litsë

sand

litsë noun "sand" (LIT)

asto

dust

asto noun "dust" (ÁS-AT). According to VT45:6, asto was the name of tengwa #13 in the pre-classical system presupposed in the Etymologies, but Tolkien would later change the name of this letter to anto (its Quenya value changing from st to nt).

littë

noun. ash

A neologism for “ash” coined by Helge Fauskanger in his NQNT (NQNT), the Quenya equivalent of S. lith “ash”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s the Quenya cognate of N. lith was ᴹQ. litse (Ety/LIT), but in that document these words were glossed “sand”. Introducing a separate neologism ᴺQ. littë “ash” helps keep these two senses distinct.

Cognates

• S. lith “ash, ash; [N.] sand”

Derivations

• ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit”

lith

noun. ash, sand, dust

lith

noun. ash, ash; [N.] sand

A noun for “ash” appearing as an element in names like Lithlad “Plain of Ashes” (RC/457) and Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash” (WJ/239-240), as well as in the adjective lithui “ashy, ashen” (RGEO/66, RC/765). It is translated as “dust” in the name Anfauglith “Gasping Dust” (S/150), but since this is the name for Ard-galen after the region was burned by the forces of Morgoth, this may simply be a loose translation for “ash”.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. lith was glossed “sand” from primitive ᴹ✶litse under the root ᴹ√LIT (Ety/LIT), and in this document N. Fauglith was translated “Thirsty Sand” (Ety/PHAU), as opposed to its original translation from the 1920s and early-to-mid 1930s which was simply “Thirst” (LB/275; SM/26, 101; LR/280).

Neo-Sindarin: For Neo-Sindarin I’d use lith mainly in its 1950s-60s sense “ash” but also allow its 1930s sense “sand”, but for “dust” I’d use [N.] ast. @@@ Maybe it would be better to coin a neologism for “sand”?

Cognates

• ᴺQ. littë “ash”

Derivations

• ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit”

Element in

• S. Anfauglith “Gasping Dust” ✧ SA/lith
• S. Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash” ✧ SA/lith
• S. Lithir “?Ash River”
• S. Lithlad “Plain of Ashes” ✧ SA/lith
• S. lithui “ashen, ashy, of ash, ash-coloured, dusty” ✧ RC/765; SA/lith

men-

verb. to go

Derivations

• √MEN “go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region”

Element in

• S. dadwen- “to return, go back”
• S. nidhin mened “I have a mind to go, I intend to go” ✧ PE22/165

lith

sand

lith (sand, dust) (Names:178), no distinct pl. form.

lith

sand

(sand, dust) (Names:178), no distinct pl. form.

lith

dust

(sand, ash) (Names:178)

lith

ash

lith (sand, dust), no distinct pl. form.

lith

ash

(sand, dust), no distinct pl. form.****

ast

dust

1) ast (pl. aist if there is a pl.), 2) lith (sand, ash) (Names:178)

ast

dust

(pl. aist if there is a pl.)

yad-

verb. to go

A verb appearing in the Lament of Akallabêth in the form ayadda “(it) went” (SD/247, VT24/12). Its initial element is the 3rd persons neuter plural suffix a- “it”. This leaves the basic verb form yadda, which is the past tense according to the theories used here.

Conceptual Development: It appeared in the form yadda in the first draft version of the Lament, and this form was also briefly considered as a replacement for unakkha “he-came” in the first sentence of the Lament (SD/312).

Element in

• Ad. adûn izindi batân tâidô ayadda “[the] road west once went straight, (lit.) west straight road once went” ✧ SD/247; SD/312

malu

noun. dust

Changes

• malŭ → smalŭ “dust” ✧ PE21/80

Derivations

• √MAL “gold, yellow, gold”

Variations

• malŭ ✧ PE21/80 (malŭ)

lith

noun. sand

Cognates

• ᴹQ. litse “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT

Derivations

• On. litthe “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
  • ᴹ✶litse “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
  • ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit” ✧ Ety/LIT

Element in

• N. Fauglith “Thirsty Sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
• N. Lithlad “Plain of Ash”
• N. lithui “ash[en]”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. litthe > lith	[liθθe] > [liθθ] > [liθ]	✧ Ety/LIT

lith

noun. ash, sand, dust

ledh-

verb. to go, to go, *travel, journey

@@@ extended meanings suggested by Fiona Jallings

Derivations

• On. led- “to fare”
  • ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” ✧ Ety/LED; EtyAC/LED

Element in

• N. neledh- “*to go in, enter” ✧ TAI/150

ast

noun. dust

ast

noun. dust

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dust” derived from the root ᴹ√ÁS-AT (Ety/ÁS-AT).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. asto “dust” ✧ Ety/ÁS-AT

Derivations

• ᴹ√ASAT “*dust” ✧ Ety/ÁS-AT

Element in

• ᴺS. athren “dusty”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√ÁS-AT > ast	[asto] > [ast]	✧ Ety/ÁS-AT