den

preposition. ?against

caro den i innas lin

thy will be done

The fourth line of Ae Adar Nín, Tolkien’s Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer (VT44/21). The first word caro is the imperative form of the verb car- “to do”. The third word is the definite article i “the”, followed by innas “will” and the possessive pronoun lin “your”, with the adjectival element following the noun as is usual in Sindarin.

The function of the word den in this phrase is unclear. Bill Welden suggested (VT44/25) that is a marker of the passive voice (“thy will be done” instead of “do thy will”), and is the lenited form of ten, either a 3rd-plural pronoun “they” (as in impersonal English phrases such as “they say ...”) or a neutral pronoun “it”. Since “they” appears as di (← ti) elsewhere in the prayer, I think the second possibility is more likely.

See the entry for the second line of this prayer for a discussion of the use of the definite article i before the possessed noun in this phrase.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> car-o den i innas lin = “✱do-(imperative) it the will yours”

dan

back to

_ adv. _back to, back (in return) against, down upon, back on. naur dan i-ngaurhoth! #'fire back against the werewolves'.

dan

preposition. back to, (back in return) against, down upon, back on, back again

A preposition translated as “back to, back (in return) against” in Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/38). In drafts of these notes it was translated “down upon, back on” (PE17/38). In notes from 1959, Tolkien gave dan as a derivative of √NDAN(A) “back (again)”, itself an enlargement of √NDĀ̆ (PE17/166). Its most notable use is in the phrase naur dan i ngaurhoth (LotR/299), which probably means “✱fire [be] against the wolf-horde”.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s the phrase was [N.] naur ad i gaurhoth (TI/187), with preposition ad perhaps related to [N.] ad- “back, again, re-” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/AT(AT)). In the Túrin Wrapper from the late 1940s or early 1950s, Tolkien had a similar word den in the phrase sí il chem en i Naugrim en ir Ellath thor {a >>} den ammen]], which perhaps meant “✱now all hands of the Dwarves and Elves will be against us” (VT50/5, 23), but this den could have meant something else instead. See VT50/24-25 for possible meanings suggested by Carl Hostetter. The deleted {a} in this phrase might be an incomplete ad.

Possible precursors from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s include G. abod “again; in return, in exchange, back”, originally two separate entries avod “again; in return, in exchange” and abod “back” (GL/17). G. abod was the adverbial equivalent of the prefix G. bod- “back, again” (GL/23). Early Noldorin word lists of the 1920s has ᴱN. {abod >>} avod “again, back again, in return” (PE13/136-137, 160).

ed

pronoun. *it

fela

noun. mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling; minor excavations, den, mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling; minor excavations, den; [N.] cave

A word for “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, but also explained in notes from 1969 as “minor excavations made by wild animals as dens or lairs” (NM/304). It was derived from primitive ✶phelgā (NM/304; PE17/118; Ety/PHÉLEG), and the final a in this word is the result of ancient ʒ (from g) become a when word-final after another consonant.

Abnormal Plural: This word has an abnormal plural form fili (NM/304; Ety/PHÉLEG): see the section on “Final a from ancient g” in the discussion of unusual plurals for more details.

Conceptual Development: This word was tied to the name of Felagund since its introduction in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where N. fela “cave” was derived from ON. phelga under the root ᴹ√PHELEG of the same meaning, already with the abnormal plural fili noted above (Ety/PHÉLEG). In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, Tolkien again had S. fela from ✶phelgā, but there the gloss was “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]” (PE17/118). In this note Tolkien considered instead S. feleg “cave, mine, underground dwelling” as the basis for the name Felagund, derived instead from √PHELEK (PE17/118).

In a note from 1959, Tolkien gave a completely different etymology of Felagund as a loan word from Khuzdul Felakgundu “Cave Hewer” (PM/352), and this was the etymology Christopher Tolkien gave in The Silmarillion index (SI/Felagund). In a note from 1969, however, Tolkien said instead that Felagund was a nickname meaning “den-dweller” (also used for badgers), and its initial element fela was again derived from ✶phelga or philga (NM/304), with a meaning as follows:

> It was used of minor excavations made by wild animals as dens or lairs, and also as temporary dwellings by wandering folk, Dwarvish or Elvish; it was usually distinguished from the larger caves of geological formation used and extended by stone-workers. It was thus naturally used of the “setts” of badgers (which seem to have existed in great numbers in parts of Beleriand).

In this 1969 note Tolkien again mentioned its abnormal plural fili < ✶phelgai.

Neo-Sindarin: Of the various meanings for this name, I prefer its 1957 sense “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling”; its 1969 use for “den” (and felagund = “badger”) conflicts with the etymology of Felagund’s published in The Silmarillion. For “cave” I would use groth as in Menegroth “Thousand Caves” or feleg as a loan word from Khuzdul, and for “den” I would use torech as in Torech Ungol “Shelob’s Lair”.

felagund

masculine name. Lord of Caves; Hewer of Caves; Den Dweller

This name was adopted by Finrod as the founder and ruler of Nargothrond. The name was derived from a title given to Finrod by the Dwarves: Kh. Felakgundu “Cave-hewer”, Sindarized as Felagund (PM/352). Some Elves re-interpreted this name as Felagon “✱Fair-minded Lord” (PM/352).

Conceptual Development: The ruler of Nargothrond in the Lost Tales was G. Orodreth (LTA2/82, 123). Felagund emerged as the founder of Nargothrond in The Lays of Beleriand, at which point Orodreth became his younger brother (LB/80). In the drafts of these poems, this new character was named ᴱN. Felagoth, but this was soon revised to ᴱN. Felagund (LB/169).

Thereafter, the character’s name remained Felagund in Tolkien’s writings, and it always referred to the grandson of Finwë who ruled Nargothrond. The purpose and meaning of the name changed over time, however, as Tolkien adjusted the names of other characters in the legendarium. When the Felagund first appeared, Finrod was the name of his father rather than Felagund himself (LB/138, 222).

In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, his true name was changed to N. Inglor. Felagund became his surname or title, translated “Lord of Caverns” or “Lord of Caves”, referring to his lordship over Nargothrond (LR/116, 254). In this version, the name N. Felagund was a compound of fela “cave” and †cunn “prince” (Ety/KUNDŪ, Ety/PHÉLEG). There is evidence that the name Felagund retained this etymology during the writing of the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings (PE17/118).

Sometime between the publication of the 1st and 2nd editions of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien revised the genealogy of the house of Finwë (MR/181 note §41-2). In the revised genealogy, Finarfin became the name of the youngest son of Finwë, while Finrod became the name of the eldest son of Finarfin and therefore Finwë’s grandson (PE17/118, MR/128 note §135). Sometime thereafter, Tolkien also revised the name’s etymology to its Khuzdul derivation, as noted above (S/114, PM/352, WJ/179).

The following table outlines the relationships of Felagund and his ancestors in early, middle and later iterations of the stories, as they appeared in the Lays of Beleriand (LB), Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s published in The Lost Road (LR) and the published version of The Silmarillion (S):

| |Early (LB)|Middle (LR)|Late (S)| |Grandfather|ᴱQ. Finwe|ᴹQ. Finwe|Q. Finwë| |Father|ᴱN. Finrod|N. Finrod|S. Finarfin| |Eldest Son|ᴱN. Felagund|N. Inglor Felagund|S. Finrod Felagund|

Even in its derivation from Kh. Felakgundu, the final element of Felagund’s name might still have been interpreted as †cund “prince, lord” by the Elves, as reflected in the translation “Lord of Caves” (S/61). The best evidence for this is that Tolkien said the name was sometimes Eldarized as Felagon, using the element -gon “lord” seen in the names of his cousins, Fingon and Turgon (PM/352). However, it is uncertain whether S. cunn/cund remained valid in Tolkien’s later conception of the language (see S. cund for discussion).

Finally, in notes from 1969, Tolkien consider yet another etymology for the name Felagund, giving it the meaning “den-dweller” (also a name for badgers) as a name given to him somewhat derisively by the sons of Fëanor referring to his tendency to hide away in Nargothrond (NM/304). In this scenario, the initial element was again S. fela “minor excavation”, though the meaning of the second element was unclear even to Elvish loremasters. However, in The Sillmarillion as published, Christopher Tolkien used the explanation that the name was given to Finrod by the Dwarves, based on notes for the name from 1959 and included in marginal notes in Tolkien’s copy of The Silmarillion itself (PM/352).

felagund

noun. den-dweller; brock, badger

A word for “brock, badger”, more literally “den-dweller”, appearing in 1969 notes as a late etymology for the name Felagund (NM/304). In this scenario, the name “den-dweller” was given to Felagund somewhat derisively by the sons of Fëanor referring to his tendency to hide away in Nargothrond (NM/304). However, in The Sillmarillion as published, Christopher Tolkien used the explanation that the name was given to Finrod by the Dwarves and meant “cave-hewer”, based on marginal notes from 1959 in Tolkien’s copy of The Silmarillion itself (PM/352).

Neo-Sindarin: Since I prefer the Silmarillion origin for the name Felagund, I would not use this word for “badger”. I would instead suggest a neologism ᴺS. eriab based on ᴱQ. oryat (oryap-).

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

min

cardinal. one, one, [G.] single

mîn

fraction. one (first of a series)

pen

pronoun. one, somebody, anybody

Usually enclitic and mutated as ben.2

sí il chem en i naugrim en ir ellath thor den ammen

*now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) to us

ten

pronoun. *it, passive voice marker

dath

hole

1. dath (i dhath) (pit, steep fall, abyss), pl. daith (i naith) (VT45:8), 2) gass (i **ass, construct gas) (gap), pl. gais (i ngais** = i ñais), 3)

dath

hole

(i dhath) (pit, steep fall, abyss), pl. daith (i naith) (VT45:8)

eru

the one

isolated from

gass

hole

(i ’ass, construct gas) (gap), pl. gais (i ngais = i ñais)

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”.

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”.

tess

fine pierced hole

(i dess, construct tes), pl. tiss (i thiss). Archaic ters *(VT46:18)*****

torech

hole

torech (i dorech, o thorech) (lair, excavation), pl. terich (i therich) for archaic törich.

torech

hole

(i dorech, o thorech) (lair, excavation), pl. terich (i therich) for archaic törich.

êr

one

whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone)

-nen

most nouns have an instrumental in -nen

-nen instrumental ending (pl. -inen, dual -nten, partitive pl. -línen). Attested in ambartanen, lírinen, lintieryanen, súrinen, parmanen; see ambar (#2), lírë, lintië, súrë, parma. Tolkien noted that "most nouns have an instrumental in -nen" (PE17:62), a wording suggesting that the form of the ending may vary; given the normal development ln > ld, it is possible that it would appear as *-den when added to a noun in -l (*macilden "with a sword").

a

cardinal. one

assa

hole, perforation, opening, mouth

assa "hole, perforation, opening, mouth" (GAS)

ecca

hole

ecca ("k")noun "hole", apparently associated with Sindarin torech "secret hole, lair" (PE17:188)

eldandil

masculine name. Elf-friend

A term meaning “Elf-friend”, but implying an interest in them as a subject of lore (WJ/412). This name is a compound of Elda “Elf” and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend”.

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".)

erëa

cardinal. one

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

latta

hole, pit

latta (1) noun "hole, pit" (DAT/DANT, VT45:8)

min

cardinal. one

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

min

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

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)

mo

one, someone, anyone

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

na carë indómelya

thy will be done

The fourth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word na “be” serves a subjunctive or imperative function, followed by carë “done”, the aorist or infinitive form of car- “to make, do”. This is followed by indómelya “thy will”, the second person singular polite possessive form of indómë.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> na carë indóme-lya = “✱be done will-thy”

Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of this phrase (I-IV), Tolkien vacillated over whether to use á or na for the subjunctive/imperative element. Tolkien also used mendë for “will” instead of indómë in the early versions of the prayer, and he used different verb forms for car-: carina (I-IIa, likely a passive participle “done”) and cara (IIb-IV, perhaps a suffixed imperative).

There is a peculiar form carima in version V of the prayer, which resembles an adjective. Elsewhere, the suffix -ima has a function similar to the suffixes “-able, -ful” in English (PE17/68), which would give carima the meaning “do-able”, but this seems unlikely to be the intended meaning. This form carima is not a mistake, though, since Tolkien deliberately altered it from carina.

Helge Fauskanger suggested (LP-AM) that this sentence may be an example of an impersonal, subject-less sentence, meaning “[may it] be done your will”. There are other examples of Quenya verbs that can be used in such subject-less impersonal constructions, such as ora “[it] warns” (VT41/13), for your conscience (órë) warning you against an action.

|  I  |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |na|á|na| |carina|cara|carima|care| |mendelya|indómelya|

quendil

masculine name. Elf-friend

A term translated as “Elf-friend” (WJ/410), but more accurately describing those concerned with the lore of Elven-kind (WJ/412). This name is a compound Quendë “Elf” and the suffix -(n)dil “friend”. It also appear in the longer form Quendendil.

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).

unquë

hole, hollow

unquë noun "hole, hollow" (VT46:20, UNUK), also name of tengwa #16 _(Appendix E; there spelt unque, while the Etymologies has unqe)_

dath

noun. hole, pit, steep fall, abyss

gas

noun. hole, gap

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

min

cardinal. one

ters

noun. (fine pierced) hole

tess

noun. (fine pierced) hole

torech

noun. hole, excavation, lair

ash

cardinal. one

ash

cardinal. one

a

pronoun. *it

A pronominal prefix, most likely the neuter singular pronoun “it”, appearing in the word ayadda “[it] went” in the sentence adûn izindi batân tâidô ayadda “the road west [it] once went straight” (SD/247). See the entry on pronominal-prefixes for more discussion.

nimruzîr

noun. Elf-friend

A noun meaning “Elf-friend”, attested only in the (subjective) plural form Nimruzîrim (PM/151). It is identical to the Adûnaic name Nimruzîr of Q. Elendil, which had the same meaning.

Conceptual Development: An earlier name for the faithful Númenóreans was Avaltiri (SD/347).

ekka

noun. hole

imin

masculine name. One

min

cardinal. one

er

cardinal. one

min

cardinal. one