kū

root. *coo

An unglossed by probably onomatopoeic root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for Elvish words for “dove” (Ety/KŪ).

kundū

noun. kundū

ku(ʒ)

root. bow

The root ᴹ√KU(Ʒ) “bow” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KUƷ), most likely a later version of ᴱ√KUVU “bend, bow” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/49). One notable derivative in both periods was G. cû “bow, crescent” and N. cû “arch, crescent”, which regularly appeared as S. cû “bow” in later writings, for example in S. Laer Cú Beleg “Song of the Great Bow” (GL/27; Ety/KUƷ; S/209).

The probably-related root ᴹ√KUB “bow” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/102); ᴹQ. nukumna “humbled (?under-bowed)” from this period may also be related (SD/246). In notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien gave ✶kūma, Q. cúma and S. cû(f) next to Q. lúva “bow, bight (not for shooting)” < √LUB “bend”, so presumably cúma/cû was “bow (for shooting)” (PE17/122). Finally Q. cúna “bent, curved” appeared in notes associated with the version of the Q. Markirya poem from the late 1960s, along with a verb form cúna- “to bend” (MC/222-223).

These variations make it difficult to determine what Tolkien intended the root to mean, but for purposes of Neo-Eldarin I would assume a base root of √KU(Ʒ) or √KU(H) with perhaps a verbal variant √KUB based on its use in the 1940s, and with the primitive sense “bow, bend”.

kub

root. *mound, heap

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for ᴹQ. kumbe/N. cum “mound, heap” (Ety/KUB). It was undoubtably a later iteration of ᴱ√KUMU “heap up” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with similar derivatives in both Qenya and Gnomish (QL/49; GL/27). This earlier root also had derivatives having to do with “burden” such as ᴱQ. kumba “burdened, laden”, but based on Gnomish words like G. gûm “burden” and G. gumriol “burdensome” (GL/43), this was probably due to blending with an otherwise unattested root ✱ᴱ√GUMU.

These roots were the basis of G. Cûm a Gumlaith “Mound of the First Sorrow” which later became N. Cûm-na-Dengin “Mound of Slain” (SM/312, LR/147). Eventually this name became Haudh-en-Ndengin “Mound of the Slain”, indicating that ᴹ√KUB was abandoned for this purpose. Indeed, in later writings Tolkien instead gave √KUB as “hide, secrete” instead (PE22/155).

kum

root. void

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “void”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. kúma “void” and N. caun “empty” (Ety/KUM). It was probably also the basis of ᴹQ. kumba in ᴹQ. saurikumba in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, unglossed but probably “✱foul-bellied” (SD/86).

kurum

root. *left

A (Noldorin-only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s whose derivatives have to do with “left” such as N. crom “left” and N. crumui “left-handed” (Ety/KURÚM). It seems this root had some “sinister” connotations, much like English/Latin uses of left, such as N. crumguru “wiley, sinister, guilty” (EtyAC/KUR). Left also had negative connotations in Tolkien’s earlier writings, such as G. gôg “clumsy; left (hand)” (GL/40). However, in the Ambidexters Sentence from 1969, Tolkien declared that Elves were ambidextrous and had no negative associations with “leftness”. I would recommend against using the root ᴹ√KURUM for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, sticking to more neutral ᴹ√KHYAR instead.

kuu̯

noun. bow

kuʒnā

adjective. bowed, bow-shaped, bent

kuilez

noun. quiet

kukūwā

noun. dove

kul

root. golden-red

kuldā

adjective. red

kundu

root. prince

kur

root. craft

kuy

root. come to life, awake

kub

root. bow

et-kuiwē

noun. awakening

tumpu

root. hump

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “hump”, with Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of the same meaning (Ety/TUMPU). It might be a later iteration of the root ᴱ√KUPU “hump” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s which had derivatives like ᴱQ. kumpo “pile” and ᴱG. cub “hollow” (QL/49; GL/27). Alternately, it could be a later interation of ᴱ√TUMU “swell (with idea of hollowness)” (gloss marked with “?”) from the same document, but the one clear derivative of ᴱ√TUMU was ᴱQ. tumbe “trumpet, large horn” (QL/95), which seems unrelated to 1930s ᴹ√TUMPU.

krumbā

adjective. *left

khus

root. up from below ground, to ground level

gāsa

noun. void

kab

root. hollow

karan

root. red

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “red” (Ety/KARÁN), a later iteration of ᴱ√KṚN of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s of the same meaning, but with syllabic ṛ (QL/48). Its main Quenya derivative, Q. carnë, retained the same form throughout Tolkien’s life, but its Gnomish forms G. carn(in) “scarlet” and G. crintha “rosy, pink” (GL/25, 27) became N. caran “red” in the 1930s, and retained that form thereafter.

karani

adjective. red

kwantā Reconstructed

adjective. full

lub Reconstructed

root. lump