ā̆

preposition. as for, as regards, with reference to

ā

particle. imperative

ab(a)sene-

verb. ab(a)sene-

antā-

verb. to give, cause a thing/person to go to an object, send, to give, cause a thing/person to go to an object, send, [ᴹ✶] present

ap-pata

verb. to walk behind on a track or path

aw(a)delo

noun. aw(a)delo

aw’tha

noun. a dim shape, spectral or vague apparition

ama

root. addition, increase, plus

In a 1967 note on comparison, Tolkien said:

> But there existed a “base” that was intrinsically “comparative”, √AMA. This signified addition, increase, plus (PE17/91).

Very likely this was a variant or extended meaning for the root √AM “up”, perhaps with the basic sense “more”, as in the derived words Q. ambë (adverb) and amba (adjective) of that meaning (PE17/91). Tolkien seems to have introduced this additional meaning to the root √AM as part of a new etymology for the Q. intensive prefix an-. With this new derivation, the intensive prefix became am(a)-. See the entry on the Q. comparative for a discussion of the conceptual development of this intensive/comparative prefix.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is preferable to retain the older derivation of the intensive prefix an-, especially for compatibility with possible Sindarin intensives like S. anfaug “gasping” and S. einior “elder” (though the latter could be derived from ✱amyāra). Intensive an- also helps avoid confusion with the prefix am- “up”. But I would retain some of the very useful derivatives of the root √AMA, notably Q. ambe/amba “more” given above, perhaps with new etymologies from ✱an-bē and ✱an-bā.

ad(a)

preposition. and, alongside

aktō

noun. artificer, artificer, [ᴹ✶] maker, wright

ala-ā-mene

noun. ala-ā-mene

amtā

noun. amtā

anak

adverb. against, opposite

arthā

?. arthā

as(a)

preposition. and

at-kwet

verb. answer

au-

prefix. away

awa-

prefix. away

awā

adverb. away

awā-da

adverb. awā-da

awādelo

noun. awādelo

aba

root. ABA

ana

root. ANA

ara

root. ARA

atha

root. ATHA

atta

root. ATTA

ar

root. beyond, further than; outside; beside, alongside, beyond, further than; outside; beside, alongside; [ᴱ√] spread, extend sideways

The root √AR has a long and complex history in Tolkien’s writing. For many years, it was the basis for the word ar “and”. Its earliest precursor was the root ᴱ√ARA or ᴱ√ƷARA in the Qenya Lexicon variously glossed “spread, extend sideways” or “wide places” (QL/32). The Gnomish derivatives of this root such G. garw “sown field” (GL/38) vs. ᴱQ. arwa made it clear the true primitive form was √ƷARA (in Gnomish, ʒ- > g-). Some of the early derivatives of √ƷARA such as G. gar(th), ᴱQ. arda “place” were later transferred to the root ᴹ√GAR so they could retain this gar-/ar- distinction.

Of the derivations that remained under √AR, the most notable were ᴱQ. are “beside, along” and the conjunction ᴱQ. ar(a) “but” (QL/32). The latter changed in meaning to ar “and” by the end of the 1920s, for example in the Oilima Markirya poem. This carried into the 1930s paradigm for the root ᴹ√AR, as seen by its entry in The Etymologies with its derivatives ᴹQ. ara “outside, beside” (the basic sense of the root) and ᴹQ. ar “and” (Ety/AR²). The most common Noldorin word for “and” in this period was likewise ar (TAI/150; SD/128-129), and in prefixal form ar- “outside, beside” sometimes developed a privative sense “without”, most notably in arnediad (†arnoediad) “without reckoning, numberless” as in N. Nirnaith Arnediad “(Battle of) Unnumbered Tears” (Ety/AR², NOT) which in Sindarin became Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

In some etymological notes from the 1950s Tolkien retained the root form ara “alongside” (VT43/33), but there were already cracks forming in this system, forced by Tolkien’s decision that the Sindarin word for “and” was a rather than ar, a change that first appeared Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (TI/182). By the late 1950s Tolkien was experimenting with new roots √AD(A) and √AS for the meaning “beside” and the derivation of Q. ar, S. a “and”; see those entries for later developments in this semantic space of “beside”.

As for the root √AR itself, it shifted in meaning to “beyond, further than” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, becoming the basis for “royal” roots like √ARAN “king” or √ARAT “noble” (PE17/147). In this revised meaning, it might still be able to retain a “privative” sense in Sindarin words like †arnoediad “unnumbered” (perhaps = “✱beyond numbering”), though it is also possible Tolkien simply never revisited the etymology of this Sindarin word.

as

root. warmth

A root appearing in several sets of etymological notes from 1957 glossed “warmth” and forming the basis for Q. árë “sunlight, warmth” (PE17/148). This is further supported by the archaic form †ázë for this word (LotR/1123), with intervocalic [s] > [z] > [r] as usual. The form Âs was also mentioned as an ancient name for the Sun in some Silmarillion notes (MR/380). At one point Tolkien connected this root to S. Asfaloth which he translated as “Sunlit Foam” (PE17/18); he then rejected this derivation saying the root form was actually √GAS, but since the ancient form was given as √AS in several other places, perhaps he changed his mind.

al(a)

root. good (physically), blessed, fortunate, prosperous, health(y)

A root variously meaning “blessed, fortunate, prosperous” (PE17/146) and in some circumstances “healthy” and “good (physically)” (PE17/149, 172) or just simply “good” (PE17/146, 150, 153, 158). It was first mentioned in The Etymologies of the 1930s in association with the root ᴹ√ALAM “elm” to which it might be related “since the elm was held blessed and beloved by the Eldar” (Ety/ÁLAM). In Quenya at least its sense was influenced by √GAL “grow, be healthy, flourish” (PE17/146, 153). At one point Tolkien said “this stem was less used in Sindarin, but occurs in a few old forms”, notably S. elia- “to cause to prosper, bless” and S. alw [alu] “wholesome (PE17/146).

The existence of this root is one of reasons that Tolkien decided to abandon la-negation around 1959, saying “AL, LA have too much to do”. Tolkien’s vacillations on the nature of la-negation might therefore have pushed this root in and out of favor, but it is difficult to tell for certain.

anad

root. long; far

Tolkien used a variety of roots as the basis for the meaning “long” throughout his life. Its best known forms are the adjectives Q. anda, S. and “long”. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien first used the root ᴱ√ṆÐṆ “stretch” as the basis for the ᴱQ. adjective ande(a) “long” (QL/31), but its Gnomish cognate took the very different form G. in(d)ra (GL/51). By The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, Tolkien had revised this root to ᴹ√ANAD with Quenya and Noldorin derivatives basically as given above: ᴹQ. anda, N. ann (Ety/ÁNAD).

There is a later mention of the root √ANAD in a 1959 note, but in that note Tolkien considered transferring the sense “long” to a new root √ƷAN as a variant of √YAN, so that he could use √ANAD < √ANA- as the basis for words meaning “gate” (PE17/40). This new use of √ANAD would be a replacement for the 1930s root ᴹ√AD “gate” (Ety/AD). In another set of 1959 etymological notes, Tolkien did indeed give primitive forms ✶ʒandā “long” vs. yanā/yandā “wide” as derivatives of √ƷAN and √YAN respectively (PE17/155).

Later still, in 1967 notes on comparison, Tolkien gave a new root √NDA as the basis for and(a) “long”, though he said “S †ann- [long] only preserved in certain compounds, owing to competition with ann (< annā) gift, and ann(on) gate, of different origin” (PE17/90). Thus it seems Tolkien had abandoned √ƷAN > ✶ʒandā > Q./S. and(a), and in notes from 1968 Tolkien glossed √ƷAN as “adorn”, and at this later stage √ƷAN was probably connected to or a variant of the 1970 root √HAN “add to, increase, enhance, honour (espec. by gift)” (VT47/26-27).

The ultimate fate of 1967 √NDA “long” is itself unclear. In the notes where it appeared, Tolkien was also considering it as the basis for the intensive prefix Q. an-. But Tolkien abandoned this idea and decide the intensive prefix was actually am- derived from √AMA “addition, increase, plus” (PE17/91). However, this change in the intensive does not necessarily invalidate the use of √(A)NDA for “long”, and that is the last word we have in the published corpus on this topic.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, it’s probably best to assume the meaning “long” came from √ANAD or √ANDA or some similar root, much like it did in the 1930s.

at

root. two, double, bi-, di-; back, re-; across, over, lying from side to side, two, double, bi-, di-; back, re-, [ᴹ√] again, twice; [ᴱ√] dual; [√] across, over, lying from side to side

As the main root for “two”, √AT dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱ√ATA appeared with the gloss “dual” (QL/33). At this very early stage, its derivatives had mainly to do with pairs such as ᴱQ. aqi “a brace, a couple of, both” and at- “bi-, twi-”, whereas the earliest Quenya word for “two” was ᴱQ. yúyo (PE14/49). Later on, Q. yúyo became “both” whereas “two” became Q. atta.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s this root appeared as ᴹ√AT(AT) (Ety/AT(AT)) with variants ᴹ√ATTA which became the basis for Quenya atta “two” (Ety/ATTA) and ᴹ√TATA which became the basis for Noldorin tâd “two” (Ety/TATA); these numerals retained this form thereafter into the Quenya and Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s (VT42/24-26). In the 1930s, the ᴹ√TATA variant took on the sense “double” in Quenya, and the ᴹ√ATTA variant took on the sense “across” in Noldorin. The base root ᴹ√AT had the sense “again, back”, as seen in both Quenya and Noldorin prefixes ᴹQ. at(a)-, N. ad- “back, again, re-” (Ety/AT(AT)).

This root continued to appear in the 1950s and 1960s, retaining its various meanings of “two” (VT42/27), “back, again” (PE17/148) and “across” (VT43/33). Tolkien explored the origin and development of this root at some length in his essays on Elvish numerals from the late 1960s, connecting it to √AT(AR) “father” via various Elvish finger names (VT48/19).

at(ar)

root. father

As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).

aw

root. possess, own, keep (have in hand, use or with one)

A root appearing in some late notes on verbs from around 1969, with the sense “possess, own, keep” (PE22/151). It seems to be a restoration of a much earlier root from the 1910s, which appeared as ᴱ√AW̯A in the Qenya Lexicon with derivatives having to do with wealth, such as ᴱQ. ausie “wealth” and ᴱQ. aute “rich” (QL/33), as well as Gnomish and Early Noldorin cognates G. avos “wealth” (GL/20) and ᴱN. awes “rich” (PE13/137). This root is a good example of how certain linguistic ideas could lay dormant for many years in Tolkien’s writing, only to reemerge much later. This makes it difficult to say for certain whether Tolkien really abandoned a particular idea.

aya(n)

root. blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere

The root √AYA and its extended form √AYAN were associated with “holy” and “blessed” things all the way back in Tolkien’s earliest conception of the languages. It appeared as ᴱ√AY̯A “honour, revere” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. Ainu/Aini “god/goddess” and adjectives ᴱQ. aina or ᴱQ. aira “holy” (QL/34). Gnomish equivalents appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. ain “god” and adjectives aistog “holy” or †air(in) (GL/18).

The Etymologies of the 1930s gave this root as ᴹ√AYAN with very similar derivatives ᴹQ. Ainu, Aini and aina (Ety/AYAN), except Ainu/Aini was translated “holy one, angelic spirit (m./f.)” reflecting Tolkien’s evolving conception of his legendarium. In this period there was an unaugmented variant ᴹ√YAN with the derivatives ᴹQ. yána/N. iaun “holy place” (Ety/YAN). It is not clear whether the short form √AYA was valid in this period; there is nothing like aira “holy”, for example.

The root √AYA and √AYA-N reappeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, variously glossed “blessed” or “treat with awe/reverence” (PE17/147, 149). The (re)appearance of Q. airë “holy, holiness”, Q. aira “holy”, and S. aer “holy” in later writing beside Ainu/Aini further supports the reintroduction of the short form of this root. However, in the 1968 Shibboleth of Fëanor, Tolkien said the root for aira and aire was √GAY, gaining the sense “holy” due to the influence of Valarin ayanūz from which Ainu was derived (PM/363). In this scenario, √AYA would only have the sense “holy” in the Quenya language branch, and Sindarin words like aer (if they exist) would be loans from Quenya.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to assume √AYA is a Common Eldarin root, perhaps a very early loan from Valarin, to allow the existence of (Neo) Sindarin words based on that root. The continued use of the root √AYA in Tolkien’s later writing might also justify the restoration of a number of religious words derived from the early root ᴱ√AYA in the 1910s.

abar(o)

noun. refuser, recusant, one who refuses to act as advised or commanded

abta-

verb. refuse, deny, say no

ad(a)

root. by (the side of), beside, alongside; against, opposed to, opposite

aikwā

adjective. steep, tall

airē

noun. holiness, sanctity

airō

noun. ocean

akkal-

verb. to blaze, shine (suddenly and) brilliantly

akla-

verb. to shine out, flash

aklar(a)

noun. radiance, brilliance, glory

aklāra

adjective. brilliant, glorious

akwā

adverb. fully, completely, altogether, wholly

alkwā

noun. swan

ambar(a)

noun. the settlement, establishment, the world

ammat-

verb. to devour, eat up

amtā-

verb. to enlarge, increase

and(ă)

adverb/conjunction. moreover, to go on further, to say more

andā

adjective. long, far

ankā

noun. jaws, (animal’s) mouth, jaws, (animal’s) mouth, [ᴹ✶] row of teeth

ap’lata

noun. prohibition, refusal

ara

preposition and adverb. beyond, further than

aras(sō)

noun. hart

arn(a)-

prefix. noble, royal

artaurē

noun. Realm

as’tāră

noun. faith, loyalty

at

prefix. once again

atar

noun. father

atata

root. two, two; [ᴹ√] again, back

athmō

noun. good companion

auri

noun. heat, period of sun

ay(ar)

root. sea

ayanā

verb. to hallow, bless, treat as holy

aþayā

noun. beneficial‽

aþra-

verb. to cross (to and fro)

aumata-

verb. to eat away, corrode

ak(a)lar

noun. *radiance

aklata-

verb. *to shine out, flash

ala

root. no, not; negative; not to be

aman

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil

aumata-

verb. eats away, corrodes

añkal-

verb. to blaze

alak

root. rushing, rushing, [ᴹ√] swift

A root whose most notable derivatives are Q. alqua, S. alph “swan”. The earliest iteration of this root was ᴱ√ḶKḶ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/30); the other derivatives of this root from this period have to do with “appearance” such as ᴱQ. ilk- “to seem” (QL/42). By The Etymologies of the 1930s this root took on its later form, ᴹ√ALAK and had the gloss “rushing” with other derivatives like ᴹQ. alako “rush, rushing flight, wild wind”, N. alag “rushing, impetuous” and N. alagos “storm (of wind)” (Ety/ÁLAK). It was also an element in the name of S./N. Ancalagon “Biting Storm”. Given the continued appearance of this name of The Silmarillion (S/252), the 1930s meaning of this root may have survived, but it is hard to be certain since the name was only properly translated in the 1930s.

The 1930s root also had an unaugmented variant ᴹ√LAK with derivatives ᴹQ. (a)larka, N. lhagr “swift, rapid” (Ety/LAK²). Whether this unaugmented variant remained valid is unclear, but there is nothing in Tolkien’s later writing contradicting it either.

ak

root. hostile return

A “Sindarin only” root in etymological notes from around 1959-60, whose primary purpose seems to be the derivation of Sindarin words for “vengeance” (PE17/167) as in the phrase tôl acharn “vengeance comes” from contemporaneous Silmarillion narratives (WJ/254), though this phrase didn’t make it into the published Silmarillion. Tolkien explained this root as a blending of prefixal √AT “re- (a second time)” and √OKO “evil”, also seen in the word Q. olca. √AK replaced an earlier derivation of Sindarin vengeance-words directly from the root √AT (PE17/166), which Tolkien may have rejected because this did not have the connotation he wanted: at-kar- = “doing again”, not “revenge”.

akas

root. neck, ridge

A root for “neck, ridge” coined in the late 1960s, referring both to the biological neck as well as a “neck” or ridge of rocks (PE17/92). In the context where it appeared, it mainly explains the Sindarin name for “Tarlang’s Neck”, Achad Tarlang. It might be related to the 1930s root ᴹ√AK “narrow” (Ety/AK) and might also be the basis for Q. axo “bone” (MC/223), perhaps derived from ✱ak(a)sō.

alab

root. elm

A root for “elm” in etymological notes probably written around 1959-1960 (PE17/146, 153). It seems to be a replacement for the root ᴹ√(L)ALAM from The Etymologies of the 1930s. This earlier root was connected to √AL(A) “blessed”, and the later variant may have had the same relationship. Tolkien made a point that the later version of this root was not related to √GAL “grow” or the words for “tree” after rejecting alternate roots √GALAB (?“flower”) and √GALAM for “elm” (PE17/146). The derivation ✶galmā > Q. alma “flower” was allowed to stand, so perhaps √GALAM remained valid with the alternate sense “flower”.

am

root. mother

For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).

am

root. go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up

For all of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “up” was √AM. Its best known derivatives are probably Q. ambo, S. amon “hill”. Tolkien introduced this root all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave it as ᴱ√AM(U) “up(ward)” (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM “up” (Ety/AM²), and in 1967 notes Tolkien gave it as “AM, go up, especially of climbing” (PE17/157). In a separate set of notes on comparison from early 1967, Tolkien said:

> But there existed a “base” that was intrinsically “comparative”, √AMA. This signified addition, increase, plus (PE17/91).

Tolkien did not explicitly connect this to √AM “up”, but it seems likely the two were related. See the discussion of √AMA for further details.

anga

root. iron

The root √ANGA was established as the Primitive Elvish root for “iron” quite early in Tolkien’s writing, with the derivatives Q. anga and S. ang. The form ANGA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/31) serving as both the root and the Early Qenya form, and G. ang appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/19). The root ᴹ√ANGĀ reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/ANGĀ), and it appeared once more in notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

aran

root. good, excellent, noble

An extended root in 1957 Quenya Notes based on √AR “beyond, further than”, √ARAN was glossed “good, excellent, noble” but was principally used for Q. aran, S. aran “king” (PE17/147).

ari

root. good, excellent, noble

An extended root in 1957 Quenya Notes based on √AR “beyond, further than”, √ARI was glossed “good, excellent, noble” but was principally used for the prefix Q. ari- (PE17/147). This prefix was glossed “good” in the 1957 Quenya Notes, but in notes on comparison (probably from the early 1960s) it was used as a superlative prefix (PE17/56-57). The corresponding S. superlative prefix seems to be ro- (PE17/147).

as

root. beside

As discussed in the entry for √AR, for a considerable time in Tolkien’s life the basis for the word “and” was the root √AR with the sense “beside”, so that Q. A ar B “A and B” originally had the sense “A beside B”. However, at some point during the writing of the Lord of the Rings he decided that the Sindarin word for “and” was a, making √AR no longer suitable for its etymology.

From this point forward Tolkien toyed with two possible roots for “beside; and”, either √AD and √AS, with another option √ÑAR considered and rejected in 1957 (PE17/169). It seems Tolkien vacillated between the √AD and √AS, so an exact timeline is hard to nail down. Their primary difference would be in the prevocalic form of Sindarin “and”: either edhil adh edain [ada > aða] or edhil ah edain [asa > aha] for “elves and men”. The most detailed breakdown of these two possibilities appeared in Tolkien’s notes on words in The Lord of the Rings, probably written in the late 1950s (PE17/41). In these notes he kept flipping back and forth between ancient asa and ada, though ultimately settling on ada.

However, ah appeared in the title of the document Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” most likely written in 1959 (MR/329), and in a 1968 note Tolkien said the primitive form was as with S. ah “and” before vowels and a before consonants (VT43/30). So either Tolkien reversed himself again and adopted √AS, or he continued to vacillate. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root was √AS.

One result of the change of √AR >> √AS/√AD is that the Sindarin prefix ar- could no longer mean “beside” as it did in Noldorin. Indeed, in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor written in 1967-69 he said “Arnen originally was intended to mean ‘beside the water’, sc. Anduin, but ar- in this sense is Quenya, not Sindarin” (VT43/17). This leaves us with no good word for “beside” in Sindarin; at one point I coined a neologism sa for this purpose, but it is a real stretch.

As a final note, these 1950s and 1960s roots were not the first time Tolkien used √AS for something like “beside”. All the way back in the 1910s, Tolkien had the root √AS(A) in both the Quenya and Gnomish Lexicons (QL/33; GL/48) with derived forms like ᴱQ. ar “to, against, next, on (wall)” (QL/33), G. hath- “close to, by, beside, touching” (GL/48), and [maybe] G. art “beside, alongside of” (GL/20), though the last form may be unconnected given the unlikeliness of s > r in Gnomish.

arāt-chír

masculine name. Noble Lord

@@@ not an actual ancient form, but only representative of the sounds changes that might have occurred

annā

noun. gift

anār

noun. Sun

arat

root. good, excellent, noble

aba-

verb. refuse, forbid

aba-kar ā

don’t do it

afar

?. *before of time

ai

adverb. supposing

aika-nār-

masculine name. Fell Fire

aklari(n)kwā

adjective. full of glory

alfirīne

adjective. not dying

am(a)

adverb/conjunction. moreover, furthermore, to proceed

am-

prefix. intensive prefix

amal

noun. mother

amba

?. more

ambuna

adjective. hilly

ambō

noun. hill

angā

noun. iron

arphō

noun. seizer, thief

arātā

adjective. high, lofty, noble

asa-

prefix. *beside

asmarō

noun. *neighbor

atatya

adjective. double

atta

cardinal. two

aññala

noun. mirror

amas

noun. mother

amma

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

apa

root. touch

-da

suffix. motion to or towards a point, allative suffix

grauk-

noun. a powerful hostile and terrible creature

kalatta

noun. a light, lamp

kalma

noun. a light

kasraya

noun. a tressure

makwā

noun. a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers

nadmā

noun. a (large) bowl

nandē

noun. a valley, bottom (originally used only of not very large areas the sides of which were part of their own configuration)

ratta

noun. a track

ñ(g)alatā-rigelle

feminine name. maiden crowned with a garland of radiance

gay(ar)

root. awe, dread; astound, make aghast; sea

In Tolkien’s later writings, the root for Elvish “sea” words seems to be √GAY(AR) or √AY(AR). The first hints of this root may be words from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s: G. ail/ᴱQ. ailo “lake, pool” and G. ailion/ᴱQ. ailin “lake” (GL/17), perhaps indicating a (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√AYA(LA) “lake”. The last of these Early Qenya words also appeared in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon, but Tolkien gave its root only as “?” (QL/29). This early root might also be the basis for 1920s ᴱQ. ailin “shore” which appeared in the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/213).

The word ᴹQ. ailin “pool, lake” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√AY, with its Noldorin form N. oel reflecting Noldorin rather than Gnomish phonology (Ety/AY). This root had an extended form ᴹ√AYAR “sea” from which Tolkien derived ᴹQ. ear and N. oer of the same meaning; among other things this extended root was the basis for a new etymology for the name ᴹQ. Earendil as “Friend of the Sea” used from the 1940s and forward (SD/241, 305); in earlier writings ᴱQ. Earendel was connected to ᴱQ. earen “(young) eagle” (QL/34).

The root √AY(AR) “sea” continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, for example in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/97). However, Tolkien also considered alternate derivations of “sea” words from a new root √GAY(AR), for example changing √AY(AR) >> √GAY(AR) in etymological notes written between the 1st and 2nd editions of The Lord of the Rings (PE17/27). As opposed to √AY(AR) which meant simply “sea”, Tolkien also glossed √GAY(AR) as “astound, make aghast” (WJ/400) or “awe, dread” (PM/363) and it was the basis for other words such as S. gaer “awful, fearful” (WJ/400) as well as S. goe “terror, great fear”, Q. aica “fell, terrible, dire” and Q. aira “holy, sanctified” (PM/363). In this sense √GAYA may have been a replacement or a variant of √AYA(N) “blessed”.

Tolkien seems to have been unable to make up his mind between these two derivations, as reflected in an ongoing vacillation between S. gaear (PE17/27; PM/363; WJ/400) and aear (Let/386; RGEO/65) as the Sindarin word for “sea”. This word appeared in The Lord of the Rings in the phrase nef aear, sí nef aearon “here beyond the Sea, beyond the wide and sundering Sea”, but that does not resolve the question as the word in this phrase seems to be lenited, and hence would lose its initial g (if any). This vacillation continued late into Tolkien’s life: in the published corpus Tolkien derived “sea” words from √AYAR “sea” in a letter from 1967 (Let/386) and √GAYA “awe, dread” in The Shibboleth of Fëanor written in 1968 (PE/363).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin writing, I think it is best to use √GAY(AR) as the form for this root, though admittedly this does create problems for the etymologies of Q. ailin and S. ael “lake” (these would need to lean more heavily on their second ancient element: √LIN “pool”). It is not clear whether Tolkien always intended √GAY(AR) “awe, dread” and √AYA(N) “blessed” to coexist, though he did at least some of the time (for example on PE17/149). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin writing, I think it is best to assume they did coexist, with √AYA serving as the basis for “holy” words like Q. aira/S. aer “holy” and Q. Ainu, whereas √GAYA could serve as the basis for “awe, dread” words like Q. aica “fell, terrible, dire” and S. goe “terror, great fear”. Q. ëar/S. gaear “sea” would fall into the second group as a thing inspiring awe.

han

root. add to, increase, enhance, enrich, honour (especially by gift); give

This root did not explicitly appear until very late in Tolkien writing, in 1969-1970, but there were a few earlier precursors. Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter suggested the preposition Q. han “beyond” from Quenya prayers of the 1950s might be connected to this root. I think another precursor might be √ƷAN “long” or “extend” given as a variant of √YAN around 1959; Tolkien was considering √ƷAN as the basis for a new etymology of Q. anda/S. and “long” (PE17/40, 155), though there are no clear indications he carried through with this idea.

The root √ƷAN reappeared in 1968 notes with the gloss “adorn” serving as the basis for Q. antil, a word for the middle finger, perhaps being the place where rings were usually worn (VT47/26). As pointed out by Patrick Wynne this use of √ƷAN indicates it was from the period in the late 1960s where Tolkien was playing around with the form and phonetic developments of the ancient velar spirant [h] or [ɣ] (ʒ); see the discussion in the entry on how [[aq|initial [ɣ] became [h]]] in Ancient Quenya; this was one of the more common phonetic developments Tolkien used, but he vacillated a great deal on the subject.

√ƷAN reappeared again in 1969 notes on Quenya verbs with the gloss “give”, but here it was revised to √HAN (PE22/163). Tolkien then elaborated on the meaning of √HAN, saying that its actual sense was “enhance, enrich, add to”. In this note h- was preserved in Quenya and Telerin but lost in Sindarin, and the Quenya verb anta- “give” was influenced by but not directly derived from √HAN; in Sindarin the influence was more direct. We know that √HAN reappeared at least one more time in some notes from 1970 with the gloss “add to, increase, enhance, honour (espec. by gift)” (VT43/14) but this note remains unpublished so we don’t have the full context.

Sorting through all these variations is quite difficult, especially since they are intertwined with Tolkien’s shifting notions of the initial developments of ancient ʒ- and h-, but I think the basic conceptual development is (1959) √ƷAN “extend” >> (1968) √ƷAN “adorn” >> (1969) √ƷAN “give” >> (1969-70) √HAN “add to, increase, enhance, enrich, honour”.

Outside of its influence on “give” and “gift”, √HAN has no real attested derivatives, but it has long been theorized that it is basis for the Q. hantalë “thanksgiving” in Q. Eruhantalë (UT/214). This in turn serves as the basis for the most common Neo-Eldarin words for “thanks” and “to thank”, a pretty important word for polite conversation. These words, and their role in Neo-Eldarin, have been exceptionally contentious, giving this otherwise obscure root an outsized role in debates about Tolkien’s languages.

srag

root. awkward, awry; hard, (very) difficult

The unglossed root ᴹ√RAG appeared in The Etymologies with the derivative ᴹ✶ragnā > N. rhaen “crooked” (Ety/RAG). A similar root √SRA-G “awry” appeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 as a replacement/reversal of the root √SRA, SRAYA “easy, pliant, moving with ease”, with the sense “easy” apparently transferred to √AÞA (PE17/172). The page where √SRA-G initially appeared was ultimately rejected, but √SRAG appeared again in DLN with variant √SRAK among a list of roots all meaning “hard, difficult” (PE17/154). In the later list it had derivatives like Q. hraia “awkward, difficult”, Q. hranga “awkward, hard” and Q. hranga- “thwart”, along with S. rhanc “awkward, hard” derived from the variant √SRAK (PE17/154). In another set of notes from 1959 Tolkien mentioned the root √SRĀ or √SRAGA “awkward, very difficult” with derivatives Q. hrai/Q. hranga “stiff, awkward, difficult” (PE17/185).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would transferred 1930s N. rhaen “crooked” to √SRAG “awkward, difficult”.

-(a)lē

suffix. abstract noun, adverb

-(a)rē

suffix. abstract noun

gairā

adjective. awful, fearful

hekla

proper name. any thing (or person) put aside from or left out from its normal company

lamā̆n(a)

noun. animal

lañna

adverb. athwart

ʒan

root. adorn; extend; long

kata

root. after (later than) of time

pata

root. after, behind of place

man

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit

This root for “(morally) good” and “holy” things dates back to Tolkien’s earliest versions of Elvish, probably due to its long-standing connection to the name Q. Manwë, one of the most stable names in Tolkien’s legendarium. The unglossed root ᴱ√MANA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mane “good (moral)” and ᴱQ. manimo “holy soul” (QL/58). Derivatives like G. mani “good (of men and character only), holy” and G. manos “spirit that has gone to the Valar” also appear in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit” appeared with derivatives like ᴹQ. manu/N. mân “departed spirit” (Ety/MAN). Earlier versions of the entry had the gloss “holy” (EtyAC/MAN), and an earlier version of the entry for ᴹ√MBAD has MAN- “blessed” (EtyAC/MBAD).

The senses “good, blessed, holy” were retained in Tolkien’s later writings, though sometimes the root was given in its augmented form √AMAN. In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, √MAN was contrasted with √ARA which also meant “good”, but with the nuance of one specimen that is “good of its kind” and hence “excels, without necessarily implying that others are bad or marred” (PE17/147). Elsewhere in QN Tolkien elaborated on the meaning of √MAN in more detail:

> √MAN “good”. This implies that a person/thing is (relatively or absolutely) “unmarred”: that is in Elvish thought unaffected by the disorders introduced into Arda by Morgoth: and therefore is true to its nature & function. If applied to mind/spirit it is more or less equivalent to morally good; but applied to bodies it naturally refers to health and to absence of distortions, damages, blemishes, &c (PE17/162).

In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, √AMAN “good (morally), holy, blessed, free from evil” was contrasted with √AYA(N) “treat with awe/reverence” and √MAGA “good (physically)” (PE17/149). In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, Tolkien said the root meant “blessed, holy” and was adapted from Valarin (PM/357 note #18), which is consistent with the fact that its derivatives were almost entirely limited to Quenya and not Sindarin; where derivatives do appear in Sindarin, such as S. Avon the equivalent of Q. Aman (PE17/162), they were probably loan words from Quenya.

(ñ)gwal

root. suffer torment, (suffer) torment, agony

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as strengthened ᴹ√ÑGWAL “torment” with derivatives like ᴹQ. nwalka/N. balch “cruel” and N. baul “torment” (Ety/ÑGWAL). The root was given in an unstrengthened form √GWAL “suffer torment” in both the first and second versions of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa in a set of root variations along with √KWAL “die” and √KWEL “fade away” (TQ1: PE18/58; TQ2: PE18/103). Tolkien’s use of Q. nwalmë “torment” in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings indicates the strengthened form remained valid, however (LotR/1123).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to use this root only its strengthened form, reserving √GWAL for the less dire sense “be stirred, excited; emotion, movement of feelings” (PE17/154, 189).

ba(n)

root. meet, come up against; go (away), meet, come up against; go, [ᴹ√] proceed

A root meaning “go, proceed” appearing as one of the many etymologies of Q. vanwa “gone, departed”. It may have been a partial restoration of the (rejected) meaning of the root ᴹ√AB “go away, depart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s, a root that later was altered in that document to mean “refuse, deny, say no” (Ety/AB). It may also have been intended as a replacement for ᴹ√WAN “depart, go away, disappear, vanish”, also from The Etymologies and the basis for ᴹQ. vanwa in the 1930s.

In the published corpus, the first clear mention of this root is in a discussion of the Quenya future suffix -(u)va from the late 1940s where it was given as √BĀ, BANA “go, proceed” with Q. vanwa “gone, over” as one of its derivatives (PE22/97). It appeared again in a discussion of the Sindarin greeting mae govannen “well met” from the late 1950s, where Tolkien hypothesized that the verb “meet” might be go- “together” + ban- “go” or “meet”, which he again connected to Q. vanwa “gone” (PE17/16). Phonetic complications prompted Tolkien to coin a new verb covad- “assemble, gather together” from a root √KOB, but he was unwilling to commit at this time to the new verb because of the obvious similarity of govannen to √BAN “go” (PE17/16-17).

However, in 1959 when he was overhauling the Eldarin system of negation, it seems Tolkien finally rejected √BA(N) “go” because of the conflict with √BĀ/ABA “refuse”, and he transferred the sense “go” to the root √MEN (PE17/143). In etymological notes contemporaneous with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien restored √KOB “gather” (PE17/150) though he seems to have eventually settled on the form √KOM for this root along with a restored verb S. covad- “bring together, make meet” (PE17/157-158). Q. vanwa “gone” was also transferred to √WĀ/AWA by the time of the Quendi and Eldar essay (WJ/366). Meanwhile, the Quenya future had been transferred from √BA to the root √UB in the early 1950s (PE22/132).

This left no remaining functions for √BA(N) “go”, and there is no further sign of it starting in the 1960s.

bā/aba

root. refuse, forbid, prohibit, say nay (in refusal or denial), refuse, forbid, prohibit, say nay (in refusal or denial), [ᴹ√] deny; away, go away, depart

The invertible root √BA or √ABA was principally connected to refusal, and its best known derivative was Avari, the group of Elves that refused to travel to Valinor. When Tolkien first introduced the root ᴹ√AB in The Etymologies of the 1930s and other contemporaneous writings on Ancient Quenya, he gave this root the meaning “go away, depart” (Ety/AB; PE19/045); in this sense it may have been a replacement for the early root ᴱ√AVA “go away, depart, leave” (QL/33). Indeed, the first application of Avari was to the Elves that left for Valinor, “the Departing”, rather than those that stayed behind (LR/169-170). But the sense “away” was soon transferred to ᴹ√AWA (Ety/AWA) and √AB was revised in The Etymologies to mean “refuse, deny, say no” (Ety/AB), a sense it retained thereafter.

Tolkien wrote about this root at great length in the 1959 when he decided that √BA was part of the Eldarin system of negation, distinguishing negation of volition (I will not) from negative of fact (it is not so). Tolkien seems to have introduced this notion at the same time he decided to abandon la-negation, so the corresponding negation of fact was the root √Ū (PE17/143). Even when Tolkien considered restoring la-negation in the late 1960s, √BA still retained a role as the negation of volition (PE22/161).

One peculiar feature of √BA is that it represented refusal from the perspective of the speaker. Thus in 1st person, √BA meant “I will not” (refusal), but in 2nd person or 3rd person it meant “do not” (forbiddance). Tolkien discussed this topic at some length in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/370-2). In 1st person this was Q. ván(ye)/S. avon “I won’t” and Q. vamme/S. avam “we won’t” [using the circa-1960 pronominal suffix -mme; with later pronouns this would be valve and avof]. In 2nd person this used the interjection Q. vá/S. baw “don’t”, or the negative imperative particle Q. áva/S. avo, as in Q. áva care/S. avo garo “don’t do [it]”.

When Tolkien revisited his ideas for negation in 1969, he still kept this notion of 1st person refusal vs. 2nd/3rd person forbiddance (PE22/161-3), so that the system of √BA negation remained more or less the same (barring changes like new pronouns).

kalak

root. glass

A root appearing in etymological notes from 1968 glossed “glass” with Quenya and Telerin derivatives Q./T. calca of the same meaning (VT47/35). It seems to be a late restoration of the much earlier root ᴱ√kail(i)k or ᴱ√tail(i)k that was the basis of “glass” words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s; in this early period the Qenya derivatives began with t- and the Gnomish derivatives with c- [k-] (GL/25). It may also have replaced Q. cilin (< ✱√KILIN?) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/37). Given its Quenya/Telerin derivatives, √KALAK was probably coined in Aman as was also the case with earlier Q. cilin, since the Sindarin word for “glass” is the unrelated word S. heledh borrowed from Khuzdul (PE17/37).

kam

root. fit, suit, be agreeable, agree, fit, suit, be agreeable, agree; [ᴹ√] bind, join

The root √KAM had several distinct meanings over Tolkien’s lifetime. The first appearance of this root is as ᴱ√KAMA “lie down” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. kama- “to lie down; (c. loc.) to endure, suffer” and ᴱQ. kamba “bed” (QL/44). Its Gnomish equivalents G. cum- “lie (down)” and G. cumli “couch” hint at a vowel shift (GL/27). In any cases, the sense “lie” was primarily assigned to the root √KAY in later writings, as indicated by the later word ᴹQ. kaima for “bed” (Ety/KAY).

There is another unglossed early root ᴱ√KAMA from the Qenya Lexicon whose derivatives are mostly different types of red flowers, but there are no signs of √KAM being used for this purpose in Tolkien’s later writing.

The next published appearance of ᴹ√KAM was in the 1930s with the gloss “bind, join” to serve as the basis for ᴹQ. okamna “diphthong” (VT44/13), which replaced (o)samna “diphthong” (< ᴹ√SAM) from The Etymologies, only to be replaced again in the 1960s by Q. ohlon (VT39/9; VT48/29). Thus the meaning “bind, join” for √KAM may have been abandoned as well.

The final published appearances of √KAM as a root were in various etymological notes from the late 1960s. In a couple notes it appeared with glosses “fit, suit, agree” and “suit, fit, be agreeable” and a derived (probably primitive) verb ✶kamta- “to (make) fit, suit, accomodate, adapt” (VT44/14). In notes associated with hands and finger written in 1968, Tolkien proposed √KAM as a replacement for √KAB “hold, contain, retain” from which the words Q. camba/S. cam “(cupped) hand” were derived (VT47/20). It also had a derived verb form camnelyes “you received it” (✱cam- “receive”), with nasal-suffixed past form camne- (VT47/21). The verb form was replaced by cambelyes, which might indicate a restoration of √KAB with nasal-infixed past form cambe- (✱cav- “receive”), as suggested by Patrick Wynne.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume that √KAM as a replacement for √KAB was a transient idea, allowing us to use √KAM with the sense “fit, suit, be agreeable” instead.

kat

root. shape, shape, [ᴹ√] make

The root ᴹ√KAT “shape” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. kanta- “to shape”, ᴹQ. kanta “shaped”, and N. echad- “fashion, shape” (Ety/KAT). All these derivatives reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings, though Q. canta was more typically used as the noun “shape” (PE17/175; PE18/84, 90). The root appeared frequently in both the first and second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa as an example of a biconsonantal root (TQ1: PE18/34, 46, 62; TQ2: PE18/84-85, 87, 89-90, 95).

kwa

root. complete, full, whole, all, every, complete, full, whole, all, every; [ᴹ√] something

A root, frequently but not universally suffixal, indicating completion or fullness. The first appearance of this root was ᴹ√KWA “something” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, serving as the basis for ᴹQ. il-qa “everything, ✱all-thing” (EtyAC/KWA). In notes on Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from the late 1940s, however, Tolkien’s gave the root a new meaning: kwā- “all”, where it was possibly connected to ᴹ√KWAT “fill” (PE23/101).

√KWA reappeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 glossed “completion” (WJ/392) or “full” (WJ/412), with extended form √KWAN and the verbal variant √KWAT “fill”. It appeared again in various notes from the late 1960s on numbering systems, glossed “full, complete, all, every” (VT42/24), “whole, complete, all” (VT47/7), or “complete, full, all, the whole” (VT47/17). In these notes it was connected to Tolkien’s latest word for “ten” from this period: ✶kwayam > Q. quean or S. pae. Since the root √IL was usually used for “all, every” in Tolkien’s later writings, I think it is more accurate to attribute the sense “complete(ness)”, “whole(ness)”, or “full(ness)” to √KWA.

la

root. no, not; negative; not to be

An invertible root, √LA or √ALA, used for negation. Its earliest iteration was as the primitive negative prefix ᴱ✶ḷ- from the 1910s (GL/50; PE12/11; QL/97). Its first appearance as ᴹ√LA “no, not” was in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LA), and it regularly appeared in documents from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Tolkien then abandoned this form of negation in 1959 (PE17/143), but restored it again around 1969 (PE22/160) only to abandon it again shortly after (VT44/4). For a full history of Tolkien’s shifting conceptions of negation in Elvish, see the Quenya entry on the negative.

lat

root. open, unenclosed, free to entry; low, lowlying, at ground level, open, unenclosed, free to entry, [ᴹ√] lie open; be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area); [√] low, lowlying, at ground level

This root has a lengthy history in Tolkien’s development of the Elvish languages.

Its development seems to have begun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with unglossed ᴱ√LAHA which had derivatives like ᴱQ. lá “moor, heath, open space” and ᴱQ. lāta- “spread, extend, lie (of country)” (QL/50). This root was compared to a variety of other roots: ᴱ√ALA, ᴱ√AŘA, ᴱ√ṆŘṆ, ᴱ√LAŘA and ᴱ√LATA, but the last of these was a later addition, both to the list and as an entry in the lexicon (QL/51). This newer entry had derivatives like ᴱQ. latwa “smooth, glossy” and ᴱQ. latsin(a) “level, smooth”, the latter transferred from ᴱ√LAHA. This new root also had Gnomish derivatives such as G. lad “a level, a flat; fair dealing” and G. ladin “level, smooth; fair, equitable” (GL/52).

After the 1910s it seems ᴱ√LAHA “✱open” faded out of use (though it may have remerged much later as √LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond”: PE17/91), but ᴱ√LATA “✱level, smooth” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√LAT “lie open” with derivatives like ᴹQ. latin(a) “open, free, cleared (of land)” and N. lhand “open space, level” (Ety/LAT). It is also evident in N. -lad “plain” from names like N. Lithlad “Plain of Ash” and N. Dagorlad “Battle Plain” from Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/208, 389), both of which reappeared in the published version (LotR/243, 636).

The root appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 with the gloss “be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)” and a Quenya verb ᴹQ. lat- of similar meaning (PE22/126). In this document it was compared to ᴹ√LAD “lie flat, be flat”, and Tolkien said the two roots were confused in Noldorin as a way of explaining N. laden “flat (and wide)”.

The next appearance of √LAT is in etymological notes from 1959-60 with the gloss “open, unenclosed, free to entry” and contrasted with √PAK “shut” (VT41/5-6). In these notes the derivative Q. latina also reappeared with a meaning similar to the one it had in The Etymologies: “free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles”. The last appearance of √LAT in currently published materials is in 1968 notes on D/L variations in Common Eldarin, where it was glossed “at ground level, low; lowlying” and compared to √DAT “fall down” (VT48/24); in this document it had no derivatives.

All this amounts to considerable conceptual variation in the meaning of this root. To summarize:

• 1910s ᴱ√LATA “✱level, smooth” as alternate to ᴱ√LAHA “✱open” (QL/50-51).

• 1930s ᴹ√LAT “lie open” compared to (unglossed) ᴹ√LAD (Ety/LAD, LAT).

• 1940s ᴹ√LAT “be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)” contrasted with ᴹ√LAD “lie flat, be flat” (PE22/126).

• 1959-60 √LAT “open, unenclosed, free to entry” contrasted with √PAK “shut” (VT41/5-6).

• 1968 √LAT “at ground level, low; lowlying” contrasted with √DAT “fall down” (VT48/24).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume this root has the sense “(lie) open, be extended, unenclosed”, as this is consistent with the largest number of derivatives of the root.

laʒ

root. cross, pass over, go beyond

Tolkien considered several similar roots for the Elvish words “neck”, “throat” and “beyond”.

In The Etymologies, the words for “throat” were ᴹQ. lanko and N. lhanc from the root ᴹ√LAK with nasal-infixion (Ety/LAK, Ety/TARAG). The Noldorin form also appeared as an element in the adjective N. tarlanc “stiff-necked, obstinate”. In The Lord of the Rings, it seems that this last word had shifted to S. tarlang, as in the place name Tarlang (LotR/790). The earlier words reappeared as S. lang and Q. lango “neck, passage”, whose roots were either √LAG (PE17/65) or √LAƷA (PE17/91-92).

Tolkien also established the word Q. lá as the Quenya element meaning “beyond”, most notably in the preposition pella (the Namárië poem, LotR/377), whose literal meaning was “beyond the border”. There is an early hint of this sense in The Etymologies in the root ᴹ√LĀ, unglossed but said to be related to the “ablative element” ᴹ√LŌ (EtyAC/LŌ). Other possible precursors are ᴱ√ALA “spread” and related ᴱ√LAHA or ᴱ√LĀ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/29, 32, 50).

In notes from 1965, Tolkien stated that the root of lá “beyond” was √LAŊ, distinct from the root √LAG of lango (PE17/65). But in notes from 1967, Tolkien briefly considered using the root √ALA/LA for lá “beyond” (PE17/90), but quickly changed it to √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond” (PE17/91-92), the same as the root of Q. lango “neck” as noted above. This leaves us with two scenarios: that lango “neck” and lá “beyond” had distinct origins from the roots √LAG and √LAÑ respectively (1965: PE17/65), or that lango “neck” and lá “beyond” had the same origin in the root √LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond” (1967: PE17/91-92).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin I prefer the 1967 scenario with the root √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond”, and would assume “neck” is based on the sense “passage”, since it frees up the root √LAG to retain its meaning from The Etymologies: ᴹ√LAG “✱cut” (Ety/LAG). There are quite a few Quenya neologisms dependent the existence of √LAÑ “across”, however, so I would assume this exists as a variant of √LAƷ. For “throat” words, see the discusssion in the entry for ᴹ√LAK.

mat

root. eat

This was the root for eating words for all of Tolkien’s life, appearing very regularly. It was ᴱ√MATA “eat” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59), ᴹ√MAT “eat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), and √MAT “eat” in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/26), among its many other appearances. This puts it among the most conceptually stable of Elvish roots.

may

root. excellent, admirable, beautiful; make [art]; suitable, useful, proper, serviceable; right

A root appearing in Tolkien’s later writings with a variety of glosses: √MAY “make (in artistic sense as in ποιήτης [Greek: make, create])” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/145, 163), {√MAGA >>} √(A)MAY “suitable, useful, proper, serviceable; right” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 but this note was crossed through (PE17/172), √MAY “excellent, admirable” elsewhere in DLN (PE17/172), again as √MAY “excellent, admirable” in notes contemporaneous to the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (PE17/150, 163) and finally as √MAY “beautiful” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/18).

Two notable derivatives of √MAY were S. mae “well” (PE17/17, 163) and Q. Maia (PE17/163; VT47/18), but elsewhere these two words were derived from the root √MAG “good (useful)” (PE17/16, 162; PE19/46, 62, 75, 94). In the aforementioned notes from the late 1960s, however, Tolkien said “maga was distinct from maʒa and maya” (VT48/18). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume the root √MAY was distinct from √MAG, having the meaning “excellent, admirable, beautiful” and by extension the creation of beautiful things such as art, to allow the retention of 1957 words like Q. maitar “artist” (PE17/163).

A possible precursor to this root is unglossed ᴱ√MAẎA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mai “too much” and ᴱQ. maira “excessive, strong” (QL/60); perhaps a more extreme version of its later sense “excellent”. The entry also included ᴱQ. mairu “(horse ?); mane, flowing hair”, but Tolkien marked this word with a “?”, perhaps indicating he was unsure it was from this root (QL/60).

na/ana

root. to, towards; at side of, alongside, besides; moreover, in addition, plus

The root √ANA was connected to “giving” and “movement toward” for much of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√ANA “give, send towards” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period was the basis for words like ᴱQ. anta-/G. antha- “give” and ᴱQ. ana “to(wards)” (QL/31; GL/19). The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√ANA with an inverted variant ᴹ√NĀ¹ “to, towards”; the most notable derivative of this inverted form was N. na “with, by” (Ety/ANA¹, NĀ¹). In the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1), √AN was given as one of the primary examples of the inversion of roots, where √AN(A) was originally a “biconsontal root” (²√) with a vocalic beginning, and the inverted form √NA was an abnormal vocalization of the basic root (PE18/38).

This same example of inversion was used in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/88), and this invertible root appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings almost always with glosses like “to, towards, motion to”. There were a few instances in which Tolkien explored some alternate meanings for the root, however. In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s Tolkien said that:

> It is true that in Q. na appears with sense “to”, but this at nearest means “towards, to a position near, alongside” ... The original sense of Eldarin ana was plainly “at side of, alongside, besides”, hence also “moreover, in addition, plus” (seen in use of an- as an intensive prefix), and so an or na in some languages has the sense “along with, with, accompanied by, provided with, associated with” and the like (PE21/79).

Likewise in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN) Tolkien said:

> √ANA/NĀ, to, towards - added to, plu-. Quenya verbal prefix ana, na-, as in napan-, add. an­ “plu-”, intensive prefix, arcalima, preeminently bright, ancalima, very bright ... S an, dative chiefly with pronouns or persons. < ana, hence vocalic mutation, but takes form m before m, b. ✱ to, for (PE17/146-7).

In this note Tolkien went on to explore various non-allative meanings associated with the root such as the conjugation/adverb Q. an “for, then, or, but” and prepositions S. na(n) “with” vs. S. na “to, towards”, differing mainly in the mutations they cause (nasal versus soft). It seems the association of this root with both the intensive an- and words like Q. an “for; moreover” and S. na(n) “with” motivated Tolkien to find a more nuanced meaning for the root. This likewise probably motivated Tolkien to explore an alternate basis for the intensive prefix in the mid-1960s, deriving it from √AMA rather than √AN (PE17/90-94).

Neo-Eldarin: For Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain an- as the basis for intensives in both Quenya and Sindarin, and thus I think it is best to retain the extended meanings of √AN from the 1950s to include senses like “add to, more” and “up to the side of”, hence by extension “alongside” becoming (in S.) “with, accompanying, possessing, having the trait of” as in S. na(n) “of, with”.

nar

root. fire, fire, [ᴹ√] flame

A root for “fire” first appearing as ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with derivatives like ᴹQ. nár(e)/N. naur “flame” (Ety/NAR¹). There was also an augmented variant ᴹ√ANÁR that served as the basis for “Sun” words: ᴹQ. Anar and N. Anor (Ety/ANÁR). These roots and the various derivatives continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings in the 1950s and 60s (PE17/38; Let/425), and in one place Tolkien specified that nār- was “fire as an element” as opposed to √RUYU for an actual blaze.

sab

root. believe (that statements, reports, traditions, etc. are) true, accept as fact

A root in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 described as meaning “believe (that statements, reports, traditions, etc. are) true, accept as fact”; it served as the basis for Q. sav- of the same meaning (PE22/158).

sal

root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre

The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.

thar

root. *across, beyond, [ᴹ√] across, beyond

Tolkien used a similar set of forms for “(a)cross” for Elvish throughout his life. The earliest of these was the unglossed root ᴱ√TARA⁽⁾ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tara- “cross, go athwart, cross rivers” and ᴱQ. tarwe “cross, crucifix” (QL/89). In QL Tolkien gave a Gnomish form tor, but the Gnomish Lexicon itself had derived forms like G. taru “cross; crossing”, G. trantha- “to cross” and G. trath “passage, ford” (GL69, 71). The forms G. adr(a)/ᴱQ. arta “lying athwart; situated on far side” are clearly related (GL/17).

There was another unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon: {ᴱ√SAŘA >>} ᴱ√SARA with derivatives like ᴱQ. sara- “saw”, ᴱQ. sarat “plank”, and ᴱQ. sarno “table” (QL/82). Gnomish forms G. sard “table” vs. G. thar- “saw (up)” may represent a blending with another root ✱ᴱ√ÞARA (GL/67, 71). However, Tolkien compared G. sard to G. thrad [< ✱s(a)rat-?] (GL/67), whereas G. thrad “a board, shelf” was deleted from underneath G. thar- (GL/71). Perhaps this means there was a conceptual shift of {ᴱ√SARA >>} ✱ᴱ√ÞARA, though G. thrad “plank, board, shelf” was retained undeleted elsewhere in the document (GL/73).

As a later entry to The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√THAR “across, beyond” serving as the basis for the names N. Thar-gelion (“Land beyond Gelion”) and N. Thar-bad with an unclear gloss, probably “Crossway” (Ety/THAR). The root √ÞAR appeared in a list of Sindarin words associated with Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, where it served as the basis for words like S. athrad “crossing” and prefix S. athra- in words like S. athrabeth “conversation (interchange of words)” (PE17/14); in this note Tolkien specified that the root √ÞAR was not found in Quenya, but the root does appear to be an element in later Quenya words like the 1968 word Q. Mondósar “Oxford” (DTS/70).

Note that the root √THAR appeared a few other times in Tolkien’s later writings with a different meaning: ᴹ√THAR “stand” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/126) and √THAR “vigour” (another Sindarin-only root) in an explanation of the name S. Thranduil in a list of roots from 1959 (D59: PE17/187).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume “across” is the main meaning of this root. However, I would ignore Tolkien’s 1959 statement that the root was not found in Quenya in order to salvage early words from ✱ᴱ√ÞARA, with the verbal sense “saw” = “(cut) across” and from this sense deriving words like “plank” and “table”.

kamta-

verb. to (make) fit, suit, accomodate, adapt

@@@ per Lokyt must be primitive because we don't see mt > nt

-ata

suffix. numerative dual ending

-ayā

suffix. present continuative

-na

suffix. to; allative

bani

adjective. fair

banya

adjective. beautiful

dankĭnā

adjective. slain

erikwa

adjective. single, alone

gaili

noun. ray

gayār

noun. sea, the terrifier

heklanā

adjective. forsaken

kar-

verb. do, make

katar

?. *after (later than) of time

khan

root. back

kyaw-

verb. to taste

mailiki

noun. wealth, abundance

mat-

verb. to eat

ndakta-

verb. to slay

nday

root. dreadful, abominable, detestable

nenda

noun. water

patar

?. *after, behind of place

áyan

noun. holy thing or object or place

ñ(g)alatā

noun. (reflected) radiance, glitter (of reflected light), glory

ṃbart(ă)

noun. fate, doom; (orig.) permanent establishment

nda

root. long; far

uba-

verb. impend,be imminent,approach,draw near

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

kay

root. lie, lie, [ᴹ√] lie down; [ᴱ√] rest, dwell

Tolkien used this root for “lie (down)” for most of his life. It appeared as ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/46), but in that document there was another root ᴱ√KAMA “lie down”, with the derivative ᴱQ. kama- “to lie down” (QL/44). There is no sign of ᴱ√KAMA¹ being used this way after the 1910s, and in the 1920s Early Qenya Grammar, the verb for “lie down” was kaita- (PE14/58), which in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had the transitive sense “to place” (QL/44).

The root ᴹ√KAY “lie down” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAY), and it appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. kaita- “to lie (down)” (PE22/126). The root and associated Quenya verb continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings all the way up through the late 1960s, always with the sense “lie” (PE17/72; PE22/156).

khad

root. sit

The roots √KHAD and √KHAM were in competition for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” for a significant portion of Tolkien’s life. Both roots have antecedants in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but in that early document the root for “sit” was given as ᴱ√ÐORO or ᴱ√SORO (QL/85), replacing rejected ᴱ√SOŘO [ᴱ√SOÐO] and ᴱ√SODO (QL/85). Of these, the true form was clearly ᴱ√ÐORO given Gnomish derivative G. dorn “seat”, G. doros “throne”, G. dortha- “settle” (GL/30). This root seems to have been abandoned in Tolkien’s later writing, though N. dortha- “dwell, stay” was reassigned to ᴹ√NDOR in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NDOR).

As for √KHAD and √KHAM, their clearest antecedents in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s were ᴱ√HAÐA “cleave, remain” and ᴱ√HAM (QL/39), the latter without gloss but with derivatives having to do with the ground such as ᴱQ. hamba “on the ground” and G. ham “ground” (QL/39; GL/48). Some variant of ᴱ√HAÐA seems to have drifted in the direction of “sit” based on ᴱN. haud “seat” from Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s (PE13/147, 155).

Tolkien initially used the root ᴹ√KHAD for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/KHAM), but it was replaced by ᴹ√KHAM “sit” (Ety/KHAM) and this root seems to have survived for some time, since ᴹ√KHAM “sit down” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 (PE22/103). However, at some point Tolkien added a new root ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” to The Etymologies, and in this new entry he said “KHAM sit (replacing KHAD, cancelled)” indicating ᴹ√KHAD was restored (EtyAC/KHAM²). This seems to represent an ongoing vacillation between √KHAD and √KHAM in the 1930s and 40s.

However, √KHAD “sit” appeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa written around 1950 (PE18/95), Q. hárar “sit” (not ✱✱hámar) appears in Cirion’s Oath (UT/305), and in late notes on verbs from 1969 Tolkien had ✶khadmā “seat” as the basis for Q. hanw̃a S. haðw (PE22/148). There are no signs of √KHAM “sit” in this period, so it seems Tolkien chose √KHAD for “sit” in the 1950s and 60s.

Neo-Eldarin: I think √KHAD “sit” is the best choice for Neo-Eldarin, since it also lets us use ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” more freely.

las

root. listen

This root did not appear as the basis of “listen” words until The Etymologies of the 1930s, where Tolkien gave ᴹ√LAS “listen” as opposed to ᴹ√LAS “leaf” (Ety/LAS¹, LAS²). One of its derivatives was N. lhewig “ear” (from fossilized dual lhaw). Tolkien apparently wanted to retain this form in his later writings after deciding that initial l was no longer unvoiced in Sindarin, so he coined a variant s-fortified root √SLAS “ear” from which it could still be derived (PE17/62, PE17/77). The unfortified root √LAS “listen” continued to appear, however (PE17/46; PE19/101), as indicated by imperative S. lasto “listen” (LotR/307). Tolkien did speculate that the roots √LAS¹ “leaf” and √LAS² “listen” might ultimately be related, probably because of the similarity of the shape of Elvish ears and the leaves of trees:

> lasse “leaf” (S las); pl. lassi (S lais). It is only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque). It is thus possibly related to √LAS “listen”, and S-LAS stem of Elvish words for “ear”: Q hlas, dual hlaru. Sindarin dual lhaw, singular lheweg (PE17/62).

A similar notion appeared in The Etymologies: “Some think this [ᴹ√LAS¹ ‘leaf’] is related to the next [ᴹ√LAS² ‘listen’] and ✱lassē ‘ear’. The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human]” (Ety/LAS¹).

nak

root. bite

This root was the basis for Elvish words for “bite” from all of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NAKA “bite” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. naka- “bite” and ᴱQ. naksa “sour” (QL/64). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. nactha- “bite” and G. naith “tooth” (GL/59). The root reappeared as ᴹ√NAK “bite” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with augmented variant ᴹ√ÁNAK and derivatives like ᴹQ. anka/N. anc “jaw, row of teeth” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK); in this same document Tolkien considered the possibility that the roots ᴹ√NAYAK “pain” and ᴹ√NDAK “slay” might be related to ᴹ√NAK, though he did not commit to either idea (Ety/NÁYAK; EtyAC/NDAK).

One interesting derivative of this root from the 1930s was N. naeth “biting, gnashing of teeth” from which N. nírnaeth “lamentation = ✱tear[ful]-gnashing” was derived, serving as an element in N. Nírnaeth Arnediad “[Battle of] Unnumbered Tears” (Ety/NAY; LR/310), replacing earlier Nirnaith of unclear etymology. In later writings Tolkien said S. naeth simply meant “woe” in the name S. Sigil Elu-naeth “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” (WJ/258), but this may just be a generalization of its 1930s meaning “gnashing of teeth”. As for the root √NAK “bite”, it reappeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2), serving again as example of an abnormal vocalization leading to the derivative ✶ankā “jaws” (PE18/87).

stal

root. strong

The unglossed root ᴹ√STALAG appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. thala “stalwart, steady, firm” and N. thalion “hero, dauntless man” (Ety/STÁLAG), the latter a sobriquet of Húrin typically translated as “Steadfast” in the narratives themselves (S/199). Similar forms appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s derived from the primitive form ᴱ✶stalga (PE13/153).

The root √STAL “strong” was mentioned in passing as the basis for the adjective Q. astalda in a rejected page associated with roots having to do with “large & small” words, probably from the late 1960s (PE17/115; VT47/26 note #26). The name Q. Astaldo “Valiant” appeared as a sobriquet of Tulkas in later versions of The Silmarillion (S/28), replacing the earlier name Q. Poldórëa of similar meaning (MR/146, 149; LR/206). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √STAL (and its derivatives) means “✱valiant” rather than “strong”.

(a)tata

cardinal. two

(au)be

adverb. not so

-āga

suffix. genitive

dāra

adjective. wise

ekka

noun. hole

gala(da)ndil

masculine name. Lover of Trees

galab

root. flower

galadarembinā

adjective. tree-meshed

galam

root. elm

galmā

noun. flower

gampa

noun. hook

gardā

noun. region

glaware

noun. sheen of gold

grawa

noun. dog

ista-

verb. to know

kalat

noun. light

kalinā

adjective. bright

karani

adjective. red

khyana

adjective. other

lotho/a

noun. flower

mai

adverb. well

makla

noun. sword

malat

root. gold

malu

noun. dust

manrā

adjective. good

matˢtimā

adjective. edible

mbar-

verb. to dwell

mbartā-

verb. to define, decree, destine

nathlo

noun. guest

ndūya-

verb. to descend

năta

noun. thing

sinkitamo

noun. smith

tawinā

adjective. wood

ān(a)

affix. subjective genitive

ʒandā

adjective. long

kait-a

verb. lie, be on the ground

rap

root. climb

yad

root. wide

awta- Reconstructed

verb. awta-

askōlimā

adjective. equivalent, (lit.) beside-bear-able

askō Reconstructed

noun. bone

gon-

noun. a stone

hekelā

noun. a waif or outcast

heklō

noun. a waif or outcast

hō

adverb. from, coming from, as described by a genitive

lubbu

noun. a clumsy piece or lump

lō

preposition. ablative, from (a place within the world)

mēn-

noun. a way, a going, a mov[ement]

ndīli

noun. a special concern with or love for

nesī/nese

suffix. a person of female nature

nēr

noun. man, a male person

īb-

noun. a cliff, a sheer descent

kiryā kyulmā

a ship’s mast

bē

preposition. as, like

Tolkien used the word Q. ve for “as, like” in Quenya for much of his life, but its etymological origins varied. In the the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had two distinct roots for “similarity”: unglossed ᴱ√SĒ with variant ᴱ√SENE⁽²⁾ and derivatives like ᴱQ. se “as, like, in manner of” and ᴱQ. (a)sesta- “to liken, compare” (QL/82), and also ᴱ√VĪ “as” with variant ᴱ√VI‘I and derivatives like ᴱQ. ve “as, like”, ᴱQ. vealta- “to resemble”, and ᴱQ. vīkana- “compare” (QL/101). The semantic distinction between the two roots isn’t clear, and in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was a third set of forms beginning with fel- such as G. fel “as, like”, G. feleg “equal”, and G. feltha- “resemble, seem like” (GL/34).

In later notes Tolkien proposed a variety of primitive origins for Q. ve “as, like”: ✶wē (we’e) in 1957 Quenya Notes (VT49/10; PE17/189), ✶bē from notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (VT49/32 note #10), and ✶vai as a relative of suffixal -va in notes from 1968 (VT49/32 note #10). As there are not any definite Sindarin cognates for Q. ve in Tolkien’s published writings, it is hard to know which of these is more likely.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would go with primitive ✶bē as the most widely excepted option, producing S. ✱be “as, like”.

en

root. again, once more, go on doing; further, beyond, again, once more, go on doing; further, beyond; [ᴹ√] yonder, over there

This root had a variety of senses in Tolkien’s writings, which may or may not be related. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹ√EN was glossed “yonder, over there” with the adverbial form ᴹQ. en “there, look yon (yonder)” (Ety/EN) and in this sense it was probably a later iteration of the early demonstrative root ᴱ√E “that by you”. This 1930s version of the root seems to be a “remote demonstrative” as opposed to ᴹ√TA “that” which seems to be a more ordinary demonstrative.

In notes from the late 1940s and early 1950s, Q. en was connected to the future (PE22/120, 131; PE23/97), and in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s, Tolkien revised the gloss of primitive ✶en from “yonder” to “next, further, again” (PE21/70, note #4). In later notes Tolkien primarily emphasized the sense “again” with the glosses like “go on doing” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/167), and the glosses “again, once more” in a couple of different documents written in 1968 (VT47/15; VT48/25), though in one of these it was given the form √HEN “again”, probably a transient idea (VT41/16). This new meaning for √EN reflects the use of the prefix Q. en- for repetition, such as in enquantuva “shall refill” in the Q. Namárië poem (LotR/377).

It is not clear whether √EN retained the sense “yonder” in Tolkien’s later conception of it. In the aforementioned note where it was glossed “go on doing”, one of its derivatives was Q. en(a) “still” as in Q. quetir en “they still say” (PE17/167), referring to the past rather than the future. On the other hand, in rough notes written around 1968, Tolkien said “en- ‘again’ as [in] enquantuva is prob[ably] [?] ‘further, beyond’ [?in respect of time influenced by ? only in] Q. enta, only with verbs. [?root] ēn” (VT41/16). The words in brackets were added by Carl Hostetter as editorial additions or to indicate unclear text in the original, but the relatively clear glosses “further, beyond” show that at least in that moment, something like the 1930s meaning “yonder” of this root may have remained valid.

hek

root. aside, apart, separate

This root appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “aside, apart, separate” (WJ/361) with derivatives having mostly to do with exclusion, abandonment and outcasts, such as: Q. hequa/T. heco “excluding, except”; Q. heca/S. ego “be gone!”; Q. hehta-/T. hecta- “abandon”; Q. hecil/S. eglan “outcast, (one) forsaken” (WJ/364-5). The last of these is especially notable, in that it is the basis for S. †Eglan “Forsaken (Elf)”, one of the names the Sindar used for themselves, especially among the people of Círdan.

Although there are no obvious precursors to √HEK itself in the sense “apart, separate”, Egla was long among the words Tolkien used for the Elves, along with related names like Eglamar, originally “Elfhome” and later “Home of the Eglain”. It appeared as G. Egla “being from outside” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, based on G. eg “far away” < ᴱ√EIKA (GL/32). In the 1930s this became Ilk. Egla “Star-folk, Elf” < ᴹ√ed(e)la with the Ilkorin sound change whereby [[ilk|[dl] became [gl]]] (Ety/ELED). Thus it seems √HEK was Tolkien’s latest attempt to preserve Elga(n) as a word for Elves, though with a different meaning than its earlier incarnations.

hen

root. again; middle

This root and its extensions √HENET and (deleted) √HENED appeared in notes from 1968 as a way to better distinguish the roots for √EN “again” and √ENED “middle”; Tolkien alternately explored assigning both these meanings to √HEN(ET) instead, leaving √EN(ED) with the other meaning (VT41/16). Since the resulting forms in Quenya had no initial h-, this must have been in a period where Tolkien felt ancient voiceless velar spirants vanished in Quenya. These roots are problematic within the larger framework of Tolkien’s languages, and were most likely transient ideas.

il

root. all

A root meaning “all” in Tolkien’s writings from the 1930s through 1960s (VT48/25) with derivatives in both Quenya and Sindarin, the most notable being Q. Ilúvatar “All-father” (MR/39). Its earliest precursor is the root ᴱ√ILU “ether, the slender airs among the stars” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, whose derivatives include various sky-words as well as ᴱQ. Ilúvatar, since in this early period the name meant “Heavenly Father” (QL/42). The meaning of the root shifted to ᴹ√IL “all” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IL), and it retained this sense thereafter.

khim

root. adhere, adhere, [ᴹ√] stick, cleave [to]

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “stick, cleave, adhere” (Ety/KHIM) along with a deleted gloss “endure” (EtyAC/KHIM). It reappeared in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 with the gloss “adhere” (PE22/103) and again Common Eldarin: Verb Strucure of the early 1950s with the same gloss (PE22/137).

kuy

root. awake; live, awake; live, [ᴹ√] come to life

A root Tolkien used in the 1930s through 1960s, sometimes meaning both “live” and “awake” and sometimes just “awake”.

kā

root. after (later than) of time

A root appearing in notes from the late 1960s glossed “after (later than) of time”, appearing in variants √KĀ and √KATA (PE22/147), the latter perhaps being KA + TA. Although the root itself did not appear until very late in Tolkien’s writing, there are hints of it much earlier, with ᴹQ. kata “after” and ᴹQ. kato “afterwards” appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/124). Probably also related is S. cad which also likely meant “after”, appearing in drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices, notably in Cadlaer “July, ✱After-summer” vs. Eblaer “June, ✱Before-summer” (PM/136). There is also a set of preposition from the middle of the 1950s Q. ca-, cata, cana: “behind, at back of place” which may be related; Tolkien often used the same roots for both spatial and temporal relations.

graw Reconstructed

root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart

This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).

khas Reconstructed

root. mar

A (hypothetical) root serving as the basis for Q. †χarina and Q. hastaina “marred” from the 1950s and 60s.

(e)kwē̆

adverb. afresh, anew

-(i)yē

suffix. abstract noun, adverb

-inā

suffix. adjective; passive participle

-lyā

suffix. active participle

-lā

suffix. active participle

-m

suffix. ancient plural formation

-ndūr

suffix. attend, tend

-nā

suffix. adjective suffix; passive participle

-ā

suffix. adjectival

-ā̆

suffix. active verbal suffix

epe

preposition. after of time; after or behind of place

heke

adverb. apart, not including

ilū

noun. all, everything, the whole

kwendā

noun. assembly of (all the) people

kārimā

adjective. able to be done, feasible

nektē

noun. angle

galā- Reconstructed

verb. to grow (of plants)

@@@ also agor variant past of S. car-

-i

suffix. aorist suffix

-kā̆

suffix. adjectival or enlargement

et-kuinu

verb. awake, wake up

orok

root. anything that caused fear or horror

rob

root. astray, wandering, unsettled

gak Reconstructed

root. steel

er

root. one, single, only, alone, one, single, only, alone; [ᴹ√] be alone, deprived; [ᴱ√] remain alone

This root, the basis for the word “one”, was established early and retained its meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. It appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√ERE “remain alone”, and was the basis for ᴱQ. er “one” and ᴱQ. eressea “lonely” (QL/36). These words retained their forms and meaning for the entirety of Tolkien’s life, most notably in Q. Tol Eressëa “Lonely Isle” whose form and meaning were likewise introduced very early and never changed.

The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also had a variety of words derived from this root, such as G. er “one” and G. ereth “solitude” (GL/32). This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√ERE “be alone, deprived” with both Quenya and Noldorin derivatives (Ety/ERE). The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, variously glossed as “one”, “single”, “alone”, or “only”.

One interesting feature of this root was the limitations of its use as a number. In some 1968 notes on river names Tolkien said:

> [S.] Erui. Though this was the first of the Rivers of Gondor it cannot be used for “first”. In Eldarin er was not used in counting in series: it meant “one, single, alone” (VT42/10).

In accompanying notes, Tolkien gave:

> 1 “single” (non-serial) ER; “one, first of a series” MIN (VT42/24).

Thus the root for “one” when counting the first of a series was √MIN, whereas √ER could only be used of things that were isolated or unique.

mel

root. love, love, [ᴹ√] love (as friend)

This root was the basis for Elvish “love” words for all of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√MELE “love” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mel- “to love”, ᴱQ. meles(se) “love”, and ᴱQ. melin “dear, beloved” (QL/60). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had similar derivatives like G. mel- “love” and G. melon “dear, beloved” (GL/57).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien specified that ᴹ√MEL meant “love (as friend)”, and for the first time it included the derivative N. mellon “friend” (Ety/MEL); Gnomish “friend” words from the 1910s were mostly based on G. ged (GL/38). However, the same entry included ᴹQ. melindo/ᴹQ. melisse “lover” (male and female), so it seems even in the 1930s it could refer to romantic love (Ety/MEL). The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings associated with “love” (PE18/46, 96; PE17/41; VT39/10).

In notes from 1959, Tolkien elaborated on the precise sense of √MEL and its role in romantic and non-romantic love:

> Love, which Men might call “friendship” (but for the greater strength and warmth and permanency with which it was felt by the Quendi) was represented by √mel. This was primarily a motion or inclination of the fëa [“spirit”], and therefore could occur between persons of the same sex or different sexes. It included no sexual or procreative desire, though naturally in Incarnates the difference of sex altered the emotion, since “sex” is held by the Eldar to belong also to the fëa and not solely to the hröa [“body”], and is therefore not wholly included in procreation ... The “desire” for marriage and bodily union was represented by √yer; but this never in the uncorrupted occurred without “love” √mel, nor without the desire for children. This element was therefore seldom used except to describe occasions of its dominance in the process of courting and marriage. The feelings of lovers desiring marriage, and of husband and wife, were usually described by √mel. This “love” remained, of course, permanent after the satisfaction of √yer in the “Time of the Children”; but was strengthened by this satisfaction and the memory of it to a normally unbreakable bond (NM/20).

Thus √MEL was close in sense to Greek “philia”, used of friendship, whereas √YER was used of “eros” or sexual desire. But in Elvish thinking, √MEL was essential for romantic love, and √YER only arose from that. Furthermore, √YER was not the most important element in the love between romantic partners, as the period of procreation and child-rearing took up a relatively small portion of Elvish lives. It was the more enduring feeling of friendship between lovers that really mattered, and thus √MEL was used of both non-romantic and romantic love, though it had not particular sexual connotation.

nen

root. water, water, [ᴱ√] flow

A root connected to water and (to a lesser extent) rivers for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appearance was as ᴱ√NENE “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien marked both the root and the gloss with a “?”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nen “river, †water” and ᴱQ. nēnu “yellow water lily” (QL/65). Under this entry Tolkien noted that “nen water is perhaps different from nen river, which is from neře” (QL/65); elsewhere in QL Tolkien gave ᴱ√NERE² or ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] as the basis for nen (nend-) “river”, a root he said was often confused with ᴱ√NESE “give to feed; feed, pasture; graze” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon he had G. nenn “(1) water, (2) river” and G. nendil “water fay” which were probably a blending of NENE and NEÐE, as well as G. nern “brook” from ✱nere¹ (GL/60), probably corresponding to ᴱ√NERE² from QL.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√NEN with derivatives like ᴹQ. nén/N. nen “water” and ᴹQ. nelle “brook” (Ety/NEN), whereas ᴱ√NERE² and ᴱ√NEÐE from the 1910s seems to have been abandoned. The primitive form √NEN or nē̆n “water” continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s writings from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (PE17/52, 167; PE19/102; PE21/64, 79).

dom

root. dark, dark, [ᴹ√] faint, dim

This root was the basis for the main Elvish words for “dusk, night”, which was established as Q. lómë in Quenya for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√LOMO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with various derivatives having to do with “dusk” and “shadow” (QL/55). One notable derivative was ᴱQ. lóme “dusk, gloom, darkness”, which survived in Tolkien’s later writings as “night” and in the 1910s was the basis for ᴱQ. Hisilóme/G. Hithlum “Shadowy Twilights”. Another notable derivative was G. lómin “shady, shadowy, gloomy; gloom(iness)” (GL/45) used in the name G. Dor Lómin, which in the 1910s was translated as “Land of Shadow” (LT1/112).

The “shadow” meaning of this early root seems to have transferred to ᴹ√LUM from The Etymologies of the 1930s, which served as the new basis for N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM), as opposed contemporaneous N. Dor-lómen which was redefined as “Land of Echoes (< ᴹ√LAM via Ilkorin or in later writings, via North Sindarin). The “dusk” sense was transferred to a new root ᴹ√DOM “faint, dim”, which (along with ᴹ√DOƷ) was the basis for the pair words ᴹQ. lóme/N. dû “night” (Ety/DOMO).

These two words for “night” survived in Tolkien’s later writing in both Quenya and Sindarin (Let/308; SA/dú). In notes from the 1940s Tolkien clarified that it “has no evil connotations; it is a word of peace and beauty and has none of the associations of fear or groping that, say, ‘dark’ has for us” (SD/306). The Elves were quite comfortable being under the night sky, dating back to the time when the Elves lived under the stars before the rising of the Sun and the Moon. The root √DOM reappeared in etymologies for star-words from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152). It appeared again in some very late notes from 1969 where it was glossed “dark” and served as the basis for words meaning “blind” as well as “night”, though this paragraph was rejected (PE22/153, note #50).

kew

root. new, fresh; anew, repeated; live of vegetables

This root appeared as KEWE, KWĒ “live of vegetables” in 1957 Quenya Notes with derivatives Q. quëa “vegetable” and (unglossed) Q. ceula, as well as being an element in Q. laiquë “herb” (PE17/159). The root KEWE reappeared in various notes from the late 1960s with the gloss “new, fresh” and “anew, repeated” where Tolkien connected it to the final element of Q. minquë, which roughly had the ancient sense of “✱a new ‘one’ (as in a second round of counting)” (VT48/7-8). In these 1960s notes √KEWE had a variety of derivatives having to do with newness and freshness in Quenya, Sindarin and Telerin.

kher

root. possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power

The basic root for rulership was √KHER for most of Tolkien’s life. The root appeared as ᴱ√HERE “rule, have power” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period already had the derivative ᴱQ. heru “lord” and ᴱQ. heri “lady” (QL/40), words that retained the same form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. Gnomish derivatives from this period include G. herma “protection, lordship, sway”, G. hermon “lord”, G. hîr “care, anxiety; heed”, and G. hiril “queen†, princess” (GL/49).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s these last two Gnomish words became N. hîr “master” and N. hiril “lady” as derivatives of ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess”; the words ᴹQ. heru/ᴹQ. heri reappeared as well (Ety/KHER). All four of these words reappeared frequently in Tolkien’s later writing, though S. hîr was more typically glossed “lord” (PM/210; SD/129; VT41/9; Let/382; UT/318). The root √KHER itself reappeared in a 1954 letter to Naomi Mitchison with the gloss “possess” (Let/178).

kur

root. have power, strength, ability inherent physically or mentally; skill, have power, strength, ability inherent physically or mentally; skill, [ᴹ√] craft

This root was associated with craft and skill for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of the root was unglossed ᴱ√KURU whose Qenya and Gnomish derivatives mostly had to do with magic, such as ᴱQ. kuru “magic, wizardry” and G. curu “magic” (QL/49, GL/28). It appeared again in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√KUR “craft” with derivatives like ᴹQ. kurwe “craft” and N. curu “cunning”. It was mentioned again in notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 with the gloss “skill” and various derivatives similar to the 1930s. Its final mention in published material is from Late Notes on Verbs from 1969:

> “can” = have power, strength, ability inherent physically or mentally. √KURU. Cf. ✱kurwē “power, ability”, S curu in curunír “wizard”, us[ually] applied to exceptional powers espec. of mind, ability to make one’s will effective. It thus approaches some uses of our “magic”, esp. when applied to powers not understood by the speaker, but it does not even then (except perhaps when the word was used by Men) connote any alteration or disturbance of the “natural order”, which to the Eldar were either “miracles” performed by agents of the One or counterfeits by delusion (or by means other than miraculous which impressed the uninstructed as supernatural) (PE22/151).

This last note reconciles the connection between this root and “magic”, in that some powers of the mind that Elves perceive as natural skill would seem to Men to be magical, and in this sense it is the basis for words like S. curunír “wizard”.

li

root. many

This root was connected to words for “many” throughout Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s it appeared as ᴱ√LĪ, with variant ᴱ√ILI “many” and extended form ᴱ√LIYA (LI + ya) “unite many as one” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lia- “entwine” and ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (QL/42, 53). In later writings there is no sign of the inversion √IL “many” (later √IL meant “all”), whereas ᴱ√LIYA seems to have shifted to unrelated ᴹ√SLIG with derivatives like ᴹQ. lia “fine thread, spider filament” and ᴹQ. liante “spider” (Ety/SLIG).

The base root ᴹ√LI “many” did reappear in The Etymologies of the 1930s, however (Ety/LI), and √LI “many” appeared again in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/25). The long-standing connection between this root and the Quenya (partitive) plural suffixes indicates its stability in Tolkien’s mind.

mot

root. fen, marsh

A root in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 glossed “fen, marsh” with derivatives like [Q?] motto and [S?] both or moth, apparently of similar meaning (PE17/165). A likely precursor is the unglossed root ᴹ√MBOTH in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for words like ᴹQ. motto “blot”, N. both “puddle, small pool”, and Ilk. umboth “large pool”, the last of these being the basis for Ilk. Umboth Muilin “Veiled Pool” (Ety/MBOTH, MUY).

In the Gnomish of the 1910s, the first element of G. Umboth-muilin “Pools of Twilight” was derived from ᴱ√mbaþ-, a strengthened form of ᴱ√MAÞA “dusk”, with the second element muilin meaning “pools”, the plural G. muil (LT2/225; GL/58, 75). Later still this name became S. Aelin-uial, and it seems √M(B)OT was repurposed for swamp words.

ndor

root. land; hard, firm; [ᴹ√] dwell, stay, rest, abide

This root was the basis for “land” words for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared in a deleted note from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: “Nōre, -nor land is different from family, one = Gnome Dor, other Gor. NᵈOR and NGOR”; the editors indicate that the superscript “ᵈ” was a later addition (QL/67). The Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa also mention nᵈor and ŋor as the basis for ᴱQ. nóre (PE12/66, 67). However in the Qenya Lexicon proper, ᴱQ. nóre “native land, nation, family, country” was given under the root ᴱ√NŌ “become, be born” with variant ᴱ√NDO; the root was originally given as ŊŌ (QL/66). Thus it seems the two roots NDO(R) and ŊO(R) were combined. In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, G. dôr “land, country (inhabited), people of the land” appeared, probably from NDO(R) (GL/30), whereas “family, kinship” was nothri instead, almost certainly from ᴱ√NŌ given its relationship to G. nost “birth” (GL/61).

The two roots were separated again in The Etymologies of the 1930s where the root ᴹ√NDOR “dwell, stay, rest, abide” was the proper basis for “land” words, but in Quenya was blended with nóre “clan, race” from the root ᴹ√NŌ “beget” (Ety/NDOR, NŌ). This derivation allowed Tolkien to retain his preferred suffixes Q. -nóre/-nor vs. N./S. -dor for “-land”, and he mentioned this parallel derivation several times in later writings (PE17/26, 106-107; WJ/413 note #25). The only later change was in the gradual refinement of the meaning of NDOR as more properly referring to (dry) land as opposed to water, seas and swamps (PE17/106, 181), properly a strengthened form of √DOR “hard, tough” (PE17/181; WJ/413).

nek

root. narrow, narrow; *angular, sharp

A root appearing in notes on words and phrases from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving mainly as the basis for S. naith “angle” (PE17/55). It was also mentioned in a discussion of the death of Isildur at the Gladden Fields, again as the basis for S. naith among other words, where the root √NEK was glossed “narrow” (UT/281-2, note #16). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. naith was derived from ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT, but the precise derivation was unclear, and in any cases seems to have been replaced by Tolkien with a more straightforward derivation from √NEK.

The root √NEK also appeared in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 with the gloss “deprive”, serving among other things as the basis for S. neithan “one deprived” (PE17/167), which was the name adopted by Túrin after he became an outlaw (S/200). The root appeared again in notes on Elvish numbers from the late 1960s glossed as either “divide, part, separate” (VT47/16) or “divide, separate” (VT48/9), where it served as the basis for √ENEK “six” as the dividing point between the lower and upper set of numbers in the Elvish duodecimal system.

It is not clear whether Tolkien intended all these various meanings for the root √NEK to be connected. For purposes of analysis, I’ve split √NEK “narrow” from √NEK “separate; deprive”, but conceivably the sense “narrow” could be a semantic extension of “separate” or vice-versa.

nem Reconstructed

root. seem, appear

This root appeared as ᴹ√NIM “it appears, occurs to (one’s mind)” in the first version of notes on Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s, with modern Quenya nimin(ye) “it seems to me” (PE23/89). In Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) from this same period, Tolkien had nemini “appears/seems to me”, revised to nimini, which was deleted and a new paragraph was written with nemin “it seems to me” (PE22/93 note #6 and #7).

In the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 Tolkien used nem- (PE22/99-100, 105, 111), and in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s had Q. {nemeste} nemesta “appearance, seeming” (PE22/137). Eldarin Pronouns (EP1) also from the early 1950s had the root √NEM as the basis for ✶nemi-ne “it appears to me, me seems” (PE23/123). The forms Q. níma/nimulë and S. nîf/nivol appeared in 1957 notes, all glossed “phantom” or “seeming”, indicate Tolkien may have restored ✱√NIM “seem”. I prefer to stick with better attested √NEM for purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

nik

root. small

One of various roots for “small” Tolkien used in his later writings. The root √NIK “small” first appeared in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/26; VT48/18), but was connected to the diminutive suffix ✶-i(n)ki which had a much longer conceptual history. One of the earliest known diminutive suffix was ᴱQ. -íne(a) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the root ᴱ√INI “small” (QL/42), which might be a precursor to √NIK; these suffixes reappeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 81). In the Gnomish Grammar of the 1910s, the word G. inc “small” was used as the basis for the “diminutive superlative” -inci (PE11/16).

In the Qenya Lexicon, Tolkien connected ᴱ√INI “small” to the root ᴱ√MINI of similar meaning (QL/42, 61). There are no signs of ᴱ√MINI “small” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but the word G. migin “little” (GL/57) hints at a (hypothetical) variant root ✱ᴱ√MIKI. Further support for ✱ᴱ√MIKI can be found in other diminutive forms in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s such as prefixal diminutive ᴱQ. mike- along adverbial ᴱQ. mike “little” (QL/48, 81), the latter appearing with the gloss “a bit” in the English-Qenya Dictionary from this period (PE15/70) along with other similar words in both the dictionary and the grammar. This ✱ᴱ√MIKI might be another precursor to √NIK. An early hint at √NIK itself might appear in the word ᴹQ. nikse “minnow, little fish” from the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/27).

In Noldorin and Sindarin, the primary diminutive suffix became -eg, which was connected to the Common Eldarin suffix -iki elsewhere in notes on hands and fingers (VT47/14 note #21). In the notes where √NIK “small” appeared in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the primitive diminutive as -inkĭ along with variants ikki, -iksi, -si, -ensi, -ki.

One of the main competing roots for “small” was ᴹ√PIK [see the entry for √PI(N)], itself with a lengthy conceptual history. The shift of pitya >> nitya “little” in the father name of Amrod from the late 1960s may represent a replacement of √PIK by √NIK (PM/365), but I think it is likelier the two roots coexisted with slightly different meanings, as was the case for their earlier precursors. In the notes from the late 1960s, √NIK was also contrasted with √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” (VT48/18), from which the word S. niben “petty” was derived, as in S. Nogoth Niben (WJ/388).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √NIK meant “small” in a neutral sense, √PIK “tiny” (along with variants √PĪ and √PIN) and √NIP “small and weak”. I would use these as the major Eldarin roots for “small” words, along with a number of other more specialized roots.

wis

root. change, alter(nate), shift

A root appearing twice in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, once with the gloss “change, alter(nate)” (PE17/189) and again with the gloss “alter, change, shift” (PE17/191). It served as the basis of intransitive and transitive verbs Q. virya- and Q. vista- with meanings similar to the root, as well as Q. inwis “change of mind, mood” and Q. walwistë “change of mind”. √WIS might be a much later iteration of unglossed root ᴱ√VṚTṚ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. varta “change”, G. bridol “changing, varying, variable”, and G. brigli “variation” (QL/102; GL/24), but though the two roots have similar meanings, the forms are different enough that it is hard to say if they are directly connected.

ye(l)

root. daughter

The root √YEL was one of several competing Elvish roots for “daughter”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√YEL “daughter” was first used as the basis for ᴹQ. yelde/N. iell “daughter”, but it was deleted (Ety/YEL). N. iell was given a new derivation from ᴹ√SEL-D “child”, by analogy with N. ionn “son” (Ety/SEL-D), while a new Quenya word for “daughter” was introduced: ᴹQ. yende from a feminine variant ᴹ√yēn of ᴹ√YO(N) (Ety/YŌ). Note that ᴹ√SEL-D itself was initially glossed “daughter”, but was changed to “child” and given derivatives for all genders in Quenya: ᴹQ. selda [n.], ᴹQ. selde [f.], and ᴹQ. seldo [m.].

The picture in later writings is also rather muddled. 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). In several places Tolkien gave Q. Tindómerel “Daughter of Twilight” as the Quenya equivalent of S. Tinúviel, with the final element being derived from primitive ✶-sel(dĕ) > -rel (Ety/SEL-D; PE19/33, 73; VT47/37).

In this period, however, the more common suffix for “daughter” was Q. -iel as in Q. Elerondiel (S. Elrenniel) “✱Daughter of Elrond” as applied to Arwen (PE17/56) and Q. Uinéniel “Daughter of Uinen” (UT/182). Furthermore, in a list of masculine and feminine suffixes written around 1959, Tolkien gave (primitive?) yē, yel and (Quenya?) yelde for “daughter”, though in that note the feminine patronymic suffixes were revised from {-yel, iel, -yelde >>} -well-, -uell-, -wend-, -wel, and yen was given as another variant (PE17/190). In other notes from the late 1950s associated with “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature”, Tolkien had feminine patronymic suffixes -en, -ien, but said that Quenya used -ielde, -iel (PE17/170).

Neo-Eldarin: All of the above indicates considerable vacillation between √SEL, √YEL, and √YEN for “daughter” words and suffixes in the 1930s to 1960s: of the three Tolkien seem to favor sel- for “daughter” words but -iel for “daughter” suffixes. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume ᴹ√SEL(D) originally meant “child”, with √YEL an early variant meaning “daughter” under the influence of √YON “son”, especially used as a suffix. However, due to reverse influence Q. seldë and S. sell were early on used to mean “daughter”, with female child = “girl” words becoming Q. nettë and S. neth.

ndorē

noun. land

-ikwā

suffix. -ful, adjectival suffix

-il

suffix. old tool and weapon names

-iti

suffix. habit or special association with the verbal action

-lī

suffix. many

deulē

noun. mistake

elen

noun. star

en

adverb. next, further, again; then in that (past) time, next, further, again; [ᴹ✶] yonder; then in that (past) time

etkuinu-

verb. to awake, wake up

keme

noun. earth

kemen

noun. earth

kurwē

noun. skill of the hand; power, ability

kwened

root. spoken, articulate, spoken, articulate; [ᴹ√] Elf

melnā

noun. dear, beloved

mornā

adjective. dark

morokō

noun. bear

mā

noun. hand

ndē̆r

noun. man

ndōro

noun. land

nimpĭ

adjective. small

nē

adverb. was; then, ago, before

nē̆n

noun. water

ámān

place name. Unmarred State

ñgormē

noun. dread, reverence, awe

ñgurū

noun. death

ēl

noun. star

kelebō

noun. hart

khā

adverb. far

khō̆

preposition. with, acc[ompanied] by

kyeles

root. *at rear

thillu, thilnu

verb. shine out, appear (of star)

thor

root. steadfast

¤kurwē

noun. power, ability

del

root. will

A root in etymological notes from 1968, meaning “to will with conscious purpose, immediate or remote”; it was distinct from “be willing, to assent, consent, agree”, which partakes of the will but also involves accident or change (NM/231). Given the many other uses to which √DEL was assigned, odds are this was a transient idea.

eñ

root. be, exist

Throughout much of its conceptual development, Quenya had two distinct roots for the verb to be: the root √NĀ functioning mainly as a copula in “to be” expressions like Elrondo Elda ná “Elrond is an Elf” or Aracorno halla ná “Aragorn is tall”, versus a distinct root used mainly for existential statements such as Eru ëa “God exists”. The copula-root was established very early as √NĀ, but the existential-root varied considerably.

The earliest version of the existential root was ᴱ√Ō “be, exist” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/69). By the 1920s it seems this root has changed to ᴱ√Ī as it appeared in Early Qenya words lists from that period (PE16/140), and the verb for “to be” in the contemporaneous Early Qenya Grammar was ᴱQ. e- or i (PE14/51, 57).

A similar root ᴹ√YĒ or ᴹ√I appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, albeit with no derivatives (EtyAC/YE). It was most likely the basis for the so-called “stative” suffix ᴹQ. -ie seen in the contemporaneous Fíriel’s Song (LR/72). The root ᴹ√YE was also mentioned in both the first and second versions of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa from 1937 (TQ1: PE18/60) and around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/84), though in the latter it was rejected (PE18/84 note #69). This root is reflected in the use of ᴹQ. ye- in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/107, 115, 117, 119-120), but this verb was rejected and replaced towards the end of that document by a new verb ᴹQ. ea- (PE22/122-124 and PE22/123 note #130). The rejection of ye- “to be” may be due to the introduction of Q. yén for the Elvish long year, as suggested by Christopher Gilson (PE22/86).

In QVS, the new verb ea- was derived from a primitive ✱eʒe or ✱eñe (PE22/122); the root ᴹ√EƷ “be” had already been mentioned in Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1940s, indicating Tolkien had been considering this form for some time. In 1948 QVS, Tolkien said:

> The primary sense of this verb was “to exist, to have being, to be found, extant, in the real world”. But it was often weakened to the copula, in statements of identity or predication. This however in classical Quenya was limited mainly to the past and future (PE22/123).

Thus in 1948 Tolkien started the process of establishing ea- as primarily an existential verb. A few years later, Tolkien mentioned the root √EÑ “be” in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s (PE19/96) and he described √EÑ more fully in verbal notes from 1969 where he said:

> Stem of verb “exist” (have being in primary world of history) was √EŊE, distinct from √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).

Thus the conceptual development of this root seems to have roughly been √Ō (1910s) >> √YĒ/Ī (1920s) >> √EƷ (late 1940s) >> √EÑ (early 1950s). This is an oversimplification however, in that √EƷ appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s and Tolkien may have been considering it much earlier. Furthermore, the role of √EÑ as primarily as existential root (vs. copula √NĀ) was only firmly established in Tolkien’s later writings. When the root was √YĒ/Ī in the 1920s through 1940s, it seems the verbs ᴱQ. e- and ᴹQ. ye- were used for both existential statements and as a copula, and in this period √NĀ (though mentioned) was rarely used and may have been out of favor.

is

root. know

The root √IS was the basis for words having to do with “knowledge” for all of Tolkien’s life, as represented by the verb Q. ista- “to know” which likewise retained the same form and meaning for decades. The root first appeared as ᴱ√ISI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where somewhat cryptically Tolkien said its Gnomish form was GIS or IS (QL/43). This is mysterious because there were no such Gnomish words beginning with gis- in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but there is an Early Noldorin word ᴱN. gist- “to know” from the 1920s, probably derived from ᴱ✶ʒist- (PE13/144, 146); in this early period initial ʒ- &gt; g- in Gnomish (PE12/17).

Tolkien seems to have abandoned this Noldorin variant, giving the root only as ᴹ√IS in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IS). In this form it continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/155; PE22/129; VT41/6; VT48/25). In one place Tolkien gave the root in inverted form √SI (PE22/134), and such an inversion appeared in some of its derivatives, such as Q. síma “imagination, mind” (VT49/16) and sinte the irregular past tense of Q. ista-. However, the majority of its derivatives are from √IS.

khin

root. child

A root appearing in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 with the gloss “child” (PE17/157), and again in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 with the same gloss (WJ/403). It was the basis for the words Q. hína and S. hên “child”, which were probably inspired by the Adûnaic patronymic suffix -hin that Tolkien introduced in the 1940s as part of Êruhin “Child of God” (SD/358), originally an Adûnaic word but later on used in Sindarin (Let/345; MR/330). This root might be a later iteration of the early root ᴱ√HILI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s whose derivatives had to do with children (QL/40). As evidence of this, the Adûnaic word was first given as Eruhil (SD/341).

khith

root. mist, mist, [ᴹ√] fog

This root and its variants were the basis for “mist” words for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√HISI with derivatives like ᴱQ. híse “dusk” and ᴱQ. hiswa “dim, fading” (QL/40), and as an element in ᴱQ. Hisilóme which was glossed “Shadowy Twilights” in the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/112). Thus the early root might have meant “✱dusk, dimness, shadow”. The root was probably also an element in the Gnomish equivalent Hithlum from this period (GL/20), perhaps the result of the sound change whereby [[g|[s] became [θ] before [l]]] in Gnomish.

The sense “haze” and “mist” for ᴱQ. híse first appeared in drafts of the Oilima Markirya poem (PE16/62, 75). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this root as ᴹ√KHITH with variant ᴹ√KHIS and the gloss “mist, fog”; ᴹ√KHIS was listed first but all the actual derivatives were from ᴹ√KHITH (Ety/KHIS). The root appeared again in Notes on Galadriel’s Song from the late 1950s or early 1960s as √KHIΘ “mist” (NGS, PE17/73).

Tolkien’s continued use of Q. Hísilómë and (Northern) S. Hithlum throughout his life testifies to the enduring nature of this root, though it seems to have shifted in sense from 1910s “✱shadow” to 1930s “mist”, and from s to th.

khy-

root. other

Tolkien used a variety of different roots for “otherness” and “or” throughout his life. The earliest of these was ᴱ√VARA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. vára “other”, ᴱQ. var “or”, ᴱQ. varya “different” and ᴱQ. varimo “foreigner” (QL/100). Similar words in the Gnomish lexicon such as G. far(o)n “separate, different, strange” and G. faronwed “foreign” seem to be based on a distinct but possibly related root, apparently being derived from G. far- “separate, sever, divide” (GL/34). The Gnomish words for “otherness” seem to be based on the (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√ELE, such as G. el “or” and G. eleg “other, else” (GL/32); see the entry on ✱ᴱ√ELE for further discussion.

In the Early Qenya Grammar, the “other” words were based on ᴱQ. etya (comparative) and ᴱQ. nyanya (general), but these words were on a page of demonstratives and their primitive basis isn’t clear (PE14/55). The first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s had ᴹ√ETHE “other” as the basis for the “other person” pronoun ᴹQ. the, along with a rarer “[yet another] person” pronoun he (PE23/91), but there are no signs of the past 1948. The next published “or” word was S. egor from the King’s Letter in the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, written in 1948-1951 (SD/129).

The next set of “or/other” words do not appear until the 1960s. The primitive form ✶khē̆ appears in notes on reflexives from 1965 as the basis for Q. hé “him, the other” (VT49/15), probably a holdover from the 1948 pronoun he mentioned above (PE23/91). In rough notes on numbers written in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the possibly-related root √KES “other”, with derivatives Q. exa “other” and Q. exe “the other”, apparently adjective and noun (VT47/40). Finally in some notes written in 1968 or later, Tolkien gave the primitive element √KHY- “other”, with derivatives Q. hye “other person”, Q. hya “other thing”, and Q. hyana “other [adjective]” (VT49/14).

These primitive forms also seem to be connected to various words Tolkien considered for “or” in the Ambidexters Sentence composed in 1969: khe >> hela >> hya (VT49/14). Patrick Wynne suggested the first two of these might be connected to 1965 ✶khē̆, and the last one to 1968+ √KHY-. This last root may also be connected to Q. ahya- “change” (circa 1960); if so Tolkien may have been vacillating among various possible forms throughout the 1960s.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is better to use √KHY- and its derivatives, since they are a more comprehensive paradigm including the best available Quenya word for “or”.

kor

root. round, round; [ᴱ√] be round, roll

This was the Elvish root for round things throughout Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√KORO “be round, roll” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and had Early Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. korima “round” and G. corm “ring, circle, disc” (GL/26). ᴹ√KOR “round” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin (Ety/KOR). √KOR “round” was also mentioned in etymological notes probably written in the early 1960s (PE17/184). Its derivatives like Q. corma “ring” (LotR/953) and S. cerin “(circular) mound” (LotR/350; RC/309) appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings.

kwi

root. suppose

A root Tolkien introduced in the late 1960s with the gloss “suppose”, appearing beside √KE “maybe” (PE22/158). It also had an extended (verbal) form √KWIS “inquire, suppose” in this same document. This late root may have been a restoration of much earlier ᴱ√IQI “request, ask for” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, whose derivatives had to do with requests and requirements (QL/43).

The roots √KWI and √KE were in competition in the late 1960s as the basis for “if” words in hypthotheticals; see the entry on √KE/EKE for these alternatives.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin I think it is best to use √KWI for “if” and √KE for “maybe”; I also think √KWI(S) “inquire” can be used to justify the restoration of some of the derivatives of early ᴱ√IQI, via a hypothetical Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√IKWI(S) “request, ask for”.

kyelep

root. silver

This root and ones like it were used for Elvish words for “silver” throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of the root began with T-, however, appearing as unglossed ᴱ√TELEPE in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. telpe “silver” (QL/91). Even at this early stage, however, the Gnomish equivalent was G. celeb (GL/25), but the reason for the t/c variation isn’t clear. The closest explanation is that palatal consonants like [c] became [tʲ] in Qenya vs. [k] in Gnomish (compare ᴱQ. tyava- vs. caf- “taste” from ᴱ√TYAVA) but this doesn’t explain why the Qenya form has initial t- rather than ty-.

Elsewhere in the Elvish languages of the 1910s there seem to be etymological variations of [k] vs. [t], such as ᴱQ. kitya- vs. G. tisca- “tickle” (QL/47; GL/70) and ᴱQ. talqe vs. G. celc “glass” (QL/88; GL/25), so perhaps ᴱQ. telpe vs. G. celeb “silver” is another example of this. Another explanation appeared in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s, where the primitive form was ᴱ✶kelekwé which produced ᴱN. celeb as usual but the Qenya form was ᴱQ. telqe with “k = t by dissimilation” (PE13/140), presumably away from q.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had the root ᴹ√KYELEP with variant ᴹ√TELEP, producing N. celeb but ᴹQ. tyelpe or ᴹQ. telpe (Ety/KYELEP). But Tolkien revised this entry, marking ᴹ√TELEP as questionable and introducing the Telerin form ᴹT. telpe < ᴹ√KYELEP, concluding that ᴹQ. telpe must be a loan from Telerin. This finally put N. celeb vs. ᴹQ. telpe (borrowed from Telerin) on a solid phonological foundation. Tolkien seems to have stuck with this explanation, mentioning this borrowing from Telerin to Quenya several times in his later writings, with the proper but now archaic Quenya form being Q. †tyelpë (Let/426; PM/356; UT/266).

ler

root. free

A root appearing twice in a list of roots from 1959-60, the first time described as “free (of moveable things or moving things), able to move as willed, unimpeded, unhampered, loose, not fixed fast or static” and the second time as “am free to do, sc., am under no restraint (physical or other)” (VT41/5-6). In the second instance it was compared to √POL which had the sense of being physically able to do something. It seems that √LER = “able to do something because there is nothing preventing it” vs. √POL = “able to something because of physical ability”. It might also be contrasted with √LEK which has the sense of freeing something that was once bound, whereas with √LER the thing that is free may have never been bound in the first place.

lewek

root. worm

A root glossed “worm” appearing in etymological notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s serving as the basis for Q. leuca and S. lŷg “snake” (PE17/160), words that also appeared in Appendix E to The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). A possible precursor to this root is indicated by “snake” words from the Qenya and Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s: ᴱQ. lin (ling-) and G. ling (QL/54; GL/54), probably derived from ✱ᴱ√LIŊI.

lot(h)

root. flower

This root and ones like it were connected to flowers for all of Tolkien’s life. The earliest manifestation of this root was ᴱ√LOHO or ᴱ√LO’O from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s; the entry for ᴱ√LOHO appears immediately below ᴱ√LO’O, and Tolkien indicates they are related roots, both extended from ᴱ√OLO “tip” (QL/55). These roots include derivatives like ᴱQ. lōte “flower”, ᴱQ. lotōrea “flourishing” and ᴱQ. lokta- “sprout, bud, put forth leaves or flowers”. There are also derivatives of these roots in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon: G. lost “blossom, bloom”, G. lothli “floret”, G. luitha- “to bloom” (GL/54-55), though G. lôs “flower” was said to be unrelated, connected to G. lass “leaf” instead (GL/55). ᴱQ. losse “rose” probably had a similar derivation (QL/56).

This confusion of √LOT(H) and √LOS carried forward into Tolkien’s later writings. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√LOT(H) was given as the root for “flower” (Ety/LOT(H)), but this entry originally included a variant ᴹ√LOS (EtyAC/LOT(H)). Tolkien then said ᴹQ. losse “blossom” (< ᴹ√LOT(H)) was “usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom” (Ety/LOT(H)), where ᴹQ. olosse was derived from ᴹ√GOLOS “✱snow, white” (Ety/GOLÓS). This intermingling carried forward into etymological notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where Tolkien said (PE17/26):

> The stems √LŎS, √LOTH, √LOT are much entangled both for formal reasons, and because of actual associations of meaning (probably from beginning of Primitive Quendian and explaining the approach of the forms). Quenya word for “flower, a single bloom” is lóte, but S loth (< lotho/a), but Quenya also has lōs. Q. for snow is losse (S los).

These associations were also mentioned in etymological notes on roots for flowers from this same period, where Tolkien clarified that √LOT, √LOTH were the roots for “flower” and √LOS for “snow” (PE17/160-161). These roots were mentioned again in notes associated with The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from 1967-69 (VT42/18):

> S. loss is a derivative of (G)LOS “white”; but loth is from LOT. Sindarin used loss as a noun, but the strengthened form gloss as an adjective “(dazzling) white”. loth was the only derivative of LOT that it retained, probably because other forms of the stem assumed a phonetic shape that seemed inappropriate, or were confusible with other stems (such as LUT “float”), e.g. ✱lod, ✱lûd. loth is from a diminutive lotse and probably also from derivative lotta-.

In this last note, Tolkien seems to have abandoned √LOTH, explaining S. loth “flower” as derived from √LOT via ✱lotse. In any case, starting in the 1930s Tolkien was consistent that the roots for “flower” and “snow” were distinct but often confused, and that snow-words were derived from roots like √(G)LOS and flower words from roots like √LOT(H), though he waffled a bit on the exact details.

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).

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

tig

root. [unglossed]

A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).

yul

root. drink

A root meaning “drink” in Tolkien’s later writings, most notably the basis for Q. yulda “draught” and Q. yulma “cup” from the Q. Namárië poem (LotR/377). It seems likely the root was coined in association with this poem, though there are no signs of any yul- forms in its earliest drafts from the 1940s (TI/284). The root √YUL (or √JULU) was mentioned a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings in the 1950s and 60s (PE17/63, 180; PE22/155; WJ/416), but there is no sign of it before then. In earlier writings Tolkien generally used √SOK or √SUK for “drink”, and the root √SOK appeared as late as the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (VT39/11), an essay that also referenced √YUL (WJ/416). Thus it isn’t clear whether √SOK was supplanted by √YUL, or if the two roots coexisted.

lemek

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

(g)reth

root. aid, support

itith

root. annoy, *itch, irritate; peck, bite (of flies)

pelek

root. axe

tok

root. appraise, tax, assess, assay; try, test, essay, endeavour; feel with the hand, handle

im Reconstructed

root. same, alike, [ᴱ√] same, alike

A root whose existence is implied in Tolkien’s writings from the 1950s and 60s by various reflexive pronouns such as Q. imni “myself” and S. im “self(same)” (VT47/37). Though the root itself did not appear in Tolkien’s later writings, it seems to have been a long standing idea of his, appearing as ᴱ√IMI “same, alike” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives such as ᴱQ. iminqa “exactly alike, identical” and ᴱQ. inye- “imitate, make like” (QL/42). It seems to have had Gnomish derivatives from this period as well, such as G. inco “the same, the identical”, though Tolkien put this form under the root for the definite article: ᴱ√I (GL/50). In any case, √IM as the basis for “sameness” and reflexives seems to have been a well established idea in Tolkien’s languages.

kot(h)

root. strive, quarrel

There is evidence that the later form of this root may have been √ÑGOTH. See ᴺ✶kottō for a discussion.

Another variation, √KHOT “be wroth, quarrel; hate” appears in notes on root formations (PE18/62, 85, 87), but its only derivative ✶ok(h)tā could just as easily come from √KOT(H).

In order to retain all the derivatives from The Etymologies, this entry assumes that the root form remains √KOTH.

(s)rō Reconstructed

root. east

du Reconstructed

root. dark

en

root. name

firing

root. necklace

ikwi(s)

root. request, ask for

mek

root. *aim

lub Reconstructed

root. lump

A hypothetical root implied by the primitive word ✶lubbu “a clumsy piece or lump” appearing in both the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1940s and the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s serving to illustrate the unvoicing of double stops in Quenya: ✶lubbu > Q. luppo (PE19/45, 92).

The root may be related to earlier ᴱQ. ulumpe “camel”: although its root was given as ᴱ√ULUN(T) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien gave ulumpe- in parenthesis beside the root, indicating it was probably an elaboration on unattested ✱ᴱ√LUPU (QL/97). It might also be connected to G. lub “fat, fat flesh” < ᴱ✶lūpe as well as G. lubi “corpulent” (GL/55), especially given primitive ✶slūbŭ “greasy, fat” from Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s (PE22/82).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it is worth positing a variant root ᴺ√LUP “hump” for Neo-Eldarin in order to salvage Early Qenya camel words.

pi(n) Reconstructed

root. little

Tolkien used a variety of roots for Elvish words for “small”. One early root was ᴱ√PIKI with variants ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. pínea “small” and ᴱQ. pinqe “slender, thin” (QL/73). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pinig “tiny, little” and G. pibin “small berry, haw” (GL/64).

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as unglossed {ᴹ√PEK >>} ᴹ√PIK with derivatives like N. pigen “tiny” and N. peg “small spot, dot” (Ety/PIK; EtyAC/PIK). Further evidence for this root can be seen in later words like Q. piki- or pitya “petty” (WJ/389) and Q. pic- “lessen, dwindle” (MC/223). A variant root √PEY appeared in a list of roots having to do with “large and small” from the late 1960s with a single derivative Q. pia “little” [< ✱peya], but it was immediately followed by the forms pikina, pinke, pitya which point back to √PIK (PE/117).

Further evidence of early forms ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ can also be seen in Tolkien’s later writings. There is S. ✱pîn “little” in S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” (RC/536), ✶pī {“small bird” >>} “small insect” (VT47/35), and T. pinke “little-one, baby” (VT48/6), though the last of these might be from √PIK. In any case it seems Tolkien continued to use all of √PI, √PIK and √PIN to form words for little things into the late 1960s.

In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, Tolkien changed pitya to Q. nitya in the name Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” (PM/353, 365 note #59), which may indicate a replacement of √PIK by √NIK, another root used regularly in Tolkien’s later writings for “small”. But I believe √PIK and √NIK may coexist with slightly different meanings: “tiny” vs. “small”; see the entry on √NIK for further discussion.

(ñ)guruk

noun. horror

-imā

suffix. possibility

-kwā

suffix. -ful

dē

preposition. with

henet

root. middle

imbi

preposition. between

imin

masculine name. One

immā

pronoun. reflexive

immō

pronoun. reflexive

kes

root. other

khīnā

noun. child

kirtē

noun. rune

kuldā

adjective. hollow

kyelepē

noun. silver

kāwāk

noun. frog

loth

noun. inflorescence

lotse

noun. flower

luini

adjective. blue

lā-

verb. to not be

lā̆

preposition/adverb. beyond

min

cardinal. one

mīni

preposition. between

mō

noun. person

nābā

noun. hollow

nāro

noun. fire

nēthā

noun. sister

orlā

preposition. over

sū

noun. wind

árātō

noun. lord

áse

noun. sunlight

ñgūr

noun. wolf

ăwă

preposition. from

ʒō

preposition. from

ṇdūnē

noun. sunset

bes

root. to wed

kwil

root. colour, colour, color

tyos

root. cough

em

root. mother

emel

noun. mother

emer

noun. mother

et-koiru/et-koilu

verb. come to life

gō

preposition. from

imi

root. in

khū

root. curse

koiru

verb. come to life

lugni

adjective. blue

melā

verb. love

ndilā

verb. love, be devoted to

ngur

root. horror

si

root. know

wiw

root. blow

wā(w)

noun. dog