Quenya 

fauta-

to snow

fauta- vb. *"to snow" (actually glossed fauta = "it snows") (GL:35)

hriz-

to snow

#hriz- vb. "to snow", impersonal, given in the form hríza "it is snowing". Normally z would turn to r in Exilic Quenya, but since two r's close to one another were disliked, it may be that hriz- became *hris- instead (compare razë "sticks out" becoming rasë instead of **rarë, PE19:73) Past tense hrinsë (with s from the original root SRIS) and another form which the editor tentatively reads as hrissë (the development ns > ss is regular). (PE17:168)

Sindarin 

loss

noun. snow

The usual Sindarin word for “snow” (Let/278; PE17/161; RGEO/62), especially fallen and long-lying snow (VT42/18), derived from primitive ✶lossē (PE17/161) based on the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; RGEO/62). It sometimes appeared in a shorter form los (PE17/26, 161). See the entry on [s] for a discussion of these long vs. short variations; for purposes of Neo-Sindarin loss is probably preferable.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest iteration of this word was G. glui “snow” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, likely related to nearby words like G. gloss “white” (GL/40). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gloss from the root ᴹ√GOLOS was both noun “snow” and adjective “snow-white” (Ety/GOLÓS), but in later writing Tolkien split these into S loss “snow” (see above) and S. gloss “(dazzling) white” (RGEO/62; VT42/18).

Cognates

  • Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/026; PE17/161; SA/los; RGEO/61

Derivations

  • (G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18
  • lossē “snow” ✧ PE17/161
    • (G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Element in

  • S. Aeglos “Snow-point” ✧ SA/los
  • S. aeglos “icicle, (lit.) snow-point; snowthorn (a plant)”
  • S. Amon Uilos “Hill of Ever-snow” ✧ SA/los
  • S. Fanuilos “Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos” ✧ Let/278
  • S. Lossarnach “Flowery Arnarch” ✧ VT42/18
  • S. lossen “snowy” ✧ RGEO/62
  • S. Lossoth “Snowmen” ✧ PE17/161; RGEO/62
  • S. Nimphelos “Pale ?Snow”
  • S. Uilos “Ever-snow”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
LŎS > los[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]✧ PE17/026
lossē > loss[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]✧ PE17/161
los > loss[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]✧ RGEO/61
los > loss[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]✧ SA/los
(G)LOS > loss[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]✧ VT42/18

Variations

  • los ✧ PE17/026
  • lŏs ✧ PE17/161
  • Loss ✧ VT42/18
Sindarin [Let/278; PE17/026; PE17/161; RGEO/62; SA/los; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

los

noun. snow

lossen

snowy

(pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

loss

snow

(construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.  

lossoth

snow-men

(a coll. pl.)

nínim

snowdrop

(”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. – The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

Primitive elvish

lossē

noun. snow

Derivations

  • (G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Derivatives

  • Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/161
  • S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/161

Variations

  • loss- ✧ VT42/18
Primitive elvish [PE17/161; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sris

root. snow

An apparently verbal root as √SRIS “snow” appearing in etymological notes from around 1959 with derivatives like Q. hrisse “fall of snow” and Q. hríza “it is snowing”; it replaced a deleted root √SRITH “snow” (PE17/168).

Derivatives

  • Q. hriz- “to snow” ✧ PE17/168
  • Q. hrissë “fall of snow” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

  • Q. hristil “snow (?peak)” ✧ PE17/168
Primitive elvish [PE17/168; PE17/185] Group: Eldamo. Published by

srith

root. snow

Derivatives

  • Q. hrisya- “to snow (impersonal)” ✧ PE17/168
Primitive elvish [PE17/168] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

olos(se)

noun. snow, fallen snow

Changes

  • olosseolos/olosse “snow, fallen snow” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS

Cognates

  • N. gloss “snow, snow-white” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√GOLOS “*snow, white” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS; Ety/LOT(H)

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Oiolosse “Everlasting Whiteness”
  • ᴹQ. Iolosse “ever-snow, Everlasting Snow”
  • ᴹQ. Ialasse “Everlasting Whiteness”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GOLÓS > olosse[golosse] > [ɣolosse] > [olosse]✧ Ety/GOLÓS
ᴹ√GOLÓS > olos/olosse[golosse] > [ɣolosse] > [olosse]✧ Ety/GOLÓS
ᴹ√GOLÓS > olosse[golosse] > [ɣolosse] > [olosse]✧ Ety/LOT(H)

Variations

  • olosse ✧ Ety/GOLÓS (olosse); Ety/LOT(H)
  • olos/olosse ✧ Ety/GOLÓS (olos/olosse)
Qenya [Ety/GOLÓS; Ety/LOT(H)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqe

noun. snow

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NIK(W) “*snow; white” ✧ Ety/NIK-W

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√NIK-W > niqe[nikwe]✧ Ety/NIK-W

Old Noldorin 

losse

noun. snow

Element in

  • On. Uigolosse “Everlasting snow” ✧ Ety/OY
Old Noldorin [Ety/OY] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

noun. snow

A noun for “snow” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/35). It was first glossed “a hoard”, probably a cognate of ᴱQ. foa “hoard” under the root the early root ᴱ√FOƷO (QL/38), but its gloss was revised and it was given an new Qenya cognate ᴱQ. fáwe. This change in gloss probably reflects a new root, but nothing in the Qenya Lexicon seems appropriate.

Cognates

  • Eq. fáwe “snow” ✧ GL/35

Derivations

Element in

glui

noun. snow

Derivations

Element in

  • G. Mablui “Hand of Snow” ✧ GL/40

Early Primitive Elvish

ƕawa Speculative

root. snow

A hypothetical root explaining words in the Gnomish Lexicon such as ᴱQ. fáwe/G. “snow” and ᴱQ. fauta-/G. fôtha- “to snow” (GL/35). Given the existence of ᴱ√FAWA “smell”, I theorize this root may be slightly different, perhaps ?ᴱ√ǶAWA, but that’s just a guess. There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

Derivatives

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

fáwe

noun. snow

A Qenya noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, cognate to G. “snow” (GL/35).

Cognates

  • G. “snow” ✧ GL/35

Derivations

Element in

  • Eq. fauta- “to snow” ✧ GL/35
Early Quenya [GL/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqis

noun. snow

Derivations

  • ᴱ√NIQI “white” ✧ LT1A/Taniquetil; QL/066

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√NIQI > niqis[niqiss] > [niqis]✧ QL/066

Variations

  • niqis- ✧ PME/066
Early Quenya [LT1A/Taniquetil; PME/066; QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by