Eldamo : Middle Primitive Elvish : NAS

ᴹ√NAS root. “point, sharp end”

ᴹ√NAS root. “point, sharp end”

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “point, sharp end”, with derivatives like ᴹQ. nasse “thorn, spike”, N. nass “point, (sharp) end; angle, corner” and ᴹQ. nasta-/N. nasta- “to prick” (Ety/NAS). It also had an s-prefixed variant ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT whose most notable derivative was N. naith “gore” (Ety/SNAS). Tolkien used the name S. Naith for the wedge of land in Lórien between the rivers Celebrant and Anduin in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/347).

The derivation of N. naith from ᴹ√SNAS/SNAT is unclear, however, and later on Tolkien gave a new etymology of this word from the root √NEK¹ “narrow” (PE17/55; UT/282). This may mean Tolkien abandoned ᴹ√(S)NAS, but I think it is worth retaining ᴹ√NAS for purposes of Neo-Eldarin for words like nasta- “to prick”.

References ✧ Ety/BEN, NAS, SNAS

Glosses

“point, sharp end” ✧ Ety/NAS

√NEK¹ “narrow” possibly replaces NAS “point, sharp end”

Derivatives

⇒ ᴹ√SNAS “*gore, triangle” ✧ Ety/NAS; Ety/SNAS
- > Dan. snæ̂s “gore” ✧ Ety/SNAS
- > ‽ᴹ✶natsai ✧ Ety/SNAS
  - > N. naith “gore” ✧ Ety/SNAS
    - ⇒ N. Naith “Angle”
- > ᴹQ. nasta “spear-head, spear-point, gore, triangle” ✧ Ety/SNAS
  - ⇒ ᴺQ. !nastalaima “thistle, (lit.) spear plant”
> ᴹQ. nasse “thorn, spike” ✧ Ety/NAS
- ⇒ ᴺQ. !nassëa¹ “spiked, pointed, barbed”
> ᴹQ. nasta- “to prick, sting” ✧ Ety/NAS
- ⇒ ᴺQ. !nastaro “scorpion”
⇒ N. bennas “angle” ✧ Ety/BEN
⇒ N. egnas “sharp point, peak”
> N. nass “point, (sharp) end; angle, corner” ✧ Ety/NAS
> N. nasta- “to prick, point, stick, thrust” ✧ Ety/NAS
⇒ ᴺQ. !nastyapsul “turnip, (lit.) prickly/stingy/sharp tasting root”