rista-

verb. *to cut, [ᴹQ.] to cut

A verb appearing as ᴹQ. rista- “cut” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√RIS “slash, rip” (Ety/RIS).

A similar set of forms “rista & risse, rinse” appeared in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s derived from √RIS “cut” as part of a discussion of the etymology of S. Imladris (PE17/87). These could be various noun or adjective forms, equivalent to the final element of Imladris, but in that note Tolkien said that Sindarin element was derived from primitive ✶rinsa “cleft, cloven, separate”. Therefore, I think these Quenya forms might instead be a formative or causative verb rista- “✱to cut” with strong pasts risse or rinse.

Neo-Quenya: Given the uncertain nature of the forms from WP, I would assume rista- is (or became) an ordinary weak verb for purposes of Neo-Quenya, with a past form ✱ristane. Given the meaning of its 1930s root (“slash, rip”), I would further assume its connotation is “cut [into]” as opposed to Q. cir- “cut completely, cut apart”.

rista

cut

rista (2) noun "cut" (RIS), cf. #1 above.

cir-

verb. to cut, to cut, [ᴱQ.] cleave; *to separate from

A verb for “to cut, cleave”. Its root √KIR is well established and has the same basic meaning (PE17/73; Ety/KIR). In notes for drafts of the Earendel (Poem) from around 1930, ᴱQ. kiri- was glossed “cleave” (PE16/100), and its past form was used in this sense in the finished version of the poem as part of the phrase langon veakiryo kírier “the throat of the sea-ship clove [the waters]” (MC/216). The best evidence for its meaning “cut” in later notes is in the pair of prefixed verbs aucir- and hócir- “cut off” in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/365, 368).

This verb also appeared in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s in the phrase métima hrestallo círa “leave the last shore” (MC/221). Helge Fauskanger suggested that in this context it might mean “sail” as in “✱cut through the water” (AL/Markirya, QQ/círa). However, I think the intended meaning is actually “leave = cleave (from)”, in combination with ablative hrestallo “[from] the last shore”.

Neo-Quenya: Based on the above, I think cir- has the connotation of “cut [completely]”, so as to cleave apart the thing cut, as opposed to rista- “cut [into]”. As such I think cir- can also be used metaphorically to mean “✱separate from” when combined with the ablative.

rissë

cut

rissë noun? The word is not clearly glossed but apparently means "cut" or "cleft" (ravine), the cognate of the final element of Imladris, Sindarin name of Rivendell. (PE17:87)