Quenya
niqu-
verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow
Derivations
- √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √NIK > niku- [nikw-] ✧ PE17/168 Variations
- niku- ✧ PE17/168; WJ/417
nicu-
verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow
A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “be chill, cold (of weather)” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a derivative of the root √NIK(W) and with the glosses “to snow, it is chill, it freezes” (PE17/168). In this 1959 note Tolkien gave several inflected forms making it clear nicu- was an impersonal verb: nīqua “it is freezing”, nicune “it snowed, froze”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use nicu- as an impersonal verb for cold weather: nique “it is cold, it is freezing”. For the freezing of water or similar substances, I’d use ᴺQ. hel-. For “to snow” I’d use ᴺQ. hris-, a modernization of archaic †hriz-.