hriz-

to snow

#hriz- vb. "to snow", impersonal, given in the form hríza "it is snowing". Normally z would turn to r in Exilic Quenya, but since two r's close to one another were disliked, it may be that hriz- became *hris- instead (compare razë "sticks out" becoming rasë instead of **rarë, PE19:73) Past tense hrinsë (with s from the original root SRIS) and another form which the editor tentatively reads as hrissë (the development ns > ss is regular). (PE17:168)

insil

noun. flower

TQ. flower, lily

alba

noun. flower

alma

flower

alma (2) "flower" (PE17:153), said to be the "usual Quenya word" or "general Quenya word" (i.e. for flower), but its coexistence with #1 is problematic. Compare lós, lótë, lotsë, indil.

alma

noun. flower

A word for “flower” derived from primitive ✶galmā in notes on flowers in the same bundle containing Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 (PE17/153). Initially Tolkien said alma meant both “a blessed thing and a flower”, then said that Q. almë was “a blessed thing” and alba was “flower” (< √GAL-AB), before saying that alma was “flower”. Tolkien implied that alma was a usual or general word for “flower” in Quenya. These same notes also said the word alda < ✶galadā was used mainly of flowering trees. It seems in this instance Tolkien connected the root √GAL (normally just “grow, flourish”) specifically to flowers, giving it the gloss “bloom” along with other glosses like “grow, flourish, be vigorous”.

Neo-Quenya: Elsewhere alda was the general word for a “tree” and √GAL had no special connection to flowers. I think alma as a “flower” word was a transient idea. I would use lótë “flower” instead for purposes of Neo-Quenya, since it is much better established.

Changes

• alma → almë “a blessed thing and a flower” ✧ PE17/153
• alba → alma “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Cognates

• S. alf “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Derivations

• ✶galmā “flower” ✧ PE17/153
  • √GALAM “elm”
  • √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153
• √GALAB “flower” ✧ PE17/153
  • √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶galmā > alma	[galmā] > [ɣalmā] > [almā] > [alma]	✧ PE17/153
√GAL-AB > alba	[galba] > [ɣalba] > [ɣalβa] > [alβa] > [alba]	✧ PE17/153

Variations

• alba ✧ PE17/153 (alba)

lós

flower

lós (þ?) noun "flower" (PE17:26). If this is to be the cognate of Sindarin loth, as the source suggests, the older Quenya form would be *lóþ.

lóte

noun. flower

lótë

flower

lótë noun "flower", mostly applied to larger single flowers (LOT(H), LT1:259, VT42:18). (The shorter form -lot occurs in compounds, e.g. fúmellot, q.v.) In the names Ninquelóte *"White-flower" (= Nimloth), Vingilótë "Foam-flower", the name of Eärendil's ship (SA:loth), also in Lótessë fifth month of the year, "May" (Appendix D). See also olótë, lotsë.

fauta-

to snow

fauta- vb. *"to snow" (actually glossed fauta = "it snows") (GL:35)

niphredil

noun. a pale winter flower, snowdrop

niphredil

a pale white flower

n.Bot. a pale white flower (like snowdrop). >> -il, niphred, til

niphredil

noun. white flower (similar to a snowdrop); *(lit.) pale point

Name of a pale flower growing in Lórien and elsewhere (LotR/350). Tolkien described it as “a pale white flower (like snowdrop)” or “a delicate kin of a snowdrop” (PE17/55; Let/248). It is a combination of niphred “pallor” and -til “point” (PE17/55).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s Tolkien first gave N. nifredil as the name of “a green snowdrop” (TI/233). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave N. nínim “snowdrop” under the root ᴹ√NEI̯ “tear”, but nifredil was written beside it, perhaps a later addition (Ety/NEI). The first element of nínim is N. nîn “tear”, and the second element might be N. nimp “pale” from ᴹ√NIK-W (Ety/NIK-W); see below.

In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien had G. ninconin “snowdrop” with ninghonin written below it, possible an alternate form (G/60). This earlier word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶ninqe-nı̯ēne and was a cognate to ᴱQ. nieninqe “snowdrop, (lit.) white tear” containing ᴱQ. nie “tear” under the early root ᴱ√NYEHE and ᴱQ. ninqe “white” under the early root ᴱ√NIQI (QL/66, 68). Thus 1910s G. ninconin was similar in origin to 1930s N. nínim before Tolkien changed it to nifredil.

Elements

Word	Gloss
niphred	“pallor, pallor; [N.] fear”
till	“point, spike, (sharp) horn, tine, ending”

Variations

• Niphredil ✧ LotRI/Niphredil

ninglor

noun. golden water-flower, gladden

elanor

noun. a flower, a kind of enlarged pimpernel bearing golden and silver flowers

elloth

noun. (single) flower

alf

noun. flower

Cognates

• Q. alma “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Derivations

• √GALAB “flower” ✧ PE17/153
  • √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√GAL-AB > alf	[alba] > [alva] > [alv]	✧ PE17/153

los

noun. snow

lotheg

noun. (single) flower

loth

noun. flower, inflorescence, a head of small flowers

The noun is collective, a single flower being lotheg

loss

noun. snow

The usual Sindarin word for “snow” (Let/278; PE17/161; RGEO/62), especially fallen and long-lying snow (VT42/18), derived from primitive ✶lossē (PE17/161) based on the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; RGEO/62). It sometimes appeared in a shorter form los (PE17/26, 161). See the entry on [s] for a discussion of these long vs. short variations; for purposes of Neo-Sindarin loss is probably preferable.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest iteration of this word was G. glui “snow” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, likely related to nearby words like G. gloss “white” (GL/40). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gloss from the root ᴹ√GOLOS was both noun “snow” and adjective “snow-white” (Ety/GOLÓS), but in later writing Tolkien split these into S loss “snow” (see above) and S. gloss “(dazzling) white” (RGEO/62; VT42/18).

Cognates

• Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/026; PE17/161; SA/los; RGEO/61

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18
• ✶lossē “snow” ✧ PE17/161
  • √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Element in

• S. Aeglos “Snow-point” ✧ SA/los
• S. aeglos “icicle, (lit.) snow-point; snowthorn (a plant)”
• S. Amon Uilos “Hill of Ever-snow” ✧ SA/los
• S. Fanuilos “Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos” ✧ Let/278
• S. Lossarnach “Flowery Arnarch” ✧ VT42/18
• S. lossen “snowy” ✧ RGEO/62
• S. Lossoth “Snowmen” ✧ PE17/161; RGEO/62
• S. Nimphelos “Pale ?Snow”
• S. Uilos “Ever-snow”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LŎS > los	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ PE17/026
✶lossē > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ PE17/161
√los > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ RGEO/61
√los > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ SA/los
√(G)LOS > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ VT42/18

Variations

• los ✧ PE17/026
• lŏs ✧ PE17/161
• Loss ✧ VT42/18

loth

noun. flower

_n._flower, a single bloom. Q. lóte, lōs.

mallos

noun. a golden flower

niphredil

Niphredil

Niphredil is a Sindarin name meaning "little pallor", consisting of niphred ("pallor") + the ending -il.

nínim

snowdrop

(”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. – The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

edlothia

flower

(verb) #edlothia- (i edlothia, in edlothiar) (to blossom);

edlothia

flower

(i edlothia, in edlothiar) (to blossom);

edlothiad

flowering

(blossoming), pl. edlothiaid if there is a pl.**

lossoth

snow-men

(a coll. pl.)

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.  

lotheg

single flower

lothod (”singulars” derived from the more collective term loth; it is unclear whether lotheg, lothod can themselves have ”plural” forms. If so it would be lethig, lethyd, for archaic löthig, löthyd.) (VT42:18, VT45:29) Another word for a single flower is elloth (pl. ellyth) (VT42:18). An alternative to loth is loss (construct los; pl. lyss), but the form loth seems to be more common (and loss also means ”fallen snow” and ”wilderness”).

loss

snow

(construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

loth

flower

loth, pl. lyth (but loth is also glossed ”blossom” and may itself function as a collective term: all the flowers of a plant. For individual flowers cf. the following:)

loth

flower

pl. lyth (but loth is also glossed ”blossom” and may itself function as a collective term: all the flowers of a plant. For individual flowers cf. the following:)

lossen

snowy

(pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

gwaloth

collection of flowers

(i ’waloth) (blossom), pl. gwelyth (in gwelyth). Also goloth (i ’oloth) (blossom), pl. gelyth (i ngelyth = i ñelyth). Archaic pl. gölyth. (VT42:18). Specific flowers, see

sris

root. snow

An apparently verbal root as √SRIS “snow” appearing in etymological notes from around 1959 with derivatives like Q. hrisse “fall of snow” and Q. hríza “it is snowing”; it replaced a deleted root √SRITH “snow” (PE17/168).

Derivatives

• Q. hriz- “to snow” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. hrissë “fall of snow” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

• Q. hristil “snow (?peak)” ✧ PE17/168

srith

root. snow

Derivatives

• Q. hrisya- “to snow (impersonal)” ✧ PE17/168

lossē

noun. snow

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Derivatives

• Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/161
• S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/161

Variations

• loss- ✧ VT42/18

galab

root. flower

Derivations

• √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153

Derivatives

• Q. alalmë “inflorescence” ✧ PE17/153
• Q. alma “flower” ✧ PE17/153
• S. alf “flower” ✧ PE17/153

Variations

• GAL-AB ✧ PE17/153 (GAL-AB)

galmā

noun. flower

Derivations

• √GALAM “elm”
• √GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE17/153

Derivatives

• Q. alma “flower” ✧ PE17/153

lotse

noun. flower

Derivations

• √LOT(H) “flower” ✧ VT42/18

Derivatives

• Q. lotsë “small (single) flower” ✧ VT42/18
• S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ VT42/18

lot(h)

root. flower

This root and ones like it were connected to flowers for all of Tolkien’s life. The earliest manifestation of this root was ᴱ√LOHO or ᴱ√LO’O from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s; the entry for ᴱ√LOHO appears immediately below ᴱ√LO’O, and Tolkien indicates they are related roots, both extended from ᴱ√OLO “tip” (QL/55). These roots include derivatives like ᴱQ. lōte “flower”, ᴱQ. lotōrea “flourishing” and ᴱQ. lokta- “sprout, bud, put forth leaves or flowers”. There are also derivatives of these roots in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon: G. lost “blossom, bloom”, G. lothli “floret”, G. luitha- “to bloom” (GL/54-55), though G. lôs “flower” was said to be unrelated, connected to G. lass “leaf” instead (GL/55). ᴱQ. losse “rose” probably had a similar derivation (QL/56).

This confusion of √LOT(H) and √LOS carried forward into Tolkien’s later writings. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√LOT(H) was given as the root for “flower” (Ety/LOT(H)), but this entry originally included a variant ᴹ√LOS (EtyAC/LOT(H)). Tolkien then said ᴹQ. losse “blossom” (< ᴹ√LOT(H)) was “usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom” (Ety/LOT(H)), where ᴹQ. olosse was derived from ᴹ√GOLOS “✱snow, white” (Ety/GOLÓS). This intermingling carried forward into etymological notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where Tolkien said (PE17/26):

> The stems √LŎS, √LOTH, √LOT are much entangled both for formal reasons, and because of actual associations of meaning (probably from beginning of Primitive Quendian and explaining the approach of the forms). Quenya word for “flower, a single bloom” is lóte, but S loth (< lotho/a), but Quenya also has lōs. Q. for snow is losse (S los).

These associations were also mentioned in etymological notes on roots for flowers from this same period, where Tolkien clarified that √LOT, √LOTH were the roots for “flower” and √LOS for “snow” (PE17/160-161). These roots were mentioned again in notes associated with The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s (VT42/18):

> S. loss is a derivative of (G)LOS “white”; but loth is from LOT. Sindarin used loss as a noun, but the strengthened form gloss as an adjective “(dazzling) white”. loth was the only derivative of LOT that it retained, probably because other forms of the stem assumed a phonetic shape that seemed inappropriate, or were confusible with other stems (such as LUT “float”), e.g. ✱lod, ✱lûd. loth is from a diminutive lotse and probably also from derivative lotta-.

In this last note, Tolkien seems to have abandoned √LOTH, explaining S. loth “flower” as derived from √LOT via ✱lotse. In any case, starting in the 1930s Tolkien was consistent that the roots for “flower” and “snow” were distinct but often confused, and that snow-words were derived from roots like √(G)LOS and flower words from roots like √LOT(H), though he waffled a bit on the exact details.

Derivatives

• ✶loth “inflorescence” ✧ PE17/160
  • Q. lós “inflorescence, mass of flowers” ✧ PE17/160
  • S. lûth “blossom, inflorescence, blossom, inflorescence [on a single plant]” ✧ PE17/160
• ✶lotho/a “flower” ✧ PE17/026
  • S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ PE17/026
• ✶lotse “flower” ✧ VT42/18
  • Q. lotsë “small (single) flower” ✧ VT42/18
  • S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ VT42/18
• ✶lotta- “bloom” ✧ VT42/18
  • Q. losta- “to bloom, to bloom, *blossom” ✧ VT42/18
  • S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ VT42/18
• Q. lótë “flower, single blossom, flower, single blossom; [ᴱQ.] bloom” ✧ PE17/026; PE17/160; VT42/18
• Q. lotsë “small (single) flower” ✧ PE17/160
• Q. lós “inflorescence, mass of flowers” ✧ PE17/026
• ᴺS. losta- “to bloom, blossom”
• S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ PE17/160

Element in

• ✶ñwa-lōth “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant)” ✧ PE17/160

Variations

• LOTH ✧ PE17/026; PE17/160; PE17/160; PE17/161
• LOT ✧ PE17/026; PE17/160; PE17/160; PE17/161; VT42/18

lotho/a

noun. flower

Derivations

• √LOT(H) “flower” ✧ PE17/026

Derivatives

• S. loth “flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers” ✧ PE17/026

nifredil

noun. a pale winter flower, snowdrop

lhothod

noun. (single) flower

lothod

noun. (single) flower

lhoth

noun. flower, inflorescence, a head of small flowers

The noun is collective, a single flower being lotheg