Thread: Tolkien and the 'other' N-word ;)
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Old 10-22-2005, 09:12 PM   #13
Estelyn Telcontar
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Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!Estelyn Telcontar has reached the Cracks of Doom and destroyed the Ring!
As far as I know, it was Tolkien's own word. I'm not a linguist though, so I checked it with several online sources. The Merriam-Webster dictionary tells me it's not in the dictionary, ergo not a known word. The Google references I got were all to Tolkien's usage. Wikipedia has this:
Quote:
Eucatastrophe is a term coined by J.R.R. Tolkien which refers to the sudden turn of events at the end of a story which result in the protagonist's well-being.
As far as I can see, though there is certainly a linguistic background for the word, it was his own invention and has not been used by others except in reference to him. If someone knows more about it, though, I hope they'll tell us!
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