Re: Tolkien and the OED


Robert Bannister wrote:
Father Ignatius wrote:

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.

http://www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/tolkien/?view=uk&WT.mc_id=ASKONEWS



I was surprised at "Faërie". Wasn't it used by Spencer or Shakespeare or
somesuch?

--
Rob Bannister


*The Century Dictionary* ( www.century-dictionary.com ) has an entry,
"faerie, faery," in which those words are defined as "Archaic forms of
_fairy :_ as, Spenser's _Faery_ (or _Faerie_) _Queene._" It doesn't
show a variant with a diaresis, however.

Note that the article doesn't identify what exactly was the
relationship between Tolkien and the words listed. It may be that he
invented the diaeresis version of "faërie," or it may simply be that
Tolkien's coming across examples of archaic spellings such as "faerie"
and "faërie"--if indeed the latter was an existing archaic
spelling--influenced the linguistic aspects of his fictional works.


--
Raymond S. Wise
Minneapolis, Minnesota USA

E-mail: mplsray @ yahoo . com

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Tolkien and the OED
    ... of Words describes Tolkien's work as a member of the OED's staff, ... revived, remodelled, and invented English words. ... Tolkien's coming across examples of archaic spellings such as "faerie" ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Tolkien and the OED
    ... of Words describes Tolkien's work as a member of the OED's staff, ... revived, remodelled, and invented English words. ... Tolkien's coming across examples of archaic spellings such as "faerie" ...
    (alt.usage.english)
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