OS. medial [s] assimilated to following nasal; [-{sm|sn}-] > [-{mm|nn}-]
In the (Old) Noldorin of the 1930s, it seems that primitive [s] in combination with a nasals [m] or [n] developed into [mm] or [nn]. There are several examples in The Etymologies:
Tolkien also alludes to the sound change sm, sn > mm, nn in his discussion of the Noldorin use of the Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s:
In later Gondolic (after Y.S. 300) medial mb > mm. The letter t thus became used = [mm] of any origin (PQ pm, bm, sm, mm, mb) and is usually transcribed mm ... In post-Exilic, Toleressean, [mm] generally > [m] but this was not recognized usually in spelling ... In late Exilic (after Y.S. 307) [nd] > [nn]. The letter 5 thus became used of [nn] of any origin (PQ tn, dn, sn, nn, nd); and is usually transcribed nn, except in ancient historical Gondolic names: as Gondolin (PE22/35).
David Salo noted this development, theorizing the medial sound changes resembled the corresponding initial developments, with the s first unvoicing the nasal and then assimilating to it with later revoicing (GS/§4.70): [-sm-] > [-sm̥-] > [-m̥m̥-] > [-mm-]. The above example ᴹ✶kas-ma > kazma > ON. kama “helmet” (EtyAC/KAS) hints at another path for the medial development, with the s voicing to z and then assimilating to the voiced nasal: [-sm-] > [-zm-] > [-mm-]. Tolkien mentioned such voicings of s did not happen in Primitive Elvish but were possible in Eldarin child languages, though he did not say specifically whether it occurred in Noldorin:
s became voiced whenever, by suffixion or abnormal vocalization of bases (see above), it came to stand before a voiced stop: thus sb, sd, sg > zb, zd, zg. Of these, only zd could be produced by suffixion; s was not voiced before other voiced consonants (as m, n, l, r, w, y) in Quendian or [Common] Eldarin, though voicing occurred in such positions in some of the individual languages (first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa [TQ1], 1930s, PE18/54).
Similar sound changes happened in Welsh, where such s-assimilation occurred before both nasals and liquids: -sm-, -sn-, -sl-, -sr- > -mm-, -nn-, -ll-, -rr- (WGHC/§95ii). There is one example that hints that in Old Noldorin, -sr- might also become -rr-:
This does not seem to be the case in Sindarin, however:
There are similar examples where [-sr-] > [-θr-] in Noldorin:
For lhathron, it seems the consonant cluster was [-nsr-] in the Old Noldorin period, and only became [-sr-] later after nasals vanished before spirantal clusters. The Old Noldorin cluster was probably [-str-] in the other two examples: *lost-ren > *lhosren > lhothren and *ost-rond > *osrond > othrond. Thus, it’s possible that [-sr-] > [-r̥r̥-] > [-rr-] was the Old Noldorin sound change and [-sr-] > [-θr-] was the later Noldorin sound change after consonants were lost in larger clusters.
Conceptual Development: There are not many attested examples of these sound combinations in earlier iterations of the language, but it seems that in Gnomish at least the medial [sm] had the same development as initially, to [f]:
As noted above, it seems unlikely that medial sr > rr in Old Sindarin, but it is possible that sm, sn > mm, nn, since a similar change happened in Welsh. There is no clear evidence either way.
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ON. medial [s] assimilated to following nasal or liquid; [-V{sm|sn|sl|sr}-] > [-V{mm|nn|ll|rr}-]
References ✧ PE22/35
Order (04000)
After | 02400 | long final vowels were shortened | ᴹ✶gaisrā > gǣsra > ON. gērrha | Ety/GÁYAS |
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Phonetic Rule Examples
asmale > ammale | -sm- > -mm- | ᴹ✶asmalē > ON. ammale | ✧ Ety/SMAL |
asmalinde > ammalinde | -sm- > -mm- | ᴹ✶asmalindē̆ > ON. ammalinde | ✧ Ety/SMAL |
kasma > kamma | -sm- > -mm- | ᴹ✶kas-ma > kazma > ON. kama | ✧ EtyAC/KAS |
besno > benno | -sn- > -nn- | ᴹ✶besnō > ON. benno | ✧ Ety/BES |
xerbesno > xerbenno | -sn- > -nn- | ᴹ√KHER > N. hervenn | ✧ Ety/KHER |
gę̄sra > gę̄rra | -sr- > -rr- | ᴹ✶gaisrā > gǣsra > ON. gērrha | ✧ Ety/GÁYAS |