nahta

bite

nahta (2) noun "a bite" (NAK)

narch

adjective. bitter-biting

A word appearing as an element in the name Narchost, which was glossed “Bitter-biting Fort” in Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/601).

Possible Etymology: This word resembles the derivatives of the root ᴹ√NARAK from The Etymologies (Ety/NÁRAK), and probably has a similar derivation. It might be a cognate of the Quenya adjective [ᴹQ.] naraka “harsh, rending, violent (of sounds)”. Alternately, it resembles ᴱQ. narka in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s, whose root ᴱ√ŊARA also has the derivative ᴱQ. narte “bitter”. It could be a later restoration of those ideas.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Narch appears in Lord of the Rings drafts as the original name of the valley of Udûn in Mordor (SD/34), but it isn’t clear whether Tolkien intended this name to be related to Narchost.

Cognates

• ᴺQ. narca “snappy, ill-tempered”
• ᴺQ. narcë “*rend, tear; [ᴱQ.] snap of a dog; spiteful remark”

Derivations

• ᴹ√NARAK “tear, rend (tr. and intr.)”

Element in

• S. Narchost “Bitter-biting Fort” ✧ RC/601

narch

noun. (bitter-) biting

narch

biting

(pl. nerch) (RC:601)

naeth

biting

(noun) 1) naeth (gnashing of teeth in grief; woe); no distinct pl. form. 2) narch (pl. nerch) (RC:601)

nag

bite

(verb) nag- (i nâg, in negir);

naeth

noun. biting

naeth

noun. woe (gets sense of gnashing teeth in grief)

naeth

biting

(gnashing of teeth in grief; woe); no distinct pl. form.

nag

bite

(i nâg, in negir);

nanc

noun. bite

Derivations

• √NAK “bite”

nak

root. bite

This root was the basis for Elvish words for “bite” from all of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NAKA “bite” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. naka- “bite” and ᴱQ. naksa “sour” (QL/64). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. nactha- “bite” and G. naith “tooth” (GL/59). The root reappeared as ᴹ√NAK “bite” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with augmented variant ᴹ√ÁNAK and derivatives like ᴹQ. anka/N. anc “jaw, row of teeth” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK); in this same document Tolkien considered the possibility that the roots ᴹ√NAYAK “pain” and ᴹ√NDAK “slay” might be related to ᴹ√NAK, though he did not commit to either idea (Ety/NÁYAK; EtyAC/NDAK).

One interesting derivative of this root from the 1930s was N. naeth “biting, gnashing of teeth” from which N. nírnaeth “lamentation = ✱tear[ful]-gnashing” was derived, serving as an element in N. Nírnaeth Arnediad “[Battle of] Unnumbered Tears” (Ety/NAY; LR/310), replacing earlier Nirnaith of unclear etymology. In later writings Tolkien said S. naeth simply meant “woe” in the name S. Sigil Elu-naeth “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” (WJ/258), but this may just be a generalization of its 1930s meaning “gnashing of teeth”. As for the root √NAK “bite”, it reappeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2), serving again as example of an abnormal vocalization leading to the derivative ✶ankā “jaws” (PE18/87).

Derivatives

• ✶ankā “jaws, (animal’s) mouth, jaws, (animal’s) mouth, [ᴹ✶] row of teeth” ✧ PE18/085; PE18/087
  • Q. anca “jaws, jaws; [ᴹQ.] jaw, row of teeth”
• ᴺQ. naxa “sour”
• ᴺS. nanc “bite”

narch

place name. Narch

According to Christopher Tolkien, this was the initial name of the valley of Udûn in Mordor (SD/34), also appearing as Narch Udûn (WR/438). This name seems to have the same word narch seen in Narchost (the second of the Towers of the Teeth), but it isn’t clear whether J.R.R. Tolkien intended these names to be related.

Changes

• Narch → Udûn ✧ SD/034
• Narch Udûn → Udûn ✧ WRI/Narch Udûn

Elements

Word	Gloss
narch	“*bitter-biting”

Variations

• Narch Udûn ✧ WRI/Narch Udûn

narch

adjective. *bitter-biting

Derivations

• ᴹ√NARAK “tear, rend (tr. and intr.)”

Element in

• N. Narch
• N. Narchost “*Bitter-biting Fort”

naeth

noun. biting

naeth

noun. woe (gets sense of gnashing teeth in grief)

nag-

verb. to bite