Early Quenya
matu
noun. the mouth (inside)
mat-
verb. to eat
marin(a)
adjective. ripe, mature
mata-
verb. to eat
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “the mouth (inside)” derived from the early root ᴱ√MATA “eat”, which Tolkien compared to similarly derived ᴱQ. anto “jaw” (QL/59). Much later, Tolkien used Q. anto for “mouth” (LotR/1123), likely also derived from √MAT “eat”.