nauthe

noun. imagination

nan

root. *mother

A (Noldorin only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for a couple Noldorin mother words: N. naneth “mother” and N. nana “mother (hypocoristic)” (Ety/NAN).

narta

root. kindle

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “kindle”, with derivatives ᴹQ. narta- and N. nartha- of the same meaning (EtyAC/NARTA). There is a mark above the final A that might be a partially formed macron (NARTĀ), so this “root” may just be an ordinary causative verb “✱make fire” = ᴹ√NAR + ᴹ✶-tā. The root was originally glossed “spear point, gore, triangle” with a derivative [N.] Narthas “gore”, a name that appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts but was eventually replaced by N./S. Naith “angle” (TI/244 note #50).

nas

root. point, sharp end

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “point, sharp end”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. nasse “thorn, spike”, N. nass “point, (sharp) end; angle, corner” and ᴹQ. nasta-/N. nasta- “to prick” (Ety/NAS). It also had an s-prefixed variant ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT whose most notable derivative was N. naith “gore” (Ety/SNAS). Tolkien used the name S. Naith for the wedge of land in Lórien between the rivers Celebrant and Anduin in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/347).

The derivation of N. naith from ᴹ√SNAS/SNAT is unclear, however, and later on Tolkien gave a new etymlogy of this word from the root √NEK “narrow” (PE17/55; UT/282). This may mean Tolkien abandoned ᴹ√(S)NAS, but I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√NAS for purposes of Neo-Eldarin for words like nasta- “to prick”.

nat

root. lace, weave, tie

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “lace, weave, tie”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. natse/N. nath “web” and N. gonathras “entanglement” (Ety/NAT).

narak

root. tear, rend (tr. and intr.)

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “tear, rend (tr. and intr.)”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. naraka “harsh, rending, violent” and N. narcha- “to rend” (Ety/NÁRAK). The element S. narch “bitter-biting” in S. Narchost from The Lord of the Rings is probably related (LotR/900; RC/601). This in turn hints that the early root ᴱ√NARA “(properly) bite at” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s was a likely precursor, though a parenthetical comment indicates the actual form of this root was ᴱ√ŊARA or ᴱ√ŊAŘA [ŊAÐA] (QL/64).

nad

root. *plain, valley

nak

root. bite

nakma

noun. jaw

nakse

noun. tooth

nakt-

noun. biting

nar

root. flame, fire

narwā

adjective. fiery red

nawak

root. *dwarf

nay

root. lament

nayak

root. pain

-nā

suffix. adjective

nakat

root. eighteen

A root in a currently unpublished list of numerical roots from the late 1930s, apparently part of the Elvish duo-decimal counting system, where 19 = 18 + 1, etc. (PE14/17 note #8).

narāka

adjective. rushing, rapid, violent

nar

root. tell, relate

nā/ana

root. to, towards

nā/ana

root. be, exist

snas

root. *gore, triangle

-ina

suffix. adjective

ndulna

adjective. secret

ni-ndakubākyē, uklaina ndere

I will slay thee, wicked man

ana

root. be, exist

snat

root. *gore, triangle

natsai

noun. natsai

ak

root. narrow, confined

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “narrow, confined”, with the derived adjectives ᴹQ. arka and N. agor of similar meaning. It was the basis of the name Aglon meaning “Narrow Pass”, which continued to appear in Silmarillion narratives of the 1950s and 60s (WJ/38, 77). It might also be a factor in the later root √AKAS “neck, ridge” from the 1960s (PE17/92).

akrā

adjective. narrow

kwentrō

noun. narrator, reciter, minstrel

londē

noun. narrow path, strait, pass

skelnā

adjective. naked

taksē

noun. nail, pin

es

root. indicate, name

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “indicate, name” with Quenya derivatives likes ᴹQ. esta- “to name” and ᴹQ. esse “name” (Ety/ES). Both these Quenya words appeared in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/124; VT42/17; VT43/14; WJ/359). In addition, the verb form estathar “should be called” appeared in the King’s Letter from the late 1940s, indicated this root was used in the Noldorin/Sindarin branch of the languages as well. However, in Sindarin prayers from the 1950s, Tolkien used the word S. eneth for “name” (VT44/24), perhaps indicating the continued validity of another root for “name” in the Sindarin branch of the languages; see ᴱ√ENE for discussion.

kham

root. call to, summon, name by name

A root that was a later entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “call to, summon, name by name” and having rejected variants ᴹ√KHAL², ᴹ√KYAM and ᴹ√KHEM. Tolkien’s introduction of this root seems to have caused him to restore ᴹ√KHAD over ᴹ√KHAM “sit”; see the entry on √KHAD for further discussion. Meanwhile, ᴹ√KHAM² was probably introduced to explain ᴹQ. nahamna “summoned” in the version of the Lament of Atalante from the 1930s (LR/47). The phrase where it appeared underwent quite a few changes thereafter, ultimately becoming ar Sauron túle nukumna Númenórenna “and Sauron came humbled [to Númenor]” by the 1940s, so the future status of ᴹ√KHAM² “summon” is unclear.

It is a useful root for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, however, and I think it is worth retaining.

noroth

root. *giant

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivatives ᴹQ. norsa/N. noroth “giant”; the root was initially written as ᴹ√NOROT or ᴹ√NOROS (Ety/NOROTH; EtyAC/NOROTH). This root probably replaced the deleted entry {ᴹ√KHANKA >>} ᴹ√KHAN-AK “giant” > ᴹQ. hanako, also from The Etymologies (EtyAC/KHAN-AK). This in turn may have displaced the earliest derivation for “giant” words: ᴱ✶naχū́a > ᴱQ. nauva from The Qenya Phonology of the 1910s (PE12/10).

now

root. think, form idea, imagine

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s given as ᴹ√NOWO “think, form idea, imagine”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. nó “conception” and N. nauth “thought” (Ety/NOWO). It replaced deleted roots ᴹ√ÑŌ¹ and ᴹ√NAWA (EtyAC/ÑŌ¹, NOWO). The latter is a strong indication that its original precursor was the root ᴱ√NAVA [NAɃA] “suspect, guess, have an inkling of” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. nauma “hint, clue” and ᴱQ. nauta- “guess” (QL/64-65), as well as G. naf- “suspect, have inkling of” and G. naus “keen-witted, observant” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/59).

nyar

root. tell, relate

Quenya words for “tell” and “tale” began with nyar- for much of Tolkien’s life, but their derivation shifted over time. The earliest root for such words was ᴱ√NYAŘA [NYAÐA] “relate, tell” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. nyara- “relate, tell” and ᴱQ. nyara “tale” (QL/68), but it had no obvious derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√NYAR “tell, relate”, then changed it to ᴹ√NAR² with a Quenya-only variant nyar- (Ety/NAR²; EtyAC/NAR²). This change may have been in keeping with Tolkien notion from the 1930s that palatalized dentals might have been a Quenya-only innovation (PE18/44). The root ᴹ√NYAR/NAR had derivatives like ᴹQ. nyáre/N. narn “tale” and ᴹQ. nyar- “tell”.

However, in both the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s and Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s Tolkien indicated the primitive form of the Quenya verb was ñgyar- (OP1: PE19/36, OP2: PE19/76). This may have been in keeping with Tolkien’s later decision that initial palatalized dentals were not a feature of Primitive Elvish at all; see the entry on how [[at|[j] was lost after initial dentals]] in the Welsh-like branch of the Elvish languages for discussion of this transition. Despite this decision, Tolkien continued to use S. narn “tale” regularly in his later writings, despite there being no way it could be derived from ñ(g)yar-.

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, and I recommend retaining √NYAR as the root for “tell” and “tale” in Elvish, this being the only reasonable option for retaining both Q. nyar- and S. narn.

gengwa

root. sick

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sick” with derivatives ᴹQ. engwa/N. gem “sickly” (Ety/GENG-WĀ). It was given as ᴹ√GENG-WĀ, and thus represented an extension of an otherwise unattested root ᴹ√GENG. In the entry for ᴹ√YEN from The Etymologies it appeared as ᴹ√GEM in the discussion of N. ingem “old, (lit.) year-sick” (EtyAC/YEN), but I believe this represents the Noldorin phonetic developments of the true primitive form rather than a conceptual variation. The continued appearance of Q. Engwar in The Silmarillion narratives of the 1950s and 60s hints that this root may have remained valid as well.

gonod

root. stone

The Elvish words for “stone” were established very early as Q. ondo and S. gond. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien gave the root of these words as ᴱ√ONO “hard” with derivatives like ᴱQ. ondo “stone, rock” and ᴱQ. onin “anvil” (QL/70). But its Gnomish derivatives like G. gonn “stone” and G. gontha “pillar” (GL/41) indicate the actual root was ✱ᴱ√ƷONO, since initial ʒ > g in Gnomish.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√GONOD or √GONDO “stone” with essentially the same Elvish forms: ᴹQ. ondo and N. gonn (Ety/GOND). The root itself did not appear in later writings, but Tolkien continued to state, with great frequency, that the primitive form of the word was ✶gondō (Let/410; PE17/28; PE18/106; PE21/81; PM/374; RC/347).

karan

root. red

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “red” (Ety/KARÁN), a later iteration of ᴱ√KṚN of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s of the same meaning, but with syllabic ṛ (QL/48). Its main Quenya derivative, Q. carnë, retained the same form throughout Tolkien’s life, but its Gnomish forms G. carn(in) “scarlet” and G. crintha “rosy, pink” (GL/25, 27) became N. caran “red” in the 1930s, and retained that form thereafter.

ndar

root. sign

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a single derivative: ᴹQ. narwe “sign, token”, along with an unglossed (and probably incomplete) form nar... (EtyAC/NDAR).

ney

root. tear

Tolkien used similar forms throughout his life for Elvish words connected to “tears”, the most enduring being Q. Nienna “Lady of Pity and Mourning” and S. nirnaeth as in Nirnaeth Arnoediad “[Battle of] Tears Unnumbered”. The first manifestation of this root was as ᴱ√NYE(NE) “bleat” and ᴱ√NYEHE “weep” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien considered moving all the derivatives of ᴱ√NYE(NE) to ᴱ√NYEHE (QL/68). Nonetheless it seems the distinction survived in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon which had both nı̯e and nı̯eχe as primitive forms (GL/59-60). Early derivatives include ᴱQ. nyé “bleat” and ᴱQ. nyéni “she-goat” along with ᴱQ. nyére/G. nîr “grief” and ᴱQ. nie/G. nîn “tear”, the last of these appearing in G. Nínin-Udathriol, the earliest name of S. Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NEI̯ “tear” (Ety/NEI), though Tolkien considered and rejected alternate roots ᴹ√NEÑ (EtyAC/NEI) and ᴹ√NEI̯(ET) “moist” (NEI̯(ET)), the latter becoming the primitive word ᴹ✶neiti > ᴹQ. níte “moist, dewy” and N. nîd “damp, wet; tearful”. Other derivatives include ᴹQ. nie “tear”/N. nîn “tear” (same as the forms from the 1910s) as well as N. nírnaeth “lamentation” (Ety/NEI). Tolkien’s continued use of Q. Nienna (S/28) and S. nirnaeth (S/192) in later versions of the Silmarillion indicate this root’s ongoing validity.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think some of the Quenya nye- forms from the 1910s might be salvaged as abnormal vocalization from n(e)ye- < √NEY.

nur

root. deep

A root mentioned in The Etymologies as an extension of ᴹ√NU with the gloss “deep” and derivatives ᴹQ. núra and N. nûr of the same meaning (Ety/NU). Possibly related is the later word Q. nurtalë “hiding” as in Q. Nurtalë Valinóreva “Hiding of Valinor” (S/102).

ros

root. *plain

An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the derivative Ilk. rost “plain, wide land between mountains”, an element in the names Ilk. Nivrost “West Vale” and Ilk. Radhrost “East Vale” (Ety/ROS²). In later versions of The Silmarillion these names became S. Nevrast “Hither Shore” (S/119) and S. Talath Rhúnen “East Vale” (S/124), making it likely that ᴹ√ROS “✱plain” was abandoned.

slus

root. whisper

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√SLUS and ᴹ√SRUS; it was glossed “whisper” with derivatives like ᴹQ. lussa- “to whisper” and ᴹQ. lusse/N. thloss/floss “whispering sound” (Ety/SLUS). The only sign of ᴹ√SRUS was the variant form N. thross of N. thloss/floss.

srō

root. east

A root appearing in a rejected page of roots from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/127), possibly as a variant of √RŌ/ORO that Tolkien introduced to explain S. rhûn “east” after he decided initial r- did not become rh- in Noldorin/Sindarin; see the entry on S. rhûn for discussion.

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.

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).

ē

root. indeed

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “indeed” with a single derivative ᴹQ. é of the same meaning (EtyAC/Ē).

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.

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).

(n)dak

root. slay

nāyǝ

noun. lament

nyadrō

noun. rat

am

root. mother

amī̆l

noun. mother

anār

noun. Sun

ata

root. father

atar

noun. father

atū

noun. father

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

bad-

verb. to judge

bād-

noun. judgement

day

root. shadow

dēr

noun. man

eʒ

root. be

eʒ-

verb. to be

gaisrā

adjective. dreadful

gilya

noun. star

glisi

noun. honey

glā

noun. radiance

hō

noun. shout

ilpirin

adjective. immortal

kab

root. hollow

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

karani

adjective. red

karpa

root. ?

kas

root. head

kas

noun. head

khan(ak)

root. giant

kuldā

adjective. red

kwentā

noun. tale

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

laire

noun. long lay

lis

root. honey

lugni

adjective. blue

lī

noun. number

met

root. end

metta

noun. end

mori

adjective. black

mā

noun. land

ndanithārō

masculine name. Saviour of the Dani

neinē

noun. tear

nelek

root. tooth

ni

pronoun. I

nis

root. woman

nēthē

noun. youth

nī

noun. woman

nī̆s

noun. woman

nūrā

adjective. deep

sagrā

adjective. bitter

slīwē

noun. sickness

ta

root. that

tanka

adjective. firm

tatharē

noun. willow-tree

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tubnā

adjective. deep

wedā

noun. bond

weirē

feminine name. Weaver

yē

preposition. at

yē

root. to be

ñgolda

adjective. wise

ñgolodō

noun. gnome

ñōle

noun. odour

ṇdūnē

noun. sunset

bay

root. [unglossed]

dak

root. slay

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

khlip

root. [unglossed]

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

nyol

root. ring

phan

root. [unglossed]

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

srus

root. whisper

stin

root. [unglossed]

tul-

verb. come, am coming, have come, am arrived, am here

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).

yam

root. to cry, cry, [ᴱ√] *call, shout

ē

root. to be

ī

root. to be