han

root. add to, increase, enhance, enrich, honour (especially by gift); give

This root did not explicitly appear until very late in Tolkien writing, in 1969-1970, but there were a few earlier precursors. Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter suggested the preposition Q. han “beyond” from Quenya prayers of the 1950s might be connected to this root. I think another precursor might be √ƷAN “long” or “extend” given as a variant of √YAN around 1959; Tolkien was considering √ƷAN as the basis for a new etymology of Q. anda/S. and “long” (PE17/40, 155), though there are no clear indications he carried through with this idea.

The root √ƷAN reappeared in 1968 notes with the gloss “adorn” serving as the basis for Q. antil, a word for the middle finger, perhaps being the place where rings were usually worn (VT47/26). As pointed out by Patrick Wynne this use of √ƷAN indicates it was from the period in the late 1960s where Tolkien was playing around with the form and phonetic developments of the ancient velar spirant [h] or [ɣ] (ʒ); see the discussion in the entry on how [[aq|initial [ɣ] became [h]]] in Ancient Quenya; this was one of the more common phonetic developments Tolkien used, but he vacillated a great deal on the subject.

√ƷAN reappeared again in 1969 notes on Quenya verbs with the gloss “give”, but here it was revised to √HAN (PE22/163). Tolkien then elaborated on the meaning of √HAN, saying that its actual sense was “enhance, enrich, add to”. In this note h- was preserved in Quenya and Telerin but lost in Sindarin, and the Quenya verb anta- “give” was influenced by but not directly derived from √HAN; in Sindarin the influence was more direct. We know that √HAN reappeared at least one more time in some notes from 1970 with the gloss “add to, increase, enhance, honour (espec. by gift)” (VT43/14) but this note remains unpublished so we don’t have the full context.

Sorting through all these variations is quite difficult, especially since they are intertwined with Tolkien’s shifting notions of the initial developments of ancient ʒ- and h-, but I think the basic conceptual development is (1959) √ƷAN “extend” >> (1968) √ƷAN “adorn” >> (1969) √ƷAN “give” >> (1969-70) √HAN “add to, increase, enhance, enrich, honour”.

Outside of its influence on “give” and “gift”, √HAN has no real attested derivatives, but it has long been theorized that it is basis for the Q. hantalë “thanksgiving” in Q. Eruhantalë (UT/214). This in turn serves as the basis for the most common Neo-Eldarin words for “thanks” and “to thank”, a pretty important word for polite conversation. These words, and their role in Neo-Eldarin, have been exceptionally contentious, giving this otherwise obscure root an outsized role in debates about Tolkien’s languages.

khan

root. brother

A root for “brother” that Tolkien introduced in notes on finger-names from the late 1960s as a companion to √NETH “sister” (VT47/14, 26, 34). It conflicts with, and possibly replaces, earlier uses for √KHAN such as √KHAN “back” in notes from around 1959 serving as the basis for the prefix Q. han- in hanquenta “answer” (PE17/166). The root ᴹ√KHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “understand, comprehend”, with various derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/KHAN).

It is unlikely that all these uses of √KHAN coexisted, but I think at a minimum both √KHAN “brother” and ᴹ√KHAN “understand, comprehend” should be retained for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as the latter has no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing. As for hanquenta “answer”, it might be reinterpreted as “a saying providing understanding”, and so be derived from ᴹ√KHAN “understand”.

mah

root. handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp

This root was connected to hand words for all of Tolkien’s life. Its periodic shifts between √MAH and √MAƷ had more to do with Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation on the form of the ancient velar spirant (voiced vs. voiceless) in Primitive Elvish. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. má “hand”, ᴱQ. maqa “handy, skilled”, and ᴱQ. māra “mighty, power, doughty; (of things) good, useful” (QL/57). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the root was maχā with derivatives G. mô “hand” and G. manc “grip, grasp, hold” (GL/55); G. mora “good” may have also been related (GL/57).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” along with a related root ᴹ√MAG “use, handle”, with ᴹQ. mára “useful, fit, good (of things)” derived from the latter (Ety/MAƷ). In Tolkien’s later writings, the root √MAG was further differentiated from √MAƷ, becoming the basis for “good, useful”; see the entry on √MAG for further details. As for ᴹ√MAƷ “hand”, it was also mentioned in the Outline of Phonetic Development from the 1930s (OP1: PE19/48) and Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/100 note #154).

In revisions to OP2, Tolkien decided the primitive velar spirant was unvoiced, a weak χ [x] rather than voiced ʒ [ɣ] (PE19/69 note #3; 72-73 note #22; 74 note #33). From this point forward, Tolkien sometimes rendered this root as √MAH (PE21/70; VT39/11), but it continued to appear often as √MAƷ even into the late 1960s (VT47/18-19) reflecting ongoing vacillation on the nature of the primitive velar spirant. As for its meaning in later writings, in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien said it meant “serve, be of use” as opposed to words for “well” and “good” derived from √MAY or √MAG (PE17/162), and in another section of the same notes it was defined as “handle, manage, control, wield” (PE17/163).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the last meaning is best for √MAH or √MAƷ. I think words for “good” and “useful” are better assigned to √MAG, and “excellence” to √MAY, though Tolkien often intermingled the meanings and derivatives of these three roots.

magiti

adjective. handy, skilled; shapely

maha

noun. hand, the manager

mahsi

noun. handiness

maʒsē

noun. handful

mā

noun. hand

maʒ

root. handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand

mag

root. good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle

This root was intertwined with the root for “hand” words: √MAH or √MAƷ. Indeed, in The Etymologies of the 1930s the roots ᴹ√MAG and ᴹ√MAƷ were variants of one another, with ᴹ√MAƷ glossed “hand” and ᴹ√MAG glossed “use, handle”, the latter with the derivatives like ᴹQ. mára/N. maer “useful, fit, good (of things)” and N. maen “skilled, clever” (Ety/MAƷ|MAG).

In later writings, however, the sense of this root shifted more towards “good”. In etymological notes from the late 1950s Tolkien still gave both √MAG or √MAƷ as the basis for hand words (PE17/161-2), but in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, Tolkien gave √MAGA the gloss “good (physically)” (PE17/149) or “to thrive, be in a good state” (PE17/162). In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien said the root for “hand” was √MAƷA, and there was a distinct (but possibly related) root √MAG, described as follows:

> MAGA, a stem meaning “good” — but without moral reference, except by implication: sc. it was not the opposite of “evil, wicked” but of “bad (damaged, imperfect, unfit, useless)”, and the adjectival stem derived, ✱magrā, meant “good for a purpose or function, as required or desired, useful, proper, fit” (VT47/6).

A similar distinction between √MAƷA “hand” and √MAGA “good, useful” appeared in 1968 notes (VT47/19). In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, Tolkien gave √MAGA the gloss “have, possess” to serve as the basis for the irregular verb Q. mai-, but this note was crossed through and I suspect it was a transient idea (PE22/148 and note #24). Thus, “good, useful” seems to be the best interpretation for the root √MAG.

kambā

noun. (cupped) hand

magtā-

verb. to handle, wield, manage, deal with

pip

root. hang, trail

tok

root. appraise, tax, assess, assay; try, test, essay, endeavour; feel with the hand, handle

khad

root. sit

The roots √KHAD and √KHAM were in competition for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” for a significant portion of Tolkien’s life. Both roots have antecedants in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but in that early document the root for “sit” was given as ᴱ√ÐORO or ᴱ√SORO (QL/85), replacing rejected ᴱ√SOŘO [ᴱ√SOÐO] and ᴱ√SODO (QL/85). Of these, the true form was clearly ᴱ√ÐORO given Gnomish derivative G. dorn “seat”, G. doros “throne”, G. dortha- “settle” (GL/30). This root seems to have been abandoned in Tolkien’s later writing, though N. dortha- “dwell, stay” was reassigned to ᴹ√NDOR in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NDOR).

As for √KHAD and √KHAM, their clearest antecedents in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s were ᴱ√HAÐA “cleave, remain” and ᴱ√HAM (QL/39), the latter without gloss but with derivatives having to do with the ground such as ᴱQ. hamba “on the ground” and G. ham “ground” (QL/39; GL/48). Some variant of ᴱ√HAÐA seems to have drifted in the direction of “sit” based on ᴱN. haud “seat” from Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s (PE13/147, 155).

Tolkien initially used the root ᴹ√KHAD for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/KHAM), but it was replaced by ᴹ√KHAM “sit” (Ety/KHAM) and this root seems to have survived for some time, since ᴹ√KHAM “sit down” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 (PE22/103). However, at some point Tolkien added a new root ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” to The Etymologies, and in this new entry he said “KHAM sit (replacing KHAD, cancelled)” indicating ᴹ√KHAD was restored (EtyAC/KHAM²). This seems to represent an ongoing vacillation between √KHAD and √KHAM in the 1930s and 40s.

However, √KHAD “sit” appeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa written around 1950 (PE18/95), Q. hárar “sit” (not ✱✱hámar) appears in Cirion’s Oath (UT/305), and in late notes on verbs from 1969 Tolkien had ✶khadmā “seat” as the basis for Q. hanw̃a S. haðw (PE22/148). There are no signs of √KHAM “sit” in this period, so it seems Tolkien chose √KHAD for “sit” in the 1950s and 60s.

Neo-Eldarin: I think √KHAD “sit” is the best choice for Neo-Eldarin, since it also lets us use ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” more freely.

yon

root. son

This root was the basis for Elvish “son” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest indications of this root are ᴱQ. †Y̯ó (or y̯ond-) “son” and ᴱQ. yondo “male descendant”, both tied to the patronymic suffix ᴱQ. -ion “son of, descendant of” appearing in many names (QL/106). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was also the related patronymic prefix G. go- (GL/40), which implies the existence of a root ✱ᴱ√YO(NO) since [[g|initial [j] usually became [g]]] in Gnomish. However, go- was deleted and changed to G. bo-, along with new Qenya forms ᴱQ. vô and ᴱQ. vondo (GL/23, 40), implying a change to a root ✱ᴱ√VO(NO).

In Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, ᴱN. gó “son” reappeared along with ᴱQ. ion and yondi (PE13/144). In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as ᴹ√YŌ or ᴹ√YON “son” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yondo/N. ionn “son” and patronymic -ion (Ety/YŌ). However, in notes labeled “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature” from the late 1950s, Tolkien wrote “Delete entirely yondo = ‘son’! Very unsuitable” (PE17/43). This particular note was rejected when Tolkien changed √YON “wide, extensive” to √YAN (PE17/42). Other notes in the same bundle indicate Tolkien was still seeking a new word for son, saying “Q wanted: son, daughter”, though yon(do) remained among the forms he was considering (PE17/170, 190).

However, it seems Tolkien eventually stopped vacillating and restored √YON, since the patronymic -ion was never discarded, and yon- was the basis for “son” words in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/26).

dond(a)

noun. fist

khadmā

noun. seat

kwāra

noun. fist

at-kwet

verb. answer

kait-a

verb. lie, be on the ground

kay

root. lie, lie, [ᴹ√] lie down; [ᴱ√] rest, dwell

Tolkien used this root for “lie (down)” for most of his life. It appeared as ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/46), but in that document there was another root ᴱ√KAMA “lie down”, with the derivative ᴱQ. kama- “to lie down” (QL/44). There is no sign of ᴱ√KAMA¹ being used this way after the 1910s, and in the 1920s Early Qenya Grammar, the verb for “lie down” was kaita- (PE14/58), which in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had the transitive sense “to place” (QL/44).

The root ᴹ√KAY “lie down” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAY), and it appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. kaita- “to lie (down)” (PE22/126). The root and associated Quenya verb continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings all the way up through the late 1960s, always with the sense “lie” (PE17/72; PE22/156).

lā̆

preposition/adverb. beyond

n-uĕg

suffix. male

san-

noun. that

slas

root. ear

slas

noun. ear

wonā

adjective. male