Primitive elvish
sĭnā
adjective. this
Derivatives
Variations
- sĭna ✧ PE17/044
sin
root. this
si
root. this, this, [ᴹ√] here, now
Derivatives
Element in
Variations
- SĬ/SĬN ✧ PE17/067; PE17/184
- SI ✧ VT48/25
ista-
verb. to know
Derivations
- √IS “know” ✧ PE22/129; PE22/134
Variations
- ista ✧ PE22/129; PE22/134; PE22/135; PE22/158
- is-ta ✧ PE22/134
Tolkien used √SI as the basis for “near demonstratives” like “here” and “now” from very early in his writings on Elvish. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had two competing roots ᴱ√HYA “this by us” with derivatives like ᴱQ. hyá “here by us” (QL/41) and ᴱ√KI “this by me” with derivative ᴱQ. tyá (< ᴱ✶kı̯-ā) “now” (QL/41, 49). Indications of the latter can be seen words in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. cî {“now” >>} “here” and G. cîrin “present (place or time), modern” [gloss deleted] (GL/26). However, Tolkien also introduced a new root ᴱ√si(n) “this here by me” with derivatives like G. sî “here” and G. sith “hither” (GL/68). Revisions of Gnomish ci- word glosses indicate Tolkien was vacillating on which forms were temporal and which were spatial.
In The Etymologies Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√SI “this, here, now” with derivatives like ᴹQ. sí or sin “now” and ᴹQ. sinya/N. sein “new” (Ety/SI). The root √SI was mentioned a couple times in Tolkien’s later writings, usually glossed “this” (PE17/67; VT48/25; VT49/18) and in one place with the variant √SIN (PE17/67). This root was not entirely without competition in Tolkien’s later notes, however: in one place he gave primitive ✶khĭn- as the possible basis for Q. hí “here” and S. hí “now” in 1968 notes on demonstratives, though it appeared beside primitive ✶si- forms (VT49/34 note #21).