11.33 to Lose
- Q. rov- v. “to lose”
-
A verb for “to lose” appearing in notes from the late 1940s in its perfect form róvie “[had] lost” (PE23/92).
- G. laith(r)a- v. “to let slip, lose, mislay; (intr.) to be lost; to forget”
-
A verb appearing as G. laitha- or laithra- “let slip, lose, mislay, forget” from the Gnomish Lexicon; it could also be used intransitively to mean “to be lost”, especially in the form laithra- (GL/52). Tolkien said it was the result of a mingling of two roots: ᴱ√lech and ᴱ√lith-, the former having to do with slippery things and the latter with time.
Neo-Sindarin: In 2018 I made an attempt to salvage this verb (my suggestion was ᴺS. laetha-), but this was rejected by the community. In a Discord conversation in 2022-04-16, Elaran proposed redefining this verb as lítha- “to let slip, lose, mislay; (intr.) to be lost” based on the later root √LIK “slip” which was recently published; by extension it can also mean “to forget”. I quickly adopted Elaran’s proposal as better than mine.
11.34 to Release
- ᴹQ. lehta- v. “to loose, slacken”
-
A verb appearing as ᴹQ. lehta “loose, slacken” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LEK “loose, let loose, release” (Ety/LEK). It had a variant form, given as leuka in The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road (LR/368), but in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne stated the actual form was lenka (VT45/27).
- Q. lerya- v. “to release, set free, let go”
-
A verb for “release, set free, let go” in notes from 1959-60, derived from the root √LER “free” (VT41/5; PE17/160).
Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. fainu- “release” under the early root ᴱ√FAẎA, also having to do with freedom (QL/37).
- Q. sen- v. “to let loose, free, let go”
-
A verb (or root) glossed “let loose, free, let go” serving as the basis for apsen- “remit, release, forgive” in etymological notes associated with Quenya prayers from the 1950s (VT43/18).
- ᴱQ. usu- v. “to escape, get out”
-
A verb appearing as ᴱQ. usu- “get out” in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/98). In the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon it was given as usin “he escapes” with past forms usse and ūse under the early root ᴱ√USU⁽¹⁾ “get out, escape” (QL/98).
Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. us- “to escape, get out” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but reconceived as a derivative of the Neo-Root ᴺ√UTH of similar meaning.
- ᴱQ. uswe v. “escape, issue, outlet”
-
A noun appearing as ᴱQ. uswe “issue, outlet, escape” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱᴱ√USU⁽¹⁾ “get out, escape” (QL/98). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was translated “escape, issue” (PME/98).
Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. uswë “escape, issue, outlet” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but reconceived as a derivative of the Neo-Root ᴺ√UTH, perhaps from primitive *uth-wē.
- N. breitha- v. “to break out suddenly”
-
A verb appearing in its [Noldorin] infinitive form breitho “break out suddenly” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶b’rekta under the root ᴹ√BEREK (Ety/BERÉK). In an earlier iteration of this entry this verb was instead derived from the root ᴹ√MEREK (EtyAC/MERÉK).
- S. leithia- v. “to release, [N.] set free”
-
A verb appearing in its [Noldorin] infinitive form N. lheitho “to release, set free” under the root ᴹ√LEK “loose, let loose, release” (Ety/LEK). Here the initial lh is the result of the Noldorin unvoicing of initial l, a sound change Tolkien abandoned for Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, and indeed this entry also had an “EN” [Exhilic Noldorin] form leithia- “to release”, consistent with the use of Leithian “Release from Bondage” in The Silmarillion (S/162).
- S. leithian n. “release from bondage, [N.] release, freeing”
-
A noun most notably used as the name of the “Lay of Leithian” in The Silmarillion, translated “Release from Bondage” (S/162). It had this translation back in its earliest appearance in the 1920s (LB/120). The Etymologies of the 1930s has N. Lheithian “Release, Freeing” based on the verb N. lheithia- “to release, set free” under the root ᴹ√LEK “loose, let loose, release” (Ety/LEK). Here the initial lh is the result of the Noldorin unvoicing of initial l, a sound change Tolkien abandoned for Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, and indeed this entry also had an “EN” [Exhilic Noldorin] form leithian “release”. A slip accompanying The Etymologies indicated the root was instead Leth-, but √LEK was the root form given in Tolkien’s later writing (VT41/6).
- G. uthra- v. “to get away, escape”
-
A verb appearing as G. uthra- “get away, escape” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s related to the noun G. uthwen “way out, exit; escape” (GL/75), both clearly based on the early root ᴱ√USU “get out, escape” (QL/98).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would adapt this verb as ᴺS. othra- “to get away, escape” with the usual Sindarin change of short u to o, based on a Neo-Root ᴺ√UTH.
- G. uthwen v. “escape, way out, exit”
-
A noun appearing as G. uthwen “way out, exit; escape” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s related to the verb G. uthra- “get away, escape” (GL/75), both clearly based on the early root ᴱ√USU “get out, escape” (QL/98).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would retain this noun as ᴺS. uthwen “way out, exit; escape”, but re-etymologized as a combination of the Neo-Root ᴺ√UTH “escape” with men “way”, with thm > thw and then the u preserved by the following w.