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2.30  Calendil, {Nelen}, Calennel, {Lamben}

§ Calendil ’Green Spit, Green-tine’, {Nelen} Calennel (TI:268,288)
§ {Lamben ’Tongue’} (TI:280)

This is another set of names for the triangle of Lórien.
Calendil transparently consists out of calen ’bright-coloured = green’ (KAL-) and suffixed #-til ’point, horn’ (TIL-), S. till ’tine, spike, point’ (PE17:36); while Calennel has suffixed -nel, probably from earlier NEL- with the meaning ’point, triangle’ (VT46:3).
Also very interesting is the variant Lamben ’Tongue’ (see LAB- ’lick’, N. lham(b) ’tongue’). Medial -mb- is possible within the phonology of Noldorin, even if both phonemes belong to the same root, compare for instance ambar, amar ’Earth’ (MBAR-). Although the ending -en dominates in Noldorin/Sindarin adjectives, it is also found in the derivation of nouns, e.g. N. lhalwen ’elm-tree’ (LÁLAM-), S. Ceven ’Earth’ (Q. kemen) (VT44:21, KEM-) and also Nelen ’the Gore’ above (2.29).
This may lead to a surprising result – in The Lord of the Rings we see Gandalf saying lasto beth lammen ’listen to the word of my tongue’ (LotRII ch.4, RS:463). Since lamben is directly attested as ’tongue’, one should consider the possibility of a conception that he does not use any possessive suffix -en ’my’ at all. PE17:46 clearly cites lammen ’(of) my tongue’, but on another note the adjective lammen, lambina ’of tongue, spoken with tongue’.
A different possibility is that Lamben is a compound of lam ’tongue’ and BEN- ’corner (from inside), angle’ (cf. Bennas above (2.29)), but if so, it is not indicated by the simple translation ’tongue’.


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