rista-

verb. *to cut, [ᴹQ.] to cut

A verb appearing as ᴹQ. rista- “cut” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√RIS “slash, rip” (Ety/RIS).

A similar set of forms “rista & risse, rinse” appeared in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s derived from √RIS “cut” as part of a discussion of the etymology of S. Imladris (PE17/87). These could be various noun or adjective forms, equivalent to the final element of Imladris, but in that note Tolkien said that Sindarin element was derived from primitive ✶rinsa “cleft, cloven, separate”. Therefore, I think these Quenya forms might instead be a formative or causative verb rista- “✱to cut” with strong pasts risse or rinse.

Neo-Quenya: Given the uncertain nature of the forms from WP, I would assume rista- is (or became) an ordinary weak verb for purposes of Neo-Quenya, with a past form ✱ristane. Given the meaning of its 1930s root (“slash, rip”), I would further assume its connotation is “cut [into]” as opposed to Q. cir- “cut completely, cut apart”.

rista

cut

rista (2) noun "cut" (RIS), cf. #1 above.

cir-

verb. to cut, to cut, [ᴱQ.] cleave; *to separate from

A verb for “to cut, cleave”. Its root √KIR is well established and has the same basic meaning (PE17/73; Ety/KIR). In notes for drafts of the Earendel (Poem) from around 1930, ᴱQ. kiri- was glossed “cleave” (PE16/100), and its past form was used in this sense in the finished version of the poem as part of the phrase langon veakiryo kírier “the throat of the sea-ship clove [the waters]” (MC/216). The best evidence for its meaning “cut” in later notes is in the pair of prefixed verbs aucir- and hócir- “cut off” in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/365, 368).

This verb also appeared in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s in the phrase métima hrestallo círa “leave the last shore” (MC/221). Helge Fauskanger suggested that in this context it might mean “sail” as in “✱cut through the water” (AL/Markirya, QQ/círa). However, I think the intended meaning is actually “leave = cleave (from)”, in combination with ablative hrestallo “[from] the last shore”.

Neo-Quenya: Based on the above, I think cir- has the connotation of “cut [completely]”, so as to cleave apart the thing cut, as opposed to rista- “cut [into]”. As such I think cir- can also be used metaphorically to mean “✱separate from” when combined with the ablative.

narca-

to rend

narca- ("k")vb. "to rend" (NÁRAK; the form "narki" in LR is a misreading for narka; see VT45:37)

rissë

cut

rissë noun? The word is not clearly glossed but apparently means "cut" or "cleft" (ravine), the cognate of the final element of Imladris, Sindarin name of Rivendell. (PE17:87)