n. root.
Sindarin
thond
noun. root, root, [N.] base; root-word
Derivations
- ᴹ√STUD “base, ground”
Element in
- S. Morthond “Blackroot” ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/096
thond
noun. root
thond
noun. root
thond
root
1) thond (construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath), 2) thonnas, pl. thennais (archaic *thönnais) (VT46:16), 3) thund (construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16), 4) (esp. of edible roots) solch (i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)
thond
root
(construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath)
thund
root
(construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16)
mellon
noun. friend
mellon
noun. friend
_ n. _friend. Pedo mellon a minno! 'Say friend and enter'.
mellon
noun. friend
Cognates
- Q. meldo “friend, lover” ✧ WJ/412
Derivations
- √MEL “love, love, [ᴹ√] love (as friend)” ✧ SA/mel
Element in
- S. ar e aníra ennas suilannad mhellyn în phain “and he desires to greet there all his friends” ✧ AotM/062; SD/129
- S. Elvellyn “Elf-friends, Elf-lovers” ✧ WJ/412
- S. mellyn enin Edhellion “*friends of the Elves” ✧ PE17/097
- S. pedo beth mellon “say the word mellon” ✧ VT44/26
- S. pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter; (alternately) say ‘friend’ and enter” ✧ LotR/0305; LotR/0305; PE17/041
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √mel- > mellon [meldondo] > [melðondo] > [melðond] > [mellond] > [mellonn] > [mellon] ✧ SA/mel Variations
- Mellon ✧ LotR/0308; LotRI/Mellon
meldis
friend
(i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.
mellon
friend
1) (masc.) mellon (i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath. 2) (fem.) meldis (i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.
mellon
friend
(i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath.
solch
root
(i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)
thonnas
root
pl. thennais (archaic ✱thönnais) (VT46:16)
A noun in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E glossed “root”, given as an examples of how “nd remained at the end of fully accented monosyllables” (LotR/1115). It was an element in the river-name S. Morthond “Black Root” (LotR/770), so named “because its source was in the dark caverns of the Dead Men” (RC/766). As such this word refers to things that are the root or base of something, not just plant roots.
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. sunn and sonnas as cognates to ᴹQ. sundo “base, root, root-word” under ᴹ√SUD “base, ground” (Ety/SUD; EtyAC/SUD). These Noldorin forms were revised to N. thund/thonn and N. thonnas while the root was revised to ᴹ√STUD (EtyAC/SUD). The Etymologies also had N. dum “root, foundation” derived from {ᴹ√(N)DUM >>} ᴹ√(N)DUB “lay base, foundation, root; found”, but this entry was deleted (EtyAC/NDUB).
Possible Etymology: This words seems to be a counterexample to the general rule that short u was preserved before nasals]]: compare it to S. mund “bull” and N. lhunt “boat” where the u remained unchanged. The Quenya cognate of this word is typically Q. sundo, so a-affection]] cannot be used to explain the shift of u to o. However in one place Tolkien gave the Quenya form as sunda in Tarmasundar “Roots of the Pillar” (UT/166), so perhaps the Sindarin form was derived from a variant primitive form ✱stundā.
Neo-Sindarin: For purpose of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume thond refers only to an ordinary base or root, and more abstract [N.] thonnas refers to things like root-words or a “✱foundation”.