Quenya 

cas

head

cas ("k")"head" (VT49:17), cf. also deleted [cas] ("k")noun "top, summit" (VT45:19). This noun should evidently have the stem-form car-. See cár.

cas

noun. head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit

This is the Quenya word for “head”, with a stem form of car- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final. This word can refer to the head of people and animals, as well as the metaphorical “head” (or top) of other things, in much the same way that Q. tál “foot” can refer to their base.

Conceptual Development: This word was established very early in Tolkien’s writing, being derived from the root ᴱ√KASA “head” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45), but its exact form varied as Tolkien changed his mind on the phonetic development of s in Quenya. Its form in the Qenya Lexicon was in fact ᴱQ. kar (kas-), since in Early Qenya period medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26). This kar (kas-) was the usual word for head in the 1910s and 20s, but in the typescript version of the Early Qenya Grammar Tolkien instead revised it to ᴱQ. kas (kast-) “head” (PE14/72 and note #5).

In noun declensions from the late 1920s and early 1930s, Tolkien instead had cas (car-), reflecting a conceptual shift in the phonologic development of s (PE13/112-113; PE21/22). However, for reasons unclear, the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) was restored in The Etymologies written around 1937 under the root ᴹ√KAS “head” (Ety/KEM), despite s > z > r being the normal medial phonetic development in this period (PE19/33). This abnormal form slipped into The Lord of the Rings itself as part of the name Q. Eldacar “Elfhelm” (LotR/1038).

Tolkien generally used the form cas for “head” in his later writings (PE19/103; VT49/17), but in his notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien was forced to contrive another explanation for Eldacar:

> What is -kar in names. How could it stand for helm? E.g. as stem ✱kāsā (√KAS, head) would give kāra, but in compound forms -kāsă > -kas. Would not an ă be lost before voicing of s or at least before z > r (PE17/114).

In this note Tolkien considered having Q. carma “helm” < kas-mā, but discarded the idea since he felt karma “tool or weapon” < KAR “do, make” + was the more likely meaning. He then said “Eldă|kāzā in compounds to -kār(ă) > -kar” despite its phonological implausibility, and indeed kāza/kára appeared in a discussion of helms within 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD: PE17/188).

As for the sense “top”, there is better evidence for it among Tolkien’s earlier writings, such as the glosses “head, top” in Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/79) and the early-1930s allative form kasta “up (to the top)” (PE21/22). I see no reason to assume this alternate meaning did not survive in Tolkien’s later conception of the language.

Derivations

  • kas “head” ✧ PE17/188
    • KAS “head”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. candóla “crown of head”
  • Q. carma “helm”
  • ᴺQ. caraxo “skull, *(lit.) head-bone”
  • ᴺQ. quaccas “tadpole, (lit.) frog head”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
kāza > kára[kāsa] > [kāza] > [kāra]✧ PE17/188

Variations

  • kára ✧ PE17/188
  • kas ✧ PE19/103; VT49/17
Quenya [PE17/188; PE19/103; VT49/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cár

head

cár (cas-) ("k")noun "head" (KAS).The given stem-form appears doubtful within the phonological framework of LotR-style Quenya. Probably we should read cas with stem car- (PE14:69 indeed reads "kas head, pl. kari", and VT49:17 quotes the sg. "kas" from a post-LotR source). Compare other forms found in late sources: hlas "ear" with stem hlar- (PE17:62) and olos "dream", pl. olori (UT:396). In Tolkiens early "Qenya", post-vocalic -s became -r at the end of words but was preserved when another vowel followed. His later scheme either lets -r appear in both positions, or reverses the scenario altogether (hence olos, olor-). It would seem that the forms cár, cas- were distractedly carried over into the Etymologies from the Qenya Lexicon (kar, kas-, QL:45) even though they presuppose an earlier version of the phonology. An apparent variant form in late material, cára from earlier cáza ("k"), however fits the later phonology since intervocalic s would become z > r (PE17:188).

cára

noun. head

-ya

his

-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤- being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.

-rya

his, her

-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.

-zya

his, her, its

-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)

coropë

noun. skull

Cognates

Derivations

  • KOR “round, round; [ᴱ√] be round, roll”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

corpë

noun. skull

Helge Fauskanger proposed the neologism ᴺQ. caraxo “skull = head bone” for his NQNT (NQNT), but Damien Bador instead used ᴺQ. coropë < √KOR “round”, adapted from Gnomish G. corob “skull”. I prefer Bador’s solution, with the caveat that I think it would likely undergo the Quenya syncope and become ᴺQ. corpë instead, as pointed out by Röandil in a Discord chat from 2021-06-08.

Cognates

Derivations

  • KOR “round, round; [ᴱ√] be round, roll”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Sindarin 

-deid

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deith, -dyn, -ed, [[]]

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

-deith

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deid, -dyn, -ed, [[]]

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

-dyn

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deid, -deith, -ed, [[]]

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tîn

adjective. his

Sindarin [bess dîn SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tîn

pronoun. his

Non-lenited form suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT31/21).

Element in

Sindarin [AotM/062; SD/129] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-dhol

head

_ suff. _head (often applied to hills or mountains that had _not _a sharp apex). >> Fanuidhol

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:36] < S. _dol/doll_ head (often applied to hills or mountains that had _not _a sharp apex). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dol

noun. head

Sindarin [Ety/376, S/430, RC/268] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dol

head

_ n. _head (often applied to hills or mountains that had _not _a sharp apex). >> -dhol, doll, Dol-fanui, Fanuidhol

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:32:36:173] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

doll

head

_ n. _head (often applied to hills or mountains that had _not _a sharp apex). >> -dhol, dol, Dol-fanui, Fanuidhol

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:32:36] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dol

noun. hill or mountain

Sindarin [Ety/376, S/430, RC/268] Group: SINDICT. Published by

în

adjective. his (referring to the subject)

Sindarin [SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tín

his

*tín (only attested in lenited form dín, following a noun with article). Possibly, the word also covers ”her(s)” and ”its” as a general 3rd person form. If ”his” refers to the same person as the subject, the form ín* is used instead (e.g. i venn sunc i haw ín** ”the man drank his (own) juice”, but *i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his (somebody elses) juice”.

tín

his

(only attested in lenited form dín, following a noun with article). Possibly, the word also covers ”her(s)” and ”its” as a general 3rd person form. If ”his” refers to the same person as the subject, the form ín is used instead (e.g. ✱i venn sunc i haw ín ”the man drank his (own) juice”, but ✱i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his (somebody else’s) juice”.

ín

his

(pronoun referring to the subject, e.g. ✱i venn sunc i haw ín ”the man drank his [own] juice”, as opposed to ✱i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his [= another’s] juice”)

dôl

head

dôl (i dhôl, construct dol) (hill), pl. dŷl (i nŷl). Note: In the Etymologies, this word was derived from a root with initial nd- (NDOL), which would make the mutations different (i nôl, pl. i ndŷl). However, the later name Fanuidhol "Cloudyhead" apparently indicates that the lenited form of this d was later to be dh (whereas it would be n if the former derivation had been maintained).

dôl

head

(i dhôl, construct dol) (hill), pl. dŷl (i nŷl). Note: In the Etymologies, this word was derived from a root with initial nd- (NDOL), which would make the mutations different (i nôl, pl. i ndŷl). However, the later name Fanuidhol "Cloudyhead" apparently indicates that the lenited form of this d was later to be dh (whereas it would be n if the former derivation had been maintained).****

corob

noun. skull

Cognates

Derivations

  • KOR “round, round; [ᴱ√] be round, roll”

Khuzdûl

bund

noun. head

Element in

  • Kh. bund “head” ✧ PE17/036
  • Kh. Bundushathûr “Cloudy-head” ✧ PE17/036; TI/174

Variations

  • Bundu ✧ PE17/036
  • Bund(u) ✧ PE17/036
Khuzdûl [PE17/036; TI/174] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

kas

root. head

The root for “head” was established very early in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, appearing in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√KASA “head” (QL/45), though in this period its Qenya derivative was ᴱQ. kar (kas-) because [[eq|final [s] became [r]]] in Early Quenya (PE12/26). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. cas “head, skull” (GL/25), a word that reappeared in Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s as ᴱN. cas “skull” (PE13/140).

The root ᴹ√KAS “head” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, still with the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head” (Ety/KAS), but Tolkien eventually abandoned the Early Qenya phonology and the Quenya form became Q. kas after some vacillation (PE19/103). The root √KAS “head” continued to appear frequently in Tolkien’s later writing (PE17/114; PE21/70; VT42/12).

Derivatives

  • kas “head”
    • Q. cas “head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit” ✧ PE17/188
  • kasd(a) “to the head”
    • Q. cas(ta) “to(wards) the top, upwards” ✧ PE21/76; PE21/76
  • kasma “?helm” ✧ PE17/114
    • Q. carma “helm” ✧ PE17/114; PE17/114; PE17/114
  • S. cast “cape, headland”

Element in

  • kasraya “a tressure” ✧ VT42/12

Variations

  • kas ✧ PE21/70
  • cas ✧ VT42/12
Primitive elvish [PE17/114; PE17/156; PE21/70; VT42/12] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kas

noun. head

Derivations

  • KAS “head”

Derivatives

  • Q. cas “head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit” ✧ PE17/188

Element in

Variations

  • kāza ✧ PE17/188
Primitive elvish [PE17/188; PE19/102; PE21/75] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

dôl

noun. head

Noldorin [Ety/376, S/430, RC/268] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dôl

noun. hill or mountain

Noldorin [Ety/376, S/430, RC/268] 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!

Qenya 

kas

noun. head

Cognates

  • N. câs “top, summit” ✧ EtyAC/KAS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAS “head” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • ᴹ✶kas “head” ✧ PE21/58
    • ᴹ√KAS “head” ✧ PE18/035

Element in

  • ᴹQ. kallo tallo “up and down (again)” ✧ PE21/22

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KAS > kas[kas]✧ Ety/KAS

Variations

  • kas ✧ EtyAC/KAS (kas); PE21/16; PE21/22; PE21/58 (kas)
  • kas- ✧ PE21/19
Qenya [EtyAC/KAS; PE21/16; PE21/19; PE21/22; PE21/58] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kas

noun. case, vessel

kapsa

noun. case, vessel, case, vessel, *container

A word in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s glossed “case, vessel” (PE21/20). It appeared in both a short form kas (kaps-) and longer kapsa (PE21/27). It might be derived from ᴹ√KAB “hollow” as suggested by Raccoon in a Discord chat from 2022. If so, its general meaning might be “✱container”.

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAB “hollow”

Element in

Variations

  • kas ✧ PE21/20; PE21/27
Qenya [PE21/20; PE21/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

etta

pronoun. his

Element in

kár

noun. head

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAS “head” ✧ Ety/KAS

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KAS > kár[kās] > [kār]✧ Ety/KAS

Old Noldorin 

ndolo

noun. head

Changes

  • nolondolo ✧ Ety/NDOL

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nóla “round head, knoll, round hilltop; summit, round head, knoll, round hilltop; summit, [ᴱQ.] top (only used of mountains etc.); crown of head” ✧ Ety/NDOL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NDOL “*head” ✧ Ety/NDOL

Derivatives

  • N. dôl “head, hill” ✧ Ety/NDOL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√NDOL > ndolo[ndolo]✧ Ety/NDOL

Variations

  • nolo ✧ EtyAC/NDOL (nolo)
Old Noldorin [Ety/NDOL; EtyAC/NDOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

kas

root. head

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶kas “head” ✧ PE18/035
    • ᴹQ. kas “head” ✧ PE21/58
  • ᴹ✶kast “towards the top”
    • ᴹQ. kas “upwards, towards the top” ✧ PE21/22
  • ᴹ✶kasma ✧ Ety/KAS
    • On. kama “helmet” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • ᴹ✶kassa ✧ Ety/KAS
    • ᴹQ. kassa “helmet” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • ᴹQ. kár “head” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • ᴹQ. kas “head” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • N. câs “top, summit” ✧ Ety/KAS
  • N. caw “top” ✧ Ety/KAS
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KAS; PE18/035] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kas

noun. head

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAS “head” ✧ PE18/035

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. kas “head” ✧ PE21/58

Variations

  • kăs ✧ PE18/035 (kăs); PE21/55; PE21/64
  • kas- ✧ PE21/55
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE18/035; PE21/55; PE21/58; PE21/64] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

cas

noun. head, skull

Cognates

  • Eq. kar “head”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KASA “head”

Element in

  • G. cathor “helmet, (lit.) head-ward” ✧ GL/25
  • G. cafalon “bald, *(lit.) head-naked”

Variations

  • Cas ✧ GL/25

ontha

pronoun. his

Element in

Gnomish [GG/11; GL/62] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nôl

noun. head

Cognates

  • Eq. nóla “summit, head, top (only used of mountains etc.); (round) hill; crown of head” ✧ GL/61

Derivations

  • ᴱ✶nold ✧ GL/61
    • ᴱ√NOHO “extended”
    • ᴱ√ƷONO “hard” ✧ QL/066; QL/067

corob

noun. skull

A word appearing as G. corob “a skull” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/26), likely related to ᴱ√KORO “be round” (QL/48).

Neo-Sindarin: Since √KOR “round” survived in Tolkien’s later conception of the languages, I’d retain this word as ᴺS. corob “skull”, especially since other early “skull” words such as ᴱN. cas derived from ᴱ√KASA “head” were probably no longer viable since non-initial s generally vanished in Sindarin.

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KORO “be round, roll”

Early Noldorin

cas

noun. skull, skull, [G.] head

A noun appearing as G. cas “head, skull” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien said it was “only used of physical head of bodies” (GL/25). It was clearly derived from the early root ᴱ√KASA “head” (QL/31). The word ᴱN. cas “skull” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/140). Given the tendency of non-initial s to vanish in later iterations of the language (something that was not a feature of Gnomish of the 1910s), Tolkien likely abandoned this word; in The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹ√KAS “head” had no Noldorin derivatives (Ety/KAS).

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KASA “head”
Early Noldorin [PE13/140] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nod

noun. head

Changes

  • naulnod “head” ✧ PE13/150
  • naulnod “head” ✧ PE13/151

Variations

  • naul ✧ PE13/150 (naul); PE13/151 (naul)
Early Noldorin [PE13/150; PE13/151] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

kasa

root. head

Derivatives

  • ᴱ✶kasla
    • Eilk. cath ✧ PE13/140
    • Eq. kalla “helmet” ✧ PE13/140
    • En. caul “helmet” ✧ PE13/140
  • Eq. kas “head, top, summit”
  • Eq. kar “head” ✧ QL/045
  • Eq. kasien “helmet” ✧ QL/045
  • Eq. kastea “of the head; head-, capital, chief” ✧ QL/045
  • En. cas “skull, skull, [G.] head”
  • G. cas “head, skull”
  • En. “top”

Element in

Variations

  • KAS ✧ QL/031
Early Primitive Elvish [QL/031; QL/045] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

kar

noun. head

Cognates

  • G. cas “head, skull”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KASA “head” ✧ QL/045

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KASA > kar[kas] > [kar]✧ QL/045
Early Quenya [PE14/042; PE14/043; PE14/044; PE14/046; PE14/047; PE14/117; PE15/73; PME/045; QL/030; QL/045] Group: Eldamo. Published by