N. rhaew n. “fathom” (Category: to Measure)
A noun for a “fathom” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶rakmē under the root ᴹ√RAK “stretch out, reach” (Ety/RAK). It is unclear whether this was an English fathom (6 feet) or some Middle Earth measure of similar length.
Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. raew “fathom” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD), since the unvoicing of initial r to rh was a feature of Noldorin of the 1930s but not Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s.
Reference ✧ Ety/RAK ✧ “fathom”
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ON. ragme > rhaew | [ragme] > [raŋme] > [raime] > [raim] > [r̥aim] > [r̥aem] > [r̥aev] > [r̥aew] | ✧ Ety/RAK |