gengwa

root. sick

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sick” with derivatives ᴹQ. engwa/N. gem “sickly” (Ety/GENG-WĀ). It was given as ᴹ√GENG-WĀ, and thus represented an extension of an otherwise unattested root ᴹ√GENG. In the entry for ᴹ√YEN from The Etymologies it appeared as ᴹ√GEM in the discussion of N. ingem “old, (lit.) year-sick” (EtyAC/YEN), but I believe this represents the Noldorin phonetic developments of the true primitive form rather than a conceptual variation. The continued appearance of Q. Engwar in The Silmarillion narratives of the 1950s and 60s hints that this root may have remained valid as well.

Derivatives

• Q. engwa “sickly”
• ᴹQ. engwa “sickly” ✧ Ety/GENG-WĀ
• N. gem “sickly” ✧ Ety/GENG-WĀ

Element in

• N. ingem “old (in mortal sense), suffering from old age, decrepit, (lit.) year-sick” ✧ Ety/YA; Ety/YEN

Variations

• GENG-WĀ ✧ Ety/GENG-WĀ; Ety/YA; EtyAC/GENG-WĀ; EtyAC/YEN
• GEM ✧ Ety/YEN