Eldamo : Neo-Primitive Elvish : LAYATH

ᴱ√LIÞI root. “*flow of time”

A root for various words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s having to do with the flow of time, such as G. lith- “go, depart, be over, finish, end, die”, G. lithin “bygone, ended”, and G. lint “quick, agile, nimble, light” (GL/54), as well as G. laith “time, the course of time; lapse”, and G. laith(r)a- “let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost” (GL/52). The last of these was “a confusion of two distinct roots — see lech and lith-”, referring to ᴱ√lech “smooth, slippery” whose derivatives included laitha- “slip (intr.), slide by” (GL/53).

This last verb laitha- is of interest because it is the only attested verb in the published corpus having to do with unintentional loss, as opposed to the deliberate release of something for which we have a number of roots like √SEN “let loose, free, let go” or √LEK “loose, unbind, let, permit”. I personally think that it is worth positing a Neo-Eldarin root ᴺ√LAYATH “lose, loss” to salvage this verb as ᴺQ. laisa-/ᴺS. laetha- “lose, mislay”. This is, however, a rather controversial opinion, and most Neo-Eldarin writers prefer derivatives from some later root, such as the aforementioned √SEN and √LEK, or √PEN “lack, be without, have not”.

Reference ✧ GL/52 ✧ lith-

G. laitha- a confusion of two distinct roots, see lith- ✧ GL/52

Derivatives

> G. laith¹ “time, the course of time; (properly) lapse”
- ⇒ 5 compounds
> G. #laith² “*lost”
> G. laith(r)a- “to let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost”
> G. lint “quick, agile, nimble, light”
- ⇒ G. Tinwelint ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto
> G. lith- “to go, depart, be over, finish, end, die”
- ⇒ G. lithin “bygone, ended” ✧ GL/54
> G. lithin “bygone, ended”
> G. lithra- “to cease speaking, become silent”