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Select Elvish Words 4.56-4.57: Spit, Vomit

4.56 to Spit

ᴹQ. piuta- v. “to spit”
An apparent verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√PIW “spit” and so probably of the same meaning (Ety/PIW).

Conceptual Development: The earliest verb for “spit” was ᴱQ. retye- from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√RET͡YE (QL/79). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. piste “spit” from primitive ᴱ✶pṣt- (PE14/58), a verb that also appeared in the contemporaneous Early Noldorin Dictionary as a cognate of ᴱN. hist- “spit” (PE13/163). The next “spit” verb was ᴹQ. piuta- in the The Etymologies of the 1930s (see above), and in the 1948 Quenya Verbal System Tolkien had ᴹQ. pise from the root ᴹ√PITH “spit” (PE22/103).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer 1930s ᴹQ. piuta- “spit”, in part because it is better known that 1948 pith- but also because it has a Noldorin cognate N. puia- and is thus part of a more complete paradigm.

ᴱQ. rekka v. “spittle, *saliva”
The word ᴱQ. rent (renty-) “spittle, saliva” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√RET͡YE (QL/79). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. rekka as a cognate of ᴱN. crech “spittle” from primitive ᴱ✶kǝ̀rekka (PE13/140).

Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. recca “spittle, *saliva” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

ᴱN. crech n. “spittle”
The word G. crech “spittle” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√kerek- or ᴱ√kereχ- (GL/27). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. crech “spittle” from primitive ᴱ✶kǝ̀rekka (PE13/140).

Neo-Sindarin: I’d retain ᴺS. crech “spittle” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

N. puia- v. “to spit”
A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√PIW “spit” and so probably of the same meaning (Ety/PIW).

Conceptual Development: The earliest verb with this meaning was G. crectha- “to spit” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s from the early root ᴱ√kerek- or ᴱ√kereχ- (GL/27). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. {his- >>} hist- “spit” from primitive ᴱ✶pṣt- or ᴱ✶sṣt- (PE13/147, 163), where the initial p became h as was often the case in the 1920s.

4.57 to Vomit

ᴱQ. qama- v. “to be ill, vomit”
A verb appearing as ᴱQ. qama- “am ill; vomit” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√QAMA (QL/76).

Neo-Quenya: I’d retain ᴺQ. quam- “to be ill, vomit” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, especially since ᴹ√KWAM continued to be associated with sickness in Tolkien’s later writings (Ety/KWAM).

ᴱN. hich- v. “to vomit”
A verb appearing as ᴱN. hich- “vomit” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s from primitive ᴱ✶pṣk- (PE13/163), where the initial p became h as was often the case in the 1920s.

Neo-Sindarin: I’d retain this verb as ᴺS. hich- “vomit” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, preserving its modern rather than primitive form, perhaps derived from an (onomatopoeic?) primitive form *khikh-.

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