arda noun "realm" (GAR under 3AR). It is said that arda, when used as a common noun, "meant any more or less bounded or defined place, a region" (WJ:402), or "a particular land or region" (WJ:413). Capitalized Arda "the Realm", name of the Earth as the kingdom of Manwë (Silm), "the name given to our world or earth...within the immensity of Eä"(Letters:283, there again rendered "realm"), "our planet" (MR:39), once translated "Earth" (SD:246). In a wider sense, Arda can refer to the entire Solar System (MR:337). Also name of tengwa #26 (Appendix E). Masc. name Ardamírë "Jewel of the World" (PM:348), shorter form Ardamir (UT:210); Ardaranyë "the Kingdom of Arda" (PE17:105)
Quenya
arda
place name. The World, (lit.) Realm
Cognates
- S. Ardhon “The World”
Element in
- Q. Arda Alahasta “Arda Unmarred” ✧ MR/254
- Q. Arda Vanya “Arda Unmarred” ✧ PE17/150
- Q. Arda Envinyanta “Arda Healed” ✧ MR/405
- Q. Arda Hastaina “Arda Marred” ✧ MR/254
- Q. Arda Harina “Arda Marred” ✧ PE17/150
- Q. Arda Sahta “Arda Marred” ✧ MR/405
- Q. Arda Úvana “Arda Marred” ✧ PE17/150
- ᴺQ. ardahyalma “[planetary] crust”
- Q. Ardamin “*World Tower”
- Q. Ardamir “*World-jewel”
- Q. Ardamírë “Jewel of the World”
- Q. Ardaranyë “Kingdom of Arda” ✧ PE17/105
- Q. Quentalë Ardanómion “*History of the Places of Arda” ✧ WJ/206
arda
realm
arda
noun. region, realm, particular land or region, region, realm, particular land or region; [ᴱQ.] place, spot
Cognates
- S. gardh “region” ✧ WJ/402
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶gardā > arda [gardā] > [ɣardā] > [ardā] > [arda] ✧ WJ/402 Variations
- Arda ✧ MR/358
harda
realm, region
harda noun "realm, region" _(VT45:12, 16, 17; the word also occurs, unglossed, in the entry EN in the Etymologies)_. Changed to arda later?
arya
twelve hours, day
arya (3) noun "twelve hours, day" (AR1; compare aurë). In deleted notes this word was also used as an adjective: "of the day, light" (VT45:6). Still according to VT45:6, arya is also the name of Tengwa #26 in the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, but Tolkien would later call #26 arda instead (indeed arya was changed from arda in the source; Tolkien would later change his mind back again). The abandoned name arya suggests that the letter was to have the value ry (rather than rd as in the classical system outlined in LotR Appendix E). Since the word for "day" (daylight period) is given as aurë in later sources, and arya is assigned other meanings in late material (see #1, 2 above), the conceptual validity of arya "day" is questionable.%
Elenarda
star-kingdom
Elenarda place-name "Star-kingdom", upper sky (3AR). Deleted material in the Etymologies defined elenarda as "star-realm", "upper air or sky" (VT45:16). Compare elen, (h)arda.
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-.
artaurë
realm
artaurë noun "realm" (PE17:28). Cf. turmen.
kemen
earth
kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.
turmen
realm
turmen noun "realm" (PE17:28). Turmen Follondiéva "Realm of the North-harbourage", old name for Arnor, TurmenHallondiéva "Realm of the South-harbourage", old name for Gondor (PE17:28)
turmen
noun. realm
Cognates
- S. arthor “realm” ✧ PE17/028; PE17/028
Element in
- Q. Turmen Follondiéva “Realm of the North-harbourage” ✧ PE17/028
- Q. Turmen Hyallondiéva “Realm of the South-harbourage” ✧ PE17/028
Elements
Word Gloss TUR “dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power, dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power; [ᴹ√] victory; [ᴱ√] am strong” MEN “go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward” Variations
- Turmen ✧ PE17/028; PE17/028
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)
ména
region
ména noun "region" (MEN). Not to be confused with the present/continuative tense of #men- "go".
nómë
place
#nómë noun "place", isolated from Nómesseron, q.v. Cf. also sinomë.
nómë
noun. place
Derivations
- √NOM “place”
Element in
- ᴺQ. ainomë “anyplace, anywhere”
- ᴺQ. ilinomë “everywhere”
- ᴺQ. istanómë “school, academy”
- ᴺQ. mancanómë “market, market-place”
- ᴺQ. minomë “instead, in place of, in exchange of”
- ᴺQ. nanomë “someplace, somewhere”
- ᴺQ. nómëa “local”
- ᴺQ. nómessëa “local”
- Q. nómessë “place-name” ✧ VT42/17
- Q. Quentalë Ardanómion “*History of the Places of Arda” ✧ WJ/206
- Q. sinomë “here, (lit.) in this place”
- Q. tanomë “there, (lit.) in the place (referred to)”
Variations
- Nóme ✧ VT42/17 (Nóme)
yón
noun. region
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)_
arda
Arda
Arda derives from the Primitive Quendian word gardā meaning "bounded or defined place, region".
One of the Elvish names of the world (S/19, Let/283). It is simply arda “realm” used as a proper name, and refers to the world as the realm of Manwë (MR/349). Properly speaking, this kingdom extends beyond just the world, including Aman and the rest of the Solar System as well (MR/337; NM/282). This makes this term more expansive than Ambar, which refers only to the world itself, which is contained with Arda. Arda is in turn contained within Eä “Creation”, which is the whole (physical) universe.
In less technical writings, however, Arda and Ambar are often used synonomously.
Conceptual Development: As a name of the world this name seems to have first emerged in Númenórean stories from the 1940s (SD/246).