faw
foa
faw
noun. *breath, puff of breath
faw-
verb. to puff, blow, pant
phaw
foa
Q. foa. >> faw
föa
noun. breath, puff of breath
A word appearing as fā in 1968 notes on primitive monosyllables as a derivative of ✶phā “breath, puff of breath” (VT47/35). Tolkien said this word survived in Quenya, but in a later sentence he wrote Q. fawa, foa, perhaps indicating its more common form was foa. The form foa appeared unglossed in 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), and also in 1957 Quenya Notes (QN) as a derivative of √PHAW “emit (foul breath etc.)” and an element in foalóke, probably = “✱breath-dragon” (PE17/181). As such, I consider foa the most likely Quenya form and “breath, puff of breath” its most likely meaning.
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, this word appeared as ᴱQ. foa “hoard, treasure” under the early root ᴱ√FOƷO “hide, hoard, store up, lay up in secret”, also as an element in ᴱQ. Foalôke as the name of a dragon (QL/38).
fá
noun. breath, puff of breath
phā
noun. breath, puff of breath
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!
faf-
verb. to puff, blow, pant
A verb appearing as G. faf- “puff, blow, pant” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/33). It was perhaps related to the early root ᴱ√FAGA that was the basis for ᴱQ. Fâ = Vilna “lowest air” (QL/37), but GL indicated that G. Fâ was based on a different root than G. faf-.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin I would update this verb to ᴺS. faw- “to puff, blow, pant” based on the later root √PHAW “emit”; compare to S. faw that is cognate to Q. föa “breath, puff of breath” (PE17/181). This neologism faw- could be inflected like caw- “to taste” < √KYAW.
hwesta-
verb. to puff
swesta-
verb. to puff
Q. foa. >> phaw