dair

noun. shadow of trees

A noun meaning “shadow of trees”, derived from root ᴹ√DAY “shadow” and marked as identical in both the Ilkorin and Doriathrin dialects (Ety/DAY). Its primitive form was probably ✱✶dair- ending in some final vowel, now lost; Helge Fauskanger suggested it might be ✱✶dairē (AL-Ilkorin/dair, AL-Doriathrin/dair).

Derivations

• ᴹ√DAY “shadow” ✧ Ety/DAY

Element in

• Ilk. Dairon ✧ Ety/DAY

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√DAY > dair	[dair]	✧ Ety/DAY

tyal

root. play

This root first appeared as ᴱ√TYALA “play” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the derivative ᴱQ. tyalie “play, game” (QL/49). Forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. dairtha- “play” < ᴱ✶daı̯al- hint that the actual primitive form might have been ✱ᴱ√DYALA or ✱ᴱ√DAYALA (GL/29). In a table of vowel mutations added as a revision to the Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien instead had forms like ᴱ✶táliı̯èndǝ > G. teilian indicating a primitive initial t- (PE13/116); similar forms appeared in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/165).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave ᴹ√TYAL “play” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tyal-/N. telia- “to play” and ᴹQ. tyalie/N. telien “sport, play, game” (Ety/TYAL). Tolkien continued to use Q. tyalië “mirth” in later writings (PE21/80; PE17/64), but at some point in the 1950s decided that initial palatalized dentals were no longer a feature of Primitive Elvish (PE18/93-94), making the ongoing validity of √TYAL as a CE root doubtful: see the entry on how [[at|[j] was lost after initial dentals]] in the Welsh-like branch of the Elvish languages for further details. For example, in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950, Tolkien indicated √TYAL was a Quenya-only root, an elaboration of √TAL:

> In Quenya initial groups ty, ny, ps, ks appeared as developments of ky, ñy, sp, sk. But being established they were used in new formations. Thus Q tyal- “play” as a variation on tal- (not kal!) (PE18/84).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to ignore Tolkien’s decision to remove initial palatalized dentals from Primitive Elvish in order to retain roots like √TYAL for both Quenya and (Neo) Sindarin.

Derivatives

• ᴹ✶tyalyā- “to play” ✧ Ety/TYAL
  • N. telia- “to play” ✧ Ety/TYAL
• ᴹQ. tyal- “to play” ✧ Ety/TYAL
• ᴹQ. tyalie “play, game, sport” ✧ Ety/TYAL
• ᴺQ. tyalmë “game”
• ᴺS. tallen “playful, fun(ny)”
• N. telien “sport, play, sport, play, [ᴱN.] game; jest, mockery, *joke; [G.] stunt” ✧ Ety/TYAL

Element in

• ᴹ✶tyalangando “harp-player, harper” ✧ Ety/ÑGAN; Ety/TYAL

dair

noun. play, merriment

@@@ Initial development hard to explain ... elsewhere ty- gives k-

Derivations

• ᴱ√TYALA “*play”

Element in

• G. Bara Dhair Haithin “Cottage of the Lost Play” ✧ LT2A/Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva
• G. Dairon “The Fluter” ✧ GL/29; LT2A/Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva
• G. dairwed “merry, funny (common)” ✧ GL/29 (dairwed); GL/29; PE13/112
• G. dairiol “merry (of things), funny” ✧ GL/29; PE13/112
• G. dairwen “mirth” ✧ GL/29; LT2A/Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva; PE13/112
• G. dairog “merry (of persons)” ✧ GL/29; PE13/112
• G. dairtha- “to play, amuse” ✧ GL/29; PE13/112

Variations

• Dair ✧ LT2A/Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva

saltha-

verb. play

daı̯al-

verb. play

Derivations

• ᴱ√TYALA “*play”

Derivatives

• G. dairtha- “to play, amuse” ✧ GL/29