ol

root. *grow, [ᴹ√] grow [into]; *become

This root seems to have served various purposes throughout Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√OLO “tip”, unglossed ᴱ√OLO with derivatives like ᴱQ. olde “very, much” and ᴱQ. olto- “increase, multiply”, as well as ᴱ√OLO whose derivatives had to do with dreams (QL/69). The second root ᴱ√OLO² may have had the sense “✱increase, more”, which may have reemerged in the verb or primitive form ol- “grow” in a deleted entry from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GAL(AS)). The root ᴹ√OL “grow” was mentioned again in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/103). In this document the Quenya verb Q. ol- generally had the gloss “become” (PE22/99-100, 113), even as a derivative of ᴹ√OL “grow” (PE22/103).

The sense “become” for the verb form was mentioned again in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s (PE22/133-134). There are several more documents from around 1959 that have derivatives connected to the sense “growth”, such as Q. olmen “growth-year”, Q. olmië “growth” and Q. quantolië “maturity” (NM/84, 119-120). However, in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s Tolkien said: “OL as a simple stem seems not to have occurred in Eldarin, though it appears in certain ‘extended’ stems, such as olos/r ‘dream’, olob ‘branch’ (PM/341)”. This lack of ancient meaning was despite the fact that OL was an element in the ancient name Q. Olwë.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume √OL meant “grow, ✱become”, which could easily contribute to the extended forms √OLOS “dream” and √OLOB “branch”. As a root, I think it primarily refers to the growth of people or animals, as opposed to √GAL used for the growth of plants. I think √OL can also be used for more abstract senses of “growth”, include “grow into” and hence “become”.

olob

root. branch

A root mentioned in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s serving as the basis for Q. olba of the same meaning (PM/341). Q. olvar “growing things with roots in the earth” from The Silmarillion was probably related (S/45, 345). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, “branch” words were derived from unglossed ᴹ√GOLOB: ᴹQ. olwa and N. golf “branch” (Ety/GÓLOB).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √GOLOB is a Sindarin-only variant of √OLOB, perhaps influenced by √GAL “grow”. This would allow us to retain golf = “branch”, though the one name where it appeared, N. Gurtholf “Wand of Death” (Ety/ÑGUR; LR/147), became S. Gurthang “Iron of Death” in later versions of The Silmarillion (S/210).

olā-

verb. to become, come into being, turn into (another state)

olos

root. dream, vision, fantasy, dream, vision, fantasy; [ᴹ√] sleep

tolod

root. eight

The earliest Elvish words for “eight” were ᴱQ. {ungo >>} umna and G. {ung >>} uvin in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/75), but in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s it became ᴱQ. {telte >>} tolto (PE14/49). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√TOL-OTH/OT “eight” as the basis for ᴹQ. tolto and N. toloth of the same meaning (Ety/TOL¹-OTH/OT); in this document it was distinct from ᴹ√TOL which was the basis for “island” words.

In documents on Elvish numbers from the late 1960s, Tolkien vacillated between √TOLOTH (VT42/30 note #52), √TOLOT (VT42/24; VT47/31) and √TOLOD (VT47/11) for the form of this root, but in the more polished versions of these documents he seems to have settled on √TOLOD > Q. toldo, S. toloð (VT48/6). In this last iteration, Tolkien connected the root √TOLOD to the root √TOL “stick up” due to the prominence of the middle fingers (3 and 8) in counting (VT47/11); see the entry on √TOL for discussion.

tolot

root. eight

-il

suffix. old tool and weapon names

oklō

?. oklō

gwa-lassiē

noun. foliage

(o)lor

root. dream, vision, [ᴹ√] sleep, [ᴱ√] doze, slumber; [√] dream, vision

Tolkien used similar roots for “dream” and “sleep” throughout his life, but the exact details varied. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s he gave the root ᴱ√OLO as the basis for the names ᴱQ. Eriol “a dreamer” and ᴱQ. Olofantor who had to do with sleep (QL/69). It had an extended form ᴱ√OLOR with derivatives like ᴱQ. olóre “dream”, but Tolkien indicated these form more properly belonged to the root ᴱ√LORO (QL/69). The entry for ᴱ√LORO had glosses “doze, slumber”, along with derivatives like ᴱQ. lor- “slumber”, ᴱQ. lorda “slumbrous, drowsy”, and ᴱQ. Lôrien “King of Dreams” (QL/56). Various derivatives also appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. lor- “sleep deep, dream (tr.)”, G. lorc “drowsy, dreamy, lazy”, and G. lûr “slumber” (GL/54, 55), along with G. olma- “dream” and G. oloth “dream, apparition, vision”, probably from ᴱ√OLO³ (GL/62).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien first gave the root ᴹ√LOS, revised it to ᴹ√LOR, and then back to ᴹ√LOS (EtyAC/LOS). Tolkien also gave an augmented variant ᴹ√OLOR, which was likewise altered to ᴹ√OLOS (EtyAC/ÓLOS). The unaugmented root was glossed “sleep”, and the augmented root “dream”. The unaugmented root had derivatives like ᴹQ. lóre “slumber” and ᴹQ. lorna “sleep” (Ety/LOS), with Noldorin cognates N. lhûr “slumber” and N. lhorn “asleep” rejected after ᴹ√LOR >> ᴹ√LOS (EtyAC/LOS). The augmented root had derivatives ᴹQ. olor “dream”, N. ôl “dream”, and N. oltha- “to dream” (Ety/ÓLOS). The Quenya form ᴹQ. olor may reflect Tolkien indecision in this period on the development of final -s: compare ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head” (Ety/KAS). Ultimately he would decide that final -s survived, and intervocalic -s- > -r-, making the derivation of ᴹQ. olor from ᴹ√OLOS somewhat dubious.

In both the 1910s and 1930s, lor- forms were more closely associated with “sleep” and ol- forms with “dreams”. In writings from the 1950s and 60s, the only attested associations for these roots were with “dreams” and “visions”. Tolkien gave √OLOR “vision (of mind)” (PE17/88), olo-s “vision, fantasy” (UT/396) and √OLOS/R “dream” (PM/341). This last mention of the root was from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from the late 1960s, which indicated the root was an extension √OL, but Tolkien continued to use Q. lórë for “dream” in this period (PE17/80; Let/308), and the unaugmented root √LOR was mentioned in passing (without gloss) in a discussion of the root √DOR (PE17/181).

In later writings, Tolkien also used √OLOR or √OLOS as the basis for the true name of Gandalf: Q. Olórin (PE17/88; UT/396). In connection to that name Tolkien wrote:

> olo-s: vision, “phantasy”: Common Elvish name for “construction of the mind” not actually (pre)existing in Eä apart from the construction, but by the Eldar capable of being by Art (Karmë) made visible and sensible. Olos is usually applied to fair constructions having solely an artistic object, i.e. not having the object of deception, or of acquiring power (UT/396).

And also:

> Olor is a word often translated “dream”, but that does not refer to (most) human “dreams”, certainly not the dreams of sleep. To the Eldar it included the vivid contents of their memory, as of their imagination: it referred in fact to clear vision, in the mind, of things not physically present at the body’s situation. But not only to an idea, but to a full clothing of this in particular form and detail (UT/396).

Thus in Tolkien’s later conception, perhaps the most accurate translation of the root would be “(mental) vision”, not properly connected to “sleep” or “(sleeping) dreams” at all. However, the translation of the root as “vision of the mind” seems to have been intertwined with Galdalf’s Quenya name, and remnants of early ideas continued to appear, most especially the long-lived name Q. Lórien “✱Dream Lands” (S/28) as well as S. Lothlórien “Dream Flower” (LotR/467).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, using this root only for “vision of the mind” is problematic, in that it leaves us no good words for “sleep” or “(ordinary) dream”, nor any good explanation for the name (Loth)lórien. I think it is better to hearken back to earlier notions, and assume two distinct roots that influenced each other: √LOR “sleep” and √OLOS “dream, vision”. In Sindarin their derivatives would remain distinct, but in Quenya the two produce similar results, so that Q. lórë came to meaning “dreaming sleep”, usable for either dreams or sleep or both, where Q. olos properly meant “vision of the mind”, but sometimes took the form olor under the influence of √LOR.

li

root. many

This root was connected to words for “many” throughout Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s it appeared as ᴱ√LĪ, with variant ᴱ√ILI “many” and extended form ᴱ√LIYA (LI + ya) “unite many as one” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lia- “entwine” and ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (QL/42, 53). In later writings there is no sign of the inversion √IL “many” (later √IL meant “all”), whereas ᴱ√LIYA seems to have shifted to unrelated ᴹ√SLIG with derivatives like ᴹQ. lia “fine thread, spider filament” and ᴹQ. liante “spider” (Ety/SLIG).

The base root ᴹ√LI “many” did reappear in The Etymologies of the 1930s, however (Ety/LI), and √LI “many” appeared again in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/25). The long-standing connection between this root and the Quenya (partitive) plural suffixes indicates its stability in Tolkien’s mind.

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).

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.

mat

root. eat

This was the root for eating words for all of Tolkien’s life, appearing very regularly. It was ᴱ√MATA “eat” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59), ᴹ√MAT “eat” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), and √MAT “eat” in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/26), among its many other appearances. This puts it among the most conceptually stable of Elvish roots.

nel

root. three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle

This root served as the basis for Elvish words for “three” for much of Tolkien’s life. However, in its earliest appearance in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱ√NELE was glossed “point” with derivatives like ᴱQ. neldor “beech”, ᴱQ. nele “tooth” and ᴱQ. nelt “corner”, while the derived numeral was ᴱQ. nelde “four” (QL/65). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also had G. nel “point, end, tip, jutting end” (GL/60), and G. deldron “beech” was almost certainly derived from a strengthened form of the root ndel- (PE11/8; GL/30). ᴱQ. nelde “three” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 82).

In the first layer of The Etymologies of the 1930s, this root was glossed “point, triangle” (EtyAC/NEL), but Tolkien changed the gloss of ᴹ√NEL to “three” and gave it two extended roots ᴹ√NELED (also “three”) and ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” (Ety/NEL, NELEK). In this revised paradigm, probably “tooth” was derived from the sense “triangle”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Ilk. neldor “beech” was still derived from this root, but was said to refer to the “three trunks” of Hirilorn.

In later writings from the 1950s and 60s, the gloss of √NEL was consistently “three” (WJ/421; VT42/24; VT47/10-11), and the extended form √NELED “three” appeared regularly as well (VT42/24; VT47/11). √NELEK “tooth” also appeared in several documents from the 1940s and 50s (PE19/58; PE21/56, 71).

neter

root. nine

A root for “nine” introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NÉTER), replacing earliest words for “nine” such as ᴱQ. olme(t) and ᴱQ. hue from the 1910s and 20s. The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, and in his notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s he explored several possible origins for this root: connected to the finger name Q. nettë “little girl” derived from the root √NET “dainty” (VT47/33), based on the counting term Q. nete “one more” as in “nete, nete, nete, 10” (VT47/15-16), or simply as an independent invention of its own (VT47/12).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is easiest to assume √NETER its own root without any deeper etymology.

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

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).

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

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).

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).

kas

noun. head

oklā

adjective. bad, wicked

orlā

preposition. over

ñwa-lōth

noun. inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant)

amba

?. more

dē

preposition. with

enel

masculine name. Three

laikā

adjective. green

lossē

noun. snow

lotta-

verb. bloom

nelede

cardinal. three

neter(e)

cardinal. nine

nēthā

noun. sister

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.

slas

root. ear

slas

noun. ear

srith

root. snow

thow

root. stink

ul-

verb. to pour

verī

noun. wife

swek

root. broom