S. nor- v. “to run (of men and animals using legs)” (Category: to Run)
A verb for “to run”, most famously used in the phrase noro lim, noro lim Asfaloth “run swift, run swift, Asfaloth” (LotR/213; PE17/18). In Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien indicated its full meaning was “run (of men and animals using legs: not of fluids etc.)” (PE17/18), while in notes from around 1965 Tolkien said it meant “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)” and was derived from the root √NOR of the same meaning (PE17/168).
Conceptual Development: This verb dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which had G. nor- “run, roll” (GL/61), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Nornorë; QL/67). The root ᴹ√NOR reappeared in a rejected page of verbal roots in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948, where it was glossed “run as of wheels, roll along” (PE22/127). The verb N. nor- was also used in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s in the untranslated phrase nora-lim, nora-lim (RS/196).
Neo-Sindarin: It is possible that by the 1950s and 60s, S. nor- could only be used for “run (with legs)”. However, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin I prefer to assume it could still be used of vehicles moving on wheels, but only when those vehicle are moving at or near full speed. It is clear that it cannot be used for running water, however.
References ✧ LotR/213; PE17/18, 168
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| noro | imperative | ✧ LotR/213; PE17/18 |
| onur | past | ✧ PE17/168: preterite |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √NOR > nor- | [nor-] | ✧ PE17/168 |
| √NOR > onur | [onōre] > [onūre] > [onūr] > [onur] | ✧ PE17/168 |
N. nor- v. “*to run” (Category: to Run)
References ✧ RS/196
Inflections
| nora | imperative | ✧ RS/196 |
Element In
Derivations
G. nor- v. “to run, roll” (Category: to Run)
References ✧ GL/31, 61; LT1A/Nornorë
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| nûri | past | ✧ GL/61 |
Derivations