S. ungol n. “spider” (Category: Spider)
The Sindarin word for “spider” (Let/180; RC/490, 767), derived from √ungu- that was the basis for spider words (PE22/160).
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish word for “spider” was initially G. gung in both the Qenya Lexicon and Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√GUŊU (QL/98; GL/43), also appearing an element in G. Gungliont, the earliest name of Ungoliant (LT1/160). In the Gnomish Lexicon the word gung was crossed through, but may have become ging in G. gwidh-a-ging “cobweb” (GL/46). Regardless, Tolkien added G. ungwi “spider” in pencil to the Gnomish Lexicon (GL/75), which seems to indicate a change of the root from ᴱ√GUŊU to ᴱ√UŊU, consistent with the replacement name G. Ungoliont from the contemporaneous narratives (LT1/152).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, “spider” words were derived from the root ᴹ√SLIG (Ety/SLIG); see N. thling for discussion. Tolkien soon restored Ung-, however, since N. ungol was translated as “spider” in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s (WR/202).
References ✧ Let/180; RC/490, 767
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N. ungol n. “spider” (Category: Spider)
Reference ✧ WR/202 ✧ Ungol “spider”
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G. ungwi n. “spider” (Category: Spider)
Reference ✧ GL/75 ✧ “spider”
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G. gung n. “spider” (Category: Spider)
References ✧ GL/43, 46; QL/98
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| ᴱ√GUŊU > gung | [ɣuŋg] > [guŋg] | ✧ QL/98 |