Otsola
otsola is a Qenya name for the "week". J.R.R. Tolkien envisioned the elvish week as having seven days, like our own, and provided Qenya and Gnomish names for the weekdays.[1] Some of them refer to early epithets of the Valar in The Book of Lost Tales.
| Qenya | Dedication | "Translation" |
|---|---|---|
| poldor "strength"; Poldórëa being an early epithet of Tulkas|"Sunday" | ||
| Sleep or dreams|"Monday" | ||
| Death or sorrow, Fui being an early name of Nienna|"Tuesday" | ||
| taime "sky"|"Wednesday" | ||
| The Sea, cf. Quenya falasse|"Thursday" | ||
| The wide earth; Palúrien being also an early epithet of Yavanna|"Friday" | ||
| sá "fire"|"Saturday" |
Etymology
Otsola contains otso "seven" and galā "daytime" (cf. later Quenya cala). Its Gnomish translation is othlad (odin "seven"), and Tolkien derives it from Primitive Elvish *ot·g’lāta.[2]
Other versions of the legendarium
An early name for otsola is otsan.[3] Earlier Gnomish name is oglad.[2]
In The Etymologies Tolkien wrote about the five-day week called lemnar. In the background of The Lord of the Rings however the Elves use the six-day week called enquië in Quenya. The Men use a seven-day week,[4] but the elvish term is not given.
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Qenya and The Valmaric Script", in Parma Eldalamberon XIV (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), p.21
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gnomish Lexicon, p. 62
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "Early Qenya and The Valmaric Script", in Parma Eldalamberon XIV (edited by Carl F. Hostetter, Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, Patrick H. Wynne, and Bill Welden), p. 16
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix D, "The Calendars"
