Q. ulca adj. “evil; dark, gloomy, sinister” (Category: Wrong)
This is one of two later words Tolkien consider for “evil”; the other is Q. olca < √OKO. Of the two, ulca has the longer conceptual history, dating back to early Quenya (QL/97). Both words have the same Sindarin cognate, S. ogol.
Ulca has two attested late derivations. One is from the root √UK (PE17/149), listed as a possible replacement of √OKO, but Tolkien marked this derivation as uncertain. Another derivation is ✶ū “not” + KAL “light” = ✶uk’la “gloom, gloomy” (PE18/88), an example of abnormal vocalization. If this second derivation is accepted, ulca could have later developed the senses “sinister, evil” either due to the “bad” connotations of Q. ú- or perhaps by influence of Q. olca. If so, it may have even supplanted olca as the general word for “evil” as it appears to have done in Tolkien’s later writings.
References ✧ PE17/149; PE18/88; VT43/23-24; VT48/32; VT49/14, 19
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| ulcallo | ablative | “*from evil” | ✧ VT43/23 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ‽✶UKLA > ulca | [ukla] > [ulka] | ✧ PE17/149 |
| ✶ū̆k’la > ulka | [ukla] > [ulka] | ✧ PE18/88 |
| ✶ū̆k’lā > ulka | [uklā] > [ulkā] > [ulka] | ✧ VT43/24 |
| ‽✶ukla > ‽ulca | [ukla] > [ulka] | ✧ VT48/32 |
ᴹQ. úmea adj. “evil” (Category: Wrong)
References ✧ Ety/UGU; EtyAC/UGU
Glosses
Variations
Related
Changes
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| N. um > úmea | [ūmea] | ✧ EtyAC/UGU |
ᴱQ. ulka adj. “evil; bad, wicked, wrong” (Category: Wrong)
References ✧ PE14/48, 81; PE15/32, 70, 72; QL/97
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| ulda | augmentative | ✧ PE14/81; PE15/72 | |
| ulqalda | augmentative | ✧ PE14/48; PE14/81 | |
| †ulqalda | augmentative | ✧ PE15/72 | |
| ulqe | plural | “*evil” | ✧ PE15/32 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√ULU² > ulca | [ulkā] > [ulka] | ✧ QL/97 |