Quenya 

hriz-

verb. to snow

In notes written around 1959, Tolkien experimented with various roots for impersonal “snow” verbs, first giving the aorist form of a derived verb Q. hrisya “it snows” < hriþya from the root √SRITH, then the present tense form of a basic verb Q. hríza “it is snowing” from the root √SRIS (PE17/168).

Neo-Quenya: The basic verb form †hriz- is likely archaic, since z usually became r in Quenya’s phonetic development. In this case, though, I suspect the medial z dissimilated back to s after the hr, since Quenya disliked repeated r’s (PE19/73-74). This occurred, for example, with the verb ras- “stick out” < †raz- < √RAS.

Thus, I would use modern Quenya hrise “[it] snows”, hrinse “[it] snowed”, ihrísie “[it] has snowed”. Since this is an impersonal verbs, no explicit subject is required.

Derivations

  • SRIS “snow” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
SRIS > hríza[srīsa] > [r̥īsa] > [r̥īza]✧ PE17/168

nicu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

niqu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “be chill, cold (of weather)” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a derivative of the root √NIK(W) and with the glosses “to snow, it is chill, it freezes” (PE17/168). In this 1959 note Tolkien gave several inflected forms making it clear nicu- was an impersonal verb: nīqua “it is freezing”, nicune “it snowed, froze”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use nicu- as an impersonal verb for cold weather: nique “it is cold, it is freezing”. For the freezing of water or similar substances, I’d use ᴺQ. hel-. For “to snow” I’d use ᴺQ. hris-, a modernization of archaic †hriz-.

Derivations

  • NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
NIK > niku-[nikw-]✧ PE17/168

Variations

  • niku- ✧ PE17/168; WJ/417
Quenya [PE17/168; WJ/417] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olos

snow, fallen snow

olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

nicu-

be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes

nicu- ("k")vb. "be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168): 3rd sg. aorist niquë (q.v.) "it snows or freezes", present níqua "it is freezing", pa.t. nicunë "it snowed, froze" (PE17:168)

fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

hris-

verb. to snow

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

Sindarin 

loss

noun. snow (especially fallen or long-lying snow)

Sindarin [S/434, VT/42:18, RGEO/70] Group: SINDICT. Published by

los

snow

{ŏ}_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, loss, Loss(h)oth

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:161] < LOS snow (as a substance or a white mass). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

Sindarin [Ety/359, RGEO/70, VT/42:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

loss

noun. snow

_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, los, Loss(h)oth

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:161] < LOS snow (as a substance or a white mass). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

loss

snow

(fallen snow) loss (construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

glosta-

verb. to snow

A neologism for “to snow” coined by Fiona Jallings, based on the root √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness”.

Derivations

  • (G)LOS “snow, whiteness”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Noldorin 

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

Noldorin [Ety/359, RGEO/70, VT/42:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Gnomish

fautha-

verb. to snow

fôtha-

verb. to snow

A verb in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “it snows” with variants fôtha- and {fontha- >>} fautha-, elaborations of G. “snow” (GL/35).

Changes

  • fonthafautha “it snows” ✧ GL/35

Cognates

  • Eq. fauta- “to snow” ✧ GL/35

Variations

  • fôtha ✧ GL/35
  • fautha ✧ GL/35
  • fontha ✧ GL/35 (fontha)

Early Quenya

fauta-

verb. to snow

A Qenya verb in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, cognate to G. fôtha “it snows” (GL/35).

Cognates

Variations

  • fauta ✧ GL/35
Early Quenya [GL/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqista-

verb. to snow

A verb for “to snow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants niqista- and niqisya-, both elaborations of ᴱQ. niqis “snow” (QL/66).

Cognates

  • G. nictha- “to rain, hail, snow”

Variations

  • niqisya ✧ QL/066
Early Quenya [QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqisya-

verb. to snow