Primitive elvish

thar

root. *across, beyond, [ᴹ√] across, beyond

Tolkien used a similar set of forms for “(a)cross” for Elvish throughout his life. The earliest of these was the unglossed root ᴱ√TARA⁽⁾ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tara- “cross, go athwart, cross rivers” and ᴱQ. tarwe “cross, crucifix” (QL/89). In QL Tolkien gave a Gnomish form tor, but the Gnomish Lexicon itself had derived forms like G. taru “cross; crossing”, G. trantha- “to cross” and G. trath “passage, ford” (GL69, 71). The forms G. adr(a)/ᴱQ. arta “lying athwart; situated on far side” are clearly related (GL/17).

There was another unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon: {ᴱ√SAŘA >>} ᴱ√SARA with derivatives like ᴱQ. sara- “saw”, ᴱQ. sarat “plank”, and ᴱQ. sarno “table” (QL/82). Gnomish forms G. sard “table” vs. G. thar- “saw (up)” may represent a blending with another root ✱ᴱ√ÞARA (GL/67, 71). However, Tolkien compared G. sard to G. thrad [< ✱s(a)rat-?] (GL/67), whereas G. thrad “a board, shelf” was deleted from underneath G. thar- (GL/71). Perhaps this means there was a conceptual shift of {ᴱ√SARA >>} ✱ᴱ√ÞARA, though G. thrad “plank, board, shelf” was retained undeleted elsewhere in the document (GL/73).

As a later entry to The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√THAR “across, beyond” serving as the basis for the names N. Thar-gelion (“Land beyond Gelion”) and N. Thar-bad with an unclear gloss, probably “Crossway” (Ety/THAR). The root √ÞAR appeared in a list of Sindarin words associated with Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, where it served as the basis for words like S. athrad “crossing” and prefix S. athra- in words like S. athrabeth “conversation (interchange of words)” (PE17/14); in this note Tolkien specified that the root √ÞAR was not found in Quenya, but the root does appear to be an element in later Quenya words like the 1968 word Q. Mondósar “Oxford” (DTS/70).

Note that the root √THAR appeared a few times in Tolkien’s later writings with a different meaning: ᴹ√THAR “stand” in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/126) and √THAR “vigour” (another Sindarin-only root) in an explanation of the name S. Thranduil in a list of roots from 1959 (D59: PE17/187).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume “across” is the main meaning of this root. However, I would ignore Tolkien’s 1959 statement that the root was not found in Quenya in order to salvage early words from ✱ᴱ√ÞARA, with the verbal sense “saw” = “(cut) across” and from this sense deriving words like “plank” and “table”.

Derivatives

  • aþra- “to cross (to and fro)” ✧ PE17/014
    • S. athra- “to cross (to and fro)” ✧ PE17/014
  • thara “across, over, (properly) athwart”
    • S. thar “across, athwart, over” ✧ PE17/034
  • ᴺQ. essar- “to recross”
  • ᴺQ. sar- “to cross”
  • ᴺQ. sara- “to saw [wood]”
  • ᴺQ. sarma “saw”
  • ᴺS. sardh “table”
  • S. thar “across, athwart, over” ✧ PE17/014
  • ᴺS. thar- “to saw (up)”
  • ᴺS. tharf “saw”

Element in

Variations

  • ÞAR ✧ PE17/014; PE17/188
Primitive elvish [PE17/014; PE17/188] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thar

root. vigour

Derivatives

  • S. tharan “vigorous” ✧ PE17/187
  • S. theria- “to be vigorous, flourish” ✧ PE17/187

Variations

  • THAR ✧ PE17/158; PE17/187
Primitive elvish [PE17/158; PE17/187] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thār

masculine name. Thār

An “older and simpler name” of the Vala Oromë in some linguistic notes for the early 1950s (PE21/82). Its meaning is unclear.

Primitive elvish [PE21/82] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tar

root. stand

The root √TAR appeared unglossed in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 as the basis for Q. tára “tall, high” (WJ/417), a word that elsewhere was derived from √TĀ/TAƷ “high” (Ety/TĀ; PE17/186). The root √TAR was glossed “stand” along with derivative tāra “tall” in rough notes on the back of a discussion of the comparitive from around 1967 (PE17/186). The past tense for Q. tarne “stood” appears in other notes from this period, along with Q. astarindo, artarindo or astarmo “bystander” (PE17/70-71). √TAR “stand” seems to be a later iteration of ᴹ√THAR “stand” from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s; of this earlier root Tolkien said it “is only used [in describing the location of things] — except, of course, with reference to persons or animals when they are noted especially as ‘standing’ (not sitting or lying) — of mountains, high hills, towers, pillars” (PE22/126).

Derivatives

  • Q. tar- “to stand”
  • Q. tára “lofty, tall, high” ✧ PE17/186; WJ/417
  • ᴺQ. tarmë “state, status, condition”
  • ᴺS. tar- “to stand”

Variations

  • TĂR ✧ PE17/186
  • TĂRA ✧ PE17/186
Primitive elvish [PE17/186; WJ/417] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lañna

adverb. athwart

Derivations

  • LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond” ✧ PE17/065

Derivatives

  • Q. lanna “athwart, (to a point) beyond, athwart, (to a point) beyond, *across” ✧ PE17/065

Variations

  • laŋna ✧ PE17/065
Primitive elvish [PE17/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lā̆

preposition/adverb. beyond

Derivations

  • LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond” ✧ PE17/065

Derivatives

  • Q. “beyond, over, across, athwart” ✧ PE17/065; PE17/065

Element in

  • orlā “over” ✧ PE17/065
  • pelola “beyond (the boundary)” ✧ PE17/065

Variations

  • laŋa ✧ PE17/065
Primitive elvish [PE17/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sal

root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre

The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.

Derivatives

  • Q. sal- “[unglossed]” ✧ PE22/133
Primitive elvish [PE22/133] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tig

root. [unglossed]

A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).

Derivatives

  • Q. tinga- “to go (for a long while)” ✧ PE22/157
Primitive elvish [PE22/157] Group: Eldamo. Published by

orlā

preposition. over

Derivatives

  • Q. olla “over [beyond]” ✧ PE17/065

Variations

  • or-lā ✧ PE17/065 (or-lā)
Primitive elvish [PE17/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

Primitive elvish [PE18/090] Group: Eldamo. Published by

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

Derivatives

Primitive elvish [PE19/086] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lemek

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.

Primitive elvish [PE19/098] Group: Eldamo. Published by

graw Reconstructed

root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart

This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).

Derivatives

  • grawa “dog” ✧ VT47/35
    • Q. röa “dog” ✧ VT47/35
  • grā “dog, bear” ✧ VT47/35
    • S. graw “bear” ✧ VT47/12

Variations

  • grāw(ɜ) ✧ VT47/35 (grāw(ɜ))
Primitive elvish [VT47/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by