Q. lependë n. “middle finger” (Category: Finger)
In rought drafts of notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, Tolkien coined various words for “middle finger” using initial element √ENED “middle”: Q. enestil, enelde or enelde, the first of these in combination with Q. til “tip” with the usual sound change of d+t > t+t > st (VT47/26). But Tolkien soon revised the form to lepende, a combination of ✶lepe “finger” and Q. endë “middle” (VT47/27).
The word lepende “middle finger” reappeared in the polished version of these notes, along with a variant lepenel (VT47/10). Tolkien said this variant was an older word interpreted as “finger number-three”, but was originally based on Q. enel “in the middle, between” (VT47/11), with d/l variation in the primitive root √ENED (VT47/29 note #43). In yet another version of these notes, lepenel was the only word for “middle finger” (VT48/5).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d use lependë as the usual word for “middle finger”, with †lepenel as an archaic variant.
References ✧ VT47/10-11, 27-28
Glosses
Elements
✶lepe | “finger” | ✧ VT47/10; VT47/11 |
✶ened | “middle, centre” | ✧ VT47/11 |
Q. enestil n. “*middle finger” (Category: Finger)
References ✧ VT47/26
Glosses
Variations
Related
Elements
√ENED | “centre, middle; three” | ✧ VT47/26 | |
tillë | “tip, point; [within compounds] finger, toe” | suffix | ✧ VT47/26 (-til) |