Select Elvish Words 7.28 Roof

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “cupola, dome”, apparently a combination of variants of ᴹQ. koron “globe” and ᴹQ. mindon “tower” (Ety/KOR).

A word for a “vault” or “dome” in the Namárië poem (LotR/377; RGEO/58). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien said telluma “dome, cupola” was an alteration of telumë under the influence of the Valarin word Val. delgūmā “dome”, used “especially the ‘Dome of Varda’ over Valinor, but also applied to the domes of the mansion of Manwe and Varda upon Taniquetil” (WJ/399, 411). As such, this word may not have been in common use, being applicable only to the “holy domes” of the Valar.

A word for “roof, canopy” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 derived from √TELU “roof in, put the crown on a building” (WJ/399, 411). Tolkien said it “was probably one of the earliest Quendian words for the heavens, the firmament, before the increase of their knowledge, and the invention of the Eldarin word Menel” (WJ/411). As such, it was only used for “heavens” metaphorically, in mythical names like Telumehtar “Warrior of the Sky”, the Quenya name of the Orion constellation (LotR/1113; WJ/411).

Conceptual Development: The first precursor to this word seems to be ᴱQ. telimbo “canopy, often used = sky” under the early root ᴱ√TELE “cover in” (QL/90). This became ᴱQ. telume “heavens, vault of heaven, firmament” in Qenya poems written around 1930 (MC/214, 221; PE16/142). In the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s it was ᴹQ. telume “vault, heaven” (PE21/16) and in The Etymologies of the 1930s it was glossed “dome, (especially) dome of heaven” under the root ᴹ√TEL(U) (Ety/TEL).

A word for “canopy” appearing in the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s, an elaboration of ᴹQ. telume “vault, heaven” (PE21/16). It initially had a stem form of telumeht- (PE21/16), but this was revised to telumett- (PE21/37 and note #133).

A noun for “roof” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√TOP “cover, roof” (Ety/TOP).

A verb for “to roof” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√TOP “cover, roof” (Ety/TOP).

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. túpele “roofing, tiles, roof” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an elaboration of ᴱQ. tupu- “to roof, cover” under the early root ᴱ√TUPU (QL/95).

Neo-Quenya: Since √TUP “cover” survives in Tolkien’s later writings, for purposes of Neo-Quenya I would retain ᴺQ. túpelë with the sense “roofing, tiles”, but for “roof” I would use the later word ᴹQ. tópa.

A word appearing as ᴱQ. tupin “roofed, having a lid, having hat on” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, an adjective form of ᴱQ. tupu- “to roof, cover” under the early root ᴱ√TUPU (QL/95).

Neo-Quenya: Since √TUP “cover” survives in Tolkien’s later writings, I would retain ᴺQ. tupin “roofed, having a lid, having hat on” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, referring to a thing with another thing (such as a roof, a lid or a hat) covering its top.

A noun for “thatch” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶tupsē under the root ᴹ√TUP (Ety/TUP).

A verb appearing as its [Noldorin] infinitive form ortheli “roof, screen above” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a combination of the N. or “above” with ᴹ√TEL(U) having to do with roofs (Ety/TEL).

A word for “canopy” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a noun form of N. ortheli “roof, screen above” (Ety/TEL).

A noun for “thatch” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶tupsē under the root ᴹ√TUP (Ety/TUP). Its derivation is rather mysterious unless you realize that final -se became -sa in (Old) Noldorin, for example ᴹ✶peltakse > ON. pelthaksa (Ety/PEL). Given this, primitive *tupsā became ON. tuphsa [tuɸsa], when then underwent a-affection to tophsa [toɸsa]. The spirantal ph vocalized to u, and in the resulting tous(a) the diphthong ou became au, producing taus.

Neo-Sindarin: Most of these phonetic changes remain valid in later Sindarin, but it is possible that the combination ps became ff rather than us to produce S. *toph. Nevertheless, I would assume some variations in the ancient Sindarin dialects of Beleriand, and would retain [N.] taus “thatch” as the result in one of those dialects for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dome, high roof” under the root ᴹ√TEL(U), cognate to ᴹQ. telume “vault, dome (of heaven)” (Ety/TEL).

Conceptual Development: G. telm or telum was glossed “roof; sky” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, both derivatives of the root ᴱ√tel- “cover in; close; finish” (GL/70). ᴱN. telum “sky” appeared again in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/153), but by The Etymologies of the 1930s N. telu meant only “dome, high roof” (Ety/TEL), and its connection to “sky” seems to have been abandoned in Noldorin/Sindarin, though retained in Quenya telumë.

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “roofing, roof” under the root ᴹ√TOP “cover, roof” (Ety/TOP; EtyAC/TOP). The only gloss appearing in The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road was “roofing” (LR/394), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne clarified that the full gloss was “roofing, roof” in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT46/19).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. teld or telthon “roof” derived from the early root ᴱ√tel- “cover in; close; finish” (GL/70). The Official Name List from the 1910s had only Teld “roof” (PE13/104).