A root glossed “link, join” appearing in notes on hands and fingers from the late 1960s where it was the basis for words meaning “wrist (hand-link)”, such as Q. málimë and S. molif (VT47/6). It is likely a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√LIMI (probably = “✱bind”) from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with both Qenya and Gnomish derivatives like ᴱQ. lim- “bind” and G. laim “thong, rope” (QL/54; GL/52, 54); this connection was suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT47/18 note #7).
Primitive elvish
li
root. many
lim
root. link, join
limi
noun. link
lindānā
place name. Lindon
lissĭ-
adjective. lissĭ-
lin
root. sing, make a musical sound, sing, make a musical sound, [ᴱ√] gentle
This root was conceptually intermingled with √LIR “sing”, both of which had to do with music. The earliest iteration of this root was ᴱ√LINI “gentle” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. linda “gentle, kind; soft” and ᴱQ. linta- “soothe” (QL/54). According to Tolkien this early root was confused with ᴱ√LIŘI “sing” (PME/54), which itself was the earliest precursor to √LIR; this early root √LIŘI [LIÐI] had derivatives like ᴱQ. liri- “to sing” and ᴱQ. lindele “song, music” (QL/54). The picture in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon is more muddled, with words like G. lin- “sound” (as well as lintha- “ring bell, play an instrument”) and G. lir- “sing” hinting at two distinct musical roots ✱ᴱ√LINI and ✱ᴱ√LIRI.
Indeed, in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien reorganized the two roots into ᴹ√LIN “sing” and ᴹ√LIR “sing, trill”, the former taking on music words beginning with lind- and the latter musical words beginning with lir- (Ety/LIN², LIR¹). Both these had strengthened forms ᴹ√GLIN and ᴹ√GLIR used in Noldorin words like N. glinn “song, poem, lay” and N. glaer “long lay, narrative poem”, but entry for the root ᴹ√GLIN was struck through and its Noldorin words adapted to unstrengthened ᴹ√LIN, as in N. lhinn “air, tune” (Ety/GLIN, GLIR). The Etymologies also had another strengthened root ᴹ√LINDĀ “fair (especially of voice)”, with a line indicating it was derived from ᴹ√LIN (Ety/LIND; EtyAC/LIND); this strengthened root in turn was blended with ᴹ√SLIN, unglossed but apparently meaning something like “✱fine, delicate” (Ety/SLIN).
Both root √LIN “sing” (PE17/27, UT/253) and √LIR “sing, warble” (PE17/27, 67) continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, along with derivatives like Q. lindalë “music” and Q. lírë “song”. Tolkien discussed the root √LIN at length in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, where he said:
> The name ✱Lindā is therefore clearly a derivative of the primitive stem ✱LIN (showing reinforcement of the medial N and adjectival -ā). This stem was possibly one of the contributions of the Nelyar [Teleri] to Primitive Quendian, for it reflects their predilections and associations, and produces more derivatives in Lindarin [Telerin] tongues than in others. Its primary reference was to melodious or pleasing sound, but it also refers (especially in Lindarin) to water, the motions of which were always by the Lindar associated with vocal (Elvish) sound. The reinforcements, either medial lind- or initial glin-, glind-, were however almost solely used of musical, especially vocal, sounds produced with intent to please (WJ/382).
Tolkien’s statement that it “also refers (especially in Lindarin) to water” is probably an allusion to √LIN “pool, mere, lake” (Ety/LIN¹; PE17/160). In a footnote in Quendi and Eldar essay Tolkien added: “Though this clan-name [S. Glinnel] has ✱glind- in Sindarin, the g- does not appear in Amanya Telerin, nor in Nandorin, so that in this case it may be an addition in Sindarin, which favoured and much increased initial groups of this kind” (WJ/411 note #13). Despite this statement, Sindarin had several derivatives from the base root √LIN(D)-, such as S. linna- “sing, chant” (LotR/238; RGEO/64; PE17/27). The sense “gentle” from the 1910s root ᴱ√LINI also seems to have survived in Tolkien’s later writings, since the adjective Q. linda “soft, gentle, light” appears in notes associated with the 1955 version of the poem Nieninquë (PE16/96).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume √LIN referred to melodious sounds, as well as pools of water (√LIN) by way of the pleasant sounds that water makes, and gentleness (Q. linda) by way of the affect such sounds have on one’s mood. However, I think √LIR more directly referred to vocal music (song) and other rhythmic vocal sounds (chanting) such as poetry, as in Q. [ᴹQ] laire/S. glaer “poem”.
lir
root. sing, warble, sing, warble, [ᴹ√] trill
lin
root. pool, mere, lake
A root for “pool, mere, lake” appearing in etymological notes from 1957 (PE17/145, 160), and also appearing as ᴹ√LIN “pool” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LIN¹). In both instances it was the second element in Q. ailin “(large) lake”, and so connected to S. ael “lake” (N. oel) as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (SA/lin¹). In the 1957 notes Tolkien said the root √LIN had a “Sindarin differentiation > glin-” (PE17/160), but I can find no indication of this in any attested words.
In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was connected to ᴹ√LINKWI with derivatives ᴹQ. linqe/N. lhimp “wet” and N. lhimmid “moisten” (Ety/LINKWI; EtyAC/LINKWI). This is turn was probably a later iteration of the early root ᴱ√LIQI “flow, water; clear, transparent” with derivatives like ᴱQ. linqe “water”, ᴱQ. liqin(a) “wet” and ᴱQ. liqis(tea) “transparence (transparent)” (QL/54). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the “wetness” senses were transferred to ᴹ√LINKWI, but I think it is worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ✱ᴺ√LIKWIS “clear, transparent” to preserve words associated with tranparency.
This root may be associated with √LIN “make a musical sound”; see that entry for details.
lip
root. oil
This root has a long history in Tolkien’s development of the Elvish languages, but its exact meaning is hard to determine because Tolkien rarely translated the root itself. The earliest appearance of the root was as unglossed ᴱ√LIPI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where Tolkien indicated it might be a dialectical variant of ᴱ√LIQI “flow, water; clear, transparent”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. lipte- “to drip”, ᴱQ. litl “a tiny drop”, and ᴱQ. limpe “elfwine” (QL/54). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. lib “drop, gout”, G. lib- “to drip”, G. limp(elis) “the drink of the fairies” (GL/54). I think the most likely meaning of this early root was “✱drip, drop”.
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root for “drip” was ᴹ√LIB. ᴹ√LIP appeared, but it was unglossed and its only derivative was ᴹQ. limpe “wine” (Ety/LIB¹, LIP). Thus it seems Tolkien split up the root from the 1910s, though exactly how isn’t clear. The last known mention of this root is as √LIP “oil” (without any derivatives) in a currently unpublished set of notes from 1968 (VT44/15). Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter suggested this might be connect to a (rejected) name for Christ: Q. Elpino, perhaps meaning “✱anointed” (VT44/15). It is unclear whether this √LIP “oil” was connect to its earlier iterations from which limpe “wine” was derived, or if it is was a reemergence of a different root such as ᴱ√ILI “shine oily” as suggested by Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter (VT44/20 note #7).
lis
root. *sweet, [ᴱ√] sweetness, [ᴹ√] honey
This root was connected to sweet things throughout Tolkien’s life. It appeared as ᴱ√LISI “sweetness” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with some derivatives of similar meaning as well as others having to do with grace and blessing, such as ᴱQ. lis (list-) “grace, blessing”; Tolkien made it clear that “sweetness” was the root meaning (QL/54-55). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the “sweetness” words all began with gl- and “grace” words with l-: G. glais “sweetness”, G. glist “sugar” (GL/39) vs. G. list “grace, favour, kindness”, G. lista- “bless” (GL/54). This connection between √LIS and “grace” survived in Tolkien’s later writing, since he used Q. lissë for “grace” in Quenya prayers of the 1950s (VT43/29; VT44/12).
This root appeared as ᴹ√LIS “honey” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, with Noldorin derivatives still beginning with gl-: ᴹQ. lis vs. N. glî “honey” (Ety/LIS). It appeared as √(G)LIS in “Definitive Linguistic Notes” (DLN) from 1959, still serving as the basis for words for honey and sweetness (PE17/154), though some of the Sindarin “sweet” words began with l- in this document, such as: S. laich “sweet” (PE17/148).
liski
root. ?reed
An unglossed root appearing in both the first and second versions of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s and around 1950 (TQ1: PE18/43, 66; TQ2: PE18/93), perhaps the basis for S. lisg “reed” (UT/34). However, in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s, Tolkien said that ᴹQ. liske “reed” was derived from ᴹ✶lisge (PE19/51).
linde
noun. singer, singing
lindā
adjective. *sweet sounding
liru-
verb. to sing gaily
lisyā
adjective. sweet
lind
root. sing
liru
verb. sing gaily
slimbi
adjective. sliding, gliding, slippery, sleek
philik
root. finch, finch, [ᴹ√] small bird
This root first appeared as ᴹ√PHILIK “small bird” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. filit and N. fileg of the same meaning (Ety/PHILIK). The root also appeared in the contemporaneous Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants with an extra gloss “sparrow”, a deleted variant spilik-, and some additional (unglossed) derivatives ᴹQ. filinke and N. flinc (PE21/56). The root and these last two derivatives reappeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s, in this document with the gloss “finch” (PE21/71-72, 80-81). Note that a likely early precursor to all these words was G. bilinc “sparrow, bird (small)” (GL/23).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root √PHILIK = “small bird”, with ᴹQ. filit/N. fileg = “sparrow” and Q. filincë/S. flinc = “finch”.
gaili
noun. ray
kalinā
adjective. bright
philinki
noun. finch
glin(d)
root. sing
glis
root. *sweet
likwis
root. clear, transparent
gal
root. light; shine, be bright
A Sindarin-only root for “light; shine”, a variant of √KAL of the same meaning. Its most notable derivative is S. galad “radiance, light”, an element in the names Galadriel and Gil-galad. This root did not explicitly appear in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where the base for Qenya light words was given as ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), but nearly all the Gnomish derivations of this root begin with g-, as in G. gal- “to shine” and G. glarw(ed) “bright, light” (GL/39). Given that [[eq|initial [g] > [k]]] in early Quenya, this makes it very likely the actual early root was ✱ᴱ√GALA, or at the very least a blending of ᴱ√KALA and ᴱ√GALA.
The first explicit appearance of the root ᴹ√GAL “shine” was in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/GAL), where it was given along with an extended root ᴹ√GALAN “bright” (EtyAC/GAL¹). Tolkien considered but rejected having some Quenya derivatives of these roots: ᴹQ. ala “day” and ᴹQ. alan “daytime” (EtyAC/GAL¹), but he seems to have decided that ᴹ√GAL was a Noldorin-only root, as described in the ᴹ√KAL entry from the same set of documents (Ety/KAL).
The root √GAL reappeared in various etymological notes from the 1950s and 60s, where Tolkien again iterated it was not used in Quenya, and was a root specific to Sindarin (PE17/59) and possibly also Nandorin (PE17/50). The root was potentially problematic in the name Gil-galad, however, in that it was not mutated to Gil-’alad. It seems likely that when Tolkien first coined this name, the second element was from N. calad “light” from the root ᴹ√KAL. This root and word survived into Sindarin (UT/65), and Tolkien sometimes still considered it the basis for Gil-galad (PE17/50).
However, at one point he decided the elements in the names Galadriel and Gil-galad were the same; to explain the lack of mutation in Gil-galad, he posited that the root was actually strengthened to √ÑGAL (PE17/59). Galadriel’s name in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 was based on the root √ÑAL “shine by reflection” (PM/347), so it seems this was the path Tolkien eventually followed. This makes the ultimate status of √GAL “shine” rather unclear, especially since some of its other derivatives like S. uial twilight (PE17/153) were sometimes derived from √ÑAL (PE17/169).
glay
root. light [substance]
A (Sindarin-only?) root for “light as a substance” in notes from the late 1960s (NM/283), probably an elaboration on √GAL “light”.
kal
root. light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden
This root was the basis for words having to do with “light” for most of Tolkien’s life. Its derivatives include Q. cala “light” and S. aglar “glory” which likewise retained the same basic form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. The root ᴱ√KALA first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “shine golden” (QL/44) along with a rejected variant ᴱ√ALA “light” (QL/29). In this early iteration, the root ᴱ√KALA included a number of derivatives having to do with daytime, such as ᴱQ. kala “daytime (sunlight), 12 hours” and G. gala “daylight” (QL/44; GL/38). Also of interest is that most of the Gnomish derivatives from this period began with g-, indicating that the true form of the root may have been ✱ᴱ√GALA (or at least a blending with it), since [[eq|initial [g-] became [k-]]] in Early Qenya.
This G/K variation became explicit in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where ᴹ√KAL “shine” had a Noldorin-only variant ᴹ√GAL (Ety/GAL, KAL). Tolkien did consider having a few Quenya derivatives of ᴹ√GAL, but they were all rejected (EtyAC/GAL¹). In the 1930s, it also seems the “daytime” derivatives were transferred to ᴹ√AR “day” (Ety/AR¹). The root √KAL continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, variously glossed “shine”, “light” and “be bright”, with such frequency that it is impractical to list all the references. Likewise Tolkien continued to refer to the Sindarin-only variant √GAL on a regular basis; see that entry for details.
The root √KAL had a couple of extended forms of note, in particular √KALAR glossed “be radiant” in the 1930s (PE18/62), also appearing in the vowel-suppressed variant ᴹ√AKLA(R) “radiance, splendour” which served as the basis for Q. alcar/S. aglar “glory, brilliance, splendour, radiance” (PE17/105, 124; PE18/36, 87; VT47/13; Ety/AKLA-R, KALAR); in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s this variant root was given as ᴱ√ḶKḶ instead (QL/30). Tolkien frequently used the extension √KALAT as the representation of triconsontal roots (PE18/33, 86; WJ/392), though the only derivative he ever gave for it was ✶kalatta “a light, lamp” (PE21/80).
kay
root. lie, lie, [ᴹ√] lie down; [ᴱ√] rest, dwell
Tolkien used this root for “lie (down)” for most of his life. It appeared as ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/46), but in that document there was another root ᴱ√KAMA “lie down”, with the derivative ᴱQ. kama- “to lie down” (QL/44). There is no sign of ᴱ√KAMA¹ being used this way after the 1910s, and in the 1920s Early Qenya Grammar, the verb for “lie down” was kaita- (PE14/58), which in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had the transitive sense “to place” (QL/44).
The root ᴹ√KAY “lie down” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAY), and it appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. kaita- “to lie (down)” (PE22/126). The root and associated Quenya verb continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings all the way up through the late 1960s, always with the sense “lie” (PE17/72; PE22/156).
lab
root. lick, move the tongue
This root for licking had precursors dating all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it appeared as ᴱ√LAVA “lick” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lava- and G. lav- of the same meaning (QL/52; GL/53). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it became ᴹ√LAB “lick” (Ety/LAB), and √LAB continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings with the glosses “lick” (PE17/72; PE22/151; PE19/92) or “lick, move the tongue” (VT39/15; WJ/416). It was thus quite stable in Tolkien’s mind.
las
root. listen
This root did not appear as the basis of “listen” words until The Etymologies of the 1930s, where Tolkien gave ᴹ√LAS “listen” as opposed to ᴹ√LAS “leaf” (Ety/LAS¹, LAS²). One of its derivatives was N. lhewig “ear” (from fossilized dual lhaw). Tolkien apparently wanted to retain this form in his later writings after deciding that initial l was no longer unvoiced in Sindarin, so he coined a variant s-fortified root √SLAS “ear” from which it could still be derived (PE17/62, PE17/77). The unfortified root √LAS “listen” continued to appear, however (PE17/46; PE19/101), as indicated by imperative S. lasto “listen” (LotR/307). Tolkien did speculate that the roots √LAS¹ “leaf” and √LAS² “listen” might ultimately be related, probably because of the similarity of the shape of Elvish ears and the leaves of trees:
> lasse “leaf” (S las); pl. lassi (S lais). It is only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque). It is thus possibly related to √LAS “listen”, and S-LAS stem of Elvish words for “ear”: Q hlas, dual hlaru. Sindarin dual lhaw, singular lheweg (PE17/62).
A similar notion appeared in The Etymologies: “Some think this [ᴹ√LAS¹ ‘leaf’] is related to the next [ᴹ√LAS² ‘listen’] and ✱lassē ‘ear’. The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human]” (Ety/LAS¹).
teg
root. line
Tolkien used a number of similar roots as the basis for “line” words throughout his life. The earliest of these appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as ᴱ√TEHE [teχe] “pull” (gloss marked with a “?” by Tolkien) with derivatives like ᴱQ. tea “straight”, ᴱQ. telya “attractive; importunate”, and ᴱQ. tie “line, direction, route, road” (QL/90), the last of these surviving more or less unchanged all the way into the published version of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/377). The early root ᴱ√TEHE also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tê “mark, line; track; path”, G. tî or tion “straight”, and G. tîr “honest; esteem, regard, honour”, originally “straight, upright” (GL/69, 71). Primitive ᴱ✶tegna > ᴱQ. tína/ᴱN. tain “straight” from Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s may represent a shift in the form of the root to ✱ᴱ√TEGE (PE13/153, 165).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tie/N. tê “line, way” and ᴹQ. téra/N. tîr “straight, right” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). In the Outline of Phonology Tolkien gave √TEG “line”, whereas √TEÑ was given as the basis for Q. tenna “a thought, notion, idea” and thus clearly with a different meaning; see the entry √TEÑ for further discussion. In any case it is clear that Tolkien considered various ancient velar consonants for the second consonant of this root, all ultimately vanishing in the child languages with similar vocalic effects: 1910s teχ-, 1920s teg-, 1930s {teʒ- >>} teñ- and 1950s teg-.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume this root was √TEƷ in order to preserve the validity of the word téma “series”. This is because Tolkien kept vacillating on the development of gm, but usually had gm > ngw, so that teg-mā > tengwa, not téma.
weg
root. live, be active, live, be active; [ᴹ√] (manly) vigour
This root was connected to vigour and masculinity for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest iteration of this root seems to be primitive ᴱ√gu̯eg- from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s that served as the basis for various words such as G. gweg “man”, G. gwectha- “impregnate; generate”, and G. gwionert “deed of valour” (GL/44). Tolkien mentioned a few Qenya cognates like ᴱQ. wie and ᴱQ. wenga, but they were unglossed (GL/44). In the Gnomish Lexicon Slips Tolkien gave {ᴱ√we >>} ᴱ√waik as the primitive form beside {ᴱ✶u̯ē+kĕ >> ᴱ✶u̯ĕ+kĕ >>} ᴱ✶u̯ǝkḗ (PE13/117).
In the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s Tolkien gave ᴱ✶wikā > ᴱN. gweg “man” vs. ᴱQ. vika “valiant”; the Qenya form indicates this 1920s primitive was not specifically masculine, and it also had a primitive feminine variant ᴱ✶wiktā (PE13/162). It was nonetheless related to other words likes ᴱ✶wiqē > ᴱN. gwib “teors”, which is Old English = “penis” (PE13/162). Some similar forms like ᴱQ. via “male” and ᴱQ. vie “teors” appeared in Early Qenya Word-list of the 1920s as well (PE16/135). These 1920s forms seem to be based on primitive ✱ᴱ√WI instead of ᴱ√(g)weg.
In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s Tolkien gave primitive weʒ- as the basis for N. gwe, ᴹQ. †wé “man, warrior” and the masculine suffix ᴹQ. -we common in names (PE21/1). In The Etymologies of the 1930s this masculine suffix was derived from ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour” along with other derivatives like ᴹQ. vea “adult, manly, vigorous”, ᴹQ. vie “manhood, vigour” and N. gweith “manhood; man-power, troop of able bodied men, host, regiment” (Ety/WEG; EtyAC/WEG).
In some notes from the late 1950s Tolkien again gave the suffix Q. -wë as masculine and derived it from √WEG or √WEƷ, but then changed his mind and decided it was derived from √WĒ or √WEƷ “person” (PE17/189-190), an idea he seems to have stuck with thereafter; see the entry on √WĒ/EWE for further discussion. In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 Tolkien gave {√WEK >>} √WEG as distinct from √WĒ, giving it the gloss “live, be active” where it served as the basis for words like Q. vëo/S. gwê “living creature” and Q. vehtë “life”, though he clarified that this last word was “not Life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity, as in vehtequentalë ‘biography’ (PE17/189)”.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume this root had to do with vigour and activeness, characteristics that were generally (but not absolutely) attributed as masculine. This allows us to retain the largest array of derivatives of this root from various periods. I also think it is best to assume it remains distinct from √WĒ/EWE “person”, though the two roots may originally have been related.
-ū̆lā
suffix. likelihood or aptitude
denethara
masculine name. lithe-and-lank
kala-kwendī
noun. Light-folk
kalat
noun. light
khir
root. light on, find
A root serving as the basis for Q. hir- “find” from Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/75).
labdē
noun. licking up (food or drink)
niktil
noun. little [finger]
peñ
noun. lip, mouth
rāw
noun. lion
tegē
noun. line, road
wegō(n)
noun. living creature
kainu
verb. lie down
kait-a
verb. lie, be on the ground
koy
root. *live, have life, [ᴹ√] live, have life
Tolkien regularly used roots like √KOY for “life” words, but they were often in competition with √KUY. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√KOẎO “have life” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives such as ᴱQ. koire “life” and ᴱQ. koiva “awake” (QL/48). The corresponding Gnomish derivatives such as G. cuib “alive” and G. cuil “life” had the diphthong ui (GL/27) since [[g|[oi] became [ui]]] in Gnomish (PE15/13). But the Gnomish “awake” words had cwiv-, cwib-, or cwip- such as: G. cwiv- “be awake”, G. cwivros “awakening”, and G. cwimp “alert” (GL/28-29). Tolkien said:
> There is confusion between QIV-, QIPI-, KOI̯-(VI) or perhaps original connection. They are more confused in Qenya. Note Qenya confusion between koiva (lively, living), Qîva (awake) and similarly koivie, qîvie, liveliness, awakening, respectively (GL/29).
There are no direct signs of ᴱ√QIVI or ᴱ√QIPI in the Qenya Lexicon, so Tolkien may have introduced or refined this notion in the Gnomish Lexicon.
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave only the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake”, which had both Quenya and Noldorin derivatives connected to both senses “life” and “awakeness” (Ety/KUY). However, in the Quenya Verbal System Tolkien gave ᴹ√KOY [√KOJ] as the basis for “life” words (PE22/125). In the 1940s, 50s and early 60s there were quite a few Quenya “life” words that must have been derived from √KOY:
ᴹQ. koita- “live, be alive” (PE22/103, 125).
Q. coirë “spring, stirring” (LotR/1107).
Q. koive or koivie “life” (PE17/68).
Q. coimas “life-bread” (PM/404).
Q. coirëa “living” (PM/399).
In this same period, Tolkien continued to use derivatives of √KUY for words having to do with being “awake”, most notably in Q. Cuiviénen “Water of Awakening” (<< ᴱQ. Koivie-néni). In Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s he gave √KOJ as the root for “life” versus √KUJ as the root for “awake” (PE22/135). In notes from 1957 Tolkien said √KUY meant “awake not live” (NM/274).
Later, however, he seems to have changed his mind, and Quenya “life” words again started to show cui-, such as kuivie “life” in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s (VT42/8). In Late Notes on Verbs from 1969, Tolkien again gave the root √KUY and the verb Q. kuita- for “live” (PE22/154, 156), and Q. cuima “animal” from these same notes was probably also based on √KUY “life”. To summarize, the conceptual development seems to be 1910s ᴱ√KOẎO “have life” (blended with ᴱ√QIVI and ᴱ√QIPI “awake”) >> 1930s ᴹ√KUY “life, awake” >> 1940s through early 1960s √KOY “life” vs. √KUY “awake” >> late 1960s √KUY “life” (and probably also “awake”).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to retain the distinct √KOY “life” and √KUY “awake”, especially given the appearance of coirë “stirring” in The Lord of the Rings, which must be from √KOY. These late vacillations makes almost no difference in Sindarin, since the roots √KOY and √KUY would have blended in cui- because [[os|[oi] became [ui]]] in Sindarin as it did in Gnomish.
bē
preposition. as, like
Tolkien used the word Q. ve for “as, like” in Quenya for much of his life, but its etymological origins varied. In the the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had two distinct roots for “similarity”: unglossed ᴱ√SĒ with variant ᴱ√SENE⁽²⁾ and derivatives like ᴱQ. se “as, like, in manner of” and ᴱQ. (a)sesta- “to liken, compare” (QL/82), and also ᴱ√VĪ “as” with variant ᴱ√VI‘I and derivatives like ᴱQ. ve “as, like”, ᴱQ. vealta- “to resemble”, and ᴱQ. vīkana- “compare” (QL/101). The semantic distinction between the two roots isn’t clear, and in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was a third set of forms beginning with fel- such as G. fel “as, like”, G. feleg “equal”, and G. feltha- “resemble, seem like” (GL/34).
In later notes Tolkien proposed a variety of primitive origins for Q. ve “as, like”: ✶wē (we’e) in 1957 Quenya Notes (VT49/10; PE17/189), ✶bē from notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (VT49/32 note #10), and ✶vai as a relative of suffixal -va in notes from 1968 (VT49/32 note #10). As there are not any definite Sindarin cognates for Q. ve in Tolkien’s published writings, it is hard to know which of these is more likely.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would go with primitive ✶bē as the most widely excepted option, producing S. ✱be “as, like”.
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.
khal
root. raise; lift up or extend upwards, raise; lift up or extend upwards, [ᴹ√] uplift, erect, lift from ground, (make) stand up
This root was the basis for the word Q. halla “tall” (PE17/184), and appeared as ᴹ√KHAL as far back as The Etymologies of the 1930s where it was glossed “uplift” (Ety/KHAL). The root also appeared in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/103), and in this document was given the gloss “to erect, lift from ground, (make) stand up”, though that particular section was rejected (PE22/127 note #152). The root appeared again in etymological notes probably from the mid-1960s, where it had the gloss “raise; lift up or extend upwards” (PE17/184).
khaw
root. cover up, hide away, lay in store, [ᴹ√] rest, lie at ease; [√] cover up, hide away, lay in store
The early existence of this root was indicated in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as (unglossed) ᴱ✶haw- where it was the basis of words like G. hau- “to lie” and G. haus “bed” (GL/48). It reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√KHAW “rest, lie at ease”, this time with both Quenya and Noldorin derivatives such as ᴹQ. hauta- “cease, take a rest, stop” and N. haust “bed” (Ety/KHAW). In The Etymologies Tolkien also said this root influenced the meaning of N. hauð “mound” so that it came to mean “grave, tomb” as well (Ety/KHAG, KHAW).
The root reappeared again in revisions made to the Outline of Phonology (OP2) around 1959 with a new gloss “cover up, hide away, lay in store”, along with an extended root √KHAWAD “store, hoard” that continued to influence S. haudh “(funeral) mound” (PE19/91). The root √KHAW >> √KHAWA also appeared in a page of roots having to do with “large and small” of unclear date (but probably late 1950s or early 1960s), with the derivatives Q. höa “big, large” and Q. haura “huge” (PE17/115).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the 1930s meaning “rest, lie at ease” is probably most useful, and I would limit the meaning “lay in store” to its extended root √KHAWAD. As for the meaning “big”, I would limit it to (Quenya-only) Q. höa.
kuy
root. awake; live, awake; live, [ᴹ√] come to life
A root Tolkien used in the 1930s through 1960s, sometimes meaning both “live” and “awake” and sometimes just “awake”.
neth
root. (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry, (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry; [ᴹ√] young
This root had a variety of meanings over Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴹ√NETH “young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning, the most notable being the name ᴹQ. Nessa (Ety/NETH). In rough notes probably from around 1959, Tolkien redefined √NETH or √NES to mean “feminity apart from sex”, contrasted with √WEG or √WEƷ for masculinity, but he abandoned this line of reasoning deciding that √WĒ simply meant “person” independent of gender (PE17/189-190).
In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien again redefined √NETH, this time as the basis for Elvish “sister” words, either specifically meaning “sister” (VT47/12, 26, 34), meaning “(young) woman” (VT47/15, 32, 39) or perhaps “fresh, lively, merry” (VT47/32), the last of these probably a callback to its 1930s meaning “young”. In notes from 1959-60, however, the name Q. Nessa was disconnected from the root √NETH, derived instead from ✶Neresā meaning “she that has manlike valour or strength” (WJ/416).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best for √NETH to retain its essential 1930s meaning “young, fresh, lively”, but with an association to young women as described in Tolkien’s notes from the 1960s, and thus by extension “sister” as named from the perspective of the parents.
pel
root. fence, border, edge; bound, limit; go round, encircle, fence, border, edge; bound, limit; go round, encircle; [ᴹ√] revolve on fixed point
This root was connected to fences, encirclement and rotation for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as two distinct roots in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s. The first was ᴱ√PELE “fence in” with derivatives like ᴱQ. pelin “fenced in, pent”, ᴱQ. pelto “hedge, hedged field”, and ᴱQ. pelle “town” (QL/73). It had some clear derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pel “village”, G. pelu- “fence, enclose”, and G. pless “hedge, fence” (GL/64). The second root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s was unglossed ᴱ√PELE with derivatives like ᴱQ. pelko “leg”, ᴱQ. pelte- “run”, and ᴱQ. peltas “pivot” (QL/73), but the “leg” word in the Gnomish Lexicon was unrelated: G. bactha “a leg” (GL/21).
Indeed, in Quenya the “leg” word was also shifted to a new root by The Etymologies of the 1930s: ᴹ√TELEK > ᴹQ. telko “leg” (Ety/TÉLEK). As for the root ᴹ√PEL, it was given the gloss “revolve on fixed point” in The Etymologies and seems to be a blending of 1910s ᴱ√PELE and ᴱ√PELE, with derivatives like ᴹQ. pel- “go round, revolve, return” and ᴹQ. peltas/N. pelthaes “pivot” (Ety/PEL) but also ᴹQ. peler/N. pêl “fenced field” and ᴹQ. opele/N. gobel “walled house or village, town” by way of extended root ᴹ√PEL(ES) (Ety/PEL(ES)).
The root √PEL appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “edge, bound, fence, limit” (PE17/65), “fence, border” (PE17/90) and “go round, encircle” (SA/pel). Tolkien declared that:
> The basic sense should not be “revolve”; but “edge, bound, fence, limit”. Thus [S.] pelennor = fenced land; ephel, Sindarin < eppel < etpel = “outer wall or fence”; [Q.] peltakse- (peltas) should mean a fence of fixed stakes etc., or a “pale” and fencing stakes; and pelma a border, fringe, edge, limiting device (PE17/65).
Tolkien reassigned the sense “revolve” to the root √KWER. The most notable derivative of the new sense “boundary” for √PEL was Q. pella “beyond”, more literally “beyond the boundary” (PE17/65, 80); this word was likely Tolkien’s motivation for removing the sense “revolve” from √PEL.
peñ
root. *lip, mouth
The word Q. pé was the main Quenya word for “lip(s)” for all of Tolkien’s life, but its derivation evolved over time. The root first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√PĒ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the derivative ᴱQ. pé “the two lips, the (closed) mouth” (QL/72). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon compared this Qenya word to G. beg “chin” or “beard” (GL/22), hinting that the actual root might have been ✱ᴱ√BĒ. In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, the primitive form was given as PĒ “lips, mouth” (PE21/1, 38). In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√PEG “(?outer) mouth” with derivative ᴹQ. pé “mouth” (Ety/PEG; EtyAC/PEG).
In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s the root is given as unglossed √PEÑ (PE21/71), and in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 the primitive form is given as peñe (VT39/11). In both cases it was an example of a primitive form that resulted in ancient monosyllabic nouns from weak consonant loss: √PEÑ > ✶pē. In notes from the late 1960s Tolkien again gave ✶pē in a list of primitive monosyllabic nouns, but said “of these all except pe, su had probably lost a consonant in Common Eldarin”, implying the original form was actually √PĒ. But in green-note revisions made in 1970 to Outline of Phonology Tolkien had:
> ñ disappeared prehistorically, so that words such as peñ were for Quenya long monosyllabic nouns with only an initial consonant: pē (PE19/102 and note #168).
Thus it seems the lost ñ in √PEÑ was restored, though it could also be a remnant of the earlier version of this sentence from the 1950s that gave both peñ and maʒ as examples of consonant-loss.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root is √PEÑ.
sten
root. cut short, limit, confine, cramp
A root appearing in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 glossed “cut short, limit, confine, cramp” with derivatives Q. senna/S. thenn “short” (PE17/185). As pointed out by Christopher Gilson, it was likely a later iteration of the “root” ᴹ√STINTĀ (actually a primitive word) from The Etymologies of the 1930s with gloss “short” and derivatives like ᴹQ. sinta/N. thent “short” (Ety/STINTĀ).
tay
root. mark, line, limit; stretch, [ᴹ√] extend, make long(er), stretch, [ᴹ√] extend, make long(er); [√] mark, line, limit
The root ᴹ√TAY first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “extend, make long(er)” and derivatives like ᴹQ. taile “lengthening, extension”, ᴹQ. taina “lengthened, extended” and N. taen “long (and thin)” (Ety/TAY). Tolkien considered making it a variant of ᴹ√TAƷ (EtyAC/TAY), perhaps intending ᴹ√TAY to refer to horizontal length as opposed to vertical ᴹ√TAƷ. The root ᴹ√TAY “stretch” also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s as the basis for ᴹ✶tainā “long”, and there were various related linguistic terms like Q. ómataima “vocalic extension” and Q. ómatailë “vowel lengthening” that appeared in both the first and second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1: PE18/34, 45; TQ2: PE18/86, 95).
The root √TAJA “stretch” appeared in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (VT39/7), and √TAY “stretch” appeared in a list of sound roots from around this same time (PE17/138). However, in notes on the origin of the river name S. Taeglin “✱Boundary Singer”, Tolkien glossed √taya “mark, line, limit” with extension tayak as the basis for ✶taika “boundary, limit, boundary line” > S. taeg (WJ/309). Perhaps it was Tolkien’s intent that the sense “mark, line, limit” only applied to the extended form tayak.
than
root. kindle, set light to, fire, light
Tolkien used this root primarily to explain the name S. Gilthoniel “Star-kindler”. In a 1955 letter to David Masson, Tolkien gave √THAN “kindle” as the basis for the perfect participle S. thoniel “kindler”, in contrast to S. thôn < ✶stŏna (PE17/82). In Words, Phrases and Passages in the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien gave {√TON >> √TÁN >>} √THĂN/THĀN as the basis for the same name, but with the suffix S. -iel being a feminine suffix (PE17/23; MR/388).
The root √THAN from the 1950s might be a restoration of the unglossed root ᴱ√tan- from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. tan “firewood” and G. tantha- “set light to, kindle” (GL/69), along with other forms like G. tôn “fire (on a hearth)” and G. tortha- “scorch” (GL/71). This may be reflected in the deleted forms in the aforementioned note: {√TON >> √TÁN >>} √THĂN/THĀN.
dene
adjective. thin and strong, pliant, lithe
kainu-
verb. to lie down
kaita-
verb. to lie, be on the ground
k’la
noun. *light
nēthā
adjective. gay, lively, girlish
pey
root. *little
taika
noun. boundary, limit, boundary line
pi(n) Reconstructed
root. little
Tolkien used a variety of roots for Elvish words for “small”. One early root was ᴱ√PIKI with variants ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. pínea “small” and ᴱQ. pinqe “slender, thin” (QL/73). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. pinig “tiny, little” and G. pibin “small berry, haw” (GL/64).
The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as unglossed {ᴹ√PEK >>} ᴹ√PIK with derivatives like N. pigen “tiny” and N. peg “small spot, dot” (Ety/PIK; EtyAC/PIK). Further evidence for this root can be seen in later words like Q. piki- or pitya “petty” (WJ/389) and Q. pik- “lessen, dwindle” (MC/223). A variant root √PEY appeared in a list of roots having to do with large and small, with a single derivative Q. pia “little” [< ✱peya], but it was immediately followed by the forms pikina, pinke, pitya which point back to √PIK (PE/117).
Further evidence of early forms ᴱ√PINI and ᴱ√PĪ can also be seen in Tolkien’s later writings. There is S. ✱pîn “little” in S. Cûl Bîn “Little Load” (RC/536), ✶pī {“small bird” >>} “small insect” (VT47/35), and T. pinke “little-one, baby” (VT48/6), though the last of these might be from √PIK. In any case it seems Tolkien continued to use all of √PI, √PIK and √PIN to form words for little things into the late 1960s.
In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, Tolkien changed pitya to Q. nitya in the name Q. Nityafinwë “Little Finwë” (PM/353, 365 note #59), which may indicate a replacement of √PIK by √NIK, another root used regularly in Tolkien’s later writings for “small”. But I believe √PIK and √NIK may coexist with slightly different meanings: “tiny” vs. “small”; see the entry on √NIK for further discussion.
leph
root. liver
am
root. mother
For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).
at(ar)
root. father
As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).
khan
root. brother
A root for “brother” that Tolkien introduced in notes on finger-names from the late 1960s as a companion to √NETH “sister” (VT47/14, 26, 34). It conflicts with, and possibly replaces, earlier uses for √KHAN such as √KHAN “back” in notes from around 1959 serving as the basis for the prefix Q. han- in hanquenta “answer” (PE17/166). The root ᴹ√KHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “understand, comprehend”, with various derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/KHAN).
It is unlikely that all these uses of √KHAN coexisted, but I think at a minimum both √KHAN “brother” and ᴹ√KHAN “understand, comprehend” should be retained for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as the latter has no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing. As for hanquenta “answer”, it might be reinterpreted as “a saying providing understanding”, and so be derived from ᴹ√KHAN “understand”.
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).
las
root. leaf
This root was connected to leaves throughout Tolkien’s life. It did not appear directly in the Qenya or Gnomish lexicons of the 1910s, but ✱ᴱ√LASA “leaf” is implied by ᴱQ. lasse and G. lass “leaf” (QL/51; GL/52). ᴹ√LAS appeared directly in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivatives ᴹQ. lasse and N. lhass (Ety/LAS¹), and the root √LAS “leaf” was also mentioned in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/77; VT39/9).
lot(h)
root. flower
This root and ones like it were connected to flowers for all of Tolkien’s life. The earliest manifestation of this root was ᴱ√LOHO or ᴱ√LO’O from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s; the entry for ᴱ√LOHO appears immediately below ᴱ√LO’O, and Tolkien indicates they are related roots, both extended from ᴱ√OLO “tip” (QL/55). These roots include derivatives like ᴱQ. lōte “flower”, ᴱQ. lotōrea “flourishing” and ᴱQ. lokta- “sprout, bud, put forth leaves or flowers”. There are also derivatives of these roots in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon: G. lost “blossom, bloom”, G. lothli “floret”, G. luitha- “to bloom” (GL/54-55), though G. lôs “flower” was said to be unrelated, connected to G. lass “leaf” instead (GL/55). ᴱQ. losse “rose” probably had a similar derivation (QL/56).
This confusion of √LOT(H) and √LOS carried forward into Tolkien’s later writings. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√LOT(H) was given as the root for “flower” (Ety/LOT(H)), but this entry originally included a variant ᴹ√LOS (EtyAC/LOT(H)). Tolkien then said ᴹQ. losse “blossom” (< ᴹ√LOT(H)) was “usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom” (Ety/LOT(H)), where ᴹQ. olosse was derived from ᴹ√GOLOS “✱snow, white” (Ety/GOLÓS). This intermingling carried forward into etymological notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where Tolkien said (PE17/26):
> The stems √LŎS, √LOTH, √LOT are much entangled both for formal reasons, and because of actual associations of meaning (probably from beginning of Primitive Quendian and explaining the approach of the forms). Quenya word for “flower, a single bloom” is lóte, but S loth (< lotho/a), but Quenya also has lōs. Q. for snow is losse (S los).
These associations were also mentioned in etymological notes on roots for flowers from this same period, where Tolkien clarified that √LOT, √LOTH were the roots for “flower” and √LOS for “snow” (PE17/160-161). These roots were mentioned again in notes associated with The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s (VT42/18):
> S. loss is a derivative of (G)LOS “white”; but loth is from LOT. Sindarin used loss as a noun, but the strengthened form gloss as an adjective “(dazzling) white”. loth was the only derivative of LOT that it retained, probably because other forms of the stem assumed a phonetic shape that seemed inappropriate, or were confusible with other stems (such as LUT “float”), e.g. ✱lod, ✱lûd. loth is from a diminutive lotse and probably also from derivative lotta-.
In this last note, Tolkien seems to have abandoned √LOTH, explaining S. loth “flower” as derived from √LOT via ✱lotse. In any case, starting in the 1930s Tolkien was consistent that the roots for “flower” and “snow” were distinct but often confused, and that snow-words were derived from roots like √(G)LOS and flower words from roots like √LOT(H), though he waffled a bit on the exact details.
mal
root. gold, yellow, gold
This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.
This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).
nen
root. water, water, [ᴱ√] flow
A root connected to water and (to a lesser extent) rivers for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appearance was as ᴱ√NENE “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien marked both the root and the gloss with a “?”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nen “river, †water” and ᴱQ. nēnu “yellow water lily” (QL/65). Under this entry Tolkien noted that “nen water is perhaps different from nen river, which is from neře” (QL/65); elsewhere in QL Tolkien gave ᴱ√NERE² or ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] as the basis for nen (nend-) “river”, a root he said was often confused with ᴱ√NESE “give to feed; feed, pasture; graze” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon he had G. nenn “(1) water, (2) river” and G. nendil “water fay” which were probably a blending of NENE and NEÐE, as well as G. nern “brook” from ✱nere¹ (GL/60), probably corresponding to ᴱ√NERE² from QL.
In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√NEN with derivatives like ᴹQ. nén/N. nen “water” and ᴹQ. nelle “brook” (Ety/NEN), whereas ᴱ√NERE² and ᴱ√NEÐE from the 1910s seems to have been abandoned. The primitive form √NEN or nē̆n “water” continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s writings from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (PE17/52, 167; PE19/102; PE21/64, 79).
nik
root. small
One of various roots for “small” Tolkien used in his later writings. The root √NIK “small” first appeared in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/26; VT48/18), but was connected to the diminutive suffix ✶-i(n)ki which had a much longer conceptual history. One of the earliest known diminutive suffix was ᴱQ. -íne(a) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the root ᴱ√INI “small” (QL/42), which might be a precursor to √NIK; these suffixes reappeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 81). In the Gnomish Grammar of the 1910s, the word G. inc “small” was used as the basis for the “diminutive superlative” -inci (PE11/16).
In the Qenya Lexicon, Tolkien connected ᴱ√INI “small” to the root ᴱ√MINI of similar meaning (QL/42, 61). There are no signs of ᴱ√MINI “small” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but the word G. migin “little” (GL/57) hints at a (hypothetical) variant root ✱ᴱ√MIKI. Further support for ✱ᴱ√MIKI can be found in other diminutive forms in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s such as prefixal diminutive ᴱQ. mike- along adverbial ᴱQ. mike “little” (QL/48, 81), the latter appearing with the gloss “a bit” in the English-Qenya Dictionary from this period (PE15/70) along with other similar words in both the dictionary and the grammar. This ✱ᴱ√MIKI might be another precursor to √NIK. An early hint at √NIK itself might appear in the word ᴹQ. nikse “minnow, little fish” from the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/27).
In Noldorin and Sindarin, the primary diminutive suffix became -eg, which was connected to the Common Eldarin suffix -iki elsewhere in notes on hands and fingers (VT47/14 note #21). In the notes where √NIK “small” appeared in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the primitive diminutive as -inkĭ along with variants ikki, -iksi, -si, -ensi, -ki.
One of the main competing roots for “small” was ᴹ√PIK [see the entry for √PI(N)], itself with a lengthy conceptual history. The shift of pitya >> nitya “little” in the father name of Amrod from the late 1960s may represent a replacement of √PIK by √NIK (PM/365), but I think it is likelier the two roots coexisted with slightly different meanings, as was the case for their earlier precursors. In the notes from the late 1960s, √NIK was also contrasted with √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” (VT48/18), from which the word S. niben “petty” was derived, as in S. Nogoth Niben (WJ/388).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √NIK meant “small” in a neutral sense, √PIK “tiny” (along with variants √PĪ and √PIN) and √NIP “small and weak”. I would use these as the major Eldarin roots for “small” words, along with a number of other more specialized roots.
ras
root. horn, horn; [ᴹ√] stick up
This root first appeared as ᴹ√RAS “stick up (intr.)” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. rasse and N. rhas or rhasg “horn (especially on living animal, but also applied to mountains)” (Ety/RAS; EtyAC/RAS). It reappeared as ᴹ√RASA “stick up” on an rejected page of roots in the Quenya Verbal System from the 1940s (PE22/127). Finally, √RAS “horn” appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, but that was merely the last appearance of the root in Tolkien’s published writings. Q. rassë and S. rass “horn” continued to appear regularly as an element in mountain names in the 1950s and 60s.
sal
root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre
The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.
sed
root. rest
This root first appeared as ᴹ√SED “rest” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. sére “rest, repose, peace” and N. sîdh “peace”, along with the name of the Valië ᴹQ. Este < ᴹ✶ezdē (Ety/SED). The root √SED “rest” along with the etymology of Este reappeared in both the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s (PE19/45) and the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s (PE19/92), and again in revisions to the OP2 page annotated in green ink and thus probably from 1970 (PE19/91 and note #110).
The root √SED “rest” was mentioned a couple times in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s as the basis for the verb ᴹQ. ser- “rest, repose” (PE22/102, 125) and again (unglossed) in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 as the basis for Este (WJ/403). In the sense “peace” this root had some competition, however. In the first version of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer from the mid-1960s, Tolkien used Q. sívë for “peace”, revised to Q. sérë in the second version and then Q. rainë (VT44/32). The word Q. sívë “peace” reappeared in unpublished etymological notes from 1969 derived from the root √SIB “rest, quiet” (VT44/35).
Neo-Eldarin: For purpose of Neo-Eldarin, I would use √SED for the act of resting and so Q. sérë “peace” = “restfulness (personal peace)”, and would use √SIB = “quiet, ✱stillness, absence of activity” and so Q. sívë “peace” = “absence of activity or violence (environmental peace)”. I would use Q. rainë as “good will” in connection to √RAY “smile”.
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).
stuk
root. [unglossed]
uñg
root. spider
This root and ones like it were tied to spider words for much of Tolkien’s life, most notably in the name S. Ungoliant and its precursors. The earliest iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√GUŊU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. ungwe/G. gung “spider” (QL/98); Tolkien marked the root with a “?” and given that the Qenya forms had no initial consonant, the actual root may have been ✱ᴱ√ƷUŊU. In The Lost Tales of the 1910s, Tolkien changed G. Gungliont to G. Ungoliont (LT1/156), and in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the word for “spider” was G. ungwi (GL/75), so it seems Tolkien revised {✱ᴱ√ƷUŊU >>} ✱ᴱ√UŊU.
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, unglossed ᴹ√UÑG had derivatives like ᴹQ. ungwe “gloom” and ᴹQ. ungo “cloud, dark shadow” (Ety/UÑG), and it was the second element ᴹQ. liante in ᴹQ. Ungoliante that meant “spider” (Ety/SLIG). However, in notes from 1969 Tolkien gave ✱ungu- as the basis for “spider” words (PE22/160), as reflected in Q. ungwë “spider’s web” (LotR/1122) and S. ungol “spider” in his later writings (Let/180; RC/490, 767).
win
root. young, young, [ᴹ√] new, fresh
Tolkien used a similar set of Elvish roots for “youth” and “freshness” for many years. The earliest of these was primitive guı̯u̯ or gu̯iu̯ [ᴱ√GWIWI] in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. gui “just, just now, only just, already”, G. guin “recent, fresh”, and G. gwioth “youth” (GL/42). This root reappeared as ᴹ√WIR “new, fresh, young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√WĪ and ᴹ√WIN and derivatives ᴹQ. vírie “youth” and ᴹQ. virya “fresh” (EtyAC/WIR). The ᴹ√WIN variant had derivatives ᴹQ. vinya/N. gwîn “young”. Tolkien considered, but rejected, deriving these from strengthened ᴹ√GWIN instead, producing (also rejected) ᴹQ. winya/N. bîn (EtyAC/GWIN).
Q. vinya appeared in quite a few later names with the gloss “young” or “new”, but the Sindarin form became S. gwain as in S. Narwain “January, ✱(lit.) New Fire” (LotR/1110) and S. Iarwain “Old-young” (LotR/1114; RC/128). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, both were given as derivatives of √WIN “young” along with Q. víne/S. gwîn “youth”, though the Sindarin word for “young” was given as (archaic?) gwein (PE17/191). Also related are various words for “baby” from 1968 notes such Q. †wine/S. gwinig “little-one, baby” (VT48/6). In these notes primitive wini was glossed “little” but this was deleted (VT47/26), making it likely that the earlier senses “young, new” were restored for √WIN.
As for the 1930s root ᴹ√WIR, it might have survived as an element in the month names Q. Víressë/S. Gwirith “April” (LotR/1110), perhaps meaning “✱freshness”.
lemek
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.
-i(n)ki
suffix. diminutive suffix
amal
noun. mother
amba
?. more
as(a)
preposition. and
atar
noun. father
bani
adjective. fair
barathī
noun. queen
dē
preposition. with
elen
noun. star
ezdē
noun. rest
galab
root. flower
galmā
noun. flower
imbi
preposition. between
kyelepē
noun. silver
lamā̆n(a)
noun. animal
lassē
noun. leaf
lepe
noun. finger
leper
noun. finger
lepero
noun. finger
lotho/a
noun. flower
lotse
noun. flower
lĭmbĭ
adjective. quick, swift
malat
root. gold
malu
noun. dust
mbar-
verb. to dwell
mith
root. grey
Tolkien introduced the root ᴹ√MITH in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a blending of ᴹ√MIS “✱wet” and ᴹ√KHITH “mist, fog”, with the derivative N. mith “white fog, wet mist” as in N. Mithrim “✱Mist Lake” (Ety/MITH, RINGI; EtyAC/MITH). As a later addition to this entry Tolkien wrote the adjective N. mith “grey”, and that was the more common use of this word in Tolkien’s later writings. In a 1955 letter to David Masson Tolkien specified that “usage suggests that MIÞ- is paler and whiter, a luminous grey” (PE17/72).
mīni
preposition. between
ndorē
noun. land
ndē̆r
noun. man
ndōro
noun. land
nenda
noun. water
nimpĭ
adjective. small
ninkĭ
adjective. small
nis
root. woman
This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.
In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).
nēnā
adjective. wet
nēthā
noun. sister
nē̆n
noun. water
ortā-
verb. to raise
orya-
verb. to rise
phawalōkō
noun. dragon
rass
noun. horn
rindi
adjective. swift
srā
noun. flesh
sīru
noun. stream
thindi
adjective. grey
thindā
adjective. grey
tig
root. [unglossed]
A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).
urun
root. copper
wanyā
adjective. fair
ēl
noun. star
gwen
root. fresh, *green, fair, unblemished, beautiful
@@@ might still be valid for Quenya derivations in the Etymologies
graw Reconstructed
root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart
This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).
mangya
root. butter
amas
noun. mother
amma
noun. mother
amme
noun. mother
em
root. mother
emel
noun. mother
emer
noun. mother
et-kuinu
verb. awake, wake up
imi
root. in
phut
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).
stin
root. grey
telu-
verb. cover in, roof over
thini
adjective. grey
This root was connected to words for “many” throughout Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s it appeared as ᴱ√LĪ, with variant ᴱ√ILI “many” and extended form ᴱ√LIYA (LI + ya) “unite many as one” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lia- “entwine” and ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (QL/42, 53). In later writings there is no sign of the inversion √IL “many” (later √IL meant “all”), whereas ᴱ√LIYA seems to have shifted to unrelated ᴹ√SLIG with derivatives like ᴹQ. lia “fine thread, spider filament” and ᴹQ. liante “spider” (Ety/SLIG).
The base root ᴹ√LI “many” did reappear in The Etymologies of the 1930s, however (Ety/LI), and √LI “many” appeared again in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/25). The long-standing connection between this root and the Quenya (partitive) plural suffixes indicates its stability in Tolkien’s mind.