dond

noun. fist, hand (especially in punching)

dond

noun. fist

A word for “fist” appearing as dond or donn only in draft notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s derived from primitive ✶dond(a) (VT47/23 note #25). A more usual word for “fist” is S. paur.

Cognates

• T. donda “fist” ✧ VT47/23

Derivations

• ✶dond(a) “fist” ✧ VT47/23

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶dond(a) > dond	[donda] > [dond]	✧ VT47/23

Variations

• donn ✧ VT47/23

donn

noun. fist, hand (especially in punching)

donn

noun. fist

cam

noun. hand

camm

noun. hand

maw

noun. hand

maw

noun. hand

The Sindarin equivalent of Q. má, likewise derived from the root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield” (PE17/162; VT47/6). However, in Sindarin this word was archaic, used only in poetry, having been replaced in ordinary speech by other words like S. mâb and (less often) cam. Other remnants of this word can be seen in compounds like molif “wrist, (orig.) hand link” and directional words like forvo and harvo for left and right hand side.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, G. mô from the early root ᴱ√MAHA was the normal word for “hand”, replacing mab “hand” (< ᴱ√MAHA) which in this document Tolkien decided was instead an irregular dual form of mô (GL/55). It had also had an irregular plural mabin based on this dual, replacing an older plural †maith. In the Gnomish Grammar, its archaic form was †mâ, with the usual Gnomish sound change of ā to ō (GG/14), as opposed to later Sindarin/Noldorin ā to au, spelt -aw when final. Tolkien seems to have abandoned mô as a non-archaic word for “hand” early on, preferring ᴱN. mab “hand” by the 1920s and introducing N. cam “hand” in the 1930s.

Cognates

• Q. má “hand” ✧ PE17/162; VT47/06
• T. má “hand” ✧ VT47/18

Derivations

• √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE17/162
• ✶mā “hand” ✧ VT47/06
  • ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
• √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18

Element in

• S. forvo “right hand, right side” ✧ VT47/06
• S. harvo “left hand, left side” ✧ VT47/06
• S. maed “handy, skillful, handy, skillful, [N.] skilled” ✧ VT47/06
• ᴺS. mawedh “glove”
• S. molif “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MAƷ > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ PE17/162
✶mā > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ VT47/06
√mag > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ VT47/18

mâb

noun. hand, hand, [N.] grasp

The typical Sindarin word for “hand” (VT47/7, 20), usable in almost any context. It is most notable as an element in the name Mablung “Heavy Hand” (VT47/8). See below for a discussion of its etymology.

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where G. mab “hand” appeared as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√MAPA “seize” (GL/55). Tolkien then revised the gloss to “hands”, saying instead it was an irregular dual of G. mô “hand”. The word reverted to singular ᴱN. mab “hand” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/149). These early versions of the word were already an element of Mablung “Heavy Hand(ed)” (LT2/38; LB/311), but also of Ermabwed “One-handed” (LT2/34; LB/119).

In the 1930s it seems Tolkien decided Ilk. mâb “hand” was primarily an Ilkorin word, and the usual word for “hand” in Noldorin was N. cam. Compare Ilkorin Ermabuin “One-handed” and Mablosgen “Empty-handed” with Noldorin Erchamion and Camlost of the same meaning. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien had N. mab “grasp” under the root ᴹ√MAPA “seize”, but the version of the entry with that word was overwritten (EtyAC/MAP), leaving only the Ilkorin form mâb. In this period, Mablung may also have been an Ilkorin name.

After Tolkien abandoned Ilkorin in the 1950s, he kept S. Erchamion and Camlost based on cam, but also kept Mablung “Heavy Hand” which must have become Sindarin. In his later writings Tolkien again revisited the etymology of S. mâb “hand”. In a note from Jan-Feb 1968, he wrote:

> It [Q. má = “hand”] did not survive in Telerin and Sindarin as an independent word, but was replaced by the similar-sounding but unconnected C.E. makwā, Q. maqua, T. mapa, S. mab, of uncertain origin, but probably originally an adjectival formation from MAK “strike” ... (VT47/19).

This sentence was struck through, however. In drafts of notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals written in or after 1968, Tolkien again derived mâb from √MAP (VT47/20 note #13), but in the final version of these notes he made the remarkable decision to discard this root despite it being a stable part of Elvish for nearly 50 years, declaring it was used only in Telerin and not Quenya or Sindarin (VT47/7). He coined a new etymology for S. mâb “hand” based on ✶makwā “handful” = ✶mā + ✶kwā (VT47/6-7), a variation on the above etymology from √MAK.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer to ignore Tolkien’s 1968 removal of √MAP “seize”, and so would continue to derive S. mâb “hand” from that root. However, its ancient meaning may have been “✱grasp”, and its eventual use as “hand” might have been influenced by ancient ✶makwā “handful”.

Cognates

• Q. maqua “hand-full, group of five (similar) things; hand (colloquial); closing or closed [hand] (facing down) for taking” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/19; VT47/20

Derivations

• ✶makwā “a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • √MAK “cut, hew with a sharp edge; kill, slay; forge metal, cut, hew with a sharp edge, [ᴹ√] cleave; sword, fight (with a sword); ️[√] forge metal; kill, slay” ✧ VT47/19
• √MAP “take away, take hold of, grasp, take away, take hold of, grasp, [ᴹ√] lay hold of with hand, seize” ✧ VT47/20

Element in

• ᴺS. mablanthos “sycamore”
• S. Mablung “Heavy Hand” ✧ VT47/07
• ᴺS. mabren “handed, having hands, dextrous”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/06
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/07
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/19
√MAP > măpo > mâb	[mapo] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/20

mab-

noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)

mâb

noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)

paur

noun. fist (often used to mean "hand", its chief use was in reference of the tighly closed hand, as in using an implement or a craft-tool, rather than to the fist used in punching)

paur

fist

(baur) _ n. _fist. Q. quáre. >> Celebrimbor

paur

fist

(i baur, o phaur, also -bor in compounds) (tightly closed hand), pl. poer (i phoer), coll. pl. porath.

dond

hand

(i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).

dond

fist

1) dond (i dhond; construct don) (hand), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23). 2) paur (i baur, o phaur, also -bor in compounds) (tightly closed hand), pl. poer (i phoer), coll. pl. porath. or

dond

fist

(i dhond; construct don) (hand), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).

cam

hand

1) cam (i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath; 2) mâb (i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib). 3) Archaic †maw (i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6) 4) (fist) dond (i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).

cam

hand

(i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath

maw

hand

(i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6) 

mâb

hand

(i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib).

camlann

of the hand

(i gamlann, o chamlann), pl. cemlain (i chemlain).

crûm

left hand

(i grûm, o chrûm, construct crum), pl. cruim (i chruim), coll. pl. crummath. Also ✱hair (i chair), no distinct pl. form (not even with article). Note: hair is also used = ”left” as adjective. Cited in archaic form heir (LR:365 s.v. KHYAR).

fuir

right hand

pl. fŷr. Also used as adj. "right, north" (VT42:20). In ”Noldorin” the word appeared as (”foeir” =) föir, feir (LR:382 s.v. PHOR).

forgam

right-handed

(pl. fergaim, for archaic förgeim)