A Tolkien English Glossary: A Guide to Old Uncommon and Achaic Words Used in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (1) Read online

  ….Yammer and bleat!

  bleat

  72

  To cry as a sheep, goat or calf; make a similar sound. The cry of sheep.

  See text above for yammer.

  shirk

  72

  One who seeks to avoid work, duty, etc.

  ….Nor dare to shirk,

  quaff

  72

  To drink wine or the like in large drafts, as with hearty enjoyment.

  While Goblins quaff….

  engines

  73

  An invention; a machine or instrument used in warfare, as a battering-ram, catapult, etc; an instrument of torture.

  ….for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them....

  warrant

  74

  To afford warrant or sanction for, or justify; to give a formal assurance, or guarantee or promise.

  "Up to no good, I'll warrant!

  gnashed

  75

  To strike or grind (the teeth) together, esp., in rage or pain.

  The Great Goblin gave a truly awful howl of rage..., and all his soldiers gnashed their teeth….

  croaking

  75

  To utter a low, hoarse, dismal cry, as a frog or raven; hence to speak with a low, hollow voice; fig., to talk despondently; forebode evil; grumble; also, to die (slang) or to kill (slang).

  The yells and yammering, croaking, jibbering and jabbering; howls, growls and curses; shrieking and skriking, that followed….

  jibbering

  75

  To move restively sidewise or backward instead of forward, as an animal in harness; refuse to go on; balk.

  See text above for croaking.

  jabbering

  75

  To talk or utter rapidly, indistinctly, or unintelligibly; chatter unintelligibly or senselessly.

  See text above for croaking.

  shrieking

  75

  To utter a loud, sharp, shrill cry; of persons, to cry out sharply at a high pitch of voice, often wildly or frantically, as with terror, rage, pain, delight, etc.

  See text above for croaking.

  skriking

  75

  To utter in a shrill, harsh cry.

  See text above for croaking.

  Chapter 5

  Riddles in the Dark

  Chestnuts

  85

  An old or stale joke, anecdote, etc. (slang). Hence, in extended use, anything trite, stale, or too often repeated.

  "Chestnuts, chestnuts….

  poser

  86

  A question, a problem, or matter that poses, or puzzles completely.

  But it proved a nasty poser….

  spluttered

  86

  To talk hastily and confusedly or incoherently, as in excitement or embarrassment.

  ….he whispered and spluttered.

  ogres

  88

  A monster, commonly represented as a hideous giant, of fairy-tales and popular legends, supposed to live on human flesh.

  Poor Bilbo sat in the dark thinking of all the horrible names of all the giants and ogres he had ever heard told of in tales….

  oddments

  91

  An odd article, bit, remnant, or the like, or an article belonging to a broken or incomplete set.

  ….in his hiding-place he kept a few wretched oddments, and one very beautiful thing….

  galled

  91

  A sore on the skin, due to rubbing; an excoriation.

  ….he kept it in a pouch next his skin, till it galled him; and now usually he hid it in a hole in the rock on his island….

  smart

  92

  To be a source of sharp local and unusually superficial pain, to feel a sharp pain.

  He might even venture into places where the torches were lit and made his eyes blink and smart….

  imp

  92

  An offspring, usually a male child; also, a person as a scion (descendant) or offshoot, as of a noble house.

  ...a few hours ago he had worn it, and caught a small goblin-imp.

  scrabbling

  92

  To scratch or scrape about, as with the claws or hands.

  He was on his island, scrabbling here and there, searching and seeking….

  snag

  94

  Any sharp or rough projection.

  Terrified he tried to run faster, but suddenly he struck his toes on a snag in the floor, and fell flat….

  noser

  95

  Someone who is prying, inquisitive.

  The Baggins has got it in its pocketses; the nassty noser has found it….

  splayed

  97

  Spread out; wide and flat; turned outward; fig. clumsy or awkward; oblique or awry.

  He seemed to be crouched right down with his flat hands splayed on the floor, and his head thrust out...

  betterment

  97

  A making or becoming better

  ….a glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering.

  smote

  99

  Preterit of smite. Afflict, chasten, or punish in a grievous manner; affect mentally with a sudden pang; hence, to affect suddenly and strongly with a specified feeling or sentiment.

  A pang of fear and loss, like an echo of Gollum's misery, smote Bilbo….

  hither

  99

  On or toward this side; on the side or in the direction of the person speaking; nearer.

  ….goblins cursed and swore and ran hither and thither, falling over one another and getting very angry.

  thither

  99

  To or toward that place or point.

  See text above for hither.

  hooting

  100

  To cry out or shout, esp. in disapproval or derision; an exclamation of dissatisfaction, impatience, etc.

  Of course they soon came down after him, hooting and hallooing.…

  halloowing

  100

  Same as hollo. A call to attract attention; also, an exclamation of surprise, etc; to urge or incite by shouting.

  See text above for hooting.

  giddy

  100

  Mad, insane; hence, furious or wild; also, having a confused, whirling sensation; affected with vertigo; dizzy; unstable.

  ….it makes their legs wobble and their heads giddy.

  Chapter 6

  Out of the Frying-Pan into the Fire

  dells

  101

  A deep, natural hollow in land, often with wooded slopes; a small valley; a vale.

  ….on the other side the ground sloped away and there were dells below the level of the path overhung with bushes and low trees.

  drat

  102

  A word used in vague or mild malediction (an evil deed; a crime; an offense).

  "If we have got to go back now into those abominable tunnels to look for him, then drat him….

  helter-skelter

  103

  In a headlong, disorderly haste; hurry-scurry; pell-mell; also, a tumultuous haste or disorder.

  ….we had dashed through the gate-guards, out of the lower door, and helter-skelter down here.

  nipped

  105

  To move or go suddenly or quickly, or slip (away, up, etc.)

  In the flash which killed the goblins that were grabbing him he had nipped inside the crack….

  sorrel

  107

  Any of various plants of the genus Rumex, having succulent acid leaves used in salads, sauces, etc.

  He nibbled a bit of sorrel, and he drank from a small mountain-stream that crossed the path, and he ate three wild strawberries….

  boughs

  110

  A branch of a tree, esp. one of the larger or main branches.

  ...Balin had swarmed up a tall slender fir with few branches and were trying to find a place to sit in the greenery of the topmost boughs.

  snuffling

  111

  To draw air into the nose for the purpose of smelling something. To inhale, perceive by snuffling; examine by smelling.

  They left guards at the foot of the tree in which Dori and Bilbo were, and then went snuffling about till they had smelt out every tree….

  clamour

  111

  A loud outcry; vociferation; hence, a vehement expression of desire or dissatisfaction; also, any loud and continued noises,.

  ...the Wargs in the circle would answer their grey chief all together, and their dreadful clamour almost made the hobbit fall out of his pine-tree.

  smote

  117

  Preterit of smite. To strike or hit hard, as with the hand, a stick or weapon, etc., or as the hand or a weapon does.

  Over them swooped the eagles; the dark rush of their beating wings smote them to the floor or drove them far away….

  eyrie

  118

  See aery. The nest of a bird of prey.

  He loosed Dori's ankles...and fell onto the rough platform of an eagle's eyrie.

  Chapter 7

  Queer Lodgings

  furrier

  126

  A dealer in or dresser of furs.

  ...in the name of all wonder don't mention the word furrier again as long as you are within a hundred miles of his house, nor rug, cape, tippet, muff, nor any other such unfortunate word!

  rug

  126

  A mat or the like made from the pelt of an animal.

  See text above for furrier.

  cape

  126

  A Spanish cloak (with a hood); also, a s
eparate article of attire, being a kind of short loose sleeveless cloak, fitting round the neck and falling over the shoulders as a protection against rain or cold. Waterproof capes of this kind are in common use.

  See text above for furrier.

  tippet

  126

  An article of dress, usually of fur or wool, for covering the neck; a band of fur, worn about the neck.

  See text above for furrier.

  muff

  126

  A thick tubular case covered with fur or other material, into which the hands are thrust for warmth.

  See text above for furrier.

  droning

  127

  Emitting a dull, monotonous sound; characterized by a monotonous tone or utterance.

  There was a buzzing...and a droning in the air.

  lopped

  128

  To cut off the branches, twigs, etc., of a tree or other plant.

  ...there was lying a great oak-trunk with many lopped branches beside it.

  tunic

  128

  Undergarment. A garment like a shirt or a gown, worn by both sexes among the ancient Greeks and Romans.

  He was clothed in a tunic of wool down to his knees….

  trestles

  136

  A frame used as a support, consisting typically of a horizontal beam or bar fixed at each end to a pair of spreading legs; sometimes, the whole frame which supports the top of a table.

  Quickly they got out boards and trestles from the side walls and set them up….

  mead

  137

  An alcoholic liquor made by fermenting a mixture of honey and water; also any of various non-alcoholic beverages.

  They sat long…with their wooden drinking-bowls filled with mead.

  mould

  138

  Loose, friable earth, esp. such as is rich in organic matter and favorable to the growth of plants.

  and leaves were laid upon the mould.

  rent

  138

  An opening made by rending or tearing; a tear, as in a garment; a split, break, or fissure.

  where racing clouds were torn and rent.

  scuffling

  139

  To walk about without raising the feet; shuffle.

  ...a growling sound outside, and a noise as of some great animal scuffling at the door.

  glowered

  145

  To stare or gaze intently; also, to look angrily or with sullen dislike or discontent.

  But in the evening when the dusk came on and the peaks of the mountains glowered against the sunset they made a camp and set a guard….

  harts

  146

  The male of the deer, commonly the red deer, esp. after its fifth year.

  Sometimes Bilbo saw the horns of the harts sticking up out of the long grass, and...he thought they were the dead branches of trees.

  stiff

  149

  Crowded, packed.

  ...you would be right among the slopes of the Grey Mountains, and they are simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins….

  Chapter 8

  Flies and Spiders

  gleams

  152

  Brightness; shine; esp. a transient or partial shining; a flash or beam of light; a brief or slight manifestation or appearance.

  They...took it in turns to watch; and when it was Bilbo's turn he would see gleams in the darkness round them, and sometimes pairs of yellow or red or green eyes would stare at him from a little distance, and then slowly fade and disappear and slowly shine out again.... .

  painter

  155

  A rope, usually at the bow, for fastening a boat to a ship, stake, etc.