pincë

adjective. little

pia

little

pia adj. "little" (PE17:115); variants picina ("k"), pincë ("k"), pitya

pia

adjective. little

Derivations

• √PEY “*little” ✧ PE17/115

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PEYE > pia	[peja] > [pia]	✧ PE17/115

picina

adjective. little

Derivations

• ᴹ√PIK “*tiny”

Variations

• pikina ✧ PE17/115
• pinke ✧ PE17/115

pitya

little

#pitya adj. "little" in Pityafinwë, Pitya-naucor

tancil

pin, brooch

tancil ("k")noun "pin, brooch" (TAK)

nyelet

nail

nyelet noun "nail" (of the finger), pl. nyelexi (PE15:75)

taxë

nail

taxë ("ks")noun "nail" (TAK)

titta

little, tiny

titta adj. "little, tiny" (TIT)

nitya

adjective. little

Derivations

• √NIK “small”

Element in

• Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” ✧ PM/365

Variations

• Nitya ✧ PM/365 (Nitya)

tancal(a)

noun. brooch, clasp, brooch, clasp, [ᴹQ.] fastener, pin

A word appearing as Q. {tankil >>} tankal or tankala “clasp, brooch” in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950, derived from primitive ✶tankḷ or ✶tanklā respectively (PE18/100). Q. tañkal “brooch” also appeared in the contemporaneous Outline of Phonology (OP2) with a similar derivation (PE19/83). This word reflected Tolkien’s vision of the phonetic development of syllabic final ḷ in the 1950s and 60s, where syllabic ḷ developed a vowel of the same character as the preceding vowel, producing -al in this case.

Conceptual Development: The deleted form {tankil} from TQ2 hints at earlier developments for syllabic ḷ. The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. tankil derived from ᴹ✶tankla “pin, brooch” under the root ᴹ√TAK “fix, make fast” (Ety/TAK). The first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s instead had tankala “clasp, brooch”, but with tankil, tankḷ added in pencil (PE18/51 and note #51). The original layer of composition from the contemporaneous Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) had tankila from ᴹ✶tanklā “fastener, brooch” with a variant tantya, but the primitive form was updated to ᴹ✶tanklă and the Quenya form to tañkal (PE19/40 and note #72). Thus the tankil forms reflects Tolkien’s original 1930s notion of the syllabification of ḷ to il (PE19/40 note #66), updated at some point to instead produce -al.

The Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s had an entirely unrelated form ᴱQ. pieksin for “brooch”, an elaboration of ᴱQ. piek “pin” (QL/73; PME/73).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would use tancal only for a decorative brooch, and for “hasp, clasp” in clothing I would use [ᴹQ.] tangwa.

Cognates

• S. tachol “clasp, brooch, brooch, clasp, [N.] pin” ✧ PE18/100
• T. tancula “clasp, brooch” ✧ PE18/100

Derivations

• ✶tankla “brooch, clasp, fastener, pin” ✧ PE18/100; PE18/100; PE19/083
  • √TAK “fasten, fix, fasten, fix, [ᴹ√] make fast; [ᴱ√] stick (in), firm; [ᴹ√] make” ✧ PE18/100; PE19/083

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶tankḷ > tancal	[taŋkl] > [taŋkal]	✧ PE18/100
✶tanklā > tancala	[taŋklā] > [taŋkalā] > [taŋkala]	✧ PE18/100
✶tanklă > tañkal	[taŋkla] > [taŋkl] > [taŋkal]	✧ PE19/083

Variations

• tancal ✧ PE18/100
• tancala ✧ PE18/100
• tañkal ✧ PE19/083

pirin

noun. thin rod, pin

Derivations

• ᴺ✶. PIR “*cylinder; [ᴱ√] spin; [√]close eyes, blink, wink”

Element in

• ᴺQ. pirindëa “cylindrical”
• ᴺQ. pirinumbë “cylinder (hollow)”

pîn

adjective. little

Similar words occur in Gnomish (pinig "tiny, little", PE/11:64) and in Qenya (pinea "small" etc., PE/12:73)

pîn

adjective. little

Derivations

• √PI(N) “little”

Element in

• S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” ✧ RC/536

tachol

brooch

tachol (i dachol, o thachol) (pin), analogical pl. techyl (i thechyl)

tachol

brooch

(i dachol, o thachol) (pin), analogical pl. techyl (i thechyl)

tachol

pin

(noun) tachol (i dachol, o thachol) (brooch), analogical pl. techyl (i thechyl)

tachol

pin

(i dachol, o thachol) (brooch), analogical pl. techyl (i thechyl)

tithen

little

1) tithen (lenited dithen, pl. tithin) (tiny), 2) pîn (lenited bîn; no distinct pl. form) (RC:536).

taes

nail

taes (i daes, o thaes), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaes).

taes

nail

(i daes, o thaes), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaes).

tankla

noun. brooch, clasp, fastener, pin

Derivations

• √TAK “fasten, fix, fasten, fix, [ᴹ√] make fast; [ᴱ√] stick (in), firm; [ᴹ√] make” ✧ PE18/100; PE19/083

Derivatives

• Q. tancal(a) “brooch, clasp, brooch, clasp, [ᴹQ.] fastener, pin” ✧ PE18/100; PE18/100; PE19/083
• S. tachol “clasp, brooch, brooch, clasp, [N.] pin” ✧ PE18/100
• T. tancula “clasp, brooch” ✧ PE18/100

Variations

• tankḷ ✧ PE18/100
• tanklā ✧ PE18/100
• tanklă ✧ PE19/083

pi(n) Reconstructed

root. little

Tolkien used a variety of roots for Elvish words for “small”. One early root was ᴱ√PIKI with variants ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. pínea “small” and ᴱQ. pinqe “slender, thin” (QL/73). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pinig “tiny, little” and G. pibin “small berry, haw” (GL/64).

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as unglossed {ᴹ√PEK >>} ᴹ√PIK with derivatives like N. pigen “tiny” and N. peg “small spot, dot” (Ety/PIK; EtyAC/PIK). Further evidence for this root can be seen in later words like Q. piki- or pitya “petty” (WJ/389) and Q. pik- “lessen, dwindle” (MC/223). A variant root √PEY appeared in a list of roots having to do with large and small, with a single derivative Q. pia “little” [< ✱peya], but it was immediately followed by the forms pikina, pinke, pitya which point back to √PIK (PE/117).

Further evidence of early forms ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ can also be seen in Tolkien’s later writings. There is S. ✱pîn “little” in S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” (RC/536), ✶pī {“small bird” >>} “small insect” (VT47/35), and T. pinke “little-one, baby” (VT48/6), though the last of these might be from √PIK. In any case it seems Tolkien continued to use all of √PI, √PIK and √PIN to form words for little things into the late 1960s.

In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, Tolkien changed pitya to Q. nitya in the name Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” (PM/353, 365 note #59), which may indicate a replacement of √PIK by √NIK, another root used regularly in Tolkien’s later writings for “small”. But I believe √PIK and √NIK may coexist with slightly different meanings: “tiny” vs. “small”; see the entry on √NIK for further discussion.

Derivatives

• ✶pī “small insect, fly”
  • Q. pí “small insect, fly, small insect, fly, *mite, gnat; [ᴱQ.] speck, spot, dot, mote” ✧ VT47/35
• ᴺS. pibin “small berry, haw”
• S. pîn “little”
• T. pincë “little-one, baby”

tithen

adjective. little, tiny

tachl

noun. pin, brooch

tachol

noun. pin, brooch

tachol

noun. brooch, clasp, pin

Cognates

• ᴹQ. tankil “brooch, clasp, pin; fastener” ✧ Ety/TAK; PE18/051
• ᴹT. tancul “clasp, brooch” ✧ PE18/051

Derivations

• ᴹ✶tankla “brooch, clasp, pin” ✧ Ety/TAK
  • ᴹ√TAK “fix, make fast, make” ✧ Ety/TAK; PE18/050
• On. tankla “clasp, brooch” ✧ PE18/051
  • ᴹ✶tankla “brooch, clasp, pin” ✧ PE18/051; PE18/051
  • ᴹ√TAK “fix, make fast, make” ✧ Ety/TAK; PE18/050

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶tankla > tachl > tachol	[taŋkla] > [taŋkʰla] > [taŋxla] > [taŋxl] > [taxl] > [taxol]	✧ Ety/TAK

taes

noun. nail

taes

noun. nail

Cognates

• ᴹQ. takse “nail” ✧ Ety/TAK

Derivations

• ᴹ✶taksē “nail, pin” ✧ Ety/TAK
  • ᴹ√TAK “fix, make fast, make” ✧ Ety/TAK

Element in

• N. pelthaes “pivot” ✧ Ety/TAK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶taksē > taes	[taksē] > [takse] > [taksa] > [taxsa] > [taisa] > [tais] > [taes]	✧ Ety/TAK