Eldamo : Gnomish : laith(r)a-

G. laith(r)a- v. “to let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost” (Category: to Lose)

⚠️G. laith(r)a-, v. “to let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost” (Category: to Lose): ᴺS. ^lítha- “to let slip, lose, mislay; (intr.) to be lost; to forget”

A verb appearing as G. laitha- or laithra- “let slip, lose, mislay, forget” from the Gnomish Lexicon; it could also be used intransitively to mean “to be lost”, especially in the form laithra- (GL/52). Tolkien said it was the result of a mingling of two roots: ᴱ√lech and ᴱ√lith-, the former having to do with slippery things and the latter with time.

Neo-Sindarin: In 2018 I made an attempt to salvage this verb (my suggestion was ᴺS. laetha-), but this was rejected by the community. In a Discord conversation in 2022-04-16, Elaran proposed redefining this verb as lítha- “to let slip, lose, mislay; (intr.) to be lost” based on the later root √LIK “slip” which was recently published; by extension it can also mean “to forget”. I quickly adopted Elaran’s proposal as better than mine.

References ✧ GL/52-53

Glosses

“let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost” ✧ GL/52 (laitha-)
“slip (intr.), slide by” ✧ GL/53 (laitha-)

Variations

laitha- ✧ GL/52; GL/52; GL/53
laithra- ✧ GL/52

laitha- “slip (intr.), slide by” cp. laitha- “let slip, lose, mislay, forget; (intr.) to be lost” ✧ GL/53
laitha- a confusion of two distinct roots, see ᴱ√lech ✧ GL/52
laitha- a confusion of two distinct roots, see ᴱ√lith- ✧ GL/52

Inflections

laithra

present

“forget”

✧ GL/52

Element In

G. a·laithra nin “I forget it, *(lit.) it slips for me” ✧ GL/52

Derivations

< ᴱ√LIÞI “*flow of time”