srag

root. awkward, awry; hard, (very) difficult

The unglossed root ᴹ√RAG appeared in The Etymologies with the derivative ᴹ✶ragnā > N. rhaen “crooked” (Ety/RAG). A similar root √SRA-G “awry” appeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 as a replacement/reversal of the root √SRA, SRAYA “easy, pliant, moving with ease”, with the sense “easy” apparently transferred to √AÞA (PE17/172). The page where √SRA-G initially appeared was ultimately rejected, but √SRAG appeared again in DLN with variant √SRAK among a list of roots all meaning “hard, difficult” (PE17/154). In the later list it had derivatives like Q. hraia “awkward, difficult”, Q. hranga “awkward, hard” and Q. hranga- “thwart”, along with S. rhanc “awkward, hard” derived from the variant √SRAK (PE17/154). In another set of notes from 1959 Tolkien mentioned the root √SRĀ or √SRAGA “awkward, very difficult” with derivatives Q. hrai/Q. hranga “stiff, awkward, difficult” (PE17/185).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would transferred 1930s N. rhaen “crooked” to √SRAG “awkward, difficult”.