macil

sword

macil ("k")noun "sword" (MAK, LT1:259, VT39:11, VT45:32, VT49:17); macilya "his (or their) sword" (PE17:130), see -ya #4.

rista

cut

rista (2) noun "cut" (RIS), cf. #1 above.

yelca

sword

[yelca noun ?"sword" - Tolkien's gloss is not certainly legible, and the word was struck out anyway. (VT45:11)]

rissë

cut

rissë noun? The word is not clearly glossed but apparently means "cut" or "cleft" (ravine), the cognate of the final element of Imladris, Sindarin name of Rivendell. (PE17:87)

megil

noun. sword

The word was struck out in the Etymologies, but is well attested in late compounds such as Mormegil or Arvegil (with regular mutation). It is conceivably the Sindarinized form of Quenya makil, coexisting with magol (see tegil and tegol for a similar case)

megil

noun. sword

_ n. _sword. i·arben na megil and 'The Knight of the Long Sword'.

rista-

verb. to cut

rista-

verb. to rend, rip

Rest

noun. cut

Rest

cut

(noun) 1) rest (ravine, cleft), pl. rist (idh rist), 2) criss (i griss, o chriss, construct cris) (cleft, slash), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chriss)

criss

cut

(i griss, o chriss, construct cris) (cleft, slash), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chriss)

rest

cut

(ravine, cleft), pl. rist (idh rist)

magol

sword

(i vagol), analogical pl. megyl (i megyl), coll. pl. maglath (though analogical ?magolath may also be possible). In ”Noldorin”, this was the native word for ”sword” (derived from primitive makla, as is Quenya macil); it is unclear whether Tolkien definitely replaced it with megil when he turned ”Noldorin” into Sindarin, or whether both words coexist in the language.

lang

sword

(cutlass), pl. leng.

megil

sword

1) megil (i vegil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i megil). This is a borrowing from Quenya macil (VT45:32). 2) magol (i vagol), analogical pl. megyl (i megyl), coll. pl. maglath (though analogical ?magolath may also be possible). In ”Noldorin”, this was the native word for ”sword” (derived from primitive makla, as is Quenya macil); it is unclear whether Tolkien definitely replaced it with megil when he turned ”Noldorin” into Sindarin, or whether both words coexist in the language. 3) lang (cutlass), pl. leng.

megil

sword

(i vegil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i megil). This is a borrowing from Quenya macil (VT45:32).

hathel

broadsword blade

(i chathel, o chathel) (axe blade), pl. hethil (i chethil)

ristannen

adjective. cut

Elements

Word	Gloss
rista-	“to cut; to rend, rip”

mak

root. cut, hew with a sharp edge; kill, slay; forge metal, cut, hew with a sharp edge, [ᴹ√] cleave; sword, fight (with a sword); ️[√] forge metal; kill, slay

This root was the basis for “sword” words throughout Tolkien’s life, but the meaning of the root itself shifted over time. The first appearance of this root was as ᴱ√MAKA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. mak- “slay”, ᴱQ. makil “sword”, and ᴱQ. makka “slaughter” (QL/57-58). The root was also given the gloss “slay” in a section of the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon along with etymologies of names of the various Valar, but this section was deleted (GL/18). Derivatives of this root appeared elsewhere in the Gnomish Lexicon, however, such as G. mactha- “slay, kill” and G. magli “a great sword” (GL/55). Thus, the meaning of this root in the earliest period seems to be “slay”.

The root ᴹ√MAK appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but the entry went through quite a few revisions. The gloss apparently was “cleave” >> “kill, cleave with sword” >> “sword, or verbal [stem] fight with sword, cleave” >> “sword, or as verb-stem: fight (with sword), cleave” (EtyAC/MAK; Ety/MAK). Thus the 1930s root was more directly connected with swords and wielding swords, and its derivatives included ᴹQ. makil/N. magol “sword” and ᴹQ. mahta-/N. maetha- “fight” (Ety/MAK).

In Tolkien’s later writings, the words for “sword” remained nearly the same: Q. macil and S. megil (PE17/130, 147), but the gloss of the root √MAK varied considerably based on whatever linguistic puzzle Tolkien was trying to solve at that particular moment. In notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, its gloss was very similar to that from The Etymologies: “cut, hew with a sharp edge” (VT39/11). In notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 Tolkien glossed {m(b)aka- >>} maka- as “forge metal” as part of a new etymology of the name S. Maglor as an adaptation Q. Makalaure “Forging Gold” (PM/353; VT41/10). In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s Tolkien gave √MAK “strike” as the basis for ✶makwā > S. mâb “hand”, but this idea was rejected immediately (VT47/19). This was part of Tolkien’s rather surprising decision to abandon the long-standing root √MAP (VT47/20 note #13); elsewhere in these notes he said √MAK meant “kill, slay” as it did in the 1910s (VT47/20).

Lokyt suggested in a Discord chat from 2018 that there may be a common underlying meaning for all these glosses, referring to “the movement one does when chopping with a tool”. Assuming this is true, the other associations of the root (“sword; slay; fight; forge”) may be the result of a narrowing of the meaning of the root in more specific contexts. While it is hard to know whether Tolkien himself interpreted the root this way, I think this is the best way to treat the root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as it allows us to retain the largest set of derivatives of the root.

Changes

• m(b)aka- → maka- ✧ VT41/10

Derivatives

• ✶maikā “blade of a cutting tool or weapon (especially sword-blade)” ✧ VT39/11
  • Q. maica “blade of a cutting tool or weapon (especially sword-blade)” ✧ VT39/11
• ✶makwā “a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers” ✧ VT47/19
  • Q. maqua “hand-full, group of five (similar) things; hand (colloquial); closing or closed [hand] (facing down) for taking” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • S. mâb “hand, hand, [N.] grasp” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • T. mapa “hand” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • T. mapa- “to take hold of, grasp” ✧ VT47/07
• Q. mac- “to hew with a sword, to hew (with a sword); [ᴱQ.] to slay; to die” ✧ VT39/11
• ᴺQ. maca- “to forge”
• Q. macar “swordsman; †forger” ✧ VT39/11; VT41/10
• Q. macil “sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, sword, forged sword blade, cutting sword, [ᴱQ.] broadsword” ✧ VT39/11; VT41/10
• ᴺS. maga- “to forge metal”
• S. magor “swordsman”
• S. megil “sword, longsword”

Element in

• ✶maka-glawar ✧ VT41/10
• ᴺQ. aimahto “martyr, (lit.) blessed slain”
• Q. Macalaurë “Forging Gold” ✧ VT41/10
• Q. Mahtan “?Forger Smith”

Variations

• m(b)aka- ✧ VT41/10
• maka- ✧ VT41/10
• mak ✧ VT47/20

makla

noun. sword

Derivatives

• Aq. makal “*sword” ✧ PE19/083

Variations

• makil ✧ PE21/71

magl

noun. sword

The word megil (q.v.), probably introduced by the Ñoldor, was also used

magol

noun. sword

The word megil (q.v.), probably introduced by the Ñoldor, was also used

magol

noun. sword

Cognates

• ᴹQ. makil “sword” ✧ Ety/MAK; EtyAC/MAK

Derivations

• ᴹ√MAK “sword; fight (with a sword), cleave” ✧ Ety/MAK
• ᴹ✶makla “sword” ✧ EtyAC/MAK
  • ᴹ√MAK “sword; fight (with a sword), cleave” ✧ Ety/MAK; EtyAC/MAK

Element in

• N. Magladhûr “Black-sword” ✧ Ety/MAK; Ety/MAK
• N. Maglavorn “Black-sword” ✧ Ety/MAK
• N. Mormegil “Black-sword” ✧ EtyAC/MAK (Mormegil)

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MAK > magl > magol	[makla] > [makl] > [magl] > [magol]	✧ Ety/MAK
ᴹ✶makili- > megil	[makili] > [makile] > [mekile] > [mekil] > [megil]	✧ EtyAC/MAK

Variations

• megil ✧ Ety/MAK; EtyAC/MAK (megil)

maethon

noun. sword

megil

noun. sword

The word was struck out in the Etymologies, but is well attested in late compounds such as Mormegil or Arvegil (with regular mutation). It is conceivably the Sindarinized form of Quenya makil, coexisting with magol (see tegil and tegol for a similar case)

megil

noun. sword

osgar-

verb. to cut round, to amputate

rhista-

verb. to cut

rhista-

verb. to rend, rip

rhest

noun. cut

rhest

noun. cut

Cognates

• ᴹQ. rista “cut” ✧ Ety/RIS²

Derivations

• ᴹ√RIS “slash, rip” ✧ Ety/RIS²

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√RIS > rhest	[rista] > [resta] > [rest] > [r̥est]	✧ Ety/RIS²