ric-

try, put forth effort, strive, endeavour

#ric- ("k") (1) vb. "try, put forth effort, strive, endeavour" (PE17:93, 94, 167), imperative á ricë "try!", pl. á ricir "let them try", á rice am(a)ricië "try harder!" (or more idiomatically á carë (sí) ancarië, lit. *"do (now) with more doing!"

ric-

verb. to try, put forth effort, strive, endeavour

Cognates

• S. raitha- “to try, strive” ✧ PE17/167
• ᴺS. rig- “to try, strive”

Derivations

• √RIK “put forth effort, strive, endeavour, try” ✧ PE17/093; PE17/167

Element in

• Q. á ricë amrícië “try harder” ✧ PE17/093; PE17/093; PE17/094; PE17/167
• Q. á ricir “let them try” ✧ PE17/094

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√RIK > rike	[rik-]	✧ PE17/093
√RIK > rike	[rik-]	✧ PE17/167

Variations

• rihta ✧ PE17/167

nev-

verb. to try, to try, *experiment

Cognates

• S. dev- “to try, to try, *experiment, test” ✧ PE17/167

Derivations

• √NDAB “endeavor, try, seek opportunity” ✧ PE17/167; PE22/151

Element in

• Q. nauva túlë “he will try to come” ✧ PE22/151
• ᴺQ. nevië “experiment”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NDEB > nev-	[ndeb-] > [ndeβ-] > [neβ-] > [nev-]	✧ PE17/167
√NDAB > nauva	[ndabuba] > [ndaβuβa] > [naβuβa] > [nauβa] > [nauva]	✧ PE22/151

nav-

verb. to try

nev-

try

nev- vb. "try" (PE17:167; Tolkien in the source expresses uncertainty as to whether this word should be adopted or not)

dev-

verb. to try, to try, *experiment, test

Cognates

• Q. nev- “to try, to try, *experiment” ✧ PE17/167

Derivations

• √NDAB “endeavor, try, seek opportunity” ✧ PE17/167

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NDEB > dev-	[ndeb-] > [deb-] > [dev-]	✧ PE17/167

rik

root. put forth effort, strive, endeavour, try

This root was connected to Tolkien’s attempt to translate the phrase “try harder” into Quenya around 1967. √RIK “strive” first appeared in rough notes as a replacement for √NDEB which Tolkien thought was too close to “endeavor” (PE17/167). Tolkien then firmed up the meaning of √RIK in another note, giving it the gloss “put forth effort, strive, endeavour”, so that “try!” = ā rike in Quenya (PE17/93). Another note had √RIK meaning “try” in the sense “endeavour, make an effort, strive (to do something against an obstacle or opponent)”; this note indicated the root was intransitive and the preposition “against” was required before any obstacle (PE17/182). It seems Tolkien did not entirely abandon √NDEB, however, since a similar form √NDAB “endeavor, try, seek opportunity” appeared in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/151); see that entry for discussion.

Derivatives

• Q. ric- “to try, put forth effort, strive, endeavour” ✧ PE17/093; PE17/167
• ᴺQ. rihta “effort”
• ᴺQ. riquë “experiment”
• ᴺS. rig- “to try, strive”
• S. raitha- “to try, strive” ✧ PE17/167

Element in

• ᴺQ. rincuma “task, charge, mission”
• ᴺS. rîth “effort, endeavour”

Variations

• RIK ✧ PE17/093; PE17/167; PE17/182; PE17/182