do

root. *interrogative base

An interrogative root in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s that served as the basis for various Gnomish question words (GL/30). It was distinct from ᴱ√MA, which at this early stage was the basis for the indefinite marker, not interrogatives (GL/55). It seems that by the late 1920s, ᴱ√MA has become an interrogative, as seen in the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem. There is no sign of interrogative ᴱ√DO past Tolkien’s earliest writings.

kara

root. do, make

kar-

verb. to make

ū

root. not

ngol(o)dō-

noun. Ngol(o)dō-

vo(no) Reconstructed

root. son

daı̯al-

verb. play

mat-

verb. to eat

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.