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.

ara

root. ARA

arthā

?. arthā

aras(sō)

noun. hart

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).

arat

root. good, excellent, noble

ara

preposition and adverb. beyond, further than

arātā

adjective. high, lofty, noble

arn(a)-

prefix. noble, royal

arphō

noun. seizer, thief

artaurē

noun. Realm

arāt-chír

masculine name. Noble Lord

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

par

root. learn; arrange, [ᴹ√] compose, put together

This root was the basis for Q. parma “book”, but Tolkien vacillated on the exact sense for the root. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√PARA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with a single derivative: ᴱQ. parma “skin, bark; parchment; †book, writings” (QL/72). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, words like G. padhwen “bark” and G. paglos “parchment” are probably related, along with deleted word G. pand “bark; book” (GL/63). These Gnomish forms hint that the early root was probably actually PAŘA [PAÐA]. Another set of words appearing in the same part of the Gnomish Lexicon and thus probably also related are: G. past “skin”, G. pasta- “skin, peel, flay” and G. path “peel, skin of fruit, fine bark (paper)” (GL/63).

The root ᴹ√PAR reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a completely different meaning “compose, put together”, though still with the derivative ᴹQ. parma/N. parf “book” along with ON. partha- “arrange, compose” (Ety/PAR). The root ᴹ√PAR “compose, arrange” also appeared in the first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) also from the 1930s, again as the basis for ᴹQ. parma “book” (PE18/51). The root √PAR¹ “arrange” > Q. parma “writing, composition, book” appeared again in the second version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950 (PE18/101).

In notes from around 1959 Tolkien reverted to the earlier meaning of the root. In etymological notes from 1959 Tolkien wrote “√PAR-, peel (hence bark, book). [S.] paran, Q. parne, bald, bare” (PE17/171). In a list of Sindarin words from the same period he wrote:

> S paran, naked, bare. Cf. Dol Baran. √PAR “peel”. Cf. Q parna, bare. (Q parma, peel, applied to bark or skin, hence “book”). Q. parca, naked, of persons. S parch (PE17/86).

In another note from this period he gave a very similar derivation with √PAR > Q. parma = [originally] “bark” [later] “parchment, book” noting that the first Elvish writing materials were bark, but he then rejected this etymology (PE17/171).

In notes from the 1960s Tolkien gave:

> √PAR- “learn, to acquire information, not by experience or observation, but by communication”, by the instruction, or accounts of others in words or writing: parma, a book (or written document of some size). To read a book in Elvish was often expressed so: paranye (apārien) parmanen, I am learning (have learnt) by means of a book (PE17/180).

This last meaning of the root is further supported by the phrase Q. cuita’r parë “live and learn” from Late Notes on Verbs composed in 1969 (PE22/154).

Thus the semantic evolution of root seems to be 1910s “✱peel” >> 1930s-1950 “arrange, compose” >> 1959 “peel” >> 1960s “learn”.

Neo-Eldarin: Tolkien’s shifting definitions of the root √PAR make it tricky to use in the context of Neo-Eldarin. While it was the source of Q. parma “book” for all of Tolkien’s life, the exact mechanism of how √PAR was connected to “book” underwent a number of changes. Of these, I think the use of √PAR = “peel” is the one that can be most easily discarded. While this does leave S. paran “bare” from the name S. Dol Baran with no etymology, that word might be salvaged by assuming it was derived instead of an unrelated (hypothetical) root ✱√PARAN.

The other two meanings of the root, “compose” (1930s-1950) and “learn” (1960s) are both popular parts of Neo-Eldarin. The verb Q. par- has become the basis verb for “learn” verbs in Neo-Eldarin since its publication in PE17 in 2007. However, the sense “compose, arrange” is also well established. I think it is best to assume this root means both “compose, put together” in general as well as “compose (information)” = “learn”, to retain both these senses. As for “arrange”, that seems to be better covered by √PAN.

yarr-

noun. dog, dog; *growl, snarl

In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien gave the root ᴱ√YAPA “snarl, snap, bark ill-temperedly” (QL/105). It had no derivatives in QL, but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the words G. gab- “bark, bay (of dogs)” and G. gôbi “a large hound” were clearly related (GL/36). There were no similar forms for many years, but then primitive ✶yarr- “dog” appeared in notes from 1968 (VT47/36). This later primitive was likely related to Q. yarra- “growl, snarl” from the Q. Markirya poem of this same period (MC/223), perhaps from a root ✱√YAR.

rā/ara

root. noble, high, royal

An invertible root meaning “noble”, itself an extension of √AR (PE17/147). Given its widespread use, Tolkien did not define this root until quite late. Its first clear mention was in Notes on Names (NN) and Quenya Notes (QN), both from 1957. In NN, Tolkien introduced invertible √ARA/RĀ to give an explanation of the element rod in names like S. Rodon “Vala” and S. Finrod, where Tolkien said:

> S raud “tall, high, lofty, eminent”. √ARA, RĀ. Cf. Q aran “king”. Q arta “high” < árată. S raud < form (a)rā́tă (PE17/118).

Earlier in The Etymologies of the 1930s, the second element of N. Finrod was N. rhaud “metal” (Ety/RAUTĀ), whereas ᴹQ. haran/N. aran “king” was derived from ᴹ√ƷAR “have, hold” (Ety/ƷAR). As for the later root √ARA/RĀ, Tolkien gave a lengthier explanation in QN:

> √AR. ARI-, ARA/RĀ, ARAT/ARAN. Original sense probably seen in adverb/preposition ✱ara/ar/ra, beyond, further than. The stems ARI/ARAN/ARAT mean “good, excellent, noble” — differing from √MAN in stating that any one specimen is “good of its kind”, excels, without necessarily implying that others are bad or marred. Hence ari-, good as prefix, ar/ara/aran as prefixes of excellence especially in royal names, aran king. Q arta noble, arato a “noble”, ráta- excel, surpass. S aran, arod (arāta); or raud excellent, noble, eminent (PE17/147).

Thus all these roots, including the extensions √ARAN and √ARAT, were elaborations on the sense “beyond” from base root √AR. The simple root √AR itself had a lengthy conceptual history; see that entry for details. As for ARA/RĀ, the connection between these forms and nobility seems to be firmly established by the late 1950s and afterwards, with primitive element Ara- “noble” mentioned in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/344, 363 note #43), and numerous other mentions of derived forms in documents from this period.

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.

asmarō

noun. *neighbor

gardā

noun. region

karani

adjective. red

pan

root. arrange, set in order, arrange, set in order; [ᴹ√] place, set, fix in place (especially of wood)

Tolkien introduced this root early and it retained more or less the same meaning throughout his life. It first appeared as ᴱ√PANA “arrange” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. pano “series, course, plan, arrangement” and ᴱQ. panya- “plan, arrange, intend, mean” (QL/72). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pan “arrangement, settlement; place, spot” and G. panta- “set, put, place, arrange, settle” (GL/63).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹ√PAN “place, set, fix in place (especially of wood)”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. panya-/N. penia- “fix, set”, ᴹQ. pano “piece of shaped wood”, and N. pân “plank, fixed board (especially in a floor)” (Ety/PAN). √PAN appeared unglossed in the second version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/89) and the root √PAN “arrange, set in order” was mentioned in passing in etymological notes from the late 1960s (PE17/108).

ron

root. arch over, roof in

This root first appeared as ᴹ√ROD “roof, cave” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. rosta- “to hollow out, excavate” and ᴹQ. rondo/N. rhonn “cave”, having instead the sense “domed roof” in Ilk. rond which served as the basis for (at the time Ilkorin) name Ilk. Elrond = “vault of heaven” (Ety/ROD; EtyAC/ROD). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien instead had the second element of this name as S. rond “a vaulted or arched roof as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside); a (large) hall or chamber so roofed” as a derivative of ✱rono “arch over, roof in” (WJ/414).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume this root was √ROD, because some of its early forms (rosta-) can be derived from this root but not later RON(D)-.

ōre

adjective. arising

aktō

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

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.

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.

bani

adjective. fair

wanyā

adjective. fair

keme

noun. earth

kemen

noun. earth

melnā

noun. dear, beloved

kelebō

noun. hart

kwened

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

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 the late 1960s 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.

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).

askōlimā

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

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

tā/taʒ

root. high, high, [ᴹ√] lofty; noble

This root and ones like it were used for “high” things for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√TAHA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tā “high; high above, high up”, ᴱQ. tahōra or tayóra “lofty”, and ᴱQ. tāri “queen”; it had a variant form ᴱ√TAʕA where the ʕ might be a malformed Y (QL/87). The corresponding forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon were G. dâ “high” and G. dara “lofty” (GL/29), indicating the true form of the root was ᴱ√DAHA, since initial voiced stops were unvoiced (d- > t-) in Early Qenya (PE12/17). Primitive forms like ᴱ✶dagá > ᴱN. dâ/ᴱQ. tá “high” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s indicates the root continued to begin with D for the following decade (PE13/141, 161).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this root as ᴹ√TĀ/TAƷ “high, lofty; noble” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tára “lofty, high”, ᴹQ. tári “queen” and N. taen “height, summit of high mountain” (Ety/TĀ). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien gave the root as √TAG or Tā- “high”, and in notes from around 1967 Tolkien gave √TAƷ as the explanation of the initial element of Q. Taniquetil and contrasted it with √TĂR “stand” (PE17/186). In 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), Tolkien wrote a marginal note giving √TAƷ > TĀ “high”, but this note was rejected with a statement “transfer to Gen. Structure. No [ʒ] existed in Eldarin” (PE19/72-73 note #22).

This last rejection seems to be part of Tolkien’s general vacillation on the nature and phonetic evolution of velar spirants in Primitive Elvish in 1968-70. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume the root form was √TAH or √TAƷ > √TĀ as the basis for “high” words, much like √MAH or √MAƷ > ✶mā was the basis for “hand” words.

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).

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).

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.

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.

phut

root. [unglossed]

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

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).

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.

yon

root. son

This root was the basis for Elvish “son” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest indications of this root are ᴱQ. †Y̯ó (or y̯ond-) “son” and ᴱQ. yondo “male descendant”, both tied to the patronymic suffix ᴱQ. -ion “son of, descendant of” appearing in many names (QL/106). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was also the related patronymic prefix G. go- (GL/40), which implies the existence of a root ✱ᴱ√YO(NO) since [[g|initial [j] usually became [g]]] in Gnomish. However, go- was deleted and changed to G. bo-, along with new Qenya forms ᴱQ. vô and ᴱQ. vondo (GL/23, 40), implying a change to a root ✱ᴱ√VO(NO).

In Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, ᴱN. gó “son” reappeared along with ᴱQ. ion and yondi (PE13/144). In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as ᴹ√YŌ or ᴹ√YON “son” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yondo/N. ionn “son” and patronymic -ion (Ety/YŌ). However, in notes labeled “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature” from the late 1950s, Tolkien wrote “Delete entirely yondo = ‘son’! Very unsuitable” (PE17/43). This particular note was rejected when Tolkien changed √YON “wide, extensive” to √YAN (PE17/42). Other notes in the same bundle indicate Tolkien was still seeking a new word for son, saying “Q wanted: son, daughter”, though yon(do) remained among the forms he was considering (PE17/170, 190).

However, it seems Tolkien eventually stopped vacillating and restored √YON, since the patronymic -ion was never discarded, and yon- was the basis for “son” words in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/26).

as(a)

preposition. and

árātō

noun. lord

banya

adjective. beautiful

grawa

noun. dog

kalinā

adjective. bright

lā̆

preposition/adverb. beyond

manrā

adjective. good

nāro

noun. fire

orya-

verb. to rise

orǭmē

masculine name. Orome

raukō

noun. demon

tāra

adjective. high

áse

noun. sunlight

-(a)rē

suffix. abstract noun

dē

preposition. with

imin

masculine name. One

khīnā

noun. child

min

cardinal. one

rindi

adjective. swift

roban

noun. wilderness

tul-

verb. come, is coming, has come, is here

wā(w)

noun. dog

ñgūr

noun. wolf

en

root. name

nom Reconstructed

root. place

A hypothetical root serving as the basis for Q. nómë “place”.