Hidden History of "Hobbit"

Hello, Word Lovers!

Did you ever wonder where the word Hobbit came from?

In 1937, Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien introduced it to the world in a wonderfully ordinary sentence — “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” — while correcting student papers. That little word became the title of his novel The Hobbit, and eventually led readers into the much larger world of The Lord of the Rings.

A curious little beginning for two of the most beloved works of fantasy literature and for a word that would eventually find its way into dictionaries and onto word-game boards.

🌀 Weekly Word Wonder: Depone

Pronunciation: dee-POHN

Part of speech: Verb

Definition: To give evidence or testimony under oath; to make a formal statement, especially in a legal setting.

Origin: From Latin dēpōnere, meaning “to put down” or “to lay aside.” The word entered English through legal usage.

Usage:

1. The witness was asked to depone about what he had seen that night.
2. Several experts were asked to depone about the circumstances surrounding the case.

📖 More Three Words

i. Smial — Tolkien created smial for a Hobbit's underground home, drawing on an old English dialect word meaning a burrow.

ii. Orc — Tolkien incorporated orc into his mythology, while drawing on older Germanic/Old English linguistic material rather than simply inventing the sound from nothing. His early invented languages already contained Elves, Orcs, trolls and other creatures.

iii. Mithril — Tolkien-created word for the precious silver-like metal found in Middle-earth. It became so recognizable that mithril is now used outside Tolkien's fiction as a fantasy term.

🔎 Community Puzzle

Jumbled Letters: Unscramble these words.

1. LYOLERGA —
   (Extended metaphor that conveys a deeper moral or political truth)
2. PALRABE —
   (Short narrative illustrating a moral lesson through symbolic characters)
3. TONMEMY —
   (Substitution of a related word or phrase for another concept)
4. UAEQTANYRR —
   (Relating to the number four)

Last Week's Answers (Edition #39)

Jumbled Letters

1. TANOILE — ELATION
2. AUHPORIE — EUPHORIA
3. BNLITJUA — JUBILANT
4. PERUTAR — RAPTURE
5. COLIFR — FROLIC