id

root. desire, long for

ir

root. desire, long for, desire, long for; [ᴹ√] desirable, beautiful

Tolkien experimented with a variety of roots for “desire, desirable”, some in connection to the name Idril. Perhaps the earliest iteration of this root is indicated by the Gnomish word G. irn “desired, wished for” (GL/52), but given its other related forms such as G. îr- “will, intend to”, G. irm “wish, intention, resolve” and ᴱQ irya “wish” (GL/52; PE13/116), the (unattested) early root ✱ᴱ√IRI probably meant “wish, intend”.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a root ᴹ√ĪR “desirable, beautiful”, but it had no derivatives (EtyAC/ĪR). Elsewhere in the document ᴹQ. íre “desire” was derived from the root ᴹ√ID (Ety/ID), perhaps a new iteration of the (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√ITI “precious”. This second root ᴹ√ID had various derivatives having to do with both thoughts and desires, such as ᴹQ. indo “heart, mood”, N. ind “inner thought, meaning, heart”, ᴹQ. írima “lovely, desirable”, and N. idhren “pondering, wise, thoughtful”. Among its derivatives Tolkien also gave N. Idhril, untranslated but probably meaning “✱Desirable One”.

The problem with this last derivation is that in the contemporaneous narratives, Tolkien generally gave her name as Idril (SM/36, LR/141), which was the form of her name dating all the way in The Lost Tales of the 1910s (LT2/164). When writing the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien again used Idril (LotR/1034).

This form of the name could not be derived from √ID, and Tolkien wrestled with this question in his Notes on Names (NN) written in 1957 (PE17/112). Acknowledging the problem, Tolkien first considered introducing a new root √IT “(great) enhancement” to serve as the basic of Idril, but he reversed himself, giving √ID “desire, long for” as a better basis for the name, saying: “Decision: [S.] íđril, Q Írilde”. But then he crossed all this through, and considered reintroducing √IT with a modified meaning “repeat, multiply” (PE17/112).

Based on The Shibboleth of Fëanor written 1968, it seems Tolkien stuck with the notion of basing Idril on a √IT, though he revised the meaning of the root again to “glitter” or “sparkle” (PM/363). As for √ID, the meaning “desire” seems to have been transferred back to √IR, which Tolkien gave with the gloss “desire” in notes on roots having to do with “beautiful” written in 1959-60 (PE17/155). Also, around 1957 Tolkien introduced a new root √IN-I-D to serve as the basis for Q. indo “mind” (PE17/155). The various words having to do with “thoughts” derived from 1930s ᴹ√ID may have been transferred to √IN-ID, a possibility suggested by Elaran in a Discord chat on January 26, 2018. If so, Tolkien may have abandon √ID, using only √IR and √INID going forward.

Assuming the above reasoning is correct, the conceptual development would be 1910s ✱ᴱ√IRI “wish, intend” >> 1930s ᴹ√ID “desire, thoughts” >> 1957 √ID “desire” >> 1959 √IR “desire”, with thought words transferred to √IN-ID (later √I-NID) and the name Idril transferred to √IT “glitter”.

sed

root. rest

This root first appeared as ᴹ√SED “rest” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. sére “rest, repose, peace” and N. sîdh “peace”, along with the name of the Valië ᴹQ. Este < ᴹ✶ezdē (Ety/SED). The root √SED “rest” along with the etymology of Este reappeared in both the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s (PE19/45) and the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s (PE19/92), and again in revisions to the OP2 page annotated in green ink and thus probably from 1970 (PE19/91 and note #110).

The root √SED “rest” was mentioned a couple times in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. ser- “rest, repose” (PE22/102, 125) and again (unglossed) in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 as the basis for Este (WJ/403). In the sense “peace” this root had some competition, however. In the first version of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer from the mid-1960s, Tolkien used Q. sívë for “peace”, revised to Q. sérë in the second version and then Q. rainë (VT44/32). The word Q. sívë “peace” reappeared in unpublished etymological notes from 1969 derived from the root √SIB “rest, quiet” (VT44/35).

Neo-Eldarin: For purpose of Neo-Eldarin, I would use √SED for the act of resting and so Q. sérë “peace” = “restfulness (personal peace)”, and would use √SIB = “quiet, ✱stillness, absence of activity” and so Q. sívë “peace” = “absence of activity or violence (environmental peace)”. I would use Q. rainë as “good will” in connection to √RAY “smile”.

sir

root. flow

The root √SIR and similar roots meant “flow” for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant sini and derived forms like ᴱQ. sindi “river” and ᴱQ. síre “stream” (QL/84). The latter word became “river” in Tolkien’s later writings, and words appearing in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. sîr “river” and G. siriol “flowing” (GL/67-68) rather than ✱✱sidh- indicate Tolkien very early revised the root to ✱ᴱ√SIRI. Indeed, the root was ᴹ√SIR “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and the root appeared with this form and essential meaning several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/127, 135).

spar

root. hunt, hunt, [ᴹ√] pursue

The root ᴹ√SPAR “hunt, pursue” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. faro “to hunt” and N. feredir “hunter” (Ety/SPAR). Tolkien first considered making this root ᴹ√PHAR⁽²⁾ (EtyAC/PHAR²). The root ᴹ√SPAR “hunt, pursue” reappeared in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with the derived verb ᴹQ. fara- “hunt” (PE22/113). √SPAR “hunt” was mentioned a couple times in Tolkien’s later writings as well (PE17/83; PE18/94).

pi(n) Reconstructed

root. little

Tolkien used a variety of roots for Elvish words for “small”. One early root was ᴱ√PIKI with variants ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. pínea “small” and ᴱQ. pinqe “slender, thin” (QL/73). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pinig “tiny, little” and G. pibin “small berry, haw” (GL/64).

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as unglossed {ᴹ√PEK >>} ᴹ√PIK with derivatives like N. pigen “tiny” and N. peg “small spot, dot” (Ety/PIK; EtyAC/PIK). Further evidence for this root can be seen in later words like Q. piki- or pitya “petty” (WJ/389) and Q. pik- “lessen, dwindle” (MC/223). A variant root √PEY appeared in a list of roots having to do with large and small, with a single derivative Q. pia “little” [< ✱peya], but it was immediately followed by the forms pikina, pinke, pitya which point back to √PIK (PE/117).

Further evidence of early forms ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ can also be seen in Tolkien’s later writings. There is S. ✱pîn “little” in S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” (RC/536), ✶pī {“small bird” >>} “small insect” (VT47/35), and T. pinke “little-one, baby” (VT48/6), though the last of these might be from √PIK. In any case it seems Tolkien continued to use all of √PI, √PIK and √PIN to form words for little things into the late 1960s.

In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, Tolkien changed pitya to Q. nitya in the name Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” (PM/353, 365 note #59), which may indicate a replacement of √PIK by √NIK, another root used regularly in Tolkien’s later writings for “small”. But I believe √PIK and √NIK may coexist with slightly different meanings: “tiny” vs. “small”; see the entry on √NIK for further discussion.

ezdē

noun. rest

rānā

noun. moon

inrē

noun. thoughtfulness

barathī

noun. queen

dāra

adjective. wise

khū

root. curse

kirissi

noun. cleft

ndē̆r

noun. man

rap

root. climb

ras

root. horn, horn; [ᴹ√] stick up

This root first appeared as ᴹ√RAS “stick up (intr.)” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. rasse and N. rhas or rhasg “horn (especially on living animal, but also applied to mountains)” (Ety/RAS; EtyAC/RAS). It reappeared as ᴹ√RASA “stick up” on an rejected page of roots in the Quenya Verbal System from the 1940s (PE22/127). Finally, √RAS “horn” appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, but that was merely the last appearance of the root in Tolkien’s published writings. Q. rassë and S. rass “horn” continued to appear regularly as an element in mountain names in the 1950s and 60s.

rass

noun. horn

raukō

noun. demon

ret

root. climb

roban

noun. wilderness

rāw

noun. lion

rēnē

noun. remembrance

skū

root. curse

A root appearing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 with variants √SKŪ, √KHŪ, glossed “curse” and with derivatives Q. húna “cursed, accursed” and Q. húta- “to curse”; it was the opposite of √AYA “revere” (PE17/149).

srawā

noun. body

srā

noun. flesh

sīru

noun. stream

te

pronoun. they

thorono

noun. eagle

urun

root. copper

ʒandā

adjective. long

phes

root. itch