kaha

root. cause

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “cause” with derivatives like ᴱQ. ka- “cause”, ᴱQ. káma “guilt, responsibility”, and ᴱQ. kasta “cause, motive, ultimate reason” (QL/43). There are similar derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, such as G. caith “cause, reason, motive” < ᴱ✶kahta (GL/24). Some of these words have no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing, so I think it is worthwhile to postulate a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KAH to salvage some of these early words.

Derivatives

• ᴱ✶kahta
  • G. caith “cause, reason, motive” ✧ GL/24
• Eq. kasta “cause, motive, ultimate reason” ✧ QL/043
• Eq. káma “guilt, responsibility” ✧ QL/043
• Eq. ka- “cause” ✧ QL/043
• Eq. ká “deed, act, fact” ✧ QL/043