-wë

person

-wë a suffix occurring in many personal names, generally but not exclusively masculine (Elenwë is the sole certain example of a fem. name with this ending); it is derived from a stem simply meaning "person" (PM:340, WJ:399). In Etym, -wë is simply defined as an element that is frequent in masculine names, and it is there derived from a stem (WEG) having to do with "(manly) vigour".

-o

person, somebody

-o (2), also -ó, "a person, somebody", pronominal suffix (PM:340)

Námo

person, somebody

námo (2) noun "a person, somebody" (PM:340 writers may prefer the synonym quén to avoid confusion with # 1)

eo

pronoun. person, somebody (unnamed)

er

one, alone

er cardinal "one, alone" (ERE, VT48:6, VT49:54), in an early source also adv. "only, but, still" (LT1:269); Eru er "one God" (VT44:17; er was here emended by Tolkien from erëa, which seems to be an adjectival form *"one, single".)

núro

servant

núro noun "servant" (NDŪ; in Etym as published in LR, the gloss is misread as "sunset"; see VT45:38)

a

cardinal. one

erëa

cardinal. one

erëa adj.? "one" or *"single", apparently an adjectival form (see er) (VT44:17)

min

cardinal. one

min numeral "one", also minë (VT45:34, VT48:6)

min

cardinal. one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first

Cognates

• S. min “one, one, [G.] single” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
• T. min “one” ✧ VT48/06

Derivations

• ✶min “one”
  • √MIN “one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out”

Element in

• ᴺQ. millumë “once, one time”
• ᴺQ. mindórë “million”
• Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent”

minë

cardinal. one

minë numeral "one", also min (MINI, VT45:34)

mir

cardinal. one

mir (2) cardinal "one" (LT1:260; in LotR-style Quenya rather minë)

nassë

person, an individual

nassë (1) "a person, an individual" (VT49:30). Also translated "true-being" (pl. nasser is attested), the inner "true" being of a person. With a pronominal suffix in the form nassentar "their true-being" (PE17:175, cf. -nta #2), in the source referring to the "true" spiritual nature of the Valar, as hidden within their visible shapes. The word nassentar would seem to be plural, *"their true-beings". Not to be confused with the verb nassë/násë "he/she is"; see ná #1.

námo

noun. person, somebody (unnamed)

Elements

Word	Gloss
ná-	“to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist”
-mo	“agental suffix”

Variations

• námo ✧ PM/340

quén

one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman

quén (quen-, as in pl. queni; as final element in compounds -quen) noun "one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman", pl. queni = "persons", "(some) people", "they" with the most general meaning (as in "they [= people in general] say that..."). The element is combined with noun and adjective stems in old compounds to denote habitual occupations or functions, or to describe those having some notable (permanent) quality; examples include roquen, ciryaquen, arquen, q.v. Also in aiquen "whoever", ilquen "everybody" (WJ:361 cf. 360, 372).

quén

person, individual, man or woman; one, somebody

A general word for “person”, any individual independent of their gender and species, since the term was “freely applied to other Incarnates, such as Men or Dwarves, when the Eldar became acquainted with them” (WJ/372). In unstressed form quen, it was sometimes used as a pronoun “one, somebody”, and was also used as the second element in compounds such as ilquen “everyone” and roquen “horseman” (WJ/363, 372).

Most likely the Elves had a bias towards themselves as the main category of persons, since they used the term Quendi “(lit.) Speakers” to refer the Elves as species, and quén seems to have originally have been a variant of that term, derived from the same root √KWEN “speak”. This word was primarily discussed in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, which may be where the term was introduced, but it appears in other late notes as well (PE19/93).

Cognates

• S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ WJ/361
• T. pen “man, somebody, someone” ✧ WJ/361

Derivations

• √KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ PE19/093; WJ/392
  • √KWE “vocal speech” ✧ WJ/392
• ✶kwēn “person, one, (some)body” ✧ WJ/360
  • √KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/392
  • √KWE “vocal speech” ✧ WJ/392

Element in

• Q. aiquen “if anybody, whoever, if anybody, whoever, [ᴺQ.] anybody” ✧ WJ/372
• ᴺQ. alquen “nobody, no one”
• ᴺQ. alaquen “nobody, no one”
• Q. arquen “noble, knight” ✧ WJ/372
• Q. ciryaquen “shipman, sailor” ✧ WJ/372; WJ/407
• Q. ilquen “everybody, everybody, *everyone” ✧ WJ/372
• ᴺQ. ráquen “representative, ambassador”
• Q. roquen “knight, horseman, rider” ✧ WJ/372; WJ/407
• ᴺQ. tolloquen “islander”
• ᴺQ. úquen “nobody, no one”
• ᴺQ. vesquen “spouse (gender neutral)”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√KWEN > -kwē̆n	[kwēn]	✧ PE19/093
✶kwēn > quēn	[kwēn]	✧ WJ/360
√KWENE > kwēn	[kwēn]	✧ WJ/392

Variations

• -kwē̆n ✧ PE19/093
• quēn ✧ WJ/361
• quen ✧ WJ/361; WJ/372
• -quen ✧ WJ/372
• kwēn ✧ WJ/393

-li

the elves

-li partitive pl. ending (simply called a plural suffix in the Etymologies, stem LI). The ending is used to indicate a plural that is neither generic (e.g. Eldar "the Elves" as a race) nor definite (preceded by article); hence Eldali is used for "some Elves" (a particular group of Elves, when they are first mentioned in a narrative, VT49:8). Sometimes Tolkien also lets -li imply a great number; in PE17:129, the form falmalinnar from _Namárië _is broken down as falma-li-nnar "foam wave-many-towards-pl. ending", and falmali by itself Tolkien translated "many waves" (PE17:73). A distinct accusative in -lī seems to occur in the phrase an i falmalī (PE17:127, apparently meaning the same as i falmalinnar, but replacing the allative ending with a preposition). Genitive -lion in vanimálion, malinornélion (q.v. for reference), allative -linna and -linnar in falmalinnar, q.v. The endings for other cases are only known from the Plotz letter: possessive -líva, dative -lin, locative -lissë or -lissen, ablative -lillo or -lillon, instrumental -línen, "short locative" -lis. When the noun ends in a consonant, r and n is assimilated before l, e.g. Casalli as the partitive pl. of Casar "Dwarf" (WJ:402), or elelli as the partitive pl. of elen "star" (PE17:127). It is unclear whether the same happens in monosyllabic words, or whether a connecting vowel would be slipped in before -li (e.g. ?queneli or ?quelli as the partitive pl. of quén, quen- "person").

mo

one, someone, anyone

mo, indefinite pronoun "one, someone, anyone" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 20, 26)

nassë

noun. nature, true-being, *essence; person, individual

Element in

• ᴺQ. nassëa “natural”
• Q. Nasser ar Cenime Cantar Valaron ar Maiaron “The Natures and Visible Shapes of the Valar and Maiar” ✧ PE17/175
• Q. Valar ar Maiar fantaner nassentar fanainen ve quenderinwe coar ar larmar “Valar and Maiar cloaked their true-being in veils, like to Elvish bodies and raiment” ✧ PE17/174; PE17/175

Variations

• nasse ✧ VT49/30

pen

pronoun. one, somebody, anybody

Usually enclitic and mutated as ben.2

-u

suffix. a person or being

Derivations

• √WĒ/EWE “person, being, individual” ✧ PE17/190

Element in

• S. Elu

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WE > -u	[-we] > [-w] > [-u]	✧ PE17/190

othrond

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

othronn

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

min

cardinal. one, one, [G.] single

Cognates

• Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06

Element in

• S. Miniel “Vanyar”
• S. minlamad “?alliteration, (lit.) first-echoing”
• S. minui “first” ✧ VT42/25
• S. minuial “(dawn) twilight”

Variations

• min ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
• mîn ✧ VT42/25

-we

suffix. person, being, individual, person, being, individual; [N.] masculine suffix

A name suffix in Sindarin, largely used in names adapted from Quenya, such as Manwe or Bronwe, the latter an adaptation of Q. Voronwë. However, the true cognate of the Quenya name suffix -wë is -u, as in S. Elu the later form of Elwë. This -u is not an active name suffix in Sindarin, though, and survives only in a few ancient names like Elu.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s this suffix was G. -weg and was used broadly in names such as G. Manweg (GL/56) as well as an agental suffix in words like G. finweg “craftsman” (GL/35). This early version seems to be the suffixal form of G. gweg “man” (GL/44). The suffix was often paired with its feminine equivalent G. -win such as G. gothweg “warrior” vs. G. gothwin “amazon” (GL/42), or G. faronweg vs. G. faronwin for a male and female “foreigner” (GL/34).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s this suffix became N. -we derived from primitive ᴹ✶-wego under the root ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour”, which in Noldorin was distinct in origin from ᴹQ. -we which was (mostly) based on an ancient abstract suffix ᴹ✶-wē (Ety/WEG). Pure Quenya names like Finwe retained their form when used in Noldorin, but there were also some native Noldorin names with this suffix such as N. Bronwe < ON. Bronwega.

Tolkien revisited this suffix in various notes from the late 1950s and gave it a similar origin, with the caveat that all of the “native” names from the stories had become adaptations from Quenya. As Tolkien described it in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957:

> In Sindarin adoption of Quenya names (as Voronwe > Bronweg) -we was sometimes used to represent -we, which historically had become w or u (as in Elu = Elwe). But this S -we is of distinct origin, √WEG-, live, be active. Hence ✱wego(n), living creature: Q weo, veo, S gwê. Cf. ✱weg-tē, activity, occupation (PE17/189).

In an earlier but rejected version of this note, Tolkien instead gave the root form as √WEK with Sindarin suffix -weg, perhaps a brief flirtation with restoring the Gnomish form of the suffix (PE17/190).

Changes

• weg → -we ✧ PE17/189
• weg → -we “a person or being” ✧ PE17/189

Cognates

• Q. -wë “ancient name suffix (usually but not always masculine)” ✧ PE17/189

Derivations

• √WĒ/EWE “person, being, individual” ✧ PE17/189; PE17/190
• √WEG “live, be active, live, be active; [ᴹ√] (manly) vigour” ✧ PE17/189; PE17/190
• ✶wegō “a person of male nature (and fëa); ruler” ✧ PE17/190
  • √WEG “live, be active, live, be active; [ᴹ√] (manly) vigour” ✧ PE17/190

Element in

• S. Bronwe “*Endurance” ✧ PE17/189; PE17/189; PE17/190
• S. Manwe ✧ PE17/189; PE17/190

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WĒ > -wi	[-wē] > [-wī]	✧ PE17/189
√WEG > -we	[-wego] > [-weɣo] > [-weɣ] > [-we]	✧ PE17/189
√WEK > weg	[-wekā] > [-weka] > [-wek] > [-weg]	✧ PE17/190
√WE > wekā > weg	[-wekā] > [-weka] > [-wek] > [-weg]	✧ PE17/190
✶wegū̆/wego > -wē/wĕ	[-wego] > [-weɣo] > [-weɣ] > [-we]	✧ PE17/190

Variations

• -wi ✧ PE17/189 (-wi)
• weg ✧ PE17/190 (weg); PE17/190
• -wē/wĕ ✧ PE17/190 (-wē/wĕ)

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

mîn

fraction. one (first of a series)

pen

cardinal. one

(indefinite pronoun) (= somebody, anybody) pen (WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lords Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean *”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of *ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

pen

one

(WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lord’s Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean ✱”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of ✱ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

eru

the one

isolated from

min

cardinal. one

1) (number ”one” as the first in a series) min, mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”. 2) (number) êr, whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone); 3)

min

one

mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”.

êr

one

whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone)

er

cardinal. one

Cognates

• Q. er “one, alone, one, alone; [ᴱQ.] only, a single” ✧ VT48/06

min

cardinal. one

Cognates

• Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first” ✧ VT48/06

ash

cardinal. one

Element in

• Bs. ash nazg durbatulûk “one ring to rule them all” ✧ LotR/0254; PE17/011
• Bs. ash nazg gimbatul “one ring to find them” ✧ LotR/0254; PE17/011
• Bs. ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul “one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them” ✧ LotR/0254; PE17/011

ash

cardinal. one

bên Reconstructed

noun. servant, ?person

A noun attested only in its plural form bênî “servants” as an element in the term Êru-bênî “Servants of God” (SD/341, 357). This noun resembles the Sindarin word pen “person”, especially in the Sindarin lenited form -ben. The Adûnaic noun may be related, having undergone phonetic development similar to that discussed for Ad. bêth “word”, so that bên is ultimately derived from Primitive Elvish ✶kwēn “person”, which could be its archaic meaning. Andreas Moehn instead suggested (EotAL/BIN) that it is derived from a root ✱BIN, possibly related to Ed. Bëor “Vassal, Servant”.

Derivations

• ✶kwēn “person, one, (some)body”
  • √KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/392
  • √KWE “vocal speech” ✧ WJ/392

Element in

• Ad. Êru-bênî “Servants of God” ✧ SD/341; SD/357

gathol Reconstructed

noun. fortress

Element in

• Kh. Gabilgathol “Great Fortress”

mō

noun. person

Derivatives

• Q. mo “one, anyone, someone, somebody”

Element in

• ✶Elmō “Venus”

-wē

suffix. person; male suffix

Derivations

• √WĒ/EWE “person, being, individual” ✧ PM/340

Derivatives

• Q. -wë “ancient name suffix (usually but not always masculine)” ✧ PM/340

Variations

• -we ✧ MR/388
• wē ✧ PM/340

imin

masculine name. One

Element in

• Q. Imillië “Company of Imin”

min

cardinal. one

Derivations

• √MIN “one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out”

Derivatives

• Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first”

Element in

• ✶Imin “One” ✧ WJ/421
• ✶Iminye ✧ WJ/421

Variations

• Min ✧ NM/060

kwēn

noun. person, one, (some)body

Derivations

• √KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/392
  • √KWE “vocal speech” ✧ WJ/392

Derivatives

• Ad. bên “servant, ?person”
• Q. quén “person, individual, man or woman; one, somebody” ✧ WJ/360
• S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ WJ/360
• T. pen “man, somebody, someone” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/375

Element in

• ✶rokokwēn “horseman, rider” ✧ WJ/407
• T. aipen “if anybody, whoever” ✧ WJ/375
• T. ilpen “everybody” ✧ WJ/375

Variations

• kwen ✧ WJ/375
• kwene/kwēn ✧ WJ/392
• kwene ✧ WJ/416

wē/ewe

root. person, being, individual

A root mentioned in notes from the late 1950s having to do with “persons” serving as the basis for the suffix Q. -wë common in ancient Quenya names (PE17/189-90). In The Etymologies of the 1930s this suffix had two variants: masculine ᴹQ. -we derived from root ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour”, but also abstract ᴹQ. -we derived from unrelated ᴹ✶-wē (Ety/WEG). The suffix was masculine in some later notes as well, where Tolkien said “√WEG, WEƷ, √NES, NETH- referred to masculinity and femininity apart from sex and so could refer to the Valar and Maiar” (PE17/190), but this etymology was rejected and in its place Tolkien wrote: “√WE ? WEƷ ‘person’, individual (only used of Elves and Men), thus origin of -we in Quenya names as Manwe, Voronwe” (PE17/189). In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 Tolkien wrote:

> -we in Quenya names (Manwe, etc.). This is in origin a separate word √WĒ (WE’E ?), from its form an ancient element of Eldarin vocabulary. Probably related to Q ve “as, like”; vëa “seeming, apparent”; vávea, ovéa “(con)similar, alike”. In Sindarin adoption of Quenya names (as Voronwe > Bronweg) -we was sometimes used to represent -we, which historically had become w or u (as in Elu = Elwe). But this S -we is of distinct origin, √WEG- “live, be active”. Hence ✱wego(n) “living creature”: Q weo, vëo, S gwê (PE17/189).

In these Quenya Notes, √WĒ as a name element was distinct from √WEG “active”, and neither were distinctly masculine. The initial version of this note glossed √WE as “a person or being” (PE17/190), but in revision Tolkien connected it to Q. ve “as, like” (PE17/189). The interpretation of the suffix -we as gender-neutral was mentioned again in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 where Tolkien said it was derived from √EWE “person” (PM/340). However, the only feminine name where this element appeared was Q. Elenwë the wife of Turgon (S/90, PM/345), and most of the names with this element were both masculine and ancient.

See the entry on √WEG for more on the evolution of earlier, largely masculine, forms.

Derivatives

• ✶-wē “person; male suffix” ✧ PM/340
  • Q. -wë “ancient name suffix (usually but not always masculine)” ✧ PM/340
• Q. véra “personal, private, own” ✧ PM/340
• Q. -wë “ancient name suffix (usually but not always masculine)” ✧ PE17/189; PE17/189
• S. gwaith “people; region, people, [ᴱN.] men, folk; [N.] manhood; man-power, troop of able bodied men, host, regiment; [S.] region” ✧ PE17/190
• S. -u “a person or being” ✧ PE17/190
• S. -we “person, being, individual, person, being, individual; [N.] masculine suffix” ✧ PE17/189; PE17/190
• T. evë “a person, somebody (unnamed)” ✧ PM/340

Element in

• Q. eo “person, somebody (unnamed)” ✧ PM/340
• S. Elu ✧ PE17/189

Variations

• WĒ ✧ PE17/189 (WĒ); PE17/189
• WEƷ ✧ PE17/189 (WEƷ)
• WE ✧ PE17/190
• EWE ✧ PM/340

othrond

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

min

cardinal. one

Cognates

• ᴹQ. min “one” ✧ Ety/MINI

Derivations

• ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out” ✧ Ety/MINI

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MINI > min	[mini] > [mine] > [min]	✧ Ety/MINI

min

fraction. one (first of a series)