rauro

noun. lion

The common Quenya word for “lion” (more literally “roarer”) appearing in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s, as opposed to archaic Q. †rá (PE19/99, 104); see that entry for further discussion of its conceptual development.

rauro

noun. lion

lion

raurossë

place name. Roaring-rain

The Quenya equivalent of S. Rauros (PE19/99). Its initial element is some derivative of the root ᴹ√RAW “✱roar” and the second element is rossë “fine rain, dew”. See S. Rauros for further discussion.

Rauros(se)

noun. roaring-rain

roaring-rain, name of a loud waterfall

rau

lion

rau (pl. rávi) noun "lion" (LT1:260; the pl. of this "Qenya" form is valid in Tolkien's later Quenya as well, but the sg. he changed to rá, q.v.)

rá

noun. lion

An archaic word for “lion” mentioned in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s, versus more common Q. rauro (PE19/99, 104).

Conceptual Development: This word has a lengthy history in Tolkien’s conception of Elvish, dating all the way back to ᴱQ. rau “lion” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a derivative of the early root ᴱ√RAVA (QL/79). In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had rú “lion” (PE21/40). It appeared in The Etymologies from later in the 1930s as ᴹQ. rá “lion” derived from primitive ᴹ✶rāu [rāw] under the root ᴹ√RAW, with plural form rávi (Ety/RAW).

In the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from this period Tolkien had (unglossed) rāva < rāwa (PE19/62), but in Notes for Qenya Declensions from the 1940s Tolkien had (unglossed) rāu < rắwă (PE21/69). The last clear mention in currently published materials is in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s, as discussed above.

rá

lion

rá (2) noun "lion", stem #ráv- as in the pl. rávi (RAW). Compare rau.

rá†

noun. lion

lion

raurō

noun. roarer

rāw

noun. lion

rauros

place name. Roaring Spray

The falls from S. Nen Hithoel past Tol Brandir (LotR/366, 373). It was translated as “Roaring Spray” in Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/327). Its initial element is some derivative of the root ᴹ√RAW “✱roar” and the second element is ross “spray”.

Possible Etymology: The precise language of this name is unclear, but most of the nearby geographic features are named in Sindarin, as were the earlier forms of this name, making it likely this is a Sindarin name as well. In his Outline of Phonology from the 1950s, Tolkien gave this name as Rauros(se) “roaring-rain”, related to Q. raurō “lion” (PE19/99). This hints that this name might be Quenya, but I believe this example merely indicates the Quenya/Sindarin equivalents of this name: Q. Raurosse and S. Rauros.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the first name for these falls was N. Rosfein >> Rhosfein (TI/273, TI/283), revised to N. Dant-ruin >> Dant-ruinel (TI/283, TI/285) and finally to N. Rauros (TI/285, 316), the last of these names translated “Rush-rain, Roar-rain”.

Rauros

noun. roaring foam

rau (“lion”) + ros (“foam, rain”) The original form of ros is probably ross with the final s dropped at the end of a polysyllable [HKF].

Rauros

Rauros

In his unfinished index, Tolkien glossed the name Rauros as "roaring spray". A pencilled annotation in a manuscript also gives the translation "Rush-rain" or "Roar-rain". In another manuscript, the name Rauros(se) is said to be composed of raw and ros, and meaning "roaring rain". It is noted that the repetition of r in a name is usually retained in those with "phonetic or onomatopoeic significance".

raw

noun. lion

raw

lion

*raw (pl. roe, idh roe). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhaw, pl rhui. Homophones mean ”bank” (of river) and also ”rush, roaring noise”.

raw

noun. lion

raw

lion

(pl. roe, idh roe). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhaw, pl rhui. Homophones mean ”bank” (of river) and also ”rush, roaring noise”.

rauros

place name. Rush-rain, Roar-rain

rhaw

noun. lion

rhaw

noun. lion

A noun appearing as N. rhaw “lion” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶rāu [rāw] under the root ᴹ√RAW (Ety/RAW), where the initial r was unvoiced to rh as was generally the case in Noldorin. It had a Noldorin plural form of rhui.

Conceptual Development: G. rau “lion” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/65), probably a derivative of the early root ᴱ√RAVA like its cognate ᴱQ. rau “lion” (QL/79).

Neo-Sindarin: Since the unvoicing of initial liquids did not occur in Sindarin, many people adapt this word as ᴺS. raw “lion” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, as suggested in HSD (HSD). Its Sindarin-style plural is more likely to be roe(w) rather than ✱✱rui: compare Sindarin plural S. noeg of naug “dwarf” (UT/100) vs. its Noldorin plural N. nuig (EtyAC/NAUK).