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).

Derivatives

• ✶ndī̆s “*bride, [ᴹ✶] bride”
  • Q. indis “wife, [ᴹQ.] bride; [Q.] wife”
• ✶nīs “woman, female person”
  • Q. nís “woman”
• Q. nillë “small [woman]” ✧ VT47/33
• Q. nís “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33
• Q. nisto “large woman” ✧ VT47/33

Variations

• nis- ✧ VT47/18
• nis ✧ VT47/33

nīs

noun. woman, female person

Derivations

• √NIS “woman”
• √NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female” ✧ PE21/71

Derivatives

• Q. nís “woman”