asarta

verb. treat medically

asarta

noun. leech, doctor, doctor, leech

A word for “leech, doctor” in rough notes from 1969 given as aþarta, asartar, where the second word is hard to read and might be a plural form (PE22/166 notes #110). Slightly above this Tolkien had {aþumo >>} Q. aþar(o) “doctor, leech”. These words appear in the context of a discussion of the root √HATHA > Q. haþa- “to treat (medically)”, but given the lack of initial h these “doctor” words may instead be derived from the associated root √ATHA “be willing, agree; assist”, which appeared in the same set of pages (PE22/166 notes #109). Alternately, they may reflect vacillations on Tolkien’s part for the primitive developments for these words.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume these “doctor” words result from a blending of √HATH and √ATH, aided by words like the healing herb asëa. After the change of þ > s, they would be pronounced asarta and asar(o).

Derivations

• √HATH “treat kindly/make easy, (help to) cure” ✧ PE22/166

Variations

• aþarta ✧ PE22/166