Meadow, in my words (revised) + meadows (revised)

preda : meadow

The Illunse word for meadow is preda. Preda is an uncommon last name. In Italian preda means booty, prey. Preda is the name of a place in Switzerland.

This word is a mixture the Latin word pratum (meadow, meadowland; meadow grass/crop), and the Old English word mæd (mead, meadow, pasture), which I transliterate to maed.

My previous word for meadow was prade. A small change, I swapped the vowels around.

predu : meadows

The Illunse word for meadows (nominative plural) is predu. In Croatian predu means purr, spin (make yarn).

Meadows in Latin is prati. Meadows in Old English is mæd (same as the singular).

My previous word for meadows was pradi. Another small change. I've gotten rid of the Latin-ish -i plural endings.

There doesn't appear to be any Quenya or Sindarin words for meadow.

Sea, in my words (revised) + seas (revised)

maer : sea

The Illunse word for sea is maer. Maer is a last name. In Danish similar mær means bitch or tart. In Faroese similar mær means me. In Icelandic similar mær means (poetic) maiden. Maer is the name of a couple places in England.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for sea which is mare or maris, and the Old English word for sea which is sæ which is close to the Modern English word sea.

My previous Illunse word for sea was maera. This is a small change.

Here's a link to Sea, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

maera : seas

The Illunse word for seas (nominative plural) is maera. Maera is the name of several beings in Greek mythology. Maera is an unusual feminine first name. Maera is a land in a Norse saga. Maera is a last name that can be from New Zealand. Maera is the name of cities in Mozambique, Angola and Papua New Guinea.

Seas in Latin is maris. Seas in Old English is sae (same as sea).

My previous Illunse word for seas was maerae. This is a small change

Valleys, in my words (revised)

dallan : valleys

The Illunse word for valleys (nominative plural) is dallan. Dallan is a last name. Dallan is a unusual masculine first name. Saint Dallán Forgaill was a 6th century Irish poet.

Valleys in Latin is vallis. Valleys in Old English is dena.

My previous Illunse word for valleys was dalla. A small change.

The word for valley is dalle. It remains the same, unchanged.

Here's a link to Valley, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Field, in my words (revised)

falg : field

The Illunse word for field is falg. Falg is an unusual last name. Falg is a misspelling of flag.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for field which is ager (field, ground, farm, land), and the Old English word for field which is feld (field, open or cultivated land, plain).

My previous Illunse word for field was falge. This is a small change.

The word for fields (nominative plural) is falga. It remains the same, unchanged.

Here's a link to Field, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Trees, in my words (revised)

teboran : trees

The Illunse word for trees (nominative plural) is teboran.

Trees in Latin is arboris. Trees in Old English is tréowu.

My previous Illunse word for trees was teboru. A small change.

The word for tree is tebor. It remains the same, unchanged.

Here's a link to Tree, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words + Trees.

Flower, in my words (revised)

flost : flower

The Illunse word for flower is flost. Flost is a rare last name.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for flower which is flos (flower, blossom), and the Old English word for flower which is blóstma (blossom, bloom, flower).

My previous word for flower was flosta. This is a small change.

The word for flowers (nominative plural) is flostan. It remains the same, unchanged.

Here's a link to Flower, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Since I'm subjecting you to revisions, I thought I'd add some pictures. Something new to look at.

Moving forward, but stepping backwards first

Deep down I must love complexity. I knew my Illunse plurals were way too complicated.

The good news is that I've figured out what to do about it, how to make my nominative case plurals for nouns simpler. Not simple, but simpler. I've come up with some rules to follow, and irregular nouns won't be allowed. My rules pretty much amount to accepting grammatical gender.

What this means for this blog, though, is revisions. Lots of them. I'll be making numerous small changes. This will affect somewhere between a third and half of my existing nouns, singular forms as well as plurals. Even words I did recently.

Old English and Latin are inflected languages. They are not like Modern English. I want my Illunse grammar to be similar to that of Old English and Latin, but hopefully much more straightforward.

Ox, in my words + oxen

ocs : ox

The Illunse word for ox (adult castrated bull) is ocs. Ocs is a rare last name. In the military, OCS is an acronym for Officer Candidates School or Officer Cadet School. Similar Ocs (or Öcs) is the name of a place in Hungary.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for ox (or bovine) which is bos, and the Old English word for ox which is oxa (which I transliterate to ocsa).

ocsan : oxen

The Illunse word for oxen (nominative plural) is ocsan. Ocsan is a unusual last name.

Oxen (or bovines or cattle) in Latin is bovis. Oxen in Old English is oxan.

My Illunse words are very close to Modern English when you consider my transliteration of X to CS. Note that the English plural, oxen, ends in N instead of S, which is a remanant from Old English.

That's enough of the bovine related words. There actually other words I'm not going to do, such as steer (a young ox especially one castrated before sexual maturity and raised for beef) and heifer (a young cow especially one that has not yet given birth to a calf). I might do calf, but not now.

Cattle were a big thing in Anglo-Saxon times. Cattle were personal property. Way back then, counting your cattle was like counting your money.

Bovine, in my words + bovines or cattle

boher : bovine

The Illunse word for bovine is boher. Boher is a last name. Boher is the name of a places in Ireland and Nigeria.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for bovine which is bos, and the Old English word for bovine which is hriðer (which I transliterate to hrither). Another Old English word for bovine is néat.

boheras : bovines or cattle

The Illunse word for bovines or cattle (nominative plural) is boheras. Boheras is a rare last name.

Bovines or cattle in Latin is bovis. Bovines or cattle in Old English is hriðer (same as the singular).

Bull, in my word (revised) + bulls

taer : bull

The Illunse word for bull is taer. Taer is an unusual last name. In the Dungeons and Dragons fantasy role-playing game, the taer is a monstrous, primate-like creature.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for bull which is taurus (like the astrological sign), and the Old English word for bull which is fearr. Another Old English word for bull is bula.

My previous Illunse word for bull was taeru. I liked the word, but I'm changing it because nouns ending in -u are often feminine in Old English. I don't want to deal with grammatical gender in Illunse, but my root languages of Old English and Latin both have masculine, feminine and neuter.

Here's a link to Bull, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

taeras : bulls

The Illunse word for bulls (nominative plural) is taeras. Taeras is a rare last name that can be Indonesian.

Bulls in Latin is tauri. Bulls in Old English is fearras.

Cow, in my words (revised) + cows

cwa : cow

The Illunse word for cow is cwa. CWA is an acronym for Clean Water Act, Communications Workers of America and many others. Cwa is the name of a place in Namibia.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for cow which is cú, and the Latin word for cow which is vacca. As Old English doesn't use V, and in the reconstructed ancient pronunciation of Latin V is pronounced like W, I decided to transliterate the V in the Latin word vacca to a W. In Old English CW is a valid consonant combination.

My previous Illunse word for cow was cuwa. I shortened it by one letter.

Here's a link to Cow, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

cwae : cows

The Illunse word for cows (nominative plural) is cwae. CWAE (IATA: WAE) is an airport code code for Whistler, BC, Canada.

Cows in Latin is vaccae. Cows in Old English is cý.

Still more animals in the barn...

Stag, in my words (revised) + stags

herst : stag

The Illunse word for stag (or hart) (male deer) is herst. Herst is a last name. Herst should not be confused with Hearst, such as in William Randolph Hearst and Patty Hearst.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for stag (or hart) which is heorot (hart, stag), and the Latin word for stag which is cervus (stag/deer).

For most deer, in modern English usage, the male is called a buck. For many larger deer the male can also be called a stag. Hart is a term for a male deer, especially the male of the red deer after its fifth year.

Stag is not defined in Tolkien's languages of Quenya or Sindarin.

My previous Illunse word for stag was herost.

herstas : stags

The Illunse word for stags (nominative plural) is herstas. Herstas is a rare last name.

Stags (and deer) in Latin is cervi. Stags (or Harts) in Old English is heoretas.

I think that's enough with the deer words. In my fantasy the land of Illun, they'll definitely have deer.

Buck, in my words + bucks

burc : buck

The Illunse word for buck (male deer, not a dollar bill) is burc. Burc is a unusual masculine first name that can be Turkish. Burc is an unusual last name. Burc means "town, city" in Anglo-Norman. Similar word burç means "zodiac, horoscope; tower" in Turkish, and Burç is the name of places in Turkey. (note: ç in Turkish is pronounced like ch).

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for buck which is bucca (male deer, he-goat), and the Latin word for buck or stag which is cervus (stag, deer).

Buck is a term for a male deer. Buck, like doe, is the term for the males of other animals, such as goats and rabbits etc.

Buck is not defined in Tolkien's languages of Quenya or Sindarin.

burcas : bucks

The Illunse word for bucks (more than one buck, not money, nominative plural) is burcas. Burcas is an unusual last name. Burcas is a variation of burqas (or burkas) which is is an enveloping outer garment worn by some Islamic women.

Bucks (and deer) in Latin is cervi. Bucks in Old English is buccan.

Doe, in my words (revised) + does

dera : doe

The Illunse word for doe (female deer) is dera. Dera is a last name. Dera is a uncommon first name that can be masculine or feminine. Dera is a woredas, comparable to a district, in Ethiopia. In India a Dera (or Dehra) is a camp or a settlement, especially a religious establishment. Dera is the name, or part of the name, of places in Pakistan.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for doe which is dá (doe, female deer), and the Latin word for doe which is cerva (doe, hind; deer).

Doe is a female deer. Doe is also the term for the females of other animals, such as gerbils, hamsters, mice, rabbits and squirrels.

Doe is not defined in Tolkien's languages of Quenya or Sindarin.

My previous Illunse word for doe was deca. I decided to change this word to be similar to my word for deer, derv.

derae : does

The Illunse word for does (more than one doe, nominative plural) is derae. Derae (or DeRae) is a rare first name that can be masculine or feminine. Derae (or DeRae) is a rare last name. (Note, in Illunse ae is pronounced like a in cat).

Does in Latin is cervae. Does in Old English is dán.