odog

cardinal. seven

The usual Sindarin word for “seven” was odog based on the root √OTOK, but it also had a shorter variant odo based on √OTOS (PE17/95; RC/384; VT42/25; VT47/42; VT48/6; Ety/OT).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. odin “seven”, which originally just meant “many” (GL/62; PE14/16).

odog

cardinal. seven

odog

card

_ card. _seven. Q. otos. >> tolod

odo

cardinal. seven

odo

cardinal. seven

odog

cardinal. seven

odog (also odo in Doriathrin Sindarin).

odog

seven

(also odo in Doriathrin Sindarin).

eneg

card

_ card. _six. Q. enque, enc-. >> odog

cae

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cea. >> caen-, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

caen-

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cainen. >> cae, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

can

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> canad, leben

canad

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> can, leben

er

card

_ card. _one. Q. er. >> min, tad

leben

card

_ card. _five. Q. lepen, lempe. >> eneg

min

card

_ card. _one. Q. min. >> er, tad

neder

card

_ card. _nine. Q. nerte. >> cae, caen-

nel

card

_ card. _three. Q. nelde. Fcan, canad, neledh

tad

card

_ card. _two. Q. atta. Fnel, neledh

tad

card

card. two. . This gloss was rejected.

tolod

card

_ card. _eight. Q. tolto. >> neder

odothui

seventh

othui, also ochui (VT47:42)

odog

cardinal. seven

odog

cardinal. seven

otso

cardinal. seven

The usual Quenya word for “seven” was otso dating all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (PE17/96; VT47/42; VT48/6; Ety/OT; PE14/49, 82; QL/71), though it had occasional variants like otos (PE17/95) or {oxo >>} osko (VT47/42). Its root form was √OTOS or √OTOK, the latter producing S. odog “seven”.

osco

cardinal. seven

otos

cardinal. seven

otso

cardinal. seven

otso cardinal "seven" (SA:sîr, OT/OTOS/OTOK, VT48:6); otsëa ordinal "seventh" (VT42:25)

otos/otok

root. seven

Tolkien used similar Elvish words for “seven” for much of his life. The earliest derivation for this number appears in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. otso “seven” is given under the root ᴱ√OTO “knock”, though the etymological relationship is unclear and Tolkien marked ᴱQ. otso with a “?”; the root also has the derivatives ᴱQ. otoke “beating of breasts, wailing” and ᴱQ. otto- “knock” (QL/71). G. odin “seven” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon is probably related (GL/62).

The “knock” sense may have lived on in roots like ᴹ√TON, ᴹ√TAM and √TOM (PE22/103; Ety/TAM; PE17/138), but in The Etymologies of the 1930s, words for “seven” were derived from the root ᴹ√OT with two distinct extensions ᴹ√OTOS and ᴹ√OTOK, producing respectively ᴹQ. otso and N. odog “seven” (Ety/OT). This primitive otos/otok variation reappeared in Tolkien’s writings on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/42; VT48/6), though at various points Tolkien considered deriving the Quenya word from ✶otok (VT47/42) and the Sindarin word from ✶otos (RC/384; VT42/25). In his later writings, Tolkien seems to have favored ✶otos as the “true” ancient root for seven, explaining S. odog as variant produced by analogy with other forms like eneg “six” after the final s was lost (VT42/25, 31 note #61).

otoso

ordinal. seven

hazad

noun. seven

A number translated as “seven”, appearing in the form hazad in the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247), but in the form hazid in Lowdham’s Report (SD/427-8). Helge Fauskanger suggested (AL/Adûnaic) it may be related to the dwarvish word Khazâd “Dwarves”, who were divided into seven houses.

otos

cardinal. seven