Tolkien and the OED

Three senior OED editors have written a book about J. R. R. Tolkien's involvement with the Oxford English Dictionary. Tolkien and the Ring of Words describes Tolkien's work as a member of the OED's staff, and examines how his lexicographical experiences influenced the way he revived, remodelled, and invented English words.

The Ring of Words offers a unique perspective on the relationship between J.R.R. Tolkien's early professional involvement in the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary and the linguistic creativity that is so amply demonstrated in the broad spectrum of his subsequent works.

Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, and Edmund Weiner – all three of whom are current editors of the OED and knowledgeable Tolkien enthusiasts – set the scene with a detailed description of Tolkien's own contribution to the Dictionary project before going on to explore his skills as a craftsman with words. Then, through individual Word Studies which will intrigue and enlighten all sections of Tolkien's worldwide audience, they examine – in considerable and illuminating detail – over 100 of the most interesting words as used by Tolkien in his writing.

The words under scrutiny make for an interesting list...

amidmost . Arkenstone . attercop and Shelob . backarapper . bane . bee-hunter and skin-changer . blunderbuss . carrock . confusticate and bebother . corrigan . daymeal and nuncheon . dingle and dern . dumbledore . dwarf . dwimmerlaik . Easterling . Elder Days . eleventy-one and gross . elf . elf-friend . elven . Elvenhome . ent and etten . éored . eucatastrophe . even . Faërie . fairy . fairy-story . farthing . Fastitocalon . fay . flammifer . flet . gangrel . gladden . glede . Gnome . goblin . halfling . hame . hemlock . hobbit . kingsfoil . legendarium . lockholes . maid-child . malefit . Mannish and Man . march and Mark . Marish . mathom . Middle-earth . Mirkwood . mithril . moot . morrow . nasturtian . ninnyhammer . north-away and south-away . oliphaunt . orc . pipe-weed . Precious . Púkel-men . Quickbeam . read and riddle . ruel-bone . rune . Shirriff . sigaldry and glamoury . Silharrows . sister-son . smial, Smeagol, and Smaug . Southron . springle-ring . taggerment . Stonebows . sub-creation . Swertings . Thain . Tolkienian and Tolkienesque . troll . tweens . unlight . warg . waybread . weapontake . weregild . Westernesse . Westron . wight . Wilderland and Wold . Withywindle . wolf-rider . worm . wose . wraith

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