Quenya 

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

niquë

it is cold, it freezes; it snows or freezes

niquë (1) vb. "it is cold, it freezes; it snows or freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168), 3rd sg. of nicu-, q.v.

niquë

noun. cold, cold; [ᴹQ.] snow

Derivations

  • NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
NIK > nī̆que[nikwe]✧ PE17/168

Variations

  • nī̆que ✧ PE17/168
  • nique ✧ WJ/417
Quenya [PE17/168; WJ/417] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqu-

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-.

Derivations

  • NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
NIK > niku-[nikw-]✧ PE17/168

Variations

  • niku- ✧ PE17/168; WJ/417
Quenya [PE17/168; WJ/417] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nicu-

be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes

nicu- ("k")vb. "be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168): 3rd sg. aorist niquë (q.v.) "it snows or freezes", present níqua "it is freezing", pa.t. nicunë "it snowed, froze" (PE17:168)

nicu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

ringë

cold

ringë adj. "cold", also ringa (which form is to be preferred; cf. Ringarë in LotR). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, ringë is also given as a noun "cold pool or lake (in mountains)", but according to VT46:11 this noun should read ringwë. (RINGI)

fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

hriz-

verb. to snow

In notes written around 1959, Tolkien experimented with various roots for impersonal “snow” verbs, first giving the aorist form of a derived verb Q. hrisya “it snows” < hriþya from the root √SRITH, then the present tense form of a basic verb Q. hríza “it is snowing” from the root √SRIS (PE17/168).

Neo-Quenya: The basic verb form †hriz- is likely archaic, since z usually became r in Quenya’s phonetic development. In this case, though, I suspect the medial z dissimilated back to s after the hr, since Quenya disliked repeated r’s (PE19/73-74). This occurred, for example, with the verb ras- “stick out” < †raz- < √RAS.

Thus, I would use modern Quenya hrise “[it] snows”, hrinse “[it] snowed”, ihrísie “[it] has snowed”. Since this is an impersonal verbs, no explicit subject is required.

Derivations

  • SRIS “snow” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
SRIS > hríza[srīsa] > [r̥īsa] > [r̥īza]✧ PE17/168

ringa

cold

ringa adj. "cold" (Markirya); the Etymologies gives ringë (RINGI), but it seems that ringa is to be preferred (cf. Ringarë below). Yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). According to VT46:11, Tolkien originally used the form ringa in Etym as well; later he would restore it. - In early "Qenya", ringa is glossed "damp, cold, chilly" (LT1:265)

ringa

adjective. cold, cold, [ᴱQ.] chilly; damp

Cognates

  • S. ring “cold, chill, cold, chill, [G.] cool”

Derivations

Element in

Quenya [MC/222; VT49/23] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yelwa

cold

yelwa (2) adj. "cold" (LT1:260 this "Qenya" word is apparently obsoleted by # 1 above. In LotR-style Quenya, the regular term for "cold" seems to be ringa.)

olos

snow, fallen snow

olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

hris-

verb. to snow

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by