ne

root. scent

A root (?) glossed “scent” appearing in notes on the words and phrases in The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving in its extended form nes- “sweet smelling” as the basis for Q. alanessë and S. galanes > galenas “tobacco” = “✱sweet smelling growth” (PE17/100). It might be connected to ᴹ√NEÑ “✱nose” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NEÑ-WI). Elsewhere the basis for “sweet smelling” seems to be [Q.] nis- (UT/167-8).

ne

pronoun. I, me

nē

adverb. was; then, ago, before

ner

root. NER

neg

root. ‽ooze, drip, ooze, drip; *honey

This root served as the basis for honey words and (in earlier writings) for bee words. Its earliest form is unglossed ᴱ√NEHE in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nekte “honey” and ᴱQ. nier “honey bee” (QL/65). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the root was given as neg- with derivatives like G. neglis “honey” and G. nio “bee” < ᴱ✶nēgu, with another (feminine?) form nios (GL/59-60).

The root ᴹ√NEG reappeared unglossed in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. nehte and N. nîdh “honeycomb” (EtyAC/NEG). It appeared in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s with the gloss “ooze, drip” (marked by Tolkien with a “?”) and derivatives Q. nehtë/T. nettë “honey” and S. nîdh “juice” (PE19/91).

neter

root. nine

A root for “nine” introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NÉTER), replacing earliest words for “nine” such as ᴱQ. olme(t) and ᴱQ. hue from the 1910s and 20s. The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, and in his notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s he explored several possible origins for this root: connected to the finger name Q. nettë “little girl” derived from the root √NET “dainty” (VT47/33), based on the counting term Q. nete “one more” as in “nete, nete, nete, 10” (VT47/15-16), or simply as an independent invention of its own (VT47/12).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is easiest to assume √NETER its own root without any deeper etymology.

neter(e)

cardinal. nine

nen

root. water, water, [ᴱ√] flow

A root connected to water and (to a lesser extent) rivers for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appearance was as ᴱ√NENE “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien marked both the root and the gloss with a “?”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nen “river, †water” and ᴱQ. nēnu “yellow water lily” (QL/65). Under this entry Tolkien noted that “nen water is perhaps different from nen river, which is from neře” (QL/65); elsewhere in QL Tolkien gave ᴱ√NERE² or ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] as the basis for nen (nend-) “river”, a root he said was often confused with ᴱ√NESE “give to feed; feed, pasture; graze” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon he had G. nenn “(1) water, (2) river” and G. nendil “water fay” which were probably a blending of NENE and NEÐE, as well as G. nern “brook” from ✱nere¹ (GL/60), probably corresponding to ᴱ√NERE² from QL.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√NEN with derivatives like ᴹQ. nén/N. nen “water” and ᴹQ. nelle “brook” (Ety/NEN), whereas ᴱ√NERE² and ᴱ√NEÐE from the 1910s seems to have been abandoned. The primitive form √NEN or nē̆n “water” continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s writings from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (PE17/52, 167; PE19/102; PE21/64, 79).

nem Reconstructed

root. seem, appear

This root appeared as ᴹ√NIM “it appears, occurs to (one’s mind)” in the first version of notes on Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s, with modern Quenya nimin(ye) “it seems to me” (PE23/89). In Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) from this same period, Tolkien had nemini “appears/seems to me”, revised to nimini, which was deleted and a new paragraph was written with nemin “it seems to me” (PE22/93 note #6 and #7).

In the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 Tolkien used nem- (PE22/99-100, 105, 111), and in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s had Q. {nemeste} nemesta “appearance, seeming” (PE22/137). Eldarin Pronouns (EP1) also from the early 1950s had the root √NEM as the basis for ✶nemi-ne “it appears to me, me seems” (PE23/123). The forms Q. níma/nimulë and S. nîf/nivol appeared in 1957 notes, all glossed “phantom” or “seeming”, indicate Tolkien may have restored ✱√NIM “seem”. I prefer to stick with better attested √NEM for purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

neb

root. turn towards (speaker), turn towards (speaker), *front

A root glossed “turn towards (speaker)” appearing in notes on the words and phrases in The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s serving as the basis for nef “on this (the speaker’s) side” (PE17/27). It replaced a deleted form √NIB, indicating it likely replaced the root ᴹ√NIB “face, front” from The Etymologies of the 1930s which had derivatives like Dor. nef “face”, Dor. nivra- “to face, go forward”, and N. nîf “front, face” (Ety/NIB); the last of these could still be derived from √NEB > nēb > S. nîf.

nek

root. narrow, narrow; *angular, sharp

A root appearing in notes on words and phrases from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving mainly as the basis for S. naith “angle” (PE17/55). It was also mentioned in a discussion of the death of Isildur at the Gladden Fields, again as the basis for S. naith among other words, where the root √NEK was glossed “narrow” (UT/281-2, note #16). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. naith was derived from ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT, but the precise derivation was unclear, and in any cases seems to have been replaced by Tolkien with a more straightforward derivation from √NEK.

The root √NEK also appeared in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 with the gloss “deprive”, serving among other things as the basis for S. neithan “one deprived” (PE17/167), which was the name adopted by Túrin after he became an outlaw (S/200). The root appeared again in notes on Elvish numbers from the late 1960s glossed as either “divide, part, separate” (VT47/16) or “divide, separate” (VT48/9), where it served as the basis for √ENEK “six” as the dividing point between the lower and upper set of numbers in the Elvish duodecimal system.

It is not clear whether Tolkien intended all these various meanings for the root √NEK to be connected. For purposes of analysis, I’ve split √NEK “narrow” from √NEK “separate; deprive”, but conceivably the sense “narrow” could be a semantic extension of “separate” or vice-versa.

nel

root. three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle

This root served as the basis for Elvish words for “three” for much of Tolkien’s life. However, in its earliest appearance in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱ√NELE was glossed “point” with derivatives like ᴱQ. neldor “beech”, ᴱQ. nele “tooth” and ᴱQ. nelt “corner”, while the derived numeral was ᴱQ. nelde “four” (QL/65). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also had G. nel “point, end, tip, jutting end” (GL/60), and G. deldron “beech” was almost certainly derived from a strengthened form of the root ndel- (PE11/8; GL/30). ᴱQ. nelde “three” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 82).

In the first layer of The Etymologies of the 1930s, this root was glossed “point, triangle” (EtyAC/NEL), but Tolkien changed the gloss of ᴹ√NEL to “three” and gave it two extended roots ᴹ√NELED (also “three”) and ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” (Ety/NEL, NELEK). In this revised paradigm, probably “tooth” was derived from the sense “triangle”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Ilk. neldor “beech” was still derived from this root, but was said to refer to the “three trunks” of Hirilorn.

In later writings from the 1950s and 60s, the gloss of √NEL was consistently “three” (WJ/421; VT42/24; VT47/10-11), and the extended form √NELED “three” appeared regularly as well (VT42/24; VT47/11). √NELEK “tooth” also appeared in several documents from the 1940s and 50s (PE19/58; PE21/56, 71).

net

root. trim, pretty, dainty

A root element Tolkien gave unglossed in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s serving primarily as the basis for extended √NETER “nine”; Tolkien explicitly contrasted it with √NETH “sister”, used for the finger-name of the fourth and ninth fingers but not etymologically related “nine” (VT47/11-12). However in somewhat earlier versions of these notes from 1968, Tolkien glossed √NET as “trim (pretty, dainty)” and derived the finger name Q. nettë “little girl” directly from this root along with other words like Q. netil “trinket” and netya- “trim, adorn” (VT47/33).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is worth retaining the “pretty, dainty” sense of this root, though not necessarily connecting it to “nine”, which can simply be from unrelated √NETER.

neth

root. (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry, (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry; [ᴹ√] young

This root had a variety of meanings over Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴹ√NETH “young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning, the most notable being the name ᴹQ. Nessa (Ety/NETH). In rough notes probably from around 1959, Tolkien redefined √NETH or √NES to mean “feminity apart from sex”, contrasted with √WEG or √WEƷ for masculinity, but he abandoned this line of reasoning deciding that √WĒ simply meant “person” independent of gender (PE17/189-190).

In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien again redefined √NETH, this time as the basis for Elvish “sister” words, either specifically meaning “sister” (VT47/12, 26, 34), meaning “(young) woman” (VT47/15, 32, 39) or perhaps “fresh, lively, merry” (VT47/32), the last of these probably a callback to its 1930s meaning “young”. In notes from 1959-60, however, the name Q. Nessa was disconnected from the root √NETH, derived instead from ✶Neresā meaning “she that has manlike valour or strength” (WJ/416).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best for √NETH to retain its essential 1930s meaning “young, fresh, lively”, but with an association to young women as described in Tolkien’s notes from the 1960s, and thus by extension “sister” as named from the perspective of the parents.

nes-

adjective. sweet smelling

-nē

preposition. past suffix

nebā

preposition. on this (the speaker’s) side

negdē

noun. exudation

neila

ordinal. 3rd

nek

root. divide, separate, part; deprive

nektē

noun. angle

neled

root. 3

nelede

cardinal. three

nelek

root. tooth

nelekwe

cardinal. *13

nelkwăya

cardinal. 13

nem-

verb. to seem, appear

nenda

noun. water

neresā

feminine name. she that has manlike valour or strength

nerteya

ordinal. 9th

nesī/nese

suffix. a person of female nature

nethē

noun. young woman, girl

netthi

noun. girl approaching the adult, sister (diminutive)

nēr

noun. man, a male person

nē̆n

noun. water

nes

root. feminity (apart from sex)

enek

root. six

The root and words for “six” remained very similar throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√ENE “six” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with the derivative ᴱQ. ende “six” (QL/35). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, the Qenya word for “six” became ᴱQ. enqe [enkwe] with variant enekse (PE14/49, 82), implying a primitive base ✱enek-. This primitive form was made explicit in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where the root was given as ᴹ√ENEK “six” with derivatives ᴹQ. enqe and N. eneg (Ety/ÉNEK). The root and its derivatives retained this form thereafter.

Tolkien spent a fair amount of time analyzing the origin of this root and the basis for the Q. addition of w in various notes on Elvish numbering systems written in 1968 (VT41, VT42, VT47, VT48). One connection Tolkien regularly made was between √ENEK “six” and √ENED “middle”, as “six” was the “middle” of the duodecimal system of numbering (VT41/16; VT48/9); in this respect it was probably an elaboration of the root √NEK “divide, separate, part” by analogy with √ENED (VT47/16; VT48/9). The Quenya -we may have been either a dual suffix based on “six” as twice three (VT48/10) or it might have been by analogy with other important duodecimal numbers like Q. minquë “eleven” and Q. yunquë “twelve” (48/7). Personally I find the second theory more compelling.

enel

masculine name. Three

ne

root. *in

nes

root. give to feed; feed, pasture; graze

akas

root. neck, ridge

A root for “neck, ridge” coined in the late 1960s, referring both to the biological neck as well as a “neck” or ridge of rocks (PE17/92). In the context where it appeared, it mainly explains the Sindarin name for “Tarlang’s Neck”, Achad Tarlang. It might be related to the 1930s root ᴹ√AK “narrow” (Ety/AK) and might also be the basis for Q. axo “bone” (MC/223), perhaps derived from ✱ak(a)sō.

kew

root. new, fresh; anew, repeated; live of vegetables

This root appeared as KEWE, KWĒ “live of vegetables” in 1957 Quenya Notes with derivatives Q. quëa “vegetable” and (unglossed) Q. ceula, as well as being an element in Q. laiquë “herb” (PE17/159). The root KEWE reappeared in various notes from the late 1960s with the gloss “new, fresh” and “anew, repeated” where Tolkien connected it to the final element of Q. minquë, which roughly had the ancient sense of “✱a new ‘one’ (as in a second round of counting)” (VT48/7-8). In these 1960s notes √KEWE had a variety of derivatives having to do with newness and freshness in Quenya, Sindarin and Telerin.

ray

root. net, knit, contrive network or lace; involve in a network, enlace

A root appearing in a pair of notes from around 1969 glossed “net; knit (contrive a network); catch, involve (in a net)” (PE22/159) and “net, knit, contrive network or lace; {catch,} involve in a network, enlace” (VT42/12), in both notes serving as an explanation for the name S. Gilraen. Both notes have a similar set of derivatives such as Q. raima/S. raef “net” and Q. raina/S. raen “netted, enlaced”. In the second note this root was compared to √WIG and √REB/REM, the former used of weaving in general as opposed to √RAY used of lace-work with a single thread, and the latter a verbal root having to with netting via traps and snares such as by hunters and fisherman. This comparison to √REB/REM was probably related to the deletion of the gloss “catch” from the second note.

These notes probably replaced another etymology of the name S. Gilraen in notes from the late 1950s where √RAY was glossed “smile” and “show pleasure or favour in facial expression” with derivatives like Q. raina/S. raen “smiling” and contrasted with the root √LALA “laugh” (PE17/182; VT44/35). This in turn might have been connected to Q. rainë “✱peace, good will” in Quenya prayers from the 1950s (VT44/34).

Neo-Eldarin: It is very unlikely Tolkien ever considered both √RAY “knit” and √RAY “smile” to be part of Elvish at the same time. Unfortunately, the latter is the most popular source of “smile” words in Neo-Eldarin; the only other option is the very early root ᴱ√MIRI or ᴱ√MṚT͡YṚ “smile”, whose derivatives clashes with the later and very well-known root √MIR “precious” used for jewels. It is therefore difficult to eliminate √RAY “smile” in favor of √RAY “knit”, itself with a large number of useful derivatives. For now, I recommend keeping both as part of Neo-Eldarin, even though they were probably incompatible in Tolkien’s mind.

en

adverb. next, further, again; then in that (past) time, next, further, again; [ᴹ✶] yonder; then in that (past) time

keu̯rānā

noun. new-moon

win

root. young, young, [ᴹ√] new, fresh

Tolkien used a similar set of Elvish roots for “youth” and “freshness” for many years. The earliest of these was primitive guı̯u̯ or gu̯iu̯ [ᴱ√GWIWI] in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. gui “just, just now, only just, already”, G. guin “recent, fresh”, and G. gwioth “youth” (GL/42). This root reappeared as ᴹ√WIR “new, fresh, young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√WĪ and ᴹ√WIN and derivatives ᴹQ. vírie “youth” and ᴹQ. virya “fresh” (EtyAC/WIR). The ᴹ√WIN variant had derivatives ᴹQ. vinya/N. gwîn “young”. Tolkien considered, but rejected, deriving these from strengthened ᴹ√GWIN instead, producing (also rejected) ᴹQ. winya/N. bîn (EtyAC/GWIN).

Q. vinya appeared in quite a few later names with the gloss “young” or “new”, but the Sindarin form became S. gwain as in S. Narwain “January, ✱(lit.) New Fire” (LotR/1110) and S. Iarwain “Old-young” (LotR/1114; RC/128). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, both were given as derivatives of √WIN “young” along with Q. víne/S. gwîn “youth”, though the Sindarin word for “young” was given as (archaic?) gwein (PE17/191). Also related are various words for “baby” from 1968 notes such Q. †wine/S. gwinig “little-one, baby” (VT48/6). In these notes primitive wini was glossed “little” but this was deleted (VT47/26), making it likely that the earlier senses “young, new” were restored for √WIN.

As for the 1930s root ᴹ√WIR, it might have survived as an element in the month names Q. Víressë/S. Gwirith “April” (LotR/1110), perhaps meaning “✱freshness”.

la

root. no, not; negative; not to be

An invertible root, √LA or √ALA, used for negation. Its earliest iteration was as the primitive negative prefix ᴱ✶ḷ- from the 1910s (GL/50; PE12/11; QL/97). Its first appearance as ᴹ√LA “no, not” was in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LA), and it regularly appeared in documents from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Tolkien then abandoned this form of negation in 1959 (PE17/143), but restored it again around 1969 (PE22/160) only to abandon it again shortly after (VT44/4). For a full history of Tolkien’s shifting conceptions of negation in Elvish, see the Quenya entry on the negative.

phin

root. clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, [ᴹ√] nimbleness

This root has a long history in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, always having to do with clever and skillful things in association with the name Q. Finwë. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√FINI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. finie “cunning” and ᴱQ. finwa “acute, sagacious” (QL/38). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. fim “clever; right hand”, G. fimlios “skillfulness”, and G. finthi “idea, notion” (GL/35). It reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “nimbleness, skill” and derivatives like ON. phinde “skill” and ON. phinya “skillful” (Ety/PHIN).

The root appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings, as √PHIN- “skilful, neat, clever (especially applied to hands and fingers)” (PE17/17), √PHĪ/PHINI “skill, dexterity” (PE17/119), and √PHĬN “clever, fine, delicate” (PE17/119). In both The Etymologies and in later writings Tolkien made a point that this root was distinct from √SPIN from which various “hair” words were derived (Ety/PHIN; PE17/17), though in one place Tolkien gave that root also as √PHIN- (PM/340).

ū

root. denial of fact, privation, negative element, denial of fact, privation, negative element, [ᴱ√] not

A negative root first mentioned as ᴱ√Ū “not” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with various derivatives in Qenya and Gnomish (QL/96, 98; GL/73). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it became {ᴹ√ƷŪ >>} ᴹ√GŪ or ᴹ√MŪ “no, not”, and in this document had “evil connotations” (Ety/GŪ, MŪ; EtyAC/ƷŪ), but in later writings it again became √Ū (PE17/143; PE22/153). For much of its existence this root was in competition with invertible √LA for negation, but in notes from 1959 Tolkien decided √Ū was the only negative root (PE17/143), though √LA was briefly restored in 1969 (PE22/160) only to be abandoned again (VT44/4). For a full history of Tolkien’s shifting conceptions of negation in Elvish, see the Quenya entry on the negative.

asmarō

noun. *neighbor

kēwā

adjective. fresh, new, renewed

langō

noun. route or connection between to places; neck

rembinā

adjective. meshed, netted, woven

ñar

root. by, beside, near

ala

root. no, not; negative; not to be

lag

root. *neck

thā

adverb. then, next

uba-

verb. impend,be imminent,approach,draw near

luy

root. blue

The Elvish words for “blue” remained very similar throughout Tolkien’s life, but underwent a number of minor conceptual shifts. The word ᴱQ. lūne “blue, deep blue” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s in a collection of words along with ᴱQ. lūle “blue stone, sapphire”, but no root was given (QL/55). The word for “blue” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was G. luim (GL/55). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root for “blue” was ᴹ√LUG with derivatives ᴹQ. lúne and N. lhûn (Ety/LUG²).

Meanwhile, the root ᴹ√LUY appeared in The Etymologies with derivatives ᴹQ. luina and Dor. luin “pale” (EtyAC/LUY), probably connected to ᴱN. Draugluin “Werewolf Pale” from the Lays of Beleriand of the 1920s (LB/205). But in The Etymologies the root ᴹ√LUY was rejected, and Dor. luin “pale” was reassigned to ᴹ√LUG² and then revised in form to Dor. lūn (Ety/LUG²; EtyAC/LUG²).

In addition, there was already evidence of a conceptual shift in the Noldorin words for blue in the 1930s, with the name N. Eredluin “Blue Mountains” being given as an alternative to N. Lhúnorodrim and N. Lhúndirien “Blue Towers” (Ety/LUG²), the latter appearing as N. Luindirien in contemporaneous Silmarillion narratives (LR/267). By the 1950s and 60s, the Sindarin and Quenya words for “blue” had firmly become S. luin (Let/448; S/54; UT/390) and Q. luinë (LotR/377; PE17/66, 71). The root √LUY “blue” appeared in notes from the late 1960s serving as the new basis for these “blue” words (VT48/23-24, 26).

All this made a mess for the river name S. Lhûn (LotR/1134) from The Lord of the Rings which was a remnant of Tolkien’s earlier ideas, and he struggled to find a new basis for that name as discussed by Patrick Wynne in his article on The Problem of Lhûn (VT48/26-29).

n(d)er

root. male (person), man

This root and ones like it were the basis for Elvish “man” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√NERE with derivatives like ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” and ᴱQ. nertu “strength” (QL/65). The latter had a cognate G. nert in contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, along with a set of related “strength” words (GL/60). But Gnomish also had a set of derivatives based on the elided primitive form ᴱ✶n’reu̯ such as G. †drio “hero” and driog “valiant” (GL/30). Derivatives with an initial n- continued to appear in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s, such as ᴱN. †nîr “hero, prince” and ᴱN. ne(i)rion “hero” (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the base root was ᴹ√DER “adult male, man (of any race)” with strengthened variant ᴹ√NDER “bridegroom”, but with the Quenya root becoming ᴹ√NĒR “man” under the influence of ᴹ√NĪ “woman” (Ety/DER, NDER, NĒR, NĪ); from this point forward Noldorin/Sindarin derivatives began with d-, such as S./N. dîr “man”. Likewise in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure, also from the late 1930s, the root was given as ᴹ√(N)DER “man, male”, again as a strengthening of ᴹ√DER (EVS1: PE22/98). However, in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1940s, the primitive root is given as ᴹ√NER “man” (TQ1: PE18/35) and likewise from the first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns from the late 1940s (QPP1: PE23/87).

Starting in the 1950s, Tolkien was more consistent in making the base root √NER with strengthened form √NDER. Tolkien gave √NDER/NER “male person” in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2: PE22/133) and Common Eldarin: Noun Structure (PE21/70), both from the early 1950s. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 the base root was √NERE, though Tolkien clarified that the base root as referred more specifically to “physical strength and valour” (WJ/393). The root is given as √NER “man, male” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/33).

firing

root. necklace

ther

root. sew, sew; [ᴱ√] twine, tie, bind

as

root. beside

As discussed in the entry for √AR, for a considerable time in Tolkien’s life the basis for the word “and” was the root √AR with the sense “beside”, so that Q. A ar B “A and B” originally had the sense “A beside B”. However, at some point during the writing of the Lord of the Rings he decided that the Sindarin word for “and” was a, making √AR no longer suitable for its etymology.

From this point forward Tolkien toyed with two possible roots for “beside; and”, either √AD and √AS, with another option √ÑAR considered and rejected in 1957 (PE17/169). It seems Tolkien vacillated between the √AD and √AS, so an exact timeline is hard to nail down. Their primary difference would be in the prevocalic form of Sindarin “and”: either edhil adh edain [ada > aða] or edhil ah edain [asa > aha] for “elves and men”. The most detailed breakdown of these two possibilities appeared in Tolkien’s notes on words in The Lord of the Rings, probably written in the late 1950s (PE17/41). In these notes he kept flipping back and forth between ancient asa and ada, though ultimately settling on ada.

However, ah appeared in the title of the document Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” most likely written in 1959 (MR/329), and in a 1968 note Tolkien said the primitive form was as with S. ah “and” before vowels and a before consonants (VT43/30). So either Tolkien reversed himself again and adopted √AS, or he continued to vacillate. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root was √AS.

One result of the change of √AR >> √AS/√AD is that the Sindarin prefix ar- could no longer mean “beside” as it did in Noldorin. Indeed, in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor written in 1967-69 he said “Arnen originally was intended to mean ‘beside the water’, sc. Anduin, but ar- in this sense is Quenya, not Sindarin” (VT43/17). This leaves us with no good word for “beside” in Sindarin; at one point I coined a neologism sa for this purpose, but it is a real stretch.

As a final note, these 1950s and 1960s roots were not the first time Tolkien used √AS for something like “beside”. All the way back in the 1910s, Tolkien had the root √AS(A) in both the Quenya and Gnomish Lexicons (QL/33; GL/48) with derived forms like ᴱQ. ar “to, against, next, on (wall)” (QL/33), G. hath- “close to, by, beside, touching” (GL/48), and [maybe] G. art “beside, alongside of” (GL/20), though the last form may be unconnected given the unlikeliness of s > r in Gnomish.

lemek

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

sir

root. flow

The root √SIR and similar roots meant “flow” for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant sini and derived forms like ᴱQ. sindi “river” and ᴱQ. síre “stream” (QL/84). The latter word became “river” in Tolkien’s later writings, and words appearing in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. sîr “river” and G. siriol “flowing” (GL/67-68) rather than ✱✱sidh- indicate Tolkien very early revised the root to ✱ᴱ√SIRI. Indeed, the root was ᴹ√SIR “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and the root appeared with this form and essential meaning several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/127, 135).

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

ther

root. sew

The root √THER or √SER “sew” appears in a discussion of the name Q. Vairë “Weaver” probably from the late 1950s, with Tolkien preferring √THER because it could be a variant of √TER “pierce” (PE17/33). That section of the discussion was rejected (PE17/34), but given Tolkien’s later use of †Þerindë > Q. Serindë “Broideress” or “Needlewoman” as a sobriquet for Fëanor’s mother Q. Míriel (MR/185; PM/333), it seems √THER “sew” survived. This root could be a later iteration of ᴱ√SERE “twine, tie, bind” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. serma “string, cord” and ᴱQ. serta- “tie” (QL/83); its Gnomish derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. ther- “tie” and G. theres “ribbon” make it clear the actual early root was ✱ᴱ√ÞERE (GL/72).

stir Reconstructed

root. face

The root ✱√STIR is implied by the names Elestirnë “Star-brow” (UT/184) and Carnistir “Red-face” (PM/353), as well as the primitive word ✶stīrē “face” (VT41/10). It is probably an s-fortification of the root TIR “watch”. It likely replaces the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. thio “to seem” and N. thîr “look, face, expression, countenance”, the latter providing an earlier etymology for N. Cranthir “Ruddy-face” (Ety/THĒ). The original gloss of this 1930s root was “perceive, see” (EtyAC/THĒ). This deleted gloss in turn indicates that 1930s ᴹ√THĒ was itself a later iteration of 1910s ᴱ√SEHE [þeχe] from the Qenya Lexicon, which was mostly connected to eye-words but also had derivatives like ᴱQ. sehta-/G. thê- “see” (PE12/21; QL/82; GL/72); see the entry √KHEN for the later derivation of eye-words.

graw Reconstructed

root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart

This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).

nam Reconstructed

root. judge

A root implied by various Quenya words having to do with “judgement” from the 1950s and 60s, most notably Q. Námo “Ordainer, Judge” as the true name of Q. Mandos (S/28), a name that began to appear in documents starting in the early 1950s (PE21/85). The root is evident in other words from this period, such as Q. namna “statute” (MR/258), Q. námië “a single judgment or desire” (VT41/13) and the verb Q. nam- “judge” in the phrase: Q. ore nin karitas nō namin alasaila “I feel moved to do so but judge it unwise” (VT41/13). ✱√NAM might also be the basis for the second element of the name Q. Rithil-Anamo “Doom-ring”, the circle of thrones where the Valar sat in council (WJ/401).

In notes from 1969 Tolkien seems to have changed his mind of the root for “judge”, writing Q. nemin >> Q. hamin >> Q. navin for “I judge”, and giving a new root √NDAB “to judge” in a marginal note along with a revised name Návo to replace Námo (PE22/154, notes #53 and #55). This new root conflicts with √NDAB “endeavor, try” from earlier in the same bundle of documents (PE22/151).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would ignore the late change of ✱√NAM >> √NDAB “judge”, since ✱√NAM has more attested derivatives and Námo appears in the published Silmarillion. Also, all of the derivatives of this root are Quenya, and its possible use in the name Rithil-Anamo (coined in Valinor) imply that it might be a root invented after the Elves arrived in Aman. Thus I think it is best to treat it as Quenya-only root, and used ᴹ√BAD “judge” as the basis for (Neo) Sindarin words for judgement by retaining Noldorin words with these meanings from the 1930s (Ety/BAD).

as(a)

preposition. and

luini

adjective. blue

lā-

verb. to not be

minya

ordinal. first

ndab

root. to judge

nēnā

adjective. wet

nēthā

noun. sister

nēthā

adjective. gay, lively, girlish

pendā

adjective. sloping

wairē

feminine name. Weaver

ñ(g)et

root. catch, get

(s)loga

noun. fenland

-nyā

pronoun. my

an

preposition. to

dankĭnā

adjective. slain

delkā

adjective. dense

dāra

adjective. wise

imi

root. in

kelus

noun. brook

lugni

adjective. blue

maita-

verb. to feed

matyā-

verb. to feed

ndakta-

verb. to slay

ndē̆r

noun. man

ni

pronoun. I, me

năta

noun. thing

nēn-talma

place name. Wetwang, Nindalf

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

sal

root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre

The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.

san-

pronoun. that

sidā̆

adverb. hither

stīrē

noun. face

sīru

noun. stream

tekma

noun. pen

tig

root. [unglossed]

A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).

gwen

root. fresh, *green, fair, unblemished, beautiful

@@@ might still be valid for Quenya derivations in the Etymologies

nim Reconstructed

root. seem, appear