Quenya 

Manwë

blessed being

Manwë noun "Blessed Being" (Letters:283), the Elder King and Lord of the Valar, spouse of Varda. The name is adopted and adapted from Valarin Mānawenūz; names ending in - were already frequent in Quenya _(WJ:399). _In the Etymologies derived from MAN, WEG.Cf. Mánwen, Mánwë the oldest Quenya forms of Manwë, closer to the Valarin form (WJ:399). Lower-case manwë in LR:56. Ablative Manwello, VT49:24 (in this source Tolkien indicated that lo Manwë is the preferred way of saying "from Manwë", but this was apparently a short-lived idea; see lo). Masc. name Manwendil "Manwë-friend; one devoted to Manwë" (UT:210). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, Manwë was also the name of letter #22 (VT45:32), which tengwa Tolkien would later call vala instead changing its Quenya value from m to v.

manwë

masculine name. Blessed Being

The chief of the Valar, spouse of Varda (S/26). His name is an adaptation of his Valarin name or title: Val. Mānawenūz (WJ/399), with its final element influenced by the suffix -wë common in ancient names (PE17/189-190). Its initial element is related to root √MAN, also adapted from Valarin and seen in names like Aman (PM/357, SA/mān). An approximate translation of his name is “Blessed Being, Ruler or One” (Let/283, PE22/85, WJ/399).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Manwe of the Lord of the Valar dates back to the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/52, QL/58). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, the derivation of ᴹQ. Manwe from its Primitive Elvish elements √MAN and -we was essentially the same as given above (Ety/MAN, WEG). At these earlier stages, however, “Primitive Elvish” was actually Valarin (LR/192), so the idea of a separate adaptation from Valarin came later (WJ/399).

Cognates

Derivations

  • MAN “good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit” ✧ PE17/162; SA/mān
  • Val. Mānawenūz “Blessed One, One (closest) in accord with Eru” ✧ WJ/399

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
MAN“good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit”
-wë“ancient name suffix (usually but not always masculine)”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
MAN > Manwe[manwe]✧ PE17/162
mān- > Manwë[manwe]✧ SA/mān
Val. Mānawenūz > Mánwen > Manwe[mānawen] > [mānwen] > [manwen]✧ WJ/399

Variations

  • Manwe ✧ PE17/162; PE17/189 (Manwe); PE17/189; PE17/190 (Manwe); VT49/24; WJ/399
  • Manwē ✧ PE21/85
Quenya [Let/283; LotRI/Manwë; MRI/Manwë; NM/239; PE17/162; PE17/189; PE17/190; PE21/85; PM/357; PMI/Manwë; SA/mān; SI/Manwë; UTI/Manwë; VT49/24; WJ/399; WJ/404; WJI/Manwë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mánwë

Manwë

Manwë is intended to mean "Blessed One" in Quenya, from root MAN plus the male ending -wë. However it is said also to be a version of the Valarin name Mānawenūz. Súlimo is an epithet meaning "Breather". His titles include Elder King, High King of Arda, King of Arda, Lord of the Breath of Arda and Lord of the West. His name in Sindarin is Aran Einior, "Elder King" and in Adûnaic Amân. In Eriol's Old English translations, Manwë is referred to as Wolcenfrea "Welkin-ruler". In an early manuscript called "Valar name-list", Manwë has the additional Qenya names Taimo (masculine form of Taime, "the sky") and Valtur ("King of the Valar").

Quenya [Tolkien Gateway] Published by