mizdē

noun. mizdē

mith

root. *mist, grey

mil

root. *soft, gentle, weak

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with only one derivative: ᴹQ. milya “soft, gentle, weak” (EtyAC/MIL).

mis

root. go free, stray, wander

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “go free, stray, wander”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. mista-/N. mista- “stray (about)”, ᴹQ. mirima “free” and N. mist “error, wandering” (Ety/MIS). It was originally just glossed “free” (EtyAC/MIS).

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”.

mit

root. small

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small” with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning (Ety/MIT).

miw

root. whine

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “whine”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. maiwe/N. maew “gull” and ᴹQ. miule “whining, mewing” (Ety/MIW). Tolkien’s continued use of Q. maiwë (MC/222) and S. maew (PE17/97) for “gull” indicates the ongoing validity of this root. The word ᴱQ. māwe “gull” appeared under the root ᴱ√MAWA “?cry, bleat” (the “?” is Tolkien’s) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, along with other derivatives like ᴱQ. maule “crying, weeping” and ᴱQ. moa “sheep” (QL/60), making this early root a likely precursor to ᴹ√MIW.

miw

root. *small, tiny, frail

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. míwa and N. mîw “small, tiny, frail” (EtyAC/MIW²).

mil(ik)

root. *greed, lust

min

root. stand alone, stick out

minik(w)

root. *eleven

minitunda

noun. isolated hill, tower

miniya

adjective. single, distinct, unique

mir

root. *precious

misik

root. *wet

mitra

adjective. small

mizdi

root. *fine rain, dew

mizdā

adjective. wet

mī/imi

root. in, inside

imi

root. in

khith

root. mist, fog

bélekā

adjective. mighty, huge, great

khīthi

noun. mist, fog

(e)ned

root. centre, middle

kwentrō

noun. narrator, reciter, minstrel

mazgō

noun. sticky substance, mire

taurā

adjective. masterful, mighty

loy

root. lack, be without; miss, fail to go

ne

root. *in

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a strengthened form ✱ndē̆ serving as the basis for the prefix in N. nestag- “insert”, possibly related to ᴹ√NED “middle” (EtyAC/NĒ̆). The strengthened form may have been replaced by the root ᴹ√(N)DI “in” (EtyAC/NDI), but in later writing ✶ndī was given the meaning “beneath, not touching, under” (PE17/95). Despite the rejection of the root, the verb N. nestag- “insert” remained unmodified under the root ᴹ√STAK (Ety/STAK), and there is further evidence for the ne- prefix in the verb N. neledh- “enter” appearing on the 1936 draft of Thror’s Map from this same time period (TAI/150).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is worth retaining this (Noldorin and Sindarin-only?) prefix ne- “in”.

rasat

root. twelve

The root ᴹ√RÁSAT “twelve” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and students of Elvish long supposed that its unattested derivative ✱rasta was the Quenya word for “twelve”. In later publications, however, the Quenya word for “twelve” was given as yunquë (VT47/41), derived from primitive ✶yūnekē.

This word yunquë dates back to Early Quenya, first appearing as ᴱQ. yunqe in the Early Qenya Grammar from the 1920s (PE14/82), so it is likely that the √RASAT “twelve” co-existed with ✶yūnekē when that root was introduced in the 1930s. In currently published materials, rasta only appears as a suffix in yurasta “twenty four” (twice-twelve) in a discussion of the Elvish duodecimal (base twelve) counting system, also probably from the 1930s (PE14/17). It may be that ✶yūnekē was used for the general word for “twelve”, while √RASAT was used for “groups of twelve” as part of this duodecimal system. If so, it may have only been used as a suffix in grouping words in this counting system.

rauta

root. metal

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s, first glossed “copper” and then “metal”, with derivatives ᴹQ. rauta/N. rhaud “metal” and serving mainly to explain names like N. Angrod and N. Finrod (Ety/RAUTĀ). It might have reappeared in the name S. Rodëol “metal of Eöl” from later Silmarillion drafts (WJ/322), but by 1957 Tolkien was explaining the final element of S. Finrod as S. raud “noble” (PE17/49, 118), so I think it is likely that ᴹ√RAUTA “metal” was abandoned.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d use Q. tinco (LotR/1122) and its cognate [N.] tinc (Ety/TINKŌ) for “metal” words. For “copper” I'd use derivatives of √(U)RUS (VT41/10).

tinkō

root. metal

The “root” ᴹ√TINKŌ (more likely just a primitive word) appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “metal” and derivatives like ᴹQ. tinko/N. tinc of the same meaning (Ety/TINKŌ). The reappearance of Q. tinco “metal” in The Lord of the Rings appendices (LotR/1122) strongly indicates its ongoing validity.

ᴹ√TINKŌ may have replaced the root ᴱ√SINI “pale blue” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. sink “mineral, gem, metal” and G. sinc “metal” (QL/83; GL/67); these early mineral words were originally attributed to ᴱ√SṆT͡YṆ “twinkle” before they were transferred to ᴱ√SINI, leaving only derivatives like ᴱQ. sintl “crystal” and ᴱQ. sinty- “sparkle” under ᴱ√SṆT͡YṆ (QL/85). However, in notes from the late 1960s Tolkien had primitive ✶sinki as an element ✶sinkitamo, the basis for Q. sintamo “smith” (PE17/108). Likewise there is evidence of the earlier root in Q. sinca “flint” as in Q. sincahonda “flint-hearted” (LotR/979), initially given as ᴹQ. tingahondo in Lord of the Rings drafts (SD/68).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would definitely use ✶tink- = “metal”, but I think it is worth keeping ✶sinki = “✱mineral = any inorganic solid including both stone and metal” as a variant.

tyal

root. play

This root first appeared as ᴱ√TYALA “play” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the derivative ᴱQ. tyalie “play, game” (QL/49). Forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. dairtha- “play” < ᴱ✶daı̯al- hint that the actual primitive form might have been ✱ᴱ√DYALA or ✱ᴱ√DAYALA (GL/29). In a table of vowel mutations added as a revision to the Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien instead had forms like ᴱ✶táliı̯èndǝ > G. teilian indicating a primitive initial t- (PE13/116); similar forms appeared in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/165).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave ᴹ√TYAL “play” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tyal-/N. telia- “to play” and ᴹQ. tyalie/N. telien “sport, play, game” (Ety/TYAL). Tolkien continued to use Q. tyalië “mirth” in later writings (PE21/80; PE17/64), but at some point in the 1950s decided that initial palatalized dentals were no longer a feature of Primitive Elvish (PE18/93-94), making the ongoing validity of √TYAL as a CE root doubtful: see the entry on how [[at|[j] was lost after initial dentals]] in the Welsh-like branch of the Elvish languages for further details. For example, in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950, Tolkien indicated √TYAL was a Quenya-only root, an elaboration of √TAL:

> In Quenya initial groups ty, ny, ps, ks appeared as developments of ky, ñy, sp, sk. But being established they were used in new formations. Thus Q tyal- “play” as a variation on tal- (not kal!) (PE18/84).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to ignore Tolkien’s decision to remove initial palatalized dentals from Primitive Elvish in order to retain roots like √TYAL for both Quenya and (Neo) Sindarin.

-m(iy)ē

suffix. -ing

khithme

noun. fog

linkwi

root. *wet

menel

root. heaven, sky

(n)di

root. in

-b(iy)ē

suffix. -ing

-stā

suffix. -ing

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

barat

root. *tower

bay

root. [unglossed]

bányā

adjective. beautiful

daʒ

root. great

edenā

adjective. first

ered

root. *seed

eredē

noun. seed

erekwa

adjective. isolated

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

kanat

root. four

khlip

root. [unglossed]

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

khyel(es)

root. glass

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “glass” with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin with the same meaning: ᴹQ. hyelle and N. hele (Ety/KHYEL(ES)). After Tolkien changed Noldorin to Sindarin, he decided that “There was no common Eldarin word for glass”, and that the Sindarin word S. heledh was derived from Khuzdul kheled (PE17/37). Thus the root ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) was abandoned.

khyelesē

noun. glass

khōn

noun. heart

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

kyelep

root. silver

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

lepet

root. finger

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.

mat-

verb. to eat

melā-

verb. to love

met

root. end

metta

noun. end

mālō

noun. friend

nauthe

noun. imagination

ndē̆-

prefix. in, inside

oth

root. fort

phan

root. [unglossed]

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

pheleg

root. cave

ril

root. glitter

rīgē

noun. crown

rǭda

noun. cave

settā

adjective. first

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).

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.

tad

adverb. thither

telep

root. silver

ter

root. pierce

thin

root. *grey

tollo

noun. island

tor

root. brother

Tolkien gave this root in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√TOR “brother” with derivatives like ᴹQ. toron and N. tôr of the same meaning (Ety/TOR). Hints of the roots continued use appear in the 1959 term Q. melotorni “love-brothers” for close male friends (NM/20). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien gave Q. háno and S. hanar as the words for “brother”, both from the root √KHAN. Nevertheless, I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√TOR to represent more abstract notions of “brotherhood” for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, for “metaphorical” brothers as opposed to Q. háno/S. hanar for brothers by blood.

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tārī

noun. queen

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).

yal

root. to cry, cry, *call

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “to cry” with variants ᴹ√YAM and ᴹ√YAL with derivatives like N. ialla- “to call” (EtyAC/YAL). It is likely a later iteration of unglossed ᴱ√Y̯AMA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. yāma/G. gam “shout” and ᴱQ. yama-/G. gama- “shout, call” (QL/105; GL/37). It seems that ᴹ√YAM was unused in the 1930s and thereafter, but ᴹ√YAL is probably the basis for Q. yal- “summon” and its elaborations like Q. enyalië “memory, recalling” (UT/317).

yam

root. to cry, cry, [ᴱ√] *call, shout

yel

root. friend

A new gloss for the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter”, with a new set of derivatives like ᴹQ. -iel “-friend” and ᴹQ. yelda “friendly” (Ety/YEL), but it was rejected in turn and probably replaced by ᴹ√MEL.

yes

root. desire

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “desire” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yesta- “desire” and N. iest “wish” (Ety/YES; EtyAC/YES).

yo(n)

root. son

yondō

noun. son

ʒel

root. sky

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sky”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. helle/N. ell “sky” and ᴹQ. helwa/N. elw “(pale) blue” (Ety/ƷEL). It was the basis for the initial elements of the names N. Elrond, N. Elwing and ᴹQ. Elwe, but elsewhere Tolkien connected these names to √EL “star”. It was also an element in the word N. eilian(w) “rainbow, (lit.) sky-bridge”, later given as S. ninniach. On the basis of these changes, I think it is likely Tolkien abandoned ᴹ√ƷEL, but some of its derived words are still popular in Neo-Eldarin.