N. naew n. “jaw” (Category: Jaw)
A noun for “jaw” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶nakma (*“bite-thing”) under the root ᴹ√NAK “bite” (NAK). This word remains phonologically plausible in Sindarin, with ancient k vocalizing to i and the resulting diphthong ai become ae, after which the m became v > w; see VT42/26 for a description of the basic phonetic changes. However, naew might have been displaced conceptually by anc “jaw”, which appeared in a number of later Sindarin names and whose Quenya cognate Q. anca appeared in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E.
Reference ✧ Ety/NAK ✧ “jaw”
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
ᴹ✶nakma > naew | [nakma] > [nagma] > [naŋma] > [naima] > [naim] > [naem] > [naev] > [naew] | ✧ Ety/NAK |