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.

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.

as(a)

preposition. and

asa-

prefix. *beside

asmarō

noun. *neighbor

as’tāră

noun. faith, loyalty

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).

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”.

rath

root. climb (with hands and feet, as in a tree or up a rocky slope)

Tolkien gave various roots meaning “climb” in the 1940s, 50s and 60s. The first of these was ᴹ√RAP “climb (as a tree by clinging[?])” on a rejected page of verbal roots in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s, with a single derived (verb?) form ᴹQ. rampa (PE22/127). In 1957 Notes on Names (NN) Tolkien gave √RET “climb” as part of an explanation of the name S. Orodreth, translated there as “Mountaineer (= ✱mountain climber)”, the only place Tolkien ever explained this name (PE17/182).

The root √RATH “climb” appeared in a 1968-69 explanation of the name S. Amroth as “upclimber, high climber” along with other words like Q. rasillo “squirrel” and Q. rantala “ladder” (UT/245; NM/363, 367). In these same notes Tolkien said S. rath “street” was influenced by this root, as it “applied to all the longer roadways and streets of Minas Tirith, nearly all of which were on an incline” (UT/255 note #16); he also said Sindarin had no other clear derivatives of the root (NM/363). Tolkien briefly mentioned √RAP “climb” in these same notes as a root that Sindarin did have, but this section was rejected (NM/367). Finally √RATH appeared in 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology, but there the root was unglossed (PE19/89 and note #101).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think √RAP is best abandoned, but I think it is worth retaining √RET as well as √RATH (verb vs. noun?), especially since √RATH seems to be unused in Sindarin, with the exception of its influence on S. rath.

askōlimā

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

askō Reconstructed

noun. bone

hō

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

ā̆

preposition. as for, as regards, with reference to

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.

rab

root. astray, wandering, unsettled

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√RAB in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. ráva/N. rhaw “wild, untamed” and ᴹQ. ravanda/N. rhofan “wilderness” (Ety/RAB; EtyAC/RAB), the latter an element in the name N. Rhovanion from Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/296). The Quenya/Noldorin r-/rh- variation was a result of the fact that [[n|initial [r-], [l-] were unvoiced]] in Noldorin (PE22/32).

The root √RAB reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings with the gloss “astray, wandering, unsettled”; Tolkien contrasted it with √RAN by saying “it differed from √RAN in that it referred to absence of direction or purpose, whereas √RAN meant to ‘err’, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen)” (PE17/78). In Sindarin, however, initial r-, l- were no longer unvoiced, so Tolkien coined a new intensified variant √S-RAB “wild in senses ‘not tamed, domesticated’, and hence often ‘fierce, savage, hostile’ (to Elves and Men)”. This intensified variant served as a new basis for S. Rhovanion “Wilderland”, and also had other derivatives like Q. hráva “wild” and Q. hravan “wild beast”.

In another place Tolkien defined this root as √S)ROB with variant √D)ROB as the basis for Rhovanion (PE17/99), also explaining the element Drû in Drúadan, the Sindarin name for the Woses. These roots produced different Quenya derivatives like hróva.

Neo-Eldarin: Since the Quenya form (h)ráva “wild” is better known, I think it is best to ignore the √S)ROB and √D)ROB variants of this root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin. The Sindarin name for the Woses can be easily explain as a loan word from that people’s name for themselves: Drughu (UT/385).

kwendā

noun. assembly of (all the) people

rob

root. astray, wandering, unsettled

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.

orta-

verb. to rise, ascend

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.

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 vast majority of its derivatives are from √IS.

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).

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.

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”.

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).

phut

root. [unglossed]

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

ikwi(s)

root. request, ask for

tok

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

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).

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).

athmō

noun. good companion

banya

adjective. beautiful

dē

preposition. with

ekka

noun. hole

imin

masculine name. One

ista-

verb. to know

malu

noun. dust

min

cardinal. one

nathlo

noun. guest

nenda

noun. water

nēthā

noun. sister

nē̆n

noun. water

orya-

verb. to rise

us(u)kwē

noun. dusk

ăwă

preposition. from

ʒō

preposition. from

gō

preposition. from

imi

root. in

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.

si

root. know