_ n. _snake.
Undetermined
lug
proper name. Lug
Sindarin
úan
lug)
leweg
noun. snake
lhûg
noun. snake, serpent
lýg
noun. snake
_ n. Zoo. _snake. Q. leuka.
lŷg
noun. snake
lŷg
noun. snake
The best known Sindarin word for “snake”, appearing in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). In 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), Tolkien said it was derived from the root √LEWEK “worm” (PE17/160), likely from ✱leukā where the ancient *eu* became *ȳ* as was usual in Sindarin (LotR/1115).
ritha-
verb. to jerk, twitch, snatch
log-
verb. to haul, drag
lŷg
snake
- lŷg (constuct lyg), no distinct pl. form. 2) lhûg (construct lhug, with article ?i thlûg or ?i lûg the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (dragon, serpent), pl. lhuig (?i luig). See SERPENT.
rinc
jerk
(noun) rinc (twitch, trick, sudden move), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rinc); coll. pl. ringath.
rinc
jerk
(twitch, trick, sudden move), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rinc); coll. pl. ringath.
ritha
jerk
(verb) ritha- (twitch, snatch) (i ritha, idh rithar)
ritha
jerk
(twitch, snatch) (i ritha, idh rithar)
ritha-
verb. to jerk, twitch, snatch
Noldorin
am-
prefix. snake
lhûg
noun. dragon
lhûg
noun. snake, serpent
rhitha-
verb. to jerk, twitch, snatch
rhitha-
verb. to jerk, twitch, snatch
A verb appearing as its Noldorin-style infinitive form rhitho “jerk, twitch, snatch” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (Ety/RIK(H)).
Neo-Sindarin: Since initial *r* unvoiced to *rh* in Noldorin of the 1930s but not in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. ritha-, as suggested in HSD (HSD).
Conceptual Development: Earlier verbs for “to jerk” included G. ciltha- from Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/26), clearly a cognate of ᴱQ. kilti- “to jerk, tuck” under the early root ᴱ√KḶTḶ “tilt; fling” (QL/47). Another early verb of similar form but different meaning is G. rictha- “contort, twist, confuse, disarrange, upset” clearly based on the early root ᴱ√RIKI (GL/65; QL/80); see G. rig- “to twist, contort” for further discussion.
Primitive elvish
luk
root. haul, drag, haul, drag, *pull; [ᴹ√] magic, enchantment
This root appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s writing over the years, but never with the same meaning. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed ᴱ√LUKU appeared with derivatives like ᴱQ. lúke “slime” and ᴱQ. lukso “mud” (QL/56). The Gnomish words G. ûg “mud” and G. ûgrin “muddy” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon may be related, but if so also indicate a shift in the root to ✱ᴱ√UKU (GL/74).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root ᴹ√LUK “magic, enchantment” appeared with derivatives like ᴹQ. lúke “enchantment” and N. lhûth, and the root served as the basis for the name Ilk. Lúthien, translated as “Enchantress” (Ety/LUK). However, in later writings the name S. Lúthien was given a new etymology as a feminization of S. lûth “blossom, inflorescence” (PE17/15).
The root √LUK itself reappeared in notes from around 1968 with the gloss “haul, drag”, serving as the basis for Q. lunka “heavy transport wain (wagon)” (PE17/28; VT43/19). This sense of the root might have an earlier origin, since the verb ᴱQ. luk- “pull” in Early Qenya word lists from the 1920s has a similar meaning (PE16/134).
Another set of possibly related forms are Q. lucassemmar, Q. luciemmar, or Q. luhtammar “✱our debts, our trespasses” from Quenya prayers of the 1950s, as suggested by Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter (VT43/19). These appear to be derived from √LUK, but don’t seem to be connected to any of the attested meanings of this root. In any case, these words for “trespasses” were replaced in later versions of the prayers, becoming Q. rohtammar >> Q. úcaremmar (VT43/19).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, √LUK “haul, drag, ✱pull” is probably the most enduring meaning of this otherwise variable root, but the sense ᴹ√LUK “magic, enchantment” is also very popular, being the basis for some of the better known Elvish words for “magic”. I personally retain both senses, with “magic” by way of analogy for “pulling” on the physical world to affect change. There is a similar analogy to “breath” for the “emission of power (of will or desire)” by analogy with breath fogging a cold surface; see the entry on Q. súlë for discussion. However, this interpretation of √LUK is pure invention on my part to justify retaining the 1930s words for magic.
Quenya
ango
snake
ango noun "snake"; stem angu- as in angulócë (q.v.); pl. angwi (ANGWA/ANGU)
hlócë
snake, serpent
hlócë ("k")noun "snake, serpent", later lócë ("k")(SA:lok-)
leuca
snake
leuca (1) noun "snake" (Appendix E)
leuca
noun. snake
The best known Quenya word for “snake”, appearing in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). In 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), Tolkien said it was derived from the root √LEWEK “worm” (PE17/160).
lumna-
be heavy
lumna- stativevb. "be heavy" (LR:47, SD:310; cf. lumna_- "to lie heavy" in the Etymologies, stemDUB-)_. A form lúvë was mentioned in connection with this verb, possibly a strong past tense form directly derived from the root DUB- (primitive *dūbē), but Tolkien struck it out (VT45:11).
rihta-
verb. jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch
rihta- vb. "jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch" (RIK(H) )
ruc-
verb. pluck
luc-
verb. to haul, drag, [ᴱQ.] pull (behind)
Black Speech
thrak-
verb. bring by force, hale, drag
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!
Middle Primitive Elvish
lug
root. be heavy
A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “be heavy”, with the derived adjectives ᴹQ. lunga and N. lhong of the same meaning (Ety/LUG¹). Given the appearance of G. lung “heavy; grave, serious” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, I think the idea for this root dates back to this period, though the related verb G. luntha- “balance, weigh” indicates the Early-period root may have been ✱ᴱ√LUŊU instead (GL/55). Tolkien’s continued used of Q. lungu- and S. -lung for “heavy” in his later writings indicates its ongoing validity (S/185; PE17/162; VT47/19).
lug
root. *blue
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.
ruk
root. pluck
A root glossed “pluck” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 serving as the basis for ᴹQ. ruk- of the same meaning (PE22/102), but mentioned nowhere else with this given meaning.
Gnomish
lûg
noun. snake
fenlug
noun. snake
elt
noun. dig, poke (probe), tug, lug
elta-
verb. to draw, tug, lug; to thrust, dig, poke (inward)
fent
noun. snake
cilt
noun. jerk
ciltha-
verb. to tug, jerk (out)
hal(a)-
verb. to drag, draw, pull
A verb in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “drag, draw, pull, (espec. draw home, pull towards oneself, draw on or over, of clothes, etc.), slip on” (GL/47). Its derivation is unclear, since the only similar early root in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon is ᴱ√HALA whose derivatives had to do with leaping (QL/39).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would instead use the neologisms ᴺS. log- “to haul, drag” and ᴺS. thag- “to draw, pull”; see those entries for details.
halcha-
verb. to drag on ground (roughly)
A verb appearing as {halca- >>} halcha- “drag on ground (roughly)” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, an elaboration of G. hala- “drag, draw, pull” (GL/47).
lingos
noun. snake
Early Primitive Elvish
kṛp-
verb. to pluck
kṛpṛ
root. pluck
rapa
root. drag, pull
A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with a series of glosses “handle hastily, snatch, grab” >> “tear” >> “drag, pull” but no derivatives (QL/79). The similar form G. drab “labour, toil, irksome work” and other derived words from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon might be related (GL/30), or could represent a distinct root ✱ᴱ√DRAP “labour, toil”. ᴱN. drauth “labour” and draust “work” from the Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s seem to be the last published iteration of these forms (PE13/142, 156). The original QL gloss “handle hastily, snatch, grab” might have reemerged in ᴹ√RAPH “snatch” from the 1940s; see the entry √RAPH for further details.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√(D)RAP “toil” to salvage Gnomish drab- words.
liŋi Reconstructed
root. snake
nini
root. *blue
Early Quenya
hyehta-
verb. to jerk
hyekka
noun. jerk
karp-
verb. to pluck
A verb in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s with present form karpe and past form karpie, derived from primitive ᴱ✶kṛp- “to pluck” (PE14/58), clearly related to the early root ᴱ√KᴬRPᴬR [KṚPṚ] from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45). This verb appeared unglossed with various inflected forms in a document on Qenya Verb Forms, probably from the 1910s (PE14/34). A Qenya form karp- appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but it is unclear whether this was a verb or just a representation of Qenya derivatives of the root (GL/27).
karpi-
verb. to pluck
kilti-
verb. to jerk, tuck
lin
noun. snake
A word for “snake” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with a stem form of {linge- >>} ling- (QL/54).
lingo
noun. snake
oqi
noun. snake
teta-
verb. to attract (physical and figurative)
Qenya
rihta-
verb. to jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch, to jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch, *wrench
A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch” derived from the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (Ety/RIK(H)).
Conceptual Development: Earlier verbs for “jerk” include ᴱQ. kiltin “I jerk, tuck” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KLTL “tilt; fling” (QL/47) and ᴱQ. hyehta- “to jerk” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/144). See also ric- “twist” for basic verbs of similar meaning.
ruk-
verb. to pluck
_, 2) úan (pl. úain), 3) urug (bogey, orc), pl. yryg