8.99: Vegetation (other)
- N. chwann n. “sponge, fungus”
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A noun for “sponge, fungus” appearing as N. chwann or hwand in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶swanda under the root ᴹ√SWAD (Ety/SWAD). In Noldorin of the 1930s, ancient initial sw became voiceless hw, and then this hw became chw.
Neo-Sindarin: Since the change of initial hw to chw did not occur in the Sindarin of 1950s and 60s, I would adopt this word as ᴺS. hwand “sponge, fungus”.
- G. clum(mi) n. “mushroom”
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A noun appearing as {clumbi >>} G. clummi or clum “mushroom” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/26), cognate to ᴱQ. telumbe “mushroom” under the root ᴱ√TELE “cover in” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/90). It is an example of the sound change whereby tl became cl in Gnomish.
Neo-Sindarin: This sound change occurred in Noldorin of the 1930s but not Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s; compare N. eglenn to S. edlen(n) “exiled” (Ety/LED; PE17/51). To avoid these questions, I would adapt this Gnomish word as ᴺS. telum “mushroom” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.
- S. ereg n. “holly, [N.] holly-tree, ⚠️[S.] thorn”
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The Sindarin word for “holly”, most notably as an element in the name S. Eregion “Hollin” (SA/ereg; PE17/42). N. ereg “holly-tree” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s based on the root ᴹ√EREK “thorn”, along with a longer variant N. eregdos where the second element was N. toss “low-growing tree” (Ety/ERÉK, TUS).
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had two different words for “holly”: G. criscolas “holly” = crisc “sharp” + lass “leaf” (GL/27), as well as G. sempios “holly” = sen “brown-red” + a variant of piog “berry” (GL/67).
- G. fileg n. “fern”
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A noun appearing as G. fileg or filc “fern” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/35), cognate to ᴱQ. filqe “fern” under the early root ᴱ√FILI “fine, thin” (GL/35).
Neo-Sindarin: In Tolkien’s later writing, N. fileg was “small bird”, so I would adapt this Gnomish word as ᴺS. fileb “fern”, assuming a primitive form of *philikwe with kw becoming p (and then b) as usual for Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s. I would also assume that, like N. fileg “small bird”, the singular fileb “fern” was reconstructed based on the plural filib “ferns”.
- N. oeruil n. “seaweed”
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The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. uil “seaweed” under the root ᴹ√UY, along with a longer form N. oeruil “seaweed” where the initial element was N. oer “sea” (Ety/UY).
Neo-Sindarin: In Tolkien’s later writings, the word for “sea” was typically gaear (or gaer in compounds), so I would update the longer form to ᴺS. gaeruil for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD).
- S. Onod n. “Ent”
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The Sindarin word for “Ent” (Let/224), appearing its plural forms Onodrim and Enyd in Appendix F of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1130).
Conceptual Development: The earliest name of the “Entwash” in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s was N. Ogodrûth, indicating a previous form of this word: N. Ogod (TI/250).
- S. seregon n. “stonecrop, plant with red flowers, (lit.) blood of stone”
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A plant with red flowers growing on top of Amon Rûdh (S/203), whose name Tolkien translated as “blood of stone”, and described as “a plant of the kind called in English ‘stonecrop’; it had flowers of a deep red” (UT/148). This word is a combination of sereg “blood” and gond “stone” (SA/gond, sereg).
- G. tadhos n. “hawthorn”
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A noun appearing as G. tadhos “hawthorn” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, an elaboration of G. tath (tadh-) “hedge” based on the early root ᴱ√tadh- (GL/68).
Neo-Sindarin: I would retain ᴺS. tadhos “hawthorn” based on an updated Neo-Root ᴺ√TAD “enclosure”; see that entry for details.
- N. toss n. “bush, low-growing tree”
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A noun for a “bush” or “low-growing tree” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶tussā under the root ᴹ√TUS (Ety/ÓR-NI, TUS). According to Tolkien, the bush-like trees described by this word include maple, hawthorn, blackthorn, holly, etc. Such trees cannot be called orn “(tall) tree” (Ety/ÓR-NI), but presumably could be referred to with the more general term galadh “tree”.
- N. uil n. “seaweed”
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The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. uil “seaweed” under the root ᴹ√UY, along with a longer form N. oeruil “seaweed” where the initial element was N. oer “sea” (Ety/UY).