Noldorin 

carch

noun. tooth, fang

Noldorin [Ety/362, S/429] Group: SINDICT. Published by

carch

noun. tooth, fang

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. karka “tooth” ✧ Ety/KARAK

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KARAK “sharp fang, spike, tooth” ✧ Ety/KARAK

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KÁRAK > carch[karka] > [karkʰa] > [karxa] > [karx]✧ Ety/KARAK
Noldorin [Ety/KARAK] Group: Eldamo. Published by

naglath

noun. the teeth

Noldorin [WR/122] Group: SINDICT. Published by

naes

noun. tooth

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶nakse “tooth” ✧ EtyAC/NAK
    • ᴹ√NAK “bite” ✧ EtyAC/NAK

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶nakse > naes[nakse] > [naksa] > [naxsa] > [naisa] > [nais] > [naes]✧ EtyAC/NAK
Noldorin [EtyAC/NAK] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nagol

noun. tooth

Noldorin [naglath WR/122] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nagol

noun. tooth

Tolkien used various “teeth” words related to the root √NAK “bite” throughout his life. The earliest of these was G. naith “a tooth” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where its connection to the early root ᴱ√NAKA “bite” was made more clear by its archaic plural form nacthin (GL/59). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had N. naes derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakse under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (EtyAC/NAK). As suggested by David Salo (GL/275), another variant ✱nagol “tooth” is suggested by the class plural naglath in the names from Lord of the Rings drafts of 1940s: Naglath Morn “Teeth of Mordor” (WR/122) and Kirith Naglath “Cleft of the Teeth” (WR/137), neither of which made it into the published version.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d recommend using N. nêl or N. neleg for “tooth” words. Primitive ᴹ✶nakse would likely produce ✱nach rather than naes under Sindarin’s phonetic rules; compare S. ach “neck” < ✶aks[e] (PE17/92). As for N. nagol, it was also likely abandoned.

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NAK “bite”

Element in

Noldorin [WR/122; WR/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

neleg

noun. tooth

Noldorin [Ety/376, WR/113, VT/46:3] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neleg

noun. tooth

The most common word for “tooth”, appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NELEK of the same meaning (Ety/NÉL-EK). See variant N. nêl “tooth” for further discussion.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nelet “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK

Derivations

  • On. nele “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
    • ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK; PE21/56

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. neleki > neleg[nelek] > [neleg]✧ Ety/NÉL-EK

Variations

  • Neleg ✧ WR/106
Noldorin [Ety/NÉL-EK; EtyAC/NÉL-EK; WR/106; WR/113] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nêl

noun. tooth

Noldorin [Ety/376, WR/113, VT/46:3] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nêl

noun. tooth

A word appearing as N. nêl “tooth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√NELEK of the same meaning (Ety/NÉL-EK). It was one of a rare set of primitive words with final k, which was lost in very early stages of the language, to produce ON. nele (PE21/56). Its ON. plural was neleki, which produced nelig in the modern form of the language. Since the plural preserved the stop lost in the simplex, an alternate form N. neleg was restored from the plural.

This longer form neleg appeared as an element in a number of names from Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s: {N. Neleg Thilim “Gleaming Tooth” >>} N. Neleglos “White Tooth” (WR/106) and N. Nelig Myrn “Teeth of Mordor” (WR/113). None of these names made it into the published version. However, primitive √nelek “tooth” was mentioned as the basis for Ancient Telerin nele “tooth” in notes from the early 1950s, again with loss of final k and plural neleki (PE21/71-72).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use neleg as the ordinary word for “tooth”, and limit nêl to the final element of compounds.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nelet “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK

Derivations

  • On. nele “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
    • ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK; PE21/56

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. nele > nêl[nele] > [nel] > [nēl]✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
Noldorin [Ety/NÉL-EK] Group: Eldamo. Published by