Ad. sapthân n. (weak-I gendered masc) “wise man, wizard” (Category: Sorcerer, Wizard)

Ad. sapthân n. (weak-I gendered masc) “wise man, wizard” (Category: Sorcerer, Wizard)
A noun translated “wise man, wizard” given as an example of the phonetic development of primitive aspirates in contact with stops (SD/421). According to Tolkien, it was pronounced [safθān], indicating that the combination pth would be pronounced as a voiceless labial fricative [f] followed by a voiceless dental fricative [θ]. Given the phonetic rules of Adûnaic, most voiceless stops would be pronounced as fricatives before another fricative in Classical Adûnaic.

Reference ✧ SD/421 ✧ sapthān “wise man, wizard”

Elements

#saphad- “to understand”
*-ân² “agental suffix”

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

✶Ad. saphdān > sapthān [sapʰdān] > [sapʰtʰān] > [sapʰθān] > [safθān] ✧ SD/421