mah

root. handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp

This root was connected to hand words for all of Tolkien’s life. Its periodic shifts between √MAH and √MAƷ had more to do with Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation on the form of the ancient velar spirant (voiced vs. voiceless) in Primitive Elvish. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. má “hand”, ᴱQ. maqa “handy, skilled”, and ᴱQ. māra “mighty, power, doughty; (of things) good, useful” (QL/57). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the root was maχā with derivatives G. mô “hand” and G. manc “grip, grasp, hold” (GL/55); G. mora “good” may have also been related (GL/57).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” along with a related root ᴹ√MAG “use, handle”, with ᴹQ. mára “useful, fit, good (of things)” derived from the latter (Ety/MAƷ). In Tolkien’s later writings, the root √MAG was further differentiated from √MAƷ, becoming the basis for “good, useful”; see the entry on √MAG for further details. As for ᴹ√MAƷ “hand”, it was also mentioned in the Outline of Phonetic Development from the 1930s (OP1: PE19/48) and Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/100 note #154).

In revisions to OP2, Tolkien decided the primitive velar spirant was unvoiced, a weak χ [x] rather than voiced ʒ [ɣ] (PE19/69 note #3; 72-73 note #22; 74 note #33). From this point forward, Tolkien sometimes rendered this root as √MAH (PE21/70; VT39/11), but it continued to appear often as √MAƷ even into the late 1960s (VT47/18-19) reflecting ongoing vacillation on the nature of the primitive velar spirant. As for its meaning in later writings, in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien said it meant “serve, be of use” as opposed to words for “well” and “good” derived from √MAY or √MAG (PE17/162), and in another section of the same notes it was defined as “handle, manage, control, wield” (PE17/163).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the last meaning is best for √MAH or √MAƷ. I think words for “good” and “useful” are better assigned to √MAG, and “excellence” to √MAY, though Tolkien often intermingled the meanings and derivatives of these three roots.

maʒ

root. handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand

maha

noun. hand, the manager

mahsi

noun. handiness

mā

noun. hand

magtā-

verb. to handle, wield, manage, deal with

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.

ndorē

noun. land

ndōro

noun. land

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

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.

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

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).

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).