tup

root. cover over, hide

This root had to do with covering things for much of Tolkien’s life. The first appearance of the root was unglossed ᴱ√TUPU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tumpo “shed, barn” and ᴱQ. tupu- “roof, put lid on, put hat on, cover” (QL/95). Tolkien said this root was “much as TELE”, which in this document was glossed “cover in” (QL/90). The root ᴱ√TUPU also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tub- “cover” and G. tump “a shed” (GL/71).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root ᴹ√TUP was given as a variant of ᴹ√TOP “cover, roof” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tupse/N. taus “thatch” (Ety/TUP; EtyAC/TOP). In Tolkien’s later writings its most notable derivative was Q. untup- “cover (over)” as in Q. ar hísië untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë “and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya forever” (PE17/73; LotR/377). The root √TUP “cover over” itself was mentioned a couple times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/73), though in one place of these places it was given as √TUI “cover over, hide”, but since in that note it was the basis for primitive ✶Utupnu, this √TUI is clearly a malformed ✱√TUP (MR/69).

Derivatives

• ✶Utupnu ✧ MR/069
  • Q. Utumno “Deep-hidden” ✧ MR/069
  • S. Udûn “Dark Pit”
• ᴺQ. tumpo “shed, barn”
• Q. tup- “to cover, to cover, [ᴱQ.] put a lid on, put hat on, roof”
• ᴺQ. túpelë “roofing, tiles, roof”
• ᴺQ. tupin “roofed, having a lid, having hat on”
• ᴺQ. túpo “cover, lid, roof”
• ᴺS. tobla- “to hide”
• ᴺS. tump “shed”

Element in

• ᴺQ. avatup- “to uncover, expose”
• Q. untup- “to cover (over or up), (lit.) to cover down” ✧ PE17/073

Variations

• TUI ✧ MR/069 (TUI)

tuy

root. sprout, bud

Tolkien used this root and ones like it for sprouting things for much of his life. Its earliest appearance was unglossed ᴱ√TUẎU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where the Ẏ probably represents an ancient palatal spirant [ʝ] or [ç], with derivatives like ᴱQ. tuile “spring, (lit.) a budding” and ᴱQ. tuita- “to bud, burst, burgeon, grow” (QL/96). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tuil “spring” and G. tuitha- “sprout, spring, gush” (GL/71). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√TUY “sprout, spring” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tuia-/N. tuia- “sprout, spring” and ᴹQ. tuile “spring-time” (Ety/TUY). The root reappeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “sprout” (PE19/54) and “sprout, bud” (VT39/7).

Derivatives

• ✶tuilu- “to open (of buds, flowers)” ✧ PE22/136
  • ᴺS. tuilu- “to bud, open (of flowers and leaves)”
  • ᴺS. tuila- “to bud, open (of flowers and leaves)”
• Q. tuilë “spring, spring, [ᴹQ.] spring-time, [ᴱQ.] (lit.) a budding; buds, new shoots, fresh green” ✧ VT39/07
• ᴺQ. tuista “twig, shoot, sprout, spray”
• ᴺS. tuig “shoot, sapling, sprout”

Variations

• TUJ ✧ PE22/136
• TUJU ✧ VT39/07
• Tuyu ✧ VT39/09