√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,
Elvish Roots
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,
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KWA-KWE
√KWA “complete, full, whole, all, every; [ᴹ√] something” A root, frequently but not universally suffixal, indicating completion or fullness. The first appearance of this root was ᴹ√KWA “something” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, serving as the basis for ᴹQ. il-qa “everything, *all-thing” (EtyAC/KWA). √KWA reappeared in the Quendi and
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KOM-KUY
√KOM “gather, collect” A root Tolkien invented to explain S. mae govannen “well met”, serving as the basis for the verb S. covad(a)- “bring together, make meet” (PE17/16, 157-158). Tolkien gave this root as both √KOB and √KOM, but some of its Quenya derivatives can only be derived from √KOM:
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KIL-KOL
√KIL “choose, select; [ᴹ√] divide; [ᴱ√] edge” This root has a long history in Tolkien’s writing, but it evolved in meaning over Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√KILI “edge” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. kíla/G. cilm “edge, rim” and ᴱQ.
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KHOL-KHYEL(ES)
√KHOL “crow, cry aloud” A root appearing in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s with the gloss “crow, cry aloud”, serving as the basis for primitive words for male and female chickens (PE21/82). It may be an later iteration of the early root ᴱ√HO(HO) “shout, scream” from the
Select Primitive Elvish Roots: KHEL-KHITH
√KHEL “ice, [ᴹ√] freeze” This root was the basis for “ice” words all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱ√HELE appeared with variant ᴱ√HḶKḶ as the basis for words like ᴱQ. helke “ice”, ᴱQ. helka “ice-cold”, ᴱQ. halkin “frozen” ᴱQ. hilk- “freeze” (QL/39). The root