sap

root. *dig

This root first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱ√SAPA “dig, excavate” with derivatives like ᴱQ. sapa- “dig” and ᴱQ. sat (sap-) “hole” (QL/82). At some later point Tolkien wrote ÐAPA as a replacement above this root, but that is not reflected in any of its derivatives. Indeed, the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon has a base form sab- and derivatives like G. sabli “spade, shovel” and G. saptha- “to dig, to bite into” (GL/67), indicating ᴱ√SAPA not ᴱ√ÐAPA. Later hints of ᴱ√ÐAPA can be seen in the root ᴹ√DAG “dig” from The Etymologies of the 1930s, but this root was deleted (EtyAC/DAG).

The root √SAP reappeared in a list of roots from the Outline of Phonology (OP2) of the early 1950s with the derivative ✶sapnā > Q. samna “delved hole, pit” (PE19/86). This list was rejected but only because Tolkien revised his thinking on the demonstrated phonetic developments, not the roots themselves. Indeed, the appearance of S. -habar (soft-mutated ✱sabar) “delving” in various late words like S. Anghabar “Iron-delvings” (S/138) and S. Nornhabar “Dwarrowdelf” (WJ/209) indicate Tolkien probably never really abandoned √SAP “dig”.

sapnā

noun. delved hole, pit

sap

root. [ᴱ√] dig, excavate

ekka

noun. hole

kuldā

adjective. hollow

lemek

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.

nābā

noun. hollow

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

sal

root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre

The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

tig

root. [unglossed]

A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).

graw Reconstructed

root. [unglossed], [ᴹ√] dark, swart

This root appeared as a primitive form grawa serving as the basis of the word Q. roa “bear” >> “dog” in notes on monosyllabic roots from 1968 (VT47/35); a Sindarin derivative S. graw “bear” appeared in other notes written around the same time (VT47/12). Patrick Wynne suggested that in the sense “bear” grawa might be connected to the root ᴹ√GRAWA “dark, swart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/GRAWA).