Primitive elvish

orlā

preposition. over

Primitive elvish [PE17/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nor

root. run (or leap) of animals or men, run (or leap) of animals or men; [ᴹ√] run as of wheels, roll along, [ᴱ√] go smoothly, ride, spin

This root was the basis for Elvish words having to do with “running” and (in earlier notes) “rolling” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/67), and it had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. nor- “run, roll” (GL/61) and dronn “race, course, track” < ✱n’rond- (GL/31). ᴹ√NORO “run as of wheels, roll along” reappeared in a page of roots in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, though this page was deleted (PE22/127 note #152). √NOR “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)” also appeared in some etymological notes associated with The Lord of the Rings, probably from the late 1950s (PE17/168).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d retain both senses “run” and “roll” for this root, but limit the latter to the rolling of wheels as an extrapolation from the movement of legs.

Primitive elvish [PE17/168; PE17/169; PE17/181] Group: Eldamo. Published by

keglē

noun. fence or palisade of spikes or sharp stakes

Primitive elvish [UT/282] Group: Eldamo. Published by

neresā

feminine name. she that has manlike valour or strength

Primitive elvish [WJ/416] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ū̆lā

suffix. likelihood or aptitude

Primitive elvish [PE22/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

labdē

noun. licking up (food or drink)

Primitive elvish [PE19/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

maikā

noun. blade of a cutting tool or weapon (especially sword-blade)

Primitive elvish [VT39/11] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thakta-

verb. to pressure or force ([one] to do something against one’s will or conscience)

Primitive elvish [VT43/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

áyan

noun. holy thing or object or place

Primitive elvish [PE17/149] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hekla

proper name. any thing (or person) put aside from or left out from its normal company

Primitive elvish [WJ/361] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nukotto

noun. a stunted or ill-shaped thing (or person)

Primitive elvish [WJ/413] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thara

adjective. tall (or long) and slender

Primitive elvish [WJ/412] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pharne

noun. any growing thing or plant

Primitive elvish [PE17/083] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-iti

suffix. habit or special association with the verbal action

Primitive elvish [PE22/137; PE22/155] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ndandō

noun. one who goes back on his word or decision

Primitive elvish [PE17/140; WJ/412] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ostō

noun. fortress or stronghold

Primitive elvish [VT39/06; WJ/414] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-kā̆

suffix. adjectival or enlargement

Primitive elvish [PE19/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

teles

verb. come at rear, end a line or series

Primitive elvish [PE 22:135] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

amba

?. more

Primitive elvish [PE17/091] Group: Eldamo. Published by

makla

noun. sword

Primitive elvish [PE19/083; PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tā/taʒ

root. high, high, [ᴹ√] lofty; noble

This root and ones like it were used for “high” things for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√TAHA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. “high; high above, high up”, ᴱQ. tahōra or tayóra “lofty”, and ᴱQ. tāri “queen”; it had a variant form ᴱ√TAʕA where the ʕ might be a malformed Y (QL/87). The corresponding forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon were G. “high” and G. dara “lofty” (GL/29), indicating the true form of the root was ᴱ√DAHA, since initial voiced stops were unvoiced (d- > t-) in Early Qenya (PE12/17). Primitive forms like ᴱ✶dagá > ᴱN. /ᴱQ. “high” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s indicates the root continued to begin with D for the following decade (PE13/141, 161).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this root as ᴹ√TĀ/TAƷ “high, lofty; noble” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tára “lofty, high”, ᴹQ. tári “queen” and N. taen “height, summit of high mountain” (Ety/TĀ). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien gave the root as √TAG or Tā- “high”, and in notes from around 1967 Tolkien gave √TAƷ as the explanation of the initial element of Q. Taniquetil and contrasted it with √TĂR “stand” (PE17/186). In 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), Tolkien wrote a marginal note giving √TAƷ > “high”, but this note was rejected with a statement “transfer to Gen. Structure. No [ʒ] existed in Eldarin” (PE19/72-73 note #22).

This last rejection seems to be part of Tolkien’s general vacillation on the nature and phonetic evolution of velar spirants in Primitive Elvish in 1968-70. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume the root form was √TAH or √TAƷ > √ as the basis for “high” words, much like √MAH or √MAƷ > ✶ was the basis for “hand” words.

Primitive elvish [PE17/186; PE19/073] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tō/oto

root. back

The earliest appearance of this root was ᴹ√TOTO- “repeat” from Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/109). The root appeared as √TŌ/OTO in a discussion of prefixes for “back” from around 1959, where Tolkien specified its meaning as “back as an answer, or return by another agent to an action affecting him, as in answering, replying, avenging, requiting, repaying, rewarding”; Tolkien also considered the forms √UTU/TŪ (PE17/166). In this 1959 note Tolkien crossed √TŌ/OTO through and seems to have replaced it with √KHAN. Tolkien mentioned the root √OT in a discussion of numbers from the late 1960s, but only to specify that “there was no primitive base OT-” (VT47/16).

Primitive elvish [PE17/166; PE17/167; PE17/171; PE17/187; PE17/188; PE17/189; VT47/16] Group: Eldamo. Published by

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

Primitive elvish [NM/237; PM/352] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kher

root. possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power

The basic root for rulership was √KHER for most of Tolkien’s life. The root appeared as ᴱ√HERE “rule, have power” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period already had the derivative ᴱQ. heru “lord” and ᴱQ. heri “lady” (QL/40), words that retained the same form and meaning throughout Tolkien’s life. Gnomish derivatives from this period include G. herma “protection, lordship, sway”, G. hermon “lord”, G. hîr “care, anxiety; heed”, and G. hiril “queen†, princess” (GL/49).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s these last two Gnomish words became N. hîr “master” and N. hiril “lady” as derivatives of ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess”; the words ᴹQ. heru/ᴹQ. heri reappeared as well (Ety/KHER). All four of these words reappeared frequently in Tolkien’s later writing, though S. hîr was more typically glossed “lord” (PM/210; SD/129; VT41/9; Let/382; UT/318). The root √KHER itself reappeared in a 1954 letter to Naomi Mitchison with the gloss “possess” (Let/178).

Primitive elvish [Let/178] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mith

root. grey

Tolkien introduced the root ᴹ√MITH in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a blending of ᴹ√MIS “✱wet” and ᴹ√KHITH “mist, fog”, with the derivative N. mith “white fog, wet mist” as in N. Mithrim “✱Mist Lake” (Ety/MITH, RINGI; EtyAC/MITH). As a later addition to this entry Tolkien wrote the adjective N. mith “grey”, and that was the more common use of this word in Tolkien’s later writings. In a 1955 letter to David Masson Tolkien specified that “usage suggests that MIÞ- is paler and whiter, a luminous grey” (PE17/72).

Primitive elvish [PE17/072] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ringi

root. cold

Tolkien used very similar forms for Elvish words for “cold” for all of his life. The earliest iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√RIŊI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. rin (ring-) “dew” and ᴱQ. ringa “damp, cold, chilly” (QL/80). The root had similar derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. “coolness, cool” and G. ring “cool, cold” (GL/65). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root {ᴹ√RINGĀ >>} ᴹ√RINGI “cold” with derivatives like ᴹQ. ringe/N. rhing “cold” (Ety/RINGI; EtyAC/RINGI). Primitive forms ✶riñgi “chill” and ✶riñgā appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/80), and Christopher Tolkien mentioned √ring as the basis for cold words in the Silmarillion Appendix (SA/ring).

Primitive elvish [SA/ring] Group: Eldamo. Published by

alak

root. rushing, rushing, [ᴹ√] swift

A root whose most notable derivatives are Q. alqua, S. alph “swan”. The earliest iteration of this root was ᴱ√ḶKḶ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/30); the other derivatives of this root from this period have to do with “appearance” such as ᴱQ. ilk- “to seem” (QL/42). By The Etymologies of the 1930s this root took on its later form, ᴹ√ALAK and had the gloss “rushing” with other derivatives like ᴹQ. alako “rush, rushing flight, wild wind”, N. alag “rushing, impetuous” and N. alagos “storm (of wind)” (Ety/ÁLAK). It was also an element in the name of S./N. Ancalagon “Biting Storm”. Given the continued appearance of this name of The Silmarillion (S/252), the 1930s meaning of this root may have survived, but it is hard to be certain since the name was only properly translated in the 1930s.

The 1930s root also had an unaugmented variant ᴹ√LAK with derivatives ᴹQ. (a)larka, N. lhagr “swift, rapid” (Ety/LAK²). Whether this unaugmented variant remained valid is unclear, but there is nothing in Tolkien’s later writing contradicting it either.

Primitive elvish [PE18/100; SA/alqua] Group: Eldamo. Published by

khan

root. brother

A root for “brother” that Tolkien introduced in notes on finger-names from the late 1960s as a companion to √NETH “sister” (VT47/14, 26, 34). It conflicts with, and possibly replaces, earlier uses for √KHAN such as √KHAN “back” in notes from around 1959 serving as the basis for the prefix Q. han- in hanquenta “answer” (PE17/166). The root ᴹ√KHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “understand, comprehend”, with various derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/KHAN).

It is unlikely that all these uses of √KHAN coexisted, but I think at a minimum both √KHAN “brother” and ᴹ√KHAN “understand, comprehend” should be retained for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as the latter has no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing. As for hanquenta “answer”, it might be reinterpreted as “a saying providing understanding”, and so be derived from ᴹ√KHAN “understand”.

Primitive elvish [VT47/14; VT47/26; VT47/34] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gardā

noun. region

Primitive elvish [WJ/402] Group: Eldamo. Published by

artaurē

noun. Realm

Primitive elvish [PE17/028] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bani

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [PE17/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

satya-

verb. set aside

Primitive elvish [VT42/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

annā

noun. gift

Primitive elvish [PE17/090; SA/anna] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glaware

noun. sheen of gold

Primitive elvish [PE17/017; PE19/079; PE21/80; VT41/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

khan

root. back

Primitive elvish [PE17/157; PE17/166] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thindi

adjective. grey

Primitive elvish [PE17/140; PE17/141; PE21/81; WJ/384] Group: Eldamo. Published by

au-

prefix. away

Primitive elvish [WJ/361] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ambō

noun. hill

Primitive elvish [PE17/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. person

Primitive elvish [VT47/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

oio

adverb. ever

Primitive elvish [Let/278] Group: Eldamo. Published by

palad

noun. plain

Primitive elvish [PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wath

noun. shadow

Primitive elvish [PE17/041] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wonā

adjective. male

Primitive elvish [PE21/83] Group: Eldamo. Published by

áse

noun. sunlight

Primitive elvish [PE17/018] Group: Eldamo. Published by

awa-

prefix. away

Primitive elvish [PE17/144; WJ/360; WJ/365] Group: Eldamo. Published by

awā

adverb. away

Primitive elvish [WJ/361; WJ/366] Group: Eldamo. Published by

et-pel

noun. outer fence

Primitive elvish [PE17/065; SA/pel; WR/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

imin

masculine name. One

Primitive elvish [NM/055; NM/060; WJ/380; WJ/421; WJI/Imin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kalat

noun. light

Primitive elvish [PE18/087; PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

karani

adjective. red

Primitive elvish [PE21/81; PE22/152; VT41/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

min

cardinal. one

Primitive elvish [NM/060; WJ/421] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pendā

adjective. sloping

Primitive elvish [PE17/173; WJ/375] Group: Eldamo. Published by

te

pronoun. they

Primitive elvish [PE23/113; PE23/114; PE23/119; PE23/120; VT48/24; VT48/25; VT49/17; VT49/21; VT49/37; VT49/50; VT49/52] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thindā

adjective. grey

Primitive elvish [PE17/072; PE17/141; PE21/81] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tāra

adjective. high

Primitive elvish [PE17/067; PE17/186] Group: Eldamo. Published by

us(u)kwē

noun. dusk

Primitive elvish [PE18/100; PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wanyā

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [WJ/380; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wāya

verb. blow

Primitive elvish [NM/237; PE17/034; PE23/142] Group: Eldamo. Published by

en

root. name

n-uĕg

suffix. male

Primitive elvish [PE17/190] Group: Eldamo. Published by

phin

root. hair

stin

root. grey

Primitive elvish [PE17/184; PE17/186] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thini

adjective. grey

pronoun. they

Primitive elvish [PE23/113; PE23/114] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wiw

root. blow