ber

root. to mate, be mated, joined in marriage

The root √BER appeared in later writing as the basis for marriage words, and Quenya marriage words began with ver- for much of Tolkien’s life, dating all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s. However, there are many ways to produce a medial r in Quenya, and Tolkien experimented with more or less all of them in the formation of this root, as seen by the shifting forms in other branches in the Elvish languages.

The earliest form of this root appeared as √VEŘE in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/101), where the Ř indicated the actual primitive form was VEÐE (or ɃEÐE), as confirmed by its Gnomish equivalent Bedh- (QL/101; GL/22). This early root was unglossed, but its derivatives all had to do with marriage, including ᴱQ. veru/G. †benn/G. bedhron “husband”, ᴱQ. †veri/ᴱQ. vesse/G. bess “wife” and ᴱQ. vesta-/G. benna- “to wed”.

There are indications this root may have initially been ᴹ√BED in The Etymologies of the 1930s, based on primitive forms like ᴹ✶bedū “spouses” (Ety/LEP). But the main “marriage” entry in The Etymologies was ᴹ√BES “wed”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. vesta- “to wed”, ᴹQ. venno/N. benn “husband” and ᴹQ. vesse/N. bess “wife”. One interesting feature about this conceptual stage is that the Noldorin words for “husband” and “wife” drifted in meaning to become simply “man” and “woman”, and new words N. herven and herves were coined for “husband” and “wife”.

In various etymological notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien introduced a new root √BER for marriage. His longest description of it was in a 1969 note:

> √BER “to mate, be mated, joined in marriage”: Q. verya (intr.) “to marry (of husband and wife), be joined to” (veryanen senna); verta (tr.) “to give in marriage (a) to (b), or to take as husband or wife (to oneself)”; verū > veru “husband”; verī > veri “wife” (VT49/45).

The forms Q. veru/veri “husband/wife” were restorations of the Early Qenya forms from the 1910s.

It is not entirely clear when Tolkien made this change to the root, but in The Road Goes Ever On published in 1967, he said that “[S.] bereth actually meant ‘spouse’, and is used of one who is ‘queen’ as spouse of a king” (RGEO/66), strongly hinting that this word was derived from √BER “wed” at that conceptual stage. Earlier on, N./S. bereth “queen” was derived from primitive ✶barathī, an etymology Tolkien was still using in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/22-23). As discussed in the entry on Elbereth, this etymology presented some phonological difficulties in Sindarin, which may have motivated Tolkien to introduce a new etymology for S. bereth, switching to the root √BER for marriage in the process. My best guess is that this switch happened sometime in the mid-1960s, but it could have been earlier.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin writing, I think it is best to ignore the introduction of the root √BER “wed”, and keep using ᴹ√BES “wed” from The Etymologies. As a root for marriage, √BER presents a number of problems:

• It clashes with ᴹ√BER “valiant” from the 1930s, the basis for the name S. Beren.

• It invalidates a number of Noldorin words for husband and wife with no obvious replacements.

• In Sindarin it is difficult to keep derivatives of √BER “wed” from colliding with other words like beria- “to protect”, bertha- “to dare” and beren “bold”, though technically these are all Noldorin words.

The main disadvantage of ignoring √BER “wed” is that it leaves us with no good etymology for the name S. Elbereth. It is quite possible to solve the above problems with √BER by coining new words, but I prefer to keep using the older words as they are quite popular in Neo-Sindarin. It would be relatively easy to coin a new etymology for Elbereth instead, perhaps from ✱elen-baratthī with the longer cluster inhibiting i-intrusion. See the entry on S. bereth for further discussion.

nā

root. be (the same as another), exist

Tolkien used this root as the basis for Elvish “to be” verbs for much of his life. ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like the verb ᴱQ. ná- “to be” and ᴱQ. nasta “existence, being, creature” (QL/64). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. na- “to be” and G. nast “being” (GL/58-59). It appeared again in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NĀ “be” (Ety/NĀ²), along with an invertible variant ᴹ√ANA² “be, exist” with the derivative ᴹQ. anwa “true, real, actual” (Ety/ANA²); this seems to be the only point where Tolkien considered this root to be invertible. The root √NĀ “be” is mentioned several times in Tolkien’s later writings as well (PE17/93; PE22/147; VT49/27-28).

The root √NĀ was often contrasted with other roots of similar meanings. For example:

> 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).

There were also periods when roots other than √NĀ were the basis for “to be” statement in Elvish. See the entry on √EÑ “exist” for a conceptual history of these alternate roots and their derivatives.

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.

gal

root. grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive

A root meaning “grow, flourish” used in both Quenya and Sindarin, though in Quenya it was influenced by other roots such as √AL(A) “good, blessed”. Its precursors in the earliest versions of Tolkien’s languages seem to be ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29) and a Gnomish-only root ᴱ√cala [kala], unglossed but with derivatives like G. calw “green shoot, sapling, sprout” and G. caltha- “wax, grow, flourish” (GL/25).

The root ᴹ√GALA first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with various glosses, the last being “thrive” (Ety/GALA). The relevant entries went through considerable revision. For example, the meaning of this root was first given as “grow”, but this meaning was rejected and Tolkien said the verb for “grow” was ol- (EtyAC/GAL(AS)). This new verb seems to be based on a variant root ✱ᴹ√GOL, as indicated by ᴹQ. ola- “grow” < ᴹ✶golā- “grow” appearing in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as a replacement for ᴹQ. ala- < ᴹ✶galā- (PE22/113, note #80), though the new root might also have been ᴹ√OL “grow” as indicated earlier in the same document (PE22/103). Since ᴹ√GALA was retained in The Etymologies, most likely the meaning of this root was changed from “grow” to “thrive” in the 1930s and 40s.

It seems ᴹ√OL “grow” survived into the 1950s (NM/84, 119-120), often with the sense “become” as well (PE22/134); see the entry on √OL for discussion. However, the sense “grow” as also restored to √GAL, but limited mainly to plants. For example, Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s had the primitive verbs ✶galā- “grow (of plants)” vs. ✶olā- “become, come into being, turn into (another state)” (PE22/134). This definition of √GAL as “growth” (along with “flourish” and “be healthy”) appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings, though it was often limited primarily to plants, especially in its connection to ✶galadā, the basis for tree words (PE17/25, 135, 153).

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.

thā/atha

root. ease, comfort, heal; be helpful; be willing to assist (in any work, etc.), agree, consent, ease, comfort, heal; be helpful; be willing to assist (in any work, etc.), agree, consent; [ᴹ√] forward

Tolkien introduced the root ᴹ√THA in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) of the 1930s to serve as the basis for the (Old) Noldorin future suffix -thā. Tolkien said: “This thā is probably in origin a defining adverb = then, next, since with time-reference the pronominal stem √THA in Noldorin referred forward” (PE22/97). Tolkien described a similar system for Sindarin in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) of the early 1950s: “The element thā is adverbial, and meant originally ‘then, next’. The pronominal stem the/tha when used in Sindarin with time-reference pointed forward to the future” (PE22/131).

In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages in the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien assigned a disinct meaning for √ATH as “ease, comfort, heal”, forming the basis for the name of the healing plant S. athelas or Q. asëa aranion (PE17/49). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien gave √ATHA as the basis for a number of words such as verb Q. asya-/S. eitha- “to ease, assist” and prefix Q. as(a)-/S. ath- “easily” (PE17/148).

In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, Tolkien connected √THA and √ATHA as a “mono-consonantal reversible” root ÞĀ̆/AÞA combining these two senses. As Tolkien described it:

> Its basic sense was probably “be helpful”, be willing to assist, in any work etc., agree, consent ... this sense is obscured in the uses of aþa- with other verbs, it may be supposed to be the earliest sense, because of derivatives made from it, such as Q aþea (< apaya) name (as = “beneficial” ?) of a herb (PE22/165).

From this, Tolkien described a variety of derivatives, such as Q. aþumo “good companion”, S. natha- (< an-aþa-) “bring help to, save, rescue” and Q. þá or aþa “I agree”, or in longer form aþanye “I will (do so)”. In Sindarin, this verb developed into a sort of future inflection:

> In S. the verb aþa, atha had become agglutinated to the verb stem, and formed a kind of “future”, expressing the intention of the subject, closely resembling in sense and uses English will (when not mere future): I will (I’ll) go, he will (he’ll) go, espec. in the 1st and 3rd persons. In the second person the implication of “will” of the subject is clearest in questions or negation (PE22/167).

As described in this document, the Sindarin verbal suffix -atha was not a true future, but was rather an expression of intent. Nevertheless, this document connected both prior senses of the roots √THA “future” and √ATHA “ease, assist, comfort” via a more basic sense of “be helpful”, with atha- “agree” > “I will” > (in Sindarin only) a future sense resembling English “I will [I intend to] go”. In this same document, however, Tolkien considered splitting out the medical senses of √ATHA into a distinct root √HATHA “treat kindly/make easy, (help to) cure”; see that entry for details.

ur

root. heat, be hot

This root was connected to “heat” for most of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√URU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. úrin “(blazing) hot”, ᴱQ. uru “fire”, G. urin “hot, very hot”, and G. urna- “blaze, burn” (QL/98; GL/75). In this early period it was blended with the root ᴱ√UŘU with variant ᴱ√USU which had derivatives like ᴱQ. urna “oven” and ᴱQ. usta- “burn” (QL/98). This second root had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. gund “boil, pus” and gusta- “burn, destroy” from primitive ✱gudh (GL/42), indicating the actual root form was ✱ᴱ√ƷUÐU.

✱ᴱ√ƷUÐU seems to have been abandoned in Tolkien’s later writings, but ᴹ√UR “be hot” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. úr/N. ûr “fire” and ᴹQ. urya- “blaze” (Ety/UR). This entry was deleted and replaced by ᴹ√UR “wide, large, great”. This was likely a transient change, however, as ᴹQ. Úrin as a name of the Sun remained in contemporaneous Silmarillion drafts (LR/240). Indeed primitive √UR appeared several times in later writings as the basis for words for “sunlight”, “fire” and “heat” (PE17/120, 148; PE21/71; PE22/160).

kenásĭta

adverb. if it be so, may be, perhaps

kalar

root. *be radiant, [ᴹ√] be radiant

lā-

verb. to not be

sam

root. mind, think, reflect, be aware

uba-

verb. impend,be imminent,approach,draw near

(ñ)gay

root. gape, become wide, open, vast

A root appearing in notes on words and phrases from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s, serving as an explanation for √GAY(AR) “sea” (PE17/27). Its gloss was “gape, become wide, open, vast”, but elsewhere “sea” words were generally attached to roots meaning “awe, dread”, so I think this was likely a transient idea. See the entry on √GAY(AR) for further discussion.

tom

root. of resonant sounds

The root √TOM appeared in a list of sound roots from 1959-60 as a root for “resonant sounds”, with a pair of unglossed derivatives Q. tomba and Q. tompe (PE17/138); it was constrasted with √OM which was for “more long-drawn out” sounds, as opposed to √TOM which was “briefer”. The root √TOM might be a restoration of the unglossed early root ᴱ√TOMPO from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tombo “gong”, ᴱQ. tompa “small drum”, and ᴱQ. tompo- “bang” (QL/94).

it

root. glitter, shine, shimmer, twinkle

Tolkien (re)introduced the root √IT in 1957 to address a problem he had with the etymology of the name S. Idril. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, he based this name on the root ᴹ√ID “✱desire”, and gave it the form Idhril (Ety/ID). The problem was that in the narratives, he continued to use the form Idril, which could not be derived from √ID. In Notes on Names (NN) he wrote in 1957, he introduced the root √IT to provide a new etymology for Idril, giving the root various meanings such as “(great) enhancement”, “gleaming”, “repeat, multiply” and “glitter, shine, shimmer, twinkle” (PE17/112, 156), along with alternate forms ITH, IS and ƷIT (PE17/156). He seems to have settled on √IT and the last of the listed meanings, since in The Shibboleth of Fëanor written in 1968 Tolkien said her Quenya name was Q. Itarillë based on ita- “to sparkle”, appearing with various other it- words of similar meaning (PM/346, 348 and 363 note #42).

The root √IT was basically a reversion to the original basis for the name G. Idril, which in the 1910s seems to have been based on a (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√ITI meaning something like “precious”. For the effects of these revisions on other roots, see the discussion in the entry for √IR “desire”.

rat

root. tower up

The extended root √ARAT “good, excellent, noble” appeared in 1957 Quenya Notes (QN) as an extension of √AR “beyond, further than”, and was principally used for the adjectives Q. ar(a)ta, S. arod/raud “noble” and elaborations thereof (PE17/147). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 it was instead given as √RAT “tower up”, serving as the basis for the same set of words (PE17/186). In any case, all these seem to be variants of √RĀ/ARA “noble”; see that entry for details.

reth

root. remain in same place

A root appearing in a list of Sindarin words placed with Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, given as √REÞ or √RES “remain in same place, hence be unmoved, patient”. It had the derivatives S. andreth “patience”, which appeared elsewhere as the name of a Bëorian woman (MR/305), and S. Arodreth “Noble Endurance”, a name appearing nowhere else. The variant √RES may have been intended to be the Quenya form.

tar

root. stand

The root √TAR appeared unglossed in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 as the basis for Q. tára “tall, high” (WJ/417), a word that elsewhere was derived from √TĀ/TAƷ “high” (Ety/TĀ; PE17/186). The root √TAR was glossed “stand” along with derivative tāra “tall” in rough notes on the back of a discussion of the comparitive from around 1967 (PE17/186). The past tense for Q. tarne “stood” appears in other notes from this period, along with Q. astarindo, artarindo or astarmo “bystander” (PE17/70-71). √TAR “stand” seems to be a later iteration of ᴹ√THAR “stand” from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) written in 1948; of this earlier root Tolkien said it “is only used [in describing the location of things] - except, of course, with reference to persons or animals when they are noted especially as ‘standing’ (not sitting or lying) - of mountains, high hills, towers, pillars” (PE22/126).

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”, which indicate Tolkien may have restored ✱√NIM “seem”. I prefer to stick with better attested √NEM for purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

ith

root. glitter, shine, shimmer, twinkle

mbartā-

verb. to define, decree, destine

nem-

verb. to seem, appear

om

root. of resonant sounds

This root was the basis for the Quenya word for “voice”: Q. óma. The earliest derivation of this word was from the root ᴱ√OHO “cry” along with ᴱQ. ohta- “shout” (QL/69); the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon likewise has derivatives like G. ûm “voice” and G. uptha- “shout” (GL/75). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. óma “voice” was derived from unglossed ᴹ√OM, along with ᴹQ. óman “vowel” (Ety/OM). The root √OM appeared in a list of roots for sound words, used “of resonant sounds”, along with variant √TOM which was used for “briefer” sounds (PE17/138).

res

root. remain in same place

sedu

verb. go to rest

sedu-

verb. to go to rest

um

root. abound; teem, throng; large, abound; teem, throng; large [in quantity]

A root appearing in various notes from around 1968 having to do with “large & small”, variously gloss “large”, “abound” and “teem, throng”, along with derivatives like Q. úma- “teem”, Q. umba “swarm”, and Q. úmë “great collection or crowd; throng” (VT48/32; PE17/115). √UM “large” was also mentioned in passing in notes on Variation D/L in Common Eldarin, also from 1968 (VT48/25). This √UM is probably a later iteration of ᴹ√UB “abound” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. úve “abundance, great quantity” and N. ovor “abundant” (Ety/UB). Based on its derivatives, it seems √UM means “large [in quantity]” rather than size.

nim Reconstructed

root. seem, appear