Sindarin 

tew

letter

(dew), pl1. tiw _ n. _letter. tew << têw; tiw << tîw. >> téw

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:44] < _*teiw_ < _teñwa_ < TEÑ show, sign, indicate. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tewch

tewch

. This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:148] < _teχw9_ < _teχwā_ < _teswā_ '[?chip]' . Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tewch

noun. (?chip)

Sindarin [PE17/148] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tewin

adjective. wood – as material

adj. wood – as material. This form could be the plural form of tawen. Q. toina. >> taw, tawen

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:115] < _tawĭnā _< TAW wood. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

têw

noun. letter

Sindarin [Let/427; LotR/0305; LotR/1117; PE17/043; PE17/044; PE17/122; PE22/149; WJ/396] Group: Eldamo. Published by

têw

noun. letter, written sign

Sindarin [Ety/391, WJ/396, LotR/II:IV, LotR/E, Letters/427] Group: SINDICT. Published by

têw

tengwa

(Fëanorian letter) têw (i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (sign, letter), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

têw

tengwa

(i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (sign, letter), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

têw

sign

(i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

têw

letter

têw (i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (sign, tengwa), pl. tîw (i **thîw), coll. pl. téwath**

têw

letter

(i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (sign, tengwa), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

tawen

adjective. wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)

A word in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968, apparently an adjectival form of taw “wood as material” (PE17/115). Its gloss is unclear but may be “wood (of material)” or “wooden (of make)” as suggested by Christopher Gilson. It appeared beside a form tewin, either a plural or (less likely) a variant form.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the form was N. tawaren “wooden” (pl. tewerin), an adjectival form of longer N. tawar (Ety/TÁWAR).

Sindarin [PE17/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tann

sign

1) (etymologically ”something shown/indicated”) tann (i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain) (MR:185); 2) têw (i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i **thîw), coll. pl. téwath**;

taur

forest

1) taur (i daur, o thaur) (great wood), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also (as adj.) ”lofty, high, sublime, noble” etc. 2) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (wood [as material]), pl. tewair (i thewair). (

tawar

forest

(i dawar, o thawar) (wood [as material]), pl. tewair (i thewair). (SMALL)

tawar

wood

(as material) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

tawar

wood

(i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).

tawaren

wooden

tawaren (lenited dawaren; pl. tewerin).

tawaren

wooden

(lenited dawaren; pl. tewerin).

eryn

forest

_n. _forest, wood of trees.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:33:119] < pl. _oronī_ trees ?. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

eryn

noun. wood

Sindarin [UT/436, LotR/B] OS *oroni- (?), "trees", plural noun, used as a singular.. Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

Sindarin [Methed-en-Glad UT/452] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glad

noun. wood

A word for a “wood” in the name Methed-en-Glad “End of the Wood” (UT/153) and possibly also Gladuial “✱Twilight Wood” (WJ/183, 188 note #48). It resembles galadh “tree” and is probably related to it, but it cannot be derived directly from the same root ᴹ√GALAD as that would produce ✱✱gladh. It was either derived from a variant root ✱√GALAT, or was a loan word from Nandorin where the word for “tree” was Nan. galad (MR/182; PE17/50, 60).

taen

noun. sign

Sindarin [Taengyl, Tengyl MR/385] Group: SINDICT. Published by

taur

noun. forest

_ n. _forest. Q. taure. >> taw

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:82:115] < _tau-rē _forest < TAW wood. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Sindarin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawar

noun. forest, forest; [N.] wood (material)

A word for “forest” in a few Sindarin names, notably Tawar-in-Drúedain “Drúadan Forest” (UT/319) and Tawarwaith “Forest People” (UT/256).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. tawar meant “wood (material)” but was often used with the same sense as N. taur “forest”; it was derived from the root ᴹ√TÁWAR (Ety/TÁWAR). In Sindarin, awa often became au (and then > o), and cases where it was preserved seem to have to do with patterns of stress; see the entry on that phonetic rule for further details.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, it is probably better to stick with the better known S. taur for “forest”.

tawen

adjective. wood – as material

adj. wood – as material. Q. toina. >> taw

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:115] < _tawĭnā _< TAW wood. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

eryn

wood

1) (forest) eryn. No distinct pl. form. 2) glâd (i **lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid**) See FOREST. 2)

eryn

wood

. No distinct pl. form.

glâd

forest

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (wood), pl. glaid (in glaid)

glâd

wood

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid) See FOREST. 2)

tann

sign

(i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain)** **(MR:185)

taur

forest

(i daur, o thaur) (great wood), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also (as adj.) ”lofty, high, sublime, noble” etc.

thafn

wooden pillar

(post), pl. ?thefn, coll. pl. thavnath

Noldorin 

tew

noun. letter

@@@ tîw (Ety/TEK) appears to be plural, but is clearly glossed as singular “letter” with primitive form tekmē

Noldorin [Ety/TEK; PE22/031; TI/182] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gammas

noun. s-sign (special sign used to mark a final -s in Tengwar)

Noldorin [VT/45:14] Group: SINDICT. Published by

taur

noun. great wood, forest

Noldorin [Ety/391, S/420, S/438] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawaren

adjective. wooden

Noldorin [Ety/391] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tawaren

adjective. wooden

Noldorin [Ety/TÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tîw

noun. letter

Primitive elvish

tew

root. show, sign, indicate

teswā

?. (?chip)

Primitive elvish [PE17/148] Group: Eldamo. Published by

teñ

root. indicate, signify, show, represent, betoken, mark, to point at, indicate, signify, show, represent, betoken, mark, to point at; [ᴱ√] know, understand

The first mention of this root was as ᴱ√TEŊE “know, understand” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where it had derivatives like ᴱQ. tenge- “know, understand, grasp” and ᴱQ. tengwe “knowledge, understanding” (QL/91). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien instead gave {ᴹ√TEƷ >>} ᴹ√TEÑ “line, direction” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tie/N. “line, way” and ᴹQ. téra/N. tîr “straight, right” (Ety/TEƷ, TEÑ). However, in the original layer of composition for the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, Tolkien gave √TEG for “line” and gave √TEÑ as the basis for Q. tenna “thought, notion, idea”, perhaps a restoration of its meaning from the 1910s (PE19/97).

In another entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien derived ᴹQ. tengwa from ᴹ✶tekmā = ᴹ√TEK “write” + the instrumental suffix ᴹ✶-mā (Ety/TEK). The foundation of this derivation is the sound change whereby voiceless stops were voiced before nasals in Ancient Quenya, thereafter nasalizing so that ᴹ✶tekmā > tegmā > teñmā > teñgwā (PE19/43). This sound change was still in effect when Tolkien wrote the initial draft of Outline of Phonology (OP2) in the early 1950s (PE19/85-66 note #79), but at some later point Tolkien revised this rule so that the nasal instead unvoiced, so that km > kʰm̌ > > kw (PE19/85), making the derivation of tengwa from the root √TEK invalid.

As pointed out by Christopher Gilson (ibid., note #79), earlier signs of this new phonetic rule can be seen Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages in the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s, where he gave √TEÑ “show, sign, indicate” instead of √TEK “[written] sign” as the new root for Q. tengwa, now derived from ✶teñwā or ✶teñmā, though Tolkien briefly considered √TEWE as a possible root in drafts to these notes (PE17/44). From this point forward, Tolkien regularly mentioned √TEÑ with glosses like “indicate, signify” (WJ/394), “represent, betoken, indicate (by sign)” (VT39/15) and “indicate, mark, signify” (PE22/149). Finally, in green-ink revisions to OP2 from 1970, Tolkien added tengwa as another derivative of √TEÑ alongside Q. tenna “thought, notion, idea” as mentioned above (PE19/97 and note #139).

See the entries on √TEG “line” and √TEK “write” for parallel developments in similar roots.

Primitive elvish [PE17/044; PE17/187; PE19/097; PE22/149; VT39/04; VT39/15; WJ/394] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taurē

noun. forest

Primitive elvish [PE17/115; PE21/76; PE21/80] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taw

root. wood

Tolkien used a similar set of words for “forest” starting with the earliest versions of Elvish, but their derivation evolved somewhat over time. The earliest related root was ᴱ√TAVA “beam” with variant ᴱ√TAFA (the latter marked by Tolkien with a “?” and with no obvious derivatives) from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as the basis for words like ᴱQ. taule “great tree”, ᴱQ. tauno “forest” and ᴱQ. tavar “dale-sprite” (QL/90). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tavros/G. taur “forest” and G. tavor “wood fay” (GL/69).

ᴱQ. taure “forest” did not appear as an independent word until drafts of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (PE16/62; MC/213). Thereafter Tolkien mostly stuck with Q. taurë and N./S. taur for “forest”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root ᴹ√TAWAR “wood, forest” (Ety/TÁWAR), though in one place it was ᴹ√TAR (EtyAC/TUR). In notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 Tolkien gave √TAWA “wood”, and in notes on “large & small” roots from 1968 Tolkien had √TAW “wood” (PE17/115).

Primitive elvish [PE17/115; PE17/187; VT39/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tawinā

adjective. wood

Primitive elvish [PE17/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tekmā

noun. letter

Primitive elvish [PE17/043; PE17/044; PE18/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Quenya 

málos

forest

málos noun "forest" (LT2:342 rather taurë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

narwë

sign, token

[narwë (and short nar, unless this is an incomplete form) noun "sign, token"] (VT45:37)

sarat

letter

sarat (pl. sarati given) noun "letter", any individual significant mark, used of the letters of Rúmil after the invention of Fëanor's tengwar (WJ:396). Cf. sarmë.

taina

sign

#taina (2) noun "sign", isolated from Tainacolli *"Sign-bearer" MR:385

tana-

to show, indicate

tana- (2) vb. "to show, indicate" (MR:350, 385, 471) (cf. the demonstrative tana "that")

tanna

sign, token

tanna (1) noun "sign, token" (MR:385, PE17:186), also tanwa (PE17:186)

tanwa

sign, token

tanwa noun "sign, token" (Tolkien marked this word with a query, but it is not clearly rejected). Also tanna (#1). (PE17:186)

tauno

forest

tauno noun "forest" (LT1:267; in Tolkien's later Quenya taurë)

taure

noun. forest

Quenya [PE 22:116] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

tavar

wood

tavar (1) noun "wood" (TÁWAR)

tavárëa

wooden

#tavárëa ?adj. "wooden" (tauretavárëa = "forest-wooden"?) (TI:415). If so perhaps a near-synonym of taurina.

tengwa

noun. sign

sign, indicator, letter

Quenya [PE 19:97] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

tengwa

letter

tengwa (pl. tengwar is attested) (1) noun "letter" Tengwa (ñ) is defined as "any one visible sign representing (theoretically) any one audible teñgwe" (phoneme) (VT39:17). In non-technical usage tengwa was equivalent to "consonant", since only the consonants were full signs (WJ:396, TEK). In the Etymologies, tengwa was apparently emended from tengwë (VT46:17).

toina

adjective. wood, wood, *wooden, made of wood

A word glossed “wood” appearing in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968 derived from primitive ✶tawĭnā (PE17/115) and hence probably an adjective “✱wooden, (made) of wood” as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/toina).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien instead had ᴹQ. taurina “of wood”, an adjectival form of ᴹQ. tavar “wood (material)” (Ety/TÁWAR). The word ᴹQ. toina appeared in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1940s, but was unglossed, so whether it meant “✱wooden” is unclear.

turu

wood

turu (3) noun "wood" (properly firewood, but used of wood in general) (LT1:270)

turúva

wooden

turúva adj. "wooden" (LT1:270); cf. turu #3.


Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Old Noldorin 

tegma

noun. letter

Old Noldorin [PE22/031] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

alm(oth)

noun. forest

alos

noun. forest

A noun for “forest” the Gnomish Lexicon with an archaic variant †aloth, apparently an elaboration of G. âl “wood” (GL/19). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it appeared as ᴱN. aulos “forest”, but this word was deleted (PE13/137).

Gnomish [GL/19; GL/62; LT2A/Golosbrindi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

durog

adjective. wooden

A word in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s for “wooden”, an adjectival form of G. duru “wood”, with a variant form duruin (GL/31).

Gnomish [GL/31; LT1A/Turuhalmë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

duruin

adjective. wooden

gawlas

noun. forest

goloth

noun. forest

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “forest”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- (GL/41). This is likely a combination of ᴱ✶ŋu̯a “together” and some elaboration of the root ᴱ√ALA “spread”, the basis of “tree” words, so probably originally “✱together spread(ing)”. In The Gnomish Grammar it had the form gôloth (GG/8) and in Gnomish Lexicon Slips the form gawlas derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgwa-alassa (PE13/114).

Gnomish [GG/08; GL/19; GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi; PE13/114] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

aulos

noun. forest

Early Noldorin [PE13/137] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dron

noun. wood

The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. drui or drû “wood, forest”; Tolkien specified it was not used of wood a material (GL/31). This Gnomish word may be related to the root ᴱ√TUÐU “kindle”; see that entry for details. In Early Noldorin Word-lists it appeared as ᴱN. dron “wood” (PE13/142).

Early Noldorin [PE13/142] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taur

noun. forest

Early Noldorin [PE13/153; SM/026] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

aldare

noun. wood

A word glossed “wood” in the margins of Tolkien’s notes on The Creatures of the Earth from the 1910s, clearly an elaboration ᴱQ. alda “tree” as suggested by Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson (PE14/7).

Early Quenya [PE14/007] Group: Eldamo. Published by

málos

noun. forest

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s given as the cognate of G. goloth “forest”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋgua-aloþ- (GL/41). This is likely a combination of ᴱ✶ŋu̯a “together” and some elaboration of the root ᴱ√ALA “spread”, the basis of “tree” words, so probably originally “✱together spread(ing)” or something to that effect.

Early Quenya [GL/41; LT2A/Golosbrindi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taure

noun. forest

Early Quenya [LT2/089; MC/213; MC/220; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/075; PE16/077; PE16/080; PE16/139] Group: Eldamo. Published by

taurie

noun. forest

teket

noun. letter

@@@ used for “letter (epistola)” in NQNT

Early Quenya [QL/090] Group: Eldamo. Published by

teketta

noun. letter

turuksa

adjective. wooden

turúva

adjective. wooden

An adjective for “wooden” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the root ᴱ√TUŘU [TUÐU], also with a variant form turuksa (QL/96). It also appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/139).

Early Quenya [LT1A/Turuhalmë; PE16/139; QL/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

ndar

root. sign

A rejected root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a single derivative: ᴹQ. narwe “sign, token”, along with an unglossed (and probably incomplete) form nar... (EtyAC/NDAR).

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/NDAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by