Q. laman (lamn-) n. “animal” (Category: Animal)
A word for an “animal” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, where Tolkien said it “usually only applied to four-footed beasts, and never to reptiles or birds” (WJ/416). It was derived from the root √LAM in the sense “inarticulate voiced sound”. It had plural forms lamni and lamani based on distinct primitive forms ✶laman(a) and ✶lamān, the first form being subject to the Quenya syncope and the second immune to it.
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor to this word was ᴱQ. {lāma >>} lăma in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√LAMA, with the glosses “a head of cattle or sheep; an animal, beast” (QL/50). In this document it had an ancient form lamṇ, and accusative forms lamna or laman. The origin of this final -a is made clear in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, where Tolkien said “-a < ṇ”, citing lama as an example with plural form lamni (PE14/44, 74). This singular and plural form also appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists (PE16/132) and the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE15/69), and in the latter Tolkien specified that the word “can be used generally, but popularly as in English excludes birds & insects, and men”.
The form ᴹQ. laman emerged in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, where Tolkien gave it the gloss “tame beast” (PE21/19). Inflected forms indicate the stem was still lamn-, and the plural remained lamni (PE21/28). Thus it seems that by this stage the word’s stem form was the result of the Quenya syncope. The word laman “animal” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, but there it was rejected and replaced by ᴹQ. nasto (PE22/116). Laman “animal” appeared again in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, as noted above.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume this word mostly applies to either tame or tameable four-legged mammals, as opposed to hravan for “wild beasts” and celva for animals in general.
References ✧ WJ/416
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| lamni/lamani | plural | ✧ WJ/416 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶laman(a)/lamān > laman | [laman] | ✧ WJ/416 |
| ✶laman(a)/lamān > lamni/lamani | [lamani] > [lamni] | ✧ WJ/416 |
ᴹQ. laman (lamn-) n. “tame beast” (Category: Animal)
References ✧ PE21/19, 28; PE22/116
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
Derivations
ᴱQ. lama n. “animal, beast; head of cattle or sheep” (Category: Animal)
References ✧ PE14/42, 44, 70-71, 74; PE15/69; PE16/132; QL/50
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| laman | accusative; n-accusative | ✧ PE14/44 |
| laman | accusative; n-accusative | ✧ QL/50 |
| lamat | accusative | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| †lamna | accusative | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| lamna | accusative | ✧ QL/50 |
| lamnin | accusative plural | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| lamar | dative | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| †lamne | dative | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| lamnir | dative plural | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| laman | genitive | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| †lamno | genitive | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| lamnion | genitive plural | ✧ PE14/44; PE14/74 |
| lamni | plural | ✧ PE14/42; PE14/44; PE14/70; PE14/71; PE14/74; PE15/69; PE16/132 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ✶labna > lamna > lamn > lama | [labna] > [lamna] > [lamnǝ] > [lamn] > [lama] | ✧ PE14/70 |
| ᴱ✶labnai > lamnī > lamni | [labnai] > [lamnai] > [lamnī] > [lamni] | ✧ PE14/70 |
| ᴱ√LAMA > lăma | [lamā] > [lama] | ✧ QL/50 |