mā

noun. land

manwege

masculine name. Manwe

magyā

noun. magyā

mailikō

masculine name. Mailikō

mandale

noun. mandale

mandalē

noun. mandalē

masag

root. knead, make soft by rubbing, kneading

mad

root. *pale (yellow)

A root in The Etymologies with derivatives ᴹQ. marya and N. maidh glossed “pale, fallow, fawn”(Ety/MAD), the last of these (fawn) probably referring to a light yellowish-tan colour. In this entry it was the basis for the name N. Maidhros “Pale-glitter”, but this and related entries went through a number of revisions as Tolkien tried to sort out the origin of that name. Indeed in later writings Tolkien gave this name as S. Maedhros or Maedros along with completely different etymologies (PM/366; VT41/10). Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining this root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin to refer to a pale yellow or tan colour.

manad

root. doom, final end, fate, fortune

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “doom, final end, fate, fortune” = “final bless”, an extended form of ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit”, with derivatives ᴹQ. manar or mande and N. manað, apparently with the same meaning as the root (Ety/MANAD). In Quenya it was partially blended with ᴹ√(M)BAD in names like ᴹQ. Mandos.

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.

mag

root. use, handle

magnā

adjective. skilled

magrā

adjective. useful, fit, good (of things)

magā

noun. hand

mahtā-

verb. to handle, stroke, feel; to deal with, wield, treat

mak

root. sword; fight (with a sword), cleave

maktā-

verb. to fight

maʒ

root. hand

maʒiti

adjective. handy, skilled

maʒtā-

verb. to handle, stroke, feel

makla

noun. sword

man

root. holy spirit

manō

noun. departed spirit

map

root. lay hold of with hand, seize

mapā

noun. hand

mat

root. eat

matna

noun. food

mazgā

adjective. soft, pliant

mazgē

noun. dough

madlī

noun. honey-eater

maita-

verb. to feed

mardasē

adverb. at home

mart

adverb. homewards

mat-

verb. to eat

mazgō

noun. sticky substance, mire

mauy-

verb. need (impersonal)

mas

root. knead; [ᴱ√] cook, bake

smag

root. soil, stain

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “soil, stain” with derivatives {mael >>} N. hmael “stain; stained” and {maw >>} N. hmaw “soil, stain” (Ety/SMAG; EtyAC/SMAG). Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAG⁽²⁾ (EtyAC/MAG²).

smagla

noun/adjective. stain; stained

smal

root. yellow

smaldā

noun. gold (as metal)

smalinā

adjective. yellow

smalu

noun. pollen, yellow powder

smalwā

adjective. fallow, pale

ammat-

verb. to devour

nakma

noun. jaw

ʒan

root. male

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “male” and used in this sense for both people and animals (Ety/ƷAN). Its principle derivatives are ᴹQ. hanu/N. anw “male (person or animal)”, so it might more properly be ✱ᴹ√ƷAN+U.

-owo

suffix. masculine suffix

bestā

noun. matrimony

dēr

noun. man

kar

root. make, build, construct

kar-

verb. make, do, are [sic, should be ‘is’] making it

li

root. many; large people

luk

root. magic, enchantment

nō-

?. male

ortur-

verb. master, conquer

tan

root. make, fashion

taurā

adjective. masterful, mighty

tyulmā

noun. mast

tūrē

noun. mastery, victory

tūrō

suffix. master, victor, lord

wegtē

noun. manhood

wegō

suffix. man; warrior

wen(ed)

root. maiden, daughter, [orig.] female of any kind or age

weʒē

noun. manhood, vigour

kyul(u)mā

noun. mast

sū̆/sō̆

pronoun. masc., he

tultā-

verb. make come

gar

root. keep, hold, possess; maintain, defend

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s, apparently a variant of ᴹ√ƷAR, and having extensions ᴹ√GARAD and ᴹ√GARAT (Ety/ƷAR). It was given various glosses in separate entries such as “hold, possess” and “keep, maintain, defend”, but these glossed entries were all deleted (Ety/GAR; EtyAC/GAR). Two notable derivatives of ᴹ√ƷAR/GAR were ᴹQ. arda “realm, region” and N. ardh “realm” (Ety/ƷAR), apparently transferred to here from the earlier root ᴱ√ƷARA “spread” (QL/32). Both these words reappeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 as Q. arda and S. gardh “region” from primitive ✶gardā (WJ/402), hinting at the continued validity of the root √GAR, though its later meaning is unclear.

lop

root. horse, [ᴱ√] *run (of animals), gallop, lope; [ᴹ√] horse

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)”, and I think it likely that those were also the meanings of the roots (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 “✱run (of animals), 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 more specifically referred to a “swift horse” (EtyAC/ROK).

reg

root. edge, border, margin

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “edge, border, margin” with derivatives like ᴹQ. réna of similar meaning and N. rhain “border” (Ety/REG). ᴹ√REG replaced a rejected variant ᴹ√RAG (EtyAC/REG). The root is evident in only one name: N. {Duil Rain >>} Emyn Rhain “Border Hills” in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (TI/268, 313), called S. Emyn Muil “Drear Hills” in the published version of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/373; RC/334).

dab

root. give way, make room, permit, allow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “give way, make room, permit, allow”, with the derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin having mostly to do with permission (Ety/DAB).

grad

root. to flatten, lay low/flat, make flat what was standing

A root glossed “to flatten, lay low/flat, make flat what was standing” appearing in a list of roots from rejected page in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, with variants and √G)RAD and √SRAD and no derivatives (PE22/127). It appears nowhere else.

skar

root. ?stop, end; limit, marge

A hastily written entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s with an unclear gloss (possibly “stop, end; limit, marge”) serving as the basis for the name Ilk. Esgaroth (also with an unclear gloss, possibly “?strand-burg”) with the element Ilk. esgar = “shore” (EtyAC/SKAR²). The name Ilk. Esgaroth was given a much clearer etymology as “Reedlake” under the entry ᴹ√ESEK “✱sedge, reed” (Ety/ESEK).

(n)der

root. adult male, man; bridegroom

aktō

noun. artificer, maker, wright

besū

noun. husband and wife, married pair

kat

root. shape, make

lai-

prefix. *many

mbandō

noun. doomsman, judge

ninkwitā-

verb. to make white (or pale), whiten

nī

noun. woman

nī/ini

root. female

nī̆s

noun. woman

rē-

?. female

tak

root. fix, make fast; make

tankāta-

verb. to make firm

tay

root. extend, make long(er), stretch

tek

root. write or draw (signs or letters), make a mark

tur

root. power, control, mastery, victory

der

root. adult male, man

srad

root. to flatten, lay low/flat, make flat what was standing

yal

root. to cry, cry, *call

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “to cry” with variants ᴹ√YAM and ᴹ√YAL with derivatives like N. ialla- “to call” (EtyAC/YAL). It is likely a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√Y̯AMA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. yāma/G. gam “shout” and ᴱQ. yama-/G. gama- “shout, call” (QL/105; GL/37). It seems that ᴹ√YAM was unused in the 1930s and thereafter, but ᴹ√YAL is probably the basis for Q. yal- “summon” and its elaborations like Q. enyalië “memory, recalling” (UT/317).

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.

wad

root. err, stray

In the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, Tolkien gave the verbal root {ᴹ√MAD >>} ᴹ√WAD “err, stray” as the basis {ᴹQ. mare >>} ᴹQ. ware “err” (PE22/102), but neither the root nor the verb seem to be mentioned anywhere else.

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.

tor

root. brother

Tolkien gave this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√TOR “brother” with derivatives like ᴹQ. toron and N. tôr of the same meaning (Ety/TOR). Hints of the roots continued use appear in the 1959 term Q. melotorni “love-brothers” for close male friends (NM/20). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien gave Q. háno and S. hanar as the words for “brother”, both from the root √KHAN. Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√TOR to represent more abstract notions of “brotherhood” for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, for “metaphorical” brothers as opposed to Q. háno/S. hanar for brothers by blood.

māʒ

noun. hand

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

m(b)as

root. knead

smāgā

noun. soil, stain

ala

root. *blessed

am

root. mother

bereth

root. beech

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving principally as the basis for N. brethil “beech” (Ety/BERÉTH). In the notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien instead connected brethil to the root √BARATH and S. bereth “queen”, where it had the true meaning of “princess” (PE17/23). But that could be a later association rather that a genuine etymology, and doesn’t necessarily invalidate ᴹ√BERETH (especially given the other phonological issues with S. bereth < √BARATH).

etkat-

verb. to fashion

gonod

root. stone

The Elvish words for “stone” were established very early as Q. ondo and S. gond. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien gave the root of these words as ᴱ√ONO “hard” with derivatives like ᴱQ. ondo “stone, rock” and ᴱQ. onin “anvil” (QL/70). But its Gnomish derivatives like G. gonn “stone” and G. gontha “pillar” (GL/41) indicate the actual root was ✱ᴱ√ƷONO, since initial ʒ &gt; g in Gnomish.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√GONOD or √GONDO “stone” with essentially the same Elvish forms: ᴹQ. ondo and N. gonn (Ety/GOND). The root itself did not appear in later writings, but Tolkien continued to state, with great frequency, that the primitive form of the word was ✶gondō (Let/410; PE17/28; PE18/106; PE21/81; PM/374; RC/347).

kantaya

adjective. shapely

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.

kiryā

noun. ship

mbar-

verb. to dwell

mbarat

root. fate

mālō

noun. friend

phal

root. foam

pher(en)

root. beech

rimbā

adjective. frequent, numerous

settā

adjective. first

skelta-

verb. to strip

tanka

adjective. firm

tekla

noun. pen

tekna

noun. a letter

tubnā

adjective. deep

vaianer

noun. sailor

wed

root. bind

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bind” with derivatives like ᴹQ. vére/N. gwaedh “bond, troth, compact, oath” and ᴹQ. vesta-/N. gwesta- “swear”, though Tolkien deleted Quenya derivatives of this root beginning with ves- saying they fell out of use due to conflict with ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/WED). This root might be a later iteration of the hypothetical early root ✱ᴱ√FEDE indicated by words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s like G. fedhin “bound by agreement; ally, friend” and G. fedhra- “unite in a band” (GL/34), but the 1910s and 1930s forms are rather dissimilar so it is hard to say.

wen-

noun. girl

wo

root. together

yen

root. daughter

yondō

noun. son

(n)dak

root. slay

al

prefix. without

amī̆l

noun. mother

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

ay(ar)

root. sea

bay

root. [unglossed]

bányā

adjective. beautiful

dak

root. slay

edenā

adjective. first

galadā

noun. tree

galā-

verb. to grow

gilya

noun. star

golā-

verb. to grow

ista-

verb. to know

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

karani

adjective. red

katwārā

adjective. shapely

khlip

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected paragraph from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) written in 1948 (PE22/112 note #78).

khyelesē

noun. glass

kiris

root. cut

kott-

noun. quarrel

kuldā

adjective. red

kur

root. craft

kwat

root. fill

kwentā

noun. tale

kwet

root. say

lin

root. sing

litse

noun. sand

lot(h)

root. flower

mbakhā

noun. article (for exchange), ware, thing

met

root. end

metta

noun. end

morókō

noun. bear

nay

root. lament

ndar

root. sign

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a single derivative: ᴹQ. narwe “sign, token”, along with an unglossed (and probably incomplete) form nar... (EtyAC/NDAR).

ndulna

adjective. secret

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).

nyol

root. ring

nāyǝ

noun. lament

nūrā

adjective. deep

ol

root. grow

phan

root. [unglossed]

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

rap

root. bind

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bind” but without derivatives (EtyAC/RAP). The element S. raph (“?rope”) in S. Udalraph “Stirrupless” (“?without (U-) foot-rope”) might be related (UT/313).

rista-

verb. cut

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).

slus

root. whisper

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√SLUS and ᴹ√SRUS; it was glossed “whisper” with derivatives like ᴹQ. lussa- “to whisper” and ᴹQ. lusse/N. thloss/floss “whispering sound” (Ety/SLUS). The only sign of ᴹ√SRUS was the variant form N. thross of N. thloss/floss.

srip

root. scratch

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “scratch” with a single derivative N. thribi “to scratch” (Ety/SRIP).

srus

root. whisper

stin

root. [unglossed]

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.

tap

root. stop

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “stop” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tampa “stopper” and ᴹQ. tape “he stops, blocks” (Ety/TAP; EtyAC/TAP). The word Q. tapta “impeded” from notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 was probably related (VT39/17), indicating the root’s ongoing validity.

tul-

verb. come, am coming, have come, am arrived, am here, are approaching

ungwē

noun. gloom

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).

vaiā

noun. sea

wahsē

noun. stain

winyē

noun. evening

wō̆-

prefix. together

yam

root. to cry, cry, [ᴱ√] *call, shout

yel

root. daughter

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.

yend

noun. daughter

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).

yē

preposition. at

ñgolda

adjective. wise

ṇ̃gwā̆le

noun. torture

lub Reconstructed

root. lump