litsë
sand
littë
noun. ash
A neologism for “ash” coined by Helge Fauskanger in his NQNT (NQNT), the Quenya equivalent of S. lith “ash”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s the Quenya cognate of N. lith was ᴹQ. litse (Ety/LIT), but in that document these words were glossed “sand”. Introducing a separate neologism ᴺQ. littë “ash” helps keep these two senses distinct.
Cognates
- S. lith “ash, ash; [N.] sand”
Derivations
- ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit”
lith
noun. ash, ash; [N.] sand
A noun for “ash” appearing as an element in names like Lithlad “Plain of Ashes” (RC/457) and Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash” (WJ/239-240), as well as in the adjective lithui “ashy, ashen” (RGEO/66, RC/765). It is translated as “dust” in the name Anfauglith “Gasping Dust” (S/150), but since this is the name for Ard-galen after the region was burned by the forces of Morgoth, this may simply be a loose translation for “ash”.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. lith was glossed “sand” from primitive ᴹ✶litse under the root ᴹ√LIT (Ety/LIT), and in this document N. Fauglith was translated “Thirsty Sand” (Ety/PHAU), as opposed to its original translation from the 1920s and early-to-mid 1930s which was simply “Thirst” (LB/275; SM/26, 101; LR/280).
Neo-Sindarin: For Neo-Sindarin I’d use lith mainly in its 1950s-60s sense “ash” but also allow its 1930s sense “sand”, but for “dust” I’d use [N.] ast. @@@ Maybe it would be better to coin a neologism for “sand”?
Cognates
- ᴺQ. littë “ash”
Derivations
- ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit”
Element in
- S. Anfauglith “Gasping Dust” ✧ SA/lith
- S. Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash” ✧ SA/lith
- S. Lithir “?Ash River”
- S. Lithlad “Plain of Ashes” ✧ SA/lith
- S. lithui “ashen, ashy, of ash, ash-coloured, dusty” ✧ RC/765; SA/lith
lith
noun. ash, sand, dust
lith
sand
lith (sand, dust) (Names:178), no distinct pl. form.
lith
sand
(sand, dust) (Names:178), no distinct pl. form.
lith
ash
lith (sand, dust), no distinct pl. form.
lith
ash
(sand, dust), no distinct pl. form.****
lith
noun. sand
Cognates
- ᴹQ. litse “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources On. litthe > lith [liθθe] > [liθθ] > [liθ] ✧ Ety/LIT
lith
noun. ash, sand, dust
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
litse
noun. sand
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sand” derived from the root ᴹ√LIT (Ety/ERE). Its Noldorin cognate N. lith was in later writings glossed as S. lith “ash”, so it is possible this word also shifted in meaning, but Helge Fauskanger used the neologism ᴺQ. littë for “ash” in his NQNT (NQNT) to keep the two words distinct, an approach that I also advocate.
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶litse > litse [litse] ✧ Ety/LIT
litthe
noun. sand
Cognates
- ᴹQ. litse “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
Derivations
Derivatives
- N. lith “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶litse > litthe [litse] > [liθθe] ✧ Ety/LIT
litse
noun. sand
Cognates
- ᴹQ. litse “sand” ✧ Ety/LIT
Derivations
- ᴹ√LIT “*(fine) grit” ✧ Ety/LIT
Derivatives
mara
noun. sand
marol
noun. sand
A noun with variants marol and mara in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “sand”, probably a derivative of the root ᴱ√MARA (GL/56); see the entry on the root for further discussion. In later writings, Tolkien used N. lith for “sand”.
Derivations
- ᴱ√MARA “*sand, soil” ✧ GL/56
Variations
- mara ✧ GL/56
mara
root. *sand, soil
A root appearing in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as root {ᴱ√MAŘA² >>} ᴱ√MARA that Tolkien indicated was a dialectical variation or byform of ᴱ√MṚŘṚ [MṚÐṚ] “grind”, with a single derivative: ᴱQ. marilla “pearl” (QL/59). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, G. brithla “pearl” was most likely a derivative of ᴱ√MṚÐṚ (GL/24). However, in the m-section of GL Tolkien said “mar and môr probably conceal two roots and a confusion [with] mbara”, with various apparent derivatives of mar- such as G. mar “Earth, ground, soil”, G. marol “sand” and G. Môr “the Earth” (GL/56). Tolkien also had G. mara- “dwell”, but it appeared before a variant (m)bara and so likely was derived from ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live” as mentioned in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/60). As for ᴱ√MARA² itself, it may have meant “✱sand, soil”.
Changes
MAŘA²→ MARA ✧ QL/059Derivatives
Variations
- mar ✧ GL/56
- mar- ✧ GL/58
- MARA ✧ QL/059 (MARA)
- MAŘA² ✧ QL/059 (
MAŘA²)
marma
noun. sand
A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “sand”, a derivative of the root ᴱ√MṚŘṚ [MṚÐṚ] (QL/63). The word was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/63). In later writings, ᴹQ. litse was used for “sand” (Ety/LIT).
Derivations
- ᴱ√MṚÐṚ “grind” ✧ QL/063
Element in
- Eq. marmale “beach” ✧ QL/063
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴱ√MṚŘṚ > marma [mṛðmā] > [mṛðma] > [marðma] > [mardma] > [marma] ✧ QL/063
tyusse
noun. sand
A word for “sand” from Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/139). Its etymology is unclear, and none of the words from this period with similar forms seem to be related.
litsë noun "sand" (LIT)