Adûnaic

sapthân

noun. wise man, wizard

A noun translated “wise man, wizard” given as an example of the phonetic development of primitive aspirates in contact with stops (SD/421). According to Tolkien, it was pronounced [safθān], indicating that the combination pth would be pronounced as a voiceless labial fricative [f] followed by a voiceless dental fricative [θ]. Given the phonetic rules of Adûnaic, most voiceless stops would be pronounced as fricatives before another fricative in Classical Adûnaic.

Derivations

  • ✶Ad. saphdān “wise man, wizard” ✧ SD/421

Elements

WordGloss
saphad-“to understand”
-ân“agental suffix”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶Ad. saphdān > sapthān[sapʰdān] > [sapʰtʰān] > [sapʰθān] > [safθān]✧ SD/421

Variations

  • sapthān ✧ SD/421

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!

Primitive adûnaic

saphdān

noun. wise man, wizard

The primitive form of sapthân “wise man, wizard”, derived from the root ✶Ad. √SAPHAD (SD/421). Its final element -ān may be a primitive form of the agental suffix -ân.

Derivatives

  • Ad. sapthân “wise man, wizard” ✧ SD/421
Primitive adûnaic [SD/421] Group: Eldamo. Published by