Q. lanta n. and adj. “fall; falling” (Category: to Fall)
A noun for “a fall” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√DA(N)T “fall down”, also appearing as an element in ᴹQ. lasselanta “leaf-fall, autumn” (Ety/DAT). Since lasse-lanta “leaf-fall” appeared in The Lord of the Rings appendices, this noun probably remained valid in the 1950s and 60s (LotR/1107). As a noun, its use dates back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien had ᴱQ. lanta “a fall, falling” under the early root ᴱ√LANTAN [LṆTṆ] (QL/51).
This word was also used adjectivally in the 1950s version of the Nieninquë poem in the phrase Q. táli lantalasselingie (PE16/96). Base on the circa-1930 version of the poem, this phrase can be loosely translated as “with feet like the music of falling leaves” (MC/216). It was also used adjectivally in the circa-1930 version of the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem, in the phrases ᴱQ. lanta-ránar “in the moon falling” and ᴱQ. lante no lanta-mindon “falling upon fallen towers” (MC/214); the 1960s version of Markirya used different words than lanta.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume lanta is primarily a noun meaning “a fall”, but could be used adjectivally in compounds like lantalasselingëa “*falling-leaf-musical”, especially in poetry. As a noun, it might just be the infinitive form of the similarly formed verb lanta- “to fall”. A more properly noun-like word for “fall” is lantë (S/87) and its use may be preferable to lanta for an independent noun; see that entry for discussion.
References ✧ LotR/1107; PE16/96
Glosses
Element In
Derivations
ᴹQ. lanta n. “fall” (Category: to Fall)
References ✧ Ety/DAT, TALÁT
Glosses
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√DANT > lanta | [danta] > [lanta] | ✧ Ety/DAT |
| ᴹ√DAT > lanta | [danta] > [lanta] | ✧ Ety/TALÁT |
ᴱQ. lanta n. and adj. “fall, falling; fallen, falling” (Category: to Fall)
References ✧ MC/214; PE16/143; QL/51
Glosses
Element In
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√LANTAN > lanta | [lṇtā] > [lṇta] > [lanta] | ✧ QL/51 |