English Fantasy Words with Tolkein

[Devor]

Here's a great list.

The Encyclopedia of Arda - Old and rare words

It's a lengthy list of "archaic or unusual" words used by Tolkein. At a glance, I noticed a lot of them have been used in other works, and many aren't all that uncommon.

I thought it might be useful for adding a touch of flavor to your narration or dialogue.

Do you know any other great "fantasy-sounding" English words that you've seen in the books you've read?

 

[Devor]

I really do not think using these words may be a good idea unless our intent is really a Lord of the Rings rip-off. It just doesn't seem to encourage originality unless we choose more obscure words. Thanks for sharing though.

It's not like I'm telling anyone how to use them, or to use them all constantly on every page. It's just a reference of uncommon words he used for flair, and I'd be surprised if there's many medieval-ish fantasies with an authentic vibe that don't use at least a dozen of them. This is a forum for reference materials, and that's all I was providing.

 

[SpellcraftQuill]

You could consider The Phronistery. Thanks for the share.

 

[Steerpike]

I think it is a good list, thanks for posting.

These aren't words Tolkien made up, so using them in no way produces a Lord of the Rings rip-off. They're part of the English language. They're just obscure and/or archaic terms that aren't encountered often. No reason not to use them to achieve the effect you want.

 

[SpellcraftQuill]

Might I suggest The Phronistery? So sorry about that; I misunderstood your point. I just want to recommend that we shouldn't use too many LOTR words.

 

[Galvanized clouds]

Thanks for this, I always like learning new words OwO Sometimes a normal thesaurus won't cut it :3

 

[Ankari]

I read a lot of these words and they don't seem so unusual or archaic. Some are. Like cob (spider) and backarapper (a specialized firework). It's a good list of words. I can't imagine why an author wouldn't use a good majority of them.

 

[saellys]

I'm always on the hunt for good medievalisms, so I appreciate this list!

 

[The Writer's Realms]

Awesome! Thanks Devor.