Quenya 

ópa

noun. mouth (opening of which the lips are the edges)

A word appearing in some 1964 notes on various elements of the mouth, specifically referring to the “opening of which the lips, or pempi, are the edges”, from the root √OP (PE17/126). Tolkien initially wrote (and then deleted) the form {ōka} and the root {√OK}. This is likely a technical term, as opposed to the more ordinary word for mouth: Q. anto.

Conceptual Development: A similar word ᴱQ. óvo or ó “mouth” appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists from the 1920s (PE16/136).

Changes

  • ōka → ōpa ✧ PE17/126

Derivations

  • √OP “(opening of) mouth” ✧ PE17/126; PE17/126

Element in

  • Q. úpa “dumb [unable to speak]” ✧ PE17/126

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√OP > ōpa[ōpa]✧ PE17/126
√OK > ōka[ōpa]✧ PE17/126

Variations

  • ōpa ✧ PE17/126
  • ōka ✧ PE17/126 (ōka)