-ne

i love

#-ne (4) "I", a 1st person pronominal suffix occurring in the word melánë "I love" (LR:61), but Tolkien later used -n or -nyë for this meaning (melin "I love", VT49:21). It may be that Tolkien at one point considered ne (or nye, inyë) as an independent emphatic pronoun "I", but this was struck out (VT49:49).

ne

ne

ne (3) ??? = n- in n-alalmino (Narqelion)

ne

that

ne (2) conj. "that" (as in "I know that you are here") (PE14:54), evidently replaced by i in Tolkiens later Quenya (see i #3).

ne

scent

ne (1) noun (or root?) "scent" (PE17:100)

nessë Archaic

noun. past tense, (lit.) nē-ness

An archaic term for the “past tense”, a neologism coined by Röandil on 2023-08-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), an abstract noun based on the ancient past element ✶nē. In modern Quenya it would be vanwalussë.

Soronto

eagle

Soronto (þ?), masc. name, seems to incorporate soron "eagle"; the ending -to is rare (occurs in suhto, q.v.), here apparently used to derive a masculine name.

Soronúmë

eagle

Soronúmë (prob. þ) (name of a constellation, apparently incorporating soron "eagle") (SA:thoron)

i

pronoun. that

i, antevokaliskt in

conjunction. that

imi

in

imi prep. "in"; see mi (VT43:30)

imi

preposition. in, in, [ᴱQ.] inside

lemen

cardinal. five

lemen, alternative cardinal "five" (VT48:6, 20); the word normally appears as lempë, but compare lemenya below.

lemen

cardinal. five

lemnë

cardinal. five

lempë

cardinal. five

lempë cardinal "five" (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK, GL:53, VT42:24, VT47:10, 24); lempëa ordinal "fifth", an analogical formation replacing older lemenya, in turn altered from the historically "correct" form lepenya because of analogy with the cardinal lempë "five" (VT42:25; Vanyarin Quenya maintained lepenya, VT42:26)

lempë

cardinal. five

The Quenya word for “five” derived from the root √LEPEN via the Quenya syncope and metathesis: ✶lepene > lepne > lenpe > lempe (PE17/95; VT42/24; VT47/10; VT48/6; Ety/LEP).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. lemin “five” under the early root ᴱ√LEH [LEǶE] “half”, and Q. lempe was “ten” in this 1910s document (QL/52). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, the word lempe was “five” (GL/53). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (EQG), lemin “five” reappeared and ᴱQ. lempe was “half” (PE14/49, 82, 84). Beginning with The Etymologies of the 1930s the usual Quenya word for “five” was lempe (Ety/LEP), but occasional variants like lemne and lemen continued to appear (PE17/95; VT48/6).

mi

in, within

mi prep. "in, within" (MI, VT27:20, VT44:18, 34, VT43:30; the latter source also mentions the variant imi); mí "in the" (Nam, RGEO:66; CO gives mi; the correct forms should evidently be mi = "in" and mí = mi i "in the"; VT49:35 also has mí with a long vowel, though the gloss is simply "in"). Used in PE17:71 (cf. 70) of people clad "in" various colours, e.g. mi mísë "in grey". Allative minna "to the inside, into" (MI), also mina (VT43:30). The forms mimmë and mingwë seem to incorporate pronominal suffixes for "us", hence ?"in us", inclusive and exclusive respectively. The pronoun -mmë denoted plural inclusive "we" when this was written, though Tolkien would later make it dual instead (see -mmë). Second person forms are also given: mil or milyë *"in you" (sg.), millë "in you" (pl.) (VT43:36). A special use of mi appears in the phrase Wendë mi Wenderon "Virgin of Virgins" (VT44:18); here mi appears superfluous to achieve the desired meaning, but this combination of singular noun + mi + plural genitive noun may be seen as a fixed idiom expressing that the initial noun represents the most prominent member of a class.

mi

preposition. in, in, [ᴹQ.] within

The Quenya preposition for “in”, very well attested. It was derived from the root √MI of the same meaning (PE17/92; VT43/30; VT47/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. mi was glossed “in, within” under the root ᴹ√MI “inside” (Ety/MI).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the preposition mi appeared (untranslated) in the phrase ᴱQ. Uole·mi·Kūme “Moon King” = “✱Uole in the Moon” (QL/48). The main dictionary had the adverb ᴱQ. imi “in, inside” under the early root ᴱ√IMI (QL/42). In one place in Tolkien’s later writings from the 1950s, the preposition mi “in” had the variant form imi as well (VT43/30).

ne(re)sta

fraction. one ninth

A word appearing as neresta, nesta, or nersat “1/9” in notes on numbers from the late 1960s, a combination of nertë “nine” with the fractional suffix -sta.

Conceptual Development: The Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s had ᴱQ. huetto or huesto “[one] 9th” with adjective forms ᴱQ. huetya or huest(y)a (PE14/51, 84), combinations of ᴱQ. hue “nine” with the 1920s fractional suffix ᴱQ. -sto.

ne-súmë

ne-súmë

ne-súmë ??? (Narqelion)

neresta

one ninth

neresta fraction "one ninth" (1/9), also nesta, nersat. (VT48:11)

nersat

one ninth

nersat fraction "one ninth" (1/9), also neresta, nesta (VT48:11)

nersat

fraction. one ninth

nesta

one ninth

nesta fraction "one ninth" (1/9), also neresta, nersat (VT48:11)

ná-

verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist

The basic Quenya verb for “to be”, based on the root √NĀ (PE17/93). It was typically used as the copula equating a noun to another noun or an adjective:

> √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).

In many circumstances this verb was optional:

> As a copula “be, is” is not usually expressed in Quenya where the meaning is clear: sc. in such expressions as “A is good” where the adjective (contrary to the usual order in Quenya of a qualifying adjective) follows: the normal Quenya for this is A mára (PE17/93).

For further discussion see the entry on the Quenya copula.

Conceptual Development: This verb dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was given as the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This verb and its root appeared regularly throughout Tolkien’s writings thereafter, but at times Tolkien considered alternative verbs for “to be”; see the entry ëa- for further discussion.

né

adverb. ago, behind (earlier time); yes (it was so)

sa

conjunction. that

sana

that

savin elessar ar <u>i</u> nánë aran ondórëo

that

i (3) conj. "that". Savin Elessar ar i nánë aran Ondórëo "I believe that Elessar really existed and that [he] was a king of Gondor" (VT49:27), savin…i E[lesarno] quetië naitë *"I believe that Elessars speaking [is] true" (VT49:28) Also cf. nai, nái "be it that" (see nai #1), which may seem to incorporate this conjunction.

sor

eagle

sor, sornë noun "eagle" (LT1:266); rather soron in LotR-style Quenya

sorno

eagle

sorno (þ) noun "eagle" (archaic thorno) _(Letters:427). Also soron. Early "Qenya" has sor, sornë (LT1:266)_

sorno

noun. eagle

soron

eagle

soron (or sornë) (þ) noun "eagle", before an ending sorn- as in pl. sorni, "gen.sg....sornen"; in LotR-style Quenya this would be the dative singular instead (THOR/THORON). SD:290 has the pl.soroni "eagles", changed to sorni as in the Etymologies. Early "Qenya" has the forms sor, sornë (LT1:266)

soron

noun. eagle

The Quenya word for “eagle”, appearing in a number of compounds, derived from primitive ✶thorono and the root ᴹ√THOR(ON) “come swooping down” (PE22/159; Let/427; Ety/THOR; PE21/33). It had couple variants such as sorno (Let/427) and sorne (Ety/THOR), but consistently appeared as soron- in compounds. Its stem form isn’t entirely clear: its most common plural form was sorni (Ety/THOR; SD/290), which is the expected result from the Quenya syncope, but in one place it had the plural soroni and the presence of the variant sorne muddies the waters.

Conceptual Development: This word appeared as ᴱQ. sorne or sor (sorn-) “eagle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√ŠORO [ÞORO] (QL/86). The form sorn- “eagle” also appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa where Tolkien indicated the primitive form was sorni- (PME/86). The form ᴱQ. soron appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s as a cognate of ᴱN. thorn “eagle” (PE13/154), and Tolkien mostly stuck with that form thereafter, though he occasionally used variants like sorne and sorno as noted above.

In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien listed a large number of declined forms for ᴹQ. soron “eagle”, and those declensions used soron- (or sorun-) as their base. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, Tolkien gave plural sorni and genitive sornen indicating a stem form sorn-, but that document also gave sorne as an alternate form of soron “eagle”. Nevertheless, I think from the 1930s forward, it is more likely that Quenya syncope would have come into play in the declension of this word, so it would have plural sorni, dative sornen, ablative sornello, etc. The only noun case where the primitive stem would be preserved would be possessive soronwa.

ta

that, it

ta (1) pron. "that, it" (TA); compare antaróta** "he gave it" (FS); see anta-. The forms tar/tara/tanna "thither", talo/tó "thence" and tás/tassë* "there" are originally inflected forms of this pronoun: "to that", "from that" and "in that" (place), respectively. Compare "there" as one gloss of ta (see #4).

tana

that

tana (1) demonstrative "that" (said to be "anaphoric") (TA). According to VT49:11, tana is the adjective corresponding to ta, "that" as a pronoun.

tana

that

A word for “that” appearing in a list of demonstratives from 1968, an adjectival form of ta “that” (VT49/11). This adjective also appeared in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969 (PE23/135). Similarly formed ᴹQ. tana appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/85, 104-105) where it could also be used both adjectivally (“that”) and substantively (“that fact”). ᴹQ. tana “that” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s but in that document Tolkien said it was “anaphoric” (Ety/TA), as opposed to later when Q. sana was used for anaphoric that (PE16/97; PE23/104).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. táma was “this” rather than “that” (QL/87). The Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s had ᴱQ. {santa &gt;&gt;} sanda “that” (PE14/55), but drafts of the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem from around 1930 seem to have tanda for “that” (PE16/56-57, 60).

tanya

that

tanya demonstrative "that" (MC:215; this is "Qenya", perhaps corresponding to later tana)

yana

that

yana demonstrative "that" (the former) (YA)

ëa

eagle

ëa (3) "eagle" (LT1:251, LT2:338), a "Qenya" word apparently superseded by soron, sornë in Tolkien's later forms of Quenya.

ëaren

eagle

ëaren noun "eagle" or "eyrie" (LT1:251; this early "Qenya" word is evidently no more valid than ëa "eagle" in LotR-style Quenya.)

-nē

preposition. past suffix

-nyē

suffix. 1st person singular

ne

root. scent

A root (?) glossed “scent” appearing in notes on the words and phrases in The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, serving in its extended form nes- “sweet smelling” as the basis for Q. alanessë and S. galanes &gt; galenas “tobacco” = “✱sweet smelling growth” (PE17/100). It might be connected to ᴹ√NEÑ “✱nose” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NEÑ-WI). Elsewhere the basis for “sweet smelling” seems to be [Q.] nis- (UT/167-8).

ne

pronoun. I, me

nē

adverb. was; then, ago, before

ne

root. *in

imi

root. in

lenep

root. five

lepem Archaic

root. five

lepen

root. five

√LEPEN was the most common root for “five” in Tolkien’s writings, but he explored a variety of other options. Its earliest iteration appeared in the Qenya and Gnomish lexicons as ᴱ√LEH (QL/52) or ᴱ√LEF “half” (GL/53), so I think the actual early form was ✱ᴱ√LEǶE [lexʷe]. At this early stage it had derivatives with the meanings “five”, “ten”, and “half”, but in later writings “ten” became ᴹ√KAYAN &gt;&gt; √KWAY(AM) and “half” became √PER.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as ᴹ√LEPEN “five” with variant ᴹ√LEPEK, but ᴹ√LEPEK had no derivatives (Ety/LEP). √LEPEN appeared again in a list of numbers from the late 1950s or early 1960s beside a variant √LENEP; again the variant had no clear derivatives (PE17/95). √LEPEN reappeared in numeric discussions from the late 1960s (VT42/24; VT47/10). In these late discussions Tolkien said that “five” most likely originally from ✱lepem as an ancient plural of √LEP, but it seems this became √LEPEN already in Common Eldarin (CE), given that the Sindarin word for “five” remained S. leben; Tolkien gave varying explanations for this CE sound change, either as dissimilation from p (VT47/26 note 2) or with final *-m* &gt; *-n* being the regular phonetic development (VT47/24).

lepene

noun. five

nem-

verb. to seem, appear

ni

pronoun. I, me

san-

pronoun. that

thorono

noun. eagle

ne

in, inside

ne- (prefix) (mid-)

ne

mid-

ne- (prefix) (in, inside)

ne

in

ned (used of time in the source), possibly followed by hard mutation (SD:129)

ne

in, inside

(prefix) (mid-)

ne

mid

(prefix) (in, inside)

ammen

pronoun. of us, for us, toward us

han

that

pl1. hain _pron. _that, the thing previously mentioned. Tolkien notes "hain = heinn (< san-)" (PE17:42). Im Narvi hain echant 'I Narvi made them'.

leben

cardinal. five

leben

cardinal. five

The Sindarin word for “five” based on the root √LEPEN of the same meaning (PE17/95; VT42/24; VT47/10; VT48/6).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. elf(in) “five” derived from the early root ᴱ√lef [LEǶE] (GL/32, 53). Rough notes associated with the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s had the deleted forms ᴱN. leme and limel near ᴱN. eneg “✱six”, so these were probably words for “five” (PE13/128 note #78). The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. lheben “five” under the root ᴹ√LEPEN of the same meaning (Ety/LEPEN), with the 1930s sound change of initial *l* to *lh* which did not occur in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s.

men

pronoun. us

men

pronoun. us

mi

preposition. in

The Sindarin word for “in” (PE23/133; VT50/5), equivalent to Q. mi of the same meaning. This preposition frequently appears in its mutated form vi (PE22/165; VT44/21; VT50/5), since Sindarin prepositions are typically mutated when appearing anywhere other than the beginning of a phrase.

min-

preposition. (in) between (referring to a gap, space, barrier or anything intervening between two other things)

mín

pronoun. us

mîn

preposition. (in) between (referring to a gap, space, barrier or anything intervening between two other things)

ned

preposition. (uncertain meaning) in, of (about time, e.g. giving a date)

[Another possible interpretation: "another, one more" (related to Q. net(e)), VT/47:40]

san

pronoun. that

thalion

noun. hero, dauntless man (especially as surname of Húrin Thalion)

thorn

noun. eagle

thoron

noun. eagle

thoron

noun. eagle

The Sindarin word for “eagle”, derived from ✶thoronō̆ (Let/427, PE23/141). In notes from 1969 Tolkien gave its plural form as theryn (PE23/139).

Possible Etymology: The form of this word is difficult to explain if it is derived from primitive ✶thoron(ŏ). Since final nasals vanished after vowels, in the ordinary phonetic development of Sindarin it should have become thôr, a form that did appear as variant in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/THOR, KIRIS). Tolkien himself suggested that the (Noldorin) word was a back-formation from the archaic genitive ON. thoronen (Ety/THOR). While this specific genitive form did not survive in (Old) Sindarin, there are plenty of other mechanisms that might result in such a back-formation in Sindarin. For example, David Salo suggested that it could be a back-formation from its plural theryn (GS/291), perhaps also influenced by ancient names where it still appeared, such as Thorondor “King of Eagles”.

A simpler explanation is that the primitive form is actual thoronō, as for example on PE23/141. But that would be inconsistent with Q. soron “eagle”.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s this word appeared as G. thorn (GL/73), which was also the usual form in names of this period. In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it reappeared as ᴱN. thorn (PE13/154), but in The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as N. thoron beside the variant thôr as noted above (Ety/THOR, KIRIS). The names of this period also began to reflect this change, and names after the 1940s consistently show thoron, though the form þorn did appear at least once in later notes (PE22/159).

thoronath

noun. eagles

thôr

noun. eagle

vi

preposition. in

vi

preposition. in

ammen

for us, to us, of us

callon

hero

1. callon (i gallon, o challon), pl. cellyn (i chellyn), coll. pl. callonnath; 2) thalion (dauntless man), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”.

callon

hero

(i gallon, o challon), pl. cellyn (i chellyn), coll. pl. callonnath

dî

in

unstressed di (beneath, under) (VT45:37). Note: a homophone means ”bride, lady”.

i

that

(+ soft mutation), basically in in the plural, but often loses the n which is then replaced by nasal mutation of the next consonant (e.g. gyrth i chuinar ”dead that live [cuinar]”, Letters:417). Sometimes i (+ soft mutation) is used in the singular as well. – The form ai (following by lenition) occurs in the phrase di ai gerir ✱”those who do” (VT44:23). Possibly it is a form of the relative pronoun that is used when the previous word ends in -i. Whether ai is both sg. and pl. is unclear; in its one attestation it is followed by a plural verb that is lenited.

leben

cardinal. five

leben;

leben

five

;

mín

us

mín, presumably usually lenited vín (which is also the genitive ”our”); see WE.

mín

us

presumably usually lenited vín (which is also the genitive ”our”); see

roval

great wing

(pinion, wing), pl. rovail (idh rovail). – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” *rhoval* pl. *rhovel*.

sa

pronoun. that

taw

that

(demonstrative pronoun) ?taw. _Only the ”Old Noldorin” form tó is actually given in LR:389 s.v. _

taw

pronoun. that

taw

that

. Only the ”Old Noldorin” form tó is actually given in LR:389 s.v.

thalion

hero

(dauntless man), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”.   

thoron

eagle

thoron, pl. theryn, coll. pl. thoronath. The sg. may also appear as thôr (with stem thoron-); thôr is also an adjective ”swooping, leaping down”. In ”Noldorin”, the pl. was therein (LR:392 s.v. THOR).

thoron

eagle

pl. theryn, coll. pl. thoronath. The sg. may also appear as thôr (with stem thoron-); thôr is also an adjective ”swooping, leaping down”. In ”Noldorin”, the pl. was therein (LR:392 s.v. THOR).

vi

in

(prep.) 1) vi (VT44:23), with article vin; 2) ne, ned (used of time in the source), possibly followed by hard mutation (SD:129); 3) dî, unstressed di (beneath, under) (VT45:37). Note: a homophone means ”bride, lady”.

vi

in

(VT44:23), with article vin

callon

noun. hero

callon

noun. hero

di

preposition. in

lheben

cardinal. five

lheben

cardinal. five

men

pronoun. us

ne-

prefix. in

A prefix for “in” implied by the verb N. nestag- “insert” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/STAK). It was probably derived from primitive ᴹ✶ndē̆- “in, inside” based on the root ᴹ√NĒ̆, but this root and its derivatives were deleted (EtyAC/NĒ̆).

Neo-Sindarin: Despite the deletion of its root, I think it is worth retaining ne- “in” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

nedh-

prefix. in, inside, mid-

See also the preposition ned , and the noun ened for a discussion of this form

nedh-

prefix. mid-

A prefix for “mid-” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√NED (Ety/NÉD).

thalion

noun. hero, dauntless man (especially as surname of Húrin Thalion)

thoron

noun. eagle

thoron

noun. eagle

thôr

noun. eagle

thôr

noun. eagle

ishi

preposition. in, inside

ishi

preposition. in, inside

Usually placed after the noun in Black Speech, c.f. burzum-ishi (darkness-inside).

narak

noun. eagle

A noun attested only in the plural subjective form Narīka “eagles” (SD/251). This formation is peculiar, because it seems to be a neuter subjective form, but the names of animals are generally common-nouns, as pointed out by Andreas Moehn (EotAL/NAR’K). If it were declined as a common noun, the subjective plural should be ✱narkim: compare Nimir “Elf” whose subjective plural form is nimrim (SD/436). Perhaps when Narīka was written, Tolkien had not finished working out the Adûnaic gender and case system.

nê Reconstructed

pronoun. us

A first person plural object pronoun “us” attested only in the prepositional phrase “on us” in the Lament of Akallabêth, developing though the various drafts as nēnum &gt;&gt; nēnu &gt;&gt; nēnud (SD/247, 312). Most authors identify the element nê as the pronoun (AAD/20, LGtAG, NBA/14), which seems likely since the prepositional element is probably -num/nu/nud related to Q. nu “under”. It is not clear whether this pronoun can also be used as a subject pronoun “we”, or if it must always be an object “us”.

lepen

cardinal. five

né

adverb. ago, behind (earlier time); yes (it was so)