This very common word is used over 150 times in the work, but on my way to finding this very raw fact for you, friends, I had the most wonderful adventure!

Just for delight, I opened the OED to check any cool obsolete forms of “leave” that I might have forgotten in my pre-coffee haze. What happens when we open the OED, friends? Yes. Treasure.

Beleave – obsolete. To abandon.

Belive – obsolete. To remain.

Yes, I’m weeping over these two and hereby reclaim them from the compost.

• 1.051 I hope there is something left
• 1.065 Leave the bones on the bedroom mat!
• 1.070 that they had left among the walking-sticks.
• 1.070 I left mine
• 1.123 After that there were no dwarves left alive inside,
• 2.003 They left you the message,
• 2.014 “That leaves you just ten minutes.
• 2.019 leaving his second breakfast half-finished
• 2.024 and I have left my pocket-handkerchief behind,
• 2.028 where there were no people left,
• 2.034 the wind shook the rain off the leaves,
• 2.035 and there was mighty little left for supper,
• 2.050 as it left the pocket;
• 2.070 Bilbo had just enough wits left,
• 2.071 for Bilbo to have left.
• 3.031 and they found it hard to leave.
• 4.002 and left the Last Homely House miles behind,
• 4.002 Now they could look back over the lands they had left,
• 4.045 “Why, O why did I ever leave my hobbit-hole!”
• 5.003 or why he had been left behind;
• 5.003 if he had been left behind,
• 5.087 He still had a bone or two left to gnaw,
• 5.104 and feeling it with his left hand.
• 5.105 He put his left hand
• 5.121 One left, yes.
• 5.121 Two left, yes, yes.’
• 5.122 for he was leaving the water further
• 5.122 on their left as they went up.
• 5.123 Six left,
• 5.128 while he had any strength left.
• 5.135 was left standing open.
• 5.138 in his left pocket,
• 6.004 with a rocky wall on the left hand;
• 6.006 leaving Mr. Baggins
• 6.009 and leave you here
• 6.024 at the part of his tale that he had left out.
• 6.049 then by another not far away to the left.
• 6.054 You’ve left the burglar behind again!’
• 6.060 They left guards at the foot of the tree
• 6.062 there would have been none left there next day;
• 6.070 But the wolf-guards did not leave the trees.
• 6.072 That fire they fed with leaves
• 6.083 was very nearly left behind again!
• 6.092 and flew away with him into the night leaving Bilbo all alone.
• 7.012 if we had not left the mountain pass
• 7.013 They begged him not to leave them.
• 7.079 There were only fourteen of us left!’
• 7.080 That’s the first time I’ve heard one from ten leave fourteen.
• 7.087 and also angry at being left till last.
• 7.094 since they left the Last Homely House
• 7.099 and leaves were laid upon the mould.
• 7.103 It left the world and took its flight
• 7.105 but I warn you all not to forget what Beorn said before he left us:
• 7.109 or there will be no breakfast left for you.’
• 7.111 but what is left is out on the veranda.
• 7.130 As soon as they left his high hedges
• 7.130 and would have left them still with a long
• 7.132 with the mountains dark on their left,
• 7.133 or to the left,
• 7.134 their leaves were dark
• 7.141 that Gandalf was going to leave them
• 7.143 So now there was nothing left to do
• 7.145 that a thing like a bear left the shadow of the trees
• 7.153 and DON’T LEAVE THE PATH!’
• 8.001 to bear more than a few blackened leaves.
• 8.002 in the leaves far above,
• 8.003 and among the leaves that lay piled endlessly thick
• 8.008 and fallen leaving only the broken posts near the bank.
• 8.036 there was practically nothing left to eat or to drink.
• 8.036 and herbs with pale leaves
• 8.037 A few leaves came rustling down
• 8.037 among the dead leaves
• 8.038 from those parts with what strength they had left.
• 8.041 the climber must get his head above the topmost leaves,
• 8.042 above the roof of leaves,
• 8.043 and the leaves
• 8.048 A woodland king was there with a crown of leaves,
• 8.049 we should have left you to your idiotic dreams
• 8.054 and to the left of the path,
• 8.057 so they all left the path
• 8.071 sat a woodland king with a crown of leaves upon his golden hair,
• 8.073 and he was left alone
• 8.074 Something like a strong sticky string was against his left hand,
• 8.104 if a spider had not luckily left a rope hanging down;
• 8.108 fortunately on to leaves,
• 8.110 and leave your bones
• 8.112 and left Bombur to Bilbo.
• 8.117 To the left there,
• 8.119 they drove at the spiders on the left,
• 8.129 and there we must leave them for the present,
• 8.144 and left him.
• 9.005 and red leaves,
• 9.008 who was the eldest left.
• 9.009 in my realm without leave.
• 9.011 and was left to wander miserably
• 9.016 and leaving them.
• 9.022 and leaving everything
• 9.038 and now he was left alone again,
• 9.039 They had left a merry feast
• 9.051 and get utterly left behind
• 9.053 Leave the halls and caverns deep,
• 9.053 Leave the northern mountains steep,
• 9.062 and left them till the morning.
• 9.063 and the trail of drippings that he left wherever he went or sat;
• 9.063 and he actually dozed a little on some dry leaves,
• 10.001 that came down upon their left.
• 10.009 In the meanwhile the barrels were left afloat
• 10.018 so leaving the others Thorin
• 10.045 and leaves were falling fast,
• 10.045 three large boats left Lake-town,
• 11.001 in to the left or western bank
• 11.002 So their escort left them,
• 11.007 There lies all that is left of Dale,’
• 11.012 None of them had much spirit left.
• 11.016 Only Bofur and Bombur were left behind
• 11.027 at least since the wizard left.
• 11.029 as if the light caught the last pale leaves.
• 12.004 he meant last spring before he left his own house,
• 12.015 There are no words left to express his staggerment,
• 12.020 It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations,
• 12.026 We cannot leave them.
• 12.029 and drove in through the crack they had left
• 12.044 from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye.
• 12.077 in the hollow of his left breast
• 12.084 Leave him alone!’
• 12.084 and is maybe the last left of the ancient breed
• 12.085 though I don’t suppose there are any people left there
• 12.100 No trace of a keyhole was there left on the inside.
• 12.102 Smaug had left his lair
• 13.015 just where he had left them at the end of the tunnel.
• 13.055 The road from the Gate along the left edge of the stream seems all broken up.
• 13.055 a path that left the road
• 13.064 on the left side of the river,
• 13.065 and left the river,
• 14.018 His companions were leaving him.
• 14.020 Look for the hollow of the left breast
• 14.023 straight for the hollow by the left breast
• 14.026 who had left the town so soon,
• 14.040 Leaves rustled
• 15.027 not far from where the rest of their stores had been left.
• 15.058 but we leave you to your gold.
• 15.059 and the dwarves were left to consider their case.
• 16.014 in the inner chamber to the left,
• 16.017 when he left the newly made path
• 16.041 But I don’t think I ought to leave my friends like this,
• 16.046 it was still where he had left it.
• 17.061 I would rather old Smaug had been left
• 18.017 Since I leave now all gold
• 18.019 I must leave it now.
• 18.024 But weariness left their enemies
• 18.052 and Gandalf took their leave at last of Beorn,
• 18.052 Bilbo left with regret,
• 19.001 as if they had not stopped since he left;
• 19.002 And leaves are yet swinging,
• 19.013 Wind him in slumber and there let us leave him!
• 19.019 Even as they left the valley

“beleave | beleve, v.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2019, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/17344. Accessed 30 August 2019.

“belive, v.1.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2019, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/17396. Accessed 30 August 2019.

I wonder, friends, if you’re seeing what I’m seeing? A change in word usage during the war chapters?

Now, I’ve not yet finished trying to figure out what’s going on in Mirkwood. Got distracted by poetry, sorry. But perhaps after Mirkwood, we will go after the war chapters…

• 1.002 and floors tiled
• 1.002 all were on the same floor,
• 1.065 Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
• 1.092 Then he fell flat on the floor,
• 2.113 There were bones on the floor
• 4.013 It had a dry floor
• 4.013 So they spread out their wet things on the floor,
• 4.014 Then he dreamed that the floor of the cave was giving way,
• 4.036 in heaps on the floor,
• 5.001 and he could feel nothing except the stone of the floor.
• 5.002 what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel.
• 5.002 but sat down on the cold floor
• 5.073 and slapped his feet on the floor,
• 5.106 in the floor,
• 5.127 with his flat hands splayed on the floor,
• 5.133 in the floor.
• 6.045 over a floor of pine-needles;
• 6.082 the dark rush of their beating wings smote them to the floor
• 6.085 a red twinkle on the black floor;
• 7.010 (a wholesome one with a pebbly floor)
• 7.069 and bowed so low that their beards swept the stone floor.
• 7.071 and sat flop on the floor looking rather surprised.
• 7.097 The dwarves were sitting cross-legged on the floor round the fire,
• 7.106 a splash of white on the floor came from the high moon,
• 7.108 and had rolled down with a bump from the platform on to the floor.
• 8.046 on the forest floor.
• 8.112 on the floor,
• 9.037 in the middle of the floor waiting to be pushed off.
• 12.012 but rising from the near side of the rocky floor
• 12.013 stretching away across the unseen floors,
• 12.016 across the floor to the nearest edge of the mounds of treasure.
• 12.044 He was just about to step out on to the floor
• 12.071 a devastating sound which shook Bilbo to the floor,
• 12.072 from floor to ceiling like scarlet lightning.
• 13.009 There he lay face downwards on the floor
• 13.016 when Bilbo actually began to stamp on the floor,
• 13.018 start across the floor holding his tiny light aloft.
• 13.022 Bilbo was crossing the floor of the hall.
• 13.039 and sat down on the floor;
• 13.046 and bones were upon the floor
• 14.043 twisted upon the floor of the shallows.
• 18.016 and notched axe were cast upon the floor.

For those of you just tuning in, we are now working our way through common words which appear in the poems and lyrics. At the moment, we are dwarves, singing about making a mess of Bilbo’s kitchen.

• 1.065 Pour the milk on the pantry floor!
• 2.029 it was pouring with rain,
• 2.038 Then the rain began to pour down worse than ever,
• 10.006 the doubled waters poured out again
• 17.048 and poured now

That last is a reference to goblins:

17.048 …As Gandalf had hoped, the goblin army had gathered behind the resisted vanguard, and poured now in rage into the valley, driving wildly up between the arms of the Mountain, seeking for the foe. Their banners were countless, black and red, and they came on like a tide in fury and disorder.

My goodness! A barely-used word – we’re approaching those words which are only used once! For a book about a long journey afoot, I am caught off guard!

• 1.065 Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
• 11.018 and tread on my beard,

I ran into one of those interesting editor choices this morning. Is “clothe” to be included with “cloth”? I did, and I’m glad of it, and while there’s no robustness to this small sample, nevertheless I see that cloth and clothing trace the fortunes of the company for many chapters.

• 1.002 wardrobes (he had whole rooms devoted to clothes),
• 1.065 Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
• 1.070 in a green cloth.
• 2.029 into the dry clothes
• 2.037 and wet clothes all the night.
• 2.080 with his clothes
• 2.113 There were lots of clothes, too,
• 3.034 Their clothes were mended as well as their bruises,
• 4.013 to dry their clothes,
• 6.022 he said sadly looking at his torn clothes.
• 7.014 Then they took off their clothes
• 7.034 He was clothed
• 7.093 One bore a white cloth embroidered at the edges
• 9.062 and ragged clothes clinging to him cold
• 10.020 in spite of his torn clothes
• 10.038 in fine cloth of their proper colours,

A nice, even common word!

• 1.065 Cut the cloth and tread on the fat!
• 2.065 me throat cut
• 4.041 It made no trouble whatever of cutting through the goblin-chains
• 6.034 quite a short cut.
• 6.062 cutting down trees,
• 6.063 or cut them down.
• 6.099 or cutting up meat,
• 7.131 and scour all the edge of the forest so as to cut you off,
• 8.075 and he had time to cut his legs loose.
• 8.105 If he cut the string which hung him up,
• 8.106 He managed by leaning over to cut
• 8.107 he had to cut most of it off.
• 8.111 and cutting at the threads with their knives.
• 9.018 the roof had been cut away
• 10.010 First of all a barrel was cut loose by Bilbo
• 13.019 cut
• 13.043 cut out of the living rock broad
• 14.009 Cut the bridges!

For a common words, it’s used sparingly, so we can’t say anything robust about its absence from some of the Chapters – but it is in Gollum’s chapter and not Smaug’s?? Fascinating.

• 1.064 Smash the bottles and burn the corks!
• 2.080 (and two with burns
• 3.013 They were burning bright
• 3.040 and the burned banks of the bright River Running.
• 4.036 The sparks were burning holes
• 4.041 It burned with a rage that made it gleam
• 5.101 the light of his eyes burned with a pale flame.
• 6.065 and burned into them,
• 6.065 while those that were burning were running about howling
• 6.077 Burn, burn tree and fern!
• 6.077 Burn, burn tree and fern!
• 6.083 and the burning,
• 6.085 Soon the light of the burning was faint below,
• 7.045 Though it was summer there was a wood-fire burning
• 7.106 The fire burned low
• 7.122 From the burnt wolf-glade
• 7.122 and also because of the burning
• 8.048 and fires burning on the ground;
• 8.054 and fires were burning under the trees,
• 10.035 The lakes shall shine and burn,
• 13.044 and half burnt.
• 14.013 and their shafts fell back kindled by his breath burning
• 14.016 and burned down to the surface of the lake.
• 14.018 that held their ground among the burning houses.
• 17.038 burned
• 18.001 but his head burned with fire.
• 19.004 The stars are all burning!

My luck would run ill, I fear, if I left out a few words: “Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie, O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!” 

Now here’s a word which, to our shame, is common. It is used sparingly in The Hobbit, and I notice a fascinating pattern. After Chapter eight, the word disappears from the story – until the Battle of Five Armies. I assume from its use that Bilbo hated all the other battles, but the word is not used until that last one. The battles between those who later became allies are not about hate. The battles are fought for gold, power, envy, jealousy, revenge… but not for hate. I leave the philosophical ramifications of this one as an exercise for the reader.

• 1.067 That’s what Bilbo Baggins hates!
• 3.040 he hated dragons
• 4.025 They did not hate dwarves especially,
• 4.025 no more than they hated everybody
• 4.033 They hated it
• 4.033 and hated worse any one that carried it.
• 4.041 and hated it worse than Biter if possible.
• 5.009 hating to go on,
• 5.131 We hates it,
• 5.131 we hates it,
• 5.131 we hates it for ever!’
• 6.068 The goblins hated the eagles
• 8.004 before they grew to hate the forest
• 8.004 as heartily as they had hated the tunnels of the goblins,
• 17.049 and the one which at the time he hated most –