Elven music words part one
More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!
I’ve included information on the words derivations and roots where we have them because the meanings are often really cool and poetic!
These are Quenya words! I’ll do Sindarin words next week!
Song, being vital to the very fabric of Tolkien’s universe, is in turn a very important part of elven cultures. Many words in Quenya for music have meanings related to birds.
Óma means voice. It derives from the root om meaning sound.
Lindë means song, music
Lindo or Linda means singer or a singing bird 🪶
Lír or lir means to sing
Líralë means merry singing
All three previous words derive from the root lir meaning to sing or warble.
Lindimaitar means a musician or composer, from lindë meaning music and maitar meaning poet or artist
Lindelëa means melodious
Tantila means harp, and tanta is the verbal form, to play a harp. These derive from kyant, meaning harp.
Tunga means taut or resonant, specifically referring to strings and linga, an older word, means “to hum like the strings of a harp”
Salma means a lyre or small harp
Quenso is an earlier word for minstrel, derived from kwet meaning to say
Lindórëa means singing at dawn, especially of birds
