10.66 to Ride
- ᴱQ. lehesta v. “ride, riding, raid”
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A noun appearing as ᴱQ. lehesta “riding, raid” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/45, 75). In the contemporaneous English-Qenya Dictionary, it was lehesta or lehtasta “ride” based on the verb ᴱQ. lehe or lehta “ride” (PE16/132).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would update the noun to ᴺQ. nortasta “a ride” based on the later verb Q. norta- “to ride”. For “riding” as a general activity I would just use the gerund nortie.
- Q. norta- v. “to ride, [lit.] make run (specially used of riding horses or other animals)”
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A verb for “ride” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s as a causative verb based on the root √NOR “run”, thus more literally “make run, specially used of riding horses or other animals” (PE17/168). As examples of its use, Tolkien gave the phrases nortanen “I rode” and onortanen rokko “I rode a horse”. The function of the prefix o- in the latter phrase isn’t entirely clear, but Vyacheslav Stepanov suggested it might be o- “together”, so that “I rode a horse = I made a horse run together [with me]”. If so, it may be the case that o- is used when the verb has a direct object (onortanyes “I ride [together with] it”) and is omitted when the verb has no object (nortal sí “you ride now”).
Conceptual Development: See the entry for ᴱQ. lehta- “ride” for a discussion of earlier “ride” verbs.
- Q. roquen n. “horseman, rider; knight”
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A word for a “horseman, rider” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, a reduction of ancient ✶roko-kwēn “*horse-person” (WJ/372, 407). In notes on the Disaster of Gladden Fields, Tolkien translated roquen as “knight” for a rank higher than a mere ohtar “warrior” (UT/282 note #17), though apparently all ranks rode horses. It may be that the sense “knight” applies only in a [Gondorian?] military context, while in ordinary use roquen can apply to anyone capable of riding a horse. A more general term for a “knight” as a noble person would be arquen.
- S. north n. “riding, race (of people running), charge or gallop”
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A noun for “a riding, a race (of people running), a charge or gallop” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √NOR “run” (PE17/168-9). As such it seems to describe any sustained run of people or animals.
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. {drond >>} dronn “race, course, track” (GL/31), likely also based on the early root ᴱ√NORO “run, ride, spin” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Nornorë).
- S. northa- v. “to make run (of horses and animals), *ride; [G.] to send rolling [as a vehicle], speed”
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A causative verb in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s based on the root √NOR “run”, meaning “make run, specially used of riding horses or other animals” so probably also having the sense “*ride” like its Quenya cognate Q. norta- (PE17/168).
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. northa- “to send rolling, speed” (GL/61), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” (QL/67). This early root had other derivatives like G. norn “wheel”.
Neo-Sindarin: I let the root √NOR retain the sense “roll” for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, so I would keep the sense “send rolling, speed” for S. northa- as well, using it for both “ride [an animal]” and “ride [a vehicle]”.
- S. rochben n. “rider”
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There was a word rochben “rider” (of any gender) in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, a combination of roch “horse” with the suffix -ben “person” (WJ/376). Tolkien used it as an example of how Sindarin plurals applied only to the second element of recognized compounds: pl. rochbin “riders” rather than **rechbin; compare more ancient roechbin [rœchbin] where the plural mutation applied to the entire word, and modern erphin “nobles” plural of arphen [< *ar-pen], which is no longer recognized as a compound.
In notes on The Ride of Eorl, Tolkien instead had rochon “rider” in the song-name Rochon Methestel “Rider of the Last Hope” (UT/313). Since this used the masculine suffix -on, this was presumably a specifically male rider, as opposed to a female rider which might be *rochil.
- S. talraph n. “stirrup”
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A word for “stirrup” appearing in its mutated form in the name Udalraph “Stirrupless” (UT/313). Its initial element is clearly tâl “foot”, so presumably its second element raph means something like “*rope” or “*strap” as suggested by David Salo (GS/281).
10.67 to Push, Shove
- Q. nir- v. “to press, urge, thrust, force (in a given direction); *to impose [with allative]”
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A word in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 glossed “press, thrust, force (in a given direction)” and derived from √NID “force, press(ure), thrust” (PE22/165). Tolkien further specified that “though applicable to the pressure of a person on others, by mind and ‘will’ as well as by physical strength, [nir-] could also be used of physical pressures exerted by inanimates”, and that this verb “was as in Q. used as ‘urge, press, force’ generally without limitation to operations of mind”, as opposed to Sindarin where nidh- was purely mental/social.
Neo-Quenya: Röandil suggested in the “Neologism of the Day” series on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) in 2023-03-30 that this verb might also have the sense “impose” when used with the pressured party in the allative, as in i eldar ninder i santie tenna “the elves imposed [pressed] the decision on them”.
- Q. nírë n. “force”
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A general word for “force” [physical, social and mental] derived from √NID “force, press(ure), thrust” and appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/165).
- Q. nírítë adj. “forceful, exerting great thrust or pressure, driving”
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An adjective glossed “forceful, exerting great thrust or pressure, driving” based on Q. nírë “force” and appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/165).
- Q. rum- v. “to shift, move, heave (of large and heavy things)”
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The active participle/adjective rúmala >> rúma “moving” appeared in the Markirya poem from the 1960s in the phrase undumë rúma “the abyss moving” (MC/222). In notes associated with this poem, Tolkien gave the verb form as rúma- “shift, move, heave (of large and heavy things)” (MC/223). I am of the opinion that this is actually the present tense form of a basic verb rum- of the same meaning, in keeping with the theory that forms like rúmala are the present active participle “moving [now]”, as opposed to the general aorist active participle rumila; see the discussion of the Quenya active participle for more details.
Conceptual Development: In the version of Oilima Markirya from around 1930, this word was ᴱQ. túma “moving” (MC/214). This may be an adjectival form of the verb tum- or tub- “dive” from Early Qenya Word Lists of the 1920s (PE16/132).