Dictionary Word of the Day
Wednesday, March 14, 2007 at 08:46AM descry \dih-SKRY\, transitive verb:
1. To catch sight of, especially something distant or obscure; to discern.
2. To discover by observation; to detect.
I love this word, descry. I've only ever come across it in The Lord of the Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien and other of his writings, so to me it is a distinctly Tolkien-ish word, like provender.
At its bottom ran a hurrying stream: Frodo could hear its stony voice coming up through the silence; and beside it on the hither side a road went winding down like a pale ribbon, down into chill grey mists that no gleam of sunset touched. There it seemd to Frodo that he descried far off, floating as it were on a shadowy sea, the high dim tops and broken pinnacles of old towers forlorn and dark.
Can any of you Tolkien fans tell me where this quote came from? Book and chapter?
Reader Comments (4)
This drawing is by Tolkien, himself. It doesn't illustrate the quotation all that well, but I still like it and wanted to share it with you.
The Two Towers
Journey to the Cross-Roads
Yippee! Leslie got it! True confession; how long did it take you to find it?
I spent some time thinking this morning of all the places it could be, skimmed a few chapters, and didn't find it. During lunch, I asked my husband where he thought Frodo was walking. He suggested that it may be where he is leaving Faramir and heading to Mordor. More skimming and I found it. So, Hubby is the one who really knew the reference.