The Ring of Words Tolkien and the Oxford English Dictionary / Peter Gilliver, Jeremy Marshall, Edmund Weiner.
Material type: TextPublication details: New York : Oxford University Press, 2009.Description: xvi, 234 p. : ill. ; 20 cmISBN:- 0199568367
- 9780199568369
- Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973 -- Knowledge -- Philology
- Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973 -- Language
- Oxford English dictionary
- Authors, English -- 20th century -- Biography
- English language -- Etymology
- English language -- Lexicography
- Language and languages in literature
- Lexicographers -- Great Britain -- Biography
Item type | Home library | Collection | Call number | Materials specified | Status | Date due | Barcode | Item holds | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Adult Book | Main Library | NonFiction | 823.912 R581 | Available | 33111005674532 |
Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:
Tolkien's first job, on returning home from World War I, was as an assistant on the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary. He later said that he had "learned more in those two years than in any other equal part of his life." The Ring of Words reveals how his professional work on the OED influenced Tolkien's creative use of language in his fictional world.
Here three senior editors of the OED offer an intriguing exploration of Tolkien's career as a lexicographer and illuminate his creativity as a word user and word creator. The centerpiece of the book is a wonderful collection of "word studies" which will delight the heart of Ring fans and word lovers everywhere. The editors look at the origin of such Tolkienesque words as "hobbit," "mithril, "Smeagol," "Ent," "halfling," and "worm" (meaning "dragon"). Readers discover that a word such as "mathom" (anything a hobbit had no immediate use for, but was unwilling to throw away) was actually common in Old English, but that "mithril," on the other hand, is a complete invention (and the first "Elven" word to have an entry in the OED). And fans of Harry Potter will be surprised to find that "Dumbledore" (the name of Hogwart's headmaster) was a word used by Tolkien and many others (it is a dialect word meaning "bumblebee").
Few novelists have found so much of their creative inspiration in the shapes and histories of words. Presenting archival material not found anywhere else, The Ring of Words offers a fresh and unexplored angle on the literary achievements of one of the world's most famous and best-loved writers.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 230-234) and index.
Tolkien as lexicographer -- Tolkien as Wordwright -- Word studies.