ca, cata, cana prep? "behind, at back of place" (VT43:30)
Primitive elvish
nō
adverb. behind
gō
preposition. from
ăwă
preposition. from
ʒō
preposition. from
Quenya
Lembi
elves remaining behind
ca
behind, at back of place
lemba
left behind
lemba adj. "left behind" (LEB/LEM)
ca(ta)
preposition. behind, at back of place, behind, at back of place; [ᴹQ.] after
nó
before (of time); at back (of place), before (of time); at back (of place); [ᴹQ.] yester-; [ᴱQ.] after (of place), behind; after (only of time); than
ca
preposition. behind, at back of place
cana
preposition. behind, at back of place
-va
from
-va possessive ending, presumably related to the preposition va "from". In Eldaliéva, Ingoldova, miruvóreva, Oroméva, rómeva, Valinóreva (q.v. for references), Follondiéva, Hyallondiéva (see under turmen for references). Following a consonant, the ending instead appears as -wa (andamacilwa "of the long sword", PE17:147, rómenwa *"of the East", PE17:59). Pl. -vë when governing a plural word (from archaic -vai) (WJ:407), but it seems that -va was used throughout in late Exilic Quenya (cf. miruvóreva governing the plural word yuldar in Namárië). Pl. -iva (-ivë*), dual -twa, partitive pl. -líva**.
ala
after, beyond
ala (5) prep. "after, beyond" (MC:221, 214; however, LotR-style Quenya has han and pella "beyond" and apa "after")
apa
after
apa (1) prep. "after" (VT44:36), attested as a prefix in apacenyë and Apanónar, q.v. Variant ep- in epessë, q.v.; see epë for futher discussion. (According to VT44:36, apa was glossed "after" and also "before" in one late manuscript, but both meanings were rejected.) See also apa # 2 below. For Neo-Quenya purposes, apa should probably be ascribed the meaning "after", as in our most widely-published sources (compare Apanónar, "the After-born", as a name of Men in the Silmarillion). Variants pa, pá (VT44:36), but like apa these are also ascribed other meanings elsewhere; see separate entry. Apo (VT44:36) may be yet another variant of the word for "after".
apo
after
apo prep. ?"after" (see apa #1) (VT44:36)
cata
after
epe
after
fai; afea
adverb. before (of time)
hilya-
to follow
hilya- vb. "to follow" (KHIL)
ho
from
ho prep. "from" (3O); cf. hó-
ló
from
ló, lo (2) prep. "from", also used = "by" introducing the agent after a passive construction: nahtana ló Turin *"slain by Túrin" (VT49:24). A similar and possibly identical form is mentioned in the Etymologies as being somehow related to the ablative ending -llo, but is not there clearly defined (VT45:28). At one point, Tolkien suggested that lo rather than the ending -llo was used with proper names (lo Manwë rather than Manwello for "from Manwë"), but this seems to have been a short-lived idea (VT49:24).
o
preposition. from
va
from
va prep. "from" (VT43:20; prefixed in the form var- in var-úra "from evil", VT43:24). In VT49:24, va, au and o are quoted as variants of the stem awa "away from".
Noldorin
lhevon
proper name. Elves remaining behind
adel
preposition. behind, in rear (of)
adel
preposition. behind, in rear (of)
o
preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)
According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin
penedh
noun. Elf
penn
noun. Elf
Sindarin
adel
behind
(adv. and prep) adel; as prep. probably followed by soft mutation.
adel
behind
; as prep. probably followed by soft mutation.
lefn
left behind
lefn (pl. lifn), also used as noun = ELF LEFT BEHIND (Avar).
lefn
left behind
(pl. lifn), also used as noun =
lefn
elf left behind
lefn, pl. lifn.
lefn
elf left behind
pl. lifn.
ab
preposition. after
ab-
prefix. after, later
aphad-
verb. to follow
In WJ/387, the verbal stem is given as aphad-, and the etymology as *ap-pata. If we follow the latter, the verb should perhaps read aphada-
edhel
noun. Elf
eledh
noun. Elf
elen
noun. Elf
ell
noun. Elf
o
preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)
According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin
o
preposition. from
_ prep. _from, of. In older S. o had the form od before vowels. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'.
o
preposition. from
_ prep. _from. . This gloss was rejected.
od
preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)
According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin
penedh
noun. Elf
ab
after
#ab (only attested as a prefix, as in:)
ab
after
(only attested as a prefix, as in:)
abonnen
afterborn
pl. Ebennin (archaic "Eboennin" = Ebönnin, WJ:387), Elvish name of Men as the "Secondborn" of Eru. – If ab can be used as an independent preposition, it is probably followed by soft mutation.****
aphada
follow
(i aphada, in aphadar) (WJ:387)
aphada
follow
aphada- (i aphada, in aphadar) (WJ:387)
aphadon
follower
(pl. Ephedyn, coll. pl. Aphadrim) (WJ:387). Also echil (no distinct pl. form); coll. pl. ?echillath
avar
non-eldarin elf
pl. Evair, also called
byr
follower
). No distinct pl. form except with article (i mŷr). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” bior, beor.
calben
elf of the great journey
(i galben, o chalben), pl. celbin (i chelbin).
dúnedhel
elf of beleriand
(i Núnedhel), pl. *Dúnedhil*** (i Ndúnedhil*). (WJ:378, 386)*
edhel
elf
(pl. edhil). Coll. pl. Edhelrim (or Edhellim) (UT:318). Also †eledh, pl. elidh, coll. pl. eledhrim (Letters:281), also elen, pl. elin, also with coll. pl. eledhrim (elen + rim with the regular change nr > dhr). (WJ:363, 377-78; the shorter coll. pl. Eldrim > *Elrim*** may also occur). But since elin** also means "stars", other terms for "Elf" may be preferred.
edhelharn
elf-stone
(pl. edhelhern) (SD:128-31).
elleth
elf-woman
(pl. ellith) (WJ:363-64, 377)
ellon
elf-man
(pl. ellyn)
elvellon
elf-friend
(pl. elvellyn, coll. pl. elvellonnath (WJ:412);
gwanwel
elf of aman
(”departed” Elf), pl. gwenwil (in gwenwil), coll. pl. gwanwellath. (WJ:378) Also gwanwen; see
laegel
green-elf
pl. laegil; coll. pl. laegrim or laegeldrim (WJ:385). These forms from a late source would seem to supersede the ”N” forms listed in LR:368 s.v. LÁYAK: *Lhoebenidh* or *Lhoebelidh*. The Green-elves of Beleriand were also called Lindel (pl. Lindil), also Lindedhel (pl. Lindedhil) *(WJ:385)*.
miniel
first elf
(i Viniel), pl. Mínil (i Mínil), coll. pl. Miniellath. (WJ:383)
mornedhel
dark elf
(i Vornedhel), pl. Mornedhil (i Mornedhil). Conceivably the entire word could be umlauted in the pl.: ?Mernedhil. **(WJ:409) Another term for ”Dark Elf” is Dúredhel (i Dhúredhel), pl. Dúredhil (i Núredhil**).
o
of
(od), followed by hard mutation. With article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by ”mixed” mutation according to David Salo’s reconstuctuons). (WJ:366). Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning”.
peredhel
half-elf
(pl. peredhil) (PM:256, 348).
send
grey-elf
(i hend, o send, construct sen) (probably a term only used by the Noldor, borrowed from Quenya Sinda), pl. sind (i sind), coll. pl. Sendrim (the only attested form).
Adûnaic
nad Reconstructed
preposition. hind, *behind
A prepositional element only attested in the late (1968) word nadroth “hind-track”, referring to the wake behind a boat, so perhaps meaning “✱behind” (PM/376). It appears only as a prefix, but in the earlier Adûnaic grammar of Lowdham’s Report (1946), Adûnaic prepositions are used as suffixes (SD/435).
-ô
preposition. from
A prepositional suffix translated “from” (SD/429). In a few places, the suffix appears with the glide-consonant v (pronounced [w]) between it and a preceding u-vowel (SD/247, 249). It is likely related to the Quenya genitive inflection Q. -o.
Conceptual Development: At an earlier conceptual stage, this suffix was a grammatical inflection, the draft-genitive -ō (SD/438).
Telerin
ella
noun/adjective. Elf
ello
noun. Elf
ho
preposition. from
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
Qenya
lemba
adjective. left behind
elda
noun. Elf
ho
preposition. from
kata
preposition. after
qen
noun. Elf
qende
noun. Elf
Early Primitive Elvish
dyē
root. behind, back (before of time)
A root in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “behind, back (before of time)” and with a number of derivatives related to “yesterday” (QL/105). In later writings the Quenya word for “yesterday” was noa (VT49/34).
pot-i
root. *back, behind, after
The root ᴱ√POT-I appeared (unglossed) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with various derivatives having to do with the “back” or “rear” (QL/75). Many of its Gnomish equivalents began with b-, which would typically indicate the true form of the root was ᴱ√BOT-I, given that initial b- > p- in Early Qenya. In this case, though, Tolkien specifically said that the Gnomish forms like G. bont “back(wards)” were the result of “atonic development” via the loss of an initial vowel (GL/23), and there were in fact Gnomish forms beginning with p- such as G. pont “the back, reverse or far side” (GL/64).
In the Early Noldorin of the 1920s, Tolkien gave the root as {boto >>} ✱bot- (PE13/139), possibly indicating a conceptual shift despite the continued presence of Qenya derivatives beginning with p-. However, ᴹQ. opto “back” from the 1940s points to ✱ᴹ√POT (PE22/50). This root was likely the conceptual precursor to various later directional roots like √OPO or √APA.
Middle Primitive Elvish
(n)dew
root. follow, come behind
A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “follow, come behind”, apparently a strengthened form of ᴹ√DEW (Ety/NDEW; EtyAC/DEW). Its most notable derivative is Doriathrin name Dior “successor”, name of Thingol’s grandson and heir after the departure of his parents Beren and Lúthien. This name dates back to the earliest versions of the legendarium, and Tolkien continued to use it in later versions of the Silmarillion, but this is the only place he gave it a derivation. However, Dior cannot be a derivative of √NDEW in Sindarin, since [[os|[eu] became [iu]]] and then became [ȳ] (VT47/7), so that the result would be ✱dŷr in Sindarin. Most likely Dior was one of those names Tolkien retained from the earliest iteration of the legendarium despite it no longer having any clear etymological foundation in later versions of the Elvish languages.
lebnā
adjective. left behind
epe
preposition. after
khil
root. follow
kwen(ed)
root. Elf
kwenedē
noun. Elf
Gnomish
bod
adverb. behind, back, of time ago, ‘a while back’
bodron
adverb. behind, further back
a
preposition. from
cwenn
noun. Elf
o
preposition. from
Early Quenya
nó
preposition. after (of place), behind; after (only of time); than
qen
noun. Elf
qende
noun. Elf
ô
preposition. from
Early Noldorin
egol
noun. elf
gwenn
noun. Elf
hin
preposition. from
idhel
noun. elf
ileth
noun. elf
uidhol
noun. elf
uigol
noun. elf
Doriathrin
cwend
noun. Elf
A Doriathrin noun meaning “Elf” derived from primitive ᴹ✶kwenedē (EtyAC/KWEN(ED)), an example of the Ilkorin syncope.
Conceptual Development: This word is nearly identical to earlier Gnomish Cwenn “Elf” before Tolkien revised the phonological history of the Noldorin language so that [[on|[kw] became [p]]].
ho
preposition. from
Ossriandric
cwenda
noun. Elf
A noun for “Elf” developed from primitive ᴹ✶kwenedē (Ety/KWEN(ED)). It is an example of the Danian syncope, with second unstressed [e] vanishing after the identical vowel. It is also one of the Danian words for which a long final vowel developed into short final [a].
edel
noun. Elf
A noun for “Elf” derived from primitive ᴹ✶edel-, an inversion of the primitive root ᴹ√ELED (Ety/ELED). Unlike most similar Danian nouns, it did not undergo the Danian syncope and retained its second vowel. One possible explanation is that the primitive form of this noun ended in a short vowel, ✱✶edelă, and this short final vowel vanished before the period of the syncope, preventing it from occurring in this word. Helge Fauskanger originally suggested a theory much like this one (AL-Nandorin/edel).
Conceptual Development: In an earlier version of this entry, the Danian word for Elf was given as Elda (Ety/ELED).
Ancient quenya
eldā
noun. Elf
Lembi noun "Elves remaining behind" = Telerin Ilkorins (LEB/LEM, PE17:143). Sg. #Lembë. Also called Úamanyar.