pē

noun. mouth, lips

pen(ed)

root. *hillside, slope

peres

root. affect, disturb, alter

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “affect, disturb, alter” with derivatives like N. presta- “to affect, trouble, disturb” and N. pesso “it affects, concerns” (Ety/PERES; EtyAC/PERES). It had a short form ᴹ√PER (EtyAC/PERES), but in a separate entry in The Etymologies ᴹ√PER was glossed “divide in middle, halve” (Ety/PER) which doesn’t seem to be related.

peg

root. (?outer) mouth

pel(es)

root. revolve on fixed point

peltakse

noun. pivot

per

root. divide in middle, halve

epe

preposition. after

-(i)yē

suffix. perfect suffix

tekla

noun. pen

te

pronoun. personal 3rd pl.

dab

root. give way, make room, permit, allow

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “give way, make room, permit, allow”, with the derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin having mostly to do with permission (Ety/DAB).

ken

root. see, perceive, look at, observe, direct gaze

kwǣnē

noun. small gull, petrel

panō

noun. plank, fixed board (especially in a floor)

kyen

root. see, perceive, look at, observe, direct gaze

ku(ʒ)

root. bow

The root ᴹ√KU(Ʒ) “bow” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KUƷ), most likely a later version of ᴱ√KUVU “bend, bow” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/49). One notable derivative in both periods was G. cû “bow, crescent” and N. cû “arch, crescent”, which regularly appeared as S. cû “bow” in later writings, for example in S. Laer Cú Beleg “Song of the Great Bow” (GL/27; Ety/KUƷ; S/209).

The probably-related root ᴹ√KUB “bow” appeared in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/102); ᴹQ. nukumna “humbled (?under-bowed)” from this period may also be related (SD/246). In notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien gave ✶kūma, Q. cúma and S. cû(f) next to Q. lúva “bow, bight (not for shooting)” < √LUB “bend”, so presumably cúma/cû was “bow (for shooting)” (PE17/122). Finally Q. cúna “bent, curved” appeared in notes associated with the version of the Q. Markirya poem from the late 1960s, along with a verb form cúna- “to bend” (MC/222-223).

These variations make it difficult to determine what Tolkien intended the root to mean, but for purposes of Neo-Eldarin I would assume a base root of √KU(Ʒ) or √KU(H) with perhaps a verbal variant √KUB based on its use in the 1940s, and with the primitive sense “bow, bend”.

maiga

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1) to illustrate certain patterns of root formation (PE18/66). It may have serving as the basis for ᴹQ. Maia, though this word was given different derivations later.

galad

root. tree

The basis for Elvish “tree” words, this root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as an extension of ᴹ√GALA “thrive” (Ety/GALAD). This replaced the earliest derivation of “tree” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where the Qenya word for “tree” ᴱQ. alda was derived from ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29). In The Etymologies, the Quenya form of this word remained the same, but the 1910s Gnomish words G. âl “wood” and †alwen “tree” (GL/19) became the 1930s Noldorin word N. galadh “tree” (Ety/GALA). Quenya and Sindarin retained these words for “tree” thereafter, and while Tolkien did not mention the root √GALAD again, his continued use of primitive ✶galadā “tree” (Let/426; PE17/153; PE21/74; UT/266) made it clear this root remained valid.

skwar

root. crooked

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√SKWAR “crooked” with derivatives like ᴹQ. hwarin “crooked” and Dan. swarn “perverse, obstinate, hard to deal with” (Ety/SKWAR). In red-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the 1950s Tolkien decided that the initial combination skw- was not possible (PE19/78 and note #51). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, this root might be salvaged by assuming its actual form was ᴺ√SWAR.

khlip

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected paragraph from the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s (PE22/112 note #78).

ar

root. day

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “day” with various derivatives like ᴹQ. are, N. aur “day” and ᴹQ. arin “morning” (Ety/AR¹). In Tolkien’s later writings, the Quenya word for “day” became aurë (RC/727; S/190), and in 1957 Quenya Notes he devised a new etymology for these day-words from the root √UR “heat” as in ✶auri “heat, period of sun” (PE17/148). That opens the question whether the various 1930s Quenya “morning” words from ᴹ√AR remain valid, but many Neo-Quenya writers (including me) retain them since there aren’t really any good alternatives. They might be salvageable as derivatives of the later root √AS “warmth” (so that “day” = “hot” and “morning” = “warm”).

sab

root. juice

This root was one of a surprisingly large number of roots Tolkien used for “juice”, appearing as ᴹ√SAB in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. sáva/N. saw “juice” (Ety/SAB). It might be a variant of (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√WASA needed to explain the forms G. gwâs and ᴱQ. vasa “juice” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/44). The primitive form ᴹ✶sāba also appeared in a rough 1940 note with the word N. iofog “fruit drink”, though Tolkien ultimately decided the second element was derived from ᴹ√SUK “drink” (TMME/53).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume this root refers mainly fruit juice and pulp, as opposed to syrup and tree sap which would be derived from ᴹ√PIS.

skil

root. [unglossed]

A root mentioned in passing in as a variant of ᴹ√KIL “divide” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but it had no derivatives and appeared nowhere else (Ety/KIL).

auluta-

verb. [unglossed]

danta-

verb. fall

dēr

noun. man

ezdē

noun. rest

ista-

verb. to know

kaltwa

?. [unglossed]

khe

pronoun. they

kuilez

noun. quiet

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

kwenedē

noun. Elf

kwentrō

noun. narrator, reciter, minstrel

kwet

root. say

kōmā

noun. [unglossed]

lassē

noun. leaf

mā

noun. land

nelek

root. tooth

parmā

noun. book

sed

root. rest

tam

root. knock

torōmā

noun. [unglossed]

tundu

noun. hole

we

pronoun. we (inclusive)

yē

preposition. at

ari

noun. day

galan

root. bright

kwentā

noun. tale

kwetta

noun. word

kwingā

noun. bow (for shooting)

pik

root. *tiny

skelta-

verb. to strip

thē

root. look (see or seem)

weʒē

noun. manhood, vigour

a-

prefix. complete

al

prefix. without

bay

root. [unglossed]

b’rássē

noun. heat

galadā

noun. tree

iw

root. [unglossed], [ᴱ√] *fish

karak

root. sharp fang, spike, tooth

khe

pronoun. we (inclusive)

kub

root. bow

kuu̯

noun. bow

kwessē

noun. feather

mit

root. small

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small” with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning (Ety/MIT).

mitra

adjective. small

nakse

noun. tooth

neñwi

noun. nose

nyol

root. ring

parkā

adjective. dry

phan

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/PHAN).

ragnā

adjective. crooked

stin

root. [unglossed]

stā

root. [unglossed]

A deleted root reference in The Etymologies apparently serving as the basis for the verbal action suffix ᴹ✶-stā “-ing” in ᴹ✶khau̯-stā “rest-ing” (Ety/KHAW; EtyAC/KHAW). See the entry on ✶-stā for further discussion.

tambā-

verb. to knock

télesā

noun. rear

uruk

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/URUK).

us

root. [unglossed]

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with no glosses or derivatives and no clear function (EtyAC/US).

wegtē

noun. manhood

wínda-

verb. fade

yen

root. year

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “year” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yén/N. în “year” (Ety/YEN). Tolkien’s ongoing use of words like Q. yén and S. ínias “annals” indicate its ongoing validity (LotR/377; MR/200), but in Quenya at least the meaning shifted to that of an “Elvish long year”, equal to 144 solar years (LotR/1107; MR/471; NM/84).

yenrinde

noun. year