Eldamo : Quenya : lúva

Q. lúva n. “bow (in forming tengwar), bight, bend, curve” (Category: to Bend)

Q. lúva, n. “bow (in forming tengwar), bight, bend, curve” (Category: to Bend)

A word Tolkien used to describe the “bow” of tengwar in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1118). Elsewhere he indicated it was a general word for a “bend, bow, bight, curve” (PE17/122, 168). Tolkien variously derived this word from the roots √LUB or √(N)DUB; see those entries for discussion. He also specified that lúva was not a bow for shooting (PE17/122), as opposed to [ᴹQ.] qinga given elsewhere as a shooting bow (Ety/KWIG).

References ✧ LotR/1118; PE17/122, 168

Glosses

“bend, bow, curve” ✧ PE17/122; PE17/168
“bow” ✧ LotR/1118
“bow, bight” ✧ PE17/122

lúva “bow (in forming tengwar), bight, bend, curve” vs. ᴹQ. qinga “bow (for shooting)”

Derivations

< ✶dūbā “bend, bow, curve” ✧ PE17/168
- < √(N)DUB “bending and drooping” ✧ PE17/168 ((N)DUP/B)
< √LUB² “bend” ✧ PE17/122

Phonetic Developments

√LUB > lúva	[lūbā] > [lūβā] > [lūβa] > [lūva]	✧ PE17/122
✶dūbā > lúva	[dūbā] > [lūbā] > [lūβā] > [lūβa] > [lūva]	✧ PE17/168