top

root. cover, roof, roof, cover

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “cover, roof” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tópa-/N. toba- “to roof”, ᴹQ. tópa “roof”, and N. tobas “roofing” (Ety/TOP). It was grouped together with and was apparently a variant of ᴹ√TUP (EtyAC/TOP), a root with a much lengthier history; see that entry for details. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think this root could mean “roof” as opposed to √TUP = “cover”.

tōp-

verb. to roof

keper

root. ridge; knob, head, top

A rejected (Noldorin-only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s initially glossed “knob, head, top”, perhaps replacing the also rejected root ᴹ√KOPAR of the same meaning (Ety/KEPER; EtyAC/KEPER, KOPAR). Tolkien changed the gloss of ᴹ√KEPER to “ridge” before he rejected the entry. The most notable derivative of this root was N. ceber in N. Sarn Gebir, whose gloss is unclear but might be “?limestone, -rock”. Despite his rejection of this root, S. Sarn Gebir did appear in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/391) and was in one place translated as “Stone-spikes” (RC/327), so perhaps Tolkien restored the root, though what it might mean is unclear.

talat

root. to slip or slide down, incline, slope, lean, tip, topple over

kas

root. head

kas

noun. head

khar

root. helmet

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “helmet” with extended forms √KHÁRAP and √KHÁRAN (EtyAC/KHAR); one of its derivatives ᴹQ. Eldahar seems to be a precursor to Q. Eldacar “Elfhelm”. There are many other words for “helmet” in Tolkien’s later writing, and this root was probably abandoned.

kharan

root. helmet

kharap

root. helmet