A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “gnaw”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. nyarro/N. nâr “rat” (Ety/NYAD; EtyAC/NYAD).

Conceptual Development: The verb [ᴹQ.] ñwara- “gnaw, erode, wear away” may reflect a shift in this root, perhaps to *√ÑGWAD; it appeared in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1940s without a specified primitive form and its gloss was a red-ink revision to that document (PE19/36 and note #41). By the Outline of Phonology (OP2) of the 1950s, the gloss of the verb Q. ñware became “frets, wears away” and its primitive form was explicitly ✶ñgwar- (PE19/76).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain ᴹ√NYAD “gnaw”. However, see the entry on how y was lost after dentals in [1930s] Telerin and Noldorin for a discussion of Tolkien’s abandonment of initial labialized dentals in Primitive Elvish.