rim

root. abound; large number

A likely precursor to this root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√‘(A)ṚM(A)R and ᴱ√‘ṚMṚ with a Gnomish form ᴱ√grimri· (QL/32), indicating the actual primitive form was ✱ᴱ√ƷṚMṚ. Derivatives of this early root include ᴱQ. arm- “gather, collect” and G. grim “host, folk”, the last of these the likely precursor to N. rhim.

The root ᴹ√RIM appeared in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, glossed “host, large number” >> “number, plenty” (PE21/57). It also appeared in The Etymologies written around 1937, with gloss “abound” and derivatives such as ᴹQ. rimbe/N. rhim “crowd, host” (Ety/RIM). The roots ᴹ√SRĪ, SRĬMĬ, and SRIMBI “abound” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from the late 1940s, quickly revised to ᴹ√RĪ, RĬMĬ, and RIMBI (PE23/100 note #34). Quenya and Sindarin forms Q. rimbë and S. rim continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writing (Let/382; PE17/50; UT/318), so it is likely the root √RIM remained valid, especially given the prevalence of suffix -rim in Sindarin collective names.

kol

root. round, (?rim)

ringi

root. cold

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

lai-

prefix. *many

lin

root. pool

lī

noun. number

skel

root. *strip

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. helda/N. hell “naked”, ᴹQ. helma “skin, fell” and N. helf “fur” (Ety/SKEL). The root was initially given as ᴹ√SKAL, and various forms had a >> e after ᴹ√SKAL >> ᴹ√SKEL (EtyAC/SKEL).

ub

root. abound