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).

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. falarya- “to splash, foam”
• Q. falassë “(wave-beaten) shore, seashore, line of surf, (wave-beaten) shore, seashore, line of surf; [ᴹQ.] beach” ✧ PE17/062
• Q. falasta- “to foam, surge, to foam, surge, [ᴱQ.] make a sound like surf”
• Q. falma “(crested or foaming) wave, breaker, (crested or foaming) wave, breaker; [ᴱQ.] foam” ✧ PE17/062; PE17/073
• S. falas “beach, shore, strand, surf(line)” ✧ PE17/062; PE17/073
• ᴺS. felaich “splash”
• ᴺS. felechia- “to splash”

Element in

• Q. Falarombar
• S. faloth “large foamy wave”