_ n. Poet. _hand. Q. má. >> maetha-
Sindarin
maw
noun. hand
maw
noun. hand
maw
noun. Poet
maw
soil
(i vaw) (stain), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”.
maw
hand
(i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6)
maw
noun. sheep
maw
stain
(i vaw) (soil), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”.
maw
noun. soil, stain
carcharoth
masculine name. Red Maw, ?(lit.) Great Red Fang
A great werewolf bred by Morgoth to be the bane of Huan, who later bit off the hand of Beren. His name was translated “Red Maw” (S/180).
Possible Etymology: As indicated by Christopher Tolkien, this name very likely contains carch “fang, tooth” (SA/carak, Ety/KARAK), perhaps as its first element. The name probably also contains caran “red” (SA/caran), which might be the basis of the middle element. Alternately, car(an) could be the initial element, with the nasal mutation char(ch) of carch as the middle element. The final element seems to be the augmentative suffix -oth. Perhaps a more literal translation of the name would be “✱Great Red Fang”. Alternately, perhaps carch + oth = caroth means “maw”, and “Red Maw” is an exact translation.
Conceptual Development: When this character first appeared in the earliest Lost Tales, he was given the (Early) Qenya name ᴱQ. Karkaras “Knife-fang” (LT2/21), soon replaced by its Gnomish equivalent G. Carcaras. The name G. Carcharoth emerged in The Lays of Beleriand, along with its translation “Red Maw” (LB/289). For some time, Tolkien vacillated between Carcaras “Knife-fang” and Carcharoth “Red Maw”, with minor variants on each form, such as Carcharas (SM/115) or Carcharolch (LB/119). The name N. Carcharoth appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KARAK (Ety/KARAK), and thereafter Tolkien used only this form.
Carcharoth
noun. red maw
carch (“tooth, fang”) + car (from caran “red”) + #(h-)oth (#collective plural suffix)
Carcharoth
Carcharoth
The name is translated as Red Maw; the recogniseable Sindarin elements are car(a)n "red" as well as carach "jaw" or carch "fang". Based on the above, perhaps the name can be analyzed into the unattested words carn (an alternate version of caran) and caroth "maw", the latter ending with the augmentative suffix -oth also seen in Nogoth "(Big) Dwarf" = naug + oth ("maw" = "big jaw"). Note that the final letter of car(a)n + the initial letter of carach/oth- produce the sound ch (IPA: x) with the phenomenon called nasal mutation.
cam
hand
1) cam (i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath; 2) mâb (i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib). 3) Archaic †maw (i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6) 4) (fist) dond (i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).
cêf
soil
(noun) 1) *cêf (i gêf, o chêf), pl. cîf (i chîf), coll. pl. cevath (suggested Sindarin forms of ”Noldorin” cef, pl. ceif). 2) maw (i vaw) (stain), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”.
gwass
stain
(noun) 1) gwass (i **wass, construct gwas), pl. gwais (in gwais), also gwath (i **wath), pl. gwaith (in gwaith), 2) (noun) maw (i vaw) (soil), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”. 3) mael (i vael), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mael). Also as adj.
maf
noun. sheep
A neologism for “sheep” coined by Elaran in 2022 on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), derived from a variant form ✱mămā of primitive ✶māmā “sheep”, the basis of Q. máma “sheep”. This is only one of various possibilities for neologisms for “sheep”: in VQP (VQP) Gábor Lőrinczi suggested ᴺS. maw “sheep” as a direct cognate of Q. máma, and Fiona Jallings suggested ᴺS. ✱baw as a derivative of ✶mbāba, a primitive form that appeared on VT47/35. Both maw and baw have other meanings in Sindarin, however. I used to recommend a word of my own, bam from a reduplicated primitive form ✱mbambā, but I now prefer Elaran’s suggestion of maf.
aur
noun. Poet
n. Poet. #sunlight, daylight. Q. aure.
cam
noun. hand
camm
noun. hand
elein
Poet
pl2. eleniath, elenwaith n. Poet. star.
ell
Poet
elles
noun. Poet
ellon
noun. Poet
ennorath
noun. Poet
findel
Poet
mab-
noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)
mâb
noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)
mâb
noun. hand, hand, [N.] grasp
The typical Sindarin word for “hand” (VT47/7, 20), usable in almost any context. It is most notable as an element in the name Mablung “Heavy Hand” (VT47/8). See below for a discussion of its etymology.
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where G. mab “hand” appeared as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√MAPA “seize” (GL/55). Tolkien then revised the gloss to “hands”, saying instead it was an irregular dual of G. mô “hand”. The word reverted to singular ᴱN. mab “hand” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/149). These early versions of the word were already an element of Mablung “Heavy Hand(ed)” (LT2/38; LB/311), but also of Ermabwed “One-handed” (LT2/34; LB/119).
In the 1930s it seems Tolkien decided Ilk. mâb “hand” was primarily an Ilkorin word, and the usual word for “hand” in Noldorin was N. cam. Compare Ilkorin Ermabuin “One-handed” and Mablosgen “Empty-handed” with Noldorin Erchamion and Camlost of the same meaning. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien had N. mab “grasp” under the root ᴹ√MAPA “seize”, but the version of the entry with that word was overwritten (EtyAC/MAP), leaving only the Ilkorin form mâb. In this period, Mablung may also have been an Ilkorin name.
After Tolkien abandoned Ilkorin in the 1950s, he kept S. Erchamion and Camlost based on cam, but also kept Mablung “Heavy Hand” which must have become Sindarin. In his later writings Tolkien again revisited the etymology of S. mâb “hand”. In a note from Jan-Feb 1968, he wrote:
> It [Q. má = “hand”] did not survive in Telerin and Sindarin as an independent word, but was replaced by the similar-sounding but unconnected C.E. makwā, Q. maqua, T. mapa, S. mab, of uncertain origin, but probably originally an adjectival formation from MAK “strike” ... (VT47/19).
This sentence was struck through, however. In drafts of notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals written in or after 1968, Tolkien again derived mâb from √MAP (VT47/20 note #13), but in the final version of these notes he made the remarkable decision to discard this root despite it being a stable part of Elvish for nearly 50 years, declaring it was used only in Telerin and not Quenya or Sindarin (VT47/7). He coined a new etymology for S. mâb “hand” based on ✶makwā “handful” = ✶mā + ✶kwā (VT47/6-7), a variation on the above etymology from √MAK.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer to ignore Tolkien’s 1968 removal of √MAP “seize”, and so would continue to derive S. mâb “hand” from that root. However, its ancient meaning may have been “✱grasp”, and its eventual use as “hand” might have been influenced by ancient ✶makwā “handful”.
oron
Poet
pl1. ryn, eryn _ n. Poet. _upstanding plant, general word for tree. >> orn
sadar
Poet
pl1. sedair n. Poet. trusty follower, loyal companion (member of "comitatus" of a lord, or prince). >> sadron
sadron
Poet
pl1. sedryn n. Poet. trusty follower, loyal companion (member of "comitatus" of a lord, or prince). Probably form of _sadar with masc. suffix -on_. >> sadar
taur
noun. Poet
túr
noun. Poet
bam
noun. sheep
cam
hand
(i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath
camlann
of the hand
(i gamlann, o chamlann), pl. cemlain (i chemlain).
crûm
left hand
(i grûm, o chrûm, construct crum), pl. cruim (i chruim), coll. pl. crummath. Also ✱hair (i chair), no distinct pl. form (not even with article). Note: hair is also used = ”left” as adjective. Cited in archaic form heir (LR:365 s.v. KHYAR).
cêf
soil
(i gêf, o chêf), pl. cîf (i chîf), coll. pl. cevath (suggested Sindarin forms of ”Noldorin” cef, pl. ceif).
dond
hand
(i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).
forgam
right-handed
(pl. fergaim, for archaic förgeim)
fuir
right hand
pl. fŷr. Also used as adj. "right, north" (VT42:20). In ”Noldorin” the word appeared as (”foeir” =) föir, feir (LR:382 s.v. PHOR).
gwaen
stained
(lenited ’waen; no distinct pl. form)
gwass
stain
(i ’wass, construct gwas), pl. gwais (in gwais), also gwath (i ’wath), pl. gwaith (in gwaith)
gwatha
soil
(verb) gwatha- (i **watha, in gwathar**) (stain)
gwatha
soil
(i ’watha, in gwathar) (stain)
gwatha
stain
(verb) gwatha- (i **watha, in gwathar**) (soil)
gwatha
stain
(i ’watha, in gwathar) (soil)
mael
stain
(i vael), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mael). Also as adj.
mael
stained
(lenited vael; no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”lust”. Another adj.
mâb
hand
(i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib).
The Sindarin equivalent of Q. má, likewise derived from the root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield” (PE17/162; VT47/6). However, in Sindarin this word was archaic, used only in poetry, having been replaced in ordinary speech by other words like S. mâb and (less often) cam. Other remnants of this word can be seen in compounds like molif “wrist, (orig.) hand link” and directional words like forvo and harvo for left and right hand side.
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, G. mô from the early root ᴱ√MAHA was the normal word for “hand”, replacing mab “hand” (< ᴱ√MAHA) which in this document Tolkien decided was instead an irregular dual form of mô (GL/55). It had also had an irregular plural mabin based on this dual, replacing an older plural †maith. In the Gnomish Grammar, its archaic form was †mâ, with the usual Gnomish sound change of ā to ō (GG/14), as opposed to later Sindarin/Noldorin ā to au, spelt -aw when final. Tolkien seems to have abandoned mô as a non-archaic word for “hand” early on, preferring ᴱN. mab “hand” by the 1920s and introducing N. cam “hand” in the 1930s.