öa-

verb. to possess, own, keep

Derivations

• √AW “possess, own, keep (have in hand, use or with one)” ✧ PE22/151

Element in

• ᴺQ. öamo “owner”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√AW > auta	[awta-] > [auta-]	✧ PE22/151
√AW > ăw̯a > oa	[awa-] > [oa-]	✧ PE22/151
√AW > āva	[āwa] > [āβa] > [āva]	✧ PE22/151

auta-

verb. to possess, own, keep

véra

personal, private, own

véra (< Old Quenya wéra) noun "personal, private, own" (PM:340)

véra

adjective. personal, private, own

Derivations

• √WĒ/EWE “person, being, individual” ✧ PM/340

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√EWE > wéra > véra	[wēra] > [βēra] > [vēra]	✧ PM/340

harya-

possess

harya- vb. "possess" (3AR)

heru-

verb. to lord it over, be master of, own, [ᴱQ.] rule

Derivations

• ✶kheru- “to lord it over, be master of, own”
  • √KHER “possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power”

garn

own

(adj.) garn (lenited arn; pl. gern); also as noun "ones own" = property: garn (i **arn), pl. gern (i ngern** = i ñern).

garn

own

(lenited ’arn; pl. gern); also as noun "one’s own" = property: garn (i ’arn), pl. gern (i ngern = i ñern).

gwîr

adjective. own, personal

The hypothetical Sindarin cognate of Q véra (PM/340); CE (e)wēra would > OS wīra > S *gwîr.

garnen

adjective. own, held, possessed

Elements

Word	Gloss
gar-	“to hold, have, to hold, have, *possess”

gar

possess

gar- (i **âr, i ngerir = i ñerir) (hold, have; be able, can); pa.t. garant**. (AI:92, VT45:14)

gar

possess

(i ’âr, i ngerir = i ñerir) (hold, have; be able, can); pa.t. garant. (AI:92, VT45:14)

aw

root. possess, own, keep (have in hand, use or with one)

A root appearing in some late notes on verbs from around 1969, with the sense “possess, own, keep” (PE22/151). It seems to be a restoration of a much earlier root from the 1910s, which appeared as ᴱ√AW̯A in the Qenya Lexicon with derivatives having to do with wealth, such as ᴱQ. ausie “wealth” and ᴱQ. aute “rich” (QL/33), as well as Gnomish and Early Noldorin cognates G. avos “wealth” (GL/20) and ᴱN. awes “rich” (PE13/137). This root is a good example of how certain linguistic ideas could lay dormant for many years in Tolkien’s writing, only to reemerge much later. This makes it difficult to say for certain whether Tolkien really abandoned a particular idea.

Derivatives

• Q. aura “possession, thing owned” ✧ PE22/151
• Q. auvië “possession (abstract), *the act of possessing” ✧ PE22/151
• Q. öa- “to possess, own, keep” ✧ PE22/151

Element in

• Q. auvië “possession (abstract), *the act of possessing”

kher

root. possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power

The basic root for rulership was √KHER for most of Tolkien’s life. The root appeared as ᴱ√HERE “rule, have power” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period already had the derivative ᴱQ. heru “lord” and ᴱQ. heri “lady” (QL/40), words that retained the same form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. Gnomish derivatives from this period include G. herma “protection, lordship, sway”, G. hermon “lord”, G. hîr “care, anxiety; heed”, and G. hiril “queen†, princess” (GL/49).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s these last two Gnomish words became N. hîr “master” and N. hiril “lady” as derivatives of ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess”; the words ᴹQ. heru/ᴹQ. heri reappeared as well (Ety/KHER). All four of these words reappeared frequently in Tolkien’s later writing, though S. hîr was more typically glossed “lord” (PM/210; SD/129; VT41/9; Let/382; UT/318). The root √KHER itself reappeared in a 1954 letter to Naomi Mitchison with the gloss “possess” (Let/178).

Derivatives

• Ad. khôr “lord”
• ✶khēr “lord, master”
  • Q. heru “lord, master” ✧ Let/282; VT41/09
  • S. hîr “lord, master” ✧ Let/282; VT41/09
• ✶kherī “lady”
  • Q. heri “lady”
• ✶kheru- “to lord it over, be master of, own”
  • ᴺQ. heru- “to lord it over, be master of, own, [ᴱQ.] rule”
• ✶kherū “lord, master”
  • Q. heru “lord, master” ✧ Let/282; PE17/097
• ᴺQ. hérë “lordship”
• ᴺS. herf “protection, lordship, sway”

Element in

• ᴺQ. herulatsë “estate, domain”
• ᴺQ. ohérë “government”
• S. rochir “knight, horse-lord” ✧ Let/178

Variations

• kher- ✧ Let/178

kheru

verb. lord it over, be master of, own

kheru-

verb. to lord it over, be master of, own

Derivations

• √KHER “possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power”

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. heru- “to lord it over, be master of, own, [ᴱQ.] rule”

Variations

• kheru ✧ PE22/135

garn

noun. own, property

garn

noun. ‘own’, property

Derivations

• ᴹ√GAR “keep, hold, possess; maintain, defend” ✧ Ety/ƷAR|GAR

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√GAR > garn	[garna] > [garn]	✧ Ety/ƷAR	GAR