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Select Elvish Words 7.11: to Live, Dwell

7.11 to Live, Dwell

ᴱQ. laulema adj. “inhabiting”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. laulema “inhabiting” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, apparently an adjectival form of ᴱQ. laulemo “inhabitant” (QL/52).

Neo-Quenya: Since I retain ᴺQ. laulemo “inhabitant” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would retain ᴺQ. laulema “inhabiting” as well.

ᴱQ. laulemo n. “inhabitant”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. laulemo “inhabitant” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an agental form of ᴱQ. laule “(mode of) life” under the early root ᴱ√LAWA (QL/52).

Neo-Quenya: Since I retain ᴺQ. laulë “(mode of) life” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would retain ᴺQ. laulemo “inhabitant” as well.

Q. mar- v. “to abide, be settled or fixed, [ᴱQ.] dwell, live”

A verb meaning “abide, be settled or fixed” used in Elendil’s Oath (LotR/967; UT/317), clearly derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell”. This verb appeared as far back as the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. mara- “dwell, live” was derived from the early root ᴱ√MBARA (QL/63). For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use it only intransitively, mostly in the sense “dwell, live (in a place)”.

ᴱQ. mardo n. “dweller”

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. mardo “dweller” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, apparently an agental form of ᴱQ. mar “dwelling” (QL/60).

Neo-Quenya: Since Q. mar(da) “dwelling” appears in Tolkien’s later writing (PE17/64, 107), I would keep ᴺQ. mardo “dweller” as well.

N. dortha- v. “to dwell, stay, [G.] settle”

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dwell, stay” and appearing in its (Noldorin) infinitive form dortho- under the root ᴹ√NDOR “dwell, stay, rest, abide” (Ety/NDOR).

Conceptual Development: The verb G. dortha- “to settle” also appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s where Tolkien said it was both “tr. & intr.” (GL/30). In this document it appeared beneath G. dorn “seat”, and thus likely was a cognate of ᴱQ. sorto- “to set, settle” based on the early root ᴱ√ÐORO “sit” (QL/85).

Neo-Sindarin: In Tolkien’s later writings, √NDOR was glossed “land” rather than “settle”, but I think this verb might still be a valid verbal elaboration for the later meaning of the root, with an original sense “*to take residence in a land”.

G. gwadhra adj. “habitable”

An adjective appearing as G. gwadhra “habitable” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√ŋwa[ð]- (GL/47).

Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien abandoned this early root, so I would adapt this word as ᴺS. bardhor “habitable” based on S. bardh “home” (PE17/164).

G. gwadhron, gwadhril n. “inhabitant”

A word appearing as masculine G. gwadhron and feminine G. gwadhril “inhabitant” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√ŋwa[ð]- (GL/47).

Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien abandoned this early root, so I would adapt this word as gender-neutral ᴺS. bardhon “inhabitant”, an agental form of S. bardh “home” (PE17/164).

ᴱN. meria- v. “to dwell, live, stay”

The verb G. mara- or (m)bara- “dwell” appeared in the the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/56), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√MBARA “dwell” which was blended with ᴱ√MARA (QL/60, 63); the (m)bara- form might be a variant of G. bar(n)a- “dwell in, till (land)” (GL/21). Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s instead had (infinitive) ᴱN. meriad “to dwell, live, stay” (PE13/150), apparently still based on ᴱ√MAR. In Tolkien’s later writings, however, the “dwell” root was consistently √MBAR.

Neo-Sindarin: Given the later form of the root, the Gnomish verb might be salvaged as ᴺS. bar- “to live, dwell, stay” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, a cognate of Q. mar- “abide” (UT/317), though you may just want to use attested [N.] dortha- “to dwell, stay” from the 1930s (Ety/NDOR).

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