Quenya 

vana

adjective. fair-haired (yellow to golden)

Vána

beautiful (one)

Vána fem. name, a Valië, the wife of Oromë (Silm, WJ:383); the Etymologies gives Vana with no long vowel (BAN). The apparent meaning is *"beautiful (one)", since she was "the most perfectly beautiful in form and feature…representing the natural unmarred perfection of form in living things" (PE17:150).

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

vanya

adjective. fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy

Cognates

  • S. bain “fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired” ✧ PE17/150; PE17/154; PE17/165
  • S. gwain “blond” ✧ PE17/150
  • S. gwân “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/165

Derivations

  • BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/056; PE17/149; PE17/150
  • wanya “fair-haired (yellow to golden)” ✧ PE17/150; PE17/150
    • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/150
  • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/154; PE17/165
  • banya “beautiful” ✧ PE17/165
    • BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/165

Element in

  • Q. Arda Vanya “Arda Unmarred” ✧ PE17/150
  • Q. ilvan(y)a “perfect” ✧ PE17/150
  • Q. úvana “marred” ✧ PE17/150
  • Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
BAN > vanya[banja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/056
ɃAN > vanya[banja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/149
BAN > vanya[banja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/150
wanya > vanya[wanja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/150
wana > văna[wanja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/150
GWAN > vanya[gwanja] > [ɣwanja] > [wanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/154
banya > vanya[banja] > [βanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/165
GWAN > wana[gwanja] > [ɣwanja] > [wanja] > [vanja]✧ PE17/165

Variations

  • văna ✧ PE17/150
  • wana ✧ PE17/165 (wana)
  • wanya ✧ PE17/165 (wanya)
Quenya [PE17/056; PE17/057; PE17/149; PE17/150; PE17/154; PE17/165] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vána

feminine name. Ever-young, *(lit.) Beauty

Valië of Spring and Happiness, spouse of Oromë, also called the “Ever-young” (S/29). Her name is a derivative of either √BAN “beauty” (PE17/150) or √WAN “fair” (WJ/383). She is the most perfectly beautiful being in form and feature, in the sense that she lacked any fault or blemish (PE17/150).

Conceptual Development: Her name was ᴱQ. Vána in the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/67), and this name appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as a derivative of the root ᴱ√VANA along with other words having to do with “beauty” (QL/99). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, ᴹQ. Vana appeared with a short a (SM/79, LR/206), and it also appeared this way in The Etymologies as a derivative of √BAN, which was also the basis for words meaning “beautiful” (Ety/BAN).

The long á was restored in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/146). The derivation from the root √WAN did not appear until the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60.

Derivations

  • BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/149; PE17/150
  • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ WJ/383

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ɃAN > Vána[bāna] > [βāna] > [vāna]✧ PE17/149
BAN > Vána[bāna] > [βāna] > [vāna]✧ PE17/150
WAN > Vána[wāna] > [βāna] > [vāna]✧ WJ/383

Variations

  • Vana ✧ MRI/Vána
Quenya [MRI/Vána; PE17/149; PE17/150; S/029; SI/Vána; SMI/Vana; WJ/383; WJI/Vána] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vanima

beautiful, fair

vanima adj. "beautiful, fair" (BAN, VT39:14) (glossed "proper, right, fair" in early "Qenya", LT1:272, though a later source says the word is used "only of living things, especially Elves and Men", PE17:150); nominal pl. vanimar "beautiful ones", partitive pl. genitive vanimálion, translated "of beautiful children", but literally meaning *"of [some] beautiful ones") (LotR3:VI ch. 6, translated in Letters:308). Arwen vanimalda "Beautiful Arwen", literally "Arwen your beauty" (see -lda for reference; changed to Arwen vanimelda in the second edition of LotR; see vanimelda).

vanima

adjective. beautiful

Quenya [PE 22:156] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

vanya-

verb. to pass, to pass, [ᴹQ.] go, depart, disappear

Element in

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

Derivations

  • BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/056

Element in

  • Q. úvanë(a) “without beauty”
  • Q. vanessë “beauty” ✧ PE17/056
  • Q. vanië “beauty” ✧ PE17/056
  • Q. vanima “beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair” ✧ PE17/056

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
BAN > vane[bani] > [bane] > [βane] > [vane]✧ PE17/056

Variations

  • vane ✧ PE17/056

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

Valatári

vala-queen

Valatári noun "Vala-queen" (BAL; this entry of the Etymologies states that Vala has no feminine form except this compound, but Silm gives Valië as a feminine form). The word Valatári is apparently also the unchanged plural form, so used in this quote: "The Valatári were Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Vana, Vaire, Este, Nessa, Uinen" (BAL; Tolkien later reclassified Uinen as a Maia, not a Valatári/Valië). Notice that the plural form of Valatar would apparently also be *Valatári.

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

calwa

beautiful

calwa ("k") adj. "beautiful" (LT1:254)

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

mairëa

beautiful

mairëa adj. "beautiful" (of things made by art) (PE17:163). An alternative (and peculiar) form "mairia" is also implied in the source.

-ima

fair

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

mírya

beautiful

mírya adj. "beautiful" (of work of art only) (PE17:165)

Sindarin 

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

Changes

  • gwaingwana “fair, general word for Elves” ✧ PE17/140

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
wanasō > gwana[wanasō] > [wanaso] > [wanaho] > [gwanaho] > [gwanah] > [gwana]✧ PE17/140

Variations

  • gwain ✧ PE17/140 (gwain)
Sindarin [PE17/140] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:150] < BAN beauty, with implication that it is due to _lack of fault_ or _blemish_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

bain

adjective. beautiful, fair

Sindarin [Ety/351, Ety/359, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bain

beautiful

_ adj. _beautiful. Q. vanya.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:165] < _banya_ < BAN fair, beautiful. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:150] < BAN beauty, with implication that it is due to _lack of fault_ or _blemish_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:140] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:165] < _gwan_ < GWAN pale, fair. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

Sindarin [PM/352] Etym. "having a good fëa". Group: SINDICT. Published by

lind

adjective. fair

Derivations

  • LIN “sing, make a musical sound, sing, make a musical sound, [ᴱ√] gentle”

Element in

  • S. Linhir “Fair Stream” ✧ RC/587

Variations

  • lin ✧ RC/587 (lin)

banwen

vána

(na Vanwen)

miniel

vanya

(i Viniel), pl. Mínil (i Mínil), coll. pl. Miniellath. (WJ:383; the literal meaning of Míniel is ”First Elf”.)

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

beautiful

bain (fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

beautiful

(fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

Primitive elvish

banya

adjective. beautiful

Derivations

  • BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/165

Derivatives

  • Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ PM/402
    • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383
  • Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/165
  • S. bain “fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired” ✧ PE17/165
Primitive elvish [PE17/165; PM/402] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wanya

adjective. fair-haired (yellow to golden)

Derivations

  • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/150

Derivatives

  • Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/150; PE17/150
  • S. gwain “blond” ✧ PE17/150

Variations

  • wana ✧ PE17/150
Primitive elvish [PE17/150] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wanyā

adjective. fair

Derivations

  • (G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ WJ/383

Derivatives

  • Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
    • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383

Variations

  • wanjā ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
Primitive elvish [WJ/380; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bani

adjective. fair

Element in

  • Q. vanië “beauty” ✧ PE17/057
  • Q. vanima “beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair” ✧ PE17/057

Variations

  • vanĭ ✧ PE17/057
Primitive elvish [PE17/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

banwen

feminine name. Vana

Noldorin name of Vana appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s as derivative of the Old Noldorin form ON. Bana-wende (Ety/BAN). Her name might be considered a combination of bein “beautiful” and the lenited form of gwenn “maiden”.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, her name was G. Gwann or Gwannuin along with a number of variations (GL/18, 31, 44, 47).

Derivations

Elements

WordGloss
bein“fair, beautiful”
gwenn“maiden”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. Bana-wende > Banwend > Banwen[banawende] > [banawend] > [banwend] > [banwenn] > [banwen]✧ Ety/BAN

bein

adjective. beautiful, fair

Noldorin [Ety/351, Ety/359, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

vana

feminine name. Vana

Cognates

  • On. Bana ✧ Ety/BAN
  • ᴹT. Bana ✧ Ety/BAN

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶Banā ✧ Ety/BAN
    • ᴹ√BAN “*beauty” ✧ Ety/BAN

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶bánā > Vana[banā] > [βanā] > [βana] > [vana]✧ Ety/BAN
Qenya [Ety/BAN; LRI/Vana; SMI/Vana] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vanima

adjective. fair

Derivations

  • ᴹ√BAN “*beauty” ✧ Ety/BAN

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Vanimo “The Beautiful; Fair Folk” ✧ Ety/BAN

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√BAN > vanima[banima] > [βanima] > [vanima]✧ Ety/BAN

Middle Primitive Elvish

bányā

adjective. beautiful

Derivations

  • ᴹ√BAN “*beauty” ✧ Ety/BAN

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. vanya “beautiful, fair” ✧ Ety/BAN
  • N. bein “fair, beautiful” ✧ Ety/BAN
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/BAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ban

root. *beauty

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶Banā ✧ Ety/BAN
    • ᴹQ. Vana ✧ Ety/BAN
    • On. Bana ✧ Ety/BAN
    • ᴹT. Bana ✧ Ety/BAN
  • ᴹ✶ūbanō “monster” ✧ Ety/BAN
    • N. úan “monster” ✧ Ety/BAN
  • ᴹ✶bányā “beautiful” ✧ Ety/BAN
    • ᴹQ. vanya “beautiful, fair” ✧ Ety/BAN
    • N. bein “fair, beautiful” ✧ Ety/BAN
  • ᴹQ. uvana “wicked”
  • ᴹQ. vanima “fair” ✧ Ety/BAN

Element in

  • ᴹQ. úvanimo “monster” ✧ Ety/GŪ
  • ᴹQ. Vanimo “The Beautiful; Fair Folk” ✧ Ety/UGU

Variations

  • BAN² ✧ EtyAC/BAN² (BAN²)
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/BAN; Ety/GŪ; Ety/GWEN; Ety/UGU; EtyAC/BAN²] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

tuilir

feminine name. Vána

Cognates

Variations

  • Tuivon ✧ GL/71 (Tuivon)
Gnomish [GL/71; LT1A/Tuilérë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwandra

adjective. beautiful

Cognates

  • Eq. vane “fair, lovely” ✧ LT1A/Vána

Element in

Variations

  • gwanin ✧ GL/44
Gnomish [GG/09; GG/15; GG/16; GL/44; LT1A/Vána] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwanin

adjective. beautiful

Early Primitive Elvish

vana

root. *beauty

Changes

  • VANEVANA ✧ QL/099

Derivatives

  • Eq. Vána ✧ LT1A/Vána; QL/099
  • Eq. Vanar “Valar” ✧ LT1A/Vána; QL/099
  • Eq. vande “well” ✧ QL/099
  • Eq. vane “fair, lovely” ✧ LT1A/Vána; QL/099
  • G. Ban “god, one of the Valar” ✧ QL/099
  • G. Gwannuin ✧ LT1A/Vána
  • En. gwant “?beautiful”
  • G. gwant “beautiful, fair; loveliness” ✧ LT1A/Vána

Element in

  • Eq. ulban “monster, giant”
  • Eq. Vansil “Fairgleam”
  • G. gwandra “beautiful” ✧ LT1A/Vána
  • G. gwanthi “fairness, beauty; a fair face, pretty” ✧ LT1A/Vána

Variations

  • VANE ✧ QL/099 (VANE)
Early Primitive Elvish [LT1A/Vána; QL/099] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

vana-

verb. to pass, depart, vanish, go away

Variations

  • vana ✧ PE15/76
Early Quenya [PE15/76] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vána

feminine name. Vána

Cognates

  • G. Gwannuin ✧ GL/18; GL/44; LT1A/Vána; PE14/014

Derivations

  • ᴱ√VANA “*beauty” ✧ LT1A/Vána; QL/099

Element in

Variations

  • Vana ✧ GL/18; GL/44
  • vanwi ✧ GL/44
  • Vâna ✧ GL/71; QL/040; QL/096; QL/099
  • Vāna ✧ PE14/014; QL/052
Early Quenya [GL/18; GL/44; GL/71; LT1A/Tuivána; LT1A/Vána; LT1I/Vána; LT2I/Vána; PE14/014; QL/040; QL/052; QL/096; QL/099] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vanima

adjective. proper, right, as it should be, fair

Changes

  • vanavanĭma ✧ QL/099

Element in

Variations

  • vanĭma ✧ QL/099
  • vana ✧ QL/099 (vana)
Early Quenya [LT1A/Vána; QL/099] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mailina

adjective. beautiful

Changes

  • mailinamailinen ✧ PE14/056

Element in

Early Quenya [PE14/056] Group: Eldamo. Published by