Quenya 

turu

wood

turu (3) noun "wood" (properly firewood, but used of wood in general) (LT1:270)

turúva

wooden

turúva adj. "wooden" (LT1:270); cf. turu #3.

tavar

wood

tavar (1) noun "wood" (TÁWAR)

tavárëa

wooden

#tavárëa ?adj. "wooden" (tauretavárëa = "forest-wooden"?) (TI:415). If so perhaps a near-synonym of taurina.

töa

noun. wood (as material)

A word for “wood” mentioned in passing in notes on the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (VT39/6), also appearing in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968 with the gloss “wood as material” and derived from the root √TAW “wood” (PE17/115).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien instead had ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” derived from primitive ᴹ✶tawar of the same meaning, from the extended root ᴹ√TÁWAR “wood, forest” (Ety/TÁWAR). In this earlier conception, the awa became ava rather than reducing to oa because the initial a was stressed. Stress alone was probably not enough to preserve ancient áwa in Tolkien’s later conception of the language’s phonetic development.

Cognates

  • S. taw “wood as material” ✧ PE17/115

Derivations

  • √TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√TAW > töa[tawa] > [toa]✧ PE17/115
Quenya [PE17/115; VT39/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

toina

adjective. wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood

A word glossed “wood” appearing in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968 derived from primitive ✶tawĭnā (PE17/115) and hence probably an adjective “✱wooden, (made) of wood” as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/toina).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien instead had ᴹQ. taurina “of wood”, an adjectival form of ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” (Ety/TÁWAR). The word ᴹQ. toina appeared in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1940s, but was unglossed, so whether it meant “✱wooden” is unclear.

Cognates

  • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115

Derivations

  • ✶tawinā “wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • √TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Elements

WordGloss
-ina“adjective suffix; passive participle”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶tawĭnā > toina[tawinā] > [toinā] > [toina]✧ PE17/115

Sindarin 

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Sindarin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

eryn

noun. wood

Sindarin [UT/436, LotR/B] OS *oroni- (?), "trees", plural noun, used as a singular.. Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

Sindarin [Methed-en-Glad UT/452] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

A word for a “wood” in the name Methed-en-Glad “End of the Wood” (UT/153) and possibly also Gladuial “✱Twilight Wood” (WJ/183, 188 note #48). It resembles galadh “tree” and is probably related to it, but it cannot be derived directly from the same root ᴹ√GALAD as that would produce ✱✱gladh. It was either derived from a variant root ✱√GALAT, or was a loan word from Nandorin where the word for “tree” was Nan. galad (MR/182; PE17/50, 60).

Element in

Variations

  • Glad ✧ UT/153

glâd

wood

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid) See FOREST. 2)

tawar

wood

(as material) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

tawar

wood

(i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

tawaren

wooden

tawaren (lenited dawaren; pl. tewerin).

tawaren

wooden

(lenited dawaren; pl. tewerin).

eryn

wood

1) (forest) eryn. No distinct pl. form. 2) glâd (i **lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid**) See FOREST. 2)

eryn

wood

. No distinct pl. form.

thafn

wooden pillar

(post), pl. ?thefn, coll. pl. thavnath

nartha

kindle

(i nartha, in narthar) (VT45:37)

Primitive elvish

turū

noun. Great Lord or King

Derivations

  • √TUR “dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power, dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power; [ᴹ√] victory; [ᴱ√] am strong”

Variations

  • Turū ✧ PE21/83
Primitive elvish [PE21/83] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taw

root. wood

Tolkien used a similar set of words for “forest” starting with the earliest versions of Elvish, but their derivation evolved somewhat over time. The earliest related root was ᴱ√TAVA “beam” with variant ᴱ√TAFA (the latter marked by Tolkien with a “?” and with no obvious derivatives) from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as the basis for words like ᴱQ. taule “great tree”, ᴱQ. tauno “forest” and ᴱQ. tavar “dale-sprite” (QL/90). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tavros/G. taur “forest” and G. tavor “wood fay” (GL/69).

ᴱQ. taure “forest” did not appear as an independent word until drafts of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (PE16/62; MC/213). Thereafter Tolkien mostly stuck with Q. taurë and N./S. taur for “forest”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” (Ety/TÁWAR), though in one place it was ᴹ√TAR (EtyAC/TUR). In notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 Tolkien gave √TAWA “wood”, and in notes on “large & small” roots from 1968 Tolkien had √TAW “wood” (PE17/115).

Derivatives

  • ✶taurē “forest” ✧ PE17/115
    • Q. taurë “forest, (great) wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • S. taur “forest, wood, forest, wood, [N.] great wood, [G.] dense wood” ✧ PE17/115
  • ✶tawinā “wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • Q. toina “wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115
  • Q. tauca “stiff, wooden” ✧ PE17/115
  • Q. taurë “forest, (great) wood” ✧ VT39/07
  • ᴺQ. tauron “forester”
  • Q. táva “great tree” ✧ PE17/115
  • ᴺQ. tavas “woodland”
  • Q. töa “wood (as material)” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. taug “firm, strong, (?withstand)” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. taw “wood as material” ✧ PE17/115

Element in

Variations

  • TAWA ✧ VT39/07
Primitive elvish [PE17/115; PE17/187; VT39/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tawinā

adjective. wood

Derivations

  • √TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Derivatives

  • Q. toina “wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115

Variations

  • tawĭnā ✧ PE17/115
Primitive elvish [PE17/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Noldorin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawaren

adjective. wooden

Noldorin [Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawaren

adjective. wooden

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. taurina “of wood” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
Noldorin [Ety/TÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Middle Primitive Elvish

narta

root. kindle

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “kindle”, with derivatives ᴹQ. narta- and N. nartha- of the same meaning (EtyAC/NARTA). There is a mark above the final A that might be a partially formed macron (NARTĀ), so this “root” may just be an ordinary causative verb “✱make fire” = ᴹ√NAR + ᴹ✶-tā. The root was originally glossed “spear point, gore, triangle” with a derivative [N.] Narthas “gore”, a name that appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts but was eventually replaced by N./S. Naith “angle” (TI/244 note #50).

Changes

  • NARTA → NARTA “spear point, gore, triangle” ✧ EtyAC/NARTA

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire”

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. narta- “to kindle, to kindle, *ignite, inflame, set fire to” ✧ EtyAC/NARTA
  • N. Narthas “The Gore” ✧ EtyAC/NARTA
  • N. nartha- “to kindle, to kindle, *ignite, inflame, set fire to” ✧ EtyAC/NARTA
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/NARTA] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

duruin

adjective. wooden

durog

adjective. wooden

A word in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s for “wooden”, an adjectival form of G. duru “wood”, with a variant form duruin (GL/31).

Cognates

  • Eq. turúva “wooden” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë

Variations

  • duruin ✧ GL/31
Gnomish [GL/31; LT1A/Turuhalmë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

dron

noun. wood

The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. drui or drû “wood, forest”; Tolkien specified it was not used of wood a material (GL/31). This Gnomish word may be related to the root ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle”; see that entry for details. In Early Noldorin Word-lists it appeared as ᴱN. dron “wood” (PE13/142).

Derivations

Early Noldorin [PE13/142] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

turu

root. am strong

Derivatives

  • G. Tuor ✧ LT1A/Tuor
  • Eq. tur “king” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi; QL/095
  • Eq. turu- “can, to be able” ✧ QL/095
  • Eq. turka “strong”
  • Eq. túre “might, strength, power” ✧ QL/095
  • Eq. turqima “haughty” ✧ QL/095
  • Eq. turwa “powerful” ✧ QL/095
  • G. drum “stout, firm, strong”
  • G. taur “ability, power”
  • G. tûr “king” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi
  • G. trug “easy to handle; convenient, tractable, docile” ✧ GL/71
  • G. turinthi “princess” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi
  • G. turm “authority, rule; strength” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi
  • G. tur- “can, to have power to” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi
  • G. turwin “queen” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi

Element in

  • Eq. Turambar “Conqueror of Fate” ✧ LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi; LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi; QL/095
  • Eq. Turondo ✧ LT1A/Tuor
  • Eq. Valatúru “Lord of the Valar”
  • G. Turgon ✧ LT1A/Tuor

Variations

  • turu· ✧ GL/71 (turu·)
Early Primitive Elvish [GL/71; LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi; LT1A/Tuor; LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/095] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tuřu

root. TUŘU

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

tuðu

root. kindle

The root ᴱ√TUŘU “kindle” [TUÐU] appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant forms ᴱ√TUSO and ᴱ√TUSU as well as derivatives like ᴱQ. tunda- “kindle”, ᴱQ. turu “wood, properly firewood”, and ᴱQ. tusturin “match” (QL/96). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon had a similar primitive form tudh- with derivatives like G. tund “log for the fire”, G. tusta- “inflame, kindle, set light to, burn”, and G. tuthli “match” (GL/72). However, the Gnomish Lexicon also had words like G. drui “wood, forest” and G. duru “wood; a pole, beam, or log” (GL/31). Since initial d- > t- in Early Qenya, it seems likely that ᴱ√TUŘU “kindle” may also represent a blending with an unattested root ✱ᴱ√DURU “wood”.

Many years later Tolkien gave a hypothetical root √TUD in contrasted to √TUL to illustrate certain principles of etymological variations (VT48/25). It is not clear whether this √TUD is related to earlier ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle”. Nevertheless, I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√TUD “firewood, kindling” to salvage Early Qenya and Gnomish words of similar meaning.

Derivatives

  • Eq. tunda- “to kindle” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096
  • Eq. tundo “firewood, fuel” ✧ QL/096
  • Eq. turu “wood (as material), (orig.) firewood” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096
  • Eq. turya- “to catch fire” ✧ QL/096
  • Eq. tusture “tinder, chips, firewood” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096
  • En. dron “wood”
  • G. drui “wood, forest”
  • G. duru “wood; pole, beam, log” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë
  • G. tuth “tinder” ✧ GL/72
  • G. tund “log for the fire” ✧ GL/72
  • G. tusta- “to inflame, kindle, set light to, burn (tr.)” ✧ GL/72
  • G. tusc “inflammable; touchy, irritable; explosive” ✧ GL/72

Element in

  • Eq. tustima “inflammable” ✧ QL/096

Variations

  • tudh- ✧ GL/72
  • TURU ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë
  • TUSO ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096
  • TUŘU ✧ QL/096
  • TUSU ✧ QL/096
  • TUR̂U ✧ QL/096
Early Primitive Elvish [GL/72; LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

turu

noun. wood (as material), (orig.) firewood

A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as ᴱQ. turu and described as “properly = firewood — but used of wood in general as a material”, a derivative from the root ᴱ√TUŘU [TUÐU] (QL/96). It also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa with the gloss “wood (material)” (PME/96) and appeared again as turu “wood” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/139). It appeared once more many years later as an element in the name Turuphanto “Wooden-whale” (UT/191), and so may remain viable in Tolkien’s later conception of the language.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think it is preferable to use the word Q. töa for “wood (material)”.

Cognates

  • G. duru “wood; pole, beam, log” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë

Derivations

  • ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096

Element in

  • Eq. Turuhalme “Logdrawing” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë
  • Q. Turuphanto “Wooden-whale”
  • Eq. turúva “wooden” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë; QL/096
  • Eq. turuvoite “rich in timber” ✧ QL/096

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√TUŘU > turu[tuðū] > [tuðu] > [tuzu] > [turu]✧ QL/096

Variations

  • turu- ✧ PE16/139 (turu-)
Early Quenya [LT1A/Turuhalmë; PE16/139; PME/096; QL/095; QL/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

turuksa

adjective. wooden

turúva

adjective. wooden

An adjective for “wooden” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the root ᴱ√TUŘU [TUÐU], also with a variant form turuksa (QL/96). It also appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/139).

Cognates

  • G. durog “wooden” ✧ LT1A/Turuhalmë

Variations

  • turūva ✧ QL/096; QL/096
  • turuksa ✧ QL/096
Early Quenya [LT1A/Turuhalmë; PE16/139; QL/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aldare

noun. wood

A word glossed “wood” in the margins of Tolkien’s notes on The Creatures of the Earth from the 1910s, clearly an elaboration ᴱQ. alda “tree” as suggested by Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson (PE14/7).

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ALA “spread‽”

Elements

WordGloss
alda“tree, branch”
-re“noun suffix”
Early Quenya [PE14/007] Group: Eldamo. Published by