pha

root. exhalations (as mists upon water or steams and the like)

A root having to do with “exhalations (as mists upon water or steams and the like)” serving as the basis for unglossed √PHAY (> Q. fëa “spirit”) and √PHAN (> Q. fanya “cloud”) in notes from 1957 (NM/237). Elsewhere both √PHAN and √PHAY had more divergent meanings, and so may have been disconnected from this root. However, Tolkien mentioned a primitive noun ✶phā “breath, puff of breath” in notes from 1968 with an extended form fawa (VT47/35), so that the root √PHAW “emit (foul breath)” from 1957 notes may have been related (PE17/181).

phā

noun. breath, puff of breath

phawa

noun. phawa

phāy

noun. flame, ray of light

phaw

root. emit (foul breath), *breath, puff of breath, breath, puff of breath; blow, emit (foul breath); [ᴹ√] gape

Tracing the conceptual development of this root is difficult. Its earliest precursor might have been unglossed ᴱ√FAGA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the derivative ᴱQ. fâ = ᴱQ. vilna “air” (QL/37) with Gnomish cognate G. Fâ “lower airs” (GL/33). G. faf- “puff, blow, pant” may also be related (GL/33).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, there was the root ᴹ√PHAU̯ “gape” with derivatives ᴹQ. fauka/N. faug “thirsty” (Ety/PHAU; EtyAC/PHAU). The Noldorin derivative was used in the names N. Anfauglin “Jaws of Thirst” (SM/115) and N. Fauglith “Thirsty Sand; Gasping Dust” (LR/132) from contemporaneous Silmarillion drafts. Sindarin variants of these names S. Anfauglir “Jaws of Thirst” (S/180) and S. Anfauglith “Gasping Dust” (S/150) continued to appear in later versions of The Silmarillion.

In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 Tolkien gave a new gloss for the root √PHAW as “emit (foul breath etc.)” serving as the basis for Q. foalóke, unglossed but perhaps “✱breath-dragon” (PE17/181). The root √PHAW reappeared again in 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD) as the basis for Q. foa and S. faw, all unglossed (PE17/181). Finally ✶phā appeared in some notes from 1968 as an example of a primitive monosyllablic noun, with glosses “puff, (?blow)” or “breath, puff of breath” and probably-related forms fawa and foa (VT47/34-35). All these hints at a possible restoration of the sense of early ᴱ√FAGA from the 1910s: “emit (breath), puff, blow”.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume √PHAW had its 1950s-60s meaning “emit (breath), puff, blow”, but that ᴹQ. fauka and N. faug “thirsty” were derived from another root ✱√PHAWAK or ✱√PHAUKA, either an extension or unrelated.

phan

root. cover, screen, veil; white, (light white) shape; shape, vision

The earliest iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√FANA or ᴱ√FṆTṆ (the latter marked with a “?”) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. fanóre “day-dream”, ᴱQ. fansa “swoon”, and ᴱQ. fantl “vision, dream, hazy notion, imaginary idea” (QL/37). The root ᴹ√PHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but the entry was unglossed, empty and eventually deleted (EtyAC/PHAN), perhaps supplanted by ᴹ√SPAN; see that entry for discussion.

√PHAN appeared quite a few times in Tolkien’s later writings, however, mostly in connection to Q. fanya “cloud” from the Namárië poem and S. Fanuilos as a name for Elbereth in the Sindarin prayer A Elbereth Gilthoniel. In connection to Fanuilos Tolkien said: “√FAN ‘white’, but especially applied to reflected light as of clouds, snow, frost, mist. Cf. fanya, Quenya, (white) cloud” (PE17/26). In a more extensive note he wrote:

> The element FAN- (Q fana, S fân) is “elvish” and not easy to translate. It may be said to mean “shape”, but with the added notion of light and whiteness; it is thus often used where we might use “a vision” — of something beautiful or sublime. Yet being elvish, though it may be used of things remote, it has no implication either of uncertainty or unreality. The Fân here is the vision of the majesty of Elbereth upon the mountain where she dwelt. So that Fanuilos really means in full: Figure (bright and majestic) upon Uilos (PE17/26).

Tolkien also wrote a lengthy essay discussing this root in several versions (PE17/173-180). The second version of this essay began:

> √PHAN-. The basic sense of this was “cover, screen, veil”, but it had a special development in the Eldarin tongues. This was largely due to what appears to have been its very ancient application to clouds, especially to separate floating clouds as (partial) veils over the blue sky, or over the sun, moon, or stars. This application of the most primitive derivative ✱phanā (Q fana, S fân) was so ancient that when ✱phanā (or other derivatives) was applied to lesser, handmade, things this was felt to be a transference from the sense “cloud”, and words of this group were mainly applied to things of soft textures, veils, mantles, curtains and the like, of white or pale colours (PE17/174).

Finally, in The Road Goes Ever On (RGEO) from 1967, Tolkien wrote:

> Fana- is an Elvish element, with primary meaning “veil”. The S. form fân, fan- was usually applied to clouds, floating as veils over the blue sky or the sun or moon or resting on hills. In Quenya, however, the simple word fana acquired a special sense. Owing to the close association of the High-Elves with the Valar, it was applied to the “veils” or “raiment” in which the Valar presented themselves to physical eyes ... The High-Elves said these forms were always to some degree radiant, as if suffused from a light within. In Quenya, fana thus came to signify the radiant and majestic figure of one of the great Valar. In Sindarin, especially as used by the High-Elves, the originally identical word fân “cloud” was also given the same sense (RGEO/66).

This discussion in RGEO is essentially a summary of the much lengthier essay on √PHAN noted above. Thus it seems Tolkien’s latest notion of the root was that it originally mean “cover, screen, veil”, and was applied to clouds as veiling the sun, and from this application the root came to refer to white, radiant and soft things. In the Quenya of Valinor the word Q. fana was then applied to the radiant materialized bodies of the Valar, and when the Noldor again encountered the Sindar this sense influenced S. fân (originally just “cloud”) as well.

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

phar(an)

root. *rowan

A root appearing in connection to notes on the name Q. Orofarnë “Mountain Ash” in both short form √PHAR and extended form √PHARAN, serving as the basis for Q. farnë/S. faran “rowan” or “ash” (PE17/83). It is most likely a later iteration of the root ᴹ√PHER or ᴹ√PHÉREN “beech” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. feren/N. †fêr “beech” (Ety/PHER). As for ᴹ√PHARAN, that root also appeared in The Etymologies, but was replaced by ᴹ√PHAS.

Neo-Eldarin: 1950s √PHAR(AN) and 1930s ᴹ√PHER(EN) probably did not coexist in Tolkien’s conception of Elvish, but for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it better to treat them as etymological variants, to retain both Q. farnë/S. faran “rowan, ash” and ᴹQ. feren “beech”, with archaic N. †fêr being replaced in modern Sindarin by S. neldor “beech” and S. brethil/S. hwinn “birch”.

phal

root. foam, splash

This root was connected to Elvish words for foaming waves for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√FALA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. falas “shore, beach”, ᴱQ. falmar “wave as it breaks” and ᴱQ. falmo “foam” (QL/37). It had a similar set of derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. falm “a breaker, a wave” and G. falos “sea-marge, surf, coast, line, beach; margin, fringe, edge” (GL/33).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as ᴹ√PHAL “foam” with extended form ᴹ√PHÁLAS and derivatives like ᴹQ. falasse/N. falas “beach” and ᴹQ. falma/N. falf “(crested) wave, breaker” (Ety/PHAL). The root appeared a couple of times in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “foam” (PE17/62) and “splash” (PE17/73).

phaini

noun. vapour

phairi

noun. spirit (general)

phanmā

noun. veil, screen

phantā-

verb. to veil, cloak

phanyā

adjective. *veiled, veiling

phanā

noun. veil, cloud

phayā

noun. soul, indwelling spirit

pharne

noun. any growing thing or plant

phawalōkō

noun. dragon

phayanāro

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

pharalē

noun. hunting

pharā-

verb. to hunt, pursue

phā/apha

root. before of time

A root appearing in a list of roots for spatial and temporal directions from 1969, with an unglossed (primitive?) derivative ✶afar and the Quenya form fai with variant afea, apparently meaning “before” in the phrase Eru fai, sî, euva “✱Eru (was) before, (is) now, will be (after)” (PE22/147). Later in the same set of notes Tolkien seems to have reverted to earlier roots for these functions (PE22/168).

apha

root. before of time

spar

root. hunt, hunt, [ᴹ√] pursue

The root ᴹ√SPAR “hunt, pursue” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. faro “to hunt” and N. feredir “hunter” (Ety/SPAR). Tolkien first considered making this root ᴹ√PHAR⁽²⁾ (EtyAC/PHAR²). The root ᴹ√SPAR “hunt, pursue” reappeared in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with the derived verb ᴹQ. fara- “hunt” (PE22/113). √SPAR “hunt” was mentioned a couple times in Tolkien’s later writings as well (PE17/83; PE18/94).

sparā-

verb. to hunt, pursue

ay(ar)

root. sea

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.

kiris

root. cleave, cleave, [ᴹ√] cut, [ᴱ√] split

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.

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

malat

root. gold

phut

root. [unglossed]

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

rānā

noun. moon

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).

yad

root. wide

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).