lasta-

listen

lasta- vb. "listen", also lasta adj. "listening, hearing" (LAS2, PE17:56); cf. adj. asalastë (*aþa-) adj. "easily heard" (PE17:148)

hlarië

noun. hearing

Elements

Word	Gloss
hlar-	“to hear”

lasta-

verb. listen

_ v. _listen, give ear. Q. lasta-. >> lasto

lasto

verb. listen!

lathra-

verb. to listen in, eavesdrop

lasta-

verb. to listen

lathrada-

verb. to listen in, eavesdrop

lathra

listen in

(eavesdrop) (i lathra, i lathrar), also lathrada (i lathrada, i lathradar)

lasta

listen

lasta- (i lasta, i lastar),

lasta

listen

(i lasta, i lastar)

las

root. listen

This root did not appear as the basis of “listen” words until The Etymologies of the 1930s, where Tolkien gave ᴹ√LAS “listen” as opposed to ᴹ√LAS “leaf” (Ety/LAS¹, LAS²). One of its derivatives was N. lhewig “ear” (from fossilized dual lhaw). Tolkien apparently wanted to retain this form in his later writings after deciding that initial l was no longer unvoiced in Sindarin, so he coined a variant s-fortified root √SLAS “ear” from which it could still be derived (PE17/62, PE17/77). The unfortified root √LAS “listen” continued to appear, however (PE17/46; PE19/101), as indicated by imperative S. lasto “listen” (LotR/307). Tolkien did speculate that the roots √LAS¹ “leaf” and √LAS² “listen” might ultimately be related, probably because of the similarity of the shape of Elvish ears and the leaves of trees:

> lasse “leaf” (S las); pl. lassi (S lais). It is only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque). It is thus possibly related to √LAS “listen”, and S-LAS stem of Elvish words for “ear”: Q hlas, dual hlaru. Sindarin dual lhaw, singular lheweg (PE17/62).

A similar notion appeared in The Etymologies: “Some think this [ᴹ√LAS¹ ‘leaf’] is related to the next [ᴹ√LAS² ‘listen’] and ✱lassē ‘ear’. The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human]” (Ety/LAS¹).

Derivatives

• Aq. lammo “listener (spy or scout)” ✧ PE19/101
  • Q. larmo “listener (spy or scout)” ✧ PE19/101
• Q. lasta- “to listen, to listen; [ᴹQ.] to hear” ✧ PE17/046
• ᴺS. last “(sense of) hearing”
• S. lasta- “to listen, give ear” ✧ PE17/046
• ᴺS. lathr(ad)a- “to listen in, eavesdrop”
• ᴺS. lathron “hearer, listener, eavesdropper”

Element in

• √SLAS “ear” ✧ PE17/062

Variations

• LAS ✧ PE17/046; PE17/062; PE17/159; PE19/101

lhathra-

verb. to listen in, eavesdrop

lhathrada-

verb. to listen in, eavesdrop