sundo

noun. base

base

sundo

base, root, root-word

sundo (þ) noun "base, root, root-word" (SUD), sc. a Quendian consonantal "base". According to VT46:16, Tolkien changed the root to STUD, thereby implying that sundo was earlier þundo (compare Sindarin thond "root"). PE18:95 gives the pl. form as sundur, seemingly implying a stem-form sundu-. It is not, however, used in the compound sundocarmë "base-structure" (PE18:84 not **sunducarmë), a term used in the description of the structure of the various Quendian "bases" or roots.

talan

floor, base, ground

talan (talam-, e.g. pl. talami) noun "floor, base, ground" (TALAM)

cemi

earth, soil, land

cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)

talma

base, foundation, root

talma noun "base, foundation, root" (TALAM), also translated "bottom" in the expression "top to bottom", see below.% Talmar Ambaren (place-name, *"Foundations of the World" - this is pre-classical "Qenya" with genitive in -en instead of -o as in LotR-style Quenya) (TALAM). Allative talmanna in the phrase telmello talmanna** "from hood to base**, top to bottom" _(VT46:18; notice misreading "telmanna" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, entry TEL-, TELU-)_

talan

noun. flat space, platform, flat space, platform; [ᴹQ.] floor, ground

A word for a “flat space, platform” in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings, cognate to S. talan and derived from ✶talam (PE17/52). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. talan was glossed “floor, ground” under the root ᴹ√TALAM “floor, base, ground” (Ety/TALAM).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use talan as a general word for a constructed “floor” or “platform” both with and without walls and possibly above ground level as well, but for natural “ground” I would use [ᴹQ.] hún (QL/39).

Cognates

• S. talan “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” ✧ PE17/052; PE17/052; PE17/052

Derivations

• ✶talam “floor; flat space, platform, floor; flat space, platform, [ᴹ✶] ‘flet’; ground” ✧ PE17/052
  • √TALAM “flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation”
• √TALAM “flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation” ✧ PE17/052

Element in

• ᴺQ. ettalan “balcony”
• ᴺQ. luttalan “raft, (lit.) floating platform”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶talam- > talan	[talam] > [talan]	✧ PE17/052
√talam > talan	[talam] > [talan]	✧ PE17/052

mar

earth

mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

kemen

earth

kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.

talma

noun. flat space, platform

A variant of talan (talam-) “flat space, platform” in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (PE17/52).

Neo-Quenya: I would not use this word for this purpose in Neo-Quenya, since elsewhere talma was used for “basis, base, foundation, root” (PE21/80; Ety/TAL).

Cognates

• S. talan “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” ✧ PE17/052
• S. talf “wang, flat field, topographical flat area” ✧ PE17/052

Derivations

• ✶talam “floor; flat space, platform, floor; flat space, platform, [ᴹ✶] ‘flet’; ground” ✧ PE17/052
  • √TALAM “flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation”
• √TALAM “flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation” ✧ PE17/052

Element in

• Q. Nindatalma “Wetwang, Nindalf” ✧ PE17/052

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶talam- > talma	[talama] > [talma]	✧ PE17/052
√talam > talma	[talama] > [talma]	✧ PE17/052

Variations

• talma ✧ PE17/052; PE17/052

taldëa

adjective. bottom

@@@ Discord 2022-05-23 < taldajā

Elements

Word	Gloss
tal(da)	“to the bottom”

cae

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

ceven

noun. Earth

ennorath

noun. central lands, middle-earth

talan

flat space

pl1. telain** **_ n. _flat space, platform. Q. talan or talma. >> tâl

tâl

flat space

_ n. _flat space, platform. Q. talan or talma. >> talan

talaf

ground

talaf (i dalaf, o thalaf) (floor), pl. telaif (i thelaif); coll. pl. talavath. The ”Noldorin” plural form listed in LR:390 s.v.

talaf

ground

(i dalaf, o thalaf) (floor), pl. telaif (i thelaif); coll. pl. talavath. The ”Noldorin” plural form listed in LR:390 s.v.

amar

earth

(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair

ennor

place name. central land, middle-earth

bâr

earth

(dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

cae

noun. earth

Derivations

• ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”

cae

earth

(i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also

ceven

earth

1) ceven (i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23), 2) (world) Amar (archaic Ambar), pl. Emair; 3) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds. 4) (maybe ”earth” as substance) cae (i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also SOIL.

ceven

earth

(i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23)

panas

talam

(i banas, o phanas, pl. penais (i phenais), coll. pl. panassath.

talaf

floor

1) talaf (i dalaf, o thalaf) (ground), pl. telaif (i thelaif); coll. pl. talavath. The ”Noldorin” plural form listed in LR:390 s.v.

talaf

floor

(i dalaf, o thalaf) (ground), pl. telaif (i thelaif); coll. pl. talavath. The ”Noldorin” plural form listed in LR:390 s.v.

dâira

noun. Earth

A noun translated as “Earth” in the final version of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). It may be related to S. dôr “land”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/13).

Conceptual Development: In the Lament of Akallabêth (first draft), this noun appeared as kamāt (SD/311).

Element in

• Ad. Bârim an-Adûn yurahtam dâira sâibêth-mâ Êruvô “Lords of [the] West, they rent [the] Earth with assent from Eru” ✧ SD/247
• Ad. bārun an-adūn {urahhata >>} urahta dāira sāibēth-mā ēruvō ✧ SD/247

Variations

• dāira ✧ SD/247

dal

root. bottom, ground, bottom, ground; [ᴹ√] flat

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√DAL with the gloss “flat” and various derivatives of similar meaning (Ety/DAL). It reappeared again in later notes as √DAL “bottom, ground” written in the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/150). In both places, it had a variant form √LAD of similar meaning.

One notable derivative from the 1930s was N. dalath “plain” which appeared in the name N. Dalath Dirnen “Guarded Plain” in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/299). But in the second note mentioned above, Tolkien said “X Dalath Dirnen. dalath won't do = plain ... TALAT = ground (bottom), hence TALAT = fall down” (PE17/150). Indeed, in later Silmarillion drafts, Tolkien changes this name to S. Talath Dirnen (WJ/140). This may mean that Tolkien ultimately rejected this root, but the variant √LAD probably survived: see that entry for details.

Derivatives

• ✶dalath “deep valley or valley enclosed with woods”
• S. dalath “plain, low lying/flat ground, plain, low lying/flat ground; [N.] flat surface, plane; [ᴱN.] vale” ✧ PE17/150

lad

root. bottom, ground, [ᴹ√] lie flat, be flat; [√] bottom, ground

This root and ones like it were used as that basis for “wide” adjectives throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√LAŘA [LAÐA] in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. landa “wide, broad” and ᴱQ. lar “region, place” (QL/51). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was G. land “broad” (GL/52). In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√LAD with derivatives like ᴹQ. landa/N. lhann “wide” (Ety/LAD); in this document it was related to both ᴹ√DAL “flat” and ᴹ√LAT “lie open”.

The root was mentioned in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with the gloss “lie flat, be flat”, distinct from the root ᴹ√LAT glossed “be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)” (PE22/126). √LAD was mentioned again as Quenya-only variant of √DAL “bottom, ground” in a list of roots from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/150). However, it clearly survived in Sindarin as an element in the names Landroval “Broad Winged” (LotR/948; PE17/63) and Lothlann “Wide and Empty” (S/123), not to mention úlan(n) “not broad, narrow” (PE17/144).

One tricky thing about this root was that Tolkien seems to have abandoned √DAL on which it was originally based, given the change of S. dalath “plain” to S. talath “plain”. However, I think it is likely that √LAD survived, perhaps as a variant of √LAT.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √LAT refers to openness, where √LAD refers to flat or wide things.

Derivatives

• S. land “wide, broad, wide, broad; [N.] open space, level”

talam

noun. floor; flat space, platform, floor; flat space, platform, [ᴹ✶] ‘flet’; ground

Derivations

• √TALAM “flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation”

Derivatives

• Q. talan “flat space, platform, flat space, platform; [ᴹQ.] floor, ground” ✧ PE17/052
• Q. talma “flat space, platform” ✧ PE17/052
• S. talan “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” ✧ PE17/052
• S. talf “wang, flat field, topographical flat area” ✧ PE17/052

Variations

• talam- ✧ PE17/052

talam

root. flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation

Derivatives

• ✶talam “floor; flat space, platform, floor; flat space, platform, [ᴹ✶] ‘flet’; ground”
  • Q. talan “flat space, platform, flat space, platform; [ᴹQ.] floor, ground” ✧ PE17/052
  • Q. talma “flat space, platform” ✧ PE17/052
  • S. talan “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” ✧ PE17/052
  • S. talf “wang, flat field, topographical flat area” ✧ PE17/052
• ✶talmā “basis”
  • Q. talma “basis, basis, [ᴹQ.] foundation, base, root; [ᴱQ.] end” ✧ PE21/80
• Q. talan “flat space, platform, flat space, platform; [ᴹQ.] floor, ground” ✧ PE17/052
• Q. talma “flat space, platform” ✧ PE17/052
• ᴺQ. talma- “to found”
• S. talan “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” ✧ PE17/052
• S. talf “wang, flat field, topographical flat area” ✧ PE17/052

Elements

Word	Gloss
TAL	“foot; *flat; [ᴱ√] support”

Variations

• talam ✧ PE17/052

keme

noun. earth

Derivations

• ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”

Variations

• kĕmĕ ✧ PE21/80 (kĕmĕ)

kemen

noun. earth

Derivations

• ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”

Derivatives

• Q. cemen “the earth; earth, the earth; earth, [ᴹQ.] soil”
• S. ceven “Earth, earth; Earth”

talaf

noun. ground, floor

talaf

noun. ground, floor

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “ground, floor” derived from the root ᴹ√TALAM “floor, base, ground” (Ety/TAL). It has a plural form teleif in keeping with Noldorin plural patterns; in Sindarin its plural would be ^telaif. Its Quenya cognate was ᴹQ. talan, and in later writings this pair became Q. talan/S. talan “flat space, platform” < √TALAM (PE17/52), both demonstrating the ancient sound change whereby [[p|final [m] became [n]]] (VT47/24).

Neo-Eldarin: In later writings, S. talan was used mainly to refer to an elevated platform or floor, such as the flets of Lothlórien. As such, I think it is worth retaining talaf to refer both to the ground floor as well as the ground itself, perhaps from a variant ancient form ✱talamē.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. talan “floor, ground” ✧ Ety/TAL

Derivations

• ᴹ✶talam “floor, ground; ‘flet’, platform”
  • ᴹ√TALAM “base, root, foundation; floor, ground” ✧ PE21/56
• ᴹ√TALAM “base, root, foundation; floor, ground” ✧ Ety/TAL

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√TALAM > talaf	[talama] > [talam] > [talav]	✧ Ety/TAL
ᴹ√TALAM > teleif	[talami] > [telemi] > [teleim] > [teleiv]	✧ Ety/TAL

coe

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

coe

noun. earth

An indeclinable word given as {cíw >>} coe “earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KEM (Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM).

Possible Etymology: The primitive form of rejected cíw is given as ᴹ✶kēm and its derivation is clear: the long ē became ī and then the final m reduced to w after i as usual. The derivation of coe is more obscure, however. The likeliest explanation is that Tolkien imagined its ancient form with a slightly lowered vowel which he generally represented as ǣ in this period (in later writings as ę̄). According to the first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Comparative Vowel Tables from the 1930s (PE18/46; PE19/25), ǣ &gt; ei &gt; ai &gt; ae, and in The Etymologies itself, it seems ai often became oe instead of ae.

Neo-Sindarin: Updating the derivation of hypothetical ✱kę̄m would produced ᴺS. cae in Sindarin phonology. But given the obscurity of its derivation, I recommend using 1950s S. ceven for “earth” instead.

Changes

• cíw → coe ✧ Ety/KEM

Cognates

• ᴹQ. kemen “soil, earth; Great Lands” ✧ Ety/KEM

Derivations

• ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth” ✧ Ety/KEM
• ᴹ✶kēm “*earth” ✧ EtyAC/KEM
  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth” ✧ Ety/KEM

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KEM > coe	[kǣm] > [kaim] > [kai] > [koe]	✧ Ety/KEM
ᴹ✶kēm > cíw	[kēm] > [kīm] > [kīv] > [kīw]	✧ EtyAC/KEM

Variations

• cíw ✧ EtyAC/KEM (cíw)

amar

noun. earth

amar

noun. Earth

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Ambar “Earth, World” ✧ Ety/MBAR

Derivations

• ᴹ√MBAR “dwell, inhabit” ✧ Ety/MBAR
  • ᴹ√BAR “raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)” ✧ Ety/BAR

Element in

• N. Emerin “Middle-earth” ✧ Ety/MBAR
• N. Gondobar “Stone of the World” ✧ Ety/MBAR

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MBAR > ambar > amar	[ambar] > [ambar] > [ammar] > [amar]	✧ Ety/MBAR

ambar

noun. earth

panas

noun. floor

panas

noun. floor

A noun for “floor” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, an elaboration of N. pân “plank” under the root ᴹ√PAN (Ety/PAN). As such, it likely refers to a constructed floor made of wood or other materials.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. blath “a floor” (GL/23), probably derived from the early root ᴱ√PALA having to do with flat things as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Palúrien).