ᴹ√(M)BAD “duress, prison, doom, hell; *judge” The most notable derivative of this root is Q. Mandos, which in Tolkien’s earlier writings was the name of the Vala, but in later writings technically only the name of his halls. The first iteration of this root was unglossed {ᴱ√MANÐAN >>} ᴱ√Mᵇ(A)NÐ(A)N from
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: MAL-MAY
√MAL “yellow, gold” This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA² “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: MA-MAK
ᴹ√MA “interrogative base; [ᴱ√] root of indef[inite]” This root is the basis for Elvish question words. When it first appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien said ᴱ√MA was the “root of indef[inites]” (GL/55), and it served as the basis for the indefinitive suffix G. -(u)m and ᴱQ.
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LU-LUY
ᴹ√LU “*time” This root and ones like it were the basis for time words throughout Tolkien’s life. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√LUHU or ᴱ√LU’U (the latter marked by Tolkien with a “?”) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. lú
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LOG-LOY
√LOG “wet (and soft), soaked, swampy” Tolkien considered a bewildering variety of roots as the basis for the suffixal element S. -ló “flood” in Sindarin, common in river names such as S. Gwathló and S. Ringló. In a collection of notes associated with the name S. Lhûn from around 1967,
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LI-LIW
√LI “many” This root was connected to words for “many” throughout Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s it appeared as ᴱ√LĪ, with variant ᴱ√ILI² “many” and extended form ᴱ√LIYA (LI + ya) “unite many as one” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lia- “entwine” and ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (QL/42,
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LED-LER
√LED “go, proceed, [ᴹ√] fare, travel” This root appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/LED) and in some later writings (PE17/51, 139) with the basic sense “go”. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien decided that √LED was a Quenya-only variant of the original root √DEL (WJ/360, 363). Elsewhere, Tolkien
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LAN-LAY
√LAN “stretch, extend; ‽twine; [ᴹ√] weave” This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “weave” and derivatives like ᴹQ. lanat “weft” and ᴹQ. lanya- “weave” (Ety/LAN). It reappeared in etymological notes from the late 1960s with the gloss “stretch, extend” or “twine” (the latter marked
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: LA-LAM
√LA “no, not; negative; not to be” An invertible root, √LA or √ALA, used for negation. It first appeared as ᴹ√LA “no, not” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LA), and regularly appeared in document from the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Tolkien then abandoned this form of negation in 1959
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KWEL-KYUR
√KWEL “fade, die away, grow faint, [ᴹ√] fade away; wither, [ᴱ√] decay, perish, die” In Tolkien’s later writings this root primarily meant “fade”, but its earliest precursor ᴱ√QELE from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s was glossed “perish, die, decay, fade”, with derivatives like ᴱQ. qele- of the same meaning,