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Select Elvish Words 9.46-9.48: Bore, Auger, Saw

9.46 to Bore

ᴱQ. ter- v. “*to pierce”

The verb ᴱQ. ter- appeared untranslated in a list of Qenya Verb Forms from the 1910s (PE14/28). Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson suggested it might be based on the early root ᴱ√teře “pierce” from this same period (PE14/28 note #4; PME/91).

Conceptual Development: The root √TER “pierce” appeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings (Ety/TER; PE17/33), so I would use ᴺQ. ter- “to pierce” for purposes of Neo-Quenya. For example, Helge Fauskanger had the active participle ᴺQ. térala “piercing” for his Neo-Quenya New Testament (NQNT). I would use the active participle form terila myself, but I think the basic verb ter- is perfectly viable.

9.47 Auger

ᴱQ. terendl n. “lathe”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. terendl “lathe” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s based the early root ᴱ√TEŘE “pierce” and similar in form to ᴱQ. teren “lissom, lithe” from the same root (QL/91; PME/91). Tolkien marked both these Early Qenya words with a “?”.

Neo-Quenya: The root √TER “pierce” appeared in Tolkien’s later writings along with a derived adjective [ᴹQ.] teren(e) “slender”, so I think this early “lathe” word can be salvaged for purpose of Neo-Quenya. I would update it to ᴺQ. terendel “lathe” to be consistent with the later Quenya rules for the syllabification of l.

ᴱQ. teret (terekt-) n. “auger, borer, gimlet”

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. teret (terekt-) “auger, borer, gimlet” in the Qenya Lexicon based on the early root ᴱ√TEŘE “pierce” (QL/91; PME/91).

Neo-Quenya: The root √TER “pierce” appeared in Tolkien’s later writings so I think this ᴺQ. teret “auger, borer, gimlet” can be salvaged for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but I would update its stem form to tereht- for consistency with later Quenya phonology.

9.48 Saw

ᴱQ. karkasarma [þ] n. “large saw”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. karkasarma “a large saw” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a combination form of ᴱQ. karka “fang” and ᴱQ. sarma “saw” (QL/48).

Neo-Quenya: Since Q. carca “fang” appears in Tolkien’s later writings and I retain ᴺQ. sarma “saw” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would retain ᴺQ. carcasarma “large saw” as well.

ᴱQ. sara- [þ] v. “to saw [wood]”

A verb appearing as ᴱQ. sara- “saw” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root {ᴱ√SAŘA >>} ᴱ√SARA, apparently of the same meaning (QL/82). Its Gnomish cognate G. thar- “saw (up)” indicates an actual root form of *ᴱ√ÞARA.

Neo-Quenya: The root √THAR means “across” in Tolkien’s later writings, but I think ᴺQ. sara- “to saw [wood]” is still salvageable from an original sense of “*(cut) across”.

ᴱQ. sarma [þ] n. “saw”

A word appearing as ᴱQ. sarma “a saw” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a noun form of ᴱQ. sara- “saw” under the root ᴱ√SARA of the similar meaning (QL/82).

Neo-Quenya: Since I retain ᴺQ. sara- “to saw [wood]” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would retain the noun ᴺQ. sarma “saw” as well.

G. thar- v. “to saw (up)”

A verb appearing as G. thar- “saw (up)” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/72), likely based on the early ᴱ√SARA “saw” (QL/82). The Gnomish word indicates an actual root form of *ᴱ√ÞARA.

Neo-Sindarin: The root √THAR means “across” in Tolkien’s later writings, but I think ᴺS. thar- “to saw (up)” is still salvageable from an original sense of “*(cut) across”.

G. tharm n. “saw”

A word appearing as G. tharm or thram “a saw” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a noun form of G. thar- “saw (up)” (GL/72-73).

Neo-Sindarin: Since I retain ᴺS. thar- “to saw (up)” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would retain the noun as well, but updated to ᴺS. tharf “saw” to better fit later Sindarin phonology.

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