arca

narrow

arca (1) adj. "narrow" (AK)

náha

narrow

náha adj. "narrow" (PE17:166)

náha

adjective. narrow, narrow, *thin

Derivations

• √NAKH “narrow, thin” ✧ PE17/166

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NAKH > nāha	[nākʰa] > [naxa] > [naha]	✧ PE17/166

Variations

• nāha ✧ PE17/166

úland

adjective. 'not broad'

_ adj. _lit. 'not broad', narrow. >> ú-

úland

adjective. narrow, (lit.) not broad

úlan

adjective. 'not broad'

_ adj. _lit. 'not broad', narrow. >> ú-

úlann

adjective. 'not broad'

_ adj. _lit. 'not broad', narrow. >> ú-

úlan(n)

adjective. narrow, (lit.) not broad

Variations

• ú-land ✧ PE17/144

lond

narrow path

(harbour, haven, pass, strait), pl. lynd, coll. pl. lonnath (as in the name Lonnath Ernin, WR:294).

imlad

narrow valley with steep sides

(glen, deep valley), pl. imlaid.

agor

narrow

agor (analogical pl. egyr). In archaic S agr.

agor

narrow

(analogical pl. egyr). In archaic S agr.

imrath

narrow valley

(pl. imraith)

nek

root. narrow, narrow; *angular, sharp

A root appearing in notes on words and phrases from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving mainly as the basis for S. naith “angle” (PE17/55). It was also mentioned in a discussion of the death of Isildur at the Gladden Fields, again as the basis for S. naith among other words, where the root √NEK was glossed “narrow” (UT/281-2, note #16). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. naith was derived from ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT, but the precise derivation was unclear, and in any cases seems to have been replaced by Tolkien with a more straightforward derivation from √NEK.

The root √NEK also appeared in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 with the gloss “deprive”, serving among other things as the basis for S. neithan “one deprived” (PE17/167), which was the name adopted by Túrin after he became an outlaw (S/200). The root appeared again in notes on Elvish numbers from the late 1960s glossed as either “divide, part, separate” (VT47/16) or “divide, separate” (VT48/9), where it served as the basis for √ENEK “six” as the dividing point between the lower and upper set of numbers in the Elvish duodecimal system.

It is not clear whether Tolkien intended all these various meanings for the root √NEK to be connected. For purposes of analysis, I’ve split √NEK “narrow” from √NEK “separate; deprive”, but conceivably the sense “narrow” could be a semantic extension of “separate” or vice-versa.

Derivatives

• ✶nektē “angle” ✧ PE17/055
  • Q. nehtë “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow prominitory; angle” ✧ PE17/055; PE17/055
  • S. naith “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow prominitory; angle” ✧ PE17/055; PE17/055
• Q. necel “thorn” ✧ PE17/055
• Q. nehtë “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow prominitory; angle” ✧ UT/282
• Q. nexa “sharp, angular” ✧ PE17/055
• S. naith “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow prominitory; angle” ✧ UT/282
• S. negen “sharp, angular” ✧ PE17/055

Variations

• NEK ✧ PE17/055; PE17/167
• nek ✧ UT/282

agr

adjective. narrow

agor

adjective. narrow

agor

adjective. narrow

Cognates

• ᴹQ. arka “narrow” ✧ Ety/AK

Derivations

• ᴹ✶akrā “narrow” ✧ Ety/AK
  • ᴹ√AK “narrow, confined” ✧ Ety/AK

Element in

• S. Aglon “Narrow Pass”
• N. Aglon “defile, pass between high walls” ✧ Ety/AK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶akrā > agr > agor	[akrā] > [akra] > [akr] > [agr] > [agor]	✧ Ety/AK