olva

noun. plant, growing things with roots in the earth

A word for plants appearing only in its plural form olvar “plants” (S/45; NM/270). It may be related to the roots √OLOB “branch” and √OL “grow”, hence “growing thing” as opposed to a celva = “moving thing” (WJ/341). For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think this word refers mainly to plants as a category of beings (as in the Plant Kingdom), as opposed to an individual plant which would laima.

olvar

growing things with roots in the earth, *plants

olvar (sg. #olva) noun "growing things with roots in the earth, *plants" (Silm). Apparently more or less the same word as olwa, olba, which is however glossed "branch". Cf. laima.

tarmasundar

place name. Roots of the Pillar

A set of ridges extending from Meneltarma into each of the five regions (points of the “star”) of Númenor, translated “Roots of the Pillar” (UT/166). This name is a compound of tarma “pillar” and the plural form sundar, a variant sunda of sundo “base”.

sulca

root

sulca ("k") noun "root" (especially as edible) (SÚLUK)

sundo

noun. base, root, root-word, base, root, [ᴹQ.] root-word

A word translated as “base” (PE18/33, 60, 84; WJ/319) or in its plural form as “roots” (PE18/95). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. sundo “base, root, root-word” under the root ᴹ√SUD “base, ground” (Ety/SUD). The word Sundokarme “base structure” indicates a stem of sundo- (PE18/33, 84). In one place Tolkien gave its plural as sundur indicating a stem form of sundu- (PE18/95), but in another Tolkien had sundar “roots” indicating an alternate singular form sunda (UT/166). See S. thond “root” for a discussion of the vacillations on the possible etymologies of this word.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s also had ᴹQ. numbe or núve “root, foundation” under the root {ᴹ√(N)DUM >>} ᴹ√(N)DUB “lay base, foundation, root; found”, but this entry was deleted (EtyAC/NDUB).

numbë

root, foundation

[numbë noun "root, foundation", also núvë (VT45:38)]

núvë

root, foundation

[núvë noun "root, foundation", also numbë (VT45:38)]

kulbu

noun. root

A noun appearing only in its plural form kulbî “roots”, corresponding to the collective-noun kulub “roots, edible vegetables that are roots not fruits” (SD/431). As such, it most likely refers to root vegetables only, rather than other senses of the English word “root”.

kulub

collective noun. roots, edible vegetables that are roots not fruits

A collective-noun meaning “all edible root vegetables”, as opposed to kulbu used for an individual root (SD/431).

thond

noun. root, root, [N.] base; root-word

A noun in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E glossed “root”, given as an examples of how “nd remained at the end of fully accented monosyllables” (LotR/1115). It was an element in the river-name S. Morthond “Black Root” (LotR/770), so named “because its source was in the dark caverns of the Dead Men” (RC/766). As such this word refers to things that are the root or base of something, not just plant roots.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. sunn and sonnas as cognates to ᴹQ. sundo “base, root, root-word” under ᴹ√SUD “base, ground” (Ety/SUD; EtyAC/SUD). These Noldorin forms were revised to N. thund/thonn and N. thonnas while the root was revised to ᴹ√STUD (EtyAC/SUD). The Etymologies also had N. dum “root, foundation” derived from {ᴹ√(N)DUM >>} ᴹ√(N)DUB “lay base, foundation, root; found”, but this entry was deleted (EtyAC/NDUB).

Possible Etymology: This words seems to be a counterexample to the general rule that short *u* was preserved before nasals: compare it to S. mund “bull” and N. lhunt “boat” where the u remained unchanged. The Quenya cognate of this word is typically Q. sundo, so *a*-affection cannot be used to explain the shift of u to o. However in one place Tolkien gave the Quenya form as sunda in Tarmasundar “Roots of the Pillar” (UT/166), so perhaps the Sindarin form was derived from a variant primitive form ✱stundā.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume thond refers only to an ordinary base or root, and more abstract [N.] thonnas refers to things like root-words or a “✱foundation”.

thond

noun. root

thond

noun. root

n. root.

thond

root

1. thond (construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath), 2) thonnas, pl. thennais (archaic *thönnais) (VT46:16), 3) thund (construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16), 4) (esp. of edible roots) solch (i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)

solch

root

(i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)

thond

root

(construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath)

thonnas

root

pl. thennais (archaic ✱thönnais) (VT46:16)

thund

root

(construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16)

solch

noun. root (especially as edible)

A noun in The Etymologies from around 1937 glossed “root (especially as edible)” and derived from ᴹ√SULUK (Ety/SÚLUK).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. tarc “root (especially edible roots)” and related G. tricthon {“slender fibrous root” >>} “(fibrous fine) root”, both derived from ᴱ√tṛk (GL/69, 71).

dum

noun. root, foundation

solch

noun. root (especially as edible)

thonn

noun. base, root, root-word

thonnas

noun. base, root, root-word, root-word; *foundation; base, root

kulub

root. *root (as a kind of plant)

One of the Primitive Adûnaic roots Tolkien used to illustrate the processes of Primitive Adûnaic word formation (SD/422-5). It also seems to be the root of words such as kulbu and kulub “root (as a kind of plant)” (SD/431), perhaps an deliberate pun by Tolkien.