na

by

(near) na (followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salos reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

na

by

(followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salo’s reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

-bar

suffix. a region inhabited by a people

_ suff. _a region inhabited by a people. Only used in old names. Sindarin usually used -dor instead. Q. -mar. >> -dor

-dor

suffix. a region inhabited by a people

_ suff. _a region inhabited by a people. Usually used instead of -_bar _in Sindarin. >> -bar

Dol-fanui

the form taken by Fanuidhol with the usual S

_topon. _the form taken by Fanuidhol with the usual S. order of word combination (i.e. with the adjectival element following the noun). >> dol, fanui

Eglon

noun. a name of the Noldor given by the Sindar

masc. n. a name of the Noldor given by the Sindar. probably a masculine form of egel.

a

conjunction. and; †by, near, beside

In The Lord of the Rings, the Sindarin conjuction for “and” was a, as seen in the famous phrase from the Moria Gate Inscription: pedo mellon __a__ minno “speak, friend, and enter” (LotR/305).

Conceptual Development: In Tolkien’s earlier writings, the word for “and” was usually ar, consistent with the usual Quenya form of this word: Q. ar. The first appearance of this form of the word was in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which had G. ar “and, too” (GL/20). This version of “and” appeared in numerous phrases from the 1920s-50s, that latest being the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer: Ae Adar Nín from the mid-1950s (VT44/21).

In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s, however, Tolkien introduced a “and” in the initial versions of the gate inscription (TI/182). He gradually transitioned to the a version over the next few years.

Possible Etymologies: It is not obvious what Tolkien intended the etymology of S. a “and” to be when he first introduced it. He did revisit the question in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where he considered two primitive forms: ✶as(a) and ✶ad(a) (PE17/41). In both cases, the consonant of the primitive word would vanish if the following word began with a consonant, either as > ah > a or ad > að > a. However, there would be remnants of the primitive consonant before words beginning with a vowel, such as ah Edhel or að Edhel “and an Elf”. This is similar to how the English indefinite article “a” is “a” before a consonant but “an” before a vowel.

In the previously mentioned note Tolkien eventually settled on a(ð), and this was also the etymology of “and” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/145). In writings elsewhere Tolkien seems to have used a(h). For example, ah appeared in the phrase Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” written around 1959 (MR/329). In notes from 1968, Tolkien had Common Eldarin as “and” producing S. ah which became a before consonants (VT43/30).

Possible Mutations: In notes from 1969, Tolkien said that conjunctions like “and, or” induced mutation in Sindarin (PE23/142). The exact mutation would depend on the etymology of the word. The a(ð)-variant would induce stop mutation and the a(h)-variant would induce sibilant mutation, as described in Tolkien’s notes on the etymology of this word mentioned above (PE17/41).

One complication for the etymology of a was the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west” (LotR/953). Here the name Perhael “Samwise” clearly undergoes soft mutation. Tolkien noticed this in his notes on the phrase, saying: “a·Berhael. ‘And’ cannot therefore be [derived from] arĭ! aŋa. ā̆. {an >>} ŋ̃a [and later in the same context] ‘And’ ad(a). Q ar. N [sic., should be S] a(ð). a, að before vowel. with soft mutation” (PE17/102).

However, there are no signs of soft mutation after a in other phrases like pedo mellon __a__ minno [rather than vinno] (LotR/305) or si loth __a__ galadh lasto dîn [rather than ’aladh] (LB/354). The earlier ar-variant also seems not to have induced mutation in some documents, such as the King’s Letter [ar Hîr; ar Meril] (SD/128) or Ae Adar Nín [ar díheno] (VT44/21, 28-29).

In the previously mentioned notes on Daur a Berhael, Tolkien seems to have considered another explanation where Daur “Frodo” was also a mutation, with an unmutated form Taur (PE17/102). If so, it may be that the mutations in Daur a Berhael are the result of some other grammatical operation rather than the normal mutation of a “and”.

Other than Daur a Berhael, the only clear example of consonant mutation after the conjunction “and” is ar·phent Rían... “✱and Rían said” from the Túrin Wrapper from the early 1950s (VT50/5). This seems to be an example of liquid mutation for the ar-version of this word.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer the a(h)-variant for Sindarin “and”, with sibilant mutation before consonants and ah before vowels. This variant appears in notes from 1968 (VT43/30) and the sibilant mutation occurs only before words beginning with p, t, c, h (→ ph, th, ch, ch) and l, r (→ lh, rh). That means conflict with unmutated examples is minimized. In earlier versions of Eldamo I recommended ignoring mutation entirely for a(h), but since PE23 made it clear that conjunctions induce mutation I now recommend the “least disruptive” mutation: sibilant mutation.

This means a separate explanation is required for Daur a Berhael. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I assume that soft mutation is used as a marker for Sindarin direct objects, even when those objects do not immediately follow the verb. Thus I assume Daur a Berhael are soft mutations of Taur “Frodo” and Perhael “Samwise” because they are the objects of the verb eglorio “glorify” in the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn, eglerio “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west, glorify (them)”.

There is some evidence that a “and” is omitted in lists of items in Sindarin; see Vyacheslav Stepanov’s article on How to List the Children of Master Samwise Properly for discussion.

Bear in mind that this system is based on a very small number of examples, and could be overturned by new publications.

aeglos

noun. icicle (a pendent spear of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water)

ar-

prefix. without; by; **beside, [N.] outside; [S.] without; by, beside, [G.] along with, compared with

A prefix mostly used in the privative sense “without”, for example arnoediad “unnumbered” = “without reckoning” as in Nirnaeth Arnoediad “[Battle of] Tears Unnumbered” (S/192; SA/ar).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. ar- “beside, along with; compared with” related to G. ar “and” (GL/20). Early Noldorin word-lists had the (initially unrelated) privative prefixes ᴱN. {um- >>} ur-, or- or yr- “without, -less” where the variant or- occurred before words with a in their first syllable and yr- before words with i in their first syllable via *a*-affection and *i*-affection respectively (PE13/155-156). The prefix or- appeared in contemporaneous Nirnaith Ornoth “Unnumbered Tears” (LB/59), a precursor to Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

These two senses were blended in The Etymologies of the 1930s, which had N. ar- “without” under the root ᴹ√AR “beside, outside”, saying:

> In N ar- developed a privative sense (as English “without”), probably by blending with [primitive] al [“not”], which is only preserved in Alchoron = Q Ilkorin [LA]. Thus arnediad “without reckoning” = “numberless” (Ety/AR²).

In the 1930s the word for “and” was still N. ar, and this continued into the 1950s where Tolkien had ar- derived from √ÑAR {“by, beside, near” >>} “by” in Notes on Names (NN) from the 1957 (PE17/169). However, Tolkien used S. a “and” in The Lord of the Rings and by the 1960s it was derived from either √AD(A) or √AS “beside”, neither of which could produce prefix ar-. In notes from the late 1960s on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, Tolkien said of Arnen “beside the water” that “ar- in this sense is Quenya, not Sindarin” (VT42/17).

Neo-Sindarin: So far as we know, Tolkien never replace privative ar- in arnoediad “without reckoning”, but I believe this sense could still be derived from the revised sense of the root √AR “beyond, further than” from 1959 (PE17/147). I would therefore assume Sindarin ar- means “outside” or “without” both in a locational and privative sense, but does not mean “beside”.

atheg

noun. thumb (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

athelas

noun. "kingsfoil", a healing herb brought to Middle-earth by the Númenóreans

caras

noun. built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulkwarks

_ n. _built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulkwarks. Q. carasse. >> Caras Galadon

emig

noun. index finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

erui

adjective. first (incorrect use by the Gondorians)

The proper word for first in Sindarin was minui

galvorn

noun. a black metal devised by the dark elf Eol

gwaith

noun. a 'people' associated by place and occupation

_n. _a 'people' associated by place and occupation. >> lî, rim, -waith

gwinig

noun. little finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

gûl

noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)

hithlain

noun. mist-thread (a substance used by the Elves of Lothlórien to make strong ropes)

honeg

noun. middle finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

Given as honig in VT/47:14, but see VT/48:17 n. 13 for discussion

lanc

noun. sharp edge (not of tools), sudden end (as a cliff-edge, or the clean edge of things made by hand or built)

lebethron

noun. a tree - its black wood was used by the woodwrights of Gondor

In the original manuscript, one of the earlier (rejected) form of this name was lebendron. Didier Willis proposed the etymology lebed+doron "finger-oak", actually a real tree name (Finger Oak or Quercus digitata)

lembas

noun. journey bread made by the Elves

morchant

noun. shadow (of objects, cast by light), dark shape

na

preposition. with, by (also used as a genitive sign)

na

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with; [N.] by

na(n)

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; provided with or by, associated with, marked with, with, along with, accompanied by; [N.] by

nethig

noun. ring finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

First given in the manuscript as netheg in VT/47:14-15, but see especially VT/48:17 n. 13 for discussion

niben

adjective. little finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

ron

adjective. smoothed by polishing

ron

verb. smooth by polishing

v. smooth by polishing. Q. runda smooth, polish. RUN << RON.. This gloss was rejected.

tavn

noun. thing made by handicraft

A noun glossed “a thing made by handicraft” derived from primitive ✶taman- (PE17/107), probably pronounced ✱tavon since final *-vn* generally became *-von*.

tavn

noun. a thing made by handicraft

n. a thing made by handicraft. Q. taman.

tolch

noun. middle finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

toleg

noun. middle finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

en

adverb. then, [G.] that past, that by you, that already mentioned (by you)

hinia-

verb. to stick to, adhere, cleave to, abide by

mo

preposition. by (agent of)

@@@ from Discord 2022-03-09, as instrumental: mā &gt; mǭ &gt; mau &gt; mo - discord.com

asta-

verb. to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)

asta- (2) vb. "to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)" (PE17:148)

ai! lassi lantar laurië súrinen

ah! leaves fall golden in [by means of] the wind

The 1st phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen &gt;&gt; ai! lassi lantar laurië súrinen

Tolkien moved the subject lassi “leaves” to be before the verb lantar “fall (pl.)”, consistent with the usual subject-verb word order of Quenya. However, for reasons unclear, he also moved the adjective laurië “golden (pl.)” after the verb, keeping it separate from the noun it modifies. Ordinally, adjectives in Quenya preceed the noun they modify (PE17/93, PM/346). It seems to me to be more natural to keep the adjective back in its original position.

> ai! lassi lantar laurië súrinen »»» ✱ai! laurië lassi lantar súrinen

One possible explanation for this unusual placement is that Tolkien may have considered laurië to be an adverb (“like gold”) instead of an adjective (“golden”). This is consistent with English translation of this phrase in the poetic Namárië: “like gold fall the leaves in the wind”.

There are several places in the corpus where Tolkien designated the word laurië as an adverb (PE17/58, 61, 62). However, in the commentary on the Namárië poem (RGEO/62), Tolkien explicitly states that the word laurië is the plural form of the adjective laurëa. Since laurië is the form of both the plural adjective and the adverb derived from the noun laurë “gold (light or colour)”, perhaps Tolkien was playing with this ambiguity in his choice of word order.

aldaryas

by Monday [Tuesday]

apárien parmanen

I have learnt by means of a book

ar-

prefix. by-, beside, near, by-, beside, near, [just] outside

This prefix appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as the prefixal form of the preposition ᴹQ. ara under the root ᴹ√AR “beside, outside”, most notably as an element in ᴹQ. Arvalin “Outside Valinor” (Ety/AR²). In this entry Tolkien said that “in Q this is purely local in sense”, which seems to mean ar- means “outside” only in the limited sense “✱outside but nearby”. See also the later name Araman “Outside Aman”, where the prefix also seems to mean “✱just outside” (SA/ar).

This prefix reappeared in Notes on Names (NN) written in 1957, where it was derived from √ÑAR {“near, by, beside” &gt;&gt;} “by” (PE17/169). The prefix was mentioned again in notes from around 1964 where Tolkien said it was “equivalent more or less to English ‘by-’, as in Arvernien ‘(the land) beside the Verna’ (PE17/71)”. It appeared once more in notes from the late 1960s on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor, where Tolkien indicated it could be an element in Arnen “beside the water”, but said that “ar- in this sense is Quenya, not Sindarin” (VT42/17).

Conceptual Development: A prefixal form ari- of the adverb ᴱQ. are “beside, along” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√ƷARA “spread, extend sideways” (QL/32).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think the primary meaning of this prefix is “beside, by, near”, but it can also mean “outside” in the limited sense “just outside, outside but near”.

asta-

verb. to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)

a túrin turambar turún’ ambartanen

[O] master of doom by doom mastered

carassë

noun. built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks

carassë

built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks

carassë noun "a built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks" (PE17:84)

cim-

verb. light on, find, come by

ecces-

verb. to find out, bring out by examining, or eyeing[?]

ecces- ("k") (þ) vb. "to find out, bring out by examining, or eyeing[?]" (PE17:156). Pa.t. probably *eccensë; compare ces-.

ecces-

verb. to find out, bring out by examining or eyeing[?]

A verb in notes from 1964 meaning “to find out, bring out by examining, or eyeing” (PE17/156), clearly a combination of et- “out” and ces- “seek” where [[p|[tk] became [kk]]].

eru-indonen

by the will of God

han-

prefix. *back as an answer or return by another agent

hecil

one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw

hecil ("k") (masc. hecilo, fem. hecilë) noun "one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw" (WJ:365)

hecil

noun. one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw

hecile

noun. one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw (f.)

hecilo

noun. one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw (m.)

himya-

verb. to stick to, adhere, cleave to, abide by

himya- vb. "to stick to, adhere, cleave to, abide by" (KHIM, VT45:22)

hyá

here by us

hyá adv.? "here by us" (Narqelion, QL:xiv)

irmin

the world, all the regions inhabited by men

irmin noun "the world, all the regions inhabited by Men" (LT2:343; hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya)

laceníte cuimar

creatures that cannot/do not (by nature) see

lo manwë

*from (by agency of) Manwe

lëo

shade, shadow cast by any object

lëo noun "shade, shadow cast by any object" (DAY)

lírinen ómo i·aire tário

by the song of the voice of the holy queen

lírinen ómo i·aire táríva

by the song of the voice of the holy queen

mairia

adjective. beautiful (of things made by art)

mairëa

adjective. beautiful (of things made by art), *artistic

An word meaning “beautiful (of things made by art)” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, an adjective form of mairë “work of art” (PE17/163). It was followed by ia indicating a variant form [mair]ia.

mólanoldorin

the language of the noldor enslaved by morgoth

mólanoldorin noun "the language of the Noldor enslaved by Morgoth" _(MŌ)_(Changed by Tolkien from múlanoldorin.)

múlanoldorin

the language of the noldor enslaved by morgoth

[múlanoldorin] noun "the language of the Noldor enslaved by Morgoth" (MŌ)(Changed by Tolkien to mólanoldorin.)

paranye parmanen

I am learning by means of a book

silima

noun. crystal substance devised by Fëanor

A name “that Feanor gave to the crystal substance he devised and alone could make” (RGEO/65). This material was used to create the Silmarilli.

taman

noun. thing made by handicraft

A noun glossed “a thing made by handicraft” derived from primitive ✶taman- (PE17/107), with a deleted variant tamna (PE17/108).

taman

thing made by handicraft

taman noun "a thing made by handicraft" (PE17:107)

ainen

adverb. by any means

allanen

adverb. by no means

hapanen

adverb. by similar means

A neologism coined as part of my research into Quenya correlatives.

illinen

adverb. by all means

imanen

adverb. by identical means

impanwenen

adverb. respectively, (lit.) by same arrangement

A neologism coined by Luinyelle and Vyacheslav Stepanov, posted on 2024-09-16 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as a combination of im- “same”, [ᴺQ.] panwë “arrangement”, and the instrumental suffix -nen “same”.

lé

preposition. with, [ᴹQ.] by (means of), [ᴱQ.] with (accompaniment)

maptalë

noun. seizure; robbery by violence; rape, ravishment, forcible seizure and carrying off

sar-

verb. to mark (i.e. by incision), notch, score; (by later extension) †to write [on]

an-

prefix. with, by

an-

prefix. with, by

dae

noun. shadow (cast by an object or form), shade

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “shadow” derived from the root ᴹ√DAY of the same meaning (Ety/DAY). The original penciled version had {daer &gt;&gt;} dae, while the inked version had daew “shadow (cast by an object or form)” and Dae “shade” (EtyAC/DAY). It was most notably an element in the name N. Dor-Daedeloth “Land of the Shadow of Dread” (LR/120, 405). Christopher Tolkien had S. dae “shadow” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/dae), but I suspect that was copied from The Etymologies. In later writings, Tolkien seems to have changed the initial element of Daedeloth to a variant of S. daer “great”, and its meaning from “Shadow of Dread” to “Great Dread” (WJ/183).

gwador

noun. brother (especially used of those not brothers by blood, but sworn brothers or associates)

gûl

noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)

har na ond i mid

stand by the grey stone

A phrase on the back of one version of Thror’s Map, and hence probably from the early 1930s. The English translation appears further down the page.

na

preposition. with, by; of

na

preposition. with, by (also used as a genitive sign)

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

ad(a)

root. by (the side of), beside, alongside; against, opposed to, opposite

enki

pronoun. that by you over there (addressing or writing to someone at a distance)

hō

adverb. from, coming from, as described by a genitive

khō̆

preposition. with, acc[ompanied] by

rantā

noun. tracks and trails of travellers or explorers that had become habitual and could be followed by others

si

pronoun. this (by me)

taman-

noun. a thing made by handicraft

ti

pronoun. *that by you

ñar

root. by, beside, near

heculo

noun. one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw

má

preposition. by (hand of), of agent

thrak-

verb. bring by force, hale, drag