Q. hlas (hlar-) n. “ear” (Category: Ear)
The Quenya word for “ear” is derived from primitive √S-LAS, an elaboration of √LAS “listen” (PE17/62, 77). It had a stem form of hlar- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the word for “ear” was derived directly from ᴹ√LAS² “listen”, and had the form lár (Ety/LAS²). This seems to be a brief reversion to Early Qenya phonology of the 1910s, where medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26); compare to ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head”, also from The Etymologies (Ety/KAS). In that document, the Noldorin word for “ear” was N. lhewig, a singular form based on the fossilized dual lhaw (Ety/LAS²). The voiceless lh- in this word was the result of the Noldorin sound-change of the 1930s whereby ancient initial r-, l- were unvoiced.
This Noldorin word made it into Lord of the Rings drafts as part of Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, (lit.) Hill of Ears” (TI/364), a form that Tolkien retained in the published version (LotR/393). Since the unvoicing of initial l was no longer a feature of Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, Tolkien needed to contrive a new derivation from primitive √S-LAS, which also necessitated a change in the Quenya cognate to voiceless initial hl-.
Early Qenya words for “ear” from the 1910s had a completely different basis. They include ᴱQ. ankar (ankas-) “ear (of men)”, ᴱQ. qan (qand-) “ear”, and ᴱQ. unk (unq-) “ear (of animals)” from the Qenya Lexicon, all based on the root ᴱ√ṆQṆ (QL/31, 76, 98). The last of these reappeared as unko “ear” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s and contemporaneous word lists (PE14/52, 76, 117; PE15/71), but seems to have been abandoned by the 1930s.
References ✧ PE17/62, 77; PE23/136
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| hlaru | dual | ✧ PE17/62; PE17/77 | |
| hlaru | dual | “pair of ears” | ✧ PE23/136 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √S-LAS > hlas | [slas] > [l̥as] | ✧ PE17/62 |
| ✶slasū > hlaru | [slasū] > [l̥asū] > [l̥azū] > [l̥azu] > [l̥aru] | ✧ PE17/77 |
| ✶slasū > hlaru | [slasū] > [l̥asū] > [l̥azū] > [l̥azu] > [l̥aru] | ✧ PE23/136 |
ᴹQ. lár n. “ear” (Category: Ear)
References ✧ Ety/LAS²; PE23/81, 84
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| larunya | 1st-sg-poss dual; u-dual | “my ears” | ✧ PE23/81 |
| laru | dual | “pair of ears” | ✧ PE23/84 |
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√LAS² > lár | [lās] > [lār] | ✧ Ety/LAS² |
ᴱQ. ankar (ankas-) n. “ear (of men)” (Category: Ear)
References ✧ PME/31, 98; QL/31, 98
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| unqi | dual | ✧ QL/31 | |
| unqi | dual | “the ears, ears, one’s ears” | ✧ QL/98: dual |
| ankasi | plural | ✧ QL/31 | |
| ankas- | stem | ✧ QL/98 |
Elements
| ᴱ√ṆQṆ¹ | “*ear” | ✧ QL/31 (Ŋ̣NQ) |
| ᴱ√KASA | “head” | ✧ QL/31 (KAS) |
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√(U)ṆQ(U)Ṇ² > unqi | [ṇkʷī] > [ṇkʷi] > [uŋkʷi] | ✧ QL/98 |
| ᴱ√(U)ṆQ(U)Ṇ² > ankar | [ṇkʷkas] > [aŋkʷkas] > [aŋkas] > [aŋkar] | ✧ QL/98 |
ᴱQ. qan (qand-) n. “ear” (Category: Ear)
References ✧ PME/31, 76; QL/31, 76, 98
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| qanwi | dual | ✧ PME/31; QL/31; QL/98 | |
| qanwi | dual | “the ears” | ✧ PME/76; QL/76 |
| Quand- | stem | ✧ QL/76 |
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√Ŋ̣QŊ̣ > Qan | [kʷṇd] > [kʷand] > [kʷan] | ✧ QL/76 |
ᴱQ. unk(o) (unq-) n. “ear (of animals); corner, sticking out edge” (Category: Ear)
References ✧ PE14/52, 76, 117; PE15/71; PME/98; QL/98
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| unqi | dual | ✧ PE14/52; PE14/76; PE14/117; PE15/71 |
| unkoli | plural | ✧ PE14/76 |
| †unqi | plural | ✧ PE14/76 |
| unq- | stem | ✧ QL/98 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√(U)ṆQ(U)Ṇ² > unk | [ṇkʷ] > [uŋkʷ] > [uŋk] | ✧ QL/98 |