primitive ᴱ✶yatt- (GL/36), with the Gnomish sound change of initial y to g.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use iaeth for “neck” as a joining between the head and torso, as opposed to lang as a passage from the mouth to stomach and lungs [including the “✱throat”] and S. ach referring the vertebrae in the neck [“✱(upper) spine”].

iaeth

noun. neck

sigil

noun. necklace

lhanc

noun. throat

lhanc

noun. throat

pendrad

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

pendrath

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

ach

noun. neck, neck, *(upper) spine

A word for “neck” appearing in notes written around 1967, derived from primitive aks based on the root √AKAS “neck, ridge” (PE17/92), where the ks became ch (IPA [x]). Tolkien specified that it was “referring properly only to the vertebrae (the bony part of the neck not including throat)”, so a more accurate translation might be “✱(upper) spine”. A more ordinary word for “neck” as a passage from mouth to the stomach and lungs would be lang.

ach

noun. neck

n. neck, refeering properly to the vertebrae (the bony part of the neck not including throat). 'geographical' form achad. Q. akas (later akse) pl. aksi. Fachad

achad

neck

n. neck, refeering properly to the vertebrae (the bony part of the neck not including throat). This is a 'geographical' form, S. ach. Q. akas (later akse) pl. aksi. Fach, AchadTarlang

achad

noun. rock ridge, neck (geographically)

A noun mentioned in several places as a translation of “neck” as in Tarlang’s Neck (LotR/790), in Sindarin properly S. Achad Tarlang (PE17/92, 146; RC/537). It was a derivative of √AKAS “neck, ridge” (PE17/146). Somewhat curiously, S. lang “neck” was also an element in the name S. Tarlang. As Tolkien explained it:

> It is not certain whether this was named after some ancient man with the Sindarin name Tarlang (“stiff-neck” sc. “proud”) or was due to the obsolescence of Tarlang “the stiff, tough, passage” to which S achad had been prefixed in explanation, so that Achad Tarlang “the crossing called Tarlang” was interpreted as “Tarlang’s Neck”. Achad is another word for “neck”, referring properly only to the vertebrae (the bony part of the neck not including throat). √AKAS: Q akas (later akse) pl. aksi, S ach, geographically achad (< aks). This was also applied geographically to rock ridges. The Neck was not the name of the passage but of the lower, narrower ridge (crossed by the road) between the main mountains, and the mountainous region at southern end of the spur (PE17/92).

Hence S. lang refers to the entire throat, the passage from the mouth to the lungs/stomach, whereas S. ach was the vertebrae and upper spine, and achad was for geographic features resembling the spine, hence rock ridges.

lang

noun. passage; neck, passage; neck, *throat

A word for “neck” appearing in notes written around 1967, most notably as an element in tarlang “stiff-neck” = “proud” (PE17/92). It was derived from primitive ✶langō (< √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond”) which meant “a passage (physical), originally applied to any route or connecting link between two places or large objects, especially such as enabled one to cross or surmount an obstacle: such as a mountain-pass, a ridge of higher land across fen-land, an isthmus etc.” (PE17/91-92). This word was then “later applied to narrower parts of a structure serving to join larger parts, especially the ‘neck’ of men and animals”. The word lang had the gloss “neck” (both in geography as well as for men and animals) in Tolkien’s Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings as well (RC/536).

Conceptual Development: There was a similar noun N. {lhang >>} lhanc in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√LAK “swallow” (Ety/LANK). This earlier word was likewise an element in N. tarlanc “stiff-necked, obstinate” (Ety/TÁRAG).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I think it is unlikely that N. lhanc (or ᴺS. ✱lanc) “throat” can coexist with S. lang “neck”. However, since S. lang originally referred to a “passage”, I think it can be interpreted as referring to the passage from the mouth to the stomach and lungs, and hence also used with the sense “✱throat”. For the actual interior mechanism of the throat, however, I’d recommend the neologism ᴺS. lhunc “pharynx, gullet” < ᴹ√SLUK “swallow”.

achad

neck (esp

n. neck (esp. referring to the bony structure, extension of the spine). achad << achas. Q. axo.

achad

noun. neck (properly referring only to the bony vertebral part not including the throat)

sigil

noun. necklace

A word for “necklace” in the name Sigil Elu-naeth “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” in Silmarillion notes from the late 1950s (WJ/258).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. fring “carcanet, necklace” (GL/59), an element in the early name G. Nauglafring “Necklace of the Dwarves” (LT2/221). ᴱN. fring “necklace” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/143), but in Silmarillion drafts of the 1930s the “Necklace of the Dwarves” was renamed to Nauglamír (SM/135), a name it retained thereafter (S/114). The element mîr in the later name means “jewel” (Ety/MIR; LotR/1115), and Tolkien coined a new word sigil for “necklace” in the 1950s, as noted above.

nauglamír

proper name. Necklace of the Dwarves

The Necklace of the Dwarves holding a Silmaril (S/114), a combination of [N.] naugol “Dwarf” and mîr “jewel” (SA/mîr), the middle a perhaps being the archaic genitive suffix -a.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name was G. Nauglafring (LT2/221), a form that was retained in the early Silmarillion drafts (SM/33, SM/134), but was replaced with Ilk. Nauglamír later in the 1930s (SM/313, LR/141). In The Etymologies, this name was designated Doriathrin [Ilkorin], with its initial element being the genitive of Dor. naugol “dwarf” (Ety/NAUK, MIR). This form was not updated in the Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, but no longer fit the phonology of later Sindarin (the expected form would be Nauglavir). Either it was dialectical or (more likely) Tolkien never got around to revising it.

sigil elu-naeth

proper name. Necklace of the Woe of Thingol

Another name for Nauglamír, translated “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” (WJ/258). It is a combination of sigil “necklace”, Thingol’s other name Elu and the noun naeth “woe”.

iaeth

neck

1) iaeth; no distinct pl. form. 2) lanc (throat), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”sharp edge, sudden end, brink”.

iaeth

neck

; no distinct pl. form.

lanc

neck

(throat), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”sharp edge, sudden end, brink”.

sigil

necklace

sigil (i higil, o sigil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i sigil), coll. pl. sigiliath. (WJ:258) Note: a homophone means ”knife, dagger”.

sigil

necklace

(i higil, o sigil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i sigil), coll. pl. sigiliath. (WJ:258) Note: a homophone means ”knife, dagger”.

lanc

throat

lanc (neck), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”sharp edge, sudden end, brink”.

lanc

throat

(neck), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”sharp edge, sudden end, brink”.

lanc

noun. throat

lango

noun. neck, neck, [ᴹQ.] throat; [Q.] passages [that are] narrower parts of a structure serving to join larger parts, *corridor

A word for “neck” appearing in notes written around 1967, derived from primitive ✶langō < √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond” (PE17/92). Its primitive form meant “a passage (physical), originally applied to any route or connecting link between two places or large objects, especially such as enabled one to cross or surmount an obstacle: such as a mountain-pass, a ridge of higher land across fen-land, an isthmus etc.” (PE17/91-92). This word was then “later applied to narrower parts of a structure serving to join larger parts, especially the ‘neck’ of men and animals”. The word lango “neck” also appeared in notes from 1965, but there it was derived from √LAG, as opposed to the then-distinct root for “beyond”: √LAŊ (PE17/65).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to 1920s, where ᴱQ. lango “neck” appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists (PE16/136). It was glossed “neck” in drafts of the ᴱQ. Earendel poem (PE16/100), and as “throat” in the poem itself (MC/216). ᴹQ. lango “throat” appeared in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/8), but in The Etymologies of the 1930s it was {lango >>} ᴹQ. lanko “throat” from the root ᴹ√LAK “swallow” (Ety/LANK). In later writings, Q. lango “neck” was restored (see above).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think lango can refer to both “neck” and “throat”, since its later derivation was from a word meaning “passage”, and hence refers to the passage from the mouth to the stomach and lungs. For the actual interior mechanism of the throat, however, I’d recommend the neologism ᴺQ. hlunco “pharynx, gullet” < ᴹ√SLUK “swallow”.

In a 2024-08-10 post in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Raccoon suggested lango can also apply more generally to any passages that are “narrower parts of a structure serving to join larger parts”, such as a “✱corridor”, consistent with Tolkien’s notes on PE17/92 (see above). See ᴺQ. terma “passage, aperture” for an alternative with a slightly different meaning.

acas

neck

acas ("k") noun "neck" (the bony part of the neck, not including throat), pl. axi ("ks") (and so perhaps general stem-form ax-). Also sg. axë (said to be a "later" form apparently replacing acas). The word is also used geographically of rock ridges. (PE17:92)

axë

neck

axë ("ks")noun "neck" (the bony part of the neck, not including throat), pl. axi given. Also sg. acas (the alternative form axë is said to be "later" and seems to be an analogical back-formation from the pl. axi). The word is also used geographically of rock ridges. (PE17:92)

yat

neck

yat (yaht-) noun "neck" (YAK)

acas

noun. neck

axo

noun. neck

axë

noun. neck (vertebrae), rock ridge, neck [vertebrae], *(upper) spine; rock ridge

A word for “neck” appearing in notes written around 1967 as akse with (archaic) variant akas, derived from the root √AKAS “neck, ridge” (PE17/92). Tolkien specified that it was “referring properly only to the vertebrae (the bony part of the neck not including throat)”, so a more accurate translation might be “✱(upper) spine”. This word could also apply to rock ridges. In an earlier version of this note Tolkien gave the form Q. axo “neck” (PE17/146), but that conflicts with Q. axo “bone” from the Markirya poem (MC/222-223).

firinga

carcanet, necklace

firinga noun "carcanet, necklace" (LT2:346, GL:36)

lango

passage

lango (2) noun "passage", especially across or over an obstacle, also "neck" (PE17:92)

firinga

noun. necklace, carcanet

lanco

throat, swallow

lanco ("k")noun "throat, swallow" _(LAK1 , LANK). _Since this was changed by Tolkien from lango with stem *langu- and pl. langwi, it may be that lanco* should similarly have the stem lancu**- and pl. *lanqui.

lango

throat

[lango (3) noun "throat"] (Tolkien also listed the plural form langwi_; in the _Etymologies as printed in LR, Christopher Tolkien improperly prefixed an asterisk as if it were an primitive or wrong form; see VT45:26. This indicates that lango has the stem-form *langu-. Compare ango "snake", stem #angu-, pl. angwi. But whatever the case, lango was changed to lanco.) (LANG, see LANK)

langon

throat

langon noun "throat" (MC:216; this is "Qenya", possibly an inflected form of lango #2 above but Tolkien changed it to lanco)

mentië

passage, journey, direction of travel

mentië noun "passage, journey, direction of travel" (PE17:13); the elements are men- "go, proceed" + tië "path, road". Not to be confused with the gerund of menta- #1.

lag

root. *neck

akas

root. neck, ridge

A root for “neck, ridge” coined in the late 1960s, referring both to the biological neck as well as a “neck” or ridge of rocks (PE17/92). In the context where it appeared, it mainly explains the Sindarin name for “Tarlang’s Neck”, Achad Tarlang. It might be related to the 1930s root ᴹ√AK “narrow” (Ety/AK) and might also be the basis for Q. axo “bone” (MC/223), perhaps derived from ✱ak(a)sō.

langō

noun. route or connection between to places; neck

firing

root. necklace