The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.
Primitive elvish
el
root. lo, behold; star, lo, behold; star, [ᴹ√] starry sky
ēl
noun. star
el-ā
interjection. lo!, look!, see!
elen
noun. star
elen-barathī
noun. star-queen
-iel
suffix. feminine suffix
ñ(g)alatā-rigelle
feminine name. maiden crowned with a garland of radiance
ew(el)
root. *lamb
sal
root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre
stuk
root. [unglossed]
-ye Reconstructed
suffix. feminine suffix
imin
masculine name. One
lemek
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.
min
cardinal. one
phut
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).
tig
root. [unglossed]
A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).
tini
noun. spark
graw Reconstructed
root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart
This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).
Tolkien introduced ᴹ√EL as the basis for Elvish star-words in The Etymologies of the 1930s at the same time as he devised a new etymology for the words for “Elf” as the “Star-Folk” using an extended form of this root ᴹ√ELED (Ety/EL, ELED). The extended root √ELED seems to have survived at least up until around 1950, where it appear among list of examples of roots for Elvish tribal names, with deleted variant √EDEL (PE18/84). But later on the extended form seems to have fallen away, at least as the basis for Elf-words, being replaced in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 by the root √DEL “walk, go, proceed, travel” and its Quenya-only variant √LED.
In the Quendi and Eldar essay, the words for “Elf” were recontextualized as a blend of the senses “star” and “departure”, referring to Elves both as the people of the stars and the specific group of the Eldar as those Elves who left for Aman (WJ/362-3). In these same notes Tolkien said that ele originated first as an interjection meaning “lo!, behold!”, as uttered when the Elves first beheld the stars (WJ/360). In this sense, it might have been a partial restoration of a (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√ELE used for various words of wonderment and “otherness” in the 1910s and 20s; see that entry for details.