atalta-

verb. to collapse, fall in, fall down, slip down in ruin

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “collapse, fall in”, an elaboration of ᴹQ. talta- “slope, slip, slide down” under the root ᴹ√TALAT “to slope, lean, tip” (Ety/TALÁT). The verb talta- seems to refer to the process of sliding down or collapsing, while atalta- is the completion of that process = “✱total collapse, falling into ruin”. The past tense atalante of this verb appeared in various versions of the Lament of Atalante and associated notes from the 1930s and 40s, with glosses like “down-fell”, “fell down” and “slip down in ruin” (LR/47; SD/247, 249).

ataltare

noun. collapse

A noun appearing as [ᴹQ.] ataltare “collapse” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, a noun form of the verb atalta- (PE22/110). In Tolkien’s later writings, he used atalantë for “collapse” (MC/223).