thall

adjective. steep, falling steeply (of river)

An adjective appearing as Ilk. thall “steep, falling steeply (of river)” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from primitive ᴹ✶stalrā and an element in thalos “torrent” (Ety/STAL). The [[ilk|initial [s] spirantalized the following [t] to [θ] (“th”)]], and the [[mp|[lr] became [ll]]], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Ilkorin/thall). Since the name Thalos survived in Tolkien’s later writings, presumably thall “steep, falling steeply” became Sindarin after Ilkorin was abandoned.

stal

root. steep

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “steep” with derivatives like Ilk. thall “steep, falling steeply (of river)” and Ilk. thalos “torrent”, the latter used for the river name Ilk. Thalos (Ety/STAL). Tolkien continued to use the name S. Thalos in later versions of The Silmarillion, but the name was translated nowhere else, making its continued connection to the 1930s root uncertain.

stalrā

adjective. steep, falling steeply (of river)

aiqa

adjective. steep, steep, [ᴱQ.] tall; high, lofty, sublime; chief

A word for “steep” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√AYAK “sharp, pointed” (Ety/AYAK).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s also had ᴱQ. aiqa “steep” (QL/29). The English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s translated this word as “high, lofty, sublime”, saying it was also used to mean “high, chief” (PEl5/74). The contemporaneous Early Noldorin Dictionary had ᴱQ. aiqa as the cognate to ᴱN. aig “high, steep”, both derived from primitive ᴱ✶ai-kwa (PE13/158). The primitive form ✶aikwā “tall, steep” reappeared later in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950 (PE18/50). In the Earendel poem from around 1930, its (Early Qenya) nominative plural form alqalin was translated “tall” in the phrase ᴱQ. tyulmin talalínen aiqalin kautáron “the tall masts bent with the sails” (MC/216).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would just use aiqua to mean “steep”.

barada

adjective. steep