√ING root. “*highest, top”
This primitive element appeared in The Shibboleth of Fëanor written in 1968 in connection to the name Q. Ingwë. The earliest basis for this name seems to be the root ᴱ√INI “small” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, from which the name ᴱQ. inwe “one of the royal house of the Eldar” was derived (QL/42); this Inwe was also the earliest form of the name of Ingwe. This name was given a new derivation in The Etymologies of the 1930s from the root ᴹ√ING “first, foremost”, along with the adjective ᴹQ. inga “first” (Ety/ING). The primitive element ing- reappeared in The Shibboleth of Fëanor, again as the basis for Q. Ingwë, which in this document was glossed “Chief” (PM/340). The word Q. inga also reappeared, but with a new gloss “top, highest point”, so the meaning of the root may have shifted from “foremost” to “*highest”.
Thus the conceptual development seems to be 1910s ᴱ√INI “tiny” >> 1930s ᴹ√ING “foremost” >> 1960s √ING “*highest”.
Reference ✧ PM/340 ✧ ing-
Derivatives
ᴹ√ING root. “first, foremost”
References ✧ Ety/ING; EtyAC/ING
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Derivatives
ᴱ√INI root. “small”
References ✧ GL/18; LT1A/Inwë; QL/42
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