Although the town had been water-soaked, the ends of beams catch most easily, dragon-fire having been applied to them.
“Beam-ends” is a nautical term, the bits of wood likely to get a dunking on a vigorous beam reach. I’m going to call this a JRRT-original way of using this term, since he is referring to the buildings of Lake-Town.
“beam, n.1.” OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 5 September 2017.
This one is unique – no entry in OED by any spelling.
It is a moniker unique to JRRT, but a name, so we will treat it carefully.
No such word in OED.
Not a word in OED.
It’s the name of something, therefore JRRT can call it anything he likes… yet since it bears a hyphen, we shall put it under scrutiny. OED says there’s no such word, hyphenated or not. As we know, it’s the proper English pronunciation of cul-de-sac.
UPDATE: 2021.10.21 Yes, indeed, it is hyphenated thusly in The Annotated Hobbit revised and expanded edition annotated by Douglas A. Anderson. Someone implored me to be very certain indeed. In fact, I can’t find it unhyphenated in the work at all. But the caution is well-merited! According to Richard Blackwelder, Bag End is never hyphenated in The Lord of the Rings.
“Warg” being a JRRT original, of course this is, too.
The first is hyphenated in its sub-entry in OED.
The second… “washed-up” is a sub-entry under “washed”… and “un-” the prefix is a rabbit-hole which just stole from me an amazing half hour. May I read you a bit?
1. Expressing negation. The prefix has been very extensively employed in English, as in the other Germanic languages, and is now the one which can be used with the greatest freedom in new formations.
2. In Old English the number of recorded forms in un- is very large, the prefix being freely applied with a purely negative force to several parts of speech… Altogether the number of un- words recorded in Old English is about 1250, of which barely an eighth part survived beyond the Old English period.3. The disappearance of so many of the Old English formations left early Middle English with a very limited supply of un- words, even when new (or apparently new) examples are added to those inherited from the older language. A fair proportion even of this reduced stock proved unable to survive for more than half a century, and had passed out of use by 1250. A few of these, especially such as obviously had some general currency, are entered in their alphabetical places, but the greater number are given here (together with a few of somewhat later date) as properly belonging to the older period and having no direct influence upon the later development of the prefix. Most of these are composed of purely native elements…
I think it safe to say that while every part of “unwashed-up” is perfectly understandable, that this way of using these elements is originality on Tolkien’s part.”un-, prefix1.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/208915. Accessed 21 September 2017.
“washed, adj.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/225940. Accessed 21 September 2017.
“washing, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/225961. Accessed 21 September 2017.
OED gives us neither “autumn-like” nor “autumnlike”, so I will call this a JRRT original. Now, it may not be original to him at all, but a word that he saw in someone else’s uncommon text. We tag it thus to bring it into the light of examination.
A JRRT original word – it is not found in OED as one word, one hyphenated word, or as a two-word word (as “apple tart” is).
words that you were saying 