Ent
Origin 1
Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings, 1954–55, from Old English ent ("giant"), from Proto-Germanic *antiz.
Full definition of ent
Noun
ent
(plural ents)- (fantasy) A fictional large talking tree.
- 2003, Walter Scheps, "The Fairy-tale Morality of The Lord of the Rings", in Jared Lobdell (ed.), A Tolkien Compass... and that fine young ent Quickbeam is merely a minor crux in an Old English glossary (the name Quickbeam means 'living tree' in Old English).
- 2003, Colin Duriez, Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: The Gift of FriendshipTolkien's Treebeard, his Ent creation, was inspired by Lewis, especially his sometimes emphatic deep voice
- 2003, Ralph C. Wood, The Gospel According to Tolkien: Visions of the Kingdom in Middle-earthTolkien perhaps speaks for himself when he has Treebeard confess that "nobody cares for the woods as I care for them," and when this same Ent also warns that "the withering of all woods may be drawing near"
Origin 2
Possibly from empty, through assimilation of the "m" to the following "t"
Verb
- (dialect, British, Devon) To empty or pour.
- 1976, K. C. Phillips: Westcountry Words and Ways, David & Charles, Newton Abbot, 1976, p. 47A Truro correspondent remembers being sent to buy a teapot with the admonition 'and see he got a good ent to un'; that is, of course, a good 'pour'."Enting down with rain" is still occasionally heard.