The Lord of the Rings

Rohan (cf. the notes on the languages, pp. 1130 , 1135-6 ). The meanings of these names, devised by Men, had as a rule long been forgotten by the Hobbits, even in cases where they had originally known what their significance was; and the forms of the names were much obscured in consequence:
math,
for instance, at the end of some of them is a reduction of
month.
    The Shire names are set out in the Calendar. It may be noted that
Solmath
was usually pronounced, and sometimes written,
Somath; Thrimidge
was often written
Thrimich
(archaically
Thrimilch);
and
Blotmath
was pronounced
Blodmath
or
Blommath.
In Bree the names differed, being
Frery, Solmath, Rethe, Chithing, Thrimidge, Lithe, The Summerdays, Mede, Wedmath, Harvestmath, Wintring, Blooting,
and
Yulemath. Frery, Chithing
and
Yulemath
were also used in the Eastfarthing. 1
    The Hobbit week was taken from the Dúnedain, and the names were translations of those given to the days in the old North-kingdom, which in their turn were derived from the Eldar. The six-day week of the Eldar had days dedicated to, or named after, the Stars, the Sun, the Moon, the Two Trees, the Heavens, and the Valar or Powers, in that order, the last day being the chief day of the week. Their names in Quenya were
Elenya, Anarya, Isilya, Aldúya, Menelya, Valanya
(or
Tárion);
the Sindarin names were
Orgilion, Oranor, Orithil, Orgaladhad, Ormenel, Orbelain
(or
Rodyn).
    The Númenóreans retained the dedications and order, but altered the fourth day to
Aldëa (Orgaladh)
with reference to the White Tree only, of which Nimloth that grew in the King’s Court in Númenor was believed to be a descendant. Also desiring a seventh day, and being great mariners, they inserted a ‘Sea-day’,
Eärenya (Oraearon),
after the Heavens’ Day.
    The Hobbits took over this arrangement, but the meanings of their translated names were soon forgotten, or no longer attended to, and the forms were much reduced, especially in everyday pronunciation. The first translation of the Númenórean names was probably made two thousand years or more before the end of the Third Age, when the week of the Dúnedain (the feature of their reckoning earliest adopted by alien peoples) was taken up by Men inthe North. As with their names of months, the Hobbits adhered to these translations, although elsewhere in the Westron area the Quenya names were used.
    Not many ancient documents were preserved in the Shire. At the end of the Third Age far the most notable survival was Yellowskin, or the Yearbook of Tuckborough. 1 Its earliest entries seem to have begun at least nine hundred years before Frodo’s time; and many are cited in the Red Book annals and genealogies. In these the weekday names appear in archaic forms, of which the following are the oldest: (1)
Sterrendei,
(2)
Sunnendei,
(3)
Monendei,
(4)
Trewesdei,
(5)
Hevenesdei,
(6)
Meresdei,
(7)
Hihdei.
In the language of the time of the War of the Ring these had become
Sterday, Sunday, Monday, Trewsday, Hevensday
(or
Hensday
),
Mersday, Highday.
    I have translated these names also into our own names, naturally beginning with Sunday and Monday , which occur in the Shire week with the same names as ours, and re-naming the others in order. It must be noted, however, that the associations of the names were quite different in the Shire. The last day of the week, Friday (Highday), was the chief day, and one of holiday (after noon) and evening feasts. Saturday thus corresponds more nearly to our Monday, and Thursday to our Saturday. 2
    A few other names may be mentioned that have a reference to time, though not used in precise reckonings. The seasons usually named were
tuilë
spring,
lairë
summer,
yávië
autumn (or harvest),
hrívë
winter; but these had no exact definitions, and
quelle
(or
lasselanta
) was also used for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter.
    The Eldar paid special attention to the ‘twilight’ (in the northerly regions), chiefly as the times of star-fading and star-opening. They had many names for these periods, of which the most usual were
tindómë
and
undómë;
the former most often referred to the time near dawn, and
undómë to
the evening. The Sindarin name was
uial,
which could be defined as
minuial
and
aduial.
These were often called in the Shire
morrowdim
and
evendim.
Cf. Lake Evendim as a translation of Nenuial.
    The Shire Reckoning and dates are the only ones of importance for the narrative of the War of the Ring. All the days, months,