Quenya 

ambar

fate, doom

ambar (2) noun "fate, doom" (variant of umbar?) in Turambar (SA:amarth); stem ambart- (PE17:66), instrumental ambartanen "by doom" (Silm ch. 21, UT:138, PE17:66). The early "Qenya" lexicon has ambar "Fate", also amarto (LT2:348)

ambar

a-mbar

ambar (1) ("a-mbar") noun "oikumenē [Greek: the earth as the human habitation], Earth, world" (MBAR), stem ambar- (PE17:66), related to and associated with mar "home, dwelling" (VT45:33); in VT46:13 the latter glosses are possibly also ascribed to the word ambar itself (the wording is not clear). The form ambaren also listed in the Etymologies was presumably intended as the genitive singular at the time of writing (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular); in the printed version in LR, the misreading "ambaron" appears (see VT45:33). Ambar-metta noun "the end of the world" (EO); spelt ambarmetta in VT44:36. The element #umbar in Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.) would seem to be a variant of ambar, just like ambar #2 "doom" also alternates with umbar (see below).

ambar

breast

ambar (3) noun ""breast" (chest), with stem in -s- or -r- (QL:30). The form ambar, translated "in bosom", occurs in MC:213 (this is "Qenya"). Note: if this word were to be adapted to LotR-style Quenya, we should probably have to read *ambas with stem ambar-; compare olos, olor- "dream" from a late source. However, the form ambos (q.v.) is less ambiguous and may be preferred.

ambar

noun. fate, doom, fate, doom, [ᴱQ.] lot

ambar

noun. The World, Earth, (lit.) Habitation, Settlement

The word Ambar is probably the most common Quenya word for the “World”. Its more literal meaning is “Habitation” (MR/337; NM/226) or “Settlement” (PE17/163) in the sense that it is the realm in which the children of Eru (Elves and Men) live. A clear description of this notion can be found in notes from late 1960s:

> Ambar was thus “the great settlement”. This may be translated “world” — meaning this Earth as the place (by destiny) inhabited by Elves and Men, the Children of Eru. It thus resembles ἡ οἰκουμένη [Greek = “the inhabited world”], but was not limited either to the parts of Earth actually inhabited, or to those inhabited by any special peoples such as the Elves, or among Men the Numenóreans. The decision, the fixing of the dwelling place, was thought of as proceeding from Eru and was so part of his Umbar [Destiny]. Umbar, so used, might be said to be “the history of Ambar”, so far as already accomplished, and its future so far as already arranged and defined (PE17/163).

This specific note was rejected, but similar descriptions appear elsewhere (NM/226-227). As noted by Tolkien here and elsewhere, the term Ambar was also intertwined with the notion of Destiny (Umbar) as willed by Eru.

Another common term for “world” was Q. Arda, more literally “Realm”, but strictly speaking this referred to the regions under the dominion of Manwë, and so included areas outside of the world such as Aman (after its removal from the world) and the remainder of the Solar System (PE17/105; MR/337; NM/227). Tolkien also sometimes used Q. cemen “earth” for “the Earth” (VT44/34; MR/387), particularly in Q. Kementári “Queen of the Earth” as a name for Yavanna (S/28). But that seems to refer more to livable surface of the world rather than the entire world itself.

Etymology: This word was derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell”, with a vocalic augment: ✶a-mbar (PE17/105, 124). It is not the result of a syllabic nasal ✶ṃbar, as that would produce Q. umbar, the Elvish word for fate or destiny (PE17/104).

Conceptual Development: The word ᴹQ. Ambar first appeared in a document labeled ᴹQ. Ambarkanta “The Shape of the World” from the early 1930s (SM/235-240). It appeared as ᴹQ. Ambar “Earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the same basic meaning and derivation as given above. A possible precursor is the word ᴱQ. irmin “the inhabited world” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, which was similar in form and meaning but derived from a different root ᴱ√IŘI [IÐI] “dwell” (QL/43). There was a variant Imbar of Ambar in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth from around 1959 (MR/337) which might be a callback to this earlier word.

Cognates

  • S. amar “world, the Earth, (lit.) settlement, the great habitation” ✧ PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124; NM/228
  • T. ambar “the world, the great habitation” ✧ NM/228

Derivations

  • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/226; PE17/064; PE17/066; PE17/078; PE17/090; PE17/163
  • ambar(a) “the settlement, establishment, the world” ✧ NM/228; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124
    • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/228; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
MBAR > ambar[ambar]✧ NM/226
MBAR > ambar[ambar]✧ PE17/064
MBAR > ambar[ambar]✧ PE17/066
MBAR > Ambar[ambar]✧ PE17/078
MBAR > ambar[ambar]✧ PE17/090
ambar- > ambar[ambar]✧ PE17/104
ambar(ă) > ambar[ambara] > [ambar]✧ PE17/105
a-mbar- > ambar[ambara]✧ PE17/124
MBAR > ambar-[ambara]✧ PE17/163

Variations

  • Imbar ✧ MR/337; MRI/Imbar; WJI/Imbar
  • ambar ✧ NM/226; NM/228; PE17/064; PE17/066; PE17/074; PE17/090; PE17/103; PE17/104; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124; PE22/147; VT44/36
  • ambar- ✧ PE17/163 (ambar-)
Quenya [LotR/0967; MR/337; MRI/Ambar; MRI/Imbar; MS/01; NM/226; NM/228; PE17/064; PE17/066; PE17/074; PE17/078; PE17/090; PE17/103; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124; PE17/163; PE22/147; VT44/36; WJ/402; WJI/Ambar; WJI/Imbar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amba

up, upwards

amba 1) adv. "up, upwards" (AM2, PE17:157). Apparently also ama (UNU).

amba

adverb. up

Quenya [PE 22:21] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

ambaron

g.sg. ambarónen

ambaron (ambarón- as in "g.sg. ambarónen", in LotR-style Quenya this would be a dative singular) noun "uprising, sunrise, Orient" (AM2). - In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the form ambaron also appears in the entry MBAR, but according to VT45:33 this is an error for ambaren, apparently intended as the genitive singular of ambar (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular).

ambas

ambas

*ambas, see ambar # 3

umbar

fate, doom

umbar (umbart-, as in dat.sg. umbarten) noun "fate, doom" (MBARAT), also name of tengwa #6 (Appendix E).Cf. Umbarto. In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, umbar was the name of letter #18 (VT45:33), which tengwa Tolkien would later call malta instead changing its Quenya value from mb to m. In the word Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.), umbar appears to be a variant of Ambar (q.v.) instead.

umbar

noun. doom

doom

Quenya [PE 18:92] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

umbar

noun. fate, doom, curse

Cognates

  • S. amarth “fate, doom” ✧ PE17/066; PE17/104; PE17/104; PE17/123; PE17/124; PE18/092; NM/228

Derivations

  • ṃbart(ă) “fate, doom; (orig.) permanent establishment” ✧ NM/228; PE17/123; PE17/124; PE18/092; PE19/077
    • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/228; PE17/124
  • M(B)ARAT “doom, fate” ✧ PE17/066
    • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”
  • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ PE17/104; PE17/105
  • ṃbar ✧ PE17/104; PE17/104
    • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ṃbart- > umbar[ṃbart] > [umbart] > [umbar]✧ PE19/077

Variations

  • ambar ✧ PE17/066
  • Umbar ✧ PE17/163 (Umbar)
Quenya [LotR/1122; NM/228; PE17/066; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/123; PE17/124; PE17/163; PE18/092; PE19/077; S/223; UT/138] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Tarumbar

king of the world

Tarumbar noun; apparently "King of the World" (possibly an ephemeral form): this would be tár "king" (q.v.) + umbar as a variant of Ambar "world".

ama

up

ama adv.? element not glossed, evidently meaning "up" like the prefix am-, or an alternative form of amba (UNU)

mar

earth

mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

amarto

fate

amarto noun "Fate" (also ambar) (LT2:348; in LotR-style Quenya rather umbar, umbart-)

ambos

breast

ambos (ambost-) noun "breast" (chest). PE16:82

manar

doom, final end, fate, fortune

manar noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD (under MAN), VT45:32)

marta

fate

marta (3) noun "fate" (VT45:33, VT46:13) Cf. marto.

am-

up

am- (1) prefix "up" (AM2)

am-

prefix. up, up, [ᴱQ.] upwards

Derivations

  • AM “go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up”

Element in

amu

up, upwards

amu adv. "up, upwards" (LT2:335; in Tolkien's later Quenya amba)

kemen

earth

kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.

mandë

doom, final end, fate, fortune

mandë (1) noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD, under MAN)

cemi

earth, soil, land

cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)

irmin

the world, all the regions inhabited by men

irmin noun "the world, all the regions inhabited by Men" (LT2:343; hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya)

-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").