Primitive elvish
tek
root. make a written mark, sign, write, make a written mark, sign, write, [ᴹ√] write or draw (signs or letters)
Derivatives
- ✶teknā “a letter (epistola)” ✧ PE19/086
- ✶tekta “drew, wrote” ✧ PE17/043
- S. teitha- “to write, draw, inscribe, make marks or signs” ✧ PE17/043; PE17/043
- ✶tektā “sign, symbol, mark” ✧ PE22/149
- ✶tekmā “letter” ✧ PE17/043; PE17/044
- ✶tekmē “writing, grammar” ✧ PE19/086
- Q. tengwë “sign, token, indication; writing, sign, token, indication; writing; [ᴱQ.] knowledge, understanding; idea, notion, thought” ✧ PE19/086
- ᴺQ. tecindo “writer”
- ᴺQ. tengwo “writer”
- ᴺQ. tehtalë “art of writing, script; writings, documents, papers, scriptures”
- ᴺS. taith “note, jot, scribbling, (lit.) a little writing”
Element in
The root √TEK was the basis for Elvish words for writing for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√TEKE “make marks” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. teket “letter” and ᴱQ. tekta- “to write” (QL/90). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. taith “letter” and G. tectha- “write” (GL/68-69). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√TEK “make a mark, write or draw (signs or letters)” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tek-/N. teitha- “write” and ᴹQ. tengwa/N. tîw “letter” (Ety/TEK).
The root √TEK continued to appear in Tolkien’s writings of the 1950s and 60s with glosses like “make a written mark” (PE17/43), “sign” (PE17/44) or “write” (PE22/149). However, one of its major derivatives, Q. tengwa “letter” (originally < ᴹ✶tekmā), was transfered to the root √TEÑ after Tolkien decide that km > kw rather than ngw in Quenya phonology, as noted by Christopher Gilson (PE17/44; PE19/85-86 note #79); see the entry on √TEÑ for further discussion.