talca

post, mark

#talca ("k")noun "post, mark" isolated from lantalca "boundary post or mark" (VT42:28)

talca

noun. post, mark

Cognates

• S. tagol “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28

Derivations

• ✶takala “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28
  • √TAK “fasten, fix, fasten, fix, [ᴹ√] make fast; [ᴱ√] stick (in), firm; [ᴹ√] make”

Element in

• Q. lantalca “boundary post or mark” ✧ VT42/28

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶takala > talka	[takala] > [takla] > [talka]	✧ VT42/28

Variations

• talka ✧ VT42/28 (talka)

tehta

mark, sign

tehta noun "mark, sign" (TEK, VT39:17, Appendix E), especially diacritics denoting vowels in Fëanorian writing (pl. tehtar is attested); these diacritics are explicitly called ómatehtar "vowel-marks", q.v.

narwë

sign, token

[narwë (and short nar, unless this is an incomplete form) noun "sign, token"] (VT45:37)

hana

noun. post

taina

sign

#taina (2) noun "sign", isolated from Tainacolli *"Sign-bearer" MR:385

tanna

sign, token

tanna (1) noun "sign, token" (MR:385, PE17:186), also tanwa (PE17:186)

tanwa

sign, token

tanwa noun "sign, token" (Tolkien marked this word with a query, but it is not clearly rejected). Also tanna (#1). (PE17:186)

tengwa

noun. sign

sign, indicator, letter

lenu-

stretch

lenu- vb. "stretch" (LT2:341)

mehtë

noun. mark, aim, object

Derivations

• ᴺ✶. MEK “*aim”

nyas

noun. scratch, score, line, mark

Derivations

• ᴺ✶. NYATH “*scratch”

rimpë

noun. scratch

Derivations

• ᴹ√SRIP “scratch”

taith

noun. mark

tagol

noun. post, mark

tagol

noun. post, mark

Cognates

• Q. talca “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28

Derivations

• ✶takala “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28
  • √TAK “fasten, fix, fasten, fix, [ᴹ√] make fast; [ᴱ√] stick (in), firm; [ᴹ√] make”

Element in

• S. glandagol “boundary mark” ✧ VT42/08

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶takala > dagol	[takala] > [takla] > [takl] > [tagl] > [tagol]	✧ VT42/28

glandagol

noun. boundary mark

taith

noun. sign, symbol, mark, sign, symbol; mark, [N.] stroke; [G.] letter

Cognates

• Q. tehta “(written) mark, sign, symbol, †written letter, (written) mark, sign, symbol, [ᴹQ.] diacritic, [Q.] †written letter” ✧ PE17/043

Derivations

• ✶tektā “sign, symbol, mark” ✧ PE17/043
  • √TEK “make a written mark, sign, write, make a written mark, sign, write, [ᴹ√] write or draw (signs or letters)” ✧ PE22/149

Element in

• S. andaith “long-mark”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶tek-tā > teith > taith	[tektā] > [tekta] > [tektʰa] > [texθa] > [teiθa] > [teiθ] > [taiθ]	✧ PE17/043

taen

noun. sign

lîr

noun. line, line, [N.] row

Derivations

• ᴹ√LIR “*row”

Element in

• S. aeglir “line of peaks, line of peaks, [N.] range of mountain peaks; [ᴱN.] peak, mountain top” ✧ RC/011

Variations

• lir ✧ RC/011 (lir)

rhib-

verb. to scratch

andaith

noun. long-mark, sign used in writing alphabetic tengwar over a vowel, to indicate that it is lengthened.

tê

line

(i dê, o thê) (way), pl. tî (i thî), coll. pl. ?teath

têw

sign

(i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

tî

line

(i** dî, o thî) (row), no distinct pl. form except with article (i** thî), coll. pl. tíath.

taith

mark

(noun) taith (i daith, o thaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaith). Archaic teith.

taith

mark

(i daith, o thaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaith). Archaic teith.

pêg

small spot

(i bêg, construct peg) (dot), pl. pîg (i phîg)

*rhib

scratch

*rhib- (?i thrîb or ?i rîb the lenition product of rh- is uncertain; pl. ”those who scratch” ?i ribir).

rhib

scratch

(?i thrîb or ?i rîb – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain*;  pl. ”those who scratch” ?i ribir).

taeg

boundary line

(i daeg, o thaeg) (limit, boundary), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaeg).

tann

sign

1) (etymologically ”something shown/indicated”) tann (i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain) (MR:185); 2) têw (i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i **thîw), coll. pl. téwath**;

tann

sign

(i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain)** **(MR:185)

tilias

line of peaks

(i** dilias, o thilias), pl. tiliais (i** thiliais), coll. pl. tiliassath.

falas

line of surf

(pl. felais) (beach, shore, coast, strand, foaming shore; the word was especially used of the western seaboard of Beleriand). *(VT42:15)*****

lîr

line

1) lîr (row), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. líriath. 2) tê (i dê, o thê) (way), pl. tî (i thî), coll. pl. ?teath, 3) tî (i dî, o thî) (row), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thî), coll. pl. tíath.

lîr

line

(row), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. líriath.

sâd

spot

sâd (-had; i hâd, o sâd, construct sad) (place, limited area naturally or artificially defined), pl. said (i said) (UT:314, VT42:20)

sâd

spot

(-had; i hâd, o sâd, construct sad) (place, limited area naturally or artificially defined), pl. said (i said) (UT:314, VT42:20)

thafn

post

(= wooden pillar) thafn, pl. ?thefn, coll. pl. thavnath

thafn

post

pl. ?thefn, coll. pl. thavnath

nothlir

family line

(family tree); no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nothliriath.

tektā

noun. sign, symbol, mark

Derivations

• √TEK “make a written mark, sign, write, make a written mark, sign, write, [ᴹ√] write or draw (signs or letters)” ✧ PE22/149

Derivatives

• Q. tehta “(written) mark, sign, symbol, †written letter, (written) mark, sign, symbol, [ᴹQ.] diacritic, [Q.] †written letter” ✧ PE17/043; PE17/043; PE22/149
• S. taith “sign, symbol, mark, sign, symbol; mark, [N.] stroke; [G.] letter” ✧ PE17/043

Elements

Word	Gloss
TEK	“make a written mark, sign, write, make a written mark, sign, write, [ᴹ√] write or draw (signs or letters)”
-ta	“noun suffix, single product of an action”

Variations

• tek-tā ✧ PE17/043
• tekda ✧ PE22/149

tay

root. mark, line, limit; stretch, [ᴹ√] extend, make long(er), stretch, [ᴹ√] extend, make long(er); [√] mark, line, limit

The root ᴹ√TAY first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “extend, make long(er)” and derivatives like ᴹQ. taile “lengthening, extension”, ᴹQ. taina “lengthened, extended” and N. taen “long (and thin)” (Ety/TAY). Tolkien considered making it a variant of ᴹ√TAƷ (EtyAC/TAY), perhaps intending ᴹ√TAY to refer to horizontal length as opposed to vertical ᴹ√TAƷ. The root ᴹ√TAY “stretch” also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s as the basis for ᴹ✶tainā “long”, and there were various related linguistic terms like Q. ómataima “vocalic extension” and Q. ómatailë “vowel lengthening” that appeared in both the first and second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1: PE18/34, 45; TQ2: PE18/86, 95).

The root √TAJA “stretch” appeared in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (VT39/7), and √TAY “stretch” appeared in a list of sound roots from around this same time (PE17/138). However, in notes on the origin of the river name S. Taeglin “✱Boundary Singer”, Tolkien glossed √taya “mark, line, limit” with extension tayak as the basis for ✶taika “boundary, limit, boundary line” > S. taeg (WJ/309). Perhaps it was Tolkien’s intent that the sense “mark, line, limit” only applied to the extended form tayak.

Derivatives

• ✶taika “boundary, limit, boundary line” ✧ WJ/309
  • S. taeg “boundary, limit, boundary line” ✧ WJ/309
• Q. tailë “lengthening, lengthening, [ᴹQ.] extension”
• Q. taima “extension”
• Q. taina “stretched, elongated, stretched, elongated; [ᴹQ.] lengthened, extended, prolonged” ✧ VT39/07

Variations

• TAJA ✧ VT39/07
• Taya ✧ VT39/09
• taya ✧ WJ/309

teñ

root. indicate, signify, show, represent, betoken, mark, to point at, indicate, signify, show, represent, betoken, mark, to point at; [ᴱ√] know, understand

The first mention of this root was as ᴱ√TEŊE “know, understand” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where it had derivatives like ᴱQ. tenge- “know, understand, grasp” and ᴱQ. tengwe “knowledge, understanding” (QL/91). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien instead gave {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tie/N. tê “line, way” and ᴹQ. téra/N. tîr “straight, right” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). However, in the original layer of composition for the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, Tolkien gave √TEG for “line” and gave √TEÑ as the basis for Q. tenna “thought, notion, idea”, perhaps a restoration of its meaning from the 1910s (PE19/97).

In another entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien derived ᴹQ. tengwa from ᴹ✶tekmā = ᴹ√TEK “write” + the instrumental suffix ᴹ✶-mā (Ety/TEK). The foundation of this derivation is the sound change whereby voiceless stops were voiced before nasals in Ancient Quenya, thereafter nasalizing so that ᴹ✶tekmā > tegmā > teñmā > teñgwā (PE19/43). This sound change was still in effect when Tolkien wrote the initial draft of Outline of Phonology (OP2) in the early 1950s (PE19/85-66 note #79), but at some later point Tolkien revised this rule so that the nasal instead unvoiced, so that km > kʰm̌ > kƕ > kw (PE19/85), making the derivation of tengwa from the root √TEK invalid.

As pointed out by Christopher Gilson (ibid., note #79), earlier signs of this new phonetic rule can be seen Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages in the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s, where he gave √TEÑ “show, sign, indicate” instead of √TEK “[written] sign” as the new root for Q. tengwa, now derived from ✶teñwā or ✶teñmā, though Tolkien briefly considered √TEWE as a possible root in drafts to these notes (PE17/44). From this point forward, Tolkien regularly mentioned √TEÑ with glosses like “indicate, signify” (WJ/394), “represent, betoken, indicate (by sign)” (VT39/15) and “indicate, mark, signify” (PE22/149). Finally, in green-ink revisions to OP2 from 1970, Tolkien added tengwa as another derivative of √TEÑ alongside Q. tenna “thought, notion, idea” as mentioned above (PE19/97 and note #139).

See the entries on √TEG “line” and √TEK “write” for parallel developments in similar roots.

Derivatives

• ✶teñwā “letter, sign, token” ✧ PE17/044; PE17/044; PE17/044; PE19/097; PE22/149
  • Q. tengwa “(written) letter; sign, token, indicator, (written) letter; sign, token, indicator; [ᴹQ.] writing, grammar” ✧ PE17/044; PE17/044; PE17/044; PE19/097; PE22/149
  • S. têw “letter” ✧ PE17/044; PE17/044; PE22/149
• ✶teñwe “sign, token, indication” ✧ VT39/04; VT39/15; WJ/394
  • Q. tengwë “sign, token, indication; writing, sign, token, indication; writing; [ᴱQ.] knowledge, understanding; idea, notion, thought” ✧ VT39/04; VT39/17; WJ/394
• Q. tëa- “to indicate”
• Q. tenna “thought, notion, idea” ✧ PE19/097

Element in

• ᴺQ. tengessë “address, (lit.) indication-name”

Variations

• TEWE ✧ PE17/044; PE17/187
• TEŊ ✧ PE22/149
• TEÑE ✧ VT39/04

teg

root. line

Tolkien used a number of similar roots as the basis for “line” words throughout his life. The earliest of these appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as ᴱ√TEHE [teχe] “pull” (gloss marked with a “?” by Tolkien) with derivatives like ᴱQ. tea “straight”, ᴱQ. telya “attractive; importunate”, and ᴱQ. tie “line, direction, route, road” (QL/90), the last of these surviving more or less unchanged all the way into the published version of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/377). The early root ᴱ√TEHE also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tê “mark, line; track; path”, G. tî or tion “straight”, and G. tîr “honest; esteem, regard, honour”, originally “straight, upright” (GL/69, 71). Primitive ᴱ✶tegna > ᴱQ. tína/ᴱN. tain “straight” from Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s may represent a shift in the form of the root to ✱ᴱ√TEGE (PE13/153, 165).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tie/N. tê “line, way” and ᴹQ. téra/N. tîr “straight, right” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). In the Outline of Phonology Tolkien gave √TEG “line”, whereas √TEÑ was given as the basis for Q. tenna “a thought, notion, idea” and thus clearly with a different meaning; see the entry √TEÑ for further discussion. In any case it is clear that Tolkien considered various ancient velar consonants for the second consonant of this root, all ultimately vanishing in the child languages with similar vocalic effects: 1910s teχ-, 1920s teg-, 1930s {teʒ- >>} teñ- and 1950s teg-.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume this root was √TEƷ in order to preserve the validity of the word téma “series”. This is because Tolkien kept vacillating on the development of gm, but usually had gm > ngw, so that teg-mā > tengwa, not téma.

Derivatives

• ✶tegē “line, road”
  • Q. tië “path, road, way, line, path, road, way, line, [ᴹQ.] course, direction, [ᴱQ.] route” ✧ PE19/071
• ✶tegmā “direct[ion], process” ✧ PE19/097
  • Q. téma “series, series, [ᴹQ.] row, line” ✧ PE18/104; PE19/082; PE19/097

takala Reconstructed

noun. post, mark

Derivations

• √TAK “fasten, fix, fasten, fix, [ᴹ√] make fast; [ᴱ√] stick (in), firm; [ᴹ√] make”

Derivatives

• Q. talca “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28
• S. tagol “post, mark” ✧ VT42/28

teith

noun. mark

teith

noun. mark, stroke

Cognates

• ᴹQ. tehta “mark (in writing), sign, diacritic” ✧ Ety/TEK

Derivations

• On. tektha “mark” ✧ Ety/TEK
  • ᴹ√TEK “write or draw (signs or letters), make a mark” ✧ Ety/TEK

Element in

• N. andeith “long-mark” ✧ Ety/TEK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. tektha > teith	[texθa] > [teiθa] > [teiθ]	✧ Ety/TEK

gammas

noun. s-sign (special sign used to mark a final -s in Tengwar)

thafn

noun. post, wooden pillar

tê

noun. line, way, line, way, [G.] track, path; mark

Cognates

• ᴹQ. tie “path, course, line, direction, way” ✧ Ety/TEƷ

Derivations

• ᴹ✶teʒē “path, course, line, direction, way” ✧ Ety/TEƷ
  • ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” ✧ Ety/TEƷ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶teʒē > tê	[teɣē] > [tē]	✧ Ety/TEƷ

peg

noun. small spot, dot

thrib-

verb. to scratch

andeith

noun. long-mark, sign used in writing alphabetic tengwar over a vowel, to indicate that it is lengthened.

tê

noun. line, way

tî

noun. line, row