nier

noun. (honey) bee

A word appearing as ᴱQ. nier (nies-) “honey bee” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from primitive ᴱ✶neχier under the early root ᴱ√NEHE that was the basis for “honey” and “bee” words (QL/65). It had a variant form nies (niess-). It appeared as nier “bee” in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/65), but in the Gnomish Lexicon it had the forms nier and nion derived from primitive ᴱ✶negeher and ᴱ✶negōn respectively.

Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings, the root √NEG “ooze, drip” was still connected to “honey” (PE19/91). Thus I think this word might be salvaged as ᴺQ. nier “bee” derived from an ancient agental formation neger(ŏ), where ege > eʒe > ëe > ie (PE19/63).

nie

noun. tear

nies

noun. honey bee

nyére

noun. grief

piqis(se)

noun. grief