9.19 Rope, Cord
- ᴱQ. hempa n. “cord”
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A noun appearing as ᴱQ. hempa “cord” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√HEPE “bind” (QL/40).
Neo-Sindarin: In Tolkien’s later writings √KHEP meant “keep”, but I think it could still be the basis for ᴺQ. hempa “cord”.
- Q. hísilanya n. “mist thread, grey elvish rope”
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Quenya equivalent of S. hithlain “mist thread”, a combination of Q. hísë “mist” and Q. lanya “thread” (PE17/60).
- ᴱQ. serma n. “string, ⚠️cord”
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A word appearing as ᴱQ. serma “string, cord” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SERE [ÞERE] “twine, tie, bind” (QL/83).
Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings √THER meant “sew”, but I think ᴺQ. serma can be salvaged if its use is limited to a smaller “string”.
- S. hithlain n. “mist thread, grey elvish rope”
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The name of the grey elvish rope from The Lord of the Rings (LotR/371). Starting with the second edition index of LotR Tolkien said it meant “mist thread” (LotRI), and in notes from the late 1960s he gave its Quenya equivalent as hísilanya, indicating the elements of hithlain were hîth “mist” and lain “thread, warp, ‽twine” (PE17/60).
- N. hniof n. “noose, snare”
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A word appearing as N. {nû >>} hniof/hnuif “noose, snare” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from ON. sniuma/snȳma under the root ᴹ√SNEW “entangle” (Ety/SNEW; EtyAC/SNEW). Even in the 1930s its phonetic developments were quite peculiar: see the entry on how [eu] became [iu] in (Old) Sindarin for further details.
Neo-Sindarin: If adapted to Sindarin phonology, this word would become ᴺS. nŷw “noose, snare”, as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD).
- N. nordh n. “cord”
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A noun for “cord” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√SNUR “twist” (Ety/SNUR).
- S. raph n. “?rope, strap”
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A word attested only as an element in talraph “stirrup” in the name Udalraph “Stirrupless” (UT/313). David Salo suggested raph might mean “rope” or “strap” so that “stirrup = foot rope/strap” (GS/281). If so, it might be related to the 1930s root ᴹ√RAP “bind” (EtyAC/RAP).
9.192 Knot
- ᴹQ. narda n. “knot”
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A noun for “knot” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√SNAR “tie” (Ety/SNAR).
- N. nardh n. “knot”
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A noun for “knot” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√SNAR “tie” (Ety/SNAR).
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. thred “a knot” related to G. ther- “tie” (GL/72-73), hence based the early root ᴱ√SERE [ÞERE] “twine, tie, bind” (QL/83).
- N. norn adj. “twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted”
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An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted”, derived from the root ᴹ√SNUR “twist” (Ety/SNUR).