ric-

verb. to twist

A verb appearing in notes associated with Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60, given only in its perfect form iríkie “has twisted” and based on the root √RIK “twist” (VT39/9).

Conceptual Development: A similar verb ᴱQ. riqi- “wrench, twist” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s based on the early root ᴱ√RIQI or ᴱ√RIKI (QL/80).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume this verb was originally intransitive (“the road twisted and turned”) versus transitive [ᴹQ.] rihta- (originally = “make twist”), but in modern Quenya ric- “twist” is now used both transitively and intransitively for a more gentle twisting motion, as opposed to more rapid rihta- “jerk” (used only transitively).

ric-

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

A verb for “to try” based on the root √RIK “put forth effort, strive, endeavour” in notes from around 1967 where Tolkien explored the Quenya equivalent of “try harder” = á rike amríkie (PE17/93-94). In those notes he said:

> ... this apparently simple phrase is in fact very idiomatic, and requires a context. Try retains many divergent meanings owing to its derivation from a word originally meaning “sift” > examine, judge, test, whence later in one branch > make tentative motions, trial efforts > attempt > endeavour, make efforts to a given end. Here the last: “put forth effort”, is usually the meaning (PE17/93).

The verb form rike appeared in what seems to be in a draft to these 1967 notes along with a variant rihta, both derivatives of √RIK “strive” (PE17/167).

Neo-Quenya: Based on the above, I would use ric- “try” mainly in the sense “strive, put for effort”. For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use nev- for the sense “try” = “✱seek opportunity, experiment”, a verb that appeared in the draft notes mentioned above (PE17/167); see that entry for discussion. More precisely, I would use ric- “try” when uncertain of whether I was capable of performing the action and it needed concerted effort, where I would use nev- “try” when I believed I was capable, but was uncertain what the result of the action will be.

This verb also conflicts with ric- “to twist”, but I believe the two can coexist since ric- “try” would usually be followed by a verb (rincen mate “I tried to eat”) as opposed to ric- “twist” either used intransitively or followed by a noun (rincen i sicil “I twisted the dagger”).

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-

twist

#ric- (2) vb. "twist", perfect irícië "has twisted" (VT39:9)

nev-

verb. to try, to try, *seek opportunity, experiment

A verb for “to try” based on the root √NDEB in notes from the 1960s (PE17/167). As suggested by Christopher Gilson, this appears to be a draft of Tolkien’s attempt to define the phrase “try harder” in Quenya. Of the root √NDEB, Tolkien said it “too obviously = endeavor”, and he wrote another root √RIK below it, with Quenya verb forms rike or rihta. It seems Tolkien here changed √NDEB >> √RIK, but in later notes from 1969 Tolkien had the root √NDAB “endeavor, try, seek opportunity” with a Quenya verb form nauva “will try” (PE22/151), indicating that the concept of √NDEB was not entirely abandoned.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly use ric- for “to try (put forth effort)”, but I think nev- is worth retaining with a different connotation: “to try, ✱seek opportunity, experiment”. In other words, you use ric- “try” when you are uncertain whether you are capable of performing the action, and nev- “try” when you know you are capable, but are uncertain what the result of the action will be. I prefer nev- over the 1969 form ✱nav- because it has a Sindarin cognate S. dev-.

In 2024-08-19 post on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Luinyelle suggested this verb might be used with an adverb to describe someone’s approach to a task or situation, roughly equivalent to English “take” in phrases like “take something seriously”. For example: néves i hrangwe lungo “he tried the problem serious[ly] (with seriousness)” = English “he took the problem seriously”.

irícië

irícië

irícië ("k") see #ric-

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)