Primitive elvish
der
root. hard, difficult
dērā
adjective. hard, difficult
ndē̆r
noun. man
dirnā
adjective. tough
dorno
noun. oak
srak
root. hard, difficult
der
root. hard, difficult
dērā
adjective. hard, difficult
ndē̆r
noun. man
dirnā
adjective. tough
dorno
noun. oak
srak
root. hard, difficult
A root in linguistic notes from 1959 used for the sense “hard, difficult” in Sindarin because other roots like √GUR > S. gor- gained a very negative sense due to collision with the roots √ÑGOR “horror” and √ÑGUR “death” (PE17/154). Tolkien first gave this root as √DIR before switching it to √DER. There is no indication of its use in Quenya, so it is probably a Sindarin-only innovation.