Primitive elvish

suffix. dual ending for pairs

Primitive elvish [Let/427] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ubā

suffix. -ubā

Primitive elvish [PE22/131; PE22/132; PE22/167] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-kwā

suffix. -ful

Primitive elvish [WJ/392] Group: Eldamo. Published by

we

root. dual

A primitive “dual” element mentioned in notes on numbers from the late 1960s, contributing to the forms of primitive ✶enekwe “six” and ✶yun(e)kwe “twelve” in the Quenya branch of Elvish, as well as the ancient 1st person inclusive pronoun ✶ñwe (VT48/10). It was probably related to the ancient dual suffix ✶ (Let/427). It was also likely a later iteration the dual root ᴱ√WI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s which was likewise connected to dual U (QL/33). This early root was mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as ᴱ✶u̯i (GL/45).

Primitive elvish [VT48/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rus

root. brownish red

The root ᴹ√RUS “flash, glitter of metal” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. russe “corruscation, †sword-blade” and N. †rhoss “polished metal” where it served as the basis for the second element of the name Maidhros “Pale-glitter” or (Anglicanized) Maidros (Ety/RUS; MAD). In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, the second element of the names S. Maedros and S. Amros were explained as S. ross < ✶russā referring to their red-brown hair (PM/353, 366; VT41/10). A related etymological note stated:

> Common Eldarin (u)rus [was] used of a varying brownish red from what we should call brick-red to auburn. Hence Quenya, Telerin urus (stem urust-), Sindarin rust “copper”, rustui adj.; Quenya {ruska “red-brown”} rusko “a fox” (rusku-, pl. rusqui; ruskuite “foxy”). (calarus(t)- polished copper, lairus(t) verdigris). russe a head or pelt of red hair, russa red-haired. S. rusc fox, ross ([primitive] russā) red-haired, copper coloured, especially used of animals, as fox, red deer, and [?similar kind] (VT41/10).

This use of √(U)RUS as brownish-red is not entirely without precedent: in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the “root” (more likely just a primitive form) ᴹ√RUSKĀ with derivative N. rhosc “brown” (Ety/RUSKĀ), the basis for the name N. Rhosgobel “Brownhay” from Lord of the Ring drafts from the 1940s (TI/164), later translated as “russet village or ‘town’ (enclosure)” (RC/241). However in notes also associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor, Tolkien gave the root √URUN = “copper” apparently as an extension of √RUN “red, glowing”, part of an explanation of the sobriquet of Nerdanel’s father: Q. Urundil “Copper-lover” (PM/366).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume 1930s ᴹ√RUS “flash, glitter of metal” was discarded in favor of 1968 √RUS “brownish red”. I’d also use √RUS as the basis for copper words rather than √URUN.

Primitive elvish [VT41/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ruth

root. anger, rage, wrath

This root appeared in two different documents: first in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 as (U)RUÞ “anger, rage, wrath” (PE17/188), and again in notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD) from 1964 as RUTH “rage” (PE17/183). In the former it had derivatives like Q. rúsë “anger”/S. rûth “rage” and Q. ursa “rage”/S. oroth “rage, anger”, with the latter document only mentioning the Sindarin forms with glosses “wrath” and “rage” respectively.

It’s conceivable this late root is a reemergence of a (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√(G)RUYU that would explain words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s such as G. grui “ferocity, horror”, G. gru(i)m “fierce”, and G. gruith “deed of horror, angry or violent act, vengeance” (GL/42), but it is hard to be sure.

Primitive elvish [PE17/145; PE17/183; PE17/188] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-wā

suffix. possessive, adjectival

Primitive elvish [PE17/059; WJ/407] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ū̆lā

suffix. likelihood or aptitude

Primitive elvish [PE22/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(u)ruth

root. (U)RUTH

-iel

suffix. feminine suffix

Primitive elvish [MR/388; NM/349; NM/353; PE17/190] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-t

suffix. dual ending

Primitive elvish [VT49/50] Group: Eldamo. Published by

suffix. adjectival

Primitive elvish [PE21/82; WJ/382] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bani

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [PE17/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

preposition. from

Primitive elvish [VT47/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

imi

root. in

lugni

adjective. blue

Primitive elvish [PE21/81] Group: Eldamo. Published by

luini

adjective. blue

Primitive elvish [PE17/136; PE17/161; VT48/24; VT48/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

luy

root. blue

The Elvish words for “blue” remained very similar throughout Tolkien’s life, but underwent a number of minor conceptual shifts. The word ᴱQ. lūne “blue, deep blue” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s in a collection of words along with ᴱQ. lūle “blue stone, sapphire”, but no root was given (QL/55). The word for “blue” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was G. luim (GL/55). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root for “blue” was ᴹ√LUG with derivatives ᴹQ. lúne and N. lhûn (Ety/LUG²).

Meanwhile, the root ᴹ√LUY appeared in The Etymologies with derivatives ᴹQ. luina and Dor. luin “pale” (EtyAC/LUY), probably connected to ᴱN. Draugluin “Werewolf Pale” from the Lays of Beleriand of the 1920s (LB/205). But in The Etymologies the root ᴹ√LUY was rejected, and Dor. luin “pale” was reassigned to ᴹ√LUG² and then revised in form to Dor. lūn (Ety/LUG²; EtyAC/LUG²).

In addition, there was already evidence of a conceptual shift in the Noldorin words for blue in the 1930s, with the name N. Eredluin “Blue Mountains” being given as an alternative to N. Lhúnorodrim and N. Lhúndirien “Blue Towers” (Ety/LUG²), the latter appearing as N. Luindirien in contemporaneous Silmarillion narratives (LR/267). By the 1950s and 60s, the Sindarin and Quenya words for “blue” had firmly become S. luin (Let/448; S/54; UT/390) and Q. luinë (LotR/377; PE17/66, 71). The root √LUY “blue” appeared in notes from the late 1960s serving as the new basis for these “blue” words (VT48/23-24, 26).

All this made a mess for the river name S. Lhûn (LotR/1134) from The Lord of the Rings which was a remnant of Tolkien’s earlier ideas, and he struggled to find a new basis for that name as discussed by Patrick Wynne in his article on The Problem of Lhûn (VT48/26-29).

Primitive elvish [VT48/23; VT48/24; VT48/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sinkitamo

noun. smith

Primitive elvish [PE17/108] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wanyā

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [WJ/380; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ăwă

preposition. from

Primitive elvish [PE17/148] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ʒō

preposition. from

Primitive elvish [PE21/78] Group: Eldamo. Published by