pirnë, variant of pirindë, q.v.
Primitive elvish
pir
root. close eyes, blink, wink
pir
root. *cylinder; [ᴱ√] spin; [√]close eyes, blink, wink
Quenya
pirnë
pirnë
pir-
spin, turn
pir- "spin, turn" (apparently intransitive). Actually cited in the form piri-, perhaps with the connecting vowel of the aorist included. "Qenya" pa.t. pírë. (QL:74)
pirucendëa
on the points of her toes
pirucendëa adj. "on the points of her toes" (PE16:96); see pirë, cendë. In earlier "Qenya", the word had a wholly different meaning: adj. "whirling lightly" (MC:215). Compare pirucenda ("k") "pirouetting" in QL:74.
pirë
toe
pirë noun "toe", dual piru (PE16:96). Compare taltil.
pirindë
noun. flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light
A word in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 for a “flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light” based on √PIRI “blink” and with variant forms pirinde and pirne (PE17/146). These flower names were part of an attempt by Tolkien to come up with a new etymology for S. alfirin after he decided that √LA was not a negative element, so that alfirin could no longer mean “immortelle”.
pirë
noun. toe
A word for “toe” in notes associated with the version of the Nieninquë poem from the 1950s, appearing in its dual form piru as an element in the word Q. pirucendëa “on the point of her toes” (PE16/96).
pirindë
flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light at [?some ?not] even a pansy closed
pirindë noun "a flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light at [?some ?not] even a pansy closed" (PE17:146; reading uncertain and meaning obscure; read perhaps "…at [which] not even a pansy closed") Also pirnë.
pirya
juice, syrup
pirya noun "juice, syrup" (PIS)
pirucendëa
adjective. on the point of her toes
pirnë
noun. flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light
pirin
noun. thin rod, pin
pirindëa
adjective. cylindrical
pirinumbë
noun. cylinder (hollow)
pirina
adjective. juicy, oozy
quirilda
adjective. twirling, pirouetting
corma
ring
#corma noun "ring", isolated from #cormacolindo "Ring-bearer", pl. cormacolindor (LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308); Cormarë "Ringday", a festival held on Yavannië 30 in honour of Frodo Baggins (Appendix D)
corma
noun. ring
A word for “ring” appearing as an element in Q. Cormacolindor “Ring-bearers” (LotR/953), clearly derived from the root √KOR “round”. It also appeared in a translation of the title of The Lord of the Rings that Tolkien included in a 1973 letter to Phillip Brown: i Túrin i Cormaron.
Conceptual Development: Another translation of “Lord of the Rings” is known from an exhibit of Tolkien manuscripts: Heru imillion, where presumably the element millë means “ring” (DTS/54). In a deleted entry from The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. kolma “ring ([?on] finger)” [or possibly “or finger”] derived from a deleted root ᴹ√KOL (EtyAC/KOL).
hwinya-
to swirl, eddy, gyrate
hwinya- vb. "to swirl, eddy, gyrate" (SWIN)
querma
spinning wheel, turn-table
querma noun "spinning wheel, turn-table" (PE17:65). It is unclear whether Tolkien rejected this word or not.
risil
ring
*risil (þ) noun "ring" (on the ground) in Rithil-Anamo, q.v.
sáva
juice
sáva noun "juice" (SAB)
taltil
toe
taltil (taltill-, pl. taltilli given) noun "toe" (VT47:10)
Sindarin
pirin
noun. flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light
A word in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 for a “flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light” based on √PIRI “blink” (PE17/146). This flower name was part of an attempt by Tolkien to come up with a new etymology for S. alfirin after he decided that √LA was not a negative element, so that alfirin could no longer mean “immortelle”.
pirin
noun. a flower that opened ans shut quickly with any change of light at [some? not?] even a pansy closed
n. Bot. a flower that opened ans shut quickly with any change of light at [some? not?] even a pansy closed. Q. pirinde, pirne.
piren
adjective. spun, rounded, cylindrical
pir-
verb. to stir, stir round, make spin
piruin
noun. spinning wheel
echor
ring
(outer ring or circle) echor (pl. echyr). It is unclear what the Sindarin word for an ornamental ring is; the cognate of Quenya corma would be *corf (i gorf, o chorf; pl. cyrf, i chyrf, coll. pl. corvath).
pihen
juicy
*pihen (lenited bihen; pl. pihin). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” pichen (LR:382 s.v. PIS).
saw
juice
1) saw (i haw, o saw), pl. soe (i soe). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. was sui (LR:385 s.v. SAB). 2) *paich (i baich, o phaich) (syrup), pl. pîch (i phîch). The source (LR:382 s.v. PIS) cites the archaic form peich.
cor
noun. ring, circle
hwind
adjective. twirling, whirling
nîdh
noun. juice
juice
nîdh
noun. juice, [N.] honeycomb; [S.] juice
A noun for “juice” appearing in 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), derived from ✶negdē “exudation” based on the root √NEG “ooze, drip”; its Quenya cognate was Q. nehtë “honey” (PE19/91). Sindarin nîdh was a later iteration of N. {nēdh >>} nīdh “honeycomb” in The Etymologies of the 1930s which had essentially the same derivation (EtyAC/NEG). This in turn was a later form of G. nectha “honey comb” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/60), cognate to ᴱQ. nekte “honey” and hence derived from the early root ᴱ√NEHE having to do with bees and honey (QL/65).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use nîdh with its earlier meaning “honeycomb”. For “juice” I’d use other words like [N.] saw and [ᴺS.] paich (adapted from N. peich).
paich
noun. juice, syrup
pihen
adjective. juicy
echor
ring
(pl. echyr). It is unclear what the Sindarin word for an ornamental ring is; the cognate of Quenya corma would be ✱corf (i gorf, o chorf; pl. cyrf, i chyrf, coll. pl. corvath).
paich
juice
(i baich, o phaich) (syrup), pl. pîch (i phîch). The source (LR:382 s.v. PIS) cites the archaic form peich.
paich
noun. juice, syrup, juice, syrup, *sap
pihen
juicy
(lenited bihen; pl. pihin). – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” pichen (LR:382 s.v. PIS).
saw
juice
(i haw, o saw), pl. soe (i soe). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. was sui (LR:385 s.v. SAB).
tent
noun. toe
Noldorin
peich
noun. juice, syrup
A noun appearing as N. peich “juice, syrup” in The Etymologies of the late 1930s under the root ᴹ√PIS, probably from primitive ✱pisya given its Quenya cognate ᴹQ. pirya (Ety/PIS). Here sy became χı̯ [pixı̯a], the i became e via a-effection [pexı̯(a)], and then the i intruded into the preceding syllable to produce the diphthong ei after the final a was lost to produce peich [peix].
Conceptual Development: Several earlier words seem to be precursors of this one. The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. bith “juice, sap” with a deleted primitive form {viđa} (GL/23), cognate to ᴱQ. vite “sap, juice” under the early root ᴱ√VITI (QL/101). Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱN. hî “sap, juice” derived from ᴱ✶pisye (PE13/147) with initial p becoming h as was usual in Early Noldorin of the 1920s.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would adapt this word as ᴺS. paich as suggested in HSD (HSD), since ei became ai unless it was in a non-final syllable in Sindarin.
pichen
adjective. juicy, juicy, *oozing
A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “juicy”, the adjectival form of N. peich “juice, syrup” (Ety/PIS).
chwind
adjective. twirling, whirling
chwinn
adjective. twirling, whirling
peich
noun. juice, syrup
pichen
adjective. juicy
saw
noun. juice
saw
noun. juice
chwind
noun. eddy
According to VT/46:16, N chwind, chwinn are not adjectives (see Etym/388), but nouns with the meaning "eddy" (cf. Q hwinde).
>> chwinn
chwinn
noun. eddy
According to VT/46:16, N chwind, chwinn are not adjectives (see Etym/388), but nouns with the meaning "eddy" (cf. Q hwinde).
>> chwind
Black Speech
nazg
noun. (finger-)ring
>> Nazgûl 'Ringwraiths'
nazg
noun. ring
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
Early Quenya
pirúk(end)ea
adjective. pirouetting, whirling lightly
piruke
noun. swirl, twisting, pirouetting
pirute
noun. swirl, twisting, pirouetting
pirin
noun. thin rod, pin
A word appearing as ᴱQ. pirin (pirind-) “thin rod, pin” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√PIRI having to do with cylinders and spinning (QL/74).
Neo-Quenya: In 1959 Tolkien gave a new meaning to the root √PIR as “close eyes, blink, wink” (PE17/146), but I believe this was a transient idea; see that entry for details. As such, I use the Neo-Root ᴺ√PIR with its earlier meaning “cylinder” and would use this to salvage ᴺQ. pirin “thin rod, pin”.
piri-
verb. to spin, turn
A verb in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed {“twist, spin, turn” >>} “spin, turn” under the early root ᴱ√PIRI (QL/74).
pirimbe
noun. ring, circle
pirindi qitimar
*knitting needles
pirindea
adjective. cylindrical
pirinumbe
noun. cylinder (hollow)
pipiri-
verb. to twirl, twizzle
werelinda
adjective. twirling, pirouetting
A word appearing as ᴱQ. ’werelinda “twirling, pirouetting” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an adjectival form of ᴱQ. werelin(d-) “whirligig” under the early root ᴱ√GWERE “whirl, twirl, twist” which Tolkien said was the equivalent of ᴱ√qiři (QL/103). A similar-meaning adjective ᴱQ. pirūkea or pirukenda “pirouetting” appeared in the same document under the early root ᴱ√PIRI (QL/74).
A variant of this second adjective reappeared in the Nieninqe poem written around 1930, in the phrase ᴱQ. norolinde pirukendea “tripping lightly, whirling lightly” (MC/215, PE16/90, 92). However, in the updated version of Nieninquë from 1955, Tolkien said the word Q. pirucendëa meant “on the point of her toes”, where the initial element was the dual of Q. pirë “toe” (PE16/96).
Neo-Quenya: The later version of the root ᴱ√GWERE had to do with weaving (see: √WIR), and the later versions of ᴱ√PIRI had to do with toes and blinking (see: √PIR), so I would update these early “pirouetting” words to be based on the root ᴺ√KWIR “spin” which I retain for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, so: ᴺQ. quirilda “twirling, pirouetting”.
pihye
noun. sap, juice
pulqe
noun. juice
vasa
noun. juice
vite
noun. sap, juice
Qenya
pirya
noun. juice, syrup, juice, syrup, *sap
A noun in The Etymologies of the late 1930s glossed “juice, syrup” derived from the root ᴹ√PIS (Ety/PIS).
Conceptual Development: Several earlier words seem to be precursors of this one. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. pulqe “juice” under the early root ᴱ√PḶQḶ which was unglossed and had no other derivatives (QL/74). Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱQ. pihye, a cognate of ᴱN. hí “sap, juice” and derived from ᴱ✶pisye (PE13/147). The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s had ᴹQ. pite “juice” pl. pitsin (PE21/7).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use this word for thicker juices, syrups and ✱sap, as opposed to ᴹQ. sáva as “juice” for drinking (such as from fruits).
pite
noun. juice
apsa
noun. juice
sáva
noun. juice
Early Primitive Elvish
piri
root. *spin
wasa Speculative
root. juice
Solosimpi
pirie
noun. sap, juice
Gnomish
cwir-
verb. to stir, stir round, make spin
A verb appearing as G. cwir- “to stir, stir round, make spin” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/29), clearly a cognate to ᴱQ. qiri- “stir (make spin)” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon and thus derived from a variant of the early root ᴱ√QIŘI [QIÐI] (QL/77).
Neo-Sindarin: A similar root √KWER “revolve” appeared in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/65), so I think a Neo-Root ᴺ√KWIR “stir, spin” might be used as a variant of that root. As such, I would update this Gnomish word to ᴺS. pir- “to stir, stir round, make spin”, since (unlike in Gnomish of the 1910s) [[at|[kw] became [p]]] in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s.
cwiruin
noun. spinning wheel
A word appearing as G. {cwirmin >>} cwiruin “spinning wheel” in the Gnomish Lexicon, an elaboration of G. cwir- “make spin” though the function of the suffix -uin is unclear (GL/28).
Neo-Sindarin: Since I update the Gnomish verb to ᴺS. pir- “make spin”, I would likewise update this noun to ᴺS. piruin “spinning wheel”.
gweron
adjective. spun, rounded, cylindrical
An adjective appearing as G. gweron “spun, rounded, cylindrical” in the Gnomish Lexicon based on G. gwer- “wind, turn, bend” (GL/46).
Neo-Sindarin: Later iterations of gwer-related words had more to do with weaving than spinning. As such, I would update this adjective to ᴺS. piren “spun, rounded, cylindrical” based on ᴺS. pir- “make spin” < ᴺ√KWIR “spin”, with some blending with ᴺ√PIR “✱cylinder”.
gwâs
noun. juice
lemfarilt
noun. ring
rodrin
noun. cylindrical
tent
noun. toe
A noun appearing as G. {tentha >>} tent “toe” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/70). Given the related verb tentha- glossed “feel with the feet, walk on tiptoe”, it was probably based on the early root ᴱ√TENE “touch, feel” (QL/91).
Neo-Sindarin: I would retain ᴺS. tent “toe” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, reconceived as a derivative of √TEN “point (towards)”.
Early Noldorin
hí
noun. sap, juice
rhim
noun. ring, circle
crithos
noun. ring, ring; [G.] circle
Early Ilkorin
fiss
noun. sap, juice
molk
noun. sap
Old Noldorin
sōba
noun. juice
Middle Primitive Elvish
nyol
root. ring
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.
A root introduced by Tolkien in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 with the gloss “close eyes, blink, wink” to provide a new explanation for the flower name S. alfirin (originally “immortal = not mortal”) after he decided the prefix al- meant “well” rather than “not” (PE17/146). He derived the names Q. pirindë and S. pirin for “a flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light”. The root ᴱ√PIRI also appeared (unglossed) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. piri- “spin, turn”, ᴱQ. pirin “thin rod, pin” and ᴱQ. piruke “swirl, twisting, pirouetting” (QL/74). Finally, the word Q. pirë “toe” appeared in notes associated with the 1955 version of the poem Q. Nieninquë, perhaps representing a third meaning for this root (PE16/96).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the gloss “blink, wink” for √PIR is not a great fit, since it is a contrived etymology Tolkien invented for a word he clearly meant to be something different originally. Q. tihta- is probably a better known verb for “blink”. For “spin”, I prefer a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√KWIR adapted from early ᴱ√QIŘI. However, I think ᴺ√PIR might be retained as a Neo-Root with the sense “✱cylinder”; I think this works as an explanation of Q. pirë “toe”, and allows the retention of early words like ᴱQ. pirin “thin rod, pin” and ᴱQ. pirinumbe “cylinder”.