qāmē

noun. qāmē

qḷřḷ

root. QḶŘḶ

qṛřṛ

root. QṚŘṚ

qoto

root. QOTO

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. qoto- “count up, reckon” and ᴱQ. qotta “sum, number” (QL/78). It was probably displaced by √NOT “count, reckon”.

qettā̆

noun. qettā̆

qara

root. QARA

qili

root. QILI

qiři

root. QIŘI

qini

root. *squeak

The unglossed root ᴱ√QINI appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qíne “squeaking” and ᴱQ. qíni- “speak high, squeak” (QL/77).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWIN “squeak” to preserve these Early Qenya words, though it conflicts with √KWIN “crest, salient or top edge”.

qḷðḷ

root. *quiet

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√QḶŘḶ [QḶÐḶ] “quiet” with derivatives like ᴱQ. qilde “quiet, rest, hush” and ᴱQ. qildi- “rest, stay quiet, be quiet” (QL/78); immediately below it had a variant form ᴱ√QILI² (QL/77). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as well such as G. cwîl “quiet, peaceful, gentle” and G. cwildred “bat (animal)” (GL/28).

However, in a table of primitive forms elsewhere in the Gnomish Lexicon, primitive qḷd was deleted (GL/23) and in yet another section Tolkien gave a distinct base form gwil-² with derivatives like G. gwîl “cessation, quiescence, leaving off” and G. gwilthi “peace”, with a possible primitive form ᴱ√u̯il marked by Tolkien with a “?” (GL/45). Tolkien compared G. gwil-² to Q. qil-, so perhaps in this instance he imagined primitive initial gʷ > kʷ in Qenya, following the pattern whereby initial voiced stops were unvoiced.

Some form of this root seems to have survived in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s to serve as the basis for ᴹQ. qilir “quiet” < ᴹ✶ku̯ilẹz (PE21/34).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it is worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWILID “quiet” to preserve these earlier Quenya words.

qṛðṛ

root. *wicked, evil

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants ᴱ√QṚŘṚ [QṚÐṚ] and ᴱ√QARA [marked with a “?”] as well as derivatives ᴱQ. qarda “bad” and ᴱQ. qarka “perverse, naughty” (QL/78). The root was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as qṛđ with derivatives like G. curdhu “sin, wickedness, evil” and G. cwarth “evil, bad, wicked” (GL/28). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

qapa

root. chaffer

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “chaffer”, which is an archaic word for “haggle”; it has a number of derivatives having to do barter and bargaining like ᴱQ. qampo “pedlar, huckster”, ᴱQ. qapta “deal, bargain”, and ᴱQ. qapta- “to exchange” (QL/76). These early words have no clear replacements in Tolkien’s later writing, so I recommend positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWAP to salvage these early words.

qasa

root. *shake

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qasa- “shake, flap, nod, rustle”, ᴱQ. qasilla “tuft, nodding spray, tassel, plume”, G. cwas- “shake, nod, wag”, and G. cwathli “plume, spray, tassel” (QL/76; GL/28).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is useful to salvage these early words by positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWATH.

qel+u

root. *well up

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, apparently a variant of ᴱ√KELU “flow, run; ooze, trickle”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. qelu “well, spring, source” and ᴱQ. qelu- “well up” (QL/76). See the entry on √KEL for later conceptual developments of similar roots.

qili

root. *colour

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives having to do with colour and adornments like ᴱQ. qile “hue, colour” and ᴱQ. qilya- “adorn, embellish, colour” (QL/77). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as well such as G. cwil “hue, tint” (GL/28). As there are no better options for a generic words for “colour” in Tolkien’s later writing, I recommend positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWIL “colour” to preserve these Early Qenya words.

qimi

root. *woman

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s having to do with femininity with derivatives like ᴱQ. qin “woman, female” and ᴱQ. qinde “womanliness, femininity”, as well as various words for “nun” (QL/76). It seems to be related to the Gnomish root ᴱ√GIWI via G(I)WIMI > GWIM > KWIM. In the Gnomish Lexicon beneath various G. gwin- “woman” words Tolkien said: “cp. giwi-; Q qin rare correspondence of q > gw, because it is here from g’w-, not gu̯-” (GL/45). In later writings this root was likely supplanted by √WEN(ED) “woman, maiden, girl”.

qiqi

root. *droop

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qinqa “drooping, languid” and ᴱQ. qiqi- “hang, droop” (QL/77); Tolkien compared it to ᴱ√PIPI “hang, trail”. For the sense “hang” I think it is better to use the later root ᴹ√(G)LINGI, but for purposes of Neo-Eldarin I think it is worth positing a root ᴺ√KWIK(W) “languid” to allow preservation of the Early Qenya words related to that sense.

qisi

root. *whisper

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants ᴱ√QISI and {ᴱ√QIŘI >>} ᴱ√QIRI having derivatives like ᴱQ. qisi- “whisper” and ᴱQ. qiri- “murmur”, perhaps the meaning of the base roots (QL/76-77). The roots also seem have derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. cwist “secret”, G. cwitha- “murmur, whisper”, and G. cwira- “rustle” (GL/29). The last indication of this root seems to be ᴱN. pis- “whisper” < ᴱ✶kwissa- in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s (PE13/152).

qityi

root. *knit

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qity- “knit” and ᴱQ. qint “loop, stitch for knitting” (QL/78).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWIT “knit” to preserve these Early Qenya words.

qiði

root. *stir, spin

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as √QIŘI [QIÐI] having derivatives like ᴱQ. qiri- “stir (make spin)”, ᴱQ. qindl “a spindle, top”, and ᴱQ. qirme “cream” (QL/77), the last probably from its production via stirring. It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. cwir- “to stir, stir round, make spin”, G. cwiril “spindle”, and G. cwîr “cream” (GL/29).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWIR “stir, spin” to preserve these Early Qenya words, perhaps as a variant of √KWER “revolve”.

qolo

root. *disease

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qolo- “ail” and ᴱQ. qolu “disease” (QL/78).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWOL to preserve some of these Early Qenya words, but bear in mind there is strong evidence that the combination quo- was not possible in Tolkien later iterations of Quenya, as discussed in the entry for how [[q|[wo] became [o]]] in Quenya.

qḷtḷ

root. *belt, girdle

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. qalta “girdled, girt” and ᴱQ. qilta “belt, girdle” (QL/78).

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWILIT “belt, girdle” to preserve some of these Early Qenya words.

qama

root. *sick

qṇtṇ

root. *fill; full

qivi

root. *awake

qṇtā́

adjective. full

qṇ́tā

adjective. whole, all

qala

root. die

qele

root. perish, die, decay, fade

qete

root. *speak

qingi

root. *bow

qipi

root. *awaken

qata

root. *fill; full

qiri

root. *murmur

qoso

root. *choke, suffocate, drown

qořo

root. *choke, suffocate, drown

miqi

root. kiss

The root ᴱ√MIQI “kiss” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. miq- “to kiss” and ᴱQ. miqele “kissing” (QL/61). Derivatives also appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. mib “a little kiss, a peck” and G. mictha- “kiss, bill” (GL/57). The word ᴱQ. miqilitse “little or tender kiss” appeared in the ᴱQ. Nieninqe poem from the 1920s (MC/215; PE16/90, 92). Tolkien created a new version of this poem in 1955 and reused many of the same words, including Q. mikwi- “kiss” and Q. miquelis “(soft, sweet) kiss” (PE16/96); the latter also appeared as ᴹQ. miqilis “kiss” in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/33). These later examples support the ongoing validity of this root, perhaps as ✱√MIKW.

ḷqḷ

root. rend

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√(U)ḶQ(U)Ḷ and glossed “rend”, having what appears to be unglossed verb forms ᴱQ. ulqin “✱I rend” and alqe “✱rended [past]” as derivatives (QL/97). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

piqi

root. *bitter

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. píqa “bitter” and ᴱQ. piqis(se) “grief” (QL/74). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pigwa “bitter” and G. piglin “urine” (GL/64). Later words for “bitter” were derived from the root ᴹ√SAG.

uqu

root. wet

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “wet”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. úqa “wet” and ᴱQ. úqil “rain” (QL/98). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. ub⁽⁾ “wet” and G. uch “rain” (GL/74). In later writings Tolkien used different roots for “wet”.

niqi

root. white

qaha

root. QAHA

qara

root. QARA

qoðo Reconstructed

root. *choke, suffocate, drown

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√QOŘO [QOÐO] having derivatives like ᴱQ. qoro- “choke, suffocate, drown” and ᴱQ. qonda “choking smog, smoke” (QL/78); it also had a variant form (probably a distinct root) ᴱ√QOSO from which ᴱQ. qosse “mist” was likely derived.

Neo-Eldarin: I think it worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWOD to preserve some of these Early Qenya words, but bear in mind there is strong evidence that the combination quo- was not possible in Tolkien later iterations of Quenya, as discussed in the entry for how [[q|[wo] became [o]]] in Quenya.

gwili

root. *peace, quiet

wara

root. care for, guard, watch (over)

This root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√QARA “care for, guard, watch (over)” along with derivatives ᴱQ. qāra “watch, ward”, ᴱQ. qārele “watchfulness, anxiety”, and Gnomish variant gwar- (QL/76). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon G. gwar- appear with the gloss “watch (all senses)” with an apparent primitive form u̯ar “guard” (GL/46). This may represent a conceptual shift from primitive {ᴱ✶gʷar- >>} ᴱ✶war-, with earlier Qenya kʷar- being the result of the usual change whereby initial voiced stops were unvoiced [gʷ- > kʷ-]. Further evidence of this shift may be found in ᴱQ. Varavilindo, Qenya cognate of G. Gwarbilin “Birdward(en)” (GL/70), where the Qenya form was the result of w becoming v.

The most notable derivative of this root was G. gwareth “watch, guard, ward” as in G. Amon Gwareth “Hill of Watch” (LT2/158), a name that retained this form and meaning into Silmarillion drafts of the early 1930s (SM/137). In the mid-1930s, Tolkien considered changing the name to N. Amon Thoros (LR/56), but ultimately retained this name as S. Amon Gwareth into the 1950s, though without translation (WJ/200; S/126). It is thus possible this early root ᴱ√(G)WARA “guard” survived, but it just as likely that the name Amon Gwareth survived without being given a proper etymology in the Elvish languages as Tolkien imagined them in the 1950s and 60s.

kṇðṇ

root. shine

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√KṆŘṆ “shine” with derivatives in both Qenya and Gnomish, such as ᴱQ. kanda- “blaze”, G. cintha- “to light, set alight”, ᴱQ. kanwa “lurid”, and G. cantha “flame” (QL/47; GL/25-26). It may be a variant of ᴱ√KṚN “✱red” (QL/48). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

olo

root. tip

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “tip”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. óleme “elbow” and ᴱQ. ole “three” (QL/69). It seems to have served as the basis for ᴱ√LOHO, an early root for various flower words (QL/55). There are no signs that ᴱ√OLO was used for “tip” in Tolkien’s later writings (except perhaps in √OLOB “branch”), and ᴱ√LOHO evolved into √LOT(H) “flower”.

tyaka

root. hew

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “hew” with derivative ᴱQ. tyakta- of the same meaning (QL/49). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

ū

root. under

The root ᴱ√Ū⁽¹⁾ “under” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a reduced form of {ᴱ√UGU >>} ᴱ√UƷU, with derivatives like ᴱQ. ū “beneath” and ᴱQ. umbe “dale, dell” (QL/96-97). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. um⁽⁾ “lowlying” and G. umbel “a dell” (GL/74). Tolkien noted that ᴱ√Ū also meant “not”, and contrasted ᴱ√Ū¹ “under” with ᴱ√NŪ (ᴱ√NUHU) of similar meaning (QL/68, 96). Indeed, in Tolkien’s later writings, √NŪ/UNU was the usual basis for “under” words, and ᴱ√Ū¹ “under” seems to have been abandoned.

feŋe

root. *cut

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with Qenya derivatives having to do with cutting (QL/38). The contemporaneous Gnomish word G. feng “arrow” is likely derived from this root (GL/34). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

maþa

root. dusk

This root was given as ᴱ√MASA¹ “dusk” in its main entry in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but its Gnomish form math- indicates the true root was ᴱ√MAÞA (QL/59). This was clarified in a list of roots at the end of the M-section in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/63) and its representation as maþ- in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/59). Its most notable use in the legendarium was in the name G. Umboth-muilin “Pools (muil-plural) of Twilight (umboth)”, where G. umboth or umbath “nightfall” was derived from a strengthened form of the root, ᴱ√mbaþ- (GL/75). However, in later writings this name was reconceived as Ilk. Umboth Muilin “Veiled (muilin) Pool (umboth)”, with the first element umboth meaning “large pool” (Ety/MBOTH, MUY). The name was ultimately replaced with S. Aelin-uial (S/114), by which point the early root ᴱ√MAÞA was long abandoned.

huyu Speculative

root. *fog

A hypothetical early root explaining the words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s such as G. huir “foggy” and G. huith “fog” (GL/49). It may have been a variant of ᴱ√ǶUẎU “✱night” (QL/41).

alchwa

noun. swan

gwṛðṛ

root. die

ini

root. small

kasa

root. head

kere

root. turn

kulu

root. gold

leẇe

root. *sick

nele

root. point

saχ[a]

noun. fire

sōđā

noun. house

tiw̯i

root. thick

tyulu

root. tall

vī

root. as

kapa-

verb. to leap

mẓđē

noun. mist

nindyā

adjective. blue

ornĕ

noun. tree

sleiwa

adjective. pale

sḷp-

verb. to drink

t’lépe

noun. silver

ukko

noun. rain

þoro Reconstructed

root. eagle

aya(la) Speculative

root. lake

bapa Speculative

root. drink

A (hypothetical) early root to explain Gnomish words from the 1910s like bab- “to drink”. It was almost certainly replaced by later roots like √SOK and √YUL.

liŋi Reconstructed

root. snake

vo(no) Reconstructed

root. son

dak-

verb. to slay

gṝgo

noun. throat

kulū

noun. gold

kwere

root. turn

kyere

root. turn

kṇřṇ

root. shine

lefe

root. half

lehe

root. half

mī

root. in

āra

noun. smith