li

root. many; large people

lī

noun. number

lib

root. LIB

lib

root. drip

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “drip” with derivative ᴹQ. limba “drop” (Ety/LIB¹). Earlier hints to this root can be seen in the Early Noldorin words ᴱN. lim “water” (< ✱limb-?) and ᴱN. limig “drop of water” from the 1920s (PE13/123, 124). This 1930s root may also have inherited some of the senses of 1910s ᴱ√LIPI which had derivatives like ᴱQ. lipte- “to drip” and ᴱQ. litl “a tiny drop”, though ᴹ√LIP itself did reappear in The Etymologies of the 1930s and retained its 1910s derivative ᴹQ. limpe “wine”; see √LIP for further discussion.

lilt

root. dance

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dance” with derivative ᴹQ. lilta- of the same meaning (Ety/LILT). It is a later iteration of ᴱ√LḶTḶ “dance” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with both Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. lilt and G. lalt “dance” (QL/55; GL/52).

lir

root. *row

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s server as the basis for N. lhîr “row” in N. oeglir “range of mountain peaks” (Ety/LIR²). Tolkien’s continued use of aeglir in his later writings (in Hithaeglir “Misty Mountains; Line of Misty Peaks”) indicates its ongoing validity (Let/180; RC/11).

lit

root. *(fine) grit

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. litse/N. lith “sand” (Ety/LIT). Elsewhere N. lith was translated “ash” (TI/208), so perhaps the meaning of the root was something like “✱(fine) grit”. Tolkien’s continued use of S. lith “ash” indicates its ongoing validity (RC/765; SA/lith).

liw

root. *fish

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s whose derivatives had to do with fish, such as ᴹQ. lingwe and N. lhim “fish” (Ety/LIW). Q. lingwi “fish” appeared in some 1965 notes (NM/336), indicating the ongoing validity of √LIW. √LIW is probably a later iteration of ᴱ√IWI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s that likewise was the basis for fish-words from this period, such as ᴱQ. ingwe and G. ing (QL/43; GL/51). The root ᴹ√IW also appeared in The Etymologies (EtyAC/IW), but was unglossed and had no derivatives, so it isn’t clear what Tolkien intended this root to mean in the 1930s, and it may well have been abandoned.

liñ

root. *twang (descriptive of plucked strings)

A root appearing in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s beside ᴹ√TAÑ of similar meaning, serving as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. linga- whose past form †linge is glossed “ring, twang — descriptive of plucked strings” (PE22/103). It probably refers back to ᴱQ. linga- “to hum like the string of a harp” from around 1930 (PE16/100), a verb used in the Earendel poem (MC/216).

libda

noun. soap

ligā

noun. fine thread, spider filament

lin

root. sing

lin

root. pool

lindā

adjective. sweet sounding

lindān-d

place name. musical land

linkwi

root. *wet

lip

root. *wine

lir

root. sing, trill

lis

root. honey

litse

noun. sand

liñwi

noun. fish

lindē

noun. *singing

lindō

noun. singer

lingikā̆la

proper name. Hanging-flame

lisge

noun. reed

liski

root. ?reed

lik

root. *keen, sharp, acute

lingi

root. hang

silimē

noun. light of Silpion, †silver

(g)lib

root. *ointment

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives having to do with ointment and soap (Ety/LIB²). It appeared in both strengthened form ᴹ√GLIB and unstrengthened ᴹ√LIB, being the basis for Noldorin and Quenya words respectively. The later root √LIP “oil” (VT44/15) might be a variant of this root.

(g)lingi

root. hang

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “hang” and acting as an alternate explanation of ᴹQ. Laurelin, usually interpreted as “Song of Gold” but also meaning “Hanging Flame” as reflected in its Noldorin name Glingal (Ety/GLING, LIN², LING). The continued appearance of S. Glingal in later versions of The Silmarillion indicates this root likely remained valid (S/126).

A pair of forms ᴱQ. kinka- “to hang (intr.)” and ᴱQ. kinkata- “hang (tr.)” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s imply the existence of a root ᴱ√KINIKI, which may be a precursor to ᴹ√(G)LINGI.

sliw

root. sickly

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sickly”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. laiwa/N. flaew “sickly, sick, ill” and ᴹQ. líve/N. fliw “sickness” (Ety/SLIW). The root was first written as ᴹ√LIW (EtyAC/LIW). It is probably a later iteration of the unglossed root ᴱ√LEẆE from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. leuke “sick, ill; pallid, wan” and ᴱQ. leume “sickness” (QL/53).

(s)lit

root. swiftly[?] speed[?]

The forms √SLIT and √LIT appear in a rejected page of roots from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with some unclear glosses, probably “swiftly, speed”; they were the basis for the past-tense form lhinte “sped” of otherwise unattested verb ᴹQ. lhit- (PE22/127). This root might be connected to later Q. linta “swift” from the Namárië poem (LotR/377; PE17/63), though elsewhere Tolkien indicated that Q. linta (< ✱lim-tā?) was the equivalent of S. lim “quick, swift” (PE17/147).

glisi

noun. honey

slinyā

adjective. lean, thin, meagre

glir

root. sing, trill

khlip

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected paragraph from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/112 note #78).

dub

root. lie, lie heavy, loom, hang over oppressively (of clouds)

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “lie, lie heavy, loom, hang over oppressively (of clouds)” with derivatives like ᴹQ. lumna “burdensome, oppressive, ominous” and N. dofn “gloomy” (Ety/DUB). In later writings, the similar Quenya word Q. lumba “gloomy” was derived from the root √LUM/LUB “shadow, darkness”, but the root ᴹ√LUM “✱shadow” coexisted with ᴹ√DUB in The Etymologies, so perhaps it also survived later as an independent root (or was the result of d/l variation with √LUB).

oy

root. live, pass one’s days

A root in the Quenya Verbal System glossed “live, pass one’s days” with a Quenya verb ᴹQ. oi- of similar meaning (PE22/125). It might be a variant of √OY “ever”, though this root usually referred to “eternity” rather than a duration in time.

salap

root. lick up, *sip

The first iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√SḶPḶ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salpa “bowl” and ᴱQ. sulp- “lick, sup, lick up, sup up” (QL/84). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. salf “bowl, basin” (GL/66), as well as G. thlib- “sup, lap up, suck” (GL/73). Later versions of these verb forms appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s as ᴱN. lhif “drinks” and ᴱQ. sulpe “sips, tastes” from primitive ᴱ✶slp- along with (unused) variant ᴱ✶slq- (PE13/148-9). The verb ᴱQ. sulpe “drinks” was also mentioned in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, again as a derivatives of sḷp- (PE14/58).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root reappeared as ᴹ√SALAP “lick up” with derivatives ᴹQ. salpa- “lick up, sup, sip” and N. salff “broth” (Ety/SÁLAP; EtyAC/SÁLAP). But in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s Tolkien had the TALAT-stem verb ᴹQ. sulpa- “to lap up, drink greedily” (PE22/114), hinting at a root ✱ᴹ√SULUP. Assuming ᴹ√SALAP and ᴹ√SULUP coexisted, they must have been etymological variants, since the vowel variations that resulted from primitive syllabic ḷ were no longer a feature of Elvish.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d use √SALAP = “sip” and √SULUP = “lap”.

gālæ

noun. light

kalat

noun. light

kay

root. lie (down)

kim

root. light on, find, come by

koy

root. live, have life

k’lā

noun. light

lab

root. lick

labdā

noun. licking up (food or drink), gluttonous eating

lad

root. lie flat, be flat

las

root. listen

lat

root. lie open; be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)

laurē

noun. light of the golden tree Laurelin

rāu

noun. lion

teñ

root. line, direction

tēñe

noun. line, row

skar

root. ?stop, end; limit, marge

A hastily written entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s with an unclear gloss (possibly “stop, end; limit, marge”) serving as the basis for the name Ilk. Esgaroth (also with an unclear gloss, possibly “?strand-burg”) with the element Ilk. esgar = “shore” (EtyAC/SKAR²). The name Ilk. Esgaroth was given a much clearer etymology as “Reedlake” under the entry ᴹ√ESEK “✱sedge, reed” (Ety/ESEK).

tit

root. *little, tiny

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. titta/N. tithen “little, tiny” (Ety/TIT).

galyā

adjective. bright, light

khal

root. uplift, erect, lift from ground, (make) stand up

khaw

root. rest, lie at ease

la(n)srondo

noun. hearer, listener, eavesdropper

pē

noun. mouth, lips

rīʒende

feminine name. queen, lit. ‘crowned’ or crowned-lady

teʒē

noun. path, course, line, direction, way

angwa

root. snake

The root √ANGWA “snake” with variant √ANGU appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the basis for the words ᴹQ. ango “snake” (Ety/ANGWA) and angulóke “dragon” (Ety/LOK). The Noldorin equivalent am- seems to have survived only as a prefix (Ety/ANGWA), and is a good example of how [[on|[ŋgw] > [mb]]] in that language. There are a variety of other words for “snake” in Tolkien’s later writings, so whether this root remained valid is unclear.

laik

root. keen, sharp, acute

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “keen, sharp, acute” with derivatives like ᴹQ. laika/N. lhaeg of the same meaning; apparently the root was the result of a-fortification of ᴹ√LIK (Ety/LAIK; EtyAC/LAIK). It was thus distinct from ᴹ√LÁYAK “✱green, fresh” (Ety/LÁYAK). The root ᴹ√LAIK was clearly a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√LAIKA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. laika “keen, sharp” (QL/50), but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien gave the primitive form as ᴱ✶leika > both G. (g)leg “keen, sharp, piercing” and ᴱQ. laika (GL/53). Since [[eq|[ei] became [ai]]] in Early Qenya, ᴱ✶leika seems more represenative of the 1910s form of this root.

lak

root. swallow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “swallow” with variant ᴹ√LANK and derivatives ᴹQ. lanko/N. lhanc “throat” (Ety/LAK¹, LANK), the latter an element in N. tarlanc “stiff-necked, obstinate” (Ety/TÁRAG). This last word was changed to S. tarlang in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/92; RC/536), consistent with an earlier but rejected form ᴹ√LANG for ᴹ√LANK in The Etymologies (Ety/LANK).

In later writings, Q. lango/S. lang meant “neck” rather than “throat”, so it is tempting to retain ᴹ√LAK for “throat” and other swallow-words. But it would be very confusing to have such similar but unrelated words for “neck” and “throat”, so I recommend using the root ᴹ√SLUK for “swallow” instead, and Q. lango, S. lang for both “neck” and “throat”.

lug

root. be heavy

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “be heavy”, with the derived adjectives ᴹQ. lunga and N. lhong of the same meaning (Ety/LUG¹). Given the appearance of G. lung “heavy; grave, serious” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, I think the idea for this root dates back to this period, though the related verb G. luntha- “balance, weigh” indicates the Early-period root may have been ✱ᴱ√LUŊU instead (GL/55). Tolkien’s continued used of Q. lungu- and S. -lung for “heavy” in his later writings indicates its ongoing validity (S/185; PE17/162; VT47/19).

thel(es)

root. sister

Tolkien gave this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√THEL and extended form ᴹ√THELES with the gloss “sister” and derivatives like ᴹQ. seler and N. thêl of the same meaning, both derived from the extended root as made clear by the Noldorin plural thelei < ON. thelehi (Ety/THEL). Hints of the roots continued use appear in the 1959 term Q. meletheldi “love-sisters” for close female friends (NM/20). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien gave Q. nésa and S. nethel as the words for “sister”, both from the root √NETH. Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√THEL(ES) to represent more abstract notions of “sisterhood” for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, for “metaphorical sister”s as opposed to Q. nésa/S. nethel for sisters by blood.

tor

root. brother

Tolkien gave this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√TOR “brother” with derivatives like ᴹQ. toron and N. tôr of the same meaning (Ety/TOR). Hints of the roots continued use appear in the 1959 term Q. melotorni “love-brothers” for close male friends (NM/20). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien gave Q. háno and S. hanar as the words for “brother”, both from the root √KHAN. Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√TOR to represent more abstract notions of “brotherhood” for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, for “metaphorical” brothers as opposed to Q. háno/S. hanar for brothers by blood.

yes

root. desire

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “desire” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yesta- “desire” and N. iest “wish” (Ety/YES; EtyAC/YES).

lai-

prefix. *many

slīwē

noun. sickness

(n)di

root. in

am

root. mother

amī̆l

noun. mother

anad

root. *long

ata

root. father

atar

noun. father

atū

noun. father

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

bay

root. [unglossed]

danta-

verb. fall

dēr

noun. man

et-kuiwē

noun. awakening

ezdē

noun. rest

gal

root. shine

galan

root. bright

galā-

verb. to grow

gilya

noun. star

glā

noun. radiance

golā-

verb. to grow

kal

root. shine

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

ke

pronoun. thou

kelun

noun. river

kiryā

noun. ship

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

kyelep

root. silver

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

laikwā

adjective. fresh

laikā

adjective. keen, sharp, acute

lassē

noun. leaf

lepet

root. finger

lot(h)

root. flower

maiga

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1) to illustrate certain patterns of root formation (PE18/66). It may have serving as the basis for ᴹQ. Maia, though this word was given different derivations later.

matna

noun. food

mbar-

verb. to dwell

mis

root. *wet

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no derivatives of its own but two extended roots ᴹ√MISIK and ᴹ√MISID; probably the sense of the base root was “✱wet” (EtyAC/MIZD). It was also Tolkien’s intent that this ᴹ√MIS² be the basis for ᴹ√MITH “✱grey, mist” by way of blending with ᴹ√KHITH “mist, fog” (EtyAC/MITH). Extended ᴹ√MISIK or ᴹ√MISK had derivatives ᴹQ. miksa/N. mesg “wet” (Ety/MISK) and extended ᴹ√MISID or ᴹ√MIZD had various different meanings in derived languages: ᴹQ. miste “fine rain” vs. N. mîdh “dew” vs. Dor. mîd “moisture” (Ety/MIZD). The root ᴹ√MIZDI also appeared in both the first and second versions of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1: PE18/43) and around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/93).

Note that in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s there was a root ᴱ√MISI “mingere [Latin = urinate]” with a derivative ᴱQ. mis “urine” (QL/62); this might have been a precursor to 1930s ᴹ√MIS² “✱wet”.

misik

root. *wet

mit

root. small

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small” with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning (Ety/MIT).

mitra

adjective. small

mizdā

adjective. wet

mā

noun. land

narta

root. kindle

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “kindle”, with derivatives ᴹQ. narta- and N. nartha- of the same meaning (EtyAC/NARTA). There is a mark above the final A that might be a partially formed macron (NARTĀ), so this “root” may just be an ordinary causative verb “✱make fire” = ᴹ√NAR + ᴹ✶-tā. The root was originally glossed “spear point, gore, triangle” with a derivative [N.] Narthas “gore”, a name that appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts but was eventually replaced by N./S. Naith “angle” (TI/244 note #50).

neth

root. young

nethrā

adjective. young

nis

root. woman

nē̆n

noun. water

nī

noun. woman

nī̆s

noun. woman

orta-

verb. to rise

ortā-

verb. to raise

sed

root. rest

sir

root. flow

skala

noun. fish

sluk

root. swallow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no derivatives (Ety/SLUK).

solos

noun. surf

srip

root. scratch

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “scratch” with a single derivative N. thribi “to scratch” (Ety/SRIP).

stā

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root reference in The Etymologies apparently serving as the basis for the verbal action suffix ᴹ✶-stā “-ing” in ᴹ✶khau̯-stā “rest-ing” (Ety/KHAW; EtyAC/KHAW). See the entry on ✶-stā for further discussion.

telep

root. silver

terēn(ē)

adjective. slender

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tārī

noun. queen

wen(ed)

root. maiden

wis

root. air

yat

root. join

imi

root. in

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

lak

root. swift

lank

root. swallow

phan

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/PHAN).

skil

root. [unglossed]

A root mentioned in passing in as a variant of ᴹ√KIL “divide” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but it had no derivatives and appeared nowhere else (Ety/KIL).

stin

root. [unglossed]

uruk

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/URUK).

us

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/US).