ta

root. demonstrative

taı̯lkwē

noun. taı̯lkwē

tařa

root. TAŘA

talqă

noun. talqă

taha

root. TAHA

tapa

root. *taper, stretch out

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tapi- “taper, stretch out; feel for, like tentacles” and ᴱQ. tapatenda “taper fingered (light fingered)” (QL/89). In later writings ᴹ√TAP was glossed “stop” (Ety/TAP).

taða

root. *hedge, fence, enclosure

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, previously given as [deleted] ᴱ√TAŘA “chevaux de frise” (a fortification of wooden spikes), with derivatives like ᴱQ. tanda “hedge, fence, enclosure; border, rim”, ᴱQ. tarasse “hawthorn”, and ᴱQ. tarwa “garden, enclosure” (QL/87, 89). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tadhos “hawthorn”, G. tand “enclosure, garden”, and G. tath “hedge, fence” (GL/68). I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√TAD “enclosure” to salvage some of these early words.

taþa

root. count

The root {ᴱ√TASA >>} ᴱ√TAÞA “count” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives ᴱQ. tanta “number” and ᴱQ. tasta- “reckon” (QL/90). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. {tant >>} tast “number” and {tath- >>} G. tathna- “number, count, reckon” (GL/69), the later the basis for {udathriol >>} G. udathnarol as in G. Nínin-Udathriol “[Battle of] Unnumbered Tears”, the earliest name for S. Nirnaeth Arnoediad of the same meaning. In Tolkien’s later writings, counting and number words were based on the root √NOT (Ety/NOT; PE17/62).

taw̯a

root. *base

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. taule “pillar” and ᴱQ. tauma “basis, foundation, ground floor” (QL/90). In Tolkien’s later writing, this sense seems to have been assigned to √TALAM.

taŋa

root. touch, be next to

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “touch, be next to”, with derivatives like adverb ᴱQ. tange “close to, by” and adjective ᴱQ. tange (tangi-) “close, near” (QL/89). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

taþ·

noun. bush

taχsođa

adjective. seated high

tala

root. support

tara

root. *across

tava

root. beam

taka

root. fix, fasten, stick

tama

root. beat; smelt, forge

tana

root. *fire, kindle

tang-

verb. to beat

tank’rú

noun. prop, support

taqa

root. fashion

tara

root. *horn

taruku

noun. bull, ox

tasa

root. *fringe

tailik

root. *glass

tara(ma)

root. to batter, thud, beat

pata

root. *rap, tap

lōtetarwa

noun. garden

nasa

root. taste nasty

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “taste nasty”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. nasa- “(impersonal) mislike, tasty nasty” and ᴱQ. násea “loathsome” (QL/64). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

tyasa

root. taste, try, choose, test, select

The root ᴱ√TYASA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the gloss “taste, try, choose, test, select” and derivatives like ᴱQ. tyasa- “test, try, pick, choose” and ᴱQ. tyastava- “to taste (at)” (QL/49). In later writings “taste” words were derived from √KYAW or √KYAB, but I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√TYAS “test, try [out]” to salvage these early “test” words.

ŋwaða

root. tarry, linger

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “tarry, linger” (QL/63), but it was blended and confused with ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live” (QL/60), since [[eq|initial [ŋʷ] became [m]]] in Early Qenya. This makes its precise derivatives tricky to determine. Tolkien also indicated ᴱ√ŊWAÐA was a variant of {ᴱ√W̯AŘA >>} ᴱ√ẆAÐA “dwell” (QL/102), where the Ẇ probably indicates an ancient labialized velar spirant ʒw [ɣʷ].

Derivatives of ᴱ√ŊWAÐA are easier to find in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, as they begin with gwa-: Tolkien indicated that G. gwast “dwelling”, G. gwadhra “habitable”, and G. gwadhron “inhabitant” were all derived from ŋwa- (GL/47), though on another page a deleted noted gave the primitive form as gu̯ađ (GL/46), probably the Gnomish result of ᴱ√ẆAÐA. Indeed, in the Qenya Lexicon Tolkien indicated that Gnomish gwadh- forms were also blended with waða (QL/63). In Tolkien’s later writing, he abandoned this confusing muddle with ᴱ√ŊWAÐA and ᴱ√ẆAÐA in favor of just using √MBAR.

tyulu

root. tall

pakata Speculative

root. *talk, speech

naqa

root. steal, take; get by stealth, unlawfully

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “steal, take; get by stealth, unlawfully”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. nak (naq-) “anything stolen, a theft, a trick” and ᴱQ. naqar “thief” (QL/64). There are no signs of this root in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but words like G. nig- “steal, creep, do or go by stealth” and G. nigla- “to thieve, pilfer” might be derived from a variant (GL/60); there is otherwise no ✱ᴱ√NIKI root appearing in the Qenya Lexicon. There are no signs of either of these roots in Tolkien’s later writing with these meaning; later √NIK means “small” (VT47/26; VT48/18).

paẏa

root. requite, punish, take vengeance on, conquer, subdue

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “requite, punish, take vengeance on, conquer, subdue”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. paime “the vengeance taken, the punishment, the penalty; an infliction” and ᴱQ. paitya- “repay, requite” (QL/72), along with augmented forms like ᴱQ. apaika “conquering” and ᴱQ. apaire “victory, conquest, reduction” (QL/34). G. abair “victory” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was almost certainly related (GL/17). The root ᴹ√SPAY “despise, contemn” from The Etymologies of the 1930s might also be related (Ety/SPAY).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think this root might be salvaged as ᴺ√PAY “punish, take vengeance on, requite” to serve as the basis for Neo-Quenya words for vengeance and punishment.

toko

root. feel with the hand, handle; appraise, tax, assess, assay; try, test, essay, endeavour

This root appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “feel with the hand, handle; appraise, tax, assess, assay; try, test, essay, endeavour” with the verb ᴱQ. toko- of the same meaning and ᴱQ. tókele “handling” (QL/94). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing. I think it is worth retaining a Neo-Root ᴺ√TOK “appraise, tax, assess, assay”, but the sense “handle” is better addressed by the later root √MAH or √MAƷ (PE17/163) and for “try” I’d use √RIK (PE17/93).

vḷtḷ

root. release, set free; deprive, take away

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “release, set free; deprive, take away” serving as the basis of the suffix ᴱQ. {-velte >>} -vilte or -valta “less” (QL/102). Its equivalent in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon was G. -(a)vlid where the primitive form was given as vḷt (GL/23). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

tuv-

verb. to receive, take

tyava

root. to savour, taste

faþa Reconstructed

root. tassel

lene

root. long

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s given as ᴱ√LENE “long”, with the added explanation that it “developed in opp. directions of slow, tedious, trailing, etc. and — stretch, thin, etc.”. Tolkien originally put the word ᴱQ. lenka “slow, left” under this root, but seems to have transfered this word to ᴱ√LEKE, perhaps at the same time he elaborated on the meaning of ᴱ√LENE “long”. Its remaining derivatives include ᴱQ. lenwa “long and thin, straight, narrow” and ᴱQ. lenu- “stretch”.

There are a number of words in the Gnomish Lexicon that seem to be derived from this root, including G. len “wherewith, far, long, away” and G. lenwi “length, distance”, but these were rejected, and Tolkien replaced them with G. lenc “far, distant” derived from ᴱ√leŋe (which was followed by other similar Gnomish derivatives), possibly representing a conceptual shift in this root (GL/53). In any case, there are no clear signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing, unless perhaps it remanifested as ᴹ√LEN “way, (?road)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/LEN).

maþa

root. dusk

This root was given as ᴱ√MASA¹ “dusk” in its main entry in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but its Gnomish form math- indicates the true root was ᴱ√MAÞA (QL/59). This was clarified in a list of roots at the end of the M-section in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/63) and its representation as maþ- in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/59). Its most notable use in the Legendarium was in the name G. Umboth-muilin “Pools (muil-plural) of Twilight (umboth)”, where G. umboth or umbath “nightfall” was derived from a strengthened form of the root, ᴱ√mbaþ- (GL/75). However, in later writings this name was reconceived as Ilk. Umboth Muilin “Veiled (muilin) Pool (umboth)”, with the first element umboth meaning “large pool” (Ety/MBOTH, MUY). The name was ultimately replaced with S. Aelin-uial (S/114), by which point the early root ᴱ√MAÞA was long abandoned.

nulu

root. ‽

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s marked by Tolkien with a “?” having a single derivative ᴱQ. NÛLE “lead” (QL/68). There are no signs of this root elsewhere in Tolkien’s later writing, and even in the early period he generally used ᴱQ. kanu for “metallic lead” (LT1/100; QL/44).

oso

root. ‽

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. oksa “joint” and ᴱQ. oswe “hip” (QL/71). In Tolkien’s later writings “joint” words seem to be based on √LIM “link, join” as in Q. málimë/S. molif “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” (VT47/6), but ᴱQ. oswe “hip” may be salvaged as a derivative of ᴹ√OS “round, about” referring instead to a rotating joint rather than a link.

ru’u

root. ‽

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, probably actually ✱ᴱ√RUƷU, with derivatives like ᴱQ. rú “dwelling, village, hamlet”, ᴱQ. rue “rest, stillness, remaining, steadfastness”, and ᴱQ. ruin “peace” (QL/80). There were a number of likely-related words in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. rô “enduring, long suffering; quiet, gentle, docile”, G. rû “dwelling, house”, and G. rûtha- “dwell, remain”, though Tolkien seems to have rejected the Gnomish forms beginning with rô- (GL/66). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing, but I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√RUH “✱still” to preserve some of these early words.

saw̯a

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/82), which may have reemerged as √SAWA “disgusting, foul, vile” in notes from the 1950s (PE17/172, 183).

sivi

root. [unglossed]

Unglossed roots in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants ᴱ√SIVI and ᴱ√SIWI and a single unglossed derivative ᴱQ. sivilda (QL/84). It is difficult to guess what Tolkien intended for these forms to mean, though they conceivably reemerged as the later roots ᴹ√SIW “excite, egg on, urge” (Ety/SIW) or √SIB “rest, quiet” (VT44/35).

siŋi

root. ‽

The root ᴱ√SIŊI appeared unglossed in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives ᴱQ. singe “salt” and (adjective) ᴱQ. singwa “salt” (QL/83). It had similar derivatives the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon: G. sing and singrin “salt”, noun and adjective (GL/67). I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√SIÑGI to salvage these early words.

sṣtyṣ

root. ‽

The unglossed root ᴱ√SṢT͡YṢ appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. sastya “sore, galled” and ᴱQ. sist (sisty-) “ulcer, sore” (QL/86). The latter word was also mentioned as siste in “ulcer, boil” as a derivative of ᴱ✶sṣtē (PE12/14), and the primitive form was given as sistyi, though Tolkien did say it was indicative of ancient syllabic ṣ (PE12/3). However, in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s it seems primitive ᴱ✶sṣt- = “✱hiss” (PE13/163); see the entry on ᴹ√SUS “hiss” for discussion.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√SISTI to salvage some of these early words.

teme

root. tie

A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “tie” with no derivatives (QL/91), but ᴱQ. tendl “string” is derived from ᴱ√teme in The Qenya Phonology (PE12/25) and ᴱQ. Vorotemnar, name of the manacles binding Melko in the earliest Lost Tales, is probably related as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien (LT1/101, 273). There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

tołᵂo

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in The Qenya Phonology of the 1910s illustrating a hypothetical series of ancient lateral approximants, with derived roots like ᴱ√TOLO and ᴱ√TOẆO [with ẇ = ɣʷ] (PE12/16). The former appeared in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon as the basis for island words (QL/94), but the latter appeared nowhere else in Early Qenya writings.

tuðu

root. kindle

The root ᴱ√TUŘU “kindle” [TUÐU] appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant forms ᴱ√TUSO and ᴱ√TUSU as well as derivatives like ᴱQ. tunda- “kindle”, ᴱQ. turu “wood, properly firewood”, and ᴱQ. tusturin “match” (QL/96). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon had a similar primitive form tudh- with derivatives like G. tund “log for the fire”, G. tusta- “inflame, kindle, set light to, burn”, and G. tuthli “match” (GL/72). However, the Gnomish Lexicon also had words like G. drui “wood, forest” and G. duru “wood; a pole, beam, or log” (GL/31). Since initial d- > t- in Early Qenya, it seems likely that ᴱ√TUŘU “kindle” may also represent a blending with an unattested root ✱ᴱ√DURU “wood”.

Many years later Tolkien gave a hypothetical root √TUD in contrasted to √TUL to illustrate certain principles of etymological variations (VT48/25). It is not clear whether this √TUD is related to earlier ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle”. Nevertheless, I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√TUD “firewood, kindling” to salvage Early Qenya and Gnomish words of similar meaning.

vḷkḷ

root. ‽

An unglossed root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. valkane “torture” and ᴱQ. vilkin “bitter, evil”, serving as the basis for ᴱQ. Valkarauke, the Qenya name of Balrogs (QL/100). In later writings the initial element of this name was derived from √BAL “(divine) power”.

kailik

root. *glass

-yǝ

suffix. [unglossed]

alwa

adjective. *lofty

dara(ma)

root. batter, thud, beat

du̯ag-

verb. to beat

gwori

root. ‽

hama

root. ‽

kar-

verb. to make

kulu

root. gold

kulū

noun. gold

lava

root. lick

lepse

?. [unglossed]

lopse

?. [unglossed]

lḷt-

verb. to dance

lḷtḷ

root. dance

maha

root. grasp

mapa

root. seize

mapa-

verb. to seize

ornĕ

noun. tree

oto

root. knock

po

root. ‽

pol-i

root. ‽

sa

root. demonstrative

saχ[a]

noun. fire

sē

root. ‽

tegna

adjective. straight

teled-

noun. [unglossed]

togō

noun. wool

tou̯

noun. wool

toẇo

root. [unglossed]

tum(b)u

root. ‽

táliı̯èndǝ

noun. mockery

tálı̯èndǝ

noun. stunt or jest

tṃp-

verb. to beat

tṇq-

verb. to hear

tṇt-

verb. to bounce

vī

root. as

daha Reconstructed

root. *high

bē Reconstructed

root. ‽

lopatte

noun. rabbit

noto Reconstructed

root. count

pelek Reconstructed

root. axe

nap-

verb. seize

tḷkḷ

root. [unglossed]

dala Reconstructed

root. support