Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Gnomish

bi

preposition. in

Gnomish [GL/20; GL/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bil

noun. bird

A word for “bird” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing next to G. bilinc “sparrow”, but this word was deleted and the gloss for bilinc was expanded to “a small bird, especially sparrow” (GL/22-23). The form bil appeared in a couple other places in the Gnomish Lexicon (GL/23, 31), but seems to represent a “root” rather than a word. Tolkien indicated bil was derived from ᴱ✶du̯il (GL/31), but the exact mechanism whereby du̯- became b- isn’t clear, but a similar change is seen in 1920s ᴱ✶du̯ag- > ᴱT. baga- “beat” and ᴱ✶tu̯ak- > ᴱQ. pak- “apply, attach” (PE14/66).

Gnomish [GL/23; GL/31; GL/39] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bilin(c)

noun. small bird, sparrow

Gnomish [GL/22; GL/23; GL/47; LT1A/Tinfang] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bith

noun. juice, sap

biltha-

verb. to flutter, flit

bin

preposition. into

Gnomish [GL/20; GL/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bir

preposition. in, within, inside

gwarbilin

masculine name. Birdward(en)

Gnomish [GL/47; GL/70; LT1A/Tinfang; LT2A/Amon Gwareth; LT2I/Tinfang] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwi-

prefix. twi-, bi-, di-

Gnomish [GL/45; GL/74] Group: Eldamo. Published by

huil

noun. bitch, *female dog

The word G. huil “bitch” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as a female variant of G. “dog” (GL/49).

Neo-Sindarin: I would adapt this word as huil “bitch, ✱female dog” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin as a derivative of later root ᴹ√KHUG “bark, bay” (Ety/KHUGAN), perhaps derived from primitive ✱khūgil; compare to S. huan “hound”.

nanc

noun. bite

A noun appearing as G. nanc “a bite” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/59), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NAKA “bite” (QL/64).

Neo-Sindarin: Since ᴹ√NAK “bite” appeared in Tolkien’s later writings, I’d retain the noun ᴺS. nanc “bite” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

nost

noun. birth; blood, high birth; birthday

A word appearing as G. {nort >>} nost in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with three distinct meanings: “birth”, “blood = high birth” and “birthday”, though the last sense also applied to the word G. {noss >>} nôs (GL/61). It is clearly based on the early root ᴱ√ “become, be born” (QL/66). G. nosteg seems to be an adjectival variant in the phrase dana nosteg “birthday = ✱day of birth” (GL/61)

Neo-Sindarin: The usual Neo-Sindarin word for “birth” is ᴺS. onnad, gerund of the verb onna- “✱to give birth”; I’m not sure who coined this neologism, but it has been in use for some time.

Gnomish [GL/61; LT2A/Duilin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nôs

noun. birthday; nature

A word appearing as G. {noss >>} nôs “birthday” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/61), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√ “become, be born” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Grammar it appeared with the gloss “nature” in phrases like nôs mora “good by nature” (GG/10).

Neo-Sindarin: The usual Neo-Sindarin word for “birthday” is ᴺS. oronnad, a combination of aur “day” and [ᴺS.] onnad “birth”. The word has been floating around for long enough that I have no idea where it originated, but I first learned of it from Fiona Jallings’s Sindarin word lists.

Gnomish [GG/10; GL/44; GL/61; LT2A/Duilin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aigli

noun. bird

Gnomish [GL/17; GL/32] Group: Eldamo. Published by

end

noun. birds nest

nactha-

verb. bite

nosteg

adjective. birth

pigwa

adjective. bitter

dana nosteg

birthday

glamri

noun. bitter feud

Gnomish [GL/39; LT2A/Glamhoth] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwen(n)

adjective. big, large; fine

gwent

adjective. big, large; fine

habach

noun. big shoe, clog, sabot

noss

noun. birthday

nost-na-lothion

proper name. Birth of Flowers

Gnomish [LT2/172; LT2/202; LT2A/Duilin; LT2I/Nost-na-Lothion] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pigwed

adjective. bitter

gwanos

noun. family, birth, heredity

A noun appearing as G. gwanos “family, birth, heredity” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a combination of G. gwa- “together” and G. nôs “birth” (GL/44), hence probably originally something like “✱totality of births”.

Neo-Sindarin: I think ᴺS. gwanos can be retained in Neo-Sindarin as a combination of S. go- “together” and S. nos(s) “kindred”, especially in reference to one’s lineage.

Gnomish [GG/08; GL/44; GL/61] Group: Eldamo. Published by

saptha-

verb. to dig, bite into

A verb appearing as G. saptha- “to dig, to bite into” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s based on the early root ᴱ√SAPA “dig, excavate” (GL/67).

Neo-Sindarin: The root √SAP reappeared in Tolkien’s later writings, but for purposes of Neo-Sindarin I would adapt G. saptha- as a basic verb ᴺS. sab- “to dig” to avoid questions of how its phonetics would have changed in later Sindarin.

sôr

noun. wave, billow

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “a wave, billow” (GL/68). Given the latter gloss it seems to apply to wind as well as water.

Gnomish [GL/67; GL/68] Group: Eldamo. Published by

heb-

verb. to bind, bind round

Gnomish [GL/23; GL/48] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aisc

noun/adjective. sharp, bitter; sharp edge of a blade

Gnomish [GL/18; GL/31] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mictha-

verb. to kiss, bill

tîf

noun. resentment, ill feeling, bitterness

Gnomish [GL/70; LT2A/Tevildo] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glindwil

noun. swallow

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s for the bird “swallow” with variants glindwil and lindwil, a combination of G. glin “sound” and the suffixal form -wil of G. bil bird (GL/39, 54).

Gnomish [GL/31; GL/39; GL/54] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bedhril

noun. wife

A noun appearing as (archaic) G. †bedhril “wife” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, replaced in ordinary speech by G. bess (GL/22). It is a combination of the early root ᴱ√Beđ that was the basis for marriage words and the feminine agental suffix G. -(r)il (GL/22).

Neo-Sindarin: I would adapt this into Neo-Sindarin as ᴺS. bethril “spouse (f.)”, a combination of the later root ᴹ√BES “wed” and the same agental suffix, where sr became thr.

bedhron

noun. husband

A noun appearing as G. bedhron “husband” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s replacing archaic G. †benn, a combination of the early root ᴱ√Beđ that was the basis for marriage words and the agental suffix G. -(r)on (GL/22).

Neo-Sindarin: I would adapt this into Neo-Sindarin as ᴺS. bethron “spouse (m.)”, a combination of the later root ᴹ√BES “wed” and the same agental suffix, where sr became thr.

bâb

noun. father

A word for “father” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips (PE13/111). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s itself, G. babi or baba was “mummy, mamma” (GL/21, 57). As pointed out by Gilson, Welden, Hostetter and Wynne, there is a complementary change of {nân “father” >>} G. nân “mother” elsewhere in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips (PE13/115).

gwarin(n)

noun. family

The word G. {gwaren >>} gwarin(n) “family” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋuarenđā (GL/44). It was a combination of G. gwa- “together” and G. renni “family” (GL/65), but it is not clear why the e became i in the compound.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin I would adapt this word as ᴺS. gwaren as a combination of later prefix gwa- “together” and the Neo-Root ᴺ√RE(N)D “kin”. Furthermore, I would use it specifically for a nuclear family (just the parents and children), as opposed to S. nos(s) which seems to refer to an extended family or clan.

Gnomish [GL/44; GL/65] Group: Eldamo. Published by

a(d)

preposition. into

ba

preposition. in

noun. dog

Gnomish [GL/27; GL/49] Group: Eldamo. Published by

duilin

masculine name. Swallow

Gnomish [LBI/Duilin; LBI/Fuilin; LT2/203; LT2A/Duilin; LT2I/bo-Dhuilin; LT2I/Dhuilon; LT2I/Duilin; PE13/104; PE15/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cailthi

noun. kiss

Gnomish [GG/11; GL/24] Group: Eldamo. Published by

duil

noun. swallow

inc

adjective. little

Gnomish [GG/16; GL/26; GL/31; GL/51; GL/66] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ther-

verb. to tie

ada

noun. daddy

adi

noun. daddy

ador

noun. father

arn

noun. son

Gnomish [GL/20; PE13/110] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atha

cardinal. two

avin

preposition. into

benn

noun. husband

bess

noun. wife

Gnomish [GG/09; GG/15; GL/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bo(n)

noun. son

Gnomish [GL/23; LT2A/bo] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cailtha-

verb. to kiss

crisc

adjective. sharp

Gnomish [GL/27; LT2A/Cris Ilbranteloth] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dol-

verb. to dig

A verb appearing as {dal- >>} dol- “dig” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√ndolo (GL/30). This root was glossed “delve” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/65).

duilin(g)

noun. swallow

Gnomish [GL/23; GL/31; GL/39; GL/54; LT2A/Duilin; QL/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

duilinc

noun. swallow

eithlos

noun. family

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips of the 1910s glossed “family, etc.” of unclear derivation, though it may be related to G. eithog “ancestor, †father, sire” (PE13/113).

faig

adjective. cruel

felcha-

verb. to equal

felectha-

verb. to make equal, equalize

feleg

adjective. equal

felegra-

verb. to equal

felegrin

adjective. equable

feltha-

verb. to resemble, seem like; to seem likely, be probable

felthadrin

adjective. probable

gontha

noun. boy

Gnomish [GL/41; GL/54] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwaren

noun. family

gwiog

adjective. young

gwion

adjective. young

gwiw

adjective. young

gwâs

noun. juice

gân

adjective. young

lind

noun. twine

Gnomish [GL/54; LT1A/Ungwë Lianti] Group: Eldamo. Published by

man

masculine name. Man

Gnomish [GL/18; GL/20; GL/43; GL/56; GL/68; LT1A/Manwë; PE13/104; PE15/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

migin

adjective. little

Gnomish [GL/57; GL/64] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nathon

noun. father

Gnomish [GL/17; GL/59] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nîr

noun. woman

renni

noun. family

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “a family”, derived from the early root ᴱ√redh- having to do with kin (GL/65).

ûmi

adjective. large