olba

branch

olba noun "branch" (PM:340; the form *olva may be more frequent; olba can only occur in the Quenya variant that uses lb for lv_. The Etymologies, stem GÓLOB, has _olwa. See also olvar.)

olba

noun. branch

A noun for “branch” in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 derived from primitive √OLOB (PM/341). It may be a variant of olva “plant”, since lv was sometimes pronounced lb (LotR/1121; PE17/129).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. olwa “branch” derived from primitive ᴹ✶golbā under the root ᴹ√GOLOB (Ety/GÓLOB). The lw in this word seems to be a remnant of Early Qenya phonetic developments, where sometimes lb became lw, the best example being early ᴱQ. elwen vs. Elben “heart” (QL/35; LT2/202). There was a similar word ᴱQ. olwe(n) that was cognate to G. olf(in) “branch, wand, stick” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/62), possibly also an example of lb > lw.

Derivations

• √OLOB “branch” ✧ PM/341

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√OLOB > olba	[olba]	✧ PM/341

olwa

branch

olwa noun "branch" (GÓLOB). Read perhaps *olva in LotR-style Quenya (since the root indicates that lw originates from lb, which in Tolkiens later scheme would rather yield lv, reverting to lb in some forms of late pronunciation; the form olba is attested in PM:340).

olvar

growing things with roots in the earth, *plants

olvar (sg. #olva) noun "growing things with roots in the earth, *plants" (Silm). Apparently more or less the same word as olwa, olba, which is however glossed "branch". Cf. laima.

olwen

branch, wand, stick

olwen (olwenn-) noun "branch, wand, stick" (LT2:342)