om

root. of resonant sounds

This root was the basis for the Quenya word for “voice”: Q. óma. The earliest derivation of this word was from the root ᴱ√OHO “cry” along with ᴱQ. ohta- “shout” (QL/69); the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon likewise has derivatives like G. ûm “voice” and G. uptha- “shout” (GL/75). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. óma “voice” was derived from unglossed ᴹ√OM, along with ᴹQ. óman “vowel” (Ety/OM). The root √OM appeared in a list of roots for sound words, used “of resonant sounds”, along with variant √TOM which was used for “briefer” sounds (PE17/138).

omen-

verb. to move to a common point, meet

ōma

noun. voice

tom

root. of resonant sounds

The root √TOM appeared in a list of sound roots from 1959-60 as a root for “resonant sounds”, with a pair of unglossed derivatives Q. tomba and Q. tompe (PE17/138); it was constrasted with √OM which was for “more long-drawn out” sounds, as opposed to √TOM which was “briefer”. The root √TOM might be a restoration of the unglossed early root ᴱ√TOMPO from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tombo “gong”, ᴱQ. tompa “small drum”, and ᴱQ. tompo- “bang” (QL/94).

il

root. all

A root meaning “all” in Tolkien’s writings from the 1930s through 1960s (VT48/25) with derivatives in both Quenya and Sindarin, the most notable being Q. Ilúvatar “All-father” (MR/39). Its earliest precursor is the root ᴱ√ILU “ether, the slender airs among the stars” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, whose derivatives include various sky-words as well as ᴱQ. Ilúvatar, since in this early period the name meant “Heavenly Father” (QL/42). The meaning of the root shifted to ᴹ√IL “all” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IL), and it retained this sense thereafter.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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).

aumata-

verb. to eat away, corrode

phut

root. [unglossed]

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

ōmata-

verb. eat away, devour, corrode