A root appearing in etymological notes from around 1964 (DD) glossed “narrow, thin” along with a set of Quenya derivatives of similar meaning (PE17/166).
Primitive elvish
nā
root. be (the same as another), exist
nakh
root. narrow, thin
nad
root. hollow (of structures or natural features more or less concave with rising sides)
This root and ones like it were connected to the names of dales and vales for much of Tolkien’s life. A likely precursor is ᴱ√NAŘA [NAÐA] from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. nan(d) “woodland” and ᴱQ. nandin “dryad” (QL/64). Words like G. nand “field acre”, G. nandriol “rustic, rural”, and G. nandor “farmer” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon are probably derived from the same root, since G. nandir “fay of the country” in the same list is said to be a cognate of ᴱQ. nandin (GL/59). Another likely precursor is ᴱ√NḶDḶ or nḷřḷ [NḶĐḶ] from the Qenya Lexicon, given as nḷđ in the Gnomish Lexicon, with derivatives like ᴱQ. nal (nald-) and G. glith “dell” (QL/66; GL/40).
The unglossed root ᴹ√NAD appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. nanda “water-mead, watered plain”, N. nadhor “pasture”, and N. nann “wide grassland” and so probably meaning something like “✱plain” (Ety/NAD); it had a rejected variant ᴹ√NÁNAD as well (EtyAC/NAD). √NAD appeared in notes from 1968 with the gloss “hollow (of structures or natural features more or less concave with rising sides)” and derivatives like Q. nanwa “a (large) bowl” and S. nand “valley” (NM/351). In these notes, primitive ✶nandē was described as meaning:
> ✱nandē “a valley, bottom”, originally used only of not very large areas the sides of which were part of their own configuration. Vales or valleys of great extent, plains at the feet of mountains, etc. had other names.
The most notable names in the early Legendarium using this root are ᴱQ. Tasarinan and G. Nan Tathrin “Land of Willows”, names that retained the same basic form and meaning in Tolkien’s later writings, except that the Sindarin form became S. Nan-tathren, and that Tolkien sometimes translated the name as “Valley of Willows” instead of “Land”. Indeed, the elements S. nan(d) and Q. nan(do) or nandë appeared regularly in names in Tolkien’s later writings, but almost always translated as “valley” or “vale”.
Neo-Eldarin: Since primitive ✶nandē referred as much to the plain at the bottom of the valley than the valley itself, I would assume Noldorin (and Neo-Sindarin) words having to doing with pastures could be extrapolate from that sense. For Neo-Quenya pasture words, however, I would use derivatives of ᴺ√NES; see that entry for discussion.
nandē
noun. a valley, bottom (originally used only of not very large areas the sides of which were part of their own configuration)
na/ana
root. to, towards; at side of, alongside, besides; moreover, in addition, plus
The root √ANA was connected to “giving” and “movement toward” for much of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√ANA “give, send towards” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period was the basis for words like ᴱQ. anta-/G. antha- “give” and ᴱQ. ana “to(wards)” (QL/31; GL/19). The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√ANA with an inverted variant ᴹ√NĀ¹ “to, towards”; the most notable derivative of this inverted form was N. na “with, by” (Ety/ANA¹, NĀ¹). In the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1), √AN was given as one of the primary examples of the inversion of roots, where √AN(A) was originally a “biconsontal root” (²√) with a vocalic beginning, and the inverted form √NA was an abnormal vocalization of the basic root (PE18/38).
This same example of inversion was used in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/88), and this invertible root appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings almost always with glosses like “to, towards, motion to”. There were a few instances in which Tolkien explored some alternate meanings for the root, however. In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s Tolkien said that:
> It is true that in Q. na appears with sense “to”, but this at nearest means “towards, to a position near, alongside” ... The original sense of Eldarin ana was plainly “at side of, alongside, besides”, hence also “moreover, in addition, plus” (seen in use of an- as an intensive prefix), and so an or na in some languages has the sense “along with, with, accompanied by, provided with, associated with” and the like (PE21/79).
Likewise in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN) Tolkien said:
> √ANA/NĀ, to, towards — added to, plu-. Quenya verbal prefix ana, na-, as in napan-, add. an “plu-”, intensive prefix, arcalima, preeminently bright, ancalima, very bright ... S an, dative chiefly with pronouns or persons. < ana, hence vocalic mutation, but takes form m before m, b. ✱ to, for (PE17/146-7).
In this note Tolkien went on to explore various non-allative meanings associated with the root such as the conjugation/adverb Q. an “for, then, or, but” and prepositions S. na(n) “with” vs. S. na “to, towards”, differing mainly in the mutations they cause (nasal versus soft). It seems the association of this root with both the intensive an- and words like Q. an “for; moreover” and S. na(n) “with” motivated Tolkien to find a more nuanced meaning for the root. This likewise probably motivated Tolkien to explore an alternate basis for the intensive prefix in the mid-1960s, deriving it from √AMA rather than √AN (PE17/90-94).
Neo-Eldarin: For Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain an- as the basis for intensives in both Quenya and Sindarin, and thus I think it is best to retain the extended meanings of √AN from the 1950s to include senses like “add to, more” and “up to the side of”, hence by extension “alongside” becoming (in S.) “with, accompanying, possessing, having the trait of” as in S. na(n) “of, with”.
nay
root. cause bitter grief or pain, cause bitter grief or pain, [ᴹ√] lament
Elvish words beginning with nai- seem to be associated with pain and grief for much of Tolkien’s live. This root first appeared as ᴱ√NAẎA “hurt, grieve” in the Qenya Lexicon, but Tolkien said its original form was probably ᴱ√ŊAH͡YA (QL/65). Under the entry ᴱ√NAẎA it had derivatives like ᴱQ. naike “pain”, ᴱQ. naira “dire, grievous”, and ᴱQ. naitya- “damage, hurt; put to shame, abuse”, but Tolkien linked it to augmented forms like ᴱQ. angayasse “miserable”, which were related to the name of the great chain ᴱQ. Angaino used to bind Melkor (QL/34). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the root form was given as ᴱ√ŋaı̯ with derivatives like G. gaist “torment, oppression” and G. gaista- “oppress, cause great grief to” (GL/37).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root form was given as ᴹ√NAY “lament” with a dental nasal rather than a velar (Ety/NAY). Its derivatives had more to do with sadness, such as ᴹQ. naire “lament, sorrow” and N. noer “sad, lamentable”. However, it had what appeared to be an extended form ᴹ√NAYAK “pain” retaining some of its meanings from the 1910s, such as ᴹQ. naike “sharp pain”, though Tolkien did suggested this root might instead be an elaboration ᴹ√NAYKA of the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (Ety/NÁYAK).
The root reappeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) written around 1959 as √NAY “cause bitter grief or pain” with derivatives like Q. naica “bitterly painful or grievous” and Q. naira/S. naer “dreadful, horrible, unendurable” (PE17/151). In this same note Tolkien said √NAY influenced the meaning of √(N)DAY “dreadful, abominable, detestable” in Sindarin; see the entry on √DAY for further details.
nak
root. bite
This root was the basis for Elvish words for “bite” from all of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NAKA “bite” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. naka- “bite” and ᴱQ. naksa “sour” (QL/64). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. nactha- “bite” and G. naith “tooth” (GL/59). The root reappeared as ᴹ√NAK “bite” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with augmented variant ᴹ√ÁNAK and derivatives like ᴹQ. anka/N. anc “jaw, row of teeth” (Ety/ÁNAK, NAK); in this same document Tolkien considered the possibility that the roots ᴹ√NAYAK “pain” and ᴹ√NDAK “slay” might be related to ᴹ√NAK, though he did not commit to either idea (Ety/NÁYAK; EtyAC/NDAK).
One interesting derivative of this root from the 1930s was N. naeth “biting, gnashing of teeth” from which N. nírnaeth “lamentation = ✱tear[ful]-gnashing” was derived, serving as an element in N. Nírnaeth Arnediad “[Battle of] Unnumbered Tears” (Ety/NAY; LR/310), replacing earlier Nirnaith of unclear etymology. In later writings Tolkien said S. naeth simply meant “woe” in the name S. Sigil Elu-naeth “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” (WJ/258), but this may just be a generalization of its 1930s meaning “gnashing of teeth”. As for the root √NAK “bite”, it reappeared in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2), serving again as example of an abnormal vocalization leading to the derivative ✶ankā “jaws” (PE18/87).
nap
root. take (hold), pick up, grasp, seize quickly (with fingers)
A root appearing in notes from the late 1960s on hands and fingers variously glossed as “grasp, seize quickly (with fingers)” (VT47/20), “take hold” (VT47/28) or “take, pick up” (VT47/29). It seems Tolkien introduced this root as part of his rather surprising decision to abandon √MAP “take hold, seize” after 50 years of use, stating that √NAP was the true primitive root and √MAP perhaps a Telerin-only variant of it (VT/7). It may be a restoration of the early root ᴱ√NAPA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s which itself was said to be a variant of ᴱ√MAPA “seize” (QL/59, 64). The early root ᴱ√NAPA had no (Early) Qenya derivatives, but some Gnomish derivatives appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, such as G. nab- “take, lay hold of” and G. nabos “seizure” (GL/59). ᴱN. nabru “booty” from Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s was probably also related (PE13/150).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is preferable to retain the root √MAP “take hold, seize”, but √NAP can co-exist with it as a variant of similar meaning, both allowing its 1960s derivatives (mostly thumb words) and salvaging some of its Gnomish derivatives.
nar
root. fire, fire, [ᴹ√] flame
A root for “fire” first appearing as ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with derivatives like ᴹQ. nár(e)/N. naur “flame” (Ety/NAR¹). There was also an augmented variant ᴹ√ANÁR that served as the basis for “Sun” words: ᴹQ. Anar and N. Anor (Ety/ANÁR). These roots and the various derivatives continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings in the 1950s and 60s (PE17/38; Let/425), and in one place Tolkien specified that nār- was “fire as an element” as opposed to √RUYU for an actual blaze.
nasag
root. *bond, fetter
A root in the Outline of Phonology from the 1950s, originally with a single derivative nazgwē > PQ nasque “evil spectre” (PE19/101 note #155). But in green-ink revisions from around 1970 Tolkien added two new derivatives Q. nasquë “bondage, durance” and Q. naxa “bond, fetter”, the latter with Sindarin cognate S. nadha (PE19/101). Tolkien added a note that it was likewise the basis of Black Speech nazg “ring” as an early loan from Common Eldarin, and it is clear this root was intended to be the basis for Nazgûl “Ring-wraith”.
nath
root. welcome, be kind to
nay
root. have opportunity, chance or permission; be allowed by circumstance [or] way of the world
A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as √NAYA “have opportunity, chance or permission; be allowed by circumstance [or] way of the world” giving a new etymology for Q. nai “it may be”.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would ignore this root since it conflicts with the much better established √NAY “grief, pain”, and would stick with the well established etymology of Q. nai “maybe, be it that” = Q. ná- + Q. i.
nayak
noun. goat
A primitive word for “goat” appearing in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, with masculine and feminine variants ✶najakō “he-goat” and ✶naikē “she-goat” (PE21/82). It might be an elaboration of √NAY “cause bitter grief or pain”, a root that was the basis for various “lament” words. This hypothetical relationship might be a later analog of the connection between early roots ᴱ√NYE(NE) “bleat” (the basis for “goat” words) and ᴱ√NYEHE “weep”; hat tip to Raccoon for suggesting this to me.
-nā
suffix. adjective suffix; passive participle
nadmā
noun. a (large) bowl
nandā
adjective. hollow (not used of things empty inside but those open above)
nanmen-
verb. return
nathlo
noun. guest
naukā
adjective. stunted, shortened, dwarf(ed)
nay-
verb. it may be, there is a chance or possibility, maybe
nayakō
noun. he-goat
nazgwē
noun. bondage, durance
nazgā
noun. bond, fetter
naikē
noun. she-goat
-na
suffix. to; allative
lañna
adverb. athwart
dankĭna
adjective. slain
snagdē
noun. a wounding, a wound
nal Reconstructed
root. call, cry
A root implied by the Sindarin words S. nalla- “to cry” and S. nallan “call” (LotR/729; PE17/94). It might be related to ᴹ√ÑGYAL(AM) “talk loud or incoherently” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/ÑGAL) and ᴱ√NALA “ring, play” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/64). The true form of the latter might be ✱ᴱ√NDALA given the Gnomish word G. dala- “sing or ring” vs. ᴱQ. nala- of the same meaning (GL/29).
nam Reconstructed
root. judge
A root implied by various Quenya words having to do with “judgement” from the 1950s and 60s, most notably Q. Námo “Ordainer, Judge” as the true name of Q. Mandos (S/28), a name that began to appear in documents starting in the early 1950s (PE21/85). The root is evident in other words from this period, such as Q. namna “statute” (MR/258), Q. námië “a single judgment or desire” (VT41/13) and the verb Q. nam- “judge” in the phrase: Q. ore nin karitas nō namin alasaila “I feel moved to do so but judge it unwise” (VT41/13). ✱√NAM might also be the basis for the second element of the name Q. Rithil-Anamo “Doom-ring”, the circle of thrones where the Valar sat in council (WJ/401).
In notes from 1969 Tolkien seems to have changed his mind of the root for “judge”, writing Q. nemin >> Q. hamin >> Q. navin for “I judge”, and giving a new root √NDAB “to judge” in a marginal note along with a revised name Návo to replace Námo (PE22/154, notes #53 and #55). This new root conflicts with √NDAB “endeavor, try” from earlier in the same bundle of documents (PE22/151).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would ignore the late change of ✱√NAM >> √NDAB “judge”, since ✱√NAM has more attested derivatives and Námo appears in the published Silmarillion. Also, all of the derivatives of this root are Quenya, and its possible use in the name Rithil-Anamo (coined in Valinor) imply that it might be a root invented after the Elves arrived in Aman. Thus I think it is best to treat it as Quenya-only root, and used ᴹ√BAD “judge” as the basis for (Neo) Sindarin words for judgement by retaining Noldorin words with these meanings from the 1930s (Ety/BAD).
nek
root. narrow, narrow; *angular, sharp
A root appearing in notes on words and phrases from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving mainly as the basis for S. naith “angle” (PE17/55). It was also mentioned in a discussion of the death of Isildur at the Gladden Fields, again as the basis for S. naith among other words, where the root √NEK was glossed “narrow” (UT/281-2, note #16). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. naith was derived from ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT, but the precise derivation was unclear, and in any cases seems to have been replaced by Tolkien with a more straightforward derivation from √NEK.
The root √NEK also appeared in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 with the gloss “deprive”, serving among other things as the basis for S. neithan “one deprived” (PE17/167), which was the name adopted by Túrin after he became an outlaw (S/200). The root appeared again in notes on Elvish numbers from the late 1960s glossed as either “divide, part, separate” (VT47/16) or “divide, separate” (VT48/9), where it served as the basis for √ENEK “six” as the dividing point between the lower and upper set of numbers in the Elvish duodecimal system.
It is not clear whether Tolkien intended all these various meanings for the root √NEK to be connected. For purposes of analysis, I’ve split √NEK “narrow” from √NEK “separate; deprive”, but conceivably the sense “narrow” could be a semantic extension of “separate” or vice-versa.
uk
root. nasty
The root √OKO was mentioned a couple times in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 with glosses like “wicked, evil” and “evil, bad” serving as the basis for Q. olca/S. ogol “bad, wicked, evil” along with similar words (PE14/149, 170). In other notes from this period Tolkien said √OKO “evil” influenced the meaning of the Sindarin root √AK “hostile return” (PE17/167). In one of these 1959 notes, Tolkien wrote UK, UKLA below OKO with derivatives Q. ulca and S. ogl, all unglossed (PE17/149); Q. ulca was the word Tolkien used most frequently for “evil” in Quenya. In notes from 1968, Tolkien mentioned √UK “nasty” in passing, without giving any derivatives (VT48/25); Patrick Wynne suggested this form of the root may have been connected to 1969 √UG “dislike” (VT48/32 note #15; PE22/160).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer Q. ulca for “evil”, but I think √OKO “wicked” might coexist with it as variant to salvage other words from that root.
ugrā
adjective. nasty
tanat Reconstructed
root. harp
kwentrō
noun. speaker, reciter, narrator, minstrel
mbar-ndor
noun. home land, native land
paran
adjective. bare, bald, naked, unclad
takse
noun. *nail
ebe-
verb. can of mere possibility according to likelihood, natural probability, etc.
eñ
root. be, exist
Throughout much of its conceptual development, Quenya had two distinct roots for the verb to be: the root √NĀ functioning mainly as a copula in “to be” expressions like Elrondo Elda ná “Elrond is an Elf” or Aracorno halla ná “Aragorn is tall”, versus a distinct root used mainly for existential statements such as Eru ëa “God exists”. The copula-root was established very early as √NĀ, but the existential-root varied considerably.
The earliest version of the existential root was ᴱ√Ō “be, exist” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/69). By the 1920s it seems this root has changed to ᴱ√Ī as it appeared in Early Qenya words lists from that period (PE16/140), and the verb for “to be” in the contemporaneous Early Qenya Grammar was ᴱQ. e- or i (PE14/51, 57).
A similar root ᴹ√YĒ or ᴹ√I appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, albeit with no derivatives (EtyAC/YE). It was most likely the basis for the so-called “stative” suffix ᴹQ. -ie seen in the contemporaneous Fíriel’s Song (LR/72). The root ᴹ√YE was also mentioned in both the first and second versions of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa from 1937 (TQ1: PE18/60) and around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/84), though in the latter it was rejected (PE18/84 note #69). This root is reflected in the use of ᴹQ. ye- in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/107, 115, 117, 119-120), but this verb was rejected and replaced towards the end of that document by a new verb ᴹQ. ea- (PE22/122-124 and PE22/123 note #130). The rejection of ye- “to be” may be due to the introduction of Q. yén for the Elvish long year, as suggested by Christopher Gilson (PE22/86).
In QVS, the new verb ea- was derived from a primitive ✱eʒe or ✱eñe (PE22/122); the root ᴹ√EƷ “be” had already been mentioned in Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the late 1930s, indicating Tolkien had been considering this form for some time. In 1948 QVS, Tolkien said:
> The primary sense of this verb was “to exist, to have being, to be found, extant, in the real world”. But it was often weakened to the copula, in statements of identity or predication. This however in classical Quenya was limited mainly to the past and future (PE22/123).
Thus in 1948 Tolkien started the process of establishing ea- as primarily an existential verb. A few years later, Tolkien mentioned the root √EÑ “be” in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s (PE19/96) and he described √EÑ more fully in verbal notes from 1969 where he said:
> Stem of verb “exist” (have being in primary world of history) was √EŊE, distinct from √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).
Thus the conceptual development of this root seems to have roughly been √Ō (1910s) >> √YĒ/Ī (1920s) >> √EƷ (late 1940s) >> √EÑ (early 1950s). This is an oversimplification however, in that √EƷ appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s and Tolkien may have been considering it much earlier. Furthermore, the role of √EÑ as primarily as existential root (vs. copula √NĀ) was only firmly established in Tolkien’s later writings. When the root was √YĒ/Ī in the 1920s through 1940s, it seems the verbs ᴱQ. e- and ᴹQ. ye- were used for both existential statements and as a copula, and in this period √NĀ (though mentioned) was rarely used and may have been out of favor.
stuk
root. [unglossed]
en
root. name
yan
root. wide, extensive, large, vast, huge; extend
A root Tolkien introduced in the late 1950s to serve as the basis for various “land” suffixes in Sindarin. The most detailed explanation appeared in a set of documents labeled “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature”:
> The endings -ion, -ien, -ian(d) in place names. These have various origins. In Sindarin -ion is usually from -ı̯aun. This in origin is from yānā, √YANA-, extension of yā- (cf. YAGA, gap) “wide, large, extensive”. S iaun “roomy, wide, extensive” ... -iand (-ian) is from yandē “a wide region, or country” ... This was often used in plural of a single country (especially if it contained a varied topographical apsect) > iend, ien (PE17/42).
Thus all three suffixes -ian(d), -ien(d), -ion originate in the root √YAN. The suffix -ian(d) “land” (Beleriand) is the simplest, just a reduction of ancient -yandē. The suffix -ien(d) “lands” (Anórien) is a plural variant of -ian(d). The suffix -ion (Eregion) is S. iaun “wide, extension” used as a suffix (so perhaps = “✱extent”), becoming -ion because of the usual sound change whereby au become o in polysyllables.
In this same document, Tolkien also considered introducing a root √YŎNO “wide, extensive”, going so far as (temporarily) rejected the very well established word Q. yondo “son”. This √YON was blended with √YOD “fence, enclose”, and served as the basis for the suffix -ion, but Tolkien ultimately marked these notes with an “X” to reject them, perhaps because they only explained the suffix -ion, whereas √YAN could explain all three suffixes.
√YAN was mentioned in passing in other documents from this period, variously glossed “vast, huge” (PE17/99), “wide” (PE17/115), and “extend” (PE17/155), and in one place given a variant √YAD (PE17/115). In notes from December 1959 (D59) √YAN was contrasted with √ƷAN, the former meaning “wide” and the latter meaning “long”, both with the basic sense “extend” (PE17/115); see the entry on √HAN for further discussion.
alak
root. rushing, rushing, [ᴹ√] swift
A root whose most notable derivatives are Q. alqua, S. alph “swan”. The earliest iteration of this root was ᴱ√ḶKḶ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/30); the other derivatives of this root from this period have to do with “appearance” such as ᴱQ. ilk- “to seem” (QL/42). By The Etymologies of the 1930s this root took on its later form, ᴹ√ALAK and had the gloss “rushing” with other derivatives like ᴹQ. alako “rush, rushing flight, wild wind”, N. alag “rushing, impetuous” and N. alagos “storm (of wind)” (Ety/ÁLAK). It was also an element in the name of S./N. Ancalagon “Biting Storm”. Given the continued appearance of this name of The Silmarillion (S/252), the 1930s meaning of this root may have survived, but it is hard to be certain since the name was only properly translated in the 1930s.
The 1930s root also had an unaugmented variant ᴹ√LAK with derivatives ᴹQ. (a)larka, N. lhagr “swift, rapid” (Ety/LAK²). Whether this unaugmented variant remained valid is unclear, but there is nothing in Tolkien’s later writing contradicting it either.
am
root. mother
For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).
at(ar)
root. father
As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).
kas
root. head
The root for “head” was established very early in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, appearing in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√KASA “head” (QL/45), though in this period its Qenya derivative was ᴱQ. kar (kas-) because [[eq|final [s] became [r]]] in Early Quenya (PE12/26). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. cas “head, skull” (GL/25), a word that reappeared in Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s as ᴱN. cas “skull” (PE13/140).
The root ᴹ√KAS “head” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, still with the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head” (Ety/KAS), but Tolkien eventually abandoned the Early Qenya phonology and the Quenya form became Q. kas after some vacillation (PE19/103). The root √KAS “head” continued to appear frequently in Tolkien’s later writing (PE17/114; PE21/70; VT42/12).
luy
root. blue
The Elvish words for “blue” remained very similar throughout Tolkien’s life, but underwent a number of minor conceptual shifts. The word ᴱQ. lūne “blue, deep blue” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s in a collection of words along with ᴱQ. lūle “blue stone, sapphire”, but no root was given (QL/55). The word for “blue” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was G. luim (GL/55). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the root for “blue” was ᴹ√LUG with derivatives ᴹQ. lúne and N. lhûn (Ety/LUG²).
Meanwhile, the root ᴹ√LUY appeared in The Etymologies with derivatives ᴹQ. luina and Dor. luin “pale” (EtyAC/LUY), probably connected to ᴱN. Draugluin “Werewolf Pale” from the Lays of Beleriand of the 1920s (LB/205). But in The Etymologies the root ᴹ√LUY was rejected, and Dor. luin “pale” was reassigned to ᴹ√LUG² and then revised in form to Dor. lūn (Ety/LUG²; EtyAC/LUG²).
In addition, there was already evidence of a conceptual shift in the Noldorin words for blue in the 1930s, with the name N. Eredluin “Blue Mountains” being given as an alternative to N. Lhúnorodrim and N. Lhúndirien “Blue Towers” (Ety/LUG²), the latter appearing as N. Luindirien in contemporaneous Silmarillion narratives (LR/267). By the 1950s and 60s, the Sindarin and Quenya words for “blue” had firmly become S. luin (Let/448; S/54; UT/390) and Q. luinë (LotR/377; PE17/66, 71). The root √LUY “blue” appeared in notes from the late 1960s serving as the new basis for these “blue” words (VT48/23-24, 26).
All this made a mess for the river name S. Lhûn (LotR/1134) from The Lord of the Rings which was a remnant of Tolkien’s earlier ideas, and he struggled to find a new basis for that name as discussed by Patrick Wynne in his article on The Problem of Lhûn (VT48/26-29).
mal
root. gold, yellow, gold
This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.
This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).
nis
root. woman
This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.
In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).
sal
root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre
The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.
tig
root. [unglossed]
A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).
lemek
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.
phut
root. [unglossed]
An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).
năta
noun. thing
graw Reconstructed
root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart
This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).
anār
noun. Sun
amal
noun. mother
as(a)
preposition. and
at-kwet
verb. answer
atar
noun. father
dāra
adjective. wise
dē
preposition. with
elen
noun. star
karani
adjective. red
kas
noun. head
kirissi
noun. cleft
kuldā
adjective. hollow
lamā̆n(a)
noun. animal
luini
adjective. blue
malat
root. gold
mori
adjective. black
mō
noun. person
ndab
root. to judge
ndakta-
verb. to slay
ndan-
prefix. back-
ndandō
noun. one who goes back on his word or decision
ndorē
noun. land
ndē̆r
noun. man
ndōro
noun. land
nektē
noun. angle
nelek
root. tooth
nāba-grota
place name. nāba-grota
nābā
noun. hollow
nāro
noun. fire
ossai
masculine name. Ossë
san-
noun. that
tanma
noun. sign, token
thorono
noun. eagle
tolokwe
cardinal. eighteen
appears among Q. forms but seems to be CE
tul-
verb. come, is coming, has come, is here
wath
noun. shadow
ñgūr
noun. wolf
ăwă
preposition. from
ēl
noun. star
ʒō
preposition. from
ṇdūnē
noun. sunset
(s)rō Reconstructed
root. east
mekh
root. *gore
nāpa Reconstructed
noun. thumb, (lit.) picker
wairē
feminine name. Weaver
amas
noun. mother
amma
noun. mother
amme
noun. mother
em
root. mother
emel
noun. mother
emer
noun. mother
gō
preposition. from
lugni
adjective. blue
Tolkien used this root as the basis for Elvish “to be” verbs for much of his life. ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like the verb ᴱQ. ná- “to be” and ᴱQ. nasta “existence, being, creature” (QL/64). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. na- “to be” and G. nast “being” (GL/58-59). It appeared again in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NĀ “be” (Ety/NĀ²), along with an invertible variant ᴹ√ANA² “be, exist” with the derivative ᴹQ. anwa “true, real, actual” (Ety/ANA²); this seems to be the only point where Tolkien considered this root to be invertible. The root √NĀ “be” is mentioned several times in Tolkien’s later writings as well (PE17/93; PE22/147; VT49/27-28).
The root √NĀ was often contrasted with other roots of similar meanings. For example:
> Stem of verb “exist” (have being in primary world of history) was √EŊE, distinct from √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).
There were also periods when roots other than √NĀ were the basis for “to be” statement in Elvish. See the entry on √EÑ “exist” for a conceptual history of these alternate roots and their derivatives.