-we

suffix. person, being, individual, person, being, individual; [N.] masculine suffix

A name suffix in Sindarin, largely used in names adapted from Quenya, such as Manwe or Bronwe, the latter an adaptation of Q. Voronwë. However, the true cognate of the Quenya name suffix -wë is -u, as in S. Elu the later form of Elwë. This -u is not an active name suffix in Sindarin, though, and survives only in a few ancient names like Elu. In borrowed names, the suffix -we can be masculinized as -weg (PE23/87).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s this suffix was G. -weg and was used broadly in names such as G. Manweg (GL/56) as well as an agental suffix in words like G. finweg “craftsman” (GL/35). This early version seems to be the suffixal form of G. gweg “man” (GL/44). The suffix was often paired with its feminine equivalent G. -win such as G. gothweg “warrior” vs. G. gothwin “amazon” (GL/42), or G. faronweg vs. G. faronwin for a male and female “foreigner” (GL/34).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s this suffix became N. -we derived from primitive ᴹ✶-wego under the root ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour”, which in Noldorin was distinct in origin from ᴹQ. -we which was (mostly) based on an ancient abstract suffix ᴹ✶-wē (Ety/WEG). Pure Quenya names like Finwe retained their form when used in Noldorin, but there were also some native Noldorin names with this suffix such as N. Bronwe < ON. Bronwega.

In the first version of notes on Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s (PE23/87), Tolkien again indicated this suffix was influenced by Quenya:

> Manwe etc. contain a stem or suffix √EWE, WĒ originally abstract. Voronwe = steadfastness. In EN male names (since Boronwē was feminine) were made masculine by add[ition] of -ko, hence Bronweg (PE23/87).

Tolkien revisited this suffix in various notes from the late 1950s and gave it a similar origin, with the caveat that all of the “native” names from the stories had become direct adaptations from Quenya. As Tolkien described it in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957:

> In Sindarin adoption of Quenya names (as Voronwe > Bronweg) -we was sometimes used to represent -we, which historically had become w or u (as in Elu = Elwe). But this S -we is of distinct origin, √WEG-, live, be active. Hence ✱wego(n), living creature: Q weo, veo, S gwê. Cf. ✱weg-tē, activity, occupation (PE17/189).

In an earlier but rejected version of this note, Tolkien gave the root form as √WEK instead of √WEG with Sindarin suffix -weg (PE17/190).

-we

suffix. It corresponds to fem

_masc. suff. _It corresponds to fem. -iel. Q. -we.

-m

suffix. we

1st du. pron. suff. #we (you and me). Q. -mmo.See paradigm PE17:132.

-nc

suffix. we

1st du. pron. suff. #we (you and me). Q. -lmo.See paradigm PE17:132. >> -ngid

limp

adjective. wet

nîn

wet

_ adj. _wet. Q. nenya. >> Nindalf

sui mín i gohenam di ai gerir úgerth ammen

as we forgive those who trespass against us

The eighth line of Ae Adar Nín, Tolkien’s Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer (VT44/21). The first word is the preposition sui “as”. The second word has the same form as mín “our” but seems to function as men “us” (as it appeared in the first draft of this sentence). The third word is i “who”, followed by gohenam, the 2nd-pl inflection of the verb gohena- “to forgive” with its direct object di, the lenited form of the pronoun ti “them”.

The function of the sixth word ai (“those who”) is difficult to decipher. See the entry for that word for further discussion.

The seventh word gerir is a lenited form of cerir (as it appeared in the draft), which itself is the plural of the verb car- “to do”. This followed by úgerth, the plural of úgarth “trespass, ✱misdeed” and ammen “to us”, a combination of an “to, for” and men “us”.

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

> sui mín i gohena-m di [← ti] ai gerir [← cerir] úgerth am-men = “✱as us who forgive-we them who do-(plural) trespasses to-us”

The sense of this phrase seems to be: “as us, who forgive those who do trespasses to us”.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien wrote a draft version (I) before producing a revised version (II) of this phrase (VT44/22, note on line 8). For “as we [us]”, Tolkien used the preposition sui “as” in both versions, but for “us” Tolkien wrote mín >> men in the draft, and then mí ni >> mín in the revision. Of these, men “us” seems to me to be the most consistent with Tolkien’s use of this pronoun elsewhere. Bill Welden discussed possible interpretations of this pronoun usage on VT44/28.

For “forgive”, Tolkien first wrote dihenam in the draft, which is another form of the verb díhena- “forgive” used in the previous line of the prayer. Tolkien replaced this with góhenam in the draft, which appeared as gohenam in the revised phrase. As pointed out by Bill Welden (VT44/29), it isn’t clear whether Tolkien intended to replace díhena- with gohena- generally as the Sindarin verb for “forgive”, or whether both verbs were valid with slightly different connotations.

See the entry for the word ai “✱those who” for a discussion of the development of that word (ayath >> ay >> ai).

Tolkien reversed the order of úgarth “trespass” and cerir “do-(plural)” between the draft and revised versions, which required changing cerir to its lenited form gerir (which Tolkien first wrote mistakenly as garer in the revised version before correcting it to gerir).

In the draft version, Tolkien wrote ann for “against us”, but as Bill Welden points out (VT44/22), Tolkien almost certainly intended ammen as it appeared in the revised version and elsewhere in the prayer, and simply failed to complete this form in the draft.

|  I  |II| |sui| |{mín >>} men|{mí ni >>} mín| |i| |{dihenam >>} góhenam|gohenam| |di| |{ayath >> ay >>} ai|ai| |ugerth|{garer >>} gerir| |cerir|úgerth| |ann|ammen|

men

we

men (accusative mín ”us”, presumably usually lenited vín, which is also the genitive ”our”).

men

we

(accusative mín ”us”, presumably usually lenited vín, which is also the genitive ”our”).

limp

adjective. wet

limp

wet

(no distinct pl. form).

mesc

wet

1. mesc (lenited vesc, pl. misc). Also spelt mesg. 2) limp (no distinct pl. form). 3)

mesc

wet

(lenited vesc, pl. misc). Also spelt mesg.

nîd

wet

nîd (damp, tearful); no distinct pl. form. 4) nîn (watery); no distinct pl. form. Note: nîn is also used as a noun ”tear”; there is also the possessive pronoun nín ”my”.

nîd

wet

(damp, tearful); no distinct pl. form. 4) nîn (watery); no distinct pl. form. Note: nîn is also used as a noun ”tear”; there is also the possessive pronoun nín ”my”.

-u

suffix. a person or being

-ad

suffix. dual

The Sindarin dual was almost certainly derived from the same primitive form ✶ata as the Quenya dual ending -t, indicating this ending was ancient in form. The other Quenya dual, -u, would not have been active in Sindarin since final vowels were lost.

Tolkien stated (Let/427) that this ending was archaic and lost, but did not state when it disappeared. The ending may have still been active in the First Age. The ending appears in the day-name Orgaladhad “Day of the Two Trees”. Since the Sindar had no direct experience with the trees, this word was likely adopted from its Quenya cognate Aldúya when the Noldor and Sindar were reunited.

-enc

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. _our.Maybe the incl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46.

-m

suffix. we (probably the excl

1st pl. pron. suff. #we (probably the excl. form). Q. -mbe.See paradigm PE17:132.

-main

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -men

-men

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -main

-nc

suffix. we (probably the incl

1st pl. pron. suff. #we (probably the incl. form). Q. -lme.See paradigm PE17:132. >> -ngid

-on

suffix. masculine suffix

A masculine suffix and ending in male names (PE17/43, 141; WJ/400), probably related to the masculine ending or agental suffix ✶-on(do) (NM/353; Ety/KAL). It becomes -or when following an n (PE17/141).

Conceptual Development: N. -on was often use as a male suffix in the Noldorin of the 1930s and 40s. In Gnomish of the 1910s, it seems G. -os was another common male suffix in words such as G. ainos “(male) god” from neuter G. ain “god” (GL/18) and G. hethos “brother” from neuter G. heth “✱sibling” (GL/48-49), though masculine G. -(r)on was still more common in this early period.

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

adanath

noun. men

aew

noun. (small) bird

aewen

adjective. of birds

ar·phent rían tuor·na: man agorech?

*and said Rían to Tuor: what have we done?

ava-

auxillary verb. will not

avam

suffix. we won't

v. & pron. suff. we won't. Q. vamme. >> avo

car-

verb. to do, make

Car- is the Sindarin verb for “do, make”, derived from the root √KAR of the same meaning. Tolkien often used it for examples of verb inflections in his writings.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this verb was G. {car- >>} cartha- “make, finish” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with past tense côri (GL/25), reappearing as cartha- “to finish” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document with past tense cair- or cawr- (PE13/111). A set of rough verb forms caron, {cur}, côr, {carn}, crantha, cor and cranthi appear in the margin of a page of the Early Noldorin Grammar, which the editors suggested might be related to the (unglossed and rejected) sentence ᴱN. on gós i·bhelon ar cranthi gwaist ’worin o nomad othra, perhaps meaning “✱he made everyone aware of your sinking” (PE13/128 and note #76).

In the Early Noldorin Dictionary, also from the 1920s, Tolkien had ᴱN. cara- “to make, do, perform, act (trans. and absolute)” with a new past form agor (PE13/161). Hints of the verb N. car- can be found in The Etymologies of the 1930s in words like N. ceredir “doer, maker” and N. osgar “cut round, amputate” (Ety/DER, OS). The verb appeared regularly in conjugation charts and sentences Tolkien’s later writings of the 1950s and 60s (VT50/22; PE17/132).

cuia-

verb. to live

curufin

masculine name. *Skilled-Finwë

5th son of Fëanor, called “the crafty” (S/60). His Sindarin name is adapted from his Quenya father-name Q. Curufinwë “✱Skilled-Finwë” (MR/217, PM/343). This name is a combination of S. curu “skill” and the Sindarized form S. fin of his grandfather’s name Q. Finwë (VT41/10), also seen in the name S. Finarfin.

Conceptual Development: This character was named G. Curufin when he first appeared earliest Lost Tales, already with the sobriquet “Crafty” (LT2/241). The name N. Curufin appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a combination of N. curu “cunning” and a suffixal form of ON. phinya “skillful” (Ety/KUR, PHIN). The derivation from his Quenya name did not emerge until after Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/217).

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

eneth

noun. name

esta-

verb. to name

lhing

noun. spider, spider's web, cobweb

lhingril

noun. spider

loen

adjective. soaking wet, swamped

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.

mimp

cardinal. eleven

mimp

cardinal. eleven

_ card. _eleven. Q. minque. >> imp. This gloss was rejected.

min

adjective. our

min-

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

minib

cardinal. eleven

minib

cardinal. eleven

mín

adjective. our

mín

pronoun. our

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]

nîn

adjective. wet, watery

penim

verb. we have not

_ v. & suff. _we have not. >> -m

penim vast

we have no bread

sav-

verb. to have

A verb for “to have” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, derived from the root √SAM of the same meaning (PE17/173). It was the opposite of pen- “to lack, have not”. As such, it seems the verb sav- was not usually negated, but pen- was used instead as in penim vast “we have no bread” [= (lit.) ✱“we lack bread”] (PE17/144).

sevin

8r$5% verb. I have

v. aor. & pron. suff. I have. Q. samin. >> -n

sui

conjunction. as, like

taen

noun. sign

ti

pronoun. them

ungol

noun. spider

ungol

noun. spider

The Sindarin word for “spider” (Let/180; RC/490, 767), derived from √ungu- that was the basis for spider words (PE22/160).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish word for “spider” was initially G. gung in both the Qenya Lexicon and Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√GUŊU (QL/98; GL/43), also appearing an element in G. Gungliont, the earliest name of Ungoliant (LT1/160). In the Gnomish Lexicon the word gung was crossed through, but may have become ging in G. gwidh-a-ging “cobweb” (GL/46). Regardless, Tolkien added G. ungwi “spider” in pencil to the Gnomish Lexicon (GL/75), which seems to indicate a change of the root from ᴱ√GUŊU to ᴱ√UŊU, consistent with the replacement name G. Ungoliont from the contemporaneous narratives (LT1/152).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, “spider” words were derived from the root ᴹ√SLIG (Ety/SLIG); see N. thling for discussion. Tolkien soon restored Ung-, however, since N. ungol was translated as “spider” in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s (WR/202).

vi

preposition. in

vi

preposition. in

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

aew

bird

(small bird) 1) aew. No distinct pl. form. 2) fileg, pl. filig; the form filigod appears as an alternative singular. or

aew

bird

. No distinct pl. form.

aewen

of birds

pl. aewin.

ava

will not

ava- (i ava, in avar).

ava

will not

ava- (i ava, in avar)

bach

thing

(article for exchange, ware) (i mach, o mbach), pl. baich (i mbaich).

badhron

judge

badhron (i vadhron), pl. bedhryn (i medhryn); also badhor (i vadhor), analogical pl. bedhyr (i medhyr)

badhron

judge

(i vadhron), pl. bedhryn (i medhryn); also badhor (i vadhor), analogical pl. bedhyr (i medhyr)

be

as

(like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salo’s reconstruction)

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

cuia

live

(i guia, i chuia; the attested form is the imperative cuio). Also cuina (i guina, i chuinar).

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

daetha-

verb. to praise

dav-

verb. to judge

dî

in

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

dîr

man

1. (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

e

out

e, ed (away, forth); also as adjectival prefix "outer" and preposition: (WJ:367)

e

out

ed (away, forth); also as adjectival prefix "outer" and preposition:

emlinn

yellowhammer

(= "yellow singer"); no distinct pl. form. Also emelin, no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emelinnath. Adj.

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

ess

noun. name

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

fileg

bird

pl. filig; the form filigod appears as an alternative singular.

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

gwe

pronoun. we (inclusive)

gwîn

pronoun. our (inclusive)

hain

them

hain (of inanimates) One entry in the Etymologies ( LR:385 s.v. S-) may be taken as implying that the pronouns ”they” (and ”them”?) are hein of inanimates, hîn of women and huin of men. For ”Noldorin” hein and huin we may have to read hain and hŷn, respectively, in Third Age Sindarin.

hain

them

(of inanimates) One entry in the Etymologies ( LR:385 s.v. S-) may be taken as implying that  the pronouns ”they” (and ”them”?) are hein of inanimates, hîn of women and huin of men. For ”Noldorin” hein and huin we may have to read hain and hŷn, respectively, in Third Age Sindarin.

hîn

they

(of women) hîn. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

hîn

they

. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

iphant

long-lived

(aged,  literally ”year-full”), pl. iphaint. The spelling used in the source is ”ifant” (LR:400 s.v. YEN), but since the f arises from earlier (n > m +) p via nasal mutation, it should be written ph according to the spelling conventions described in LotR Appendix E.

lhing

spider’s web

(?i thling or ?i ling – the lenition product of lh is uncertain)  (cobweb), no distinct pl. form except possibly with article (?i ling). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thling.

lhingril

noun. spider

lhingril

spider

(?i thlingril or ?i lingril – the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form except possibly with article (?i lingril). Coll. pl. lhingrillath. (Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” *thlingril**.*)

lhê

spider filament

(?i thlê or ?i lê – the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (fine thread), pl. lhî (?i lî). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlê.

loen

soaking wet

(swamped), no distinct pl. form.

me

pronoun. we (exclusive)

minib

cardinal. eleven

minib (VT48:6-8)

nad

thing

1. nad (pl. naid), 2) bach (article for exchange, ware) (i mach, o mbach), pl. baich (i mbaich).

nad

thing

(pl. naid)

ne

in

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

ne

in, inside

(prefix) (mid-)

osp

reek

(noun) osp (smoke), pl. ysp: _

osp

reek

(smoke), pl. ysp

pe

pronoun. we (inclusive)

pîn

pronoun. our (inclusive)

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

sui

as

1. prep. “like, as”) sui (VT44:23), 2) (prep.) be (like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salos reconstruction)

sui

as

(VT44:23)

tann

sign

1. (etymologically ”something shown/indicated”) tann (i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain) (MR:185); 2) têw (i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i **thîw), coll. pl. téwath**;

tann

sign

(i dann), construct tan, pl. tain (i thain)** **(MR:185)

thalion

dauntless man

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

tin

pronoun. them

têw

sign

(i dêw, o thêw, construct tew) (letter, tengwa), pl. tîw (i thîw), coll. pl. téwath

ungol

spider

1. ungol (pl. yngyl); coll. pl. ?unglath or ungolath; 2) *lhingril (?i thlingril or ?i lingril the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form except possibly with article (?i lingril). Coll. pl. lhingrillath. (Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlingril.) 3) or

ungol

spider

(pl. yngyl); coll. pl. ?unglath or ungolath

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

vín

our

vín; see WE

vín

our

; see