Quenya 

mairo

horse

mairo noun "horse" (GL:56; later sources have rocco, olombo)

olombo

horse

olombo noun "horse" (derived from a base LOB which Tolkien later changed to LOP; hence read *olompo for olombo?)

rocco

horse

rocco ("k")noun "horse" (ROK, SA:roch; Letters:382; cf. 282 where the spelling really is rocco, not rokko_). _In Letters:382 the word is defined as "swift horse for riding". VT46:12 refers to an alternative form of the entry ROK that was inserted into the Etymologies; here rocco, which Tolkien revised from ronco ("k"), was similarly glossed "swift horse". Nésë nórima rocco ("k") "he was a horse strong/swift at running" (VT49:29)

rocco

noun. horse

Quenya [PE 22:166] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

rocco

noun. horse

The usual word for “horse” in Quenya, a derivative of ✶rokkō (Let/282, 382; WJ/407) and very well attested. There are indications that this word was more specifically a “swift horse” (Let/382; EtyAC/ROK), but in most cases Tolkien used it generically.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. rokko “horse” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√ROK “run on foot”, already with the derivation given above (Ety/ROK). The relevant entry appeared twice; in one rokko was first written as rokka “wheel”, and in the other the form was first written ronko, but in both cases Tolkien revised the word to rokko “horse”.

Cognates

  • S. roch “horse” ✧ Let/178; Let/282; Let/382; SA/roch

Derivations

  • ✶rokkō “horse, swift horse for riding” ✧ Let/282; Let/382; WJ/407
    • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot”

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶rokkō > rocco[rokkō] > [rokko]✧ Let/282
✶rokkō > rokko[rokkō] > [rokko]✧ Let/382
✶roko > rokko[rokko]✧ WJ/407

Variations

  • rokko ✧ Let/178; Let/382; PE17/168; SA/roch; VT49/29; WJ/407
Quenya [Let/178; Let/282; Let/382; PE17/168; PE21/78; PE22/166; SA/roch; VT49/29; WJ/407] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

roch

noun. horse

The usual word for “horse” in Sindarin, a derivative of ✶rokkō (Let/282, 382) and very well attested. There are indications that this word was more specifically a “swift horse” (Let/382; EtyAC/ROK), but in most cases Tolkien used it generically.

Conceptual Development: The first precursor to this word seems to be G. brog “horse” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/24), though at the time it had no Qenya cognates. ᴱN. brog “horse” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/139), but by The Etymologies of the 1930s it had become N. roch “horse”, already with the derivation given above (Ety/ROK; EtyAC/ROK). Tolkien seems to have mainly stuck with this form thereafter.

Cognates

  • Q. rocco “horse” ✧ Let/178; Let/282; Let/382; SA/roch

Derivations

  • ✶rokkō “horse, swift horse for riding” ✧ Let/282; Let/382
    • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot”

Element in

  • S. Arroch “*Noble-horse”
  • ᴺS. raebroch “zebra”
  • S. Rochallor ✧ SA/roch
  • S. Rochand “Rohan, Horse-country” ✧ Let/178; Let/382; RC/241; SA/roch; UT/318
  • S. rochben “rider”
  • S. Roch-cheruin “Steed of the Lady” ✧ PE17/097
  • S. roch heryn “Lady(’s) horse” ✧ PE17/097
  • S. rochir “knight, horse-lord” ✧ Let/178; Let/282
  • S. Rochirrim “Horse-lords” ✧ UT/318
  • S. roch na-heryna “the horse of (the) Lady” ✧ PE17/097
  • S. Rohan “Riddermark, (lit.) Horse-country”
  • S. Roheryn “Horse of the Lady” ✧ SA/roch
  • S. Rohirrim “Horse-lords” ✧ Let/382; SA/roch

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶rokkō > roch[rokkō] > [rokko] > [rokkʰo] > [roxxo] > [roxx] > [rox]✧ Let/282
Sindarin [Let/178; Let/282; Let/382; PE17/097; RC/241; SA/roch; UT/318] Group: Eldamo. Published by

roch

noun. steed

n. Zoo. steed. >> Rocheryn

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:97] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

roch

noun. horse, swift horse for riding

Sindarin [Ety/384, S/436, Letters/178, Letters/282, Letter] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lobor

horse

lobor, analogical pl. lebyr (VT45:28)

lobor

horse

analogical pl. **lebyr **(VT45:28)

roch

horse

(swift horse for riding) roch, pl. rych (idh rych) (Letters:282)

roch

horse

pl. rych (idh rych) (Letters:282)

Adûnaic

karab

noun. horse

A noun translated “horse”, given by Tolkien as an example of how common-nouns can be altered into masculine and feminine forms using the suffixes -û and -î: karbî “mare” and karbû “stallion” (SD/434).

Derivations

  • √Ad. KARAB “?horse”
Adûnaic [SD/434; SD/435] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

rokkō

noun. horse, swift horse for riding

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot”

Derivatives

  • Q. rocco “horse” ✧ Let/282; Let/382; WJ/407
  • S. roch “horse” ✧ Let/282; Let/382

Element in

Variations

  • roko ✧ WJ/407
Primitive elvish [Let/282; Let/382; PE21/81; PE21/82; WJ/407] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

lobor

noun. horse

Noldorin [VT/45:28] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lobor

noun. horse, [heavy riding] horse

A word for “horse” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√LOP (EtyAC/LOP). It did not appear in The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road, but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne reported it in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT45/28).

Conceptual Development: The similar word G. lobros “steed, horse” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/54), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√LOPO that was the basis for “horse” words in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/56). In The Etymologies, Tolkien first gave the root as ᴹ√LOB and the Noldorin form as {lum >>} lhuv, perhaps from ✱lōbo, but these were deleted and replaced by ᴹ√LOP and lobor.

Neo-Sindarin: Since Tolkien sometimes described S. roch as a “swift horse”, I’d assume lobor was a heavy riding horse or war horse.

Changes

  • lum → lhuv ✧ EtyAC/LOP
  • lhuv → lobor “horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. olombo “horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP; EtyAC/LOP

Derivations

  • ᴹ√LOP “horse, horse; [ᴱ√] *run (of animals), gallop, lope” ✧ EtyAC/LOP; EtyAC/LOP

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√LOP > lobor[lopro] > [lopr] > [lobr] > [lobor]✧ EtyAC/LOP

Variations

  • lum ✧ EtyAC/LOP (lum)
  • lhuv ✧ EtyAC/LOP (lhuv)
Noldorin [EtyAC/LOP] Group: Eldamo. Published by

roch

noun. (swift) horse

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. rokko “(swift) horse” ✧ Ety/ROK; EtyAC/ROK

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot” ✧ Ety/ROK
  • ᴹ✶rokkō “swift horse” ✧ EtyAC/ROK
    • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot” ✧ Ety/ROK

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶rokkō > roch[rokkō] > [rokko] > [rokkʰo] > [roxxo] > [roxx] > [rox]✧ EtyAC/ROK
Noldorin [Ety/ROK; EtyAC/ROK] Group: Eldamo. Published by

roch

noun. horse, swift horse for riding

Noldorin [Ety/384, S/436, Letters/178, Letters/282, Letter] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Westron

loho

noun. horse

Element in

  • Wes. Lôgrad “Horse-mark” ✧ PM/053
  • Wes. Lohtûr “Horse-folk, Horse-land” ✧ PM/053

Variations

  • loho/lō- ✧ PM/053 (loho/lō-)

Primitive adûnaic

karab

root. ?horse

An unglossed root (SD/415), likely the basis for the noun karab “horse” (SD/434).

Derivatives

Primitive adûnaic [SD/415] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

olombo

noun. horse

A word for horse in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√LOP (EtyAC/LOP). This root did not appear in The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road, but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne reported it in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT45/28). Tolkien first gave the root as ᴹ√LOB, and it seems the form olombo was derived from this earlier form, and was not updated after {ᴹ√LOB >>} ᴹ√LOP, as pointed out by Hostetter and Wynne.

Conceptual Development: The word ᴱQ. lópa “steed, horse” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√LOPO that was the basis for “horse” words in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/56).

Neo-Quenya: Given the dubious derivation of olombo, I recommend limiting yourself to better attested Q. rocco “horse” for purposes of Neo-Quenya. If you do use it, it should probably be revised to ✱olompo.

Cognates

  • N. lobor “horse, [heavy riding] horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP; EtyAC/LOP

Derivations

  • ᴹ√LOP “horse, horse; [ᴱ√] *run (of animals), gallop, lope” ✧ EtyAC/LOP

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√LOB > olombo[olombo]✧ EtyAC/LOP

rokko

noun. (swift) horse

Changes

  • rokka → rokko “wheel” ✧ Ety/ROK
  • ronko → rokko ✧ EtyAC/ROK

Cognates

  • N. roch “(swift) horse” ✧ Ety/ROK; EtyAC/ROK

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot” ✧ Ety/ROK; PE22/127
  • ᴹ✶rokkō “swift horse” ✧ EtyAC/ROK
    • ᴹ√ROK “run on foot, *horse, run on foot” ✧ Ety/ROK

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ROK > rokko[rokko]✧ Ety/ROK
ᴹ✶rokkō > rokko[rokkō] > [rokko]✧ EtyAC/ROK
ᴹ√ROKO > rokko[rokko]✧ PE22/127

Variations

  • rokka ✧ EtyAC/ROK (rokka)
  • ronko ✧ EtyAC/ROK (ronko)
Qenya [Ety/ROK; EtyAC/ROK; PE22/127] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

lop

root. horse, horse; [ᴱ√] *run (of animals), gallop, lope

This root was the basis for horse words starting with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it appeared unglossed as ᴱ√LOPO (QL/56). It was compared to the root ᴱ√LOQO, and these roots include the verbs ᴱQ. lopo- “gallop, run (of animals)” and ᴱQ. loqo- “run (of human beings)”, so I think it is likely those were the meanings of the roots as well (QL/56). In the Qenya Lexicon, ᴱ√LOPO had the derivatives ᴱQ. lōpa “horse or mare” and ᴱQ. lopsi “mare” (QL/56), but elsewhere in that document there was the word ᴱQ. lapatte “rabbit” < ᴱ✶lopatte, so I think that word is related as well, though Tolkien did mark the primitive form with a “?” (QL/51). The probably-related word ᴹQ. lopo “rabbit” appeared in a discussion of nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/31).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root ᴹ√LOP was glossed “horse”, and its derivatives ᴹQ. olombo and N. lobor had only that sense (EtyAC/LOP), but horse words were usually derived from ᴹ√ROK from the 1930s and later. The word Q. lopoldi “rabbits” appeared in some 1965 notes on Númenor, so It seems likely √LOP remained valid in some form. Another possibly related late word is S. ✱laba- “hop” as in S. Labadal “Hopafoot” (UT/60).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√LOP with a verbal sense “✱gallop, lope”. In this way, it can remain the basis for rabbit words based on their loping run. The horse words from this root might be specialized for heavier loping horses like destriers, since ᴹQ. rokko was said to refer more specifically to a “swift horse” (EtyAC/ROK).

Changes

  • LOB → LOP “horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶lopō “rabbit”
    • ᴹQ. lopo “rabbit” ✧ PE21/31
  • ᴺQ. lop- “to gallop, *lope, [ᴱQ.] run”
  • Q. lopoldë “rabbit”
  • ᴹQ. olombo “horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP
  • ᴺS. lob- “to gallop, *lope, [G.] run”
  • N. lobor “horse, [heavy riding] horse” ✧ EtyAC/LOP; EtyAC/LOP
  • ᴺS. lobrob “gallop; sound of horse’s feet”

Element in

Variations

  • LOB ✧ EtyAC/LOP (LOB)
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/LOP] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rok

root. run on foot, *horse, run on foot

This root was the basis for Elvish “horse” words starting in the 1930s. It first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√ROK in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivatives ᴹQ. rokko/N. roch “horse” (Ety/ROK). The root was given the gloss “run on foot” in a page of roots from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s, but that page was rejected. Primitive ✶rokkō “horse” was mentioned regularly in Tolkien’s later writing (Let/282; PE21/82; WJ/407), though in one place he clarified that it was more specifically a “swift horse for riding” (Let/382).

Derivatives

  • ✶rokkē “mare”
  • ✶rokkō “horse, swift horse for riding”
    • Q. rocco “horse” ✧ Let/282; Let/382; WJ/407
    • S. roch “horse” ✧ Let/282; Let/382
  • ᴹ✶rokkō “swift horse” ✧ Ety/ROK
    • ᴹQ. rokko “(swift) horse” ✧ EtyAC/ROK
    • N. roch “(swift) horse” ✧ EtyAC/ROK
  • ᴹQ. rokko “(swift) horse” ✧ Ety/ROK; PE22/127
  • ᴺQ. rocollë “colt”
  • ᴹQ. rohta- “?to run on foot” ✧ PE22/127
  • N. roch “(swift) horse” ✧ Ety/ROK
  • ᴺS. rogol “saddle”

Element in

Variations

  • ROKO ✧ PE22/127 (ROKO)
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ROK; EtyAC/LOP; PE22/127] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

brog

noun. horse

Element in

Variations

  • Brog ✧ GL/24
Gnomish [GG/09; GL/24; GL/64] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mair

noun. horse

An (archaic) word for “horse” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s given as {mairog >>} mair, cognate to ᴱQ. mairo (GL/56), which appeared as ᴱQ. mairu in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√MAẎA (QL/60).

Changes

  • mairog → mair ✧ GL/56

Cognates

  • Eq. mairu “(horse) mane, flowing hair; charger” ✧ GL/56

Derivations

Element in

  • G. mairos “mane, long hair”

Variations

  • mairog ✧ GL/56 (mairog)

lobros

noun. steed, horse

Cognates

  • Eq. lópa “horse, mare”

Early Noldorin

brog

noun. horse

Element in

  • En. bregil “mare” ✧ PE13/139
  • En. u(r)vrog “horseless” ✧ PE13/156
Early Noldorin [PE13/139; PE13/156] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

mairo

noun. *horse

lópa

noun. horse, mare

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√LOPO “*run (of animals), lope” ✧ QL/056

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√LOPO > lōpa[lōpā] > [lōpa]✧ QL/056

Variations

  • lopo ✧ PE16/132
  • lōpa ✧ PME/056; QL/056
Early Quenya [PE16/132; PME/056; QL/056] Group: Eldamo. Published by