lō

root. ablative element

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).

lot(h)

root. flower

lod

root. *pass, path

lok

root. great serpent, dragon

lokh

root. *curl of hair

lokko

noun. ringlet

lon

root. *island

londē

noun. narrow path, strait, pass

loy

root. lack, be without; miss, fail to go

lopō

noun. rabbit

lopōtundu

noun. rabbit hole

los

root. sleep

(o)lor

root. sleep; dream

(o)los

root. sleep; dream

olosphantur

masculine name. Lórien

tollo

noun. island

ser

root. love, be fond of (of liking, friendship)

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “love, be fond of (of liking, friendship)” with derivatives like ᴹQ. serme, ᴹQ. sermo, and ᴹQ. seron, all meaning “friend” = feminine, masculine and neuter respectively (Ety/SER). Tolkien also considered given this root the form ᴹ√THER (EtyAC/SER). Tolkien compared ᴹ√SER to ᴹ√SON “love, befriend, cherish” which was “only used of persons” and had derivatives ᴹQ. sonda “dear, fond” and ᴹQ. sondo/N. thond “friend” (the latter implying a root ✱ᴹ√THON), but the root ᴹ√SON was rejected (EtyAC/SON). Tolkien further compared ᴹ√SER to ᴹ√MEL “love (as friend)” (EtyAC/MEL), which is a much better known basis for “love” and “friend” words in both earlier and later writings. However, Tolkien’s use of S. seron “lover” in the 1968 name S. Seron Aearon “Sea-lover” (PM/348) indicates he did not complete abandon ᴹ√SER.

Neo-Eldarin: I would retain this root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, but would assume it applies to a less intense form of love and friendship than √MEL, more “like” than “love”.

skor

root. look out for, expect, wait for

A root appearing in the Quenya Verbal System from the 1940s given as {skop >> kop >>} skor “look out for, expect, wait for” serving as the basis for the verb {hopa- >> kopa- >>} ᴹQ. hora- “wait for” (PE22/113).

mel

root. love (as friend)

(o)rom

root. loud noise, horn blast

andā

adjective. long

andọl

noun. long pole

baradā

adjective. lofty, sublime

b’randā

adjective. lofty, noble, fine

laire

noun. long lay

lek

root. loose, let loose, release

skorā-

verb. look out for, expect, wait for

spanturo

masculine name. lord of cloud

tainā

adjective. long

thē

root. look (see or seem)

thērē

noun. look, face, expression, countenance

tārā

adjective. lofty

andambundā

adjective. long-snouted

son

root. love, befriend, cherish

dub

root. lie, lie heavy, loom, hang over oppressively (of clouds)

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “lie, lie heavy, loom, hang over oppressively (of clouds)” with derivatives like ᴹQ. lumna “burdensome, oppressive, ominous” and N. dofn “gloomy” (Ety/DUB). In later writings, the similar Quenya word Q. lumba “gloomy” was derived from the root √LUM/LUB “shadow, darkness”, but the root ᴹ√LUM “✱shadow” coexisted with ᴹ√DUB in The Etymologies, so perhaps it also survived later as an independent root (or was the result of d/l variation with √LUB).

uy

root. *long trailing plant

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. uile “long trailing plant, especially seaweed” and N. uil “seaweed” (Ety/UY). In this document it also was the basis of the name of the Vali ᴹQ. Uinen, but in later writings Tolkien said this name was not Elvish, but was adapted from Valarin (WJ/404). This may mean the root ᴹ√UY was abandoned, but I would retain it for purposes of Neo-Eldarin to preserve these 1930s words for “seaweed”.

khat

root. hurl, cast, send through air, loose from hand

This root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√HATA “hurl, fling” (QL/39), and in this early period it had derivatives in both Qenya and Gnomish such as ᴱQ. hata- “hurl, fling” and G. hada- “throw at, aim at” (QL/39; GL/48). It appeared again in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√KHAT “hurl” with only Noldorin derivatives (Ety/KHAT), and appeared in a list of roots in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with the gloss “hurl, cast, send through air, loose from hand but not nec[essarily] fast”, though the page where it appeared was rejected (PE22/127 note #152). Tolkien’s use of Q. hatal “spear” in writings from the late 1960s indicate its continued validity (VT49/14), as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT49/33 note #15).

khlip

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected paragraph from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/112 note #78).

maiga

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1) to illustrate certain patterns of root formation (PE18/66). It may have serving as the basis for ᴹQ. Maia, though this word was given different derivations later.

phan

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/PHAN).

skil

root. [unglossed]

A root mentioned in passing in as a variant of ᴹ√KIL “divide” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but it had no derivatives and appeared nowhere else (Ety/KIL).

stā

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root reference in The Etymologies apparently serving as the basis for the verbal action suffix ᴹ✶-stā “-ing” in ᴹ✶khau̯-stā “rest-ing” (Ety/KHAW; EtyAC/KHAW). See the entry on ✶-stā for further discussion.

uruk

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/URUK).

us

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/US).

anad

root. *long

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

barad

root. *lofty, noble

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

melā-

verb. to love

n(d)il

root. friend; love, devotion

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tā/taʒ

root. high, lofty; noble

tūrō

suffix. master, victor, lord

ungwē

noun. gloom

wilwā

noun. air, lower air

yenpanta

adjective. aged, long-lived

bay

root. [unglossed]

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

ken

root. see, perceive, look at, observe, direct gaze

khen(de)

root. eye; look at, see, observe, direct gaze

kyen

root. see, perceive, look at, observe, direct gaze

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

stin

root. [unglossed]

doʒ

root. night

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “night” that (along with ᴹ√DOM) was the basis for the ᴹQ. lóme/N. dû “night” (Ety/DOƷ). It replaced some rejected variants ᴹ√LOƷ and ᴹ√DAW (EtyAC/LOƷ). Many of the derivatives of ᴹ√DOƷ were later assigned to other roots: N. dûr “dark” became S. dûr “dark” < √NDU “under, down” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152) and ᴹQ. lóna “dark” became Q. lúna (PE17/22). There are no signs of ᴹQ. ló “night” and N. daw “night-time, gloom” in Tolkien’s later writing. Future derivations of Q. lómë/S. dû only mention the root √DOM (PE17/152; PE22/153) and thus ᴹ√DOƷ may have been abandoned.

In a message to the Elfling mailing list from July 2012 (Elfling/362.96), David Salo suggested there might be a later root ✱√DU serving as the basis for Q. lúna “dark” and Q. lúmë “darkness”, though the latter might instead be from √LUM. Such a root ✱√DU is not attested in Tolkien writings, but if it existed, it could be a later iteration of ᴹ√DOƷ. Another possible example of the root ✱√DU is primitive ✶durnŭ “dark of hue”.

angwa

root. snake

The root √ANGWA “snake” with variant √ANGU appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for the words ᴹQ. ango “snake” (Ety/ANGWA) and angulóke “dragon” (Ety/LOK). The Noldorin equivalent am- seems to have survived only as a prefix (Ety/ANGWA), and is a good example of how [[on|[ŋgw] > [mb]]] in that language. There are a variety of other words for “snake” in Tolkien’s later writings, so whether this root remained valid is unclear.

(g)lingi

root. hang

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “hang” and acting as an alternate explanation of ᴹQ. Laurelin, usually interpreted as “Song of Gold” but also meaning “Hanging Flame” as reflected in its Noldorin name Glingal (Ety/GLING, LIN², LING). The continued appearance of S. Glingal in later versions of The Silmarillion indicates this root likely remained valid (S/126).

A pair of forms ᴱQ. kinka- “to hang (intr.)” and ᴱQ. kinkata- “hang (tr.)” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s imply the existence of a root ᴱ√KINIKI, which may be a precursor to ᴹ√(G)LINGI.

bor(on)

root. endure

The root ᴹ√BOR “endure” along with its extended form ᴹ√BORON appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with various derivatives having to do with endurance, faithfulness and everlastingness (Ety/BOR, BORÓN). It was simply a later version of the root ᴱ√VORO from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but clearly of a similar meaning based on its Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. voronda “faithful”, ᴱQ. vorima “everlasting” and G. bron(n) “steadfast, firm” (QL/102; GL/23-24).

Similar forms like Q. voronda or vórima “faithful” continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writing (UT/317). The well established names Q. Voronwë or S. Bronwe(g) “Steadfast, Faithful” retained the same basic form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life, testifying to the enduring nature of the Elvish root for “endurance”.

khyel(es)

root. glass

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “glass” with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin with the same meaning: ᴹQ. hyelle and N. hele (Ety/KHYEL(ES)). After Tolkien changed Noldorin to Sindarin, he decided that “There was no common Eldarin word for glass”, and that the Sindarin word S. heledh was derived from Khuzdul kheled (PE17/37). Thus the root ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) was abandoned.

yel

root. friend

A new gloss for the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter”, with a new set of derivatives like ᴹQ. -iel “-friend” and ᴹQ. yelda “friendly” (Ety/YEL), but it was rejected in turn and probably replaced by ᴹ√MEL.

yen

root. year

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “year” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yén/N. în “year” (Ety/YEN). Tolkien’s ongoing use of words like Q. yén and S. ínias “annals” indicate its ongoing validity (LotR/377; MR/200), but in Quenya at least the meaning shifted to that of an “Elvish long year”, equal to 144 solar years (LotR/1107; MR/471; NM/84).

aiwē

root. (small) bird

A “root” (more likely just a primitive word) appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basic for the words ᴹQ. aiwe, N. aew “small bird” (Ety/AIWĒ). A precursor ᴱ√aı̯ to this root appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. aiwe, G. aigli “bird” (GL/17). The continued appearance of Q. aiwë (UT/401) and S. aew (S/119) in later writings strongly indicates this primitive form remained valid in Tolkien’s later writings.

ar

root. day

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “day” with various derivatives like ᴹQ. are, N. aur “day” and ᴹQ. arin “morning” (Ety/AR¹). In Tolkien’s later writings, the Quenya word for “day” became aurë (RC/727; S/190), and in 1957 Quenya Notes he devised a new etymology for these day-words from the root √UR “heat” as in ✶auri “heat, period of sun” (PE17/148). That opens the question whether the various 1930s Quenya “morning” words from ᴹ√AR remain valid, but many Neo-Quenya writers (including me) retain them since there aren’t really any good alternatives. They might be salvageable as derivatives of the later root √AS “warmth” (so that “day” = “hot” and “morning” = “warm”).

ed(er)

root. open

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “open” and the forms √ED and extended √EDÉR, but it had no derivatives (EtyAC/ED).

galad

root. tree

The basis for Elvish “tree” words, this root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as an extension of ᴹ√GALA “thrive” (Ety/GALAD). This replaced the earliest derivation of “tree” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where the Qenya word for “tree” ᴱQ. alda was derived from ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29). In The Etymologies, the Quenya form of this word remained the same, but the 1910s Gnomish words G. âl “wood” and †alwen “tree” (GL/19) became the 1930s Noldorin word N. galadh “tree” (Ety/GALA). Quenya and Sindarin retained these words for “tree” thereafter, and while Tolkien did not mention the root √GALAD again, his continued use of primitive ✶galadā “tree” (Let/426; PE17/153; PE21/74; UT/266) made it clear this root remained valid.

gayas

root. fear

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fear” (Ety/GÁYAS). One of its derivatives, N. gaer “dreadful” (< ᴹ✶gaisrā), was given a new etymology in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, where S. gaer “awful, fearful” was derived from ✶gairā (WJ/400). However, it is conceivable that √GAYAS could have survived as an extension of the later root √GAY “astound, make aghast”.

lub

root. weary

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “weary”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. lumba and N. lhom of the same meaning (EtyAC/LUB).

nur

root. deep

A root mentioned in The Etymologies as an extension of ᴹ√NU with the gloss “deep” and derivatives ᴹQ. núra and N. nûr of the same meaning (Ety/NU). Possibly related is the later word Q. nurtalë “hiding” as in Q. Nurtalë Valinóreva “Hiding of Valinor” (S/102).

snur

root. twist

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “twist” with derivatives N. norð “cord” and N. norn ““twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted” (Ety/SNUR).

stal

root. steep

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “steep” with derivatives like Ilk. thall “steep, falling steeply (of river)” and Ilk. thalos “torrent”, the latter used for the river name Ilk. Thalos (Ety/STAL). Tolkien continued to use the name S. Thalos in later versions of The Silmarillion, but the name was translated nowhere else, making its continued connection to the 1930s root uncertain.

yes

root. desire

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “desire” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yesta- “desire” and N. iest “wish” (Ety/YES; EtyAC/YES).

mālō

noun. friend

span

root. white

(g)lawar

root. *gold

ari

noun. day

day

root. shadow

dom

root. faint, dim

dōmilindē

noun. nightingale

kal

root. shine

kelun

noun. river

kundu

root. prince

kwelett-

noun. corpse

lin

root. pool

lum

root. *shadow

tal

root. foot

tubnā

adjective. deep

tussā

noun. bush

tār(ō)

noun. king

ailin

noun. pool, lake

akrā

adjective. narrow

berékā

adjective. wild

bányā

adjective. beautiful

erekwa

adjective. isolated

gal

root. shine

galadā

noun. tree

gālæ

noun. light

kalat

noun. light

khyelesē

noun. glass

khōn

noun. heart

k’lā

noun. light

laikwā

adjective. fresh

lingi

root. hang

lugni

adjective. blue

lungā

adjective. heavy

makla

noun. sword

mbarat

root. fate

mizdā

adjective. wet

ndulna

adjective. secret

nem-

verb. to seem

nē̆n

noun. water

nūrā

adjective. deep

pantā

adjective. open

parmā

noun. book

tundā

adjective. tall

tyulussē

noun. poplar-tree

tāl

noun. foot

wath

root. shade

wis

root. air

yagō

noun. gulf

yenrinde

noun. year

yē

preposition. at