√SAT root. “space, place; divide, apportion, mark off”
The root √SAT appeared in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s glossed “space, place, a limited area naturally or artificially defined” with various derivatives like Q. sati-/S. seidia- “set aside, appropriate to a special purpose or owner”, Q. satya/S. said “private, separate, not common, excluded”, and S. sad “place, spot” (VT42/19-20). The same root appeared in notes on fractions from 1968 with the gloss “divide, apportion”. It was likely also connected to the primitive suffix ✶-stā ( PE18/35; PE21/57, 82) that was the basis for the Sindarin/Noldorin collective suffix -ath, as well as the Quenya suffix Q. -sta often seen in place names like the regions of Númenor, and apparently meaning “any particular arrangement, grouping or collection [of things]” (VT39/16, 20 note #27).
A possible early precursor is the (hypothetical) root ᴱ√SATA needed to explain words in Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s such as G. sad- “reck, care, value, esteem, show respect for, consider” and G. sâd “riches, wealth” (GL/66), but the apparent meaning “*value” is far removed from the later meaning of the root √SAT = “space; apportion”. There was, however, another root √SAT(AR) Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 with the gloss “faithful, trust, loyal, rely, steadfast” and derivatives like Q. astar/S. astor “faith, loyalty” and Q. satar/S. sadron “trusty follower, loyal companion” (PE17/183), the last appearing as an element in the name S. Echad i Sedryn “Camp of the Faithful” (UT/153). This 1957 root is a bit closer in meaning to ᴱ√SATA “*value”, though still not an exact match.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √SAT = “space; apportion” and unrelated √SATAR = “faithful, loyal”.
References ✧ VT42/19; VT48/11
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√SAT(AR) root. “faithful, trust, loyal, rely, steadfast”
References ✧ PE17/145, 183
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