Quenya 

tavar

wood

tavar (1) noun "wood" (TÁWAR)

taure

noun. forest

Quenya [PE 22:116] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

turu

wood

turu (3) noun "wood" (properly firewood, but used of wood in general) (LT1:270)

tauno

forest

tauno noun "forest" (LT1:267; in Tolkien's later Quenya taurë)

toina

adjective. wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood

A word glossed “wood” appearing in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968 derived from primitive ✶tawĭnā (PE17/115) and hence probably an adjective “✱wooden, (made) of wood” as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/toina).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien instead had ᴹQ. taurina “of wood”, an adjectival form of ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” (Ety/TÁWAR). The word ᴹQ. toina appeared in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1940s, but was unglossed, so whether it meant “✱wooden” is unclear.

Cognates

  • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115

Derivations

  • tawinā “wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Elements

WordGloss
-ina“adjective suffix; passive participle”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
tawĭnā > toina[tawinā] > [toinā] > [toina]✧ PE17/115

málos

forest

málos noun "forest" (LT2:342 rather taurë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

Sindarin 

tawar

noun. forest, forest; [N.] wood (material)

A word for “forest” in a few Sindarin names, notably Tawar-in-Drúedain “Drúadan Forest” (UT/319) and Tawarwaith “Forest People” (UT/256).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. tawar meant “wood (material)” but was often used with the same sense as N. taur “forest”; it was derived from the root ᴹ√TÁWAR (Ety/TÁWAR). In Sindarin, awa often became au (and then > o), and cases where it was preserved seem to have to do with patterns of stress; see the entry on that phonetic rule for further details.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, it is probably better to stick with the better known S. taur for “forest”.

Element in

Variations

  • Tawar ✧ UT/319

tawar

noun. wood (as a material)

Sindarin [Tawar-in-Drúedain UT/467, Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawar

noun. great wood, forest

Sindarin [Tawar-in-Drúedain UT/467, Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

taur

noun. forest

_ n. _forest. Q. taure. >> taw

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:82:115] < _tau-rē _forest < TAW wood. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Sindarin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

eryn

forest

_n. _forest, wood of trees.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:33:119] < pl. _oronī_ trees ?. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

eryn

noun. wood

Sindarin [UT/436, LotR/B] OS *oroni- (?), "trees", plural noun, used as a singular.. Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

Sindarin [Methed-en-Glad UT/452] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

A word for a “wood” in the name Methed-en-Glad “End of the Wood” (UT/153) and possibly also Gladuial “✱Twilight Wood” (WJ/183, 188 note #48). It resembles galadh “tree” and is probably related to it, but it cannot be derived directly from the same root ᴹ√GALAD as that would produce ✱✱gladh. It was either derived from a variant root ✱√GALAT, or was a loan word from Nandorin where the word for “tree” was Nan. galad (MR/182; PE17/50, 60).

Element in

Variations

  • Glad ✧ UT/153

tawar

forest

(i dawar, o thawar) (wood [as material]), pl. tewair (i thewair). (SMALL)

tawar

wood

(as material) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

tawar

wood

(i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

taur

forest

1) taur (i daur, o thaur) (great wood), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also (as adj.) ”lofty, high, sublime, noble” etc. 2) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (wood [as material]), pl. tewair (i thewair). (

taur

forest

(i daur, o thaur) (great wood), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also (as adj.) ”lofty, high, sublime, noble” etc.

glâd

forest

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

glâd

wood

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid) See FOREST. 2)

eryn

wood

1) (forest) eryn. No distinct pl. form. 2) glâd (i **lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid**) See FOREST. 2)

eryn

wood

. No distinct pl. form.

Primitive elvish

taw

root. wood

Tolkien used a similar set of words for “forest” starting with the earliest versions of Elvish, but their derivation evolved somewhat over time. The earliest related root was ᴱ√TAVA “beam” with variant ᴱ√TAFA (the latter marked by Tolkien with a “?” and with no obvious derivatives) from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as the basis for words like ᴱQ. taule “great tree”, ᴱQ. tauno “forest” and ᴱQ. tavar “dale-sprite” (QL/90). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tavros/G. taur “forest” and G. tavor “wood fay” (GL/69).

ᴱQ. taure “forest” did not appear as an independent word until drafts of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (PE16/62; MC/213). Thereafter Tolkien mostly stuck with Q. taurë and N./S. taur for “forest”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” (Ety/TÁWAR), though in one place it was ᴹ√TAR (EtyAC/TUR). In notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 Tolkien gave √TAWA “wood”, and in notes on “large & small” roots from 1968 Tolkien had √TAW “wood” (PE17/115).

Derivatives

  • taurē “forest” ✧ PE17/115
    • Q. taurë “forest, (great) wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • S. taur “forest, wood, forest, wood, [N.] great wood, [G.] dense wood” ✧ PE17/115
  • tawinā “wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • Q. toina “wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood” ✧ PE17/115
    • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115
  • Q. tauca “stiff, wooden” ✧ PE17/115
  • Q. taurë “forest, (great) wood” ✧ VT39/07
  • ᴺQ. tauron “forester”
  • Q. táva “great tree” ✧ PE17/115
  • ᴺQ. tavas “woodland”
  • Q. töa “wood (as material)” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. taug “firm, strong, (?withstand)” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. taw “wood as material” ✧ PE17/115

Element in

Variations

  • TAWA ✧ VT39/07
Primitive elvish [PE17/115; PE17/187; VT39/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tawinā

adjective. wood

Derivations

  • TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Derivatives

  • Q. toina “wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. tawen “wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)” ✧ PE17/115

Variations

  • tawĭnā ✧ PE17/115
Primitive elvish [PE17/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taurē

noun. forest

Derivations

  • TAW “wood” ✧ PE17/115

Derivatives

  • Q. taurë “forest, (great) wood” ✧ PE17/115
  • S. taur “forest, wood, forest, wood, [N.] great wood, [G.] dense wood” ✧ PE17/115

Variations

  • tau-rē ✧ PE17/115
  • taurĭ ✧ PE21/80
Primitive elvish [PE17/115; PE21/76; PE21/80] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

tawar

noun. wood (as a material)

Noldorin [Tawar-in-Drúedain UT/467, Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawar

noun. great wood, forest

Noldorin [Tawar-in-Drúedain UT/467, Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawar

noun. wood (material), *forest

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶tawar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Element in

  • N. tawaren “wooden” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶tawar > tawar[táwar]✧ Ety/TÁWAR
Noldorin [Ety/TÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Noldorin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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!

Qenya 

tavar

noun. wood (material)

Cognates

  • N. tawar “wood (material), *forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • Ilk. taur “wood (place and material), forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶tawar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Element in

  • ᴺQ. mortavar “ebony, ivory”
  • ᴹQ. tavaril “dryad, spirit of woods (f.)”
  • ᴹQ. tavaron “dryad, spirit of woods (m.)”
  • ᴹQ. taurina “of wood”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶tawar > tavar[tawar] > [taβar] > [tavar]✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Middle Primitive Elvish

tawar

noun. wood (material)

Derivations

  • ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • N. tawar “wood (material), *forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Element in

  • ᴹQ. taurina “of wood” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/TÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tawar

root. wood, forest

Derivatives

  • Ilk. taur “wood (place and material), forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • ᴹ✶taurē “great wood, forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • Ilk. taur “wood (place and material), forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹQ. taure “great wood, forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • N. taur “forest, great wood” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • ᴹ✶tawar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • N. tawar “wood (material), *forest” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • ᴹ✶tawārē̆ “dryad, spirit of woods (f.)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹQ. tavaril “dryad, spirit of woods (f.)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
  • ᴹ✶tawārō̆ “dryad, spirit of woods (m.)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR
    • ᴹQ. tavaron “dryad, spirit of woods (m.)” ✧ Ety/TÁWAR

Element in

  • N. Tauros “Lord of Forests; (lit.) Forest-Dread” ✧ Ety/GOS

Variations

  • TÁWAR ✧ Ety/GOS; Ety/TĀ; Ety/TÁWAR; EtyAC/TUR
  • TAR ✧ Ety/TUR
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/GOS; Ety/TĀ; Ety/TÁWAR; Ety/TUR; EtyAC/TUR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

gawlas

noun. forest

âl

noun. wood (material)

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as {ald >>} âl “wood (material)” (GL/19), a derivative of the root ᴱ√ALA “spread” which was the basis of other “wood” words, as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Aldaron). This word appeared unglossed in Gnomish Lexicon Slips as a derivative of ᴱ✶alda, but was equated to G. awl, possibly “lofty” (PE13/109).

Changes

  • aldâl ✧ GL/19
  • aldâl “wood (material)” ✧ LT1A/Aldaron

Cognates

  • Eq. alda “tree, branch” ✧ GL/19

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ALA “spread‽” ✧ LT1A/Aldaron
  • ᴱ✶alda ✧ PE13/109
    • ᴱ√ALA “spread‽”

Element in

  • G. alm(oth) “forest” ✧ GL/19 (almoth)
  • G. altha “shoot, sprig, scion, sapling” ✧ GL/19
  • G. alos “forest” ✧ GL/19
  • G. alwen “tree” ✧ GL/19
  • G. âlog “of wood, wooden” ✧ GL/19; GL/19 (aldin)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶alda > âl[alda] > [ald] > [all] > [āl]✧ PE13/109

Variations

  • ald ✧ GL/19 (ald); LT1A/Aldaron (ald)
Gnomish [GL/19; LT1A/Aldaron; PE13/109] Group: Eldamo. Published by

drui

noun. wood, forest

Derivations

Element in

Variations

  • drû ✧ GL/31; GL/31
Gnomish [GL/31; GL/42] Group: Eldamo. Published by

drû

noun. wood, forest

alos

noun. forest

A noun for “forest” the Gnomish Lexicon with an archaic variant †aloth, apparently an elaboration of G. âl “wood” (GL/19). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it appeared as ᴱN. aulos “forest”, but this word was deleted (PE13/137).

Element in

  • G. goloth “forest” ✧ LT2A/Golosbrindi

Variations

  • aloth ✧ GL/19 (aloth); LT2A/Golosbrindi (aloth)
Gnomish [GL/19; GL/62; LT2A/Golosbrindi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

alm(oth)

noun. forest

Variations

  • alm ✧ GL/19 (alm)
  • almoth ✧ GL/19 (almoth)

goloth

noun. forest

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “forest”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- (GL/41). This is likely a combination of ᴱ✶ŋu̯a “together” and some elaboration of the root ᴱ√ALA “spread”, the basis of “tree” words, so probably originally “✱together spread(ing)”. In The Gnomish Grammar it had the form gôloth (GG/8) and in Gnomish Lexicon Slips the form gawlas derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgwa-alassa (PE13/114).

Cognates

  • Eq. málos “forest” ✧ GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi

Derivations

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- > gwōloth > goloth[ŋgʷāloθ] > [gʷāloθ] > [gʷōloθ] > [gōloθ] > [goloθ]✧ GL/41
ᴱ✶gwā-alassē > gawlas[gwālassē] > [gawlas]✧ PE13/114

Variations

  • gôloth ✧ GG/08; GL/19
  • gawlas ✧ PE13/114
Gnomish [GG/08; GL/19; GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi; PE13/114] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

taur

noun. forest

Cognates

Element in

Variations

  • Taur ✧ SM/026
Early Noldorin [PE13/153; SM/026] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dron

noun. wood

The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. drui or drû “wood, forest”; Tolkien specified it was not used of wood a material (GL/31). This Gnomish word may be related to the root ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle”; see that entry for details. In Early Noldorin Word-lists it appeared as ᴱN. dron “wood” (PE13/142).

Derivations

Early Noldorin [PE13/142] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aulos

noun. forest

Early Noldorin [PE13/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

taure

noun. forest

Cognates

  • En. taur “forest”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√TAVA “beam”

Element in

Variations

  • taur- ✧ LT2/089 (taur-)
  • taurie ✧ PE16/139
Early Quenya [LT2/089; MC/213; MC/220; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/075; PE16/077; PE16/080; PE16/139] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aldare

noun. wood

A word glossed “wood” in the margins of Tolkien’s notes on The Creatures of the Earth from the 1910s, clearly an elaboration ᴱQ. alda “tree” as suggested by Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson (PE14/7).

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ALA “spread‽”

Elements

WordGloss
alda“tree, branch”
-re“noun suffix”
Early Quenya [PE14/007] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taurie

noun. forest

málos

noun. forest

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s given as the cognate of G. goloth “forest”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- (GL/41). This is likely a combination of ᴱ✶ŋu̯a “together” and some elaboration of the root ᴱ√ALA “spread”, the basis of “tree” words, so probably originally “✱together spread(ing)” or something to that effect.

Cognates

  • G. goloth “forest” ✧ GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- > malosta > mālos[ŋgʷāloθ] > [ŋʷāloθ] > [ŋʷālos] > [mālos]✧ GL/41

Variations

  • mālos ✧ GL/41
Early Quenya [GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi] Group: Eldamo. Published by