Primitive elvish

run

root. rub, grind, smooth, polish, rub, grind, smooth, polish; [ᴹ√] flat of hand or sole of foot

A root appearing in an undated note from around 1968 as part of an explanation for the tree-name S. lebethron, given as {√RON >>} √RUN “rub, grind, smooth, polish”, with a derivatives Q. runda “smooth, polished” and [deleted] ron “smoothed by polishing”, probably Sindarin (PE17/89).

The Etymologies of the 1930s instead had the root ᴹ√RUN “flat of hand or sole of foot” with derivatives like ᴹQ. runya/N. rhein “footprint”, and also as the basis for the final element of ᴹQ. tallune/N. tellen “sole of foot” (Ety/RUN). It’s conceivable the two iterations of the root are related based on the “smoothness” of the hand or foot.

Changes

  • RONRUN ✧ PE17/089

Derivatives

  • Q. runda “smooth, polished” ✧ PE17/089
  • ᴺS. run- “to rub, grind”
  • ᴺS. rûn “polished, burnished, smoothed by polishing”
  • S. ron “smoothed by polishing” ✧ PE17/089
  • ᴺS. runna- “to polish, burnish”

Variations

  • RUN ✧ PE17/089; PE17/183
  • RON ✧ PE17/089 (RON)
Primitive elvish [PE17/089; PE17/183] Group: Eldamo. Published by

run

root. red, glowing

Derivatives

  • Q. runya “fiery red” ✧ PM/366
  • Q. rúnya “red flame”
  • S. ruin “red flame; fiery red” ✧ PM/366

Variations

  • RUN ✧ PM/366
Primitive elvish [PM/366] Group: Eldamo. Published by

karani

adjective. red

Derivatives

  • Q. carnë “red, scarlet” ✧ PE22/152
  • S. caran “red” ✧ VT41/10

Element in

Variations

  • karanĭ ✧ PE21/81
  • karnĭ ✧ PE21/81
  • carani- ✧ VT41/10
Primitive elvish [PE21/81; PE22/152; VT41/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sir

root. flow

The root √SIR and similar roots meant “flow” for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant sini and derived forms like ᴱQ. sindi “river” and ᴱQ. síre “stream” (QL/84). The latter word became “river” in Tolkien’s later writings, and words appearing in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. sîr “river” and G. siriol “flowing” (GL/67-68) rather than ✱✱sidh- indicate Tolkien very early revised the root to ✱ᴱ√SIRI. Indeed, the root was ᴹ√SIR “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and the root appeared with this form and essential meaning several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/127, 135).

Derivatives

  • siru-
  • sīru “stream”
  • sirya- “to flow, to flow [smoothly]” ✧ PE22/135
    • Q. sirya- “to flow, to flow [smoothly]”
  • Q. sír(ë) “river, river, [ᴱQ.] stream”
  • S. sîr “river, stream” ✧ SA/sîr
  • ᴺS. siriol “flowing, fluent, liquid, melliflous”

Element in

Variations

  • sir- ✧ SA/sîr
Primitive elvish [PE22/135; SA/sîr] Group: Eldamo. Published by