lin

root. sing

lin

root. pool

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).

lindā

adjective. sweet sounding

lindān-d

place name. musical land

linkwi

root. *wet

lindē

noun. *singing

lindō

noun. singer

lingikā̆la

proper name. Hanging-flame

lingi

root. hang

(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.

slinyā

adjective. lean, thin, meagre

teñ

root. line, direction

tēñe

noun. line, row

teʒē

noun. path, course, line, direction, way

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.

liñwi

noun. fish

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.

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

bay

root. [unglossed]

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

kelun

noun. river

khlip

root. [unglossed]

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

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

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”.

lak

root. swift

lank

root. swallow

lassē

noun. leaf

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.

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

mizdā

adjective. wet

nis

root. woman

nē̆n

noun. water

nī

noun. woman

nī̆s

noun. woman

phan

root. [unglossed]

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

skala

noun. fish

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).

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).

stin

root. [unglossed]

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.

torōmā

noun. [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).

wis

root. air

yat

root. join