-ion

suffix. -son, masculine patronymic

The usual patronymic for “son of” in Quenya, suffixal form of Q. yondo “son” (PE17/170, 190). Tolkien occasionally mentioned variants like -on or -yon, but in practice only -ion appears in actual names.

Conceptual Development: This patronymic dates all the way back to Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/106) and was regularly mentioned in documents throughout the years such as the Early Qenya Grammar and English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE14/45, 75; PE15/77), The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/YŌ) and Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 (PE17/170), always with a similar form, meaning and derivation from roots likes √YO(N). Thus it was very well established in Tolkien’s mind.

-ya

dad

-ya (3) suffix of endearment, attested in Anardilya as an intimate form of the name Anardil (UT:174, 418), possibly also occurring in atya "dad", emya "mum" (q.v.) The forms ataryo "daddy" and amilyë "mummy" (q.v.) may contain gender-specific variants -yo masc. and -yë fem.

Lindissë

woman

Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)

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)

Yón

region, any (fairly extensive) region between obstacles such as rivers or mountains

yón (2), variant of yondë, q.v. Defined as "a region, any (fairly extensive) region _between obstacles such as rivers or mountains" (PE17:43)_

ména

region

ména noun "region" (MEN). Not to be confused with the present/continuative tense of #men- "go".

nissë

woman

nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.

nissë

noun. woman

ní

woman, female

†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".

nína

woman

#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])

nís

woman

nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †ní, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.

sor

eagle

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

sornion

eyrie

sornion noun "eyrie" (LT1:266)

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.

wenci

woman, maiden

wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)

yondë

any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bonds (as mountains or rivers)

yondë noun "any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bonds (as mountains or rivers)", occurring as a suffix -yondë, -yon/-iondë, -ion in regional names. (PE17:43). Note: †yondë may also be an (archaic/poetic) past tense of the verb yor-, q.v.

yondë

noun. region, any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bounds

@@@ yonde is salvageable as a derivative of YOD

yón

noun. region

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.)

sornion

noun. eyrie

neth

root. (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry, (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry; [ᴹ√] young

This root had a variety of meanings over Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴹ√NETH “young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with various Quenya and Noldorin derivatives of similar meaning, the most notable being the name ᴹQ. Nessa (Ety/NETH). In rough notes probably from around 1959, Tolkien redefined √NETH or √NES to mean “feminity apart from sex”, contrasted with √WEG or √WEƷ for masculinity, but he abandoned this line of reasoning deciding that √WĒ simply meant “person” independent of gender (PE17/189-190).

In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien again redefined √NETH, this time as the basis for Elvish “sister” words, either specifically meaning “sister” (VT47/12, 26, 34), meaning “(young) woman” (VT47/15, 32, 39) or perhaps “fresh, lively, merry” (VT47/32), the last of these probably a callback to its 1930s meaning “young”. In notes from 1959-60, however, the name Q. Nessa was disconnected from the root √NETH, derived instead from ✶Neresā meaning “she that has manlike valour or strength” (WJ/416).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best for √NETH to retain its essential 1930s meaning “young, fresh, lively”, but with an association to young women as described in Tolkien’s notes from the 1960s, and thus by extension “sister” as named from the perspective of the parents.

gardā

noun. region

immā

pronoun. reflexive

immō

pronoun. reflexive

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

thorono

noun. eagle

dess

noun. young woman

bess

noun. (young) woman

bess

noun. wife

dî

noun. woman, lady

thoron

noun. eagle

thoron

noun. eagle

thôr

noun. eagle

thôr

noun. eagle

kali

noun. woman

A noun translated “woman” (SD/434).

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.

-ion

suffix. -son

The usual Sindarin patronymic suffix, meaning “son of” (PE17/170; Ety/YŌ), a suffixal form of ion(n) “son”. It was occasionally used for “descendants”, especially as a class plural, as in Hurinionath “Descendants of Húrin” (PM/202).

Conceptual Development: In Gnomish, the prefix G. go- or gon- (suffixal -iod, -ion, -ios) was initially used with the meaning “son of” as in Gon Indor “✱Son of Indor” (LT2/217), but in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s the prefix was revised to G. bo- or bon-, as in Tuor bo-Beleg, along with suffixal -von or -mon (GL/23, 40-41). Tolkien introduced suffixal N. -ion “son” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√YO(N) “son” (Ety/YŌ), and seems to have stuck with it thereafter.

adaneth

noun. (mortal) woman

ardhon

noun. great region, province

ardhon

noun. world

arwen

noun. noble woman

bess

noun. (young) woman

bess

noun. wife

gardh

noun. bounded or defined region

gardh

noun. world

gardh

noun. region

region

noun. holly-tree area

[HKF] reg (Dor. regorn “holly tree”) + ion (Dor. gen. pl. suffix) = Dor. Regornion [Etym. ERÉK-]

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.

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

adaneth

mortal woman

(pl. edenith), also firieth (pl. firith).

aran

king of a region

(pl. erain)

ardh

region

1) ardh (realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath. 2) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413), 3) gardh (i **ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh), 4) gwaith (i **waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

ardh

region

(realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath.

bess

woman

bess (i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

bess

woman

(i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

dess

young woman

(i ness, o ndess, constuct des), pl. diss (i ndiss).

dôr

region

(i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413)

gardh

region

(i ’ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh)

gilwen

region of stars

(Quenya Ilmen), also Gilith. In the Etymologies, this word is derived from a root GIL (LR:358) and would then have the form ’Ilwen (’Ilwith) when lenited. But in a later source, Tolkien cited the relevant root as ÑGIL (MR:388), and the lenited form would then be Ngilwen (Ngilwith).

gwaith

region

(i ’waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

gwanur

kinsman

(i ’wanur) (brother), pl. gwenyr (in gwenyr). Note: a homophone of the sg. means ”pair of twins”.

roval

great wing

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

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).