The most common word for “tooth”, appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NELEK of the same meaning (Ety/NÉL-EK). See variant N. nêl “tooth” for further discussion.
Noldorin
fang
noun. beard
fang
noun. beard
Cognates
- ᴹQ. fanga “beard” ✧ Ety/SPÁNAG
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources On. sphanga > fang [sɸaŋga] > [ɸaŋga] > [faŋga] > [faŋg] > [faŋ] ✧ Ety/SPÁNAG
carch
noun. tooth, fang
carch
noun. tooth, fang
Cognates
- ᴹQ. karka “tooth” ✧ Ety/KARAK
Derivations
- ᴹ√KARAK “sharp fang, spike, tooth” ✧ Ety/KARAK
Element in
- N. Carcharoth “Knife-fang” ✧ Ety/KARAK
- N. Carchost
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√KÁRAK > carch [karka] > [karkʰa] > [karxa] > [karx] ✧ Ety/KARAK
nagol
noun. tooth
nagol
noun. tooth
Derivations
- ᴹ√NAK “bite”
Element in
- N. Kirith Naglath “Cleft of the Teeth” ✧ WR/137
- N.
Naglath Morn“Teeth of Mordor” ✧ WR/122 (Naglath Morn)
neleg
noun. tooth
neleg
noun. tooth
Cognates
- ᴹQ. nelet “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
Derivations
Element in
- N. Neleglos “White Tooth” ✧ WR/106
- N. Neleg Thilim “Gleaming Tooth” ✧ WR/106
- N. Nelig Myrn “Teeth of Mordor” ✧ WR/113
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources On. neleki > neleg [nelek] > [neleg] ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK Variations
- Neleg ✧ WR/106
naglath
noun. the teeth
naes
noun. tooth
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶nakse > naes [nakse] > [naksa] > [naxsa] > [naisa] > [nais] > [naes] ✧ EtyAC/NAK
nêl
noun. tooth
nêl
noun. tooth
A word appearing as N. nêl “tooth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√NELEK of the same meaning (Ety/NÉL-EK). It was one of a rare set of primitive words with final k, which was lost in very early stages of the language, to produce ON. nele (PE21/56). Its ON. plural was neleki, which produced nelig in the modern form of the language. Since the plural preserved the stop lost in the simplex, an alternate form N. neleg was restored from the plural.
This longer form neleg appeared as an element in a number of names from Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s: {N. Neleg Thilim “Gleaming Tooth” >>} N. Neleglos “White Tooth” (WR/106) and N. Nelig Myrn “Teeth of Mordor” (WR/113). None of these names made it into the published version. However, primitive √nelek “tooth” was mentioned as the basis for Ancient Telerin nele “tooth” in notes from the early 1950s, again with loss of final k and plural neleki (PE21/71-72).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use neleg as the ordinary word for “tooth”, and limit nêl to the final element of compounds.
Cognates
- ᴹQ. nelet “tooth” ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources On. nele > nêl [nele] > [nel] > [nēl] ✧ Ety/NÉL-EK
Tolkien used various “teeth” words related to the root √NAK “bite” throughout his life. The earliest of these was G. naith “a tooth” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where its connection to the early root ᴱ√NAKA “bite” was made more clear by its archaic plural form nacthin (GL/59). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had N. naes derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakse under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (EtyAC/NAK). As suggested by David Salo (GL/275), another variant ✱nagol “tooth” is suggested by the class plural naglath in the names from Lord of the Rings drafts of 1940s: Naglath Morn “Teeth of Mordor” (WR/122) and Kirith Naglath “Cleft of the Teeth” (WR/137), neither of which made it into the published version.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d recommend using N. nêl or N. neleg for “tooth” words. Primitive ᴹ✶nakse would likely produce ✱nach rather than naes under Sindarin’s phonetic rules; compare S. ach “neck” < ✶aks[e] (PE17/92). As for N. nagol, it was also likely abandoned.