mol-

labour

mol- vb. "labour" (a form mólë also listed is presumably the pa.t. though it could also be "labour" as a noun) (PE17:115)

mol-

verb. to labour

Element in

• ᴺQ. molië “labour, work”
• ᴺQ. molindo “worker”

mul-

grind

mul- vb. "grind", pa.t. múle (QL:63)

mól

slave, thrall

mól noun "slave, thrall" (MŌ, VT43:31)

mól

noun. slave, slave, [ᴹQ.] thrall

A noun meaning “slave” or “thrall”, from primitive ✶mōl derived from the root √MŌ having to do with “labour” (VT43/31; Ety/MŌ).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s the word for “slave” or “servant” was ᴱQ. virt or vartyo, derived from the root ᴱ√VṚTYṚ “serve” (QL/102). In the two variants, either the [[eq|short syllabic [ṛ] became [ir] before palatalized [tʲ]]], or [[eq|long syllabic [ṝ] became [ar]]]. This word appeared as an element in the name ᴱQ. Virtinoldor “Thrall-Noldoli” for those Noldor enslaved by Melko(r) in the early tales (PE14/9).

In the Gnomish Lexicon from the same period, another Qenya word for “slave” or “servant” was given as ᴱQ. norka derived from primitive ᴱ✶norokā́ (GL/31), though its relationship to other roots is unclear.

The form ᴹQ. mól first appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s, already having the derivation given above (Ety/MŌ). This word also appeared in Tolkien’s later writings from the 1950s (VT43/31). A later term for "Slave Noldorin” was ᴹQ. Mólanoldorin (Ety/MŌ; LR/177), a strong indication that mól replaced Early Qenya virt.

Cognates

• N. mûl “slave, thrall”

Derivations

• ✶mōl “slave, slave, [ᴹ✶] thrall” ✧ VT43/31
  • √MŌ “labour, be afflicted” ✧ VT43/31

Element in

• ᴺQ. mólië “slavery, thralldom”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mō-l > mōl	[mōl]	✧ VT43/31

Variations

• mōl ✧ VT43/31

moia-

labour, be afflicted

moia- vb. "labour, be afflicted" (VT43:31)

moia-

verb. to labour, be afflicted, to be afflicted, *be laboured; to labour

Derivations

• √MŌ “labour, be afflicted” ✧ PE17/115
• ✶mōya- “to toil, labour, be afflicted” ✧ VT43/31
  • √MŌ “labour, be afflicted” ✧ VT43/31

Element in

• ᴺQ. namoia- “to work (hard) for; to earn”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MBOL > mol-	[mbol-] > [mol-]	✧ PE17/115
✶mōjă > moia-	[mōja-] > [moija-] > [moia-]	✧ VT43/31

Variations

• mol- ✧ PE17/115 (mol-)

móta-

labour, toil

móta- noun "labour, toil" (MŌ)

tarassë

noun. labour

Derivations

• ᴹ√TARAS “*trouble”

mol-

verb. to grind, pulverize

A neologism coined by Fiona Jallings in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) on 2018-07-08, a cognate of [ᴱQ.] mul- “grind”.

Cognates

• ᴺQ. mul- “to grind, *pulverize”

Derivations

• √MUL “grind (fine)”

Element in

• ᴺS. molnel “molar”
• ᴺS. molor “mill”

mûl

slave

mûl (i vûl, construct mul) (thrall), pl. muil (i muil)

mûl

slave

(i vûl, construct mul) (thrall), pl. muil (i muil)

muda

labour

(verb.) muda- (i vuda, i mudar) (toil), pa.t. mudas

muda

labour

(i vuda, i mudar) (toil), pa.t. mudas

snaga

masculine name. slave

snaga

noun. slave

Variations

• Snaga ✧ WJI/Snaga

mōl

noun. slave, slave, [ᴹ✶] thrall

Derivations

• √MŌ “labour, be afflicted” ✧ VT43/31

Derivatives

• Q. mól “slave, slave, [ᴹQ.] thrall” ✧ VT43/31

Variations

• mō-l ✧ PE21/71; VT43/31
• mólu ✧ PE22/148 (mólu)

mō

root. labour, be afflicted

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√MŌ in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. mól/N. mûl “slave, thrall” and ᴹQ. móta-/N. muda- “labour, toil” (Ety/MŌ). The root √mō was mentioned again in notes associated with 1950s Quenya prayers, where it was glossed “labour, be afflicted” along with verb Q. moia- of similar meaning and noun (Q. or primitive) mōl “slave” < mō-l; Tolkien went on to suggest √mol might be a better root, though he marked it with a “?” (VT43/31).

In notes on “large vs. small” from 1968 Tolkien had (root or verb?) mol- “labour” and (noun?) mōle, followed by MBOL/BOL with derivative Q. molda “big, large”, but this note was crossed through and √(M)BOL “✱large” did not appear in the next list of the large/small roots (PE17/115). Thus I think √MO(L) reverted back to the meaning “labour”.

Derivatives

• ✶mōl “slave, slave, [ᴹ✶] thrall” ✧ VT43/31
  • Q. mól “slave, slave, [ᴹQ.] thrall” ✧ VT43/31
• ✶mōya- “to toil, labour, be afflicted” ✧ VT43/31
  • Q. moia- “to labour, be afflicted, to be afflicted, *be laboured; to labour” ✧ VT43/31
• Q. moia- “to labour, be afflicted, to be afflicted, *be laboured; to labour” ✧ PE17/115
• Q. molda “big, large” ✧ PE17/115
• ᴺQ. mólë “labour, work”
• Q. mólë “*labour, work” ✧ PE17/115
• Q. móna “*womb”
• ᴺS. ammuia- “to work (hard) for, to earn”
• ᴺS. mûn “womb”

Element in

• ᴺQ. omolmë “company, business, enterprise, firm”

Variations

• MBOL ✧ PE17/115 (MBOL); PE17/165 (MBOL)
• BOL ✧ PE17/115 (BOL); PE17/150; PE17/165 (BOL)
• mō ✧ VT43/31

mul Reconstructed

root. grind (fine)

The root ᴱ√MULU “grind fine” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mulda “powdery” and ᴱQ. mulma “fine flour” (QL/63). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, G. bloss “wheat” was derived from mol- (GL/25). This root probably as served as the basis for ᴹQ. mulo “dust” from the early 1930s (PE21/10-11). The root √MUL may have been restored later on, as evidenced by the word Q. mŭle “meal [ground grain]” from a list of words having to do with “large & small” from 1968, replacing Q. polë of similar meaning (PE17/115).

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. mul- “to grind, *pulverize”
• ᴺQ. mulda “powdery”
• Q. mulë “meal, meal, *grist, ground grains”
• ᴺQ. mulma “fine flour”
• ᴹQ. mulo “dust, dust, [ᴱQ.] fine powder”
• ᴺS. bloss “wheat”
• ᴺS. maul “flour”
• ᴺS. mol- “to grind, pulverize”

muda-

verb. to labour, toil

mûl

noun. slave, thrall

mûl

noun. slave, thrall

A noun meaning “slave” or “thrall”, from primitive ᴹ✶mōl derived from the root ᴹ√MŌ having to do with “labour” (Ety/MŌ). In Noldorin, a [[on|primitive long [ō] became [ū]]] (PE18/96; PE19/91).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, one word for “slave” was G. guinir, apparently an agental form of the adjective guin “possessed”. The suffix -(n)ir was usually limited to feminine word, so perhaps this word was exclusively female.

Another word for “slave” or “servant” was G. drog (GL/31), and the word ᴱN. drog “slave” reappeared in the Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s (PE13/142, 155). This word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶norokā́ > ✱nrokā after which the [[g|initial [nr] becoming [dr]]] (GL/31), though at this stage its relationship to other roots is unclear.

Neo-Sindarin: This form did not appear in Tolkien’s later writings as Sindarin, but its Quenya cognate mól did, along with its primitive form and its root (VT43/31).

Cognates

• Q. mól “slave, slave, [ᴹQ.] thrall”
• ᴹQ. mól “slave, thrall” ✧ Ety/MŌ

Derivations

• ᴹ✶mōl “slave, thrall” ✧ Ety/MŌ
  • ᴹ√MŌ “*labour” ✧ Ety/MŌ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶mōl- > mûl	[mōlǝ] > [mōl] > [mūl]	✧ Ety/MŌ

tars

noun. labour, task

tass

noun. labour, task