tir

root. watch (over), look at, observe, gaze at, watch (over), look at, observe, gaze at; [ᴹ√] guard

Tolkien used the root √TIR for Elvish words for watching and looking throughout his life. The earliest manifestation of this root was in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√TIRI “guard” (the gloss appeared under the entry for ᴱ√TIŘI) with derivatives like ᴱQ. tiri- “watch; keep, guard, preserve; look at, gaze at, observe” and ᴱQ. tirne “steadfast regard, stare” (QL/93). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tir- “look for, look out for, watch for, await, expect” and G. tirin “watch-tower, turret, tower” (GL/71). The Etymologies of the 1930s has ᴹ√TIR “watch, guard” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tir-/N. tir- “watch”, ᴹQ. tirion “watch-tower, tower” and N. tirith “watch, guard” (Ety/TIR). The root √TIR was mentioned regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “watch, observe” (PE17/187), “to look at (towards), watch, watch over” (RGEO/65) or “look at (turn eyes to, keep eyes on, watch)” (PE22/155).

Derivatives

• ✶palantīrā̆ ✧ Let/427
  • Q. palantír “far-gazer, far-seer, (lit.) that which looks far away” ✧ Let/427
• √STIR “face”
  • ✶stīrē “face”
  • Q. -stir “face”
  • S. thîr “face, face, [N.] look, expression, countenance” ✧ VT41/10
  • Q. estirnë “brow”
  • ᴺS. thir- “to seem, appear, look”
• ✶tirlā “looking”
• Q. tir- “to watch (over), guard, heed; to look (at), gaze, observe, to watch (over), guard, heed; to look (at), gaze, observe; [ᴱQ.] to keep, preserve” ✧ PE22/155; SA/tir
• Q. tírima “able to be watched, observable” ✧ PE22/155
• ᴺQ. tiris “watch, vigil, ward”
• Q. tirítë “watchful, vigilant” ✧ PE22/155
• S. tir- “to look (towards), watch (over), guard, to look (towards), watch (over), guard; [G.] to look (out) for, watch for, await, expect” ✧ Let/427

Element in

• Q. Palantir “Far-sighted” ✧ SA/tir
• Q. palantír “far-gazer, far-seer, (lit.) that which looks far away” ✧ RGEO/65; SA/tir
• Q. Tirion “Great Watch-tower” ✧ SA/tir
• Q. tirion “watch-tower, watch-tower, tower, [ᴱQ.] (great or mighty) tower; city on a hill” ✧ RGEO/65
• ᴺQ. tirma “spyglass”
• ᴺQ. tirmë “steadfast regard, stare, *gaze”
• Q. tirmo “watcher”
• S. Minas Tirith “Tower of Guard, Tower of Watch” ✧ SA/tir
• S. tir- “to look (towards), watch (over), guard, to look (towards), watch (over), guard; [G.] to look (out) for, watch for, await, expect” ✧ RGEO/65
• S. tiria- “to watch, gaze; to ward, guard” ✧ RGEO/65
• S. tirith “watching, guarding, watch, ward, guard” ✧ SA/sîr; VT42/11

Variations

• tir ✧ SA/sîr; SA/tir
• tir- ✧ VT42/11