-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").

-nen

suffix. instrumental

Derivations

• ✶-mē̆n “instrumental, with (which)” ✧ PE21/79

nén

water

nén (nen-) noun "water" (NEN).

nén

noun. water, water, [ᴱQ.] river

The word for “water”, a derivative of the root √NEN of the same meaning (PE17/52; Ety/NEN). Its stem form was nen- (Ety/NEN) and its primitive form was given as ✶nē̆n, the vowel length variation due to distinct subjective nēn versus objective/inflected nĕn- in ancient monosyllables (PE21/64).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with two senses: “river” and (archaic) “†water”. Tolkien indicated the two senses were based on distinct roots: ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] and ᴱ√NENE respectively, with two distinct stem forms nend- and nēn (QL/64-65). The Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa also mentions the forms nen (nēn-) “water” versus nen(d-) “river” (PME/64-65). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the mid-1920s Tolkien had both nēn “river” (PE15/76) and nēn “water” (PE15/78), but in the Early Qenya Grammar he had only nēn “water” (PE14/43, 72), also appearing as nen “water” in documents on The Valmaric Script from this period (PE14/110).

In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. nēn “water”, but in this document it had nēn- with long ē in its inflected forms as well (PE21/23). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, uninflected nén “water” had a stem form of nen- with short e (Ety/NEN), and the reasons for this variation was discussed in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, the nominative/objective distinction noted above (PE21/64). This seems to be the paradigm Tolkien stuck with thereafter, as evidenced by S. nen “water” rather than ✱✱nîn.

Cognates

• S. nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream” ✧ PE17/052; SA/nen

Derivations

• ✶nē̆n “water”
  • √NEN “water, water, [ᴱ√] flow”
• √NEN “water, water, [ᴱ√] flow” ✧ PE17/052; SA/nen

Element in

• Q. Cuiviénen “Water of Awakening” ✧ SA/nen
• Q. Nénar
• Q. nenda “wet”
• Q. nendil “beast that lives in the water”
• Q. Nendili “Water-lovers”
• ᴺQ. nengarmo “otter, (lit.) water-wolf”
• Q. Nénimë “February, *Wet-ness”
• ᴺQ. nenungol “octopus, (lit.) water-spider”
• Q. Nenya “(Ring) of Water” ✧ SA/nen
• Q. Nísinen “*Fragrant Water”
• Q. Uinen ✧ SA/nen

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NEN > nēn	[nēn]	✧ PE17/052
√nen > nen	[nen]	✧ SA/nen

Variations

• nēn ✧ PE17/052
• nen ✧ SA/nen

Uinen

water

Uinen (Uinend-, as in dative Uinenden) fem. name, used of a Maia, spouse of Ossë (UY, NEN). Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:404), though it is also said that it contains -nen "water" (SA:nen); the latter explanation may be folk etymology. In the Etymologies, the name is derived from the same stem (UY) as uilë "long trailing plant, especially seaweed".

Nénar

water

Nénar noun name of a star (or planet), evidently derived from nén "water" (Silm), tentatively identified with Uranus (MR:435)

lintië

swiftness, speed

lintië noun "swiftness, speed" derived from linta; also used as adverb "quickly", nornë lintië "he ran with swiftness", also more explicitly with pronominal suffixes and the instrumental ending -nen: lintieryanen "with his speed" (PE17:58)

-ma

suffix. instrumental

Derivations

• ✶-mā “instrumental suffix”

Element in

• Q. carma “tool, implement, means, weapon”
• Q. corma “ring”
• ᴺQ. hlarma “earpiece, receiver”
• Q. lícuma “taper, candle” ✧ MC/223
• Q. tamma “tool”
• Q. yulma “cup, drinking vessel, drinking implement, goblet”

nen

noun. water (used of a lake, pool or lesser river)

nen

noun. waterland

nen

water

{ĕ}_ n. _water, lake. Q. nén. >> nîn

lorn

noun. quiet water

lorn

noun. anchorage, harbour

nên

water

nên (lake, pool, stream, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn. FLOOD-WATER (or ”wash”) iôl (pl. ŷl) (RC:334, VT48:33).

nên

water

(lake, pool, stream, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn.

lorn

quiet water

(anchorage, haven, harbour), pl. lyrn (VT45:29).

nen

root. water, water, [ᴱ√] flow

A root connected to water and (to a lesser extent) rivers for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appearance was as ᴱ√NENE “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though Tolkien marked both the root and the gloss with a “?”; it had derivatives like ᴱQ. nen “river, †water” and ᴱQ. nēnu “yellow water lily” (QL/65). Under this entry Tolkien noted that “nen water is perhaps different from nen river, which is from neře” (QL/65); elsewhere in QL Tolkien gave ᴱ√NERE² or ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] as the basis for nen (nend-) “river”, a root he said was often confused with ᴱ√NESE “give to feed; feed, pasture; graze” (QL/66). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon he had G. nenn “(1) water, (2) river” and G. nendil “water fay” which were probably a blending of NENE and NEÐE, as well as G. nern “brook” from ✱nere¹ (GL/60), probably corresponding to ᴱ√NERE² from QL.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√NEN with derivatives like ᴹQ. nén/N. nen “water” and ᴹQ. nelle “brook” (Ety/NEN), whereas ᴱ√NERE² and ᴱ√NEÐE from the 1910s seems to have been abandoned. The primitive form √NEN or nē̆n “water” continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s writings from the 1940s, 50s and 60s (PE17/52, 167; PE19/102; PE21/64, 79).

Derivatives

• ✶nē̆n “water”
  • Q. nén “water, water, [ᴱQ.] river”
  • S. nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream”
• ✶nēnā “wet” ✧ PE17/052; PE17/167
  • Q. nenda “wet” ✧ PE17/052; PE17/167
  • S. nîn “wet, *watery” ✧ PE17/052
• ✶nenda “water”
• Q. nén “water, water, [ᴱQ.] river” ✧ PE17/052; SA/nen
• Q. nenda “wet” ✧ PE17/167
• Q. nendë “lake, lake, [ᴹQ.] pool” ✧ PE17/052
• ᴺQ. nendo “water mead, *watered plain”
• S. nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream” ✧ PE17/052; SA/nen

Element in

• ✶nēn-talma “Wetwang, Nindalf” ✧ PE17/167

Variations

• NEN- ✧ PE17/145
• NĒ̆N ✧ PE17/167
• nen ✧ SA/nen

nē̆n

noun. water

Derivations

• √NEN “water, water, [ᴱ√] flow”

Derivatives

• Q. nén “water, water, [ᴱQ.] river”
• S. nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream”

nenda

noun. water

Derivations

• √NEN “water, water, [ᴱ√] flow”

Element in

• S. Núrnen “Sad Water, Dead Water” ✧ PE17/087

nen

noun. water (used of a lake, pool or lesser river)

nen

noun. waterland

nen

noun. water

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nén “water” ✧ Ety/NEN

Derivations

• ᴹ√NEN “*water” ✧ Ety/NEN
• ᴹ✶nē̆n “water” ✧ PE21/58
  • ᴹ√NEN “*water”

Element in

• N. Bruinen “Loudwater”
• N. Harnen “*South Water”
• N. Lebennin “Seven Streams”
• N. Nen Girith “Shuddering Water”
• N. Nen-uinel
• N. nenui “wet”
• N. Nenuial “Evendimmer”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NEN > nen	[nen]	✧ Ety/NEN
ᴹ√NEN > nîn	[neni] > [nini] > [nin] > [nīn]	✧ Ety/NEN

Variations

• nĕn ✧ PE21/58 (nĕn)

lhorn

noun. quiet water

lhorn

noun. anchorage, harbour