cinta

small

cinta adj. "small" (PE17:157)

cinta

adjective. small

Cognates

• S. cidinn “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/157

Derivations

• √KIT “*small” ✧ PE17/157

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√KIT > cinta	[kinta]	✧ PE17/157

inya

small

inya (2) adj. "small" (LT1:256; this "Qenya" word may be obsoleted by # 1 above)

mintë

small

mintë adj. "small" (VT45:35)

mitsa

small

mitsa adj. "small" (VT45:35) Another synonym from the same source, mitra, looks unusual for a Quenya word (because of the medial cluster tr)

nincë

small

*nincë (ninci*-) ("k")adj. "small". The form is given as "ninki" with the last vowel marked as short; this is probably the etymological form that would underlie Quenya nincë. The word is said to mean "small" with "good senses"; contrast nípa**, *nimpë. (VT48:18)

nitya

small

#nitya adj. "small" (VT48:15, PM:365)

níca

small

níca ("k")adj. "small". The word is said to mean "small" with "good senses"; contrast nípa, *nimpë. (VT47:26, VT48:18)

pinilya

small

pinilya adj. "small" (MC:220; this is "Qenya")

níca

adjective. little, small

Derivations

• √NIK “small” ✧ VT47/26; VT48/18

Element in

• Q. nícë “little finger”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√nik > níka	[nīka]	✧ VT47/26
√nik > níka	[nīka]	✧ VT48/18

Variations

• níka ✧ VT47/26; VT48/18

nimpë

small; small & frail

*nimpë (nimpi*-) adj. "small; small & frail". The form is given as "nimpi" with the last vowel marked as short; this is probably the etymological form that would underlie Quenya nimpë. The word is said to mean "small" with "connotation of weakness". Also nípa** (VT48:18)

nípa

small; small & frail

nípa adj. "small; small & frail". The word is said to mean "small" with "connotation of weakness". Also *nimpë (VT48:18)

nitya

adjective. little

Derivations

• √NIK “small”

Element in

• Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” ✧ PM/365

Variations

• Nitya ✧ PM/365 (Nitya)

pia

little

pia adj. "little" (PE17:115); variants picina ("k"), pincë ("k"), pitya

pia

adjective. little

Derivations

• √PEY “*little” ✧ PE17/115

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PEYE > pia	[peja] > [pia]	✧ PE17/115

picina

adjective. little

Derivations

• ᴹ√PIK “*tiny”

Variations

• pikina ✧ PE17/115
• pinke ✧ PE17/115

pincë

adjective. little

pitya

little

#pitya adj. "little" in Pityafinwë, Pitya-naucor

titta

little, tiny

titta adj. "little, tiny" (TIT)

tereva

fine, acute

tereva adj. "fine, acute" (TER/TERES), "piercing"_ (LT1:255; though glossed "fine, acute" in the Etymologies, the stem _TER is defined as "pierce")

cidinn

adjective. small

_ adj. _small. Q. cinta.

cinnog

adjective. small

_ adj. _small. Q. cinta.

niben

adjective. small, petty

niben

adjective. petty, petty, *small

Derivations

• √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” ✧ VT48/18

Element in

• S. Niben-nog “Petty Dwarf” ✧ UT/100
• S. Nogoth Niben “Petty Dwarf” ✧ WJ/388

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√nip > nipinā > niben	[nipinā] > [nipina] > [nipena] > [nipen] > [niben]	✧ VT48/18

Variations

• Niben ✧ WJ/388

nimp

adjective. small and frail

pîn

adjective. little

Similar words occur in Gnomish (pinig "tiny, little", PE/11:64) and in Qenya (pinea "small" etc., PE/12:73)

pîn

adjective. little

Derivations

• √PI(N) “little”

Element in

• S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” ✧ RC/536

lhind

adjective. fine, slender

niben

adjective. little finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

niben

petty

niben (small), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger (VT48:6).

niben

petty

(small), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger (VT48:6).

pigen

tiny

(lenited bigen; pl. pigin)

tithen

tiny

1) tithen (lenited dithen, pl. tithin) (little), 2) mîw (small, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form; 3) pigen (lenited bigen; pl. pigin)

tithen

tiny

(lenited dithen, pl. tithin) (little)

trîw

fine

(lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender)

mîw

small

1) mîw (tiny, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form, 2) niben (petty), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger. (VT48:6) 3) SMALL (and frail) nimp, no distinct pl. form (VT48:18)

mîw

small

(tiny, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form

niben

small

(petty), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger. (VT48:6) 

nimp

small

no distinct pl. form (VT48:18)

aew

small bird

. No distinct pl. form.

pêg

small spot

(i** bêg, construct peg) (dot), pl. pîg (i** phîg) 

tinu

small star

(i** dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds) (spark), analogical pl. tiny (i** thiny). Archaic tinw, so the coll. pl. is likely  tinwath.

glâd

small forest

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (wood), pl. glaid (in glaid).

hûb

small landlocked bay

(i chûb, o chûb, construct hub) (harbour, haven), pl. huib (i chuib).

tithen

little

1) tithen (lenited dithen, pl. tithin) (tiny), 2) pîn (lenited bîn; no distinct pl. form) (RC:536).

lhind

adjective. fine, slender

Element in

• ᴺS. lhinnas “slenderness, thinness”

tess

fine pierced hole

(i dess, construct tes), pl. tiss (i thiss). Older ters (VT46:18).

brand

fine

1) brand (high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind, 2) trîw (lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender) , 3) *lhind (slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

brand

fine

(high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind

lhind

fine

(slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

lhê

fine thread

(?i thlê or ?i lê – the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (spider filament), pl. lhî (?i lî). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlê.

mîw

tiny

(small, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form

nogotheg

petty-dwarf

(”dwarflet”), pl. negethig for archaic nögethig (WJ:388).

kin

root. *small

kit

root. *small

Tolkien gave the roots √KIN and √KIT with the gloss “small” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957; given Sindarin derivative S. cidinn, √KIT is the likelier of the two possibilities (PE17/157).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I recommend against using the Quenya derivative of this root, as there are other better-known Quenya words for “small”. In Sindarin, however, we have fewer options, and I think it is worth retaining this root for that branch of the Eldarin languages.

Derivatives

• Q. cinta “small” ✧ PE17/157
• S. cidinn “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/157
• S. cinnog “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/157

Variations

• KIN ✧ PE17/157

nik

root. small

One of various roots for “small” Tolkien used in his later writings. The root √NIK “small” first appeared in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/26; VT48/18), but was connected to the diminutive suffix ✶-i(n)ki which had a much longer conceptual history. One of the earliest known diminutive suffix was ᴱQ. -íne(a) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the root ᴱ√INI “small” (QL/42), which might be a precursor to √NIK; these suffixes reappeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 81). In the Gnomish Grammar of the 1910s, the word G. inc “small” was used as the basis for the “diminutive superlative” -inci (PE11/16).

In the Qenya Lexicon, Tolkien connected ᴱ√INI “small” to the root ᴱ√MINI of similar meaning (QL/42, 61). There are no signs of ᴱ√MINI “small” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but the word G. migin “little” (GL/57) hints at a (hypothetical) variant root ✱ᴱ√MIKI. Further support for ✱ᴱ√MIKI can be found in other diminutive forms in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s such as prefixal diminutive ᴱQ. mike- along adverbial ᴱQ. mike “little” (QL/48, 81), the latter appearing with the gloss “a bit” in the English-Qenya Dictionary from this period (PE15/70) along with other similar words in both the dictionary and the grammar. This ✱ᴱ√MIKI might be another precursor to √NIK. An early hint at √NIK itself might appear in the word ᴹQ. nikse “minnow, little fish” from the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/27).

In Noldorin and Sindarin, the primary diminutive suffix became -eg, which was connected to the Common Eldarin suffix -iki elsewhere in notes on hands and fingers (VT47/14 note #21). In the notes where √NIK “small” appeared in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the primitive diminutive as -inkĭ along with variants ikki, -iksi, -si, -ensi, -ki.

One of the main competing roots for “small” was ᴹ√PIK [see the entry for √PI(N)], itself with a lengthy conceptual history. The shift of pitya >> nitya “little” in the father name of Amrod from the late 1960s may represent a replacement of √PIK by √NIK (PM/365), but I think it is likelier the two roots coexisted with slightly different meanings, as was the case for their earlier precursors. In the notes from the late 1960s, √NIK was also contrasted with √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” (VT48/18), from which the word S. niben “petty” was derived, as in S. Nogoth Niben (WJ/388).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √NIK meant “small” in a neutral sense, √PIK “tiny” (along with variants √PĪ and √PIN) and √NIP “small and weak”. I would use these as the major Eldarin roots for “small” words, along with a number of other more specialized roots.

Derivatives

• ✶-i(n)ki “diminutive suffix” ✧ VT47/26; VT48/18
  • Q. -incë “diminutive ending”
  • S. -eg “diminutive/singular ending”
• ✶ninkĭ “small” ✧ VT48/18
• Q. níca “little, small” ✧ VT47/26; VT48/18
• ᴺQ. nihta “piece, bit (of indeterminate size)”
• ᴺQ. nihta- “to reduce, make small”
• ᴹQ. nikse “minnow, little fish”
• Q. nitya “little”
• S. niged “little finger”
• ᴺS. nigol “mouse, (lit.) small one”
• ᴺS. nítha- “to reduce, make small”
• T. nícë “little finger”

Element in

• ✶niktil “little [finger]” ✧ VT47/26

Variations

• nik ✧ VT47/26; VT48/18

nimpĭ

adjective. small

Derivations

• √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” ✧ VT48/18

Derivatives

• S. nimp “pale, pallid, white, pale, pallid, white; small and frail, [ᴱN.] wan, sickly” ✧ VT48/18
  • S. nim “white” ✧ SA/nim

ninkĭ

adjective. small

Derivations

• √NIK “small” ✧ VT48/18

pi(n) Reconstructed

root. little

Tolkien used a variety of roots for Elvish words for “small”. One early root was ᴱ√PIKI with variants ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. pínea “small” and ᴱQ. pinqe “slender, thin” (QL/73). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pinig “tiny, little” and G. pibin “small berry, haw” (GL/64).

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as unglossed {ᴹ√PEK >>} ᴹ√PIK with derivatives like N. pigen “tiny” and N. peg “small spot, dot” (Ety/PIK; EtyAC/PIK). Further evidence for this root can be seen in later words like Q. piki- or pitya “petty” (WJ/389) and Q. pik- “lessen, dwindle” (MC/223). A variant root √PEY appeared in a list of roots having to do with large and small, with a single derivative Q. pia “little” [< ✱peya], but it was immediately followed by the forms pikina, pinke, pitya which point back to √PIK (PE/117).

Further evidence of early forms ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ can also be seen in Tolkien’s later writings. There is S. ✱pîn “little” in S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” (RC/536), ✶pī {“small bird” >>} “small insect” (VT47/35), and T. pinke “little-one, baby” (VT48/6), though the last of these might be from √PIK. In any case it seems Tolkien continued to use all of √PI, √PIK and √PIN to form words for little things into the late 1960s.

In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, Tolkien changed pitya to Q. nitya in the name Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” (PM/353, 365 note #59), which may indicate a replacement of √PIK by √NIK, another root used regularly in Tolkien’s later writings for “small”. But I believe √PIK and √NIK may coexist with slightly different meanings: “tiny” vs. “small”; see the entry on √NIK for further discussion.

Derivatives

• ✶pī “small insect, fly”
  • Q. pí “small insect, fly, small insect, fly, *mite, gnat; [ᴱQ.] speck, spot, dot, mote” ✧ VT47/35
• ᴺS. pibin “small berry, haw”
• S. pîn “little”
• T. pincë “little-one, baby”

mithren

adjective. small

Cognates

• ᴹQ. mitsa “small” ✧ EtyAC/MIT; EtyAC/MIT

Derivations

• ᴹ√MIT “small” ✧ EtyAC/MIT
• ᴹ✶mitra “small” ✧ EtyAC/MIT
  • ᴹ√MIT “small” ✧ EtyAC/MIT

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MIT > mint	[minte] > [mintʰe] > [minθe] > [minθ] > [mint]	✧ EtyAC/MIT
ᴹ✶mitra > mithren	[?]	✧ EtyAC/MIT

Variations

• mint ✧ EtyAC/MIT (mint)

mîw

adjective. small, tiny, frail

mîw

adjective. small, tiny, frail

Cognates

• ᴹQ. míwa “small, tiny, frail” ✧ EtyAC/MIW²

Derivations

• ᴹ√MIW “*small, tiny, frail” ✧ EtyAC/MIW²

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MIW² > mîw	[mīwa] > [mīw]	✧ EtyAC/MIW²

tithen

adjective. little, tiny

thlind

adjective. fine, slender

thlinn

adjective. fine, slender

thlinn

adjective. fine, slender

Derivations

• ᴹ✶slindi “fine, delicate” ✧ Ety/SLIN
  • ᴹ√SLIN “*fine, delicate” ✧ Ety/SLIN

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶slindi > thlind > thlinn	[slindi] > [slinde] > [θlinde] > [θlind] > [θlinn]	✧ Ety/SLIN

trîw

adjective. fine, slender

pigen

adjective. tiny

pigen

adjective. tiny

Derivations

• On. pikina “tiny” ✧ Ety/PIK
  • ᴹ√PIK “*tiny” ✧ Ety/PIK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. pikina > pigen	[pikina] > [pikena] > [piken] > [pigen]	✧ Ety/PIK