Eldamo : Primitive Elvish : Ū

√Ū root. “denial of fact, privation, negative element”

√Ū root. “denial of fact, privation, negative element, [ᴱ√] not”: ᴱ√ULU² “*negative”

A negative root first mentioned as ᴱ√Ū² “not” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with various derivatives in Qenya and Gnomish (QL/96, 98; GL/73). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it became {ᴹ√ƷŪ >>} ᴹ√GŪ or ᴹ√MŪ “no, not”, and in this document had “evil connotations” (Ety/GŪ, MŪ; EtyAC/ƷŪ), but in later writings it again became √Ū (PE17/143; PE22/153). For much of its existence this root was in competition with invertible √LA for negation, but in notes from 1959 Tolkien decided √Ū was the only negative root (PE17/143), though √LA was briefly restored in 1969 (PE22/160) only to be abandoned again (VT44/4). For a full history of Tolkien’s shifting conceptions of negation in Elvish, see the Quenya entry on the negative.

References ✧ PE17/143, 145, 188; PE22/153; VT42/32-33

Glosses

“denial of fact” ✧ PE17/143; VT42/32
“expressing privation” ✧ PE17/188
“neg. element” ✧ PE22/153 (Ú)

Variations

Ū ✧ PE17/143; PE17/145; PE17/188; VT42/32
Ú ✧ PE22/153
û ✧ VT42/33

Ú “neg. element” is not a suitable negative element ... the negative element is to be ALA “negative element” ✧ PE22/153
‽UGU is a possible variant of Ū “denial of fact” ✧ PE17/143
‽ugu is a possible variant of ū “denial of fact” ✧ VT42/32

Derivatives

> ᴺQ. !ui(y)a “no, not any, not (a); none”
> ✶ū “primitive negative interjection” ✧ PE17/144
- ⇒ ✶uklā “gloom, gloomy” ✧ PE18/88
  - > Q. ulca “evil; dark, gloomy, sinister” ✧ PE18/88; VT43/24
    - ⇒ 6 compounds
  - > S. ogol “bad, evil, wrong; gloom(y)” ✧ PE18/88
    - ⇒ ᴺS. !oglas “wickedness, *evil”
- > S. û “no, not” ✧ PE17/144
  - ⇒ S. ú- “no, not, negative; impossible” ✧ PE17/144
    - ⇒ 11 compounds
> √UMU “not, expressing privation”
- > ᴺQ. munta “nothing, *zero”
- > ᴺS. ^ont “no, none”
- > ᴺS. unt “nothing”
- > Q. ui- “to not be, to not do” ✧ VT49/29; VT49/29
  - ⇒ Q. ui “no, it is n[ot]”
    - ⇒ Q. uito “it is not that” ✧ VT49/28
- > Q. um(ba)- “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/172
  - ⇒ Q. umbacarin “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/172
> Q. ú “without, destitute of” ✧ PE17/143
- ⇒ 4 compounds
> Q. ú- “no, not, un-, in-; hard, difficult, bad, uneasy; hardly, with difficulty, ‘badly’” ✧ VT42/33
- ⇒ 47 compounds
> Q. úna¹ “deprived of, destitute, forlorn” ✧ PE17/143
> S. ú- “no, not, negative; impossible” ✧ VT42/33
- ⇒ 11 compounds

ᴹ√GŪ root. “no, not”

See √Ū for discussion.

References ✧ Ety/GŪ, MŪ, UGU; EtyAC/GŪ, ƷŪ

Glosses

“no, not” ✧ Ety/MŪ (MŪ)
“no, not, negative stem” ✧ EtyAC/ƷŪ (ƷŪ)

Variations

GŪ ✧ Ety/GŪ; Ety/UGU
MŪ ✧ Ety/MŪ; Ety/UGU
GŪ/GUMU ✧ EtyAC/GŪ
ƷŪ ✧ EtyAC/ƷŪ

Changes

GŪ/GUMU >> GŪ ✧ EtyAC/GŪ

Derivatives

> ᴹ✶gū̆- “no, not” ✧ Ety/GŪ
- > ᴹQ. ú- “not, un-, in-” ✧ Ety/GŪ; Ety/UGU
  - ⇒ [see above]
- > N. ú- “un, bad-” ✧ EtyAC/UGU
  - ⇒ N. ubed “denial”
    - ⇒ N. Sern Ubed “[Stones of] Denial”
  - ⇒ N. uluithiad “unquenchable”
  - ⇒ N. uvan “*noone, nobody”
    - ⇒ N. Uvanwaith “Nomenlands”
> ᴹ√UMU “negative stems” ✧ Ety/UGU; Ety/UGU; EtyAC/GŪ
- > ᴹ✶gū̆- “no, not” ✧ Ety/UGU
  - ⇒ [see above]
- > ᴹQ. um- “to not be, to not do” ✧ Ety/LA; Ety/UGU
  - ⇒ [see above]
- > ᴹQ. úmea “evil” ✧ EtyAC/UGU
- > ᴺS. !ummas “evil”
> ᴹQ. ú- “not, un-, in-” ✧ EtyAC/ƷŪ
- ⇒ ᴹQ. ufárea “not enough” ✧ LR/72
- ⇒ ᴹQ. úvanimo “monster” ✧ Ety/GŪ; Ety/UGU; EtyAC/ƷŪ
> ᴹQ. um- “to not be, to not do” ✧ EtyAC/ƷŪ
- ⇒ ᴹQ. lau(me) “no, no indeed not, on the contrary” ✧ Ety/LA
> N. mû “no” ✧ EtyAC/MŪ

ᴱ√Ū² root. “not”

See √Ū for discussion.

References ✧ QL/96, 98

Glosses

“not” ✧ QL/96

ḷ- “negative prefix” vs. Ū² “not”
Ū¹ “under” but Ū- “not” ✧ QL/96
UMU extension of Ū² ✧ QL/98

Derivatives

⇒ ᴱ√UMU “*negative” ✧ QL/98
- > ᴱQ. múna “?without”
- > ᴱQ. munta “nothing”
- > ᴱQ. ú- “un-” ✧ QL/98; QL/98
  - ⇒ ᴱQ. úvanimo “monster” ✧ LT1A/Vána; QL/98
- > ᴱQ. um- “to be not, do not” ✧ QL/98
> G. u- “negative prefix”
- ⇒ 21 compounds
> G. û- “not to be, not to do”
> G. u “no, not, nor”
- ⇒ 4 compounds
> G. ub² “no, none”
> G. ug- “negative verb”
> G. unt “nothing”
> G. untha “no, none”