-li

suffix. plural (suffix)

(li)línen

adverb. *by many means

The correlative ᴹQ. (li)línen appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/111), a combination of ᴹQ. li(n)- “several, many” and the instrumental suffix ᴹQ. -nen.

fauka

adjective. thirsty, parched, (lit.) open-mouthed

An adjective in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “open-mouthed, thirsty, parched” under the root ᴹ√PHAU̯ “gape” (Ety/PHAU).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. {loise >>} loire (loiri-) “thirsty” under the early root ᴱ√LOYO, along with an alternate form ᴱQ. loimea as the adjective form of ᴱQ. loime “thirst” (QL/56).

Neo-Quenya: I would retain fauca “thirsty, parched, (lit.) open-mouthed” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but use it only for extreme thirst and dry conditions (parched), as opposed to Q. soica for more ordinary levels of “thirsty”.

helyanwe

noun. rainbow, (lit.) sky-bridge, rainbow, (lit.) sky-bridge, *sky-joining

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “[lit.] ‘sky-bridge’, rainbow”, a combination of ᴹQ. helle “sky” and ᴹQ. yanwe “bridge, joining” (Ety/ƷEL).

Conceptual Development: Early Qenya “rainbow” words from the 1910s were mostly tied to Qenya forms of the name {G. Cris a Teld Quing Ilon >>} G. Cris Ilbranteloth “Gully of the Rainbow Roof”: either ᴱQ. iluqin(ga) “✱(lit). sky bow” = ilu + qinga “bow” or ᴱQ. ilweran(ta) “(lit.) bridge of heaven” = ilwe + ranta “bridge” (QL/42). Only ᴱQ. {ukko >>} ukku “rainbow” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s was unrelated to this name, being derived from the early root ᴱ√UQU “wet” instead (QL/98).

The form helyanwe from The Etymologies (with cognate N. eilianw) was probably connected to the name of that same pass had in the early 1930s: Cirith Helvin “Rainbow Cleft” (SM/146, 193). In later writings, Tolkien changed the Sindarin name of the pass to S. Cirith Ninniach “Rainbow Cleft” (S/238; WJ/299), but gave no Quenya equivalent.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick with helyanwe as the best available word for “rainbow”. In later writings, yanwë no longer meant “bridge” (that became Q. yanta), but it still meant “joining” (VT49/45), and so this word could be used unmodified with a literal sense of “✱sky-joining”.

manárea

adjective. how old, how long lasting, (lit.) lasting or living how many days

The correlative ᴹQ. manárea “how old, how long lasting, (lit.) lasting or living how many days” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/108), a combination of interrogative ᴹQ. ma and an adjectival form of ᴹQ. are “day”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would update this to ᴺQ. manaurëa using Q. aurë for “day”.

li(n)-

prefix. many

helkelimbe

noun. *icicle, (lit.) ice-drop

An unglossed noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LIB¹), a combination of ᴹQ. helke “ice” and a variant of ᴹQ. limba “drop”, perhaps meaning “✱icicle”.

Conceptual Development: A word for “icicle” with a similar etymology appeared in the Qenya Lexicon: ᴱQ. liqilitl, a combination of ᴱ√LIQI “clear” and ᴱQ. litl “drop” (QL/54). This supports the notion that 1930s helkelimbe “✱ice-drop” might also be used for an icicle. In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, however, “icicle” was ᴹQ. helen with stem-form helem- (PE21/34).

(li)lin(n)ome

adverb. *many places

A correlative combination appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/112), a combination of ᴹQ. li(n)- “several, many” and ᴹQ. nome “place[s]”.

ahtumat

noun. supper, supper, *(lit.) maker’s meal

A word for “supper” in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s, a combination of ᴹQ. ahto “maker” and ᴹQ. mat “meal” (PE21/33, 37) hence more literally “maker’s meal”, likely a reference to a meal taken after working. Given that the stem of mat “meal” is matt-, this word might be expected to have the stem form ahtumatt-, but its inflections show both single t and double tt, indicating that the historical stem might have become archaic and reduced to ahtumat- instead. Since the reduced stem is trisyllabic and ends in two light syllables, it often triggers prosodic lengthening as in genitive ahtumáto with lengthening as opposed to (archaic?) ahtumatto from the original stem ahtumatt-.

aldaron

masculine name. Lord of Forests

alfírima

adjective. immortal

An adjective for “immortal” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 appearing only in its plural form alphírimar, using the adjective plural formation of QVS (PE22/124). Its more typical Quenya adjective plural form would be alfírime. It also appeared in a noun plural form Alphírimor “Immortals”. It is a combination of ᴹQ. fírima “mortal” with the negative prefix ᴹQ. al-.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the word for “immortal” was ᴹQ. ilfirin, a combination of ᴹQ. il- “not” and firin “dead (by natural cause)” (Ety/PHIR).

alfírimo

noun. Immortal

amil

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

anar

noun. Sun

anarya

noun. Sunday, (lit.) Sun-day

anaróre

noun. sunrise

andúne

noun. sunset

ankale

proper name. Radiant-one, Sun, (lit.) The Very Bright

A name of the Sun appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/KAL;EtyAC/A, KAL) and linguistic notes from the 1940s (PE22/22, 52), apparently a compound of the intensifying prefix an- and some form of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine”.

antaro

noun. high mountain, peak, high mountain, peak, *(lit.) great height

A word appearing in The Feanorian Alphabet of the 1930s (PE22/22) and 1940s (PE22/52) with the glosses “high mountain, peak”. It appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a proper name Antaro for a mountain in Valinor, but this name did not appear in the narratives or the maps (EtyAC/N, TĀ). Based on the entries in The Etymologies, it is an intensive noun form of ᴹQ. tára “lofty, high”, so literally means “✱great height”.

aran

noun. king

arka

adjective. narrow

arkimbele

place name. Rivendell

A Quenya name for Imladris(t) (Rivendell) appearing only in the locative form Arkimbelesse “at Rivendell” in linguistic notes from the 1940s (PE22/125). The etymology of the name is unclear, but it may be a combination of arka “narrow” and imbe “dell” as suggested to me by Lokyt in a Discord conversation from 2021-08-25.

ata

adverb. again, *(lit.) a second time

atan

noun. Man

elda

noun. Elf

elentári

feminine name. Queen of Stars, (lit.) Star Queen

enar

noun. tomorrow

esta-

verb. to precede

etsir

noun. mouth of a river, mouth of a river, *(lit.) outflow

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “mouth of a river”, a combination of ᴹQ. et “out” and ᴹQ. sir- “flow” (Ety/ET). Its Noldorin cognate N. ethir reappeared as S. ethir “outflow” in later writings (RC/350).

fírima

adjective. mortal

fírimo

proper name. Mortal

halatir(no)

noun. kingsfisher, (lit.) fish-watcher

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing as halatir(no) “fish-watcher, kingsfisher”, a combination of ᴹQ. hala “fish” and an agental form ᴹQ. tirno “watcher” of the root ᴹ√TIR “watch” (Ety/SKAL², TIR). Fish-watcher is the literal translation of the name, and kingfisher is the name of the terrestrial species.

harmen

noun. south

harna

noun. helmet

harpa

noun. helmet

helen

noun. icicle

heren

noun. fortune, (lit.) governance

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fortune” derived from the root ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess” (Ety/KHER). Tolkien indicated the literal meaning of this noun was “governance”, and its actual sense is “what is in store for one and what one has in store”. Thus I believe it is “fortune” in this sense of what is due to you, both by dint of your own efforts and was it owed to you by your position in society, as opposed to mere luck. In the first draft of this entry heren had the additional glosses “goods, wealth”, but these were deleted (EtyAC/KHER).

hildi

collective name. Mortal Men, (lit.) Followers

ho

preposition. from

hrimo(n)nome

adverb. *many places

The correlative ᴹQ. hrimo(n)nome appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/112), a combination of ᴹQ. hrim- “many” and ᴹQ. nome “place”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would adapt this to ᴺQ. rimonomë “many places” using rim- “many” to be more compatible with Tolkien’s later writings.

hrimínen

adverb. *by many means

The correlative ᴹQ. hrimínen appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/111), a combination of ᴹQ. hrim- “many” and the instrumental suffix -nen.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would adapt this to ᴺQ. rimínen “by many means” using rim- “many” to be more compatible with Tolkien’s later writings.

hún

noun. earth, earth, *ground

A word in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s with stem form hun- and gloss “earth” (QL/39). It might be a later iteration of ᴱQ. han “ground, earth” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/39), and if so then hún might also be used as “✱ground”. I think it is useful to assume so for purposes of Neo-Quenya, as the other attested word for “ground”, Q. talan, is probably used more often for “floor”, including floors above the ground level.

ilfirin

adjective. immortal

ilma

proper name. Starlight

This name first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s as ᴹQ. Silma >> Ilma >> Ilmen as a name for the “Place of Light”, home of the stars (SM/240-1). It reappeared in the mid-30s as a word for “Starlight” (LR/205), and also appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√GIL, alongside (and perhaps an element of) Ilmen “region above air where stars are” (Ety/GIL).

ilumíre

proper name. Silmaril

Another name for a Silmaril appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/IL), apparently a compound of ilu “world” and míre “jewel”.

imbeláris

place name. Rivendell

A Quenya name for Imladris(t) (Rivendell) given on a rejected page of linguistic notes from the 1940s (PE22/127), simply a Quenyarized form of the Noldorin name.

isil

noun. Moon, (lit.) Sheen

kaimasse

noun. lying in bed, sickness, sickness, (lit.) lying in bed

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s apparently referring to “sickness” from the original sense of “lying in bed”, an abstract or locative form of ᴹQ. kaima “bed” (Ety/KAY).

kainen

cardinal. ten

kala

noun. light

kalina

adjective. light

kassa

noun. helmet

ke

pronoun. you (familiar)

kelulinde

noun. spring

A word for “spring” in the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s, a combination of ᴹQ. kelu- “flow” and ᴹQ. linde “pool” (PE21/10). ᴱQ. kelusindi “river (near its source)” = ᴱQ. kelu- + sindi from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s is similar in structure (QL/46).

kelya-

verb. to rain; (lit.) to send running down

kukumba-

verb. to nod repeatedly, (lit.) keep on bowing

An example frequentative verb in the Quenya Verbal System from 1948, based on ᴹQ. kuv- “bow” and so literally “keep on bowing”, but with the sense “to nod repeatedly” in modern Quenya.

lai

adverb. very

latimberista

place name. Rivendell

A Quenya name for Imladris(t) (Rivendell) given on a rejected paged of linguistic notes from the 1940s (PE22/127). The elements of this Quenya name are the same as its Noldorin cognate: Tolkien stated that is initial element is latimbe “glen” (√LAT + imbe), and its final element is clearly rista “cut”. On the same page, Tolkien stated that this name was not used in practice, and was replaced the Quenyarized form of the Noldorin name: Imbeláris.

lempe

cardinal. five

linin-

prefix. many

loa

noun. year

lómelinde

noun. nightingale

lórien

proper name. Lórien

lótesse

noun. May, *(lit.) Flower-ness

malli(ni)

how many

The correlatives ᴹQ. mallini or malli “how many” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/108), a combination of interrogative ᴹQ. ma and ᴹQ. -lli(ni) “many”.

man(an)

adverb. when

The correlatives manan or man “when” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/109), a combination of interrogative ᴹQ. ma and ᴹQ. -n(an) “time”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would stick to ᴹQ. mallume, since I think -n(an) was abandoned.

masse

adverb. where

A correlatives meaning “where” appearing in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/111), a combination of interrogative ᴹQ. ma and the locative suffix ᴹQ. -sse. It also appeared in several places in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from this same period (PE22/124-126). In DRC, it had a longer variant manas(se) based on mana “what” (PE23/111).

metelaire

noun. August, *(lit.) End-summer

meterríve

noun. January, *(lit.) End-winter

minqe

cardinal. eleven

morilinde

noun. nightingale

A noun for “nightingale” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a combination of ᴹQ. móre “night” and ᴹQ. linde “song” (Ety/MOR). Q. lómelindë “nightingale” is better attested.

morimor

collective name. Dark Elves, *(lit.) Dark-ones

morko

noun. bear

A noun for “bear” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶morókō under the root ᴹ√MOROK (Ety/MORÓK).

naikea

adjective. cruel

namárie

interjection. farewell

nan-

verb. to go back, to go back, [ᴺQ.] *retreat, give way, revert, ebb, (lit.) move backwards

naneldar

proper name. Danian Elves

A term for the Danians appearing in linguistic notes from the 1930s (PE18/24), a replacement for Pereldar.

nieninqe

noun. snowdrop, (lit.) white tear

noldomír(e)

proper name. Silmaril

Another name for a Silmaril appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s, a compound of Noldo and míre “jewel” (Ety/ÑGOLOD).

nolya-

verb. to teach, to teach, *educate, tutor

nwalka

adjective. cruel

nú

proper name. Moon

A name for the moon in linguistic notes from 1930s (PE21/38, 41), perhaps a derivative of the root ᴹ√NDŪ “go down”, though this root usually applied to the Sun. Its dual form Nunt referred to both the sun and moon (PE21/38).

núme

noun. west

númen

noun. west

númenóre

place name. Westernesse

qantien

noun. century, (lit.) full year

qelle

noun. Autumn

qen

noun. Elf

qende

noun. Elf

rana

noun. Moon, (lit.) Wayward

randa

noun. cycle, age (100 Valian Years)

rov-

verb. to lose

A verb for “to lose” appearing in notes from the late 1940s in its perfect form róvie “[had] lost” (PE23/92).

rómen

noun. east

róna

adjective. east

sairon

noun. wizard

sie

pronoun. here

silmaril

proper name. Silmaril

sin

adverb. now

sinis(se)

adverb. here

sinome

adverb. here

sinta-

verb. to fade, *(lit.) become grey

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fade” derived from the root ᴹ√THIN having to do with grey things (Ety/THIN), so perhaps more literally “✱become grey”.

Conceptual Development: In this same document the root ᴹ√WIN/WIN(I)D “pale blue, blue grey” had a similar verb {vinta- >>} vinda- “fade”, but this root and its derivatives were rejected (Ety/WIN; EtyAC/WIN).

sis

adverb. here

sisse

pronoun. here

símane

adverb. here

símen

adverb. here

súya-

verb. to breathe

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “breathe” derived from the root ᴹ√THŪ “puff, blow” (Ety/THŪ).

tambaro

noun. woodpecker, (lit.) knocker

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “woodpecker, knocker”, an agental form of ᴹQ. tamba- “knock” (Ety/TAM).

tas

adverb. there

tasarinan

place name. Land of Willows

tasse

adverb. there

thar-

verb. to stand

tindómerel

feminine name. Nightingale, (lit.) Daughter of Twilight

tintalle

feminine name. Kindler

tintánie

feminine name. Kindler, Star-maker, (lit.) Star-making

tinwerontar

feminine name. Queen of Stars

tinwetári

feminine name. Queen of Stars

tol-

verb. to stand

tormen

noun. north

tuilindo

noun. swallow, (lit.) spring-singer

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “swallow, spring-singer”, a combination of ᴹQ. tuile “spring” and ᴹQ. lindo “singer” (Ety/LIN², TUY).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. tuilindo “spring-singer, swallow” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√TUẎU, apparently with the same derivation as it had in the 1930s (QL/96). Tuilindo “swallow” also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/96).

tulta-

verb. to send for, fetch, summon, send hither, (lit.) cause to come

tári

noun. queen

veaneldar

collective name. Sea-elves

Another name for the Teleri appearing in a name list from the 1930s (LR/403). It seems to be a combination of vea “sea” and the plural of Elda “Elf”.

venno

noun. husband

veo

noun. man

veru

noun. husband

vestale

noun. wedding

vinda-

verb. to fade

vor(o)-

prefix. continual repetition

vorongandele

noun. continual repetition, (lit.) harping on one tune

yatta

noun. narrow neck, isthmus, (narrow) neck, isthmus; *(lit.) joining

A word for “narrow neck, isthmus” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/YAK). Although Christopher Tolkien presented ᴹQ. yatta as if it were a derivative of ᴹ√YAK (LR/400), in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne indicated it was actually a derivative of a deleted root ᴹ√YATH, that appeared between ᴹ√YAK and ᴹ√YAT “join” (VT46/22). Although ᴹ√YATH was deleted, ᴹQ. yatta was not, and it was possible Tolkien reconceived of it as a derivative of ᴹ√YAT, as suggested by Hostetter and Wynne. As for ᴹ√YAK, Tolkien had a similar word ᴹQ. yat (yaht-) “neck” derived from that root.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had ᴱQ. yatta “neck, also isthmus” under the early root ᴱ√ẎATA “join”, along with an archaic variant †yat (QL/105). In a list of body parts from the 1920s, Tolkien instead had ᴱQ. yat (yakt-) “neck” (PE14/117).

Neo-Quenya: It is not clear that both yaht- and yatta should coexist. For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would just use yatta “(narrow) neck, isthmus”, as it has a clearer etymology and ᴹ√YAT has a larger set of derivatives.

ye

preposition. at

yén

noun. year

áratenkele

noun. writing of A, (lit.) daywriting

évea

adjective. future

íre

conjunction. when

úrin

proper name. Sun, (lit.) Fiery

An earlier Quenya name for the Sun appearing in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s and glossed “Fiery” (LR/240). It was sometimes used in combination with its other name Anar: Úr-anar “Red Sun” (LR/72). In a deleted entry in The Etymologies, it was given as a derivative of the root ᴹ√UR “be hot” (Ety/UR).