rhass (i rass for ”older” i** **chrass; construct rhas), pl. rais (?idh rais).
Quenya
aiquassë
noun. precipice
Elements
Word Gloss aiqa “steep, steep, [ᴱQ.] tall; high, lofty, sublime; chief”
Sindarin
avras
noun. precipice
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √BARAS > avras [abrasse] > [avrasse] > [avrass] > [avras] ✧ PE17/022
rhass
precipice
rhass
precipice
(i rass for ”older” i chrass; construct rhas), pl. rais (?idh rais).
Nandorin
hrassa
noun. precipice
Primitive form given as khrassê, derived from a stem KHARÁS (LR:363) that is not defined, but compared to a stem KARAK "sharp fang, spike, tooth" (LR:362). The form khrassê displays the loss of an unaccented stem-vowel often seen in primitive words (cf. for instance d'râk- "wolf" from DARÁK-); the ending -ê is found on a number of words denoting inanimates (though it is also a feminine ending). For the doubling of the final s, compare lassê "leaf" from LAS1 (LR:367).
This hr- is our only example of how primitive khr- comes out in Nandorin; hr is surely meant to denote an unvoiced r, as in Tolkien's later spelling of Quenya words (e.g. hroa "body"). For primitive -ê becoming Nandorin -a, compare cwenda (q.v.) from kwenedê.
Noldorin
rhass
noun. precipice
rhass
noun. precipice
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s gloss “precipice”, derived from primitive ᴹ✶khrassē (Ety/KHARÁS). Tolkien listed two soft mutated forms: i-rass and (archaic) †i-chrass, the latter the proper historical development but the former reformed to match normal (Noldorin) patterns of mutation.
Neo-Sindarin: This word would remain rhass if adapted into Sindarin, as its ancient initial consonants khr- would still produce rh-. But its mutations would likely be different; see the discussion of the Sindarin soft mutation.
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶khrassē > rhass [kʰarássē] > [kʰrassē] > [kʰrasse] > [kʰrasse] > [xrasse] > [xrass] > [r̥ass] ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
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!
Doriathrin
rhass
noun. precipice
A Doriathrin noun for “precipice” derived from primitive ᴹ✶khrassē (EtyAC/KHARÁS), an example of how [[ilk|initial [x] unvoiced following [l], [r], [w]]] in Ilkorin.
Cognates
- N. rhass “precipice” ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶khrassē > rhass [kʰrassē] > [kʰrasse] > [xrasse] > [xrass] > [r̥ass] ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Ossriandric
hrassa
noun. precipice
A noun for “precipice” developed from primitive ᴹ✶khrassē (Ety/KHARÁS). Here the [[dan|aspirate [kʰ] became the voiceless spirant [x] (“ch”)]] and then the [[dan|initial [x] became [h], unvoicing the following [r]]]. The [x]-sound is preserved in the compound name Gochressiel. This word is also an example of how a long final vowel sometimes developed into short final [a].
Cognates
- N. rhass “precipice” ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Derivations
Element in
- Dan. Gochressiel ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶khrassē > hrassa [kʰrassē] > [xrassē] > [xrassa] > [r̥assa] ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Middle Primitive Elvish
khrassē
noun. precipice
Derivations
- ᴹ√KHARAS “*precipice” ✧ Ety/KHARÁS
Derivatives
Early Quenya
aiqasse
noun. precipice
A noun appearing as ᴱQ. aiqasse “precipice” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a noun formation from ᴱQ. aiqa “steep” appearing nearby (QL/29). Since ᴹQ. aiqa “steep” continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings (Ety/AYAK), perhaps this word can be salvaged for Neo-Quenya writing as ᴺQ. aiquassë.
A noun glossed “a precipice”, given as a derivative of the root √BARAS (PE17/22-23).