a

root. intensive prefix

An “intensive” root addition described by Tolkien in The Etymologies from the 1930s (EtyAC/A). It was one of two basic intensive mechanisms, along with the (syllabic) prefixed N- (EtyAC/N). The prefixed vowel a- seems to have been used originally in Primitive Elvish when the base vowel was a, and similarly with E and I (EtyAC/E; Ety/I²); whether this was also true of the vowels o, u is unclear, as Tolkien didn’t mention them. These various vocalic intensifications were frequently accompanied by dynamic lengthening (doubling), with the example given by Tolkien being: ᴹ✶parkā “dry” → ᴹ✶apparkā “very dry, arid” (> N. afarch).

In the case of e- and i-, the examples were dero, dise → ᴹ✶Endero, ᴹ✶Indise “groom, bride”; these examples indicate that other kinds of consonant fortifications were possible, in this case nasalization of stops, which often replaced consonant-doubling for voiced stops in Primitive Elvish.

Specifically in the case of a-, however, it seems it could be used as a general intensive that “was distinct in origin, though similar in function, to the prefixed basic vowel”. Why this was true of a- alone is not clear, but there seems to have been some complex interplay between the vocalic intensives and the intensives derived from syllabic initial ṇ-, with the net result that the intensive prefix in Q. became an-, am-, añ-, depending on the initial consonant.

See the entry on the Quenya comparative for a more detailed discussion of the conceptual development of intensives in Eldarin.

a-

prefix. a-

aññol-

noun. aññol-

anat

root. ANAT

An extended root in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ᴹ√ANA “to, towards”, the apparent basis for the word ᴹQ. anta “face” (EtyAC/ANA¹), probably from the sense “face towards”.

amba-

adverb. amba-

angā

noun. angā

awa

root. away, forth; out

aktō

noun. artificer, maker, wright

ambar

noun. ambar

arān

noun. arān

atyēnar

noun. anniversary day

alakanda

noun. alakanda

alam

root. ALAM

ana

root. ANA

anak

root. ANAK

atat

root. again, back

ad

root. entrance, gate

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “gate, entrance” (Ety/AD) that seems to have replaced ᴱ√BOÐO (QL/75) from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s. Its two main derivatives are ᴹQ. ando and N. annon “(great) gate, door”. These words in turn were transferred in 1959 to the root √ANA “to, towards”, from the original “approach, entrance” (PE17/40). Thus it seems Tolkien abandoned this root, perhaps because he wished to use it instead for √AD(A) “alongside, by the side of”, one of the etymologies Tolkien considered for the Eldarin words for “and” (PE17/71).

aiwē

root. (small) bird

A “root” (more likely just a primitive word) appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basic for the words ᴹQ. aiwe, N. aew “small bird” (Ety/AIWĒ). A precursor ᴱ√aı̯ to this root appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. aiwe, G. aigli “bird” (GL/17). The continued appearance of Q. aiwë (UT/401) and S. aew (S/119) in later writings strongly indicates this primitive form remained valid in Tolkien’s later writings.

ak

root. narrow, confined

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “narrow, confined”, with the derived adjectives ᴹQ. arka and N. agor of similar meaning. It was the basis of the name Aglon meaning “Narrow Pass”, which continued to appear in Silmarillion narratives of the 1950s and 60s (WJ/38, 77). It might also be a factor in the later root √AKAS “neck, ridge” from the 1960s (PE17/92).

alat

root. large, great in size

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “large, great in size” with only two derivatives: the adjective ᴹQ. alta of the same meaning, and ᴹQ. Alataire “Great Sea” (Ety/ÁLAT), the Quenya equivalent (but not direct cognate) of S./N. Belegaer/Belegoer. The Quenya name appears nowhere else other than The Etymologies. There are quite a few words in Tolkien’s later writings that also mean “great, large”, but there is nothing that directly contradicts the continued validity of this root either.

angwa

root. snake

The root √ANGWA “snake” with variant √ANGU appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for the words ᴹQ. ango “snake” (Ety/ANGWA) and angulóke “dragon” (Ety/LOK). The Noldorin equivalent am- seems to have survived only as a prefix (Ety/ANGWA), and is a good example of how [[on|[ŋgw] > [mb]]] in that language. There are a variety of other words for “snake” in Tolkien’s later writings, so whether this root remained valid is unclear.

ar

root. day

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “day” with various derivatives like ᴹQ. are, N. aur “day” and ᴹQ. arin “morning” (Ety/AR¹). In Tolkien’s later writings, the Quenya word for “day” became aurë (RC/727; S/190), and in 1957 Quenya Notes he devised a new etymology for these day-words from the root √UR “heat” as in ✶auri “heat, period of sun” (PE17/148). That opens the question whether the various 1930s Quenya “morning” words from ᴹ√AR remain valid, but many Neo-Quenya writers (including me) retain them since there aren’t really any good alternatives. They might be salvageable as derivatives of the later root √AS “warmth” (so that “day” = “hot” and “morning” = “warm”).

ayak

root. sharp, pointed

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sharp, pointed”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. aika/N. oeg “sharp” and ᴹQ. aiqa “steep” (Ety/AYAK). Similar forms appear in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s such as ᴱQ. aiqa “steep” and ᴱQ. aiko “cliff”, though Tolkien did not produce an explicit early root for these words, marking it instead as “?” (QL/29). The early root might have been ✱ᴱ√AIK(W)-. Early Noldorin forms from the 1920s such as ᴱN. aig “high, steep” and ᴱN. aiglir “peak, mountain top” indicate the root was also adopted in the other branches of the Elvish languages (PE13/158).

The evolution ᴱN. aiglir >> N. oeglir >> S. aeglir “mountain peaks” indicate this root’s continued validity in Tolkien’s later conception of the language, as seen in S. Hithaeglir “Misty Mountains” (Let/180; RC/11; S/54). The element S. aeg “sharp” (<< N. oeg) appears in a variety of other late names such as S. Aeglos “Snow-point” (S/294) and S. Aegnor “Sharp Flame” (MR/323). Tolkien gave an alternate etymology for the last name as a phonetic adaptation of Q. Aicanáro “Fell Fire” (PM/346-347), but that variant was based on a different root √GAYA “awe” > ✶gayakā “fell, terrible” (PM/363), so it did not necessarily invalidate √AYAK “sharp, pointed”.

ab

root. refuse, deny, say no; away, go away, depart

adnō

noun. gate

ailin

noun. pool, lake

akla(r)

root. radiance, splendour

akrā

adjective. narrow

alar-si

interjection. hail!

alkwā

noun. swan

ankā

noun. jaw, row of teeth

ari

noun. day

askarā

adjective. tearing, hastening

asmalindē

noun. yellow bird, ‘yellow hammer’

asmalē

noun. yellow bird, ‘yellow hammer’

at

root. back, again, twice; two

ata

root. father

atar

noun. father

atū

noun. father

ay(ar)

root. sea

abtā-

verb. to away, go away

aikwā

adjective. tall, steep

akkala-

verb. to blaze, shine (suddenly and) brilliantly

alakarƀǝ

adjective. very active

alarʒǝ

adjective. very dread

amtā

noun. jaws, animal’s mouth

amƀus

noun. breast

arʒā

noun/adjective. dread

arʒāndōrē

place name. Dread Land

atalat-

verb. slip right down, collapse, fall to ruin

au

adverb. wish or supposition known to be unreal

añkal-

verb. to blaze

abar

root. *refuser

A “root” in The Etymologies from the 1930s that was an extension of ᴹ√AB “refuse, deny” (Ety/AB). It seems to just be ᴹ√AB(A) with the usual agental suffix -ro added. Its main derivative was Avari, a term that survived into Tolkien’s later writings as the name of the Elves that refused to go to Valinor.

ap

root. ?cook

The root √AP appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for the words ᴹQ. apsa, N. aes “meat, cooked food” (Ety/AP). Tolkien glossed this root as “cook” which he marked with a “?”, then deleted the gloss (EtyAC/AP). Despite this deletion, I’ve seen a few Neo-Elvish writers use this root as the basis for verbs “to cook”, but I personally find this problematic as such forms tend to collide with words like Q. apta- “to refuse” < √BĀ/ABA. I prefer to retain the Early Qenya and Gnomish words ᴱQ. maxa- and G. brath- for “to cook”.

asat

root. *dust

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s meaning “dust”, with derivatives ᴹQ. asto and N. ast of the same meaning (Ety/ÁS-AT).

a-

prefix. complete

abāro

noun. refuser, one who does not go forth

al

prefix. without

ala

root. *blessed

alā́ri

noun. bliss

am

root. mother

am

root. up

anad

root. *long

andā

adjective. long

anga

root. iron

angosse

noun. horror

anta-

verb. to give, present

anār

noun. Sun

ar

root. beside, outside

atakwē

noun. construction, building

atta

root. two

aı̯an-

adjective. holy

ai

adverb. possibility

ala-

prefix. very

ammat-

verb. to devour

amī̆l

noun. mother

andambundā

adjective. long-snouted

andọl

noun. long pole

atta

cardinal. two

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

ala

root. no, not; to be not

ana

root. be, exist

wahtē

noun. a stain

kirya kyulma

a ship’s mast

syandā

noun. a throng, crowd

tekna

noun. a letter

tal

root. appraise, esteem, value

A root Tolkien mentioned in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with a single derivative ᴹQ. tatalla- “admire, wonder at” (PE22/110). There are no signs elsewhere of this root being used with this meaning: typically √TAL = “foot”.

mbakhā

noun. article (for exchange), ware, thing

ranku

noun. arm

syadta

noun. axe-stroke

thar

root. across, beyond

yatta

preposition. across

-ina

suffix. adjective

karƀǝ

adjective. active

mardasē

adverb. at home

yenpanta

adjective. aged, long-lived

-ya

suffix. adjectival suffix

ba

root. away, go away

yat

adverb. away, back there; ago

dab

root. give way, make room, permit, allow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “give way, make room, permit, allow”, with the derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin having mostly to do with permission (Ety/DAB).

gayas

root. fear

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fear” (Ety/GÁYAS). One of its derivatives, N. gaer “dreadful” (< ᴹ✶gaisrā), was given a new etymology in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, where S. gaer “awful, fearful” was derived from ✶gairā (WJ/400). However, it is conceivable that √GAYAS could have survived as an extension of the later root √GAY “astound, make aghast”.

laik

root. keen, sharp, acute

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “keen, sharp, acute” with derivatives like ᴹQ. laika/N. lhaeg of the same meaning; apparently the root was the result of a-fortification of ᴹ√LIK (Ety/LAIK; EtyAC/LAIK). It was thus distinct from ᴹ√LÁYAK “✱green, fresh” (Ety/LÁYAK). The root ᴹ√LAIK was clearly a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√LAIKA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. laika “keen, sharp” (QL/50), but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien gave the primitive form as ᴱ✶leika > both G. (g)leg “keen, sharp, piercing” and ᴱQ. laika (GL/53). Since [[eq|[ei] became [ai]]] in Early Qenya, ᴱ✶leika seems more represenative of the 1910s form of this root.

lak

root. swallow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “swallow” with variant ᴹ√LANK and derivatives ᴹQ. lanko/N. lhanc “throat” (Ety/LAK¹, LANK), the latter an element in N. tarlanc “stiff-necked, obstinate” (Ety/TÁRAG). This last word was changed to S. tarlang in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/92; RC/536), consistent with an earlier but rejected form ᴹ√LANG for ᴹ√LANK in The Etymologies (Ety/LANK).

In later writings, Q. lango/S. lang meant “neck” rather than “throat”, so it is tempting to retain ᴹ√LAK for “throat” and other swallow-words. But it would be very confusing to have such similar but unrelated words for “neck” and “throat”, so I recommend using the root ᴹ√SLUK for “swallow” instead, and Q. lango, S. lang for both “neck” and “throat”.

mbakh

root. exchange

This root was the basis for words having to do with trade. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√VAKA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. vakse “sale” and ᴱQ. vaktele “trade” (QL/99). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. bag- “sell, trade” (GL/21); a similar set of derivatives appeared in Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s (PE13/138). The root appeared as ᴹ√MBAKH “exchange” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. manka-/N. banga- “trade”, N. bachor “pedlar”, and ᴹQ. makar “tradesman” (Ety/MBAKH). An earlier version of this entry instead had ᴹ√MBAƷ, but this was deleted (EtyAC/MBAƷ, MBAKH). The word ᴹQ. makar as well as a deleted variants māka- of ᴹQ. manka- and bagor of N. bachor (EtyAC/MBAKH) imply Tolkien also considered a variant form ᴹ√MBAK.

rauta

root. metal

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s, first glossed “copper” and then “metal”, with derivatives ᴹQ. rauta/N. rhaud “metal” and serving mainly to explain names like N. Angrod and N. Finrod (Ety/RAUTĀ). It might have reappeared in the name S. Rodëol “metal of Eöl” from later Silmarillion drafts (WJ/322), but by 1957 Tolkien was explaining the final element of S. Finrod as S. raud “noble” (PE17/49, 118), so I think it is likely that ᴹ√RAUTA “metal” was abandoned.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d use Q. tinco (LotR/1122) and its cognate [N.] tinc (Ety/TINKŌ) for “metal” words. For “copper” I'd use derivatives of √(U)RUS (VT41/10).

skat

root. break asunder

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed {“break, rend asunder” >>} “break asunder” with derivatives ᴹQ. hat- of similar meaning and ᴹQ. terhat- “break apart” (Ety/SKAT). The latter was seen in early versions of the Lament of Atalante from the 1930s (LR/47, 56) only to eventually be replaced in the 1940s by ᴹQ. askante (SD/310) and then sakkante (SD/246), both of which may still have been related to ᴹ√SKAT.

tyal

root. play

This root first appeared as ᴱ√TYALA “play” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the derivative ᴱQ. tyalie “play, game” (QL/49). Forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. dairtha- “play” < ᴱ✶daı̯al- hint that the actual primitive form might have been ✱ᴱ√DYALA or ✱ᴱ√DAYALA (GL/29). In a table of vowel mutations added as a revision to the Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien instead had forms like ᴱ✶táliı̯èndǝ > G. teilian indicating a primitive initial t- (PE13/116); similar forms appeared in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/165).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave ᴹ√TYAL “play” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tyal-/N. telia- “to play” and ᴹQ. tyalie/N. telien “sport, play, game” (Ety/TYAL). Tolkien continued to use Q. tyalië “mirth” in later writings (PE21/80; PE17/64), but at some point in the 1950s decided that initial palatalized dentals were no longer a feature of Primitive Elvish (PE18/93-94), making the ongoing validity of √TYAL as a CE root doubtful: see the entry on how [[at|[j] was lost after initial dentals]] in the Welsh-like branch of the Elvish languages for further details. For example, in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950, Tolkien indicated √TYAL was a Quenya-only root, an elaboration of √TAL:

> In Quenya initial groups ty, ny, ps, ks appeared as developments of ky, ñy, sp, sk. But being established they were used in new formations. Thus Q tyal- “play” as a variation on tal- (not kal!) (PE18/84).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to ignore Tolkien’s decision to remove initial palatalized dentals from Primitive Elvish in order to retain roots like √TYAL for both Quenya and (Neo) Sindarin.

ʒan

root. male

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “male” and used in this sense for both people and animals (Ety/ƷAN). Its principle derivatives are ᴹQ. hanu/N. anw “male (person or animal)”, so it might more properly be ✱ᴹ√ƷAN+U.

(ñ)gwal

root. (suffer) torment, agony

gais-

verb. to dread

gaisrā

adjective. dreadful

kalaryā

adjective. brilliant

laikā

adjective. keen, sharp, acute

lakra

adjective. swift, rapid

lassekwelēne

noun. leaf-fading

lassē

noun. ear

lauka

adjective. warm

law

root. warm; abound

magā

noun. hand

mapā

noun. hand

mat

root. eat

maʒ

root. hand

mbarat

root. fate

mitra

adjective. small

nakma

noun. jaw

nar

root. flame, fire

nayak

root. pain

nā/ana

root. to, towards

par

root. compose, put together, arrange

rambā

noun. wall

randā

noun. cycle, age (100 Valian Years)

rǭda

noun. cave

syatsela

noun. broadsword-blade, axe-blade

ta

root. that

tawar

noun. wood (material)

tyalyā-

verb. to play

wanwē

noun. death

wath

root. shade

ya

root. there, over there; (of time) back, ago

-asta

suffix. collective plural

danta-

verb. fall

gilya

noun. star

mat-

verb. to eat

vaiā

noun. sea

ṇ̃kwalē

noun. death agony

lank

root. swallow

dag

root. dig

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dig” (Ety/DAG), it may have been a transient replacement for √SAP.

galad

root. tree

The basis for Elvish “tree” words, this root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as an extension of ᴹ√GALA “thrive” (Ety/GALAD). This replaced the earliest derivation of “tree” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where the Qenya word for “tree” ᴱQ. alda was derived from ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29). In The Etymologies, the Quenya form of this word remained the same, but the 1910s Gnomish words G. âl “wood” and †alwen “tree” (GL/19) became the 1930s Noldorin word N. galadh “tree” (Ety/GALA). Quenya and Sindarin retained these words for “tree” thereafter, and while Tolkien did not mention the root √GALAD again, his continued use of primitive ✶galadā “tree” (Let/426; PE17/153; PE21/74; UT/266) made it clear this root remained valid.

karan

root. red

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “red” (Ety/KARÁN), a later iteration of ᴱ√KṚN of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s of the same meaning, but with syllabic ṛ (QL/48). Its main Quenya derivative, Q. carnë, retained the same form throughout Tolkien’s life, but its Gnomish forms G. carn(in) “scarlet” and G. crintha “rosy, pink” (GL/25, 27) became N. caran “red” in the 1930s, and retained that form thereafter.

nan

root. *mother

A (Noldorin only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for a couple Noldorin mother words: N. naneth “mother” and N. nana “mother (hypocoristic)” (Ety/NAN).

ndar

root. sign

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a single derivative: ᴹQ. narwe “sign, token”, along with an unglossed (and probably incomplete) form nar... (EtyAC/NDAR).

sab

root. juice

This root was one of a surprisingly large number of roots Tolkien used for “juice”, appearing as ᴹ√SAB in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. sáva/N. saw “juice” (Ety/SAB). It might be a variant of (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√WASA needed to explain the forms G. gwâs and ᴱQ. vasa “juice” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/44). The primitive form ᴹ✶sāba also appeared in a rough 1940 note with the word N. iofog “fruit drink”, though Tolkien ultimately decided the second element was derived from ᴹ√SUK “drink” (TMME/53).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume this root refers mainly fruit juice and pulp, as opposed to syrup and tree sap which would be derived from ᴹ√PIS.

stal

root. steep

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “steep” with derivatives like Ilk. thall “steep, falling steeply (of river)” and Ilk. thalos “torrent”, the latter used for the river name Ilk. Thalos (Ety/STAL). Tolkien continued to use the name S. Thalos in later versions of The Silmarillion, but the name was translated nowhere else, making its continued connection to the 1930s root uncertain.

tap

root. stop

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “stop” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tampa “stopper” and ᴹQ. tape “he stops, blocks” (Ety/TAP; EtyAC/TAP). The word Q. tapta “impeded” from notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 was probably related (VT39/17), indicating the root’s ongoing validity.

maiga

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1) to illustrate certain patterns of root formation (PE18/66). It may have serving as the basis for ᴹQ. Maia, though this word was given different derivations later.

phan

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/PHAN).

(a)lak

root. swift, rushing

(a)yan

root. *holy

(g)lawar

root. *gold

(l)alam

root. elm-tree

dagdā

noun. pit

dattā

noun. hole, pit

gal

root. shine

gal

root. grow, thrive

galan

root. bright

kab

root. hollow

kal

root. shine

karani

adjective. red

khrassē

noun. precipice

kwa

root. something

la

root. no, not; to be not

las

root. listen

makla

noun. sword

man

root. holy spirit

matna

noun. food

nak

root. bite

ndeuna

adjective. second

nā/ana

root. be, exist

pantā

adjective. open

parkā

adjective. dry

parmā

noun. book

patnā

adjective. wide

smal

root. yellow

smalinā

adjective. yellow

span

root. white

spāna

noun. cloud

tal

root. foot

tata

root. two

yagō

noun. gulf

yakta-

noun. neck

yar

root. blood

yat

root. join

ūbanō

noun. monster

galadā

noun. tree

galā-

verb. to grow

ista-

verb. to know

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

karpa

root. ?

kwetta

noun. word

mbar-

verb. to dwell

metta

noun. end

ndulna

adjective. secret

orta-

verb. to rise

peltakse

noun. pivot

rista-

verb. cut

skelta-

verb. to strip

tainā

adjective. long

tanka

adjective. firm

waiwa

root. blow

ñgolda

adjective. wise

bay

root. [unglossed]

kalat

noun. light

lak

root. swift

waw

root. blow

yan

root. *holy

lubbu

noun. a clumsy piece or lump

risse-

noun. a ravine

tuimā

noun. a sprout, bud

peres

root. affect, disturb, alter

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “affect, disturb, alter” with derivatives like N. presta- “to affect, trouble, disturb” and N. pesso “it affects, concerns” (Ety/PERES; EtyAC/PERES). It had a short form ᴹ√PER (EtyAC/PERES), but in a separate entry in The Etymologies ᴹ√PER was glossed “divide in middle, halve” (Ety/PER) which doesn’t seem to be related.

rim

root. abound; large number

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “abound” with derivatives such as ᴹQ. rimbe/N. rhim “crowd, host” (Ety/RIM). A likely precursor to this root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√‘(A)ṚM(A)R and ᴱ√‘ṚMṚ with a Gnomish form ᴱ√grimri· (QL/32), indicating the actual primitive form was ✱ᴱ√ƷṚMṚ. Derivatives of this early root include ᴱQ. arm- “gather, collect” and G. grim “host, folk”, the last of these the likely precursor to N. rhim.

The root ᴹ√RIM also appeared in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, glossed “host, large number” >> “number, plenty” (PE21/57). Quenya and Sindarin forms Q. rimbë and S. rim continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writing (Let/382; PE17/50; UT/318), so it is likely the root √RIM remained valid, especially given the prevalence of suffix -rim in Sindarin collective names.

pot

root. animal’s foot

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s given as ᴹ√POTŌ “animal’s foot” with derivatives ON. poto > N. pôd of the same meaning (Ety/POTŌ).

(n)der

root. adult male, man; bridegroom

-ndō

suffix. agental suffix

khim

root. adhere, stick, cleave [to]

khotsē

noun. assembly

lō

root. ablative element

wilwā

noun. air, lower air

wis

root. air

-d

suffix. allative

-nā

suffix. adjective

-wē

suffix. abstract suffix

epe

preposition. after

et-kuiwē

noun. awakening

il

root. all

ub

root. abound

ubrā

adjective. abundant

yē

preposition. at

-i

suffix. aorist suffix

der

root. adult male, man

epe ndere

after the man

tul-

verb. come, am coming, have come, am arrived, am here

yan

root. give

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “give” with derivatives ON. yanta- “give” and ᴹQ. Ariante “Day-bringer” (EtyAC/YAN²). Tolkien marked this entry with a “?”, and elsewhere in The Etymologies he derived ᴹQ. anta-/N. anna- “give” from ᴹ√ANA (Ety/ANA¹), so I suspect this root was a transient idea.

kwantā Reconstructed

adjective. full

ben

root. corner (from inside), angle from inside

A (Noldorin only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “corner (from inside), angle from inside” with only one derivative, N. bennas “angle” (Ety/BEN). It might be a latter iteration of ᴱ√VENE “shape, cut out, scoop” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (originally glossed “small boat”) with derivatives like ᴱQ. vene/G. bent “small boat” and ᴱQ. venie/G. benn “shape, cut” (QL/100-101; GL/22).

dyel

root. feel fear and disgust; abhor

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “feel fear and disgust; abhor” with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin (Ety/DYEL). It was an element in the names N. Dor-Daideloth “Land of (the Shadow of) Dread” and N. Deldúwath “Deadly Nightshade” (LR/250, 282), and the continued appearance of these names in later versions of The Silmarillion, still associated with “dread”, indicates this root may have survived in Tolkien’s later ideas of the language.

This root probably replaced ᴱ√DYELE from the Qenya Lexicon whose derivatives had to do with “winter” and “cold” (QL/106). This early root was tied to a similarly early conception of Melkor as a terrible being of heat and cold.

gos

root. dread

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dread” with two variations: ᴹ√GOS and ᴹ√GOTH (Ety/GOS). It was an element in quite a few names in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, such as ᴹQ. Mandos “Dread Imprisoner” (Ety/MBAD), ᴹQ. Osse (Ety/GOS), N. Gothmog (Ety/MBAW), N. Tauros “Forest-Dread” (Ety/TÁWAR), and N. Dor-Daideloth “Land of the Shadow of Dread” (LR/405), the last of these containing N. deloth “abhorrence, detestation, loathing” = ᴹ√DYEL + ᴹ√GOTH (Ety/DYEL).

In Tolkien’s later writings, many of these names were given new forms or etymologies: Q. Mandos “Castle of Custody” = mando + osto (MR/350); Q. Ossë as an adaptation of his Valarin name Oš(o)šai (WJ/400); S. Tauron “Forester” (PM/358). This calls into question whether ᴹ√GOS or ᴹ√GOTH survived as a root. It does have a few useful derivatives for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, however, such as N. gosta- “fear exceedingly”.

khyel(es)

root. glass

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “glass” with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin with the same meaning: ᴹQ. hyelle and N. hele (Ety/KHYEL(ES)). After Tolkien changed Noldorin to Sindarin, he decided that “There was no common Eldarin word for glass”, and that the Sindarin word S. heledh was derived from Khuzdul kheled (PE17/37). Thus the root ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) was abandoned.

mit

root. small

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small” with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning (Ety/MIT).

os

root. round, about

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “round, about”, with various derivatives like N. o “about, concerning” and ᴹQ. osto/N. ost “city, town with wall round” (Ety/OS). Tolkien also considered variant forms ᴹ√OD and ᴹ√OTH, the latter glossed “fort” (EtyAC/OS). This root in The Etymologies is a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√OSO [’OSO] from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. ossa “wall and moat” and ᴱQ. ostar “township” (QL/71). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. ost “enclosure, yard; town” and G. osta- “to surround with walls, build up; fortify, protect” (GL/63). This early root probably meant something like “✱enclosure”.

In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Q. osto and S. ost were instead derived from the root √SOT “shelter, protect, defend”, but this root has no other derivatives.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, ᴹ√OS “round, about” is too useful to discard, and I prefer it over the later root √SOT, though √(O)S-OT might be salvaged as an extension of √OS.

pilin

root. *arrow

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivatives ᴹQ. pilin “arrow”; in The Etymologies as recorded by Christopher Tolkien the root was given as ᴹ√PÍLIM (Ety/PÍLIM), but according to Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne the root might also be read as ᴹ√PÍLIN (EtyAC/PÍLIM). This root is probably a later iteration of the early root ᴱ√PILI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed and with derivatives like ᴱQ. pilin “feather” and ᴱQ. pilna “arrow” (QL/74); it also had derivatives like G. pilon “arrow, dart” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/64). Later “feather” words were based on the root ᴹ√KWES (Ety/KWES; LotR/1122), but ᴹQ. pilin remains the best known Elvish word for “arrow”.

sel(d)

root. child, child; *daughter

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s, initially glossed “daughter” but later “child” with derivatives ᴹQ. selde, ᴹQ. seldo, ᴹQ. selda = female, male and neuter “child” (Ety/SEL-D). In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 Tolkien gave sel-de “daughter” (PE17/170), while S. sel(l) = “daughter” appeared in both the King’s Letter from the late 1940s (SD/129) as well as the Túrin Wrapper from the 1950s (VT50/5). The diminutive form for “daughter” appeared as Q. selyë in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/10).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer √YEL for “daughter” as a variant of ᴹ√SEL(D) under the influence of √YON “son”, mostly so I can still use the 1930s “child” words for other genders, at least in the Quenya branch. I would still use Q. seldë and S. sell for “daughter”, however, with a bit of semantic drift, with “girl” words becoming Q. nettë and S. neth.

yen

root. year

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “year” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yén/N. în “year” (Ety/YEN). Tolkien’s ongoing use of words like Q. yén and S. ínias “annals” indicate its ongoing validity (LotR/377; MR/200), but in Quenya at least the meaning shifted to that of an “Elvish long year”, equal to 144 solar years (LotR/1107; MR/471; NM/84).

ñgyo(n)

root. grandchild, descendant

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “grandchild, descendant” with derivatives in Quenya, Telerin and Old Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/ÑGYŌ); it is clearly an elaboration of ᴹ√YO(N) “son”.

ber

root. valiant

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “valiant”, its most notable derivative is the name S. Beren “Bold”. It had a variety of derivatives having to do with daring, such as ᴹQ. verya-/N. bertha- “to dare” and ᴹQ. verya/N. beren “bold”. The continued appearance of the name Beren in the later versions of The Silmarillion implies the root remained valid, but this name was only translated in The Etymologies of the 1930s, so it could have shifted in meaning.

kwes

root. *feather

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s whose derivatives had mainly to do with feathers, such as ᴹQ. qesse “feather” and N. pesseg “pillow” (Ety/KWES). Tolkien’s continued use of Q. quessë “feather” in his later writings indicates its ongoing validity (LotR/1122). A possible precursor to this root was unglossed ᴱ√PEKE from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s whose derivatives had to do with plumes (QL/73). There is also ᴱ√PILI whose derivatives had to do with arrows and feathers (QL/74), but in later writings ᴹ√PILIN seems to have narrowed in sense specifically to “arrow” (Ety/PÍLIM; EtyAC/PÍLIM).

kyelek

root. swift, agile

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “swift, agile”, with derivatives ᴹQ. tyelka and N. celeg of the same meaning (Ety/KYELEK). The latter was an element in the name N. Celegorn, and in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s Tolkien give his name as Q. Tyelcormo, (North) S. Celegorm “Hasty-riser”, with tyelca “hasty” indicating the continued validity of this root, albeit with a slightly different meaning (PM/353). However, in 1957 Notes on Names (NN), Tolkien gave his Quenya name as Q. Celec-ormë (PE17/112), but the meaning of the initial element isn’t clear, since in these notes it was adapted phonetically into Sindarin rather than translated.

lem

root. stay, stick, adhere, remain, tarry

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “stay, stick, adhere, remain, tarry”, with variants ᴹ√LEB and ᴹ√LEM (Ety/LEM), but some of its derivatives can only plausibly be derived from ᴹ√LEM: ᴹQ. lemya- “to remain, tarry” (EtyAC/LEB). Its most notable derivative was Q. Lembi “Lingerers”, but Tolkien’s seems to have abandoned this word and the root may have been abandoned with it. It nevertheless remains useful for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

lilt

root. dance

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dance” with derivative ᴹQ. lilta- of the same meaning (Ety/LILT). It is a later iteration of ᴱ√LḶTḶ “dance” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with both Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. lilt and G. lalt “dance” (QL/55; GL/52).

phew

root. feel disgust at, abhor

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “feel disgust at, abhor” with derivatives ᴹQ. feuya- and N. fuia- of the same meaning (Ety/PHEW).

sluk

root. swallow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no derivatives (Ety/SLUK).

srō

root. east

A root appearing in a rejected page of roots from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/127), possibly as a variant of √RŌ/ORO that Tolkien introduced to explain S. rhûn “east” after he decided initial r- did not become rh- in Noldorin/Sindarin; see the entry on S. rhûn for discussion.

tinkō

root. metal

The “root” ᴹ√TINKŌ (more likely just a primitive word) appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “metal” and derivatives like ᴹQ. tinko/N. tinc of the same meaning (Ety/TINKŌ). The reappearance of Q. tinco “metal” in The Lord of the Rings appendices (LotR/1122) strongly indicates its ongoing validity.

ᴹ√TINKŌ may have replaced the root ᴱ√SINI “pale blue” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. sink “mineral, gem, metal” and G. sinc “metal” (QL/83; GL/67); these early mineral words were originally attributed to ᴱ√SṆT͡YṆ “twinkle” before they were transferred to ᴱ√SINI, leaving only derivatives like ᴱQ. sintl “crystal” and ᴱQ. sinty- “sparkle” under ᴱ√SṆT͡YṆ (QL/85). However, in notes from the late 1960s Tolkien had primitive ✶sinki as an element ✶sinkitamo, the basis for Q. sintamo “smith” (PE17/108). Likewise there is evidence of the earlier root in Q. sinca “flint” as in Q. sincahonda “flint-hearted” (LotR/979), initially given as ᴹQ. tingahondo in Lord of the Rings drafts (SD/68).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would definitely use ✶tink- = “metal”, but I think it is worth keeping ✶sinki = “✱mineral = any inorganic solid including both stone and metal” as a variant.

bányā

adjective. beautiful

b’rássē

noun. heat

dēr

noun. man

glā

noun. radiance

khoth

root. gather

māʒ

noun. hand

nis

root. woman

nī

noun. woman

reddā

noun. ‘sown’, sown field, acre

tollo

noun. island

yen

root. daughter

yenrinde

noun. year

ʒo

root. from, away, from among, out of

-lī

suffix. partitive

ilpirin

adjective. immortal

khyelesē

noun. glass

kur

root. craft

kuy

root. come to life, awake

kwentā

noun. tale

kwessē

noun. feather

kwet

root. say

morikwende

noun. Dark-elf

morókō

noun. bear

mā

noun. land

ndor

root. dwell, stay, rest, abide

nē

adverb. was; then, ago

nē̆n

noun. water

nī̆s

noun. woman

ortā-

verb. to raise

pheleg

root. cave

philik

root. small bird

tul

root. come, approach, move towards (point of speaker)

tundā

adjective. tall

tyulussē

noun. poplar-tree

wegtē

noun. manhood

yel

root. daughter

yend

noun. daughter

ʒō

preposition. partitive; away from, from among

leb

root. stay, stick, adhere, remain, tarry

lik

root. *keen, sharp, acute

od

root. ?round, about

doʒ

root. night

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “night” that (along with ᴹ√DOM) was the basis for the ᴹQ. lóme/N. dû “night” (Ety/DOƷ). It replaced some rejected variants ᴹ√LOƷ and ᴹ√DAW (EtyAC/LOƷ). Many of the derivatives of ᴹ√DOƷ were later assigned to other roots: N. dûr “dark” became S. dûr “dark” < √NDU “under, down” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152) and ᴹQ. lóna “dark” became Q. lúna (PE17/22). There are no signs of ᴹQ. ló “night” and N. daw “night-time, gloom” in Tolkien’s later writing. Future derivations of Q. lómë/S. dû only mention the root √DOM (PE17/152; PE22/153) and thus ᴹ√DOƷ may have been abandoned.

In a message to the Elfling mailing list from July 2012 (Elfling/362.96), David Salo suggested there might be a later root ✱√DU serving as the basis for Q. lúna “dark” and Q. lúmë “darkness”, though the latter might instead be from √LUM. Such a root ✱√DU is not attested in Tolkien writings, but if it existed, it could be a later iteration of ᴹ√DOƷ. Another possible example of the root ✱√DU is primitive ✶durnŭ “dark of hue”.

gonod

root. stone

The Elvish words for “stone” were established very early as Q. ondo and S. gond. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien gave the root of these words as ᴱ√ONO “hard” with derivatives like ᴱQ. ondo “stone, rock” and ᴱQ. onin “anvil” (QL/70). But its Gnomish derivatives like G. gonn “stone” and G. gontha “pillar” (GL/41) indicate the actual root was ✱ᴱ√ƷONO, since initial ʒ &gt; g in Gnomish.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√GONOD or √GONDO “stone” with essentially the same Elvish forms: ᴹQ. ondo and N. gonn (Ety/GOND). The root itself did not appear in later writings, but Tolkien continued to state, with great frequency, that the primitive form of the word was ✶gondō (Let/410; PE17/28; PE18/106; PE21/81; PM/374; RC/347).

sliw

root. sickly

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sickly”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. laiwa/N. flaew “sickly, sick, ill” and ᴹQ. líve/N. fliw “sickness” (Ety/SLIW). The root was first written as ᴹ√LIW (EtyAC/LIW). It is probably a later iteration of the unglossed root ᴱ√LEẆE from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. leuke “sick, ill; pallid, wan” and ᴱQ. leume “sickness” (QL/53).

stā

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root reference in The Etymologies apparently serving as the basis for the verbal action suffix ᴹ✶-stā “-ing” in ᴹ✶khau̯-stā “rest-ing” (Ety/KHAW; EtyAC/KHAW). See the entry on ✶-stā for further discussion.

nur

root. deep

A root mentioned in The Etymologies as an extension of ᴹ√NU with the gloss “deep” and derivatives ᴹQ. núra and N. nûr of the same meaning (Ety/NU). Possibly related is the later word Q. nurtalë “hiding” as in Q. Nurtalë Valinóreva “Hiding of Valinor” (S/102).

thel(es)

root. sister

Tolkien gave this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√THEL and extended form ᴹ√THELES with the gloss “sister” and derivatives like ᴹQ. seler and N. thêl of the same meaning, both derived from the extended root as made clear by the Noldorin plural thelei < ON. thelehi (Ety/THEL). Hints of the roots continued use appear in the 1959 term Q. meletheldi “love-sisters” for close female friends (NM/20). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien gave Q. nésa and S. nethel as the words for “sister”, both from the root √NETH. Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√THEL(ES) to represent more abstract notions of “sisterhood” for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, for “metaphorical sister”s as opposed to Q. nésa/S. nethel for sisters by blood.

yel

root. friend

A new gloss for the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter”, with a new set of derivatives like ᴹQ. -iel “-friend” and ᴹQ. yelda “friendly” (Ety/YEL), but it was rejected in turn and probably replaced by ᴹ√MEL.

yes

root. desire

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “desire” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yesta- “desire” and N. iest “wish” (Ety/YES; EtyAC/YES).

ed(er)

root. open

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “open” and the forms √ED and extended √EDÉR, but it had no derivatives (EtyAC/ED).

uruk

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/URUK).

us

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/US).

khlip

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected paragraph from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/112 note #78).

skil

root. [unglossed]

A root mentioned in passing in as a variant of ᴹ√KIL “divide” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but it had no derivatives and appeared nowhere else (Ety/KIL).

(n)di

root. in

bel

root. strong

e

root. intensive prefix

geiā

adverb. ever

gālæ

noun. light

gū

root. no, not

gū̆-

interjection. no, not

i

root. intensive prefix

khil

root. follow

kiris

root. cut

kyelep

root. silver

k’lā

noun. light

lin

root. pool

lis

root. honey

lot(h)

root. flower

lugni

adjective. blue

n-

root. intensive

ndīse

noun. bride

ndūne

noun. west

ni

pronoun. I

ol

root. grow

oññol-

noun. strong smell

ruk

root. demon

rāmā

noun. wing

turumā

noun. shield

tārā

adjective. lofty

winyē

noun. evening

wān

noun. goose

yondō

noun. son

yē

root. to be

álākō

noun. rush, rushing flight, wild wind

ñgoroth

root. horror

ñol-

noun. smell

ṇdūnē

noun. sunset

belē

noun. strength

eʒ

root. be

eʒ-

verb. to be

glisi

noun. honey

golā-

verb. to grow

goss

masculine name. Osse

hō

noun. shout

indise

feminine name. bride

ke

pronoun. thou

kelun

noun. river

kiryā

noun. ship

kor

root. round

kuldā

adjective. red

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

kwingā

noun. bow (for shooting)

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

met

root. end

mālō

noun. friend

nem-

verb. to seem

nūrā

adjective. deep

ril

root. glitter

rīgē

noun. crown

slīwē

noun. sickness

solos

noun. surf

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tubnā

adjective. deep

tundu

noun. hole

turumbē

noun. shield

tāl

noun. foot

tār(ō)

noun. king

tū

adjective. strength

wedā

noun. bond

wā

root. blow

yo(n)

root. son

ñgolodō

noun. gnome

ī

article. the

telep

root. silver

lub Reconstructed

root. lump

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

oth

root. fort

stin

root. [unglossed]

-ā

suffix. present suffix

imi

root. in

khe

pronoun. they

nyol

root. ring

sok

root. drink

sug

root. drink

ē

root. to be

ī

root. to be