wā

root. blow; noise of wind, echoic representation of sound of wind

This and similar roots were the basis for “wind” words for much of Tolkien’s life, especially in Sindarin and its precursors. Its first appearance was unglossed ᴱ√GWĀ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. ’wā “wind” and ᴱQ. ’wanwavoite “windy”, where presumably the ’ indicated the lost initial g; there were also two erased variants of the root ᴱ√WĀ and ᴱ√WA’A (WAƷA?) (QL/102). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. gwâ “wind” and G. gwavwed “windy” (GL/43).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WĀ “blow” with extended variants ᴹ√WAIWA and ᴹ√WAWA and derivatives like ᴹQ. vaiwa/N. gwaew “wind” (Ety/WĀ). ᴹQ. ván/N. gwaun < ᴹ√WĀ-N also seem to be related (Ety/WA-N; EtyAC/WA-N), perhaps based on the noise the goose makes. The root √WĀ appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “blow” (PE17/33), “[used?] of noise of wind” (PE17/34), “echoic representation of sound of wind” (NM/237), and in the variant form √WAY “blow, or be disturbed” (PE17/33) or √WAY “blow (as of wind)” (PE17/154, 189). √WAY was its most common variant form, but it had many others such as √WAW, √WIW, √SWA, √SWAW and √SWAR.

wa-

prefix. wa-

wanasō

noun. wanasō

wan

root. WAN

wā-

prefix. *away

Theoretical initial element in ancient wādelo “those who departed Middle-earth”, but according to Tolkien this was a false etymology (WJ/364).

wanwa

adjective. gone, taken away, lost, departed

wath

root. *shade, [ᴹ√] shade

The root ᴹ√WATH “shade” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. gwath of the same meaning (Ety/WATH). Primitive ✶wath “shadow” was mentioned in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s as the basis for S. gwath (PE17/41), and primitive root √WATH appeared in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, again as the basis for S. gwath and similar words like S. gwathren “shadowy, dim” and Q. vasar “veil”, the latter from extended form waþar [√WATHAR] which was apparently the only survival of the shorter root in Quenya (VT42/9-10). This extended root might also be the basis for the (archaic?) region name Q. Avathar “Shadows” from The Silmarillion (S/73-4; MR/284).

wagmē

noun. storm

wathar

root. *shadow, veil

waile

noun. *wind

waiwa(y)

noun. *wind

walka

adjective. fierce, ferocious

walna

adjective. excited, wild

wanya

adjective. fair-haired (yellow to golden)

wanyā

adjective. fair

wath

noun. shadow

way

root. blow (of wind), be disturbed

wal

root. be stirred, excited; emotion, movement of feelings

waw

root. blow (of wind), be disturbed

wā/awa

root. away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago, away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago; [ᴹ√] forth, out

This invertible root and ones like it were the basis for “away” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration was ᴱ√AVA “go away, depart, leave” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. au “away from” and ᴱQ. avanwa “going, passing, nearly gone” (QL/33). This early root remanifested as ᴹ√AB “go away, depart, leave” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but the gloss of that root was revised to “refuse, deny” (Ety/AB). As a replacement, Tolkien introduced ᴹ√AWA “away, forth; out” with derivatives like ᴹQ. ava “outside”; Tolkien also considered deriving a privative prefix ᴹQ. ava- from this root (Ety/AWA).

The root √AWA was mentioned many times in Tolkien’s later writings, along with its inverted variant √WĀ, usually with the sense “away (from)” or a verbal sense “go (away), depart, pass away”. Its most detailed description appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, where Tolkien said:

> The element ✱AWA ... referred to movement away, viewed from the point of view of the thing, person, or place left. As a prefix it had probably already developed in CE the form ✱au-. The form ✱awa was originally an independent adverbial form, but appears to have been also used as a prefix (as an intensive form of ✱awa-, ✱au-). The form ✱wā- was probably originally used as a verbal stem, and possibly also in composition with verbal stems (WJ/361).

In this same document Tolkien said of Sindarin that:

> The only normal derivative [of √AWA] is the preposition o, the usual word for “from, of”. None of the forms of the element ✱awa are found as a prefix in S, probably because they became like or the same as the products of ✱wō, ✱wo (WJ/366).

Indeed, most of the attested derivatives of this root are in Quenya, but there are a couple in Sindarin, such as the aforementioned S. o from AWA, as well S. gwanwen “departed” (WJ/378) and the verb S. gwae- “go”, probably only in the limited sense “depart” (PE17/148), both from WĀ.

In late notes from 1969 Tolkien gave the root √AWA the sense “before or ago (of time)” (PE22/167 note #117; PE22/168), but I suspect this was a transient idea.

(g)wan

root. pale, fair

A root appearing several times in notes written on or shortly before 1960 with a general meaning “pale, fair” (PE17/150, 154, 165, 189; WJ/383), as opposed to √BAN which was simply “beautiful”. It seems Tolkien introduced this root when he realized that “VAN cannot only = fair (blonde), since vanima is applied in LR to Arwen who was like Lúthien dark” (PE17/165). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 he used this root for a new etymology for the tribal name of the Vanyar referring to their fair, blond hair.

This root appeared as √GWAN, √WAN and √GWAY, though the note where the last of these appeared was marked through (PE17/154). With √GWAN the root would merge with √BAN in both Quenya and Sindarin: Q. vanya and S. bain “fair and beautiful” (PE17/154). But with √WAN the two would remain distinct in Sindarin, as in bain “beautiful” vs. gwain “fair haired” (PE17/150). I find the second paradigm more interesting, and thus recommend assuming the ancient root was √WAN for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

This root might be a restoration of an earlier separation of ᴱ√ɃANA versus ᴱ√WANA in the Elvish languages as Tolkien conceived of them in the 1910s, though the semantic divisions in the earlier conception were not the same. See the entry on √BAN for further discussion.

gwal

root. be stirred, excited; emotion, movement of feelings

This root appeared in a couple different notes from the late 1950s, as {√GWAL} >> √WAL “emotion, movement of feelings” in one (PE17/189) and as √GWAL “be stirred, excited” in the other (PE17/154). However, its one Sindarin derivative balch “fierce, ferocious” (PE17/154) requires the primitive form be √GWAL, since it demonstrates the Ancient Telerin sound change whereby labialized velars became labials (gw > b). This is further supported by the prevalence of w-forms in its Quenya derivations, since primitive ✶gw- would have remained w- for longer in Quenya (PE19/75).

grawa

noun. dog

gwa-lassiē

noun. foliage

wairē

feminine name. Weaver

as

root. warmth

A root appearing in several sets of etymological notes from 1957 glossed “warmth” and forming the basis for Q. árë “sunlight, warmth” (PE17/148). This is further supported by the archaic form †ázë for this word (LotR/1123), with intervocalic [s] > [z] > [r] as usual. The form Âs was also mentioned as an ancient name for the Sun in some Silmarillion notes (MR/380). At one point Tolkien connected this root to S. Asfaloth which he translated as “Sunlit Foam” (PE17/18); he then rejected this derivation saying the root form was actually √GAS, but since the ancient form was given as √AS in several other places, perhaps he changed his mind.

del

root. walk, go, proceed, travel

This root appears in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 with the sense “walk, go, proceed, travel” (WJ/360). Its derivatives were S. Edhel “Elf” and Q. †Eldo which blended with Elda “Elf”, both originally with the sense “one who goes” (✶edelō): those who left lake Cuiviénen to travel to Valinor. It is also the basis of several words meaning “to go”: T. delia- and Q. lelya-.

Many of Quenya derivatives of this root actually derive from an inversion √LED of the original √DEL. According to the Quendi and Eldar essay, this inversion only occurred in Quenya (WJ/363). In earlier writings like The Etymologies, however, ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” was the basic root in all languages. It seems that Tolkien revised ᴹ√LED >> √DEL, preserving √LED only as a Quenya variant. The strongest sign of this change was Tolkien’s consistent alteration of N. Eledh >> S. Edhel.

This leaves open the question of what happened to the other non-Quenya derivatives of ᴹ√LED, such as S. edlen(n) “exile”. It is possible that they were transferred to a new root √LEN, which was the basis for S. lembas “way bread” (PE17/60).

nen

root. water, water, [ᴱ√] flow

A root connected to water and (to a lesser extent) rivers for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appearance was as ᴱ√NENE “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien marked both the root and the gloss with a “?”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nen “river, †water” and ᴱQ. nēnu “yellow water lily” (QL/65). Under this entry Tolkien noted that “nen water is perhaps different from nen river, which is from neře” (QL/65); elsewhere in QL Tolkien gave ᴱ√NERE² or ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] as the basis for nen (nend-) “river”, a root he said was often confused with ᴱ√NESE “give to feed; feed, pasture; graze” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon he had G. nenn “(1) water, (2) river” and G. nendil “water fay” which were probably a blending of NENE and NEÐE, as well as G. nern “brook” from ✱nere¹ (GL/60), probably corresponding to ᴱ√NERE² from QL.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√NEN with derivatives like ᴹQ. nén/N. nen “water” and ᴹQ. nelle “brook” (Ety/NEN), whereas ᴱ√NERE² and ᴱ√NEÐE from the 1910s seems to have been abandoned. The primitive form √NEN or nē̆n “water” continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s writings from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (PE17/52, 167; PE19/102; PE21/64, 79).

ran

root. wander, stray, meander, go on an uncertain course, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen); err

This root first appeared as ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. ranya-/N. rhenia- “to stray”, ᴹQ. ránen/N. rhaun “errant”, and ᴹQ. Rana/N. Rhân as names for the Moon (Ety/RAN). These Moon-names also appeared in earlier writings but without clear etymologies (LT1/192; GL/64). Such Moon names continued to appear in later writings, for example: Q. Rána “Wayward” (S/99). The root √RAN itself was mentioned quite frequently in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “wander, stray” (PE17/182), “wander, stray, go on uncertain course” (VT42/12) and “err, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen)” (PE17/78).

tir

root. watch (over), look at, observe, gaze at, watch (over), look at, observe, gaze at; [ᴹ√] guard

Tolkien used the root √TIR for Elvish words for watching and looking throughout his life. The earliest manifestation of this root was in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√TIRI “guard” (the gloss appeared under the entry for ᴱ√TIŘI) with derivatives like ᴱQ. tiri- “watch; keep, guard, preserve; look at, gaze at, observe” and ᴱQ. tirne “steadfast regard, stare” (QL/93). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tir- “look for, look out for, watch for, await, expect” and G. tirin “watch-tower, turret, tower” (GL/71). The Etymologies of the 1930s has ᴹ√TIR “watch, guard” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tir-/N. tir- “watch”, ᴹQ. tirion “watch-tower, tower” and N. tirith “watch, guard” (Ety/TIR). The root √TIR was mentioned regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “watch, observe” (PE17/187), “to look at (towards), watch, watch over” (RGEO/65) or “look at (turn eyes to, keep eyes on, watch)” (PE22/155).

delya-

verb. walk, go, proceed, travel

nenda

noun. water

nē

adverb. was; then, ago, before

nē̆n

noun. water

oktā

noun. war, hostility, strife

raph-

verb. waves, brandishes

kuitā

verb. waken, rouse

gor

root. deep, profound; warn, counsel; urge, impel, move, deep, profound; warn, counsel; urge, impel, move; [ᴹ√] impetus, haste, violence

The root ᴹ√GOR “violence, impetus, haste” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. orme “haste, violence, wrath” and N. gorn “impetuous” (Ety/GOR), along with a variant ᴹ√ƷOR whose only derivative was ᴹQ. orro or horro “ugh, alas!, ow!” (EtyAC/ƷOR). The root √GOR reappeared in 1968 notes on Gender and Sex with the gloss “deep, profound”, and there it served as the basis for órë (see below) along with other derivatives like Q. orda “profound”, S. gœria- “to ponder”, and S. gordh “deep thought” (NM/176). The root appeared again in another essay from 1968 on the topic of órë (VT41/11-15; NM/219-224), where Tolkien explained its meaning as follows:

> Nearest to the original sense is “warn”, but (a) it did not refer only to dangers, evils, or difficulties ahead; and (b) though it could be used of the influence of one person upon another by visible or audible means (words or signs) — in which case “counsel” was nearer to its sense — this was not its chief use. This can best be explained by consideration of its principal derivative. This was in Common Eldarin ✱gōrē: Quenya óre, Telerin ōre, Sindarin gûr (NM/219).

Tolkien went on to explain Q. órë as the source of deep emotions, that “advises, but is never represented as commanding”, roughly analogous to one’s conscience; see the entry on Q. órë for further details. Note that when this essay on órë was first published in Vinyar Tengwar 41 in the year 2000, Carl Hostetter gave the root and the primitive form as √ƷOR and ✱ʒōrē (VT41/11), but in his book The Nature of Middle-earth (NM) from 2021, he corrected them to √GOR and ✱gōrē (NM/219).

In rough notes after the main essay, Tolkien altered the root to √HOR with glosses “urge, impel, move” specifically limited to “mental impulses” (VT41/13; NM/221). This revised form might be a later iteration of ᴹ√KHOR “set going, put in motion, urge on” from The Etymologies (Ety/KHOR) as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT41/17 note #9). Tolkien gave the Quenya derivative of this revised form as (h)óre but did not specify its Sindarin derivative (VT41/13; NM/222). In another rough note in the same bundle he gave [primitive?] hor- “warn” as the basis for T. hŏra or ora and Q. óre (VT41/15).

Neo-Eldarin: The root √HOR is problematic and difficult to reconcile with either Q. óre and S. gûr, since typically primitive h- survived in Quenya but vanished in Sindarin. I think it is preferable to assume the root remaining √GOR. As for its meaning, I would assume the basic sense was “warn, council” as well as “mental impulse”, with ✶gorē serving as the source of deep-seated thoughts and emotions. This interpretation would allow the continued use of the majority of the root’s attested derivatives from both the 1930s and 1960s, including various 1930s words having to do with “haste” and “impetousness”.

law

root. flourish (green), grow, flourish (green), grow, [ᴹ√] abound; warm

This root was variously connected to life and warmth throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of the root was ᴱ√LAWA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s whose meaning was described as “much same as KOẎO [have life], but used of a vegetable”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. laule “life, mode of life”, ᴱQ. laute “living thing, (esp.) vegetable”, and ᴱQ. lauke “vegetable, plant (species)” (QL/52). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. lauth “a plant, herb” and G. laug “(of plants) alive, having sap, green, vigorous” (GL/53).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was glossed “warm” with derivatives ᴹQ. lauka and N. lhaug of the same meaning (Ety/LAW). In the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s it was glossed “abound” with a Quenya verb ᴹQ. lauta- of the same meaning (PE22/103).

The root √LAW appeared in notes from the late 1950s serving as the basis for Q. loa “sun-year”, originally with the sense ✶lawā “growing, blooming”; it was also explicitly connected to its extended form √LAWAR with the sense “golden colour” (PE17/159). Its final appearance in currently published materials was in some Late Notes on Verbs from 1969, where it was given as √LAW “flourish (green), grow” with derivative Q. lauya- of the same meaning (PE22/156).

Despite all these minor variations, the general meaning of the root was fairly stable, having mainly to do with life and flourishing (especially of plants), and also connected to warmth and sunlight, probably by association with its extended form √(G)LAWAR “golden colour or light”, which applied to sunshine among other things.

len

root. *way, [ᴹ√] way, (?road)

A variant of √LED in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s that Tolkien considered to explain the derivation of S. lembas “waybread” (PE17/60). The root ᴹ√LEN “(?road), way” also appeared earlier in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for N. lembas (EtyAC/LEN). Tolkien may have settled on this root when he revised the earlier root ᴹ√LED (Ety/LED) “go, fare, travel” >> √DEL “walk, go, proceed, travel” in the 1959-60 Quendi and Eldar essay (WJ/360), deciding that its inversion √LED was used mainly in Quenya (WJ/363).

A possible precursor to this root is ᴹ√LĒ “go, fare” in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s with derivative ᴹQ. lesto “journey” (PE21/12). This is turn is probably a later iteration of ᴱ√LEHE “come, be sent, approach” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, given as a variant of ᴱ√ELE (QL/52). It is probably the basis for contemporaneous G. len “come, arrived” and G. lentha- “come towards speaker, approach, draw near” (GL/53) and possibly ᴱQ. lehe- or ᴱQ. lehta- “ride” from the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE15/76).

For a discussion of other parallel roots, see √LED and √DEL.

leñ

root. *way, method, manner

A root appearing in notes from the late 1950s to early 1960s (PE17/74) where Tolkien was attempting to explain the origin of the adverbial suffix Q. -lë. He said:

> But adverbial forms were available especially for when far separated from verb or subject. The chief was -le. This is probably from √LEŊ, cf. fortified form in Q lenge, gesture, characteristic look, gesture or trait etc., weak verb lenga, behave.

lé as noun also is used in sense of “way”, sc. method, manner, as in “that is not A’s way”. Thus oia, everlasting, oiale, everlastingly. Cf. talle, like that, sille, like this, so, yalle, as (in the same way as).

Tolkien then crossed through the first of these paragraphs, saying: “This won’t do, since le is a pronominal element. It should be ve, oiave”. However, he eventually let the word Q. oialë “forever” stand in the Namarië poem, so perhaps he changed his mind again. Despite their rejection, √LEÑ and its derivatives are extremely useful, and I would treat them as valid for purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

lir

root. sing, warble, sing, warble, [ᴹ√] trill

A root connected to singing for all of Tolkien’s life (Ety/GLIR, LIR¹; PE17/27, 67), though its earliest precursor was ᴱ√LIŘI [LIÐI] and thus did not contain the consonant R (QL/54). For further discussion, see √LIN “sing, make a musical sound”.

rab

root. astray, wandering, unsettled

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√RAB in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. ráva/N. rhaw “wild, untamed” and ᴹQ. ravanda/N. rhofan “wilderness” (Ety/RAB; EtyAC/RAB), the latter an element in the name N. Rhovanion from Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/296). The Quenya/Noldorin r-/rh- variation was a result of the fact that [[n|initial [r-], [l-] were unvoiced]] in Noldorin (PE22/32).

The root √RAB reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings with the gloss “astray, wandering, unsettled”; Tolkien contrasted it with √RAN by saying “it differed from √RAN in that it referred to absence of direction or purpose, whereas √RAN meant to ‘err’, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen)” (PE17/78). In Sindarin, however, initial r-, l- were no longer unvoiced, so Tolkien coined a new intensified variant √S-RAB “wild in senses ‘not tamed, domesticated’, and hence often ‘fierce, savage, hostile’ (to Elves and Men)”. This intensified variant served as a new basis for S. Rhovanion “Wilderland”, and also had other derivatives like Q. hráva “wild” and Q. hravan “wild beast”.

In another place Tolkien defined this root as √S)ROB with variant √D)ROB as the basis for Rhovanion (PE17/99), also explaining the element Drû in Drúadan, the Sindarin name for the Woses. These roots produced different Quenya derivatives like hróva.

Neo-Eldarin: Since the Quenya form (h)ráva “wild” is better known, I think it is best to ignore the √S)ROB and √D)ROB variants of this root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin. The Sindarin name for the Woses can be easily explain as a loan word from that people’s name for themselves: Drughu (UT/385).

ap-pata

verb. to walk behind on a track or path

etkuinu-

verb. to awake, wake up

kuitā-

verb. to waken, rouse

lukma

noun. heavy transport wain

pat(a)

noun. track, road, way; ford

et-kuinu

verb. awake, wake up

gas

root. *warmth

rob

root. astray, wandering, unsettled

skorā-

verb. to look out for, watch for, await

wo

root. together

This root was the basis for the prefix Q. o- and S. go- “together”. In the 1910s Gnomish Lexicon, G. go- (unaccented) or gwa- “together” was derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a and the Qenya form was ᴱQ. ma- (GL/40-41). In the 1920s the Early Noldorin form was still ᴱN. go- or gwa- but the Qenya form was ᴱQ. va- (PE13/162), probably from primitive ✱wa-. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WŌ̆ “together” with derivatives ᴹQ. o- and N. go- or stressed gwa- (Ety/WŌ; EtyAC/WŌ).

In The Etymologies Tolkien explained the go-/gwa- variation in Noldorin as the result of the sound change whereby stressed wŏ became wa in Common Eldarin (Ety/WŌ); Tolkien gave a similar explanation for Sindarin in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/367). Despite stressed wŏ > wa being an ancient change, the wa variant did not survive in Quenya. Tolkien explained the sound change whereby wo became o in Quenya several times: in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s, in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, and in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (PE19/53, 106; WJ/367). The root √WO itself also appeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/16, 191; WJ/361), in one place with the variant √WONO (PE17/191).

sow

root. wash, bath

pat Reconstructed

root. *step, walk

Based on words like Q. pata-/S. pad- “walk” and S. pâd “step; track, road” (PE17/34), it seems Tolkien imagined a root ✱√PAT = “walk” or “step” in his later conception of the languages. This was probably a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√PATA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. pata- “rap, tap (of feet)”, ᴱQ. patake “clatter”, and ᴱQ. patinka “shoe, slipper” (QL/72). Tolkien compared this early root to ᴱ√PETE which had derivatives like ᴱQ. pete- “knock, strike” (QL/73), so likely ᴱ√PATA¹ = “tap” (light) vs. ᴱ√PETE = “knock” (heavy). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon this root had derivatives like G. padra- “walk”, with a much clear connection Tolkien’s later ideas from the 1950s and 1960s. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave N. pâd as an element Tharbad, whose gloss is unclear but seems to be “?Crossway” (Ety/THAR); this might indicate some continuity of thought between 1910s ᴱ√PATA¹ “✱tap” and 1950s/60s ✱√PAT “walk”.

The root ᴹ√PAT did appear in its own entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but it had derivatives like ᴹQ. panta-/N. panna- “to open” (Ety/PAT), making it more likely a continuation of ᴱ√PATA² or ᴱ√PṆTṆ “open, spread out, show” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, which coexisted with ᴱ√PATA¹ “✱tap” (QL/72). See the entry on ᴹ√PAT for further discussion.

mat

root. eat

This was the root for eating words for all of Tolkien’s life, appearing very regularly. It was ᴱ√MATA “eat” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59), ᴹ√MAT “eat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), and √MAT “eat” in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/26), among its many other appearances. This puts it among the most conceptually stable of Elvish roots.

teg

root. line

Tolkien used a number of similar roots as the basis for “line” words throughout his life. The earliest of these appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as ᴱ√TEHE [teχe] “pull” (gloss marked with a “?” by Tolkien) with derivatives like ᴱQ. tea “straight”, ᴱQ. telya “attractive; importunate”, and ᴱQ. tie “line, direction, route, road” (QL/90), the last of these surviving more or less unchanged all the way into the published version of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/377). The early root ᴱ√TEHE also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tê “mark, line; track; path”, G. tî or tion “straight”, and G. tîr “honest; esteem, regard, honour”, originally “straight, upright” (GL/69, 71). Primitive ᴱ✶tegna > ᴱQ. tína/ᴱN. tain “straight” from Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s may represent a shift in the form of the root to ✱ᴱ√TEGE (PE13/153, 165).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tie/N. tê “line, way” and ᴹQ. téra/N. tîr “straight, right” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). In the Outline of Phonology Tolkien gave √TEG “line”, whereas √TEÑ was given as the basis for Q. tenna “a thought, notion, idea” and thus clearly with a different meaning; see the entry √TEÑ for further discussion. In any case it is clear that Tolkien considered various ancient velar consonants for the second consonant of this root, all ultimately vanishing in the child languages with similar vocalic effects: 1910s teχ-, 1920s teg-, 1930s {teʒ- >>} teñ- and 1950s teg-.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume this root was √TEƷ in order to preserve the validity of the word téma “series”. This is because Tolkien kept vacillating on the development of gm, but usually had gm &gt; ngw, so that teg-mā > tengwa, not téma.

win

root. young, young, [ᴹ√] new, fresh

Tolkien used a similar set of Elvish roots for “youth” and “freshness” for many years. The earliest of these was primitive guı̯u̯ or gu̯iu̯ [ᴱ√GWIWI] in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. gui “just, just now, only just, already”, G. guin “recent, fresh”, and G. gwioth “youth” (GL/42). This root reappeared as ᴹ√WIR “new, fresh, young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√WĪ and ᴹ√WIN and derivatives ᴹQ. vírie “youth” and ᴹQ. virya “fresh” (EtyAC/WIR). The ᴹ√WIN variant had derivatives ᴹQ. vinya/N. gwîn “young”. Tolkien considered, but rejected, deriving these from strengthened ᴹ√GWIN instead, producing (also rejected) ᴹQ. winya/N. bîn (EtyAC/GWIN).

Q. vinya appeared in quite a few later names with the gloss “young” or “new”, but the Sindarin form became S. gwain as in S. Narwain “January, ✱(lit.) New Fire” (LotR/1110) and S. Iarwain “Old-young” (LotR/1114; RC/128). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, both were given as derivatives of √WIN “young” along with Q. víne/S. gwîn “youth”, though the Sindarin word for “young” was given as (archaic?) gwein (PE17/191). Also related are various words for “baby” from 1968 notes such Q. †wine/S. gwinig “little-one, baby” (VT48/6). In these notes primitive wini was glossed “little” but this was deleted (VT47/26), making it likely that the earlier senses “young, new” were restored for √WIN.

As for the 1930s root ᴹ√WIR, it might have survived as an element in the month names Q. Víressë/S. Gwirith “April” (LotR/1110), perhaps meaning “✱freshness”.

wir

root. weave, twine, weaving with cross-threads or withes

Tolkien used a variety of similar roots for Elvish words having to do with “weaving”, many of them tied to the name of Q. Vairë. The earliest of these was a pair of roots ᴱ√GWERE “whirl, twirl, twist” and unglossed {ᴱ√WIÐI >>} ᴱ√GWIÐI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the latter with derivatives like ᴱQ. ’winda “woof” and ᴱQ. ’windele “loom” (QL/103-104). The connection between ᴱ√GWERE and weaving is more obvious in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon where Tolkien said that ✶gwer- “wind, turn, bend” was often used as “plait or weave”, much like ✶gwidh- (GL/46). The most notable weaving word derived from 1910s ✶gwer- was G. Gwerlum “Gloomweaver” (GL/46).

Nothing of this blended paradigm remained in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where Tolkien instead had ᴹ√WEY “wind, weave” as the basis for ᴹQ. Vaire/N. Gwîr “Weaver”, and in this document the root was blended with ᴹ√WAY “enfold” in Quenya because wei &gt; wai (Ety/WEY). Tolkien seems to have abandoned this phonetic rule by the time he wrote his Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, where he instead said:

> Owing to the use of gwae / gwaew “wind” as in Gwaehir, we must have √WAYA = blow, or be disturbed. √WAYA cannot therefore be used = “weave”, and Vairë has no connexion with winds or stories. EITHER Vairë must become name of Osse’s wife: Q váya is used of sea (as waters, motion). OR Vairë’s name be changed: sc. to Vérë, √WER- “twine, weave”, were-, weave (PE17/33).

Ultimately Tolkien made neither of these changes to Vairë, and this section was rejected. In a set of roots from December 1959 (D59) Tolkien said “√WIRI, weave; hence Vaire (literally ‘weaving’), not from WAY” (PE17/191). The name Q. Vairë “Ever-weaving” was also derived from √WIR in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (VT39/10). However, in notes from the late 1960s Tolkien said “weaving with cross-threads or withes was represented by the distinct base {WAY >>} WIG, often in strengthened form waig-” (VT42/10 and VT42/29 note #27). So it seems Tolkien continued to vacillate on the weaving roots.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the 1959-60 root form √WIR lets us salvage the largest number of words, and it is not clear how Vairë would be derived from late-60s waig-.

ler

root. free

A root appearing twice in a list of roots from 1959-60, the first time described as “free (of moveable things or moving things), able to move as willed, unimpeded, unhampered, loose, not fixed fast or static” and the second time as “am free to do, sc., am under no restraint (physical or other)” (VT41/5-6). In the second instance it was compared to √POL which had the sense of being physically able to do something. It seems that √LER = “able to do something because there is nothing preventing it” vs. √POL = “able to something because of physical ability”. It might also be contrasted with √LEK which has the sense of freeing something that was once bound, whereas with √LER the thing that is free may have never been bound in the first place.

olob

root. branch

A root mentioned in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s serving as the basis for Q. olba of the same meaning (PM/341). Q. olvar “growing things with roots in the earth” from The Silmarillion was probably related (S/45, 345). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, “branch” words were derived from unglossed ᴹ√GOLOB: ᴹQ. olwa and N. golf “branch” (Ety/GÓLOB).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √GOLOB is a Sindarin-only variant of √OLOB, perhaps influenced by √GAL “grow”. This would allow us to retain golf = “branch”, though the one name where it appeared, N. Gurtholf “Wand of Death” (Ety/ÑGUR; LR/147), became S. Gurthang “Iron of Death” in later versions of The Silmarillion (S/210).

sir

root. flow

The root √SIR and similar roots meant “flow” for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant sini and derived forms like ᴱQ. sindi “river” and ᴱQ. síre “stream” (QL/84). The latter word became “river” in Tolkien’s later writings, and words appearing in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. sîr “river” and G. siriol “flowing” (GL/67-68) rather than ✱✱sidh- indicate Tolkien very early revised the root to ✱ᴱ√SIRI. Indeed, the root was ᴹ√SIR “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and the root appeared with this form and essential meaning several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/127, 135).

yarr-

noun. dog, dog; *growl, snarl

In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien gave the root ᴱ√YAPA “snarl, snap, bark ill-temperedly” (QL/105). It had no derivatives in QL, but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the words G. gab- “bark, bay (of dogs)” and G. gôbi “a large hound” were clearly related (GL/36). There were no similar forms for many years, but then primitive ✶yarr- “dog” appeared in notes from 1968 (VT47/36). This later primitive was likely related to Q. yarra- “growl, snarl” from the Q. Markirya poem of this same period (MC/223), perhaps from a root ✱√YAR.

wāwā

verb. *blow

wāya

verb. blow

(s)loga

noun. fenland

-iyē

suffix. gerund, -ing

ay(ar)

root. sea

lā-

verb. to not be

mat-

verb. to eat

nēnā

adjective. wet

orya-

verb. to rise

rānā

noun. moon

wegō(n)

noun. living creature

wādelo

noun. wādelo

áse

noun. sunlight

ñgurū

noun. death

awta- Reconstructed

verb. awta-

-(a)lē

suffix. abstract noun, adverb

-(i)yē

suffix. abstract noun, adverb

airō

noun. ocean

anār

noun. Sun

bani

adjective. fair

banya

adjective. beautiful

eñ-

verb. to exist

glin(d)

root. sing

hor

root. urge, impel, move

khan

root. brother

A root for “brother” that Tolkien introduced in notes on finger-names from the late 1960s as a companion to √NETH “sister” (VT47/14, 26, 34). It conflicts with, and possibly replaces, earlier uses for √KHAN such as √KHAN “back” in notes from around 1959 serving as the basis for the prefix Q. han- in hanquenta “answer” (PE17/166). The root ᴹ√KHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “understand, comprehend”, with various derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/KHAN).

It is unlikely that all these uses of √KHAN coexisted, but I think at a minimum both √KHAN “brother” and ᴹ√KHAN “understand, comprehend” should be retained for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as the latter has no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing. As for hanquenta “answer”, it might be reinterpreted as “a saying providing understanding”, and so be derived from ᴹ√KHAN “understand”.

lind

root. sing

makla

noun. sword

mbar-

verb. to dwell

morokō

noun. bear

ndē̆r

noun. man

satya-

verb. set aside

sū

noun. wind

sūli

noun. wind

sūri

noun. wind

thandā

noun. shield

wiw

root. blow

wā(w)

noun. dog

wō

prefix. together

ówō

adverb. together

likwis

root. clear, transparent