tô

noun. fleece, wool

The noun G. tô {“well” >>} “wool” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from primitive ᴱ✶tou̯ (GL/71). ᴱN. tô or tó “wool, fleece” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s as a derivative of ᴱ✶togō or ᴱ✶togo (PE13/154, 165).

Neo-Sindarin: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the basis for “wool” words was still ᴹ√TOW, but in later Sindarin the phonetic developments for tou̯ or tōwo would produce either taw or tû. Since both these words already existing Tolkien’s later writings with various other meanings, I prefer to retain ᴺS. tô as the noun “wool, fleece”, and assume it is derived from either ✱tŏ or ✱tŏg(o).

Derivations

• ᴱ✶togō “wool” ✧ PE13/154; PE13/165

Variations

• tó ✧ PE13/154