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Select Elvish Words 9.33: to Draw, Pull

9.33 to Draw, Pull

ᴱQ. luk- v. “to haul, drag, [ᴱQ.] pull (behind)”

A verb appearing as ᴱQ. luk- “pull” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/134). A set of what appears to be past forms (lunke, ulunke, ulunket, unlunke) appeared in various versions of an untranslated sentence in the same document: unlunke naiqe yu vaile·na ar elle ha men ambostuva, perhaps meaning “*he pulled his sword from the sheath and drove it into the breast” as suggested by the editors (PE16/146).

Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings he had a root √LUK “haul, drag” (PE17/28). Therefore I think that this early verb can be retained as ᴺQ. luc- “to haul, drag, pull” based on the later root. I would use it primarily in the sense “pull [behind]”, as opposed to ᴹQ. tuk- “draw, *pull [toward]”.

ᴹQ. rihta- v. “to jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch, *wrench”

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “jerk, give quick twist or move, twitch” derived from the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (Ety/RIK(H)).

Conceptual Development: Earlier verbs for “jerk” include ᴱQ. kiltin “I jerk, tuck” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KLTL “tilt; fling” (QL/47) and ᴱQ. hyehta- “to jerk” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/144). See also ric- “twist” for basic verbs of similar meaning.

ᴹQ. rinka n. “twitch, jerk, trick, sudden move”

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing after N. rhinc “twitch, jerk, trick, sudden move” under the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (EtyAC/RIK(H)). It may thus have the same meaning as the Noldorin word, though the two are not direct cognates since rhinc does not show a-affection. Alternately, rinka could be some kind of (untranslated) adjective.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I assume rinca is a noun, though only with the meanings “twitch, jerk, sudden move”.

Conceptual Development: Earlier nouns of similar meaning include ᴱQ. kilt “a tuck” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KLTL “tilt; fling” (QL/47) and ᴱQ. hyekka “a jerk” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/144). See also rihta- “to jerk” for a discussion of related verbs.

ᴹQ. tuk- v. “to draw, *pull (toward)”

A verb appearing as tukin “I draw” in The Etymologies of the 1930s based on the root ᴹ√TUK “draw, bring” (Ety/TUK). Given the meaning of the root, it is clear this verb means “draw” = “*pull towards” and not “draw = create a picture”, for which I would use [ᴺQ.] emmata-.

N. rhinc n. “twitch, jerk, trick, sudden move”

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “twitch, jerk, trick, sudden move”, apparently derived from ᴹ✶rinki under the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (Ety/RIK(H)).

Neo-Sindarin: Since initial r unvoiced to rh in Noldorin of the 1930s but not in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, most Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. rinc “twitch, jerk, sudden move”, as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD).

Conceptual Development: Earlier nouns for “jerk” included G. cilt from Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/26), clearly a cognate of ᴱQ. kilt “tuck” under the early root ᴱ√KḶTḶ “tilt; fling” (QL/47).

N. rhitha- v. “to jerk, twitch, snatch”

A verb appearing as its (Noldorin) infinitive form rhitho “jerk, twitch, snatch” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√RIK(H) “jerk, sudden move, flirt” (Ety/RIK(H)).

Neo-Sindarin: Since initial r unvoiced to rh in Noldorin of the 1930s but not in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, some Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. ritha-, as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD).

Conceptual Development: Earlier verbs for “to jerk” included G. ciltha- from Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/26), clearly a cognate of ᴱQ. kilti- “to jerk, tuck” under the early root ᴱ√KḶTḶ “tilt; fling” (QL/47). Another early verb of similar form but different meaning is G. rictha- “contort, twist, confuse, disarrange, upset” clearly based on the early root the early root ᴱ√RIKI (GL/65; QL/80); see G. rig- “to twist, contort” for further discussion.

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