Following World War I, Tolkien's first civilian job was at the Oxford English Dictionary, where he worked mainly on the history and etymology of words of Germanic origin beginning with the letter W. He later said he learned more in those two years than any other equal period of his life. So what did he contribute to our lexicon bible? The first entry Tolkien is known to have worked on is the word waggle: to move (anything held or fixed at one end) to and fro with short quick motions, or with a rapid undulation; esp. to shake (any movable part of the body). He also worked on walnut, walrus, want and wampum, and the notebooks he used to work out word origins survive in the Bodleian Library in Oxford. This all played a great part in how Tolkien approached his fictional writing: his works were filled with multiple layers of symbolism in names, locations, events and deep-rooted etymologies. It goes without saying that his stories (and the movies spurned from them) are brilliant, but this side of Tolkien is what makes his work still matter greatly today. Calling all Tolkien geeks! Know any other fascinating facts about the Father of Fantasy? Do share your knowledge and adoration of the man in the comments below!
