law
lū
(h)law
noun. flood
law
jyE prefix. not
Neologism derived from the root √LA "no, not". ló- and lenition before consonants. It's meant to be used as an alternative to ú-, which Tolkien rejected as a negative prefix in his later writings.
Examples:
*ló-hevin mass "I do not have bread."
*law aníron mass "I do not want bread."Phonological development:
lā > lǭ > lau, law
?law > ló-
law
noun. sound
Cognates
- Q. láma “sound, sound; [ᴹQ.] ringing sound, echo”
Derivations
- √LAM “(inarticulate voiced) sound”
law
adverb. not
Derivations
- √LA “no, not; negative; not to be”
thain
noun. law, rule
Cognates
- ᴹQ. sanye “rule, law”
Derivations
- ᴹ√STAN “fix, indicate, decide”
theinas
noun. law, rule
Cognates
- ᴹQ. sanye “rule, law”
Elements
Word Gloss thain “law-abiding, regular, normal, *lawful, formal, according to custom”
l(h)ô
noun. flood, fenland, flood, fenland; [G.] pool, lake
A noun that served as the final element in various river names. Tolkien was uncertain whether the primitive form of this word began with simple l- or s-prefixed sl-, hence the variation between lô and lhô. In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien said the non-suffixal form of this word was hlô “flood” (PE17/96). In notes from 1966-67 he gave a bewildering variety of derivations for this word, but mostly represented it as lhô or hlô in various attempts to connect it to the river name S. Lhûn (PE17/136-137; VT48/27-28).
In notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, while discussing the river name S. Gwathló Tolkien said:
> The element -ló was also of Common Eldarin origin, derived from a base (s)log: in Common Eldarin sloga had been a word used for streams of a kind that were variable and liable to overflow their banks at seasons and cause floods when swollen by rains or melting snow; especially such as the Glanduin (described above) that had their sources in mountains and fell at first swiftly, but were halted in the lower lands and flats. ✱sloga became in Sindarin lhô; but was not in later times much used except in river or marsh names. The Quenya form would have been hloä (VT42/9).
Tolkien rejected this etymology, however, replacing it with the following:
> Lô was derived from Common Eldarin base LOG “wet (and soft), soaked, swampy, etc.” The form ✱loga produced S. lô and T. loga; and also, from ✱logna, S. loen, T. logna “soaking wet, swamped”. But the stem in Quenya, owing to sound-changes which caused its derivatives to clash with other words, was little represented ... the Quenya form of S. lô would have been ✱✱loa, identical with Q. loa < ✱lawa “year”; the form of S. loen, T. logna would have been ✱✱lóna identical with [Q.] lóna “pool, mere” (VT42/10).
This final etymology appears to be the last one Tolkien wrote on the topic; later in the same document he used the form lô in discussions of the river name S. Ringló (VT42/13-14). As for the meaning of the word, it seems it applied both to wide rivers with a tendency to flood their banks, as well as fenlands or wetlands in general.
Conceptual Development: As an element in river names, -lo first appeared in the river names N. Gwathlo and N. Ringlo in Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/304; WR/287). G. lô “pool, lake” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s is possible precursor (GL/54).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer the pre-1968 form of the word lhô, as this is both more distinctive and also allows us to salvage Q. hloä of similar meaning.
Changes
lhô→ lô ✧ VT42/09Cognates
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶slowā > slŏw̯ > slaw > hlaw [slowā] > [slowa] > [l̥owa] > [l̥ou] > [l̥aw] ✧ PE17/137 √LOWO > lawa > law [lowā] > [lowa] > [lou] > [law] ✧ PE17/137 ✶sloga > lhô [sloga] > [l̥oga] > [l̥oɣa] > [l̥oɣ] > [l̥ōɣ] > [l̥ō] ✧ VT42/09 ✶loga > lô [loga] > [loɣa] > [loɣ] > [lōɣ] > [lō] ✧ VT42/10 Variations
- hlô ✧ PE17/096; PE17/137; VT48/28
- -lō ✧ PE17/096
- slō-/(s)lō ✧ PE17/136 (slō-/(s)lō); VT48/27 (slō-/(s)lō)
- slô ✧ PE17/136 (slô); VT48/27 (slô)
- hlaw ✧ PE17/137; VT48/28
- law ✧ PE17/137; PE17/137; VT48/28
- lô ✧ UT/263; VT42/09; VT42/10
- lhô ✧ VT42/09 (lhô); VT42/09 (
lhô)- -ló ✧ VT42/13
- Lô ✧ VT42/14 (Lô)
-lo
lū
suff. Q. lū.
al-
prefix. not
pref. not. >> alfirin
duinen
noun. flood, high tide
hlô
noun. flood
n. flood.
laug
adjective. warm
lô
flood
n. flood.
lô
noun. flood, fenland
romru
noun. sound of horns
rû
noun. loud-sound, trumpet-sound
ú-
~M prefix. negates the sense of the following word
pref. negates the sense of the following word. Applied to all classes of words but especially to verbs and adjectives. Prefixed to verbal stems (without further suffix), it forms quasi-participles in aorist mode (e.g. únod not ever counting, _úbed _not saying). The continuative participle ol can be added in order to express a strictly present (and continuative) sense : úgarol 'not now doing or making', idling vs. ugar '(generally) idle'. There is no sens of 'without' attaching to ú- in Sindarin, see pen- (ben-). >> pen-, úland, úlann
al
not
al- (prefix) as in alfirin "not-mortal", immortal.
al
not
(prefix) as in alfirin "not-mortal", immortal.
ava
will not
(i ava, in avar).
lammad
sound of voices
pl. lemmaid. May also be spelt with a single m.
laug
warm
laug (pl. loeg)
laug
adjective. warm
laug
warm
(pl. loeg)
lhûn
making sound
lenited ?thlûn or ?lûn (the lenition product of lh is uncertain), pl. lhuin. Verb
nellad
sound of bells
(pl. nellaid);
ovra
abound
ovra- (i ovra, in ovrar)
ovra
abound
(i ovra, in ovrar)
romru
sound of horns
pl. remry (idh remry) for archaic römry;
said
not common
(lenited haid; no distinct pl. form) (separate, private, excluded) (VT42:20)
ú
not
(adverbial prefix) ú-, u- (followed by lenition, e.g. ú-chebin ”I do not keep”) (without). Verb
ú
not
u- (followed by lenition, e.g. ú-chebin ”
Q. lū.