rik

root. twist, twist; [ᴹ√] jerk, sudden move, flirt

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√RIQI or ᴱ√RIKI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. riqi- “wrench, twist” and ᴱQ. marikta “wrist” (QL/80). This root also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such G. raig “awry, twisted, distorted, perverse, wrong, leering (of face)”, G. rig “a snarl, a sneer”, and G. rig- “twist, contort” (GL/64-65). These forms were also linked to G. grinn “ankle (talgrin), wrist (mabrin)” (GL/42) and G. arc “fierce, harsh, ill tempered; awkward, difficult” < ᴱ✶r̄k- (GL/20). The latter reappeared as ᴱN. arch “rough, fierce” >> “rough” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (GL/137), though in the somewhat later Early Noldorin Dictionary, ᴱN. arch “rough” was given a new derivation from ᴱ✶a-rak-wa (PE13/160), and thus was no longer tied to ᴱ√RIKI.

The root ᴹ√RIK reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/RIK(H)) but it was revised to ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” with derivatives like ᴹQ. rinke “flourish, quick stroke” and ᴹQ. rihta-/N. rhitha- “jerk, twitch” (Ety/RIK(H)). In notes from 1959-60 the root appeared again as √RIK “twist” with a derivative Q. raika “crooked” (VT39/7), a word that in The Etymologies of the 1930s was derived from ᴹ√RAYAK. This 1959-60 appearance seems to be harkening back to its meaning in the 1910s.

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 1966-67. √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.

Note that √RIK “strive” is also identical in form to √RIK or ᴹ√RIK(H) “twist”, a root that had a long history in Tolkien’s writings. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I assume the two roots co-exist.

riknā

adjective. *crowned

rig

root. wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√RIG in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. ríe/N. rhî “crown” and ᴹQ. rína/N. rhîn “crowned” (Ety/RIG). The root was then altered to ᴹ√RIƷ (EtyAC/RĪ). A similar root √RIK with derivation ✶riknā >> Q. rína (all unglossed) appeared in the first layer of composition for the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s, but this section was revised in green ink around 1970 and the root did not appear in the revisions (PE19/85-86 and note #79).

The root √RIG appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s writings from the 1950s and 60s, variously glossed “wreath, garland, crown” (PE17/59), “twine” (PE17/182), and “twine, wreathe” (PM/347), but √RIƷ “wind about, wreathe” also appeared in notes on the names of Galadriel and Celeborn from 1968 (NM/349, 353). Thus it seems Tolkien vacillated between √RIG and √RIƷ with a brief aside to √RIK in the early 1950s.