u

root. dual

ū

root. under

The root ᴱ√Ū⁽¹⁾ “under” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a reduced form of {ᴱ√UGU >>} ᴱ√UƷU, with derivatives like ᴱQ. ū “beneath” and ᴱQ. umbe “dale, dell” (QL/96-97). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. um⁽⁾ “lowlying” and G. umbel “a dell” (GL/74). Tolkien noted that ᴱ√Ū also meant “not”, and contrasted ᴱ√Ū¹ “under” with ᴱ√NŪ (ᴱ√NUHU) of similar meaning (QL/68, 96). Indeed, in Tolkien’s later writings, √NŪ/UNU was the usual basis for “under” words, and ᴱ√Ū¹ “under” seems to have been abandoned.

ū

root. not

u̯enı̯ā̆́-

adjective. u̯enı̯ā̆́-

uƀna

noun. uƀna

u̯einā́

?. u̯einā́

u̯i

prefix. u̯i

uřu

root. UŘU

u̯ǝkḗ

noun. u̯ǝkḗ

uiŋē

noun. uiŋē

ulkā

adjective. ulkā

ur-iktī

adjective. ur-iktī

uru

root. URU

ur’-irda

adjective. ur’-irda

ulump

root. ULUMP

usu

root. get out, escape

The root ᴱ√USU⁽⁾ appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the gloss “get out, escape” and derivatives like ᴱQ. usu- “he escapes” and ᴱQ. uswe “issue, outlet, escape” (QL/98). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. us(ta)- “leave, depart” and G. uthwen “way out, exit; escape” (GL/75), the latter hinting that the root form may have been a blending with ✱ᴱ√UÞU. I think it is worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√UTH to salvage these early words for “escape”.

ulu

root. pour, flow fast

uluku

root. wolf

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “wolf”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. ulku and G. ulug of the same meaning (QL/97). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien first gave G. ulug “wolf”, but this word’s gloss was revised to “dragon” as a cognate to ᴱQ. lōke (GL/74), and Tolkien added a new word G. urc “wolf” as an equivalent to harw. None of the later Elvish “wolf” words resemble either √ULUK- or √URUK-.

uqu

root. wet

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “wet”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. úqa “wet” and ᴱQ. úqil “rain” (QL/98). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. ub⁽⁾ “wet” and G. uch “rain” (GL/74). In later writings Tolkien used different roots for “wet”.

u̯eniı̯ássa

adjective. *female

ukko

noun. rain

ulu

root. *negative

ulun(t)

root. *camel

umu

root. *negative

uvu

root. *negative

velu

root. unroll

This root appeared as ᴱ√VELU “unroll” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. velunte “sail” and ᴱQ. velupantie “revelation” (QL/100). It had several Gnomish derivatives of similar meaning (GL/22), all beginning with “b” since initial voiced spirants became stops in Gnomish.

Neo-Eldarin: I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√BELU to salvage these early words. However, in The Etymologies from the 1930s, Tolkien glossed the Quenya verb ᴹQ. panta- as “to unfurl, spread out, open”, so it is possible the sense “unfurl” moved to the root ᴹ√PAT (unglossed), though most of this root’s other derivatives are closer in sense to “open” (Ety/PAT).

am(u)

root. up(wards)

gu̯eg-

noun. gu̯eg-

ourū̆

noun. sun

ẏuru

root. run

ou̯a

noun. the sea

ou̯χē

noun. fleece

suru

root. to blow

tyulu

root. tall

koho

root. undergo, endure

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “undergo, endure”, with most of its derivatives having to do with patience, such as ᴱQ. kóle “passivity, endurance, patience” and ᴱQ. kóleva “passive” (QL/47).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think these early words may be reimagined as derivatives of √KOL “bear”.

ƕunu Speculative

root. ǶUNU

A hypothetical early root explaining the words ᴱQ. hunto/G. funt “elephant” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/41). Given the hu-/fu- variation in Qenya versus Gnomish, the true root is probably ᴱ√ǶUNU. Likely this root was made obsolete by later elephant words.

liya

root. unite many as one

sṣtē

noun. ulcer, boil

ʒuðu Reconstructed

root. *burn

wara

root. care for, guard, watch (over)

This root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√QARA “care for, guard, watch (over)” along with derivatives ᴱQ. qāra “watch, ward”, ᴱQ. qārele “watchfulness, anxiety”, and Gnomish variant gwar- (QL/76). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon G. gwar- appear with the gloss “watch (all senses)” with an apparent primitive form u̯ar “guard” (GL/46). This may represent a conceptual shift from primitive {ᴱ✶gʷar- >>} ᴱ✶war-, with earlier Qenya kʷar- being the result of the usual change whereby initial voiced stops were unvoiced [gʷ- > kʷ-]. Further evidence of this shift may be found in ᴱQ. Varavilindo, Qenya cognate of G. Gwarbilin “Birdward(en)” (GL/70), where the Qenya form was the result of w becoming v.

The most notable derivative of this root was G. gwareth “watch, guard, ward” as in G. Amon Gwareth “Hill of Watch” (LT2/158), a name that retained this form and meaning into Silmarillion drafts of the early 1930s (SM/137). In the mid-1930s, Tolkien considered changing the name to N. Amon Thoros (LR/56), but ultimately retained this name as S. Amon Gwareth into the 1950s, though without translation (WJ/200; S/126). It is thus possible this early root ᴱ√(G)WARA “guard” survived, but it just as likely that the name Amon Gwareth survived without being given a proper etymology in the Elvish languages as Tolkien imagined them in the 1950s and 60s.

gwete

root. *wind, turn, bend

A root given as the basis for the verb G. gwed- “wind, turn, bend (intr.)” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, with other derivatives like ᴱQ. wente/G. gwent “brook, small river” (GL/46). It seems to be an updated form of ᴱ√GWEÐE of similar meaning as it appeared in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon, since Tolkien first wrote this verb as gwedh- and the primitive form as gu̯eđ before changing it to gwed- < gu̯et. However, despite gu̯eđ >> gu̯et Tolkien did leave most of the gwedh- derivatives unchanged, so it seems he was undecided only whether ᴱ√GWETE replaced ᴱ√GWEÐE or was just a variant. In any case, there are no signs of any of these roots in Tolkien’s later writing.

maþa

root. dusk

This root was given as ᴱ√MASA¹ “dusk” in its main entry in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but its Gnomish form math- indicates the true root was ᴱ√MAÞA (QL/59). This was clarified in a list of roots at the end of the M-section in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/63) and its representation as maþ- in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/59). Its most notable use in the Legendarium was in the name G. Umboth-muilin “Pools (muil-plural) of Twilight (umboth)”, where G. umboth or umbath “nightfall” was derived from a strengthened form of the root, ᴱ√mbaþ- (GL/75). However, in later writings this name was reconceived as Ilk. Umboth Muilin “Veiled (muilin) Pool (umboth)”, with the first element umboth meaning “large pool” (Ety/MBOTH, MUY). The name was ultimately replaced with S. Aelin-uial (S/114), by which point the early root ᴱ√MAÞA was long abandoned.

gwaṙa

root. rub

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “rub” (QL/103). There are no signs of it in Tolkien’s later writing.

naqa

root. steal, take; get by stealth, unlawfully

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “steal, take; get by stealth, unlawfully”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. nak (naq-) “anything stolen, a theft, a trick” and ᴱQ. naqar “thief” (QL/64). There are no signs of this root in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but words like G. nig- “steal, creep, do or go by stealth” and G. nigla- “to thieve, pilfer” might be derived from a variant (GL/60); there is otherwise no ✱ᴱ√NIKI root appearing in the Qenya Lexicon. There are no signs of either of these roots in Tolkien’s later writing with these meaning; later √NIK means “small” (VT47/26; VT48/18).

saw̯a

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/82), which may have reemerged as √SAWA “disgusting, foul, vile” in notes from the 1950s (PE17/172, 183).

sivi

root. [unglossed]

Unglossed roots in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants ᴱ√SIVI and ᴱ√SIWI and a single unglossed derivative ᴱQ. sivilda (QL/84). It is difficult to guess what Tolkien intended for these forms to mean, though they conceivably reemerged as the later roots ᴹ√SIW “excite, egg on, urge” (Ety/SIW) or √SIB “rest, quiet” (VT44/35).

tołᵂo

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in The Qenya Phonology of the 1910s illustrating a hypothetical series of ancient lateral approximants, with derived roots like ᴱ√TOLO and ᴱ√TOẆO [with ẇ = ɣʷ] (PE12/16). The former appeared in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon as the basis for island words (QL/94), but the latter appeared nowhere else in Early Qenya writings.

tṃpṃ

root. build

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “build”, with derivatives ᴱQ. tump- “build”, ᴱQ. tumpo “shed”, and ᴱQ. tampo “well” (QL/93). It was likely related to ᴱ√TAMA “(beat) smelt, forge” (QL/88), as further evidenced by ᴱ✶tṃp- “beat” > ᴱQ. tump- in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/58). It thus may have reemerged in the later root √TAM “construct” from the late 1960s (PE17/107).

gwili

root. *peace, quiet

wi

root. dual

eðe

root. out

-ttǝ

suffix. dual

-yǝ

suffix. [unglossed]

ata

root. dual

bendā

adjective. slanting, sloping, up or down hill

kere

root. turn

kṛp-

verb. to pluck

lepse

?. [unglossed]

lopse

?. [unglossed]

nindyā

adjective. blue

snóra

noun. muscle

teled-

noun. [unglossed]

teŋe

root. know, understand

toẇo

root. [unglossed]

t’lḗpe

noun. butter

ese

root. out

eře

root. out

kwere

root. turn

kyere

root. turn

nū

root. *under

tḷkḷ

root. [unglossed]

wiri

root. *look

A primitive appearing as {✶gu̯iri >>} ✶u̯iri [ᴱ√WIRI] in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s serving as the basis for G. gwir- “look, look at” and G. gwirith “expression, look (on face); look, regard, fixed look; countenance” (GL/46-47). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

ṇqṇ

root. *ear

This was listed as two distinct unglossed roots in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱ√(U)ṆQ(U)Ṇ¹ and ᴱ√(U)ṆQ(U)Ṇ², the former having derivatives related to hooks, loops or handles, and the latter having derivatives having to do with ears, but Tolkien speculated that the two may have been originally the same, and I think that’s probably his intent (QL/98). Tolkien compared the second root to ᴱ√TṆQṆ “hear” (QL/93, 98). The only obvious derivative of any of these roots from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was G. unc “ear, handle (of a jar)”, which likewises points to a common root (GL/75). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

kaha

root. cause

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “cause” with derivatives like ᴱQ. ka- “cause”, ᴱQ. káma “guilt, responsibility”, and ᴱQ. kasta “cause, motive, ultimate reason” (QL/43). There are similar derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, such as G. caith “cause, reason, motive” < ᴱ✶kahta (GL/24). Some of these words have no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing, so I think it is worthwhile to postulate a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KAH to salvage some of these early words.

aha

root. know

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “know”, but most of its derivatives have to do with “mind” (QL/29). There are quite a few later roots filling this same semantic space, and this root was probably abandoned.

sah(y)a

root. be hot

A root given as ᴱ√SAHA or ᴱ√SAHYA and glossed “be hot” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. sá “fire” and ᴱQ. Sahóra “the South” (QL/81). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. sâ “fire” and G. sair “hot” (GL/66). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

yaða

root. *gloom

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with Gnomish form gadh- and derivatives ᴱQ. yanda “dark, gloomy” and ᴱQ. yara “a gloom, blight, lowering darkness” (QL/105). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien gave the primitive form ᴱ✶ı̯ādh (GL/37). This root was the basis for the 1910s names ᴱQ. Aryan/G. Garioth/ᴱIlk. Aryador “Land of Shadow”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the last of these became Ilk. Ariador “Land Outside [Doriath]” (Ety/ELED, GAT(H)), before the name was abandoned entirely.

ðana

root. day

A primitive form in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives meaning “day” (GL/38). There were a variety of different roots for “day” in later writings such ᴹ√AR or √UR.

wehe Reconstructed

root. *death

This root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as unglossed ᴱ√VEHE where it served as the basis for the names ᴱQ. Vē and ᴱQ. Vefantor (QL/100), elsewhere explained as the “Fantur of Death” (QL/37). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, the Gnomish cognates of these Qenya names were G. Gwî and G. Gwifanthor from primitive u̯ē· (GL/45). In the Qenya Lexicon Tolkien compared ᴱ√VEHE to ᴱ√FEHE, and while this root does not appear elsewhere, ᴱ√ǶEHE does, with gloss “breath; die, expire” and a derivative ᴱQ. Fé “last hour, death” (QL/41). Since ƕ is basically a voiceless w, it seems likely the actual root was ✱ᴱ√WEHE as voiced variant of ᴱ√ǶEHE, probably with a sense similar to “✱death”. None of these forms appear in Tolkien’s later writings.

gwene

root. *maiden; woman

gwili

root. *fly

gwiŋi

root. *foam

ṇqṇ

root. ṆQṆ

m(b)ṛtṛ

root. chance

niqi

root. white

mat-

verb. to eat

mata

root. eat

mele

root. love

mḷkḷ

root. possess

nḷdle

noun. dell

peia

noun. scorn

roto

root. hollow

saχ[a]

noun. fire

ske-ndá

noun. eye

tṇq-

verb. to hear

yn̄t

adjective. large

ŋolo

root. to know

ū́kā̀rele

noun. ū́kā̀rele

ḷ-

prefix. negative prefix

ẏata

root. join

vo(no) Reconstructed

root. son

ʒono Reconstructed

root. hard

gwigi

root. *foam

mī

root. in

þχe-ndǝ

noun. eye