Middle English 'Losenger' (essay)

From Tolkien Gateway

Middle English 'Losenger': Sketch of an etymological and semantic enquiry is the title of a paper delivered by J.R.R. Tolkien at the Congrès Internationale de Philologie Moderne, held at the University of Liège from 10 to 13 September 1951.[1]

The paper is an investigation of the Middle English word (of French origin) 'losenger'.[note 1] Tolkien traces the etymology of the word in Geoffrey Chaucer's Legend of Good Women and in various Proto-Germanic languages.[2]

In 1953, the essay was published in Essais de philologie moderne (1951), the collection of the conference proceedings, and in an offprint (Middle English 'Losenger': Sketch of an etymological and semantic enquiry).[3]

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Notes

  1. Losenger: A flatterer; a deceiver; a cozener. (Source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. 1913, C. & G. Merriam Co.)

References

  1. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 82
  2. Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond (2006), The J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide: II. Reader's Guide, p. 586
  3. An Illustrated Tolkien Bibliography, at Tolkienbooks.net