Elf

June 26, 2015October 21, 2015 lfsaldenbirch 10K, brief, word

01.017 Anything from climbing trees to visiting elves –
01.075 For ancient king and elvish lord
01.078 Was sung unheard by men or elves.
01.123 and elves
03.013 “Hmmm! it smells like elves!”
03.018 They were elves of course.
03.018 He loved elves,
03.018 For some elves tease them
03.023 and among the elves,
03.024 “You are a little out of your way,” said the elf:
03.025 Elves know a lot
03.025 Elvish singing is not a thing to miss,
03.026 The elves had brought bright lanterns to the shore,
03.029 and some elves have over merry tongues.
03.032 and the elves
03.032 who had both elves
03.035 very old swords of the High Elves of the West,
03.049 to see the elves dance
04.028 and friends of Elves, not unlikely!
04.033 when the fair elves of Gondolin hunted them
05.005 So it is an elvish blade, too,’
08.071 The elvish folk were passing bowls from hand to hand
08.078 unless they had been made prisoners by the elves
08.115 and Bilbo had his elvish dagger.
08.131 They differed from the High Elves of the West,
08.131 Still elves they were
08.144 Then the elves put thongs on him,
09.002 would have been of no use against the arrows of the elves
09.002 when the elves bound the dwarves
09.003 for the elves were making the dwarves go
09.004 the elves thrust their prisoners,
09.004 in time to scuttle over at the heels of the last elves,
09.011 as they clashed together when the last elf passed;
09.011 He could not keep up with the hunting elves
09.020 the elves cast them through the trapdoors,
09.025 He followed the two elves,
09.037 some elves were under orders to come down
09.039 A number of elves came laughing
09.052 the elves being very merry
09.055 he could hear the elves still singing
09.065 The elves that were standing
09.068 where other elves stood to fend them off with poles,
10.007 he heard the elves speak of
10.007 not a town of elves but of Men,
10.009 while the elves of the raft
10.030 than the raft-men of the elves
10.041 which shows he was a wise elf
12.015 that they learned of elves
13.037 which the elves call mithril,
14.039 to ask the aid of the King of the Elves of the Wood,
14.042 Still elves are lightfooted,
14.043 and many skilled elves;
15.019 Already a host of the elves is on the way,
15.020 and elves
15.028 and the Elves
15.031 and elvish bowmen were among them.
15.035 but their song was not as elvish song,
15.053 first dismiss the elvish host to the woods where it belongs,
16.006 and elves,’
16.017 when up came elves
16.019 and the elves immediately gathered towards the sound.
16.024 my good elves.
16.025 in elvish armour,
16.029 even for elves I imagine.
16.046 and then he said farewell to the elves
17.032 and elves to arms.
17.042 The elves cried out with many voices.
17.044 and upon the other were Elves
17.048 the Elves were set;
17.048 and elves
17.050 The elves were the first to charge.
17.052 the elves charged again with renewed numbers.
17.054 and ears of elves
17.057 Elves
17.058 came many of the spearmen of the elves.
17.059 and many a fair elf
17.059 and elves
17.060 He had taken his stand on Ravenhill among the Elves –
17.061 and the merry elves.
17.065 If the elves could not see him they could hear him.
18.003 he thought he could see elves moving
18.021 and elves
18.032 the elvish sword that had been taken from Thorin
18.050 Then the elves turned towards the Forest,
19.001 Bilbo heard the elves still singing
19.002 And elves are yet singing
19.004 Here elf and elf-maiden
19.005 Then the elves of the valley came out
19.010 Below it many elves were singing loud
19.018 with the elves of the valley.
19.040 and visiting the elves;
19.043 between elves

Egg-shaped

June 26, 2015September 13, 2017 lfsaldenbirch 10K, food, hyphen, word

08.092 and it did not take him long to find a nice smooth egg-shaped one

Ah, the right tool for the job. Nothing like it.

This word is, of course, attested in OED. I rather love one of the examples:

1854 J. H. Stocqueler Hand-bk. Brit. India (ed. 3) 370 Ceylon is egg-shaped.

“egg, n.” OED Online, Oxford University Press, June 2017, http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/59878. Accessed 13 September 2017.

Egg-question

June 26, 2015September 13, 2017 lfsaldenbirch 100K, 10K, food, hyphen, JRRT, word

05.047 he was so flustered by the egg-question.
05.073 than when Bilbo had asked him the egg-question.

This is one of the few times that hyphenating words to create a new one distracts me. Were there truly so many questions about eggs that Bilbo’s language had a word for that? Or is it a clue to the nature of the language itself – able to adapt to new concepts by agglutinating when appropriate?

This word does not appear in OED. Wouldn’t that have been surprising?

Eerie

June 26, 2015October 21, 2015 lfsaldenbirch 10K, British, word

Oho! This is a Scottish word and has earned the “British” tag!

The word occurs in the northern (not in the midland) version of the Cursor Mundi. It has recently been often used in general literature, but is still regarded as properly Scotch.