The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. lhaew “frequent, many” derived from primitive ᴹ✶lai- which was an a-fortified form of the root ᴹ√LI “many” (EtyAC/LI).

Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. laew “great number” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin as suggested in Hiswelókë’s Sindarin Dictionary (HSD), since the unvoicing of initial l to lh was a feature of Noldorin of the 1930s but not Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. odrim “(very) many” related to G. odog “mighty, great; violent, excessive, exceeding; very” (GL/62).