ke

pronoun. you (imperious/familiar)

kelumē

verb. kelumē

keglē

noun. fence or palisade of spikes or sharp stakes

ke/eke

root. may (be); have chance, opportunity or permission; it is open

This root appeared in various notes from the late 1960s as the basis for the particle of uncertainty Q. cé. This particle meant “if” or “maybe” in various contexts, but in notes from 1969 √KE was given the sense “may (be)” and paired with √KWI “suppose”, which was the basis for qui “if” (PE22/158). This can be compared to another paradigm also from 1969 associated with the Ambidexters Sentence where cé meant “if” and it seems the root √keye (with derived verb cíta-) meant “suppose” (VT49/19). Of the two paradigms, I think √KE “maybe”/√KWI “if, suppose” is more useful for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, but it seems Tolkien’s own thoughts on the subject were in flux.

In notes written in 1967, Tolkien gave what was apparently an inverted form of this root, √ek “it is open”, from which the impersonal Quenya verb ec- “may, can” in the sense “have the opportunity to” is derived (VT49/20). This inverted form is almost certainly related to √KE, as suggested by Patrick Wynne.

keth

root. enquire of, question, examine something

This root appeared in 1964 etymological notes as KEÞ [KETH] glossed “enquire of, question, examine something”, with derivatives like Q. ces- “to search, examine (something)”, Q. cesta- “to seek, search for”, and Q. cesya- “to cause interest, (lit.) to cause one to enquire”; the root was initially given as (rejected) KES (PE17/156). Given the root meaning “question”, it is probably related to the earlier verb ᴹQ. kesta- “ask” appearing in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (PE22/97), Quenya Verbal System (PE22/118, 120-122) and Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (PE22/138-139) from the late 1940s and early 1950s.

kel

root. flow (down or away), run (of water or rivers), go away, flow (down or away), run (of water or rivers), go away, [ᴹ√] run away especially downwards or at end; [ᴱ√] ooze, trickle

√KEL was established as the root for “flow” very early in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, also with the variant vocalic extension √KELU. ᴱ√KELE appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “flow, run” and also “ooze, trickle”, though the latter sense did not appear in later writing (QL/46). It also had a variant ᴱ√KELU elsewhere compared to ᴱ√QEL+U of similar meaning (QL/75). It had derivatives in both Qenya and Gnomish such as ᴱQ. kelu- “flow”, G. celu- “trickle” and ᴱQ. kelu(me)/G. celu “stream” (QL/75; GL/25).

The root ᴹ√KEL reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s where it seems to have an added connotation of “flow downwards”, given its gloss “go, run (especially of water), flow away downhill” (Ety/KEL). This more specific meaning to the root continued to appear in later writings, with glosses such as 1930s “flow, flow away, run (of rivers)” (PE18/58), 1940s “run away especially downwards or at end” (PE22/114), 1950s “go away, flow away or flow down (of water)” (PE18/103), and 1960s “flow (down)” (PE17/157). The u-extension ✶kelu with the (continuative?) sense “flow, well up” remained common throughout all these periods as well (PE18/86; PE22/98, 133, 135).

Starting with The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien compared this root with etymological variants √KWEL “fade (away), die away, grow faint” and √KYEL “come to an end, cease, run out” (Ety/KWEL, KYEL; PE18/58, 103), and indeed Tolkien used it as one of his basic examples of such etymological variations:

> There existed in Quenderin 1. √KEL “flow, flow away, run (of rivers)”. Of this simple base, since the initial variation is possible, while the sundóma is the same 2. √KJEL “cease, come to an end”, and 3. √KWEL “fade, die away, grow faint” may be regarded as differentiated variants (second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa, TQ2, circa 1950, PE18/103).

A similar note appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/58). Likewise ✶kelu was one of his main examples of variant vocalic extensions:

> This “variant extension” always had the form i or u. It appears in many cases where its original function is no longer discoverable, if indeed that was more than to serve as a euphonic connecting link to affixes. But the added element [u] often appears as a differentiator as in kel¹-u beside kel², and some old verbs have a fixed u as the end of their base (TQ2, PE18/86).

In the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, it seems that √KYEL “end” was replaced by √TEL “close, end, come to an end” (WJ/411) as indicated by the replacement of 1930s ᴹQ. tyelma “ending” (LR/72) by later Q. telma “conclusion” (WJ/411). In a 1967 note the etymological variant √KYEL seems to have been assigned a new meaning “go down slowly”, which served as the basis for Q. tyellë “grade, a step in a stairway or ladder” (PE17/157).

To summarize, the base root √KEL meant “flow (down)” for pretty much all of Tolkien’s life, usually used with a variant vocalic extension √KELU, and starting in the 1930s it had etymological variants √KWEL and √KYEL, with √KWEL always meaning “fade (away), die” and √KYEL meaning “cease, end” from the 1930s to 40s, but changing to “go down slowly” sometime between the 1950 and 1967 (but probably before the 1st edition of LotR), with “end” being reassigned to √TEL by 1960. See the entry on √TEL for further discussion of those developments.

ken

root. see, perceive, note, see, perceive, note, [ᴹ√] look at, observe, direct gaze

Tolkien first introduced this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a variant of ᴹ√KHEN “look at, see, observe, direct gaze” along with ᴹ√KYEN (EtyAC/KHEN). In The Etymologies it had no derivatives, but in the Quenya Verbal System it appeared with the gloss “see, perceive” as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. ken- of the same meaning (PE22/103). √KEN “see, perceive” appeared regularly in Tolkien’s writing thereafter (PE17/156, 187; PE22/155; VT41/5).

kew

root. new, fresh; anew, repeated; live of vegetables

This root appeared as KEWE, KWĒ “live of vegetables” in 1957 Quenya Notes with derivatives Q. quëa “vegetable” and (unglossed) Q. ceula, as well as being an element in Q. laiquë “herb” (PE17/159). The root KEWE reappeared in various notes from the late 1960s with the gloss “new, fresh” and “anew, repeated” where Tolkien connected it to the final element of Q. minquë, which roughly had the ancient sense of “✱a new ‘one’ (as in a second round of counting)” (VT48/7-8). In these 1960s notes √KEWE had a variety of derivatives having to do with newness and freshness in Quenya, Sindarin and Telerin.

kenásĭta

adverb. if it be so, may be, perhaps

keg

root. snag, barb

kegyā

noun. hedge

kelu-

verb. to well up, flow (out swiftly), well forth

kelus

noun. brook

kelutā-

verb. to cause to spring forth, start (water) flowing, tap

keme

noun. earth

kemen

noun. earth

kes

root. other

keule

noun. *renewal

keurā

adjective. *renewed

keu̯rānā

noun. new-moon

key

root. *suppose

-kē

suffix. 2nd person singular a (inferior)

kel(e)bē

noun. deer, hind

kelebō

noun. hart

kelec-orna

masculine name. Swift-tall

kelekā

adjective. *hasty

kelu

verb. well forth, begin to flow

ker

root. cut with tool/weapon

eke

root. it is open

kek

root. cluck

aw

root. possess, own, keep (have in hand, use or with one)

A root appearing in some late notes on verbs from around 1969, with the sense “possess, own, keep” (PE22/151). It seems to be a restoration of a much earlier root from the 1910s, which appeared as ᴱ√AW̯A in the Qenya Lexicon with derivatives having to do with wealth, such as ᴱQ. ausie “wealth” and ᴱQ. aute “rich” (QL/33), as well as Gnomish and Early Noldorin cognates G. avos “wealth” (GL/20) and ᴱN. awes “rich” (PE13/137). This root is a good example of how certain linguistic ideas could lay dormant for many years in Tolkien’s writing, only to reemerge much later. This makes it difficult to say for certain whether Tolkien really abandoned a particular idea.

khap

root. bind, make fast; restrain, deprive of liberty; retain, keep, detain, bind, make fast, restrain; [ᴹ√] enfold; [√]retain, keep, detain; deprive of liberty

A root with alternate form √KHAM and gloss “bind, make fast; restrain, deprive of liberty” given as a variant of √KHEP “retain, keep” in a page of roots composed sometime around 1959-60 (VT41/6; PE17/157). It reappeared in notes from 1967 with the glosses “retain, keep, detain” and one derivative: Q. hampa “restrained, delayed, kept” (PE17/68). It might be a later iteration of ᴹ√KHAP “enfold” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KHAP).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is useful to retain the 1930s sense “enfold”, since it is the basis for various Noldorin words having to do with “clothing” for which we have no clear replacements. I would assume the base meaning was “bind, enfold”, with “retain, keep, detain” only by extension and confusion with √KHEP. I would ignore the strongest sense “deprive of liberty”.

khep

root. retain, keep, do not give away or release, keep hold of, retain, keep, do not give away or release, keep hold of; [ᴱ√] bind; encircle

The root √KHEP appeared with gloss “retain, keep, do not give away or release, keep hold of” in etymological notes from 1959-60 along with a variant √KHAP “bind, make fast, restrain, deprive of liberty” (VT41/6), and in this period it was almost certainly the basis for S. heb- “keep” in ú-chebin estel anim “I have kept (heb- lenited 1st-person) no hope for myself” (LotR/1061). It might be a later iteration of ᴱ√HEPE, glossed “bind” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/40) and “encircle?” (the question mark is Tolkien’s) in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/48).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, some derivatives of this 1910s root might be salvaged as derivatives of later √KHEP.

tatalat-

verb. totter, keep on slipping

kanat

root. four

This root was established as the basis for “four” very early, though the earliest known Elvish word for “four” was actually ᴱQ. nelde from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/65), which became “three” later on (PE14/49). In the Gnomish Lexicon written soon after, the Gnomish word for “four” was G. cant (GL/25), and by the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, the Qenya word likewise became ᴱQ. kanta “four” (PE14/49, 82). The Quenya word kept this form thereafter, and the Noldorin form became N. canad in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where the root ᴹ√KANAT “four” explicitly appeared for the first time (Ety/KÁNAT). The words and root for “four” remained the same thereafter (VT42/24-26; VT47/15-16; VT48/10), with occasional minor (and transient) variations such as √KENET (VT47/41).

kir

root. cut, cleave, pass swiftly through; shave; skim (surface), slip along, glide quickly

Tolkien used √KIR and roots like it for “cut, cleave” for most of his life. The earliest of these are ᴱ√KIŘI [KIÐI] and ᴱ√KISI “cut, split” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the latter with an extended form ᴱ√KIRISI (QL/47). These forms apparently were all blended together in Qenya, but the most notable Gnomish derivatives from this period seem to all be based on ᴱ√K(I)RISI, such as G. criss “cleft, gash, gully” and G. crist “knife; slash, slice” (GL/27).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√KIR “cleave” with extended forms ᴹ√KIRIK (unglossed but probably meaning “✱reap”) and ᴹ√KIRIS “cut”, the latter by way of combination with ᴹ√RIS “slash, rip” (Ety/KIR, KIRIK, KIRIS, RIS). One of the notable derivatives of this root was ᴹQ. kirya “ship” (Ety/KIR), a word that appeared as far back as the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/46). Noldorin and Sindarin cognates of this word also appeared, varying from N. ceir “ship” to S. cair due to shifts in Tolkien’s conception of the phonetic development of diphthongs in the Sindarin branch of Elvish.

√KIR “cut” appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/73, 87; VT42/13; WJ/392), and the validity of the extended forms √KIRIK and √KIRIS is indicated by Tolkien’s continued use of words like Q. Valacirca “Sickle of the Valar” (S/48) and S. Orcrist “Orc-cleaver” (LotR/280). One later derivative of interest was S. certh “rune” (LotR/1123), which in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 Tolkien said was derived from √KIR, the vowel change being the result of a-affection, and the Quenya form Q. certa being a loan from Sindarin (WJ/396). Rather cryptically in this essay Tolkien gave the primitive form as ✶kirtē “cutting”, so perhaps the Sindarin word was derived from an adjectival variant.

Tolkien revisited the question of the origin of S. certh in notes from 1969:

> certar, LR III 395, could be emended in text to cirtar, and Certhas be held a late formation as it was. ... Phonology cannot be altered, since we have elenī > elin not ilin.

KIR. rather a mess here. LR has certar = cirth, and we have Angerthas, therefore √KER is indicated, & comparison with kirya is not in point of fact likely! Easy to say √KER = cut with tool/weapon, but √KIR = ? shave; skim (surface), slip along, glide quickly, and kirya is really an adj. = swift gliding. But what of Cirith. {Here we could say -itt.} e > i only before vanishing ī/j (PE22/150 and note #37).

Here Tolkien seems to be troubled again by the fact that Q. certa and S. certh are not direct cognates, and considered reorganizing the roots as √KER “cut” and √KIR “glide” (to allow the continued use of cirya “ship”), but then immediately recognized a problem with S. cirith “cleft, ravine” as in Cirith Ungol. Thus he seems to have abandoned this line of reasoning, leaving the 1959-60 notion that Q. certa is a loan from Sindarin as the most likely explanation. It is rather shocking to see how far he thought about going to “resolve” this problem, even considering a change in the basic rules of Sindarin phonology to allow i-affection of e > i in syllables other than those immediately before final i, which would have made keritt(e) > cirith possible.

kyelep

root. silver

This root and ones like it were used for Elvish words for “silver” throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of the root began with T-, however, appearing as unglossed ᴱ√TELEPE in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. telpe “silver” (QL/91). Even at this early stage, however, the Gnomish equivalent was G. celeb (GL/25), but the reason for the t/c variation isn’t clear. The closest explanation is that palatal consonants like [c] became [tʲ] in Qenya vs. [k] in Gnomish (compare ᴱQ. tyava- vs. caf- “taste” from ᴱ√TYAVA) but this doesn’t explain why the Qenya form has initial t- rather than ty-.

Elsewhere in the Elvish languages of the 1910s there seem to be etymological variations of [k] vs. [t], such as ᴱQ. kitya- vs. G. tisca- “tickle” (QL/47; GL/70) and ᴱQ. talqe vs. G. celc “glass” (QL/88; GL/25), so perhaps ᴱQ. telpe vs. G. celeb “silver” is another example of this. Another explanation appeared in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s, where the primitive form was ᴱ✶kelekwé which produced ᴱN. celeb as usual but the Qenya form was ᴱQ. telqe with “k = t by dissimilation” (PE13/140), presumably away from q.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had the root ᴹ√KYELEP with variant ᴹ√TELEP, producing N. celeb but ᴹQ. tyelpe or ᴹQ. telpe (Ety/KYELEP). But Tolkien revised this entry, marking ᴹ√TELEP as questionable and introducing the Telerin form ᴹT. telpe < ᴹ√KYELEP, concluding that ᴹQ. telpe must be a loan from Telerin. This finally put N. celeb vs. ᴹQ. telpe (borrowed from Telerin) on a solid phonological foundation. Tolkien seems to have stuck with this explanation, mentioning this borrowing from Telerin to Quenya several times in his later writings, with the proper but now archaic Quenya form being Q. †tyelpë (Let/426; PM/356; UT/266).

khy-

root. other

Tolkien used a variety of different roots for “otherness” and “or” throughout his life. The earliest of these was ᴱ√VARA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. vára “other”, ᴱQ. var “or”, ᴱQ. varya “different” and ᴱQ. varimo “foreigner” (QL/100). Similar words in the Gnomish lexicon such as G. far(o)n “separate, different, strange” and G. faronwed “foreign” seem to be based on a distinct but possibly related root, apparently being derived from G. far- “separate, sever, divide” (GL/34). The Gnomish words for “otherness” seem to be based on the (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√ELE, such as G. el “or” and G. eleg “other, else” (GL/32); see the entry on ✱ᴱ√ELE for further discussion.

In the Early Qenya Grammar, the “other” words were based on ᴱQ. etya (comparative) and ᴱQ. nyanya (general), but these words were on a page of demonstratives and their primitive basis isn’t clear (PE14/55). The first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s had ᴹ√ETHE “other” as the basis for the “other person” pronoun ᴹQ. the, along with a rarer “[yet another] person” pronoun he (PE23/91), but there are no signs of the past 1948. The next published “or” word was S. egor from the King’s Letter in the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, written in 1948-1951 (SD/129).

The next set of “or/other” words do not appear until the 1960s. The primitive form ✶khē̆ appears in notes on reflexives from 1965 as the basis for Q. hé “him, the other” (VT49/15), probably a holdover from the 1948 pronoun he mentioned above (PE23/91). In rough notes on numbers written in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the possibly-related root √KES “other”, with derivatives Q. exa “other” and Q. exe “the other”, apparently adjective and noun (VT47/40). Finally in some notes written in 1968 or later, Tolkien gave the primitive element √KHY- “other”, with derivatives Q. hye “other person”, Q. hya “other thing”, and Q. hyana “other [adjective]” (VT49/14).

These primitive forms also seem to be connected to various words Tolkien considered for “or” in the Ambidexters Sentence composed in 1969: khe >> hela >> hya (VT49/14). Patrick Wynne suggested the first two of these might be connected to 1965 ✶khē̆, and the last one to 1968+ √KHY-. This last root may also be connected to Q. ahya- “change” (circa 1960); if so Tolkien may have been vacillating among various possible forms throughout the 1960s.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is better to use √KHY- and its derivatives, since they are a more comprehensive paradigm including the best available Quenya word for “or”.

kway

root. ten

A root Tolkien introduced in the late 1960s as the basis for his latest Elvish word for “ten”: Q. quëan/quain, S. pae, T. pai(n) (VT42/24; VT48/6). It was an extension of √KWA “complete” as in “a complete set of (10) fingers”. Prior this late change, the usual word for “ten” was ᴹQ. kainen (along with other variants beginning with kai- or kea-) from the root ᴹ√KAYAN or ᴹ√KAYAR as it appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAYAN). This basis for “ten” dates back to the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, PE14/82). Tolkien was still considering √KAYAN for “10” in the late 1960s before replacing it with √KWAY(AM) (VT48/12).

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).

de

pronoun. you (pl.)

ki

noun. you (imperious/familiar)

stir Reconstructed

root. face

The root ✱√STIR is implied by the names Elestirnë “Star-brow” (UT/184) and Carnistir “Red-face” (PM/353), as well as the primitive word ✶stīrē “face” (VT41/10). It is probably an s-fortification of the root TIR “watch”. It likely replaces the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. thio “to seem” and N. thîr “look, face, expression, countenance”, the latter providing an earlier etymology for N. Cranthir “Ruddy-face” (Ety/THĒ). The original gloss of this 1930s root was “perceive, see” (EtyAC/THĒ). This deleted gloss in turn indicates that 1930s ᴹ√THĒ was itself a later iteration of 1910s ᴱ√SEHE [þeχe] from the Qenya Lexicon, which was mostly connected to eye-words but also had derivatives like ᴱQ. sehta-/G. thê- “see” (PE12/21; QL/82; GL/72); see the entry √KHEN for the later derivation of eye-words.

kyel

root. (come to an) end, cease, run out

kyelepē

noun. silver

kēwā

adjective. fresh, new, renewed

aras(sō)

noun. hart

dankĭnā

adjective. slain

kanatā

cardinal. four

kayan

root. ten

kher

root. possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power

The basic root for rulership was √KHER for most of Tolkien’s life. The root appeared as ᴱ√HERE “rule, have power” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period already had the derivative ᴱQ. heru “lord” and ᴱQ. heri “lady” (QL/40), words that retained the same form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. Gnomish derivatives from this period include G. herma “protection, lordship, sway”, G. hermon “lord”, G. hîr “care, anxiety; heed”, and G. hiril “queen†, princess” (GL/49).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s these last two Gnomish words became N. hîr “master” and N. hiril “lady” as derivatives of ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess”; the words ᴹQ. heru/ᴹQ. heri reappeared as well (Ety/KHER). All four of these words reappeared frequently in Tolkien’s later writing, though S. hîr was more typically glossed “lord” (PM/210; SD/129; VT41/9; Let/382; UT/318). The root √KHER itself reappeared in a 1954 letter to Naomi Mitchison with the gloss “possess” (Let/178).

khyana

adjective. other

lamā̆n(a)

noun. animal

sirya-

verb. to flow, to flow [smoothly]

stīrē

noun. face

sīru

noun. stream

the

pronoun. you (imperious/familiar)

gwen

root. fresh, *green, fair, unblemished, beautiful

@@@ might still be valid for Quenya derivations in the Etymologies

k(e)rek

root. *spit [noun]