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Select Elvish Words 10.53-10.54: to Pursue; to Overtake

10.53 to Pursue

ᴹQ. alfárima v. “impossible to pursue”

A word for “impossible to pursue” from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 (PE22/111), which is the verb fara- “hunt” combined with the suffix of possibility -ima (> “*huntable”) and the negative prefix al(a)- (> “*unhuntable”).

ᴹQ. roita- v. “to pursue, *chase”

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “pursue” under the root ᴹ√ROY “chase” (Ety/ROY).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had a similar verb ᴱQ. rawa- “run, chase” under the early root ᴱ√RAẆA (QL/79). This same document also had ᴱQ. rauta- under the early root ᴱ√RAVA; this verb’s primary meaning was “chase, hunt, pursue”, with secondary meaning “extirpate, exterminate” (QL/79).

G. rausta- v. “to hunt, chase, pursue (only in actual sense of following game)”

A word appearing as G. rausta- in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with the gloss “to hunt, chase, pursue (only in actual sense of following game)”, a verb form of G. raust “hunt, chase” (GL/65). Tolkien also had G. rautha- “hunt, chase, pursue” on the same page.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would revise these verbs to ᴺS. ruida- “to pursue, chase” based on the later root ᴹ√ROY¹ “chase” and cognate to ᴹQ. roita- of similar meaning, but removing the sense “hunt” and its connection to game animals to make it more distinct from [N.] fara- “to hunt”. I’ve seen this Sindarin neologism proposed in several places, but I’m not sure who first coined it.

10.54 to Overtake

Q. rem- v. “to snare, *entangle, trap”

A basic verb for “snare” appearing in its aorist stem form remi- in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, a derivative of the root √REM “entangle, snare, trap (as hunters or fishers) with lines or nets” (VT42/12).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume the Quenya verb could also mean “*entangle, trap”. However, Tolkien may have intended this verb only to mean “*trap with a net”.

Q. remma n. “snare, *trap”

A noun glossed “snare” in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s based on the root √REM or √REB “entangle, snare, trap (as hunters or fishers) with lines or nets”, whose other derivatives include S. remmen “meshed, netted, entangled” and S. Remmirath “Netted Jewels” (VT42/12).

Conceptual Development: Earlier “snare” words include ᴱQ. lak (laq-) “snare” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LAQA “catch” (QL/51), and ᴹQ. neuma “snare” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SNEW “entangle” (Ety/SNEW).

Neo-Quenya: I would not use ᴱQ. lak for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but I think ᴹQ. neuma can be salvaged. Its Noldorin cognate N. hniof had the additional gloss “noose”, so I think neuma would apply mainly to nooses and noose-like traps. Conversely, the derivatives of √REM had mostly to do with nets, so I would use remma as a “snare” for net-like traps. I would also use remma as a more general word for “*trap”, including metaphorical traps like ambushes or “traps” within debates on words. For an actual “net” I would use rembë.

N. gad- v. “to catch”

A verb for “catch” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√GAT (Ety/GAT). The root also had a Quenya derivative ᴹQ. atsa “catch, hook, claw”.

Conceptual Development: A possible precursor is G. croctha- “catch, snare, trap” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a verb form of G. crog “hook” (GL/27).

S. raeda- v. “to catch in a net”

A verb for “catch in a net” in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s based on the root √RAY “net, knit, contrive network or lace” (VT42/12).

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