An onomatopoeic root appearing in notes from the late 1960s with variants porok- and korok and the gloss “hen” (VT47/36). It seems to be a restoration of the form ᴱQ. poroke “barn fowl” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/75) with Gnomish cognate G. porog “fowl (domestic)” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/64). ᴱQ. poroke “hen” reappeared in Qenya Word-lists from the 1920s (PE16/132), and primitive ✶porokĭ “fowl” and ✶porokē “hen” appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/82). Thus this root seems to be a pretty enduring notion.
Primitive elvish
kor
root. round, round; [ᴱ√] be round, roll
korok
root. hen
porok
root. hen
kholyē
noun. hen
porokē
noun. hen
kawāk
noun. crow
kot(h)
root. strive, quarrel
There is evidence that the later form of this root may have been √ÑGOTH. See ᴺ✶kottō for a discussion.
Another variation, √KHOT “be wroth, quarrel; hate” appears in notes on root formations (PE18/62, 85, 87), but its only derivative ✶ok(h)tā could just as easily come from √KOT(H).
In order to retain all the derivatives from The Etymologies, this entry assumes that the root form remains √KOTH.
This was the Elvish root for round things throughout Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√KORO “be round, roll” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and had Early Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. korima “round” and G. corm “ring, circle, disc” (GL/26). ᴹ√KOR “round” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin (Ety/KOR). √KOR “round” was also mentioned in etymological notes probably written in the early 1960s (PE17/184). Its derivatives like Q. corma “ring” (LotR/953) and S. cerin “(circular) mound” (LotR/350; RC/309) appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings.