An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants ᴱ√LEKE and ᴱ√LENE as well as derivatives like ᴱQ. lenka “slow, dull, stiff; left (hand)” (QL/52).There are no signs of these roots in Tolkien’s later writing, and they are inconistent with Tolkien’s later notion that Elves were ambidextrous and had no negative associations with “left” (VT49/6-8).
Early Primitive Elvish
lene
root. long
Derivatives
- Eq. lenka “slow, dull, stiff; left (hand)” ✧ LT2A/Glend; QL/053
- Eq. -léni “long” ✧ QL/053
- Eq. lenu- “to stretch” ✧ LT2A/Glend; QL/053
- Eq. lenwa “long and thin, straight, narrow” ✧ LT2A/Glend; QL/053
- G. glen(n) “thin, fine, slender” ✧ LT2A/Glend
- G.
lenu-“to stretch, extend in length, trail” ✧ GL/53- G.
len“wherewith, far, long, away” ✧ GL/53- G. lenc “far, distant” ✧ GL/53
- G. glenweth “thinness” ✧ LT2A/Glend
Variations
- leŋe ✧ GL/53
- LENE ✧ LT2A/Glend; QL/053
lene
root. *slow; left
leke
root. *slow; left
Derivatives
- Eq. lenka “slow, dull, stiff; left (hand)” ✧ QL/052
Variations
- LENE ✧ QL/052 (LENE)
A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√LENE “long”, with the added explanation that it “developed in opp. directions of slow, tedious, trailing, etc. and — stretch, thin, etc.”. Tolkien originally put the word ᴱQ. lenka “slow, left” under this root, but seems to have transfered this word to ᴱ√LEKE, perhaps at the same time he elaborated on the meaning of ᴱ√LENE “long”. Its remaining derivatives include ᴱQ. lenwa “long and thin, straight, narrow” and ᴱQ. lenu- “stretch”.
There are a number of words in the Gnomish Lexicon that seem to be derived from this root, including G. len “wherewith, far, long, away” and G. lenwi “length, distance”, but these were rejected, and Tolkien replaced them with G. lenc “far, distant” derived from ᴱ√leŋe (which was followed by other similar Gnomish derivatives), possibly representing a conceptual shift in this root (GL/53). In any case, there are no clear signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing, unless perhaps it remanifested as ᴹ√LEN “way, (?road)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/LEN).