sris

root. snow

An apparently verbal root as √SRIS “snow” appearing in etymological notes from around 1959 with derivatives like Q. hrisse “fall of snow” and Q. hríza “it is snowing”; it replaced a deleted root √SRITH “snow” (PE17/168).

lossē

noun. snow

srith

root. snow

(g)los

root. snow, whiteness

In Tolkien’s writing the root √(G)LOS is mostly used for “snow” but also for “white”. The earliest indications of this root are words from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s such as G. gloss “white, clear white”, G. glost “whiteness” and (possibly) G. glui “snow” (GL/40), indicating an (unattested) early root ✱ᴱ√LOSO of similar meaning. The (plural) adjective ᴱQ. losse “white” appears in the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem of the late 1920s (MC/213), indicating this root spread to other branches of the Elvish languages.

The first clear mention of this root is in The Etymologies of the 1930s where ᴹ√GOLOS is given as the basis for ᴹQ. olos(se) and N. gloss “snow, fallen snow” (Ety/GOLÓS). In later writings the root √LOS appears several times as the basis for snow words (PE17/26, 69, 160-161; RGEO/61). The last mention of this root is in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, where Tolkien gave the root as √(G)LOS with the underlying meaning “white”, with two distinct Sindarin derivatives S. loss “snow” [noun] and S. gloss “snow white” [adj.] (VT42/18). Given this l/gl variation in Sindarin, likely the strengthened form √GLOS was a sporadic, Sindarin-only innovation.

nik(w)

root. (also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white

This root was used for Elvish words for “white” and “snow” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NIQI “white” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. niqis “snow” and ᴱQ. ninqe “white” (QL/66), the latter surviving more or less unchanged for the rest of Tolkien’s life. In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. nictha- “to rain, hail, snow” and G. nimp “pallid” (GL/60), the latter the cognate of ᴱQ. ninqe and another word that survived in Tolkien’s later conceptions of the languages.

The root appeared as unglossed ᴹ√NIK-W in The Etymologies, again with ᴹQ. ninqe “white” and N. nimp “pale” and other similar words, including ᴹQ. niqe “snow” (Ety/NIK-W). The root was mentioned again in Tolkien’s later writing as √NIK-W (PE17/160) or √NIK (PE17/168) as a basis for “snow” words. In Sindarin Tolkien felt it was influenced by other roots, such as √(N)DIP/B “bending and drooping” (PE17/168) or √NIP “small with a connotation of weakness” (VT48/18) so that S. nimp also took on a connotation of weakness and frailty, and hence was used for “pale, pallid” rather than simply “white”.

lossĭ

adjective. snowy, snow-white

tār(a)-ninqui-tilte

place name. High White Peak

loss

noun. snow

The usual Sindarin word for “snow” (Let/278; PE17/161; RGEO/62), especially fallen and long-lying snow (VT42/18), derived from primitive ✶lossē (PE17/161) based on the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; RGEO/62). It sometimes appeared in a shorter form los (PE17/26, 161). See the entry on [s] for a discussion of these long vs. short variations; for purposes of Neo-Sindarin loss is probably preferable.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest iteration of this word was G. glui “snow” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, likely related to nearby words like G. gloss “white” (GL/40). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gloss from the root ᴹ√GOLOS was both noun “snow” and adjective “snow-white” (Ety/GOLÓS), but in later writing Tolkien split these into S loss “snow” (see above) and S. gloss “(dazzling) white” (RGEO/62; VT42/18).

los

snow

{ŏ}_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, loss, Loss(h)oth

loss

noun. snow

_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, los, Loss(h)oth

los

noun. snow

aeglos

proper name. Snow-point

Spear of Gil-galad (S/294), translated “Snow-point” (SI/Aeglos), a compound of aeg “point” and loss “snow” (SA/los). In editions of The Lord of the Rings prior to 2005, this name was spelled Aiglos (RC/231), but Tolkien commented that this was only a variant spelling for English speakers who would have difficulty distinguishing [ae] and [ai] (VT42/11). The word aeglos was also the Sindarin name for a plant, translated “snowthorn”.

aeglos

noun. icicle, (lit.) snow-point; snowthorn (a plant)

A species of plant mentioned in one version of the Narn i Chîn Húrin (UT/99), translated “snowthorn” and described as “like furze (gorse), but larger, and with white flowers” (UT/148 note #14). Aeglos was also the name of the spear of Gil-galad, translated as “Icicle” in The Lord of the Rings index (LotRI/Aeglos); it is possible this word can be used for ordinary icicles as well. In the Silmarillion index, it was translated more literally as “Snow-point” (SA/Aeglos), a combination of aeg “sharp” and loss “snow”.

Conceptual Development: G. helfingl or helfin(n) was the word for “icicle” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/48), probably a combination of ᴱ√HELE “freeze” with G. fingl “tress”.

glos

adjective. snow white

_ adj. _snow white. Q. losse. >> glosui, los

glosui

adjective. snow white

_ adj. _snow white. Q. lossea. >> glosui, los

glosui

adjective. snow white

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

loss

noun. snow (especially fallen or long-lying snow)

lossoth

collective name. Snowmen

The Snowmen of Forochel (LotR/1041). This name is a combination of loss “snow” and hoth “host” (RGEO/62; SA/hoth; PE17/39, 161).

Lossoth

noun. snowmen

loss (“snow”) + #(h)oth (collective plural suffix) Ss was preserved in the intervocalic position [HKF].

lossen

adjective. snowy

A word for “snowy” mentioned in passing in The Road Goes Ever On, adjectival form of S. loss “snow” (RGEO/62).

aeglos

noun. snowthorn, a plant like furze (gorse), but larger and with white flowers

lossen

adjective. snowy

loss

snow

(fallen snow) loss (construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

loss

snow

(construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

glosta-

verb. to snow

A neologism for “to snow” coined by Fiona Jallings, based on the root √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness”.

fanuilos

proper name. Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos

A title of Elbereth appearing in the poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel (LotR/238) and Sam’s related invocation for her aid (LotR/729). This name is a combination of the elements fân “cloud; bright thing”, ui “ever” and loss “snow, snow-white”.

Possible Etymology: In his notes in the song-cycle The Road Goes Ever On, Tolkien translated the name as “bright spirit clothed in ever-white” (RGEO/63), but elsewhere his translation referred to the mountain Uilos: “Figure (bright and majestic) upon Uilos” (PE17/26) or to snow: “Bright angelic figure ever-white (as snow)” (PE17/180). No doubt the final element of this name at least alluded to the snowy mountain of Valinor where Elbereth made her home.

The initial element fân is similarly complicated to translate. In ordinary Sindarin speech the word had come to mean “cloud”, but its meaning was also influenced by Q. fana “(radiant) figure”, a term used for the bodily forms assumed by the Valar (RGEO/66, PE/173-6). It is this second meaning that applies to this name.

nítha-

verb. to snow, hail, rain

Lossoth

snow-men

(a northern people living near the bay of Forochel) Lossoth (a coll. pl.)

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.  

lossoth

snow-men

(a coll. pl.)

nínim

snowdrop

(”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. – The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

nínim

snowdrop

(a flower) nínim (”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

nibis

noun. snowflake

lossen

snowy

(pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

lossen

snowy

lossen (pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

aeglos

noun. icicle (a pendent spear of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water)

uil-

verb. to rain

fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

hristil

noun. snow (?peak)

A word for a “snow peak” in notes from around 1959, though the second word of the gloss is unclear (PE17/168). Its initial element is the root √SRIS “snow”, and its second element is likely √TIL “point”.

hriz-

verb. to snow

In notes written around 1959, Tolkien experimented with various roots for impersonal “snow” verbs, first giving the aorist form of a derived verb Q. hrisya “it snows” < hriþya from the root √SRITH, then the present tense form of a basic verb Q. hríza “it is snowing” from the root √SRIS (PE17/168).

Neo-Quenya: The basic verb form †hriz- is likely archaic, since z usually became r in Quenya’s phonetic development. In this case, though, I suspect the medial z dissimilated back to s after the hr, since Quenya disliked repeated r’s (PE19/73-74). This occurred, for example, with the verb ras- “stick out” < †raz- < √RAS.

Thus, I would use modern Quenya hrise “[it] snows”, hrinse “[it] snowed”, ihrísie “[it] has snowed”. Since this is an impersonal verbs, no explicit subject is required.

lossë

noun/adjective. snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy

The general Quenya word for “snow” derived from the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; VT42/18), more specifically “fallen snow” (RGEO/61), as opposed to a “snow fall” or “✱falling snow” which is hrissë (PE17/168). At various points Tolkien said this word could also be used as an adjective “snowy, snow-white” (RGEO/61; PE17/161), but I would do so only in poetry or in compounds. For more ordinary speech, I would use the adjective form lossëa for clarity (PE17/71, 161; VT42/18). Strictly speaking, the noun and adjective forms of lossë have distinct primitive origins: ✶lossē “snow” vs. ✶lossĭ “snowy, snow-white” (PE17/161), so the stem form of the adjective would be lossi-.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a word ᴹQ. olosse “snow, fallen snow” derived from the root ᴹ√GOLOS; Tolkien modified the entry to mark this form as poetic (†) and gave it a variant olos (Ety/GOLÓS).

niqu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “be chill, cold (of weather)” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a derivative of the root √NIK(W) and with the glosses “to snow, it is chill, it freezes” (PE17/168). In this 1959 note Tolkien gave several inflected forms making it clear nicu- was an impersonal verb: nīqua “it is freezing”, nicune “it snowed, froze”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use nicu- as an impersonal verb for cold weather: nique “it is cold, it is freezing”. For the freezing of water or similar substances, I’d use ᴺQ. hel-. For “to snow” I’d use ᴺQ. hris-, a modernization of archaic †hriz-.

niquis

noun. snowflake, ice-flake; petal (loose) of a white flower; frost-patterns, snowflake, ice-flake; petal (loose) of a white flower; frost-patterns, [ᴱQ.] snow

A noun in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “frost-patterns” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 with the stem forms niquiss- or niquits-, where it was derived from the root √NIK(W) (PE17/168). In those 1959 notes it was glossed “ice-flake or snowflake — also petal (loose) of a white flower”. In both documents, it had a variant form niquessë of similar meaning, where the second element was modified by association with quessë “feather”, thus literally “chill feather” (WJ/417; PE17/168).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. niqis (niqiss-) “snow” under the early root ᴱ√NIQI “white” (QL/66).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use niquis(s-) for “snowflake” or “ice-flake”, and metaphorically for the loose petal of a white flower. I’d use the variant niquessë for “frost pattern” and more loosely for “snowflake”. For “frost” itself I’d use nixë. This is mainly to help differentiate these otherwise very similar words.

fauta-

to snow

fauta- vb. *"to snow" (actually glossed fauta = "it snows") (GL:35)

hristil

snow [?peak]

hristil noun "snow [?peak]" (PE17:168)

hriz-

to snow

#hriz- vb. "to snow", impersonal, given in the form hríza "it is snowing". Normally z would turn to r in Exilic Quenya, but since two r's close to one another were disliked, it may be that hriz- became *hris- instead (compare razë "sticks out" becoming rasë instead of **rarë, PE19:73) Past tense hrinsë (with s from the original root SRIS) and another form which the editor tentatively reads as hrissë (the development ns > ss is regular). (PE17:168)

lossëa

snow-white

lossëa adj. "snow-white" (so in VT42:18; this would be an adjective derived from lossë "snow", but elsewhere, Tolkien implies that lossë itself can also be used as an adjective "snow-white"; see lossë #1 above)

lossëa

adjective. snowy, (snow) white

A word for “snowy” or “snow-white”, an adjective form of lossë “snow” (PE17/161; VT42/18). In one place it was simply glossed “white” (PE17/71), though in most places the generic Quenya word for “white” is ninquë.

Conceptual Development: In some poems from written around 1930, Tolkien used similar words for “white” in a couple places, for example in the phrase ᴱQ. ondoli losse karkane “the white rocks snarling” from the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/213); here the word for “white” might be the plural of an adjective ᴱQ. lossa as suggested by Gilson, Welden and Hostetter (PE16/84). An element losse “white” also appears in the phrase ᴱQ. losselie telerinwa “the white people of the shores of Elfland” from the Nieninqe poem (MC/216). However, for this most part in the earliest period, losse was use for “flower” words; see that entry for discussion.

nicu-

be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes

nicu- ("k")vb. "be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168): 3rd sg. aorist niquë (q.v.) "it snows or freezes", present níqua "it is freezing", pa.t. nicunë "it snowed, froze" (PE17:168)

níquetil

snow peak

níquetil noun "snow peak" (PE17:168), stem probably *níquetild-, cf. Taniquetil, q.v.

olos

snow, fallen snow

†olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

†olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

hrisya-

verb. to snow (impersonal)

nicu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

nieninquë

noun. snowdrop, snowdrop, [ᴹQ.] (lit.) white tear

A word for “snowdrop”, perhaps a reference to that species of flower, appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a combination of ᴹQ. nie “tear” and ᴹQ. ninqe “white”, so literally “white tear” (Ety/NEI, NIK-W). ᴱQ. nieninqe also appeared with the same form, meaning and etymology in the Qenya Lexicon and the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (QL/68; PME/68). In later writings, it appeared in adjectival form nieninquëa “like a snowdrop” in the 1950s version of the Nieninquë poem (PE16/96); the same form appeared in the version of the poem written around 1930, and its drafts (MC/215; PE16/90, 92). The word nieninquë likewise served as the title of that poem.

nieninquë

snowdrop

nieninquë ("q") noun "snowdrop", etymologically "white tear" (NIK-W, LT1:262, 266)

nieninquëa

snowdrop-like

nieninquëa ("q")adj. "snowdrop-like" (MC:215)

niquetil

snowcap

niquetil ("q")noun "snowcap" (LT1:266). Compare níquetil in much later material.

niquis

frost-patterns; ice-flake or snowflake also petal (loose) of a white flower

niquis noun "frost-patterns; ice-flake or snowflake also petal (loose) of a white flower" (stem niquits- or niquiss-), also niquessë by association with quessë "feather" (WJ:417, PE17:168). In early "Qenya", the gloss was simply "snow" (LT1:266).

niquessë

noun. frost-patterns; snowflake, ice-flake; (lit.) chill feather

A noun literally meaning “chill feather”, but variously used for “frost-patterns” (WJ/417) or “snowflake, ice-flake” (PE17/168). It originated as a variant of niquis (niquiss-) where the second element was modified by association with quessë “feather”.

hris-

verb. to snow

hlar-

verb. hear

hlar- verb "hear", future tense hlaruva "shall hear" in Markirya. Since the original root is SLAS, this verb may have the past tense *hlassë (for slansē) in more classical forms of Quenya, perhaps re-formed as *hlarnë (or *hlarrë, for hlazze) in spoken Noldorin Quenya. Compare #hriz- "snow" (root SRIS) with past tense hrinsë/hrissë, as well as Tolkien's remarks in PE19:99.

taniquetil

place name. High White Peak

Tallest mountain in the world, where Manwë and Varda made their home (S/26). The name was adapted from its Valarin name of unknown meaning (PE17/168, 186), perhaps Val. Dahanigwishtilgūn (WJ/417). The Valarin name was altered to give it meaning as Quenya word. In Ancient Quenya, the name became ✶tār(a)-ninqui-tilte “High White Peak” (PE17/186). Taniquetil was thereafter interpreted as a compound of tar- (ta-) “high”, ninquë “white” (or niquë “cold, snow”) and tildë “point”, once its true origin was obscured.

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/58), and ᴱQ. Taniqetil “Lofty Snowcap” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon, where it was a compound of ᴱQ. tá “high” and ᴱQ. niqetil “snow cap” (QL/66, 86; LT1A/Taniquetil). ᴹQ. Taniqetil “High White Horn” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a compound of ᴹ✶tāna “✱high” (Ety/TĀ), ᴹQ. ninqe “white” (Ety/NIK-W) and ᴹQ. tilde “horn” (Ety/TIL). The concept of the Valarin origin of this name did not emerge until the 1950-60s (PE17/168, 186; WJ/416-7).

In The Etymologies, Tolkien indicated that its (ᴹQ) genitive form was Taniqetilden (Ety/TIL, EtyAC/TIL), so that its stem form would be Taniqetild-, which was also its stem form in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/87). In the 1950s, Tolkien gave its ancient form as ✶tār(a)-ninqui-tilte (PE17/186), perhaps indicating a stem form of Taniquetilt-. Since the later stem form of this name is unclear, I have omitted it in this entry.

fanoiolossë

 proper name. bright (angelic) figure upon uilos

An adaptation of the Sindarin title for Varda, Fanuilos.

hlasta-/lasta-

verb. hear

ten-

hear

ten- (4) vb. "hear", future tense tenuva (MC:213; in Tolkien's later Quenya, "hear" is hlar-)

ul-

verb. to rain

An impersonal verb for “rain” attested only in its future form uluva “it is going to rain, it will rain” (PE22/167). Its aorist form is probably ✱ule “[it] rains”, its past form probably ✱úle “[it] rained”, and its perfect ✱úlie “[it] has rained”; as an impersonal verb, no explicit subject is required in Quenya. It is clearly derived from the root √UL “pour (out), flow” (WJ/400; PE17/168) and it seems that its primitive form originally meant “pour” (PE22/133), but elsewhere Tolkien gave the Quenya verb for “pour, flow” as ulya- (Ety/ULU).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the verb for “it rains” was (3rd-singular) ᴱQ. uqin from the early root ᴱ√UQU “wet” (QL/98). This verb reappeared as uqe or úqe “it rains” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, having become an impersonal verb (PE14/56, 85). Another impersonal verb for “to rain” appeared in Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s: ᴹQ. kelya “(it) sends running down = it rains” from the root √KEL (PE22/114). The form uluva mentioned above appeared in Late Notes on Verbs from 1969 (PE22/167).

Neo-Eldarin: Based on attested forms I would limit ul- for “rain” as an impersonal verb only, and for “pour” would use ulya-. Interestingly, the Noldorin word for “rain” is eil [ᴺS. uil] from ᴹ✶ulyā-, so I think Quenya and Sindarin/Noldorin made different choices for which ancient verb became impersonal “rain”.

gloss

noun/adjective. snow, snow-white

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

nínim

noun. snowdrop

nínim

noun. snowdrop (flower)

eil-

verb. to rain

An impersonal verb appearing as N. eil “it is raining” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶ulyā- (> œil > eil) under the root ᴹ√ULU “pour, flow” (Ety/ULU; EtyAC/ULU). This verb is abnormal in that its final a disappeared rather than surviving as it usually did for derived verbs, giving eil rather than ✱elia-, ✱eilia- or ✱eila-. However, as an impersonal verb there would never be any pronominal suffix to help preserve the final a by analogy, which probably explains the vowel loss.

Conceptual Development: The verb for “rain” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s was G. ubra-, probably related to G. ub “wet, moist, damp” (GL/74).

Neo-Sindarin: In Sindarin, the likely developments of primitive ✶ulyā would be to ✱oly(a) > ᴺS. uil “it rains”; I believe this form was first suggested by Helge Fauskanger in his Parviphith Edhellen wordlist. Compare ᴺS. uil to: S. ruin “fiery red” < (perhaps) ✱runyā and S. fuir “north” < (perhaps) ✱phoryā, and see the entry on how [[s|[œi] became [ui] or [y]]] for further discussion. Any inflected forms would probably restore the stem, such as (hypothetical) intransitive past and future forms ✱eilias “it rained” and ✱eiliatha “it will rain”).