fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

fauta-

to snow

fauta- vb. *"to snow" (actually glossed fauta = "it snows") (GL:35)

hriz-

to snow

#hriz- vb. "to snow", impersonal, given in the form hríza "it is snowing". Normally z would turn to r in Exilic Quenya, but since two r's close to one another were disliked, it may be that hriz- became *hris- instead (compare razë "sticks out" becoming rasë instead of **rarë, PE19:73) Past tense hrinsë (with s from the original root SRIS) and another form which the editor tentatively reads as hrissë (the development ns > ss is regular). (PE17:168)

hriz-

verb. to snow

In notes written around 1959, Tolkien experimented with various roots for impersonal “snow” verbs, first giving the aorist form of a derived verb Q. hrisya “it snows” < hriþya from the root √SRITH, then the present tense form of a basic verb Q. hríza “it is snowing” from the root √SRIS (PE17/168).

Neo-Quenya: The basic verb form †hriz- is likely archaic, since z usually became r in Quenya’s phonetic development. In this case, though, I suspect the medial z dissimilated back to s after the hr, since Quenya disliked repeated r’s (PE19/73-74). This occurred, for example, with the verb ras- “stick out” < †raz- < √RAS.

Thus, I would use modern Quenya hrise “[it] snows”, hrinse “[it] snowed”, ihrísie “[it] has snowed”. Since this is an impersonal verbs, no explicit subject is required.

Derivations

• √SRIS “snow” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√SRIS > hríza	[srīsa] > [r̥īsa] > [r̥īza]	✧ PE17/168

lossëa

snow-white

lossëa adj. "snow-white" (so in VT42:18; this would be an adjective derived from lossë "snow", but elsewhere, Tolkien implies that lossë itself can also be used as an adjective "snow-white"; see lossë #1 above)

olos

snow, fallen snow

†olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

†olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

ten-

hear

ten- (4) vb. "hear", future tense tenuva (MC:213; in Tolkien's later Quenya, "hear" is hlar-)

lossë

noun/adjective. snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy

The general Quenya word for “snow” derived from the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; VT42/18), more specifically “fallen snow” (RGEO/61), as opposed to a “snow fall” or “✱falling snow” which is hrissë (PE17/168). At various points Tolkien said this word could also be used as an adjective “snowy, snow-white” (RGEO/61; PE17/161), but I would do so only in poetry or in compounds. For more ordinary speech, I would use the adjective form lossëa for clarity (PE17/71, 161; VT42/18). Strictly speaking, the noun and adjective forms of lossë have distinct primitive origins: ✶lossē “snow” vs. ✶lossĭ “snowy, snow-white” (PE17/161), so the stem form of the adjective would be lossi-.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a word ᴹQ. olosse “snow, fallen snow” derived from the root ᴹ√GOLOS; Tolkien modified the entry to mark this form as poetic (†) and gave it a variant olos (Ety/GOLÓS).

Cognates

• S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/026; PE17/161; SA/los; RGEO/61

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18
• ✶lossē “snow” ✧ PE17/161
  • √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18
• ✶lossĭ “snowy, snow-white” ✧ PE17/161
  • √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161

Element in

• Q. lairelossë “summer-snow-white, species of tree in Númenor”
• Q. lossëa “snowy, (snow) white” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18
• Q. losselië telerinwa “*the white people of the shores of Elfland” ✧ PE16/096
• Q. Oiolossë “Ever (Snow) White” ✧ PE17/161; RGEO/61; SA/los

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LŎS > losse	[losse]	✧ PE17/026
✶lossē > losse	[lossē] > [losse]	✧ PE17/161
✶lossĭ > losse	[lossi] > [losse]	✧ PE17/161
√los > losse	[losse]	✧ RGEO/61
√los > lossë	[losse]	✧ SA/los
√(G)LOS > lossë	[glosse] > [ɣlosse] > [losse]	✧ VT42/18

Variations

• losse ✧ PE16/096; PE17/026; PE17/161; PE17/161; RGEO/61
• lossë ✧ SA/los; VT42/18

nicu-

be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes

nicu- ("k")vb. "be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168): 3rd sg. aorist niquë (q.v.) "it snows or freezes", present níqua "it is freezing", pa.t. nicunë "it snowed, froze" (PE17:168)

nicu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

niqu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “be chill, cold (of weather)” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a derivative of the root √NIK(W) and with the glosses “to snow, it is chill, it freezes” (PE17/168). In this 1959 note Tolkien gave several inflected forms making it clear nicu- was an impersonal verb: nīqua “it is freezing”, nicune “it snowed, froze”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use nicu- as an impersonal verb for cold weather: nique “it is cold, it is freezing”. For the freezing of water or similar substances, I’d use ᴺQ. hel-. For “to snow” I’d use ᴺQ. hris-, a modernization of archaic †hriz-.

Derivations

• √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NIK > niku-	[nikw-]	✧ PE17/168

Variations

• niku- ✧ PE17/168; WJ/417

niquis

frost-patterns; ice-flake or snowflake also petal (loose) of a white flower

niquis noun "frost-patterns; ice-flake or snowflake also petal (loose) of a white flower" (stem niquits- or niquiss-), also niquessë by association with quessë "feather" (WJ:417, PE17:168). In early "Qenya", the gloss was simply "snow" (LT1:266).

hlasta-/lasta-

verb. hear

ul-

verb. to rain

An impersonal verb for “rain” attested only in its future form uluva “it is going to rain, it will rain” (PE22/167). Its aorist form is probably ✱ule “[it] rains”, its past form probably ✱úle “[it] rained”, and its perfect ✱úlie “[it] has rained”; as an impersonal verb, no explicit subject is required in Quenya. It is clearly derived from the root √UL “pour (out), flow” (WJ/400; PE17/168) and it seems that its primitive form originally meant “pour” (PE22/133), but elsewhere Tolkien gave the Quenya verb for “pour, flow” as ulya- (Ety/ULU).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the verb for “it rains” was (3rd-singular) ᴱQ. uqin from the early root ᴱ√UQU “wet” (QL/98). This verb reappeared as uqe or úqe “it rains” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, having become an impersonal verb (PE14/56, 85). Another impersonal verb for “to rain” appeared in Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s: ᴹQ. kelya “(it) sends running down = it rains” from the root √KEL (PE22/114). The form uluva mentioned above appeared in Late Notes on Verbs from 1969 (PE22/167).

Neo-Eldarin: Based on attested forms I would limit ul- for “rain” as an impersonal verb only, and for “pour” would use ulya-. Interestingly, the Noldorin word for “rain” is eil [ᴺS. uil] from ᴹ✶ulyā-, so I think Quenya and Sindarin/Noldorin made different choices for which ancient verb became impersonal “rain”.

Derivations

• √UL “pour (out), flow, pour (out), flow, [ᴱ√] flow fast”

hlar-

verb. hear

hlar- verb "hear", future tense hlaruva "shall hear" in Markirya. Since the original root is SLAS, this verb may have the past tense *hlassë (for slansē) in more classical forms of Quenya, perhaps re-formed as *hlarnë (or *hlarrë, for hlazze) in spoken Noldorin Quenya. Compare #hriz- "snow" (root SRIS) with past tense hrinsë/hrissë, as well as Tolkien's remarks in PE19:99.

hris-

verb. to snow

los

noun. snow

los

snow

{ŏ}_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, loss, Loss(h)oth

loss

noun. snow

The usual Sindarin word for “snow” (Let/278; PE17/161; RGEO/62), especially fallen and long-lying snow (VT42/18), derived from primitive ✶lossē (PE17/161) based on the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; RGEO/62). It sometimes appeared in a shorter form los (PE17/26, 161). See the entry on [s] for a discussion of these long vs. short variations; for purposes of Neo-Sindarin loss is probably preferable.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest iteration of this word was G. glui “snow” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, likely related to nearby words like G. gloss “white” (GL/40). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gloss from the root ᴹ√GOLOS was both noun “snow” and adjective “snow-white” (Ety/GOLÓS), but in later writing Tolkien split these into S loss “snow” (see above) and S. gloss “(dazzling) white” (RGEO/62; VT42/18).

Cognates

• Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/026; PE17/161; SA/los; RGEO/61

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18
• ✶lossē “snow” ✧ PE17/161
  • √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Element in

• S. Aeglos “Snow-point” ✧ SA/los
• S. aeglos “icicle, (lit.) snow-point; snowthorn (a plant)”
• S. Amon Uilos “Hill of Ever-snow” ✧ SA/los
• S. Fanuilos “Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos” ✧ Let/278
• S. Lossarnach “Flowery Arnarch” ✧ VT42/18
• S. lossen “snowy” ✧ RGEO/62
• S. Lossoth “Snowmen” ✧ PE17/161; RGEO/62
• S. Nimphelos “Pale ?Snow”
• S. Uilos “Ever-snow”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LŎS > los	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ PE17/026
✶lossē > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ PE17/161
√los > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ RGEO/61
√los > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ SA/los
√(G)LOS > loss	[lossē] > [losse] > [loss]	✧ VT42/18

Variations

• los ✧ PE17/026
• lŏs ✧ PE17/161
• Loss ✧ VT42/18

loss

noun. snow

_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, los, Loss(h)oth

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

loss

noun. snow (especially fallen or long-lying snow)

loss

snow

(construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

loss

snow

(fallen snow) loss (construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

lossen

snowy

(pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

glosta-

verb. to snow

A neologism for “to snow” coined by Fiona Jallings, based on the root √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness”.

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness”

lossoth

snow-men

(a coll. pl.)

nínim

snowdrop

(”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. – The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.  

nítha-

verb. to snow, hail, rain

Derivations

• √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white”

uil-

verb. to rain

lossē

noun. snow

Derivations

• √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18

Derivatives

• Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/161
• S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/161

Variations

• loss- ✧ VT42/18

sris

root. snow

An apparently verbal root as √SRIS “snow” appearing in etymological notes from around 1959 with derivatives like Q. hrisse “fall of snow” and Q. hríza “it is snowing”; it replaced a deleted root √SRITH “snow” (PE17/168).

Derivatives

• Q. hriz- “to snow” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. hrissë “fall of snow” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

• Q. hristil “snow (?peak)” ✧ PE17/168

srith

root. snow

Derivatives

• Q. hrisya- “to snow (impersonal)” ✧ PE17/168

(g)los

root. snow, whiteness

In Tolkien’s writing the root √(G)LOS is mostly used for “snow” but also for “white”. The earliest indications of this root are words from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s such as G. gloss “white, clear white”, G. glost “whiteness” and (possibly) G. glui “snow” (GL/40), indicating an (unattested) early root ✱ᴱ√LOSO of similar meaning. The (plural) adjective ᴱQ. losse “white” appears in the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem of the late 1920s (MC/213), indicating this root spread to other branches of the Elvish languages.

The first clear mention of this root is in The Etymologies of the 1930s where ᴹ√GOLOS is given as the basis for ᴹQ. olos(se) and N. gloss “snow, fallen snow” (Ety/GOLÓS). In later writings the root √LOS appears several times as the basis for snow words (PE17/26, 69, 160-161; RGEO/61). The last mention of this root is in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, where Tolkien gave the root as √(G)LOS with the underlying meaning “white”, with two distinct Sindarin derivatives S. loss “snow” [noun] and S. gloss “snow white” [adj.] (VT42/18). Given this l/gl variation in Sindarin, likely the strengthened form √GLOS was a sporadic, Sindarin-only innovation.

Derivatives

• ✶lossē “snow” ✧ PE17/161; VT42/18
  • Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/161
  • S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/161
• ✶lossĭ “snowy, snow-white” ✧ PE17/161
  • Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/161
• Q. lossë “snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18
• Q. lossë “inflorescence (of white flowers), [ᴹQ.] (white) blossom, flower, [ᴱQ.] (white) flower; [Q.] inflorescence (of white flowers); [ᴱQ.] rose” ✧ PE17/160
• ᴺQ. olotsë “collection of flowers”
• S. gloss “(dazzling) white, (dazzling) white, [N.] snow-white, [G.] clear white; [N.] snow” ✧ RGEO/61; VT42/18
• ᴺS. glosta- “to snow”
• S. glosui “snow white” ✧ PE17/161
• S. loss “snow” ✧ PE17/026; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18

Element in

• Q. Oiolossë “Ever (Snow) White” ✧ PE17/069

Variations

• LŎS ✧ PE17/026; PE17/161
• LOS ✧ PE17/069; PE17/160; PE17/160; PE17/160; PE17/161
• los ✧ RGEO/61; SA/los

nik(w)

root. (also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white

This root was used for Elvish words for “white” and “snow” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NIQI “white” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. niqis “snow” and ᴱQ. ninqe “white” (QL/66), the latter surviving more or less unchanged for the rest of Tolkien’s life. In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. nictha- “to rain, hail, snow” and G. nimp “pallid” (GL/60), the latter the cognate of ᴱQ. ninqe and another word that survived in Tolkien’s later conceptions of the languages.

The root appeared as unglossed ᴹ√NIK-W in The Etymologies, again with ᴹQ. ninqe “white” and N. nimp “pale” and other similar words, including ᴹQ. niqe “snow” (Ety/NIK-W). The root was mentioned again in Tolkien’s later writing as √NIK-W (PE17/160) or √NIK (PE17/168) as a basis for “snow” words. In Sindarin Tolkien felt it was influenced by other roots, such as √(N)DIP/B “bending and drooping” (PE17/168) or √NIP “small with a connotation of weakness” (VT48/18) so that S. nimp also took on a connotation of weakness and frailty, and hence was used for “pale, pallid” rather than simply “white”.

Derivatives

• ✶ninkwi “white, pale” ✧ PE17/168
  • Q. ninquë “white; chill, cold; pallid”
  • S. nim “white” ✧ PE17/168
  • At. nimbi “white”
  • S. nim “white” ✧ PE17/019
  • T. nimbi “white”
• Q. ninquë “white; chill, cold; pallid” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. niqu- “to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. niquë “cold, cold; [ᴹQ.] snow” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. niquis “snowflake, ice-flake; petal (loose) of a white flower; frost-patterns, snowflake, ice-flake; petal (loose) of a white flower; frost-patterns, [ᴱQ.] snow” ✧ PE17/168
• Q. nixë “frost; ice-flake or snow-flake” ✧ PE17/168
• ᴺS. nich “frost”
• S. nimp “pale, pallid, white, pale, pallid, white; small and frail, [ᴱN.] wan, sickly” ✧ PE17/168
  • S. nim “white” ✧ SA/nim
• ᴺS. nítha- “to snow, hail, rain”

Variations

• NIK ✧ PE17/160; PE17/168
• NIKW ✧ PE17/160

gloss

noun/adjective. snow, snow-white

Cognates

• ᴹQ. olos(se) “snow, fallen snow” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS

Derivations

• ᴹ√GOLOS “*snow, white” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS

Element in

• N. Glossarnach
• N. Neleglos “White Tooth”
• N. Uilos “Everlasting Snow” ✧ Ety/GOLÓS
• N. Guilos “ever-snow”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√GOLÓS > gloss	[golósse] > [glosse] > [gloss]	✧ Ety/GOLÓS
ᴹ√GOLÓS > gloss	[golósse] > [glosse] > [gloss]	✧ Ety/GOLÓS

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

eil-

verb. to rain

An impersonal verb appearing as N. eil “it is raining” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶ulyā- (> œil > eil) under the root ᴹ√ULU “pour, flow” (Ety/ULU; EtyAC/ULU). This verb is abnormal in that its final a disappeared rather than surviving as it usually did for derived verbs, giving eil rather than ✱elia-, ✱eilia- or ✱eila-. However, as an impersonal verb there would never be any pronominal suffix to help preserve the final a by analogy, which probably explains the vowel loss.

Conceptual Development: The verb for “rain” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s was G. ubra-, probably related to G. ub “wet, moist, damp” (GL/74).

Neo-Sindarin: In Sindarin, the likely developments of primitive ✶ulyā would be to ✱oly(a) > ᴺS. uil “it rains”; I believe this form was first suggested by Helge Fauskanger in his Parviphith Edhellen wordlist. Compare ᴺS. uil to: S. ruin “fiery red” < (perhaps) ✱runyā and S. fuir “north” < (perhaps) ✱phoryā, and see the entry on how [[s|[œi] became [ui] or [y]]] for further discussion. Any inflected forms would probably restore the stem, such as (hypothetical) intransitive past and future forms ✱eilias “it rained” and ✱eiliatha “it will rain”).

Derivations

• ᴹ✶ulyā- “it is raining” ✧ Ety/ULU
  • ᴹ√ULU “pour, flow” ✧ Ety/ULU

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶ulyā > œil > eil	[uljā] > [ulja] > [olja] > [olia] > [œlia] > [œli] > [œil] > [eil]	✧ Ety/ULU

Variations

• eil ✧ Ety/ULU
• oeil ✧ EtyAC/ULU