08-04-2015, 05:48 PM
(This post was last modified: 08-04-2015, 05:49 PM by stevebowers.)
Tolkien said he used the form 'dwarves' as an analogy to 'elves', assuming that the correct plural 'dwarfs' would have changed over time in a world where the word 'dwarf' was commonplace. As an etymologist he knew that words change and become irregular the more they are used, while rarely used worlds stay regular.
However I notice that the form 'dwarves' was already in use before Tolkien, albeit very rarely and apparently always in reference to mythical people, not stars or other small objects. So he was using an older, rare form as a deliberate archaism.
Nowadays astronomers tend to use 'dwarfs', but not consistently; science reporters are less reliable. You won't find a single reference to brown, yellow, orange or white dwarves on the Wiki astronomy pages, for example; this is probably due to some pedant with an idée fixe, no doubt.
However I notice that the form 'dwarves' was already in use before Tolkien, albeit very rarely and apparently always in reference to mythical people, not stars or other small objects. So he was using an older, rare form as a deliberate archaism.
Nowadays astronomers tend to use 'dwarfs', but not consistently; science reporters are less reliable. You won't find a single reference to brown, yellow, orange or white dwarves on the Wiki astronomy pages, for example; this is probably due to some pedant with an idée fixe, no doubt.