*√SPALAK; ᴱ√FḶKḶ “cleave, hew” The root {ᴱ√FḶQḶ >>} ᴱ√FḶKḶ “cleave, hew” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. falqa “cleft, pass, ravine” and ᴱQ. falqan “large sword” (QL/38). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. falchon “great two-handed sword, twibill” but also
Elvish Roots
The ancient roots of Tolkien’s languages analyzed by Paul Strack.
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SMAG-SOVO
ᴹ√SMAG “soil, stain” A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “soil, stain” with derivatives {mael >>} N. hmael “stain; stained” and {maw >>} N. hmaw “soil, stain” (Ety/SMAG; EtyAC/SMAG). Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAG⁽²⁾ (EtyAC/MAG²). √SNAG “wound, gash” A root appearing in the Outline of Phonology
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SLIG-SLUS
ᴹ√SLIG “*entwine, thread; spider” An unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s, with derivatives like ᴹQ. lia/N. thlê “fine thread, spider filament” and ᴹQ. líne/N. thling “cobweb, [N.] spider” (Ety/SLIG). It is probably a later iteration of the primitive form ᴱ√LI+ya “unite many as one” from the Qenya Lexicon
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SKAL-SKYAP
√SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal, [ᴹ√] screen, hide (from light), overshadow” A root appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√SKAL¹ “screen, hide (from light), overshadow” (Ety/SKAL¹) with a couple rejected variant meanings “cower, hide” and “conceal, hide (from light)” (EtyAC/SKAL¹, SKAL³). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. halda/N. hall
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SI-SḶTḶ
√SI “this, [ᴹ√] here, now” Tolkien used √SI as the basis for “near demonstratives” like “here” and “now” from very early in his writings on Elvish. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had two competing roots ᴱ√HYA “this by us” with derivatives like ᴱQ. hyá “here by us” (QL/41) and ᴱ√KI “this
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SED-SEREK
√SED “rest” This root first appeared as ᴹ√SED “rest” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. sére “rest, repose, peace” and N. sîdh “peace”, along with the name of the Valië ᴹQ. Este < ᴹ✶ezdē (Ety/SED). The root √SED “rest” along with the etymology of Este reappeared
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: SAN-SAY
√SAN “think, use mind; ponder, consider in thought” Tolkien used this root and ones like it on-and-off for Elvish “thought” words throughout his life. The first manifestation of this root was in words from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s like G. sana- “can, know how to, have knowledge, craft
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: S-SAM
Roots with an s-prefix were common in Elvish throughout Tolkien’s life. In notes from around 1967 discussing the root √SKAL, Tolkien considered giving the s-prefix a more specific sense: Keep this part so far as it affects SKAL [“cover, veil, cloak, conceal”]. SKAL & KHAL were both probably primitively related,
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: RUK-RUY
√RUK “terrible shapes and the fear they inspire, [ᴹ√] demon”; ᴹ√OROK “*goblin” The root ᴹ√RUK “demon” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. rauko and N. rhaug of the same meaning, serving as the basis for N. Balrog (Ety/RUK). In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, similar
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: RŌ-ROT
√RŌ/ORO “up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount; [ᴹ√] high, [ᴱ√] steepness, rising” This invertible root had a long history in Tolkien’s writings. Its earliest iteration was in a pair of roots in Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: ᴱ√OŘO [OÐO] with derivatives having to do with the “dawn”, and ᴱ√ORO “steepness,