ham-

sit

ham- (1) vb. "sit" (KHAM)

ista

knowledge

ista (1) noun "knowledge" (IS). Also istya.

har-

sit, stay

har- vb. "sit, stay", pl. present hárar in CO (i hárar "those who sit, those who are sitting"). Imperative hara in the phrase (hara) máriessë "(stay) in happiness" (PE17:162). According to VT45:20, har- "sit" is derived from a stem KHAD which Tolkien abandoned in the Etymologies, but since CO is later than Etym, he may seem to have restored KHAD. If so, the past tense of har- would be *handë.

istya

knowledge

istya noun "knowledge" (IS). Also ista (#1).

istare

noun. knowledge

har-

verb. to sit, stay, to sit, stay, [ᴱQ.] remain; [ᴹQ.] to dwell, abide, reside

Derivations

• √KHAD “sit”

Element in

• ᴺQ. epeharmo “president”
• Q. (hara) máriessë “(stay) in happiness” ✧ PE17/162
• Q. nai tiruvantes i hárar mahalmassen mi Númen “in the keeping of those who sit upon thrones of the West” ✧ UT/305

issë

knowledge, lore

issë noun "knowledge, lore" (LT2:339; rather ista or istya in Tolkien's later Quenya)

handë

knowledge, understanding, intelligence

handë noun "knowledge, understanding, intelligence" (KHAN). Note: *handë is (probably) also the past tense of the verb har- "sit".

Nolmë

knowledge, philosophy (including science)

Nolmë ("ñ")noun "knowledge, Philosophy (including Science)" (PM:360 cf. 344)

gûl

noun. knowledge

n. knowledge, deep knowledge not 'occult' in modern sense, but applied to the deper knowledge of the 'wise' or skilled persons, not kept secret (as [?among the] Elves) but not attainable by all. Q. ñōle, B.S. gûl phantom, shadow of dark magic, necromancer, slave, servant?. The B.S. word gûl was prob. derived from ngōl-.

caeda-

verb. sit

hav

sit

hav- (i châf, i chevir), pa.t. hamp (with endings hemmi-, as in hemmin ”I sat”) or havant. (VT45:20)

hav

sit

(i châf, i chevir), pa.t. hamp (with endings hemmi-, as in hemmin ”

hadh-

verb. to sit

Derivations

• √KHAD “sit”

Element in

• ᴺS. hannen “seated”

ist

knowledge

ist (lore); no distinct pl. form.

ist

knowledge

(lore); no distinct pl. form.

ista

have knowledge

(i ista, in istar), pa.t. sint or istas (VT45:18).

khad

root. sit

The roots √KHAD and √KHAM were in competition for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” for a significant portion of Tolkien’s life. Both roots have antecedants in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but in that early document the root for “sit” was given as ᴱ√ÐORO or ᴱ√SORO (QL/85), replacing rejected ᴱ√SOŘO [ᴱ√SOÐO] and ᴱ√SODO (QL/85). Of these, the true form was clearly ᴱ√ÐORO given Gnomish derivative G. dorn “seat”, G. doros “throne”, G. dortha- “settle” (GL/30). This root seems to have been abandoned in Tolkien’s later writing, though N. dortha- “dwell, stay” was reassigned to ᴹ√NDOR in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NDOR).

As for √KHAD and √KHAM, their clearest antecedents in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s were ᴱ√HAÐA “cleave, remain” and ᴱ√HAM (QL/39), the latter without gloss but with derivatives having to do with the ground such as ᴱQ. hamba “on the ground” and G. ham “ground” (QL/39; GL/48). Some variant of ᴱ√HAÐA seems to have drifted in the direction of “sit” based on ᴱN. haud “seat” from Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s (PE13/147, 155).

Tolkien initially used the root ᴹ√KHAD for words having to do with “sit” and “seat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/KHAM), but it was replaced by ᴹ√KHAM “sit” (Ety/KHAM) and this root seems to have survived for some time, since ᴹ√KHAM “sit down” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 (PE22/103). However, at some point Tolkien added a new root ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” to The Etymologies, and in this new entry he said “KHAM sit (replacing KHAD, cancelled)” indicating ᴹ√KHAD was restored (EtyAC/KHAM²). This seems to represent an ongoing vacillation between √KHAD and √KHAM in the 1930s and 40s.

However, √KHAD “sit” appeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa written around 1950 (PE18/95), Q. hárar “sit” (not ✱✱hámar) appears in Cirion’s Oath (UT/305), and in late notes on verbs from 1969 Tolkien had ✶khadmā “seat” as the basis for Q. hanw̃a S. haðw (PE22/148). There are no signs of √KHAM “sit” in this period, so it seems Tolkien chose √KHAD for “sit” in the 1950s and 60s.

Neo-Eldarin: I think √KHAD “sit” is the best choice for Neo-Eldarin, since it also lets us use ᴹ√KHAM “call to, summon, name by name” more freely.

Derivatives

• ✶khadmā “seat”
  • Q. hanwa “seat, seat, *chair” ✧ PE22/148
  • S. hadhu “seat, seat, *chair” ✧ PE22/148
  • S. hadhwa- “to seat” ✧ PE22/148
• ✶khādo
  • Q. háro “[unglossed]” ✧ PE22/148
• ✶khazd- ✧ PE18/095
• Q. har- “to sit, stay, to sit, stay, [ᴱQ.] remain; [ᴹQ.] to dwell, abide, reside”
• ᴺQ. haru- “to sit down, take a seat”
• ᴺS. hadh- “to sit”
• S. hadhwa- “to seat”

mbar-

verb. to dwell

Derivations

• √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ PE22/131

Derivatives

• Q. mar- “to abide, be settled or fixed, to abide, be settled or fixed, [ᴱQ.] dwell, live”

sit

root. *custom, habit

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. sitina “habitual, customary, accustomed, usual, ordinary, common”
• ᴺQ. sito “custom, habit”
• ᴺQ. sitta- “I am used to, I do habitually”
• ᴺQ. situ- “to be accustomed [to]”

hadh-

verb. sit

Changes

• hað- → haf- “sit” ✧ EtyAC/KHAM

Derivations

• ᴹ√KHAD ✧ EtyAC/KHAM

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KHAD > hað-	[kʰad-] > [xad-] > [xað-] > [hað-]	✧ EtyAC/KHAM

Variations

• hað- ✧ EtyAC/KHAM (hað-)

haf-

verb. to sit

haf-

verb. to sit

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ham- “to sit (down), be situated in” ✧ Ety/KHAM

Derivations

• ᴹ√KHAM “sit (down)” ✧ Ety/KHAM

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KHAM > haf-	[kʰam-] > [xam-] > [ham-] > [hav-]	✧ Ety/KHAM

ista-

verb. to have knowledge