thond

noun. root, root, [N.] base; root-word

A noun in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E glossed “root”, given as an examples of how “nd remained at the end of fully accented monosyllables” (LotR/1115). It was an element in the river-name S. Morthond “Black Root” (LotR/770), so named “because its source was in the dark caverns of the Dead Men” (RC/766). As such this word refers to things that are the root or base of something, not just plant roots.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. sunn and sonnas as cognates to ᴹQ. sundo “base, root, root-word” under ᴹ√SUD “base, ground” (Ety/SUD; EtyAC/SUD). These Noldorin forms were revised to N. thund/thonn and N. thonnas while the root was revised to ᴹ√STUD (EtyAC/SUD). The Etymologies also had N. dum “root, foundation” derived from {ᴹ√(N)DUM >>} ᴹ√(N)DUB “lay base, foundation, root; found”, but this entry was deleted (EtyAC/NDUB).

Possible Etymology: This words seems to be a counterexample to the general rule that short *u* was preserved before nasals: compare it to S. mund “bull” and N. lhunt “boat” where the u remained unchanged. The Quenya cognate of this word is typically Q. sundo, so *a*-affection cannot be used to explain the shift of u to o. However in one place Tolkien gave the Quenya form as sunda in Tarmasundar “Roots of the Pillar” (UT/166), so perhaps the Sindarin form was derived from a variant primitive form ✱stundā.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume thond refers only to an ordinary base or root, and more abstract [N.] thonnas refers to things like root-words or a “✱foundation”.

thond

noun. root

n. root.

thond

noun. root

Morthond

place name. Black Root

topon. Black Root. >> mor, thond

Morthond

noun. black root

morn (“dark, black”) + thond (“root”) Nd doesn’t become nn > n at the end of fully accented monosyllables, such as thond.

thond

root

1. thond (construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath), 2) thonnas, pl. thennais (archaic *thönnais) (VT46:16), 3) thund (construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16), 4) (esp. of edible roots) solch (i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)

solch

root

(i holch, o solch), pl. sylch (i sylch)

thond

root

(construct thon; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thonnath)

thonnas

root

pl. thennais (archaic ✱thönnais) (VT46:16)

thund

root

(construct thun; pl. thynd; coll. pl. thunnath) (VT46:16)

kulbu

noun. root

A noun appearing only in its plural form kulbî “roots”, corresponding to the collective-noun kulub “roots, edible vegetables that are roots not fruits” (SD/431). As such, it most likely refers to root vegetables only, rather than other senses of the English word “root”.

kulub

collective noun. roots, edible vegetables that are roots not fruits

A collective-noun meaning “all edible root vegetables”, as opposed to kulbu used for an individual root (SD/431).

sulca

root

sulca ("k") noun "root" (especially as edible) (SÚLUK)

sundo

noun. base, root, root-word, base, root, [ᴹQ.] root-word

A word translated as “base” (PE18/33, 60, 84; WJ/319) or in its plural form as “roots” (PE18/95). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. sundo “base, root, root-word” under the root ᴹ√SUD “base, ground” (Ety/SUD). The word Sundokarme “base structure” indicates a stem of sundo- (PE18/33, 84). In one place Tolkien gave its plural as sundur indicating a stem form of sundu- (PE18/95), but in another Tolkien had sundar “roots” indicating an alternate singular form sunda (UT/166). See S. thond “root” for a discussion of the vacillations on the possible etymologies of this word.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s also had ᴹQ. numbe or núve “root, foundation” under the root {ᴹ√(N)DUM >>} ᴹ√(N)DUB “lay base, foundation, root; found”, but this entry was deleted (EtyAC/NDUB).

numbë

root, foundation

[numbë noun "root, foundation", also núvë (VT45:38)]

núvë

root, foundation

[núvë noun "root, foundation", also numbë (VT45:38)]

sundo

base, root, root-word

sundo (þ) noun "base, root, root-word" (SUD), sc. a Quendian consonantal "base". According to VT46:16, Tolkien changed the root to STUD, thereby implying that sundo was earlier þundo (compare Sindarin thond "root"). PE18:95 gives the pl. form as sundur, seemingly implying a stem-form sundu-. It is not, however, used in the compound sundocarmë "base-structure" (PE18:84 not **sunducarmë), a term used in the description of the structure of the various Quendian "bases" or roots.

talma

base, foundation, root

talma noun "base, foundation, root" (TALAM), also translated "bottom" in the expression "top to bottom", see below.% Talmar Ambaren (place-name, *"Foundations of the World" - this is pre-classical "Qenya" with genitive in -en instead of -o as in LotR-style Quenya) (TALAM). Allative talmanna in the phrase telmello talmanna** "from hood to base**, top to bottom" _(VT46:18; notice misreading "telmanna" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, entry TEL-, TELU-)_

talma

noun. basis, basis; [ᴹQ.] foundation, base, root; [ᴱQ.] end

This word appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹQ. talma “base, foundation, root” derived from ᴹ✶talmā, appearing under the root ᴹ√TALAM “floor, base, ground” as an extension of ᴹ√TAL “foot” (Ety/TAL). The word talma “basis” appeared as either a Quenya or a primitive word in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/80).

Conceptual Development: Qenya word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱQ. talma “end” (PE16/144). The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. tauma “basis, foundation, ground floor” under the early root ᴱ√TAW̯A (QL/90).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would use this word for “basis; foundation, base” (physical or conceptual), but for “root” I would use Q. sundo.

sundóma

noun. determinant vowel, root-vowel, determinant vowel, root-vowel, [ᴹQ.] vocalic determinant

nastyapsul

noun. turnip, (lit.) prickly/stingy/sharp tasting root

A neologism coined by Arael posted on 2023-12-15 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of ᴹ√NAS “point(y)”,ᴹ√KYAB “taste”, and [ᴹQ.] sulka “root”.

solch

noun. root (especially as edible)

A noun in The Etymologies from around 1937 glossed “root (especially as edible)” and derived from ᴹ√SULUK (Ety/SÚLUK).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. tarc “root (especially edible roots)” and related G. tricthon {“slender fibrous root” >>} “(fibrous fine) root”, both derived from ᴱ√tṛk (GL/69, 71).

dum

noun. root, foundation

thonn

noun. base, root, root-word

solch

noun. root (especially as edible)

thonnas

noun. base, root, root-word, root-word; *foundation; base, root

ma

root. interrogative base, interrogative base; [ᴱ√] root of indef[inite]

This root is the basis for Elvish question words. When it first appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien said ᴱ√MA was the “root of indef[inites]” (GL/55), and it served as the basis for the indefinitive suffix G. -(u)m and ᴱQ. -(u)ma (GL/55; PE14/42, 71). In the Gnomish Lexicon, question words were derived from the root ᴱ√DO instead: G. don “who”, G. dos “when”, G. dui “where”, etc. (GL/30). There are no signs of interrogative ᴱ√DO in Tolkien’s later writings, but indefinite -(u)ma survived until at least the late 1940s (PE23/99, 105).

By the time Tolkien wrote the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem around 1930, Quenya question words also generally began with ma-: ᴱQ. man kiluva kirya ninqe? “Who shall see a white ship?” (MC/213). This remained true thereafter, and the same seems to be true of Sindarin as well, though we have far fewer examples: S. man agorech?, untranslated but apparently: “✱and said Rían to Tuor: what have we done?” (VT50/5). The “interrogative base” √MA is mentioned in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN: PE17/162) and again in notes from around 1968 (VT47/19).

√MA was not completely divorced from indefinites in Tolkien’s later writings, however, given late 1940s indefinite suffix -(u)ma (PE23/99, 105) and his use of Q. ma for an indefinite neuter pronoun “(some)thing” as opposed to the indefinite personal pronoun Q. mo “(some)one” (PE22/154; VT42/34). The exact relationship of interrogative √MA with these indefinite forms is not entirely clear, however.

talam

root. flat space, flat space, [ᴹ√] floor, ground; base, root, foundation

kulub

root. *root (as a kind of plant)

One of the Primitive Adûnaic roots Tolkien used to illustrate the processes of Primitive Adûnaic word formation (SD/422-5). It also seems to be the root of words such as kulbu and kulub “root (as a kind of plant)” (SD/431), perhaps an deliberate pun by Tolkien.