rhae

easy

_adj. _easy. Q. rhaia. . This gloss was rejected.

rhae

adjective. easy

ath-

prefix. easy, easily

A prefix meaning “easy” or “easily” appearing in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 and based on the root √ATHA (PE17/148). Tolkien gave two examples of its use: athgar “easy (easy to do)” = ath + √KAR “do” and athgen “easily seen” = ath + √KEN “see”. These adjectives seem to be similar to the negative quasi-participles like úgar “(generally) idle = ✱not doing” seen in other notes from around 1959 (PE17/144), where the prefixed verb stem functions as an (aorist) participle. Presumably such quasi-participles are neither active or passive, and so assume a meaning based on the prefix: ath- “easy” functions passively (the thing done), ú- “not” functions actively (the person doing).

Conceptual Development: In a rejected page from the same set of notes, Tolkien had rhae “easy” derived from the root √SRA(YA) of the same meaning (PE17/172). But Tolkien seems to have altered the root to √SRAG “difficult” and √RAY “smile”.

athgar

adjective. easy (easy to do)

athal (athchal)

adjective. easy to lift, light (in weight)

A neo-compound, from ath- + KHAL (cp. athgar, athgen, PE17/148). The contact assimilation -th+kh- > -th- is according to Salo, "A Gateway to Sindarin" §§ 4.136, 15.17.

trog

adjective. easy to handle; convenient, tractable, docile

paran

adjective. smooth, shaven (often applied to hills without trees)

paran

smooth

1. paran (lenited baran; pl. perain) (shaven). Often applied to hills wihtout trees. (RC:433) 2)

path

smooth

path (lenited bath; pl. paith)

hrai(a)

adjective. easy

ancárima

adjective. easy, (lit.) very doable

A word for “easy” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, a combination of the intensive prefix an- and the adjective cárima “doable”, so more literally “very doable” (PE22/155).

hasa-

verb. to treat (medically), (help to) cure; to treat kindly, make easy

A verb in notes from 1969 given as haþa- and translated “treat kindly/make easy, (help to) cure” or just “treat (medically)”, derived from the root √HATH (PE22/166 notes #109-110). After þ > s in Quenya, it would be pronounced hasa-.

ancárima

adjective. very doable, easy

asquétima

adjective. easy to say

A neologism for “easy to say” coined by Helge Fauskanger for his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of as(a)- “easy”, quet- “say” and the suffix -ima “-able”.

ascárima

adjective. easy [to do]

hraia

awkward, difficult

hraia adj. "awkward, difficult" (PE17:154), ephemerally meant "easy" (PE17:172)

hranga

awkward, hard

hranga (2) adj. "awkward, hard" (PE17:154), "stiff, awkward, difficult" (PE17:185)

passa

smooth, glabrous

passa adj. "smooth, glabrous" (PE17:171)

pasta

smooth

pasta (2) adj. "smooth" (PATH), variant of passa

runda

smooth, polished

runda (1) adj. "smooth, polished" (PE17:89)

dadben

adverb/adjective. downhill, inclined, prone, downhill, inclined; [ᴱN.] (figuratively) easy-going, easy, not arduous; prone

A word for “downhill, inclined, prone” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a combination of N. dad “down” and N. penn “declivity, ✱slope”, with the forms dadben and dadbenn where the double nn was probably archaic (Ety/DAT, PEN).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies also had (rejected) dadðenn, dadhenn based on an earlier meaning “hillside, slope” of the root ᴹ√DEN (Ety/DEN; EtyAC/DAT), and earlier still a form dadvenn based on a rejected root ᴹ√BEND (EtyAC/DAT). Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s also had ᴱN. dadvenn “downhill” with an archaic form {datvhend >>} datbhend (PE13/139, 160-161). In one entry it had the figurative meaning “easy-going, easy, not arduous” (PE13/161), comparable to the English idiom “it’s all downhill from here”.

Neo-Sindarin: I’d adopt the later form dadben as an adjective and adverb for “downhill, inclined [downwards]”, but I would not use it for “prone” in its modern English sense “lying flat”, since I believe Tolkien intended this gloss to be for its archaic English sense of sloping downwards. I would, however, assume the Early Noldorin sense “easy-going, easy, not arduous” remains valid as a figure of speech.

dadben

adverb. downhill, inclined

dadben

adverb. inclined, prone (to do something)

dadbenn

adverb. downhill, inclined

dadbenn

adverb. inclined, prone (to do something)

dadbenn

adjective. downhill

path

adjective. smooth

path

adjective. smooth

hath

root. treat kindly/make easy, (help to) cure

This root appeared only in very late notes on Quenya verbs from 1969 (PE22/166), where it was given as an alternative to √ATHA, a root Tolkien introduced back in late 1950s or early 1960s to explain Q. asëa aranion/S. athelas “kings foil”. In the 1969 note, Tolkien at first reaffirmed that √ATHA was the basis for these words, but in the margins he wrote:

> This needs correction. √ATHA = be willing, agree, consent, grant - assist, join with others[?]. It is HATHA, Q haþa- that meant treat kindly/make easy, (help to) cure (PE22/165-166, note #109).

On the back of the page Tolkien then explored various possible derivatives of the new root √HATHA, among them Q. {asea} >> aþea but also Q./T. haþa- “treat (medically)”, various Quenya words for “doctor” (aþumo >> aþar(o); aþarta) and several Sindarin forms including {gathra} >> athra, which seems to be another verb meaning “to treat medically” (PE22/166 note #110). The presence and absence of initial h- in the Quenya forms and the presence and absence of initial g- in the Sindarin forms are probably a reflection of Tolkien’s indecision in the late 1960s on the proper phonetic development of initial velar spirants in the Elvish languages; see the entry on how [[aq|initial [ɣ] became [h]]] in Ancient Quenya for further discussion.

For the most part, Tolkien had initial primitive h- survive in Quenya, making the derivation of Q. asea “healing herb” directly from √HATHA problematic. But perhaps Tolkien intended that √HATHA was blended with √ATHA to produce asea; something similar happened with the root √HAN “add to, enhance” in these same 1969 verbal notes, which influenced Q. anta- “give” (PE22/163). In any case, √HATHA is our best source for Elvish “doctor” words, and it provides a useful semantic distinction from √ATHA which has more varied roles, serving among other things as the basis for the Sindarin future suffix -atha (PE22/167).

sray

root. easy, pliant, moving with ease

pathnā

adjective. smooth