Primitive elvish

del

root. will

A root in etymological notes from 1968, meaning “to will with conscious purpose, immediate or remote”; it was distinct from “be willing, to assent, consent, agree”, which partakes of the will but also involves accident or change (NM/231). Given the many other uses to which √DEL was assigned, odds are this was a transient idea.

Derivatives

  • Q. lélë “will” ✧ NM/231
  • Q. lelya- “to will with conscious purpose, immediate or remote” ✧ NM/231

Variations

  • DEL ✧ NM/231 (DEL)
Primitive elvish [NM/231] Group: Eldamo. Published by

del

root. walk, go, proceed, travel

This root appears in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 with the sense “walk, go, proceed, travel” (WJ/360). Its derivatives were S. Edhel “Elf” and Q. †Eldo which blended with Elda “Elf”, both originally with the sense “one who goes” (✶edelō): those who left lake Cuiviénen to travel to Valinor. It is also the basis of several words meaning “to go”: T. delia- and Q. lelya-.

Many of Quenya derivatives of this root actually derive from an inversion √LED of the original √DEL. According to the Quendi and Eldar essay, this inversion only occurred in Quenya (WJ/363). In earlier writings like The Etymologies, however, ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” was the basic root in all languages. It seems that Tolkien revised ᴹ√LED >> √DEL, preserving √LED only as a Quenya variant. The strongest sign of this change was Tolkien’s consistent alteration of N. Eledh >> S. Edhel.

This leaves open the question of what happened to the other non-Quenya derivatives of ᴹ√LED, such as S. edlen(n) “exile”. It is possible that they were transferred to a new root √LEN, which was the basis for S. lembas “way bread” (PE17/60).

Derivatives

  • delya- “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360
    • T. delia- “to go, proceed” ✧ WJ/360
  • edelō “one who goes, traveller, migrant, marcher” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/363
    • Q. Elda “Elf, (lit.) one of the Star-folk” ✧ PE17/152
    • S. Ell “Elf” ✧ PE17/141
      • S. Elleth “Elf-maid” ✧ PE17/141
      • S. Ellon “Elf-man” ✧ PE17/141
    • Q. Eldo “one of the Marchers” ✧ WJ/363
    • S. Edhel “Elf” ✧ PE17/141; PE17/152; WJ/360
    • T. Ello “Elf” ✧ WJ/362; WJ/360
  • Q. lelta- “to send, *(lit.) cause to go”

Variations

  • DELE ✧ WJ/360
  • DEL ✧ WJ/363
  • del ✧ WJ/363
  • Dele ✧ WJ/392
Primitive elvish [WJ/360; WJ/363; WJ/392] Group: Eldamo. Published by

del

root. *fair

A root meaning “delicate” or “fair of form” that appears in a couple distinct etymological note from 1959; in one of them it was the basis for Q. Elda/S. Edhel (PE17/159). Given the revised etymologies for words for “Elf” in the Quendi and Eldar essay written soon thereafter, this root may have been short lived.

Derivatives

  • delya “lovely, fine, beautiful” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151
    • Q. lelya “delicate, beautiful and fine, slender, lovely” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151
    • S. dail “beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151
  • edelā “the fair” ✧ PE17/151
    • Q. Elda “Elf, (lit.) one of the Star-folk” ✧ PE17/139; PE17/151
    • S. Ell “Elf” ✧ PE17/141
      • S. Elleth “Elf-maid” ✧ PE17/141
      • S. Ellon “Elf-man” ✧ PE17/141
    • S. Edhel “Elf” ✧ PE17/139; PE17/151
  • Q. lelya- “to appear (of beautiful things); to attract, enchant (with dative)” ✧ PE17/151

Element in

Variations

  • DEL ✧ PE17/145; PE17/151
  • DĔL ✧ PE17/151
Primitive elvish [PE17/145; PE17/151] Group: Eldamo. Published by

del

root. thick, dense

A rejected root meaning “thick, dense” that appeared in rough etymological notes for the name of S. Glorfindel < glaur-phin-dela = “gold-hair-thick” (PE17/17). One of the proposed Quenya forms was nelya beside lelya, indicating Tolkien was considering strengthening the root form to √NDEL.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it would be worth salvaging this root in this strengthened form ᴺ√NDEL “thick, dense”, since I know of no other good options for words meaning “dense”.

Derivatives

  • delkā “dense” ✧ PE17/017
    • S. delch “dense” ✧ PE17/017
  • delwa “thick (of a single thing)” ✧ PE17/017
    • Q. leluya “thick (of a single thing)” ✧ PE17/017
    • S. delw “thick (of a single thing)” ✧ PE17/017
  • delya- “?thick, thicken & congeal” ✧ PE17/017
    • Q. nelya- “to thicken, congeal” ✧ PE17/017

Element in

  • spindilā “head of hair” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/017

Variations

  • DEL- ✧ PE17/017 (DEL-); PE17/017 (DEL-)
  • DEL ✧ PE17/151
Primitive elvish [PE17/017; PE17/151] Group: Eldamo. Published by

delya-

verb. walk, go, proceed, travel

Derivations

  • DEL “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360

Derivatives

  • T. delia- “to go, proceed” ✧ WJ/360

Variations

  • del-ja ✧ WJ/360
Primitive elvish [WJ/360] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(ñ)guruk

noun. horror

Derivatives

  • S. gorog “horror” ✧ WJ/415

Variations

  • guruk ✧ WJ/389; WJ/415
  • ñguruk ✧ WJ/390
Primitive elvish [WJ/389; WJ/390; WJ/415] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bani

adjective. fair

Element in

  • Q. vanië “beauty” ✧ PE17/057
  • Q. vanima “beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair” ✧ PE17/057

Variations

  • vanĭ ✧ PE17/057
Primitive elvish [PE17/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ngur

root. horror

wanyā

adjective. fair

Derivations

  • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ WJ/383

Derivatives

  • Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
    • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383

Variations

  • wanjā ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
Primitive elvish [WJ/380; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ndel

root. thick, dense

Derivatives

  • ᴺQ. nelca “dense”
  • ᴺQ. nelya- “to thicken, congeal”
  • ᴺS. delch “dense”
Primitive elvish Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by