ata

again

ata adv. "again", also prefix ata-, at- "back, again, re-; second time, double" (AT(AT), PE17:166, cf. ataquanta-, ataquetië) or "two" (PE17:166), also "ambi-" as in ataformaitë, q.v.

atta

across, over, lying from side to side

atta (ata-) (4) prep. "across, over, lying from side to side" (VT49:32; it is not quite clear whether this is a Quenya word or not)

atta

cardinal. two

atta (1) cardinal "two" (AT(AT), Letters:427, VT42:26, 27, VT48:6, 19). Elen atta "two stars" (VT49:44); notice how a noun is indeclinable before this numeral, and any case endings are "singular" and added to the numeral rather than the noun, e.g. genitive elen atto "of two stars" (VT49:45). Attalyar "Bipeds" (sg. *Attalya) = Petty-dwarves (from Sindarin Tad-dail) (WJ:389). A word atta_ "again" was struck out; see the entry _TAT in Etym and cf. ata in this list.

atya

noun. daddy, (my) father

An affectionate word for one’s own father, a reduction of Q. atarinya “my father” (PE17/170; VT47/26). Tolkien also toyed with alternate forms like atyo and (a)taryo (VT47/10, 27, 32; VT48/19).

atalantë

downfall, overthrow, especially as name [atalantë] of the [downfallen] land of númenor

atalantë noun "downfall, overthrow, especially as name [Atalantë] of the [downfallen] land of Númenor" (DAT/DANT, TALÁT, Akallabêth, SD:247, 310; also LR:47, VT45:26). Variant atalantië "Downfall", said to be a normal noun-formation in Quenya (Letters:347, footnote). From the common noun atalantë "collapse, downfall" is derived the adj. atalantëa "ruinous, downfallen", pl. atalantië in Markirya (changed to sg. atalantëa this change does not make immediate sense, since the adjective undoubtedly modifies a plural noun, but Tolkien does not always let adjectives agree in number).

atta

cardinal. two

arta

across, athwart

arta (4) prep. "across, athwart" (LT2:335), perhaps rather olla in Tolkiens later Quenya.

atwa

double

atwa adj. "double" (AT(AT) )

atya

daddy

atya (2) noun "daddy", supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26, PE17:170), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6); reduction of at(an)ya "my father" (or, as explained in VT48:19, reduction of at-nya of similar meaning). Compare atto.

atar

noun. father

The Quenya word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; WJ/402; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. atar “father” dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though in that document it was “a more solemn word ... usually to 1st Person of the Blessed Trinity”, as opposed to more ordinary ᴱQ. attu “father” (QL/33). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s, ᴱQ. atar was the ordinary word for “father”, but with variant archaic form †attar (PE15/72). ᴹQ. atar “father” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). It appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 in various inflected forms (PE22/118-119). It continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s later writings. Thus this word was established early and retained its form throughout Tolkien’s life with only minor variations.

atar

father

atar noun "father" (SA; WJ:402, UT:193, LT1:255, VT43:37, VT44:12). According to the Etymologies (ATA) the pl. is atari, but contrast #atári in Atanatári "Fathers of Men" (q.v.); possibly the word behaves differently when compounded. Atarinya "my father" (LR:70), atar(inya) the form a child would use addressing his or her father, also reduced to atya (VT47:26). Diminutive masc. name Atarincë ("k") "Little father", amilessë (never used in narrative) of Curufinwë = Curufin (PM:353). Átaremma, Ataremma "our Father" as the first word of the Quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer, written before Tolkien changed -mm- as the marker of 1st person pl. exclusive to -lm-; notice -e- as a connecting vowel before the ending -mma "our". In some versions of the Lord's Prayer, including the final version, the initial a of atar "father" is lengthened, producing #átar. This may be a contraction of *a atar "o Father", or the vowel may be lengthened to give special emphasis to #Átar "Father" as a religious title (VT43:13). However, in VT44:12 Atar is also a vocative form referring to God, and yet the initial vowel remains short.

atalantë

proper name. Downfall(en)

A Quenya name of Númenor after its fall into the sea (S/281), it is simply the noun atalantë “collapse, downfall” used as a name (MC/223).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴹQ. Atalante appeared in the earliest tales of the fall of Númenor (LR/11, 25), usually in this form though at least once appearing as Atalantie (Let/347). Its resemblance to the name Atlantis was intentional (Let/347), created as part of the background for Tolkien’s (unfinished) time-travel story about Atlantis: “The Lost Road” (LR/36-104).

atan

noun. Man, (lit.) the Second (People)

This is the most common Quenya word for “Man” as a species, most frequently appearing in its plural form Atani (LotR/1034). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien wrote:

> The name Atan, pl. atani was already given in Quenya in Valinor to the “Second Kindred” whom the Eldar learned were to appear (or had appeared) in Endor. It meant “the Second”. The Sindar had no name for Men, until they arrived in Beleriand and were first found by Finrod. They borrowed the Q atan and gave it Sindarin form adan. For a long time this word therefore referred only to the three “houses” or kindreds of the “Elf-friends” or Elendili; and always tended to refer primarily to them. But when the Eldar became aware of other kinds of Men (more or less parallel to their own division into Eldar and Avari) they distinguished the Elendili as Núnatani, Dúnedain (pl. of Dún·adan) “western men” ... Other men were called Hrónatani, Rhúnedain [Easterlings] (PE17/18).

Thus while Atan applied to all humans, there was a bias towards considering the Elf-friends as the “true Men”, and Atan was sometimes used only to refer to them. Tolkien typically translated this word as “Man”, but the Elvish word has no particular association with the male gender, and actually means “the Second” (S/103; WJ/403; PE17/18) being related to the word atta “two”, referring to the fact that Men were the second-born race of the children of Eru.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. Atan seems to have been coined in the 1940s, for example appearing in the phrase ᴹQ. atani koitar endoresse “men live in Middle-earth” in the Quenya Verbal System document from this period (PE22/125).

The last description of this word’s origin appeared in notes from the late 1960s, where Tolkien said it was instead borrowed from the language of Men: “The name is said to have been derived from atan ‘man, human being as distinct from creatures’, a word used by that kindred which the Eldar first encountered in Beleriand” (PM/324 note #38).

However, as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien: “The statement here that Atani was derived from a word in the Bëorian language, atan ‘man’, contradicts what was said in the chapter Of the Coming of Men into the West that was added to the Quenta Silmarillion”, referring to the footnote on WJ/219 in Silmarillion drafts from the 1950s. This footnote was the same scenario as described above where Atan meant “the Second”, which is also how the origin of the word was described in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/386). It is this scenario that Christopher Tolkien used in the published version of the Silmarillion (S/103, 143; SI/Atani).

atanamir

masculine name. *Man Jewel

Tar-Atanamir was the 13th ruler of Númenor (UT/221). His name seems to be a compound of Atan “Man” and mírë “jewel” (SA/mîr, PE17/24).

atanatar

proper name. Father of Men

A title given to the three houses of the Elf-friends in Beleriand: the Beorians, Hadorians and Halethians, usually appearing in the plural form Atanatári “Fathers of Men” (S/103). More properly, it was used to describe the original leaders of those houses (PM/324). The title is compound of Atan “Man” and atar “father”. It was also the name of the 10th and 16th kings of Gondor (LotR/1038).

atanatárion

proper name. (legendarium) of the Fathers of Men

A Númenórean story cycle containing the three great tales: Beren and Lúthien, the Children of Húrin and the Fall of Gondolin (MR/373). The title is the genitive plural of Atanatar “Father of Men”, so “of the Fathers of Men”. The “legendarium” portion of the English gloss is implied, though it is explicit in the Sindarin equivalent: Nern in Edenedair.

atandil

masculine name. Friend of Men

A name given to Finrod for his friendship with the Edain (MR/306). It is a compound of Atan “Man” and the suffix -(n)dil “friend”.

ataformaitë

adjective. ambidextrous

A word for “ambidextrous” in the so-called Ambidexters Sentence written in 1968, replacing various alternate forms like at(t)aformor and attaformaitë (VT49/6-8). As pointed out by Patrick Wynne, this word is a combination of at(a)- “double” and formaitë “right handed”, analogous to the Latin formation “ambidextrous” (VT49/9), and indeed ᴹQ. formaite was glossed both “righthanded” and “dexterous” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/PHOR). However, the point of the Ambidexters Sentence is that the Elves themselves where naturally ambidextrous and equally skilled with both hands, so the notion that “righthanded” is connected to “dextrous” makes no sense for the Elves. Thus, the term was likely coined after the Elves encountered Men, for whom right-handedness was common.

atalantë

noun. collapse, downfall

A noun for “collapse, downfall” mentioned in notes for the Markirya poem of the 1950s along with its adjectival form atalantëa (MC/223), likely derived from the root √TALAT. It is also used as one of the names of Númenor: Atalantë “Downfall(en)” (S/281; Let/347).

It seems Tolkien originally based this noun on the past tense of the verb [ᴹQ.] atalta- “collapse, fall in” (Ety/TALÁT); the past form atalante “down-fell” appears in various versions of the ᴹQ. Lament of Atalante from the 1930s and 40s (LR/47, 56; SD/247, 249, 310). This form was also mentioned as an (archaic?) “perfective” past tense atalante “slipped down, fell in ruin” [vs. ordinary past talante “slipped, slid”] of the talat-stem verb talta- in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2), though the notes where it appeared were rejected (PE18/88 note #83).

atalantëa

adjective. ruinous, downfallen

An adjective translated “fallen” in the phrase atalantëa mindonnar “upon fallen towers” in the Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/222). In notes associated with the poem Tolkien gave it the glosses “ruinous, downfallen” as an adjectival form of atalantë “collapse, downfall” (MC/223). In the poem itself, Tolkien revised it to its plural form atalantië before reverting it back to atalantëa.

Conceptual Development: In the Oilima Markirya version of the poem from around 1930, Tolkien used ᴱQ. lanta for “fallen” instead; see that entry for discussion.

atalantëa mindonnar

upon fallen towers

The thirty-first line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is the adjective atalantëa “downfallen” followed by the allative (“upon”) plural form of the noun mindon “tower”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> atalantëa mindon-na-r = “✱downfallen tower-upon-(plural)”

Conceptual Development: In the first draft, Tolkien used atalantëa, but in the second draft he switched to the plural form of the adjective atalantië to agree with the plural noun. He then deleted this to revert to the uninflected form of the adjective atalantëa (MC/222). This is likely because adjectives are not inflected when modifying nouns with plural noun cases; see the section on Adjectives and Noun Case Endings in the entry on adjectives. In the first and second drafts Tolkien first used the longer allative plural form of the noun mindoninnar but revised this to a more abbreviated form mindonnar in the second draft (MC/222).

atamaitë

adjective. two-handed

A word for “2-handed” in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN), a combination of at(a)- “two” and maitë “handed” (PE17/162).

atamir

noun. heirloom

A noun for an “heirloom” appearing in notes from around 1959-60, where the second element is mírë “precious thing” (PE17/165). Lokyt suggested the first element might be connected to √AT(AR) “father”. Tolkien also indicated atamir had the same meaning as Old English máþum, which was a “treasure, precious thing, gift”.

atanalcar

masculine name. *Man Glory

Fourth child of Elros, known only from a genealogy chart on UT/210. His name seems to be a compound of Atan “Man” and alcar “glory”.

atarincë

masculine name. Little Father

The mother-name of S. Curufin (PM/352). It is a compound of atar “father” and the diminutive suffix -incë.

atar meneldëa eru órava (o)messë

God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us

The sixth line of Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto prayer (VT44/12). The first word is the noun atar “father”. The second word meneldea is the assimilated locative form menelde of menel “heaven”, with an adjective suffix -a added to give the sense “of Heaven”; a similar construction was used in versions IIb-IV of the first line of the Átaremma prayer (VT43/10-11). The third word Eru is Tolkien’s usual Quenya name for God. The phrase órava (o)messe “have mercy on us” is essentially the same as in the first line of this prayer; see that entry for discussion.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> Atar menel-de-a Eru (o)me-sse = “✱Father heaven-in-of God have-mercy us-on”

Conceptual Development: As in the first line, Tolkien first used the dative ómen for “on us” before revising it to the locative (o)messe (VT44/12, notes on line 6).

atartil

noun. thumb [nursery rhymes]

A nursery name for the thumb in rough drafts of Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, a combination of Q. atar “father” and Q. til “tip”, and appearing beside alternate form ataryo (VT47/26-27 note #35). In later versions of these notes, the nursery name was atto, atya, ataryo or taryo (VT47/10, VT48/6).

Atan

the second folk

Atan pl. Atani noun "the Second Folk", an Elvish name of Mortal Men, the Second-born of Ilúvatar. Cf. also Núnatani (WJ:386), Hróatani (PE17:18), q.v. Atanalcar masc. name, "Man-glory" (UT:210, cf. alcar). Atanamir masc.name, "Edain-jewel"? (Appendix A). Atanatar masc. name, "Father of Men" (Appendix A), also common noun atanatar, pl. Atanatári, "Fathers of Men", a title that "properly belonged only to the leaders and chieftains of the peoples at the time of their entry into Beleriand" (PM:324, SA:atar)

ataformaitë

ambidextrous

ataformaitë adj. "ambidextrous" (VT49:9, 10, 42), pl. ataformaiti (VT49:9, 11). Spelling was changed from attaformaitë in one case (VT49:9). Cf. #ataformo.

ataformo

ambidexter

#ataformo (pl. ataformor is attested), noun "ambidexter". Spelling changed from attaformor. Cf. adj. ataformaitë (VT49:9, 32)

atalantëa

ruinous, downfallen

atalantëa adj. "ruinous, downfallen"; see atalantë

atalta-

verb. collapse, fall in

atalta- vb. "collapse, fall in" (TALÁT), weak pa.t. ataltanë "down-fell, fell down" in LR:47 and SD:247, but strong past tense atalantë "down-fell" in LR:56

atamaitë

two-handed

atamaitë adj. "two-handed" (PE17:162)

ataquanta-

verb. refall, fall second time, double fall

ataquanta- vb. "refall, fall second time, double fall" (sic in PE17:166). The correct gloss must be "refill, fill second time, double fill", which would connect with the verb quanta- "fill" and also make rather better sense.

ataquanta-

verb. *to refill, fill a second time, double fill

@@@ revised glosses suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/ataquanta)

ataquetië

saying again, repetition

ataquetië noun (or gerund of verb) "saying again, repetition" (PE17:166). Cited as at(a)quetië, implying an alternative form atquetië.

ataquë

construction, building

ataquë ("q")noun "construction, building" (TAK)

atarmë

for us

atarmë dative (?) pron. "for us" (VT44:18; Tolkien apparently considered dropping this curious form, which in another text was replaced by rá men, rámen; see rá #1)

ataryo

daddy

ataryo, also taryo (cited as (a)taryo), noun "daddy", also used as a name for the thumb in children's play, but Tolkien emended it to atto/atya (VT48:4). Compare atar "father".

atatya

double

atatya vb? adj.? "double" (VT42:26)

atar

preposition. *for

atatya

adjective. double

atalante

verb. collapsed

collapsed, fell down

atalat-

verb. slip right down

slip right down, collapse, fall in ruin

ataltare

noun. collapse

ataquetië

noun. saying again, repetition

atar

noun. father

atar aranya

*royal father

Elatan

star-man

Elatan, masc. name *"Star-man", cf. atan (UT:210)

Hallatan

tall man

Hallatan masc. name, apparently "tall man": halla + atan (UT:210)

Návatar

father

Návatar noun a title of Aulë referring to his position as the immediate author of the Dwarvish race, apparently including atar "father", but the first element cannot be related to any known term for "Dwarf" (PM:391 cf. 381)

tatanya

my father

tatanya "my father" or "my daddy" (UT:190)

atamenta-

verb. to transmit

A neologism from the NQW for “to transmit”, a combination of at(a)- “twice” and menta- “to send”.

atamentië

noun. transmission

A neologism from the NQW for “to transmit”, a noun form of atamenta- “transmit”.

atannahtar

noun. man-slayer

A neologism for “man-slayer” coined by Helge Fauskanger for his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of Atan “man” and [ᴺQ.] nahtar “slayer”.

atahenta-

verb. to revise, (lit.) re-examine

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2023-11-04 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of at(a)- “again” and henta- “examine”.

atandev-

verb. to retry

A neologism for “retry” coined by EruannoVG posted on 2024-10-27 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of at(a)- “a second time” and nev- (< √NDEV) “try”.

atapengëa

adjective. bilabial (of consonants)

A neologism coined by Orondil in 2023-10-08 on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of at(a)- “bi-” and [] pengëa “labial”.

ataquer

noun. bike, bicycle

A neologism coined by Orondil posted on 2021-03-04 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), as a combination of at(a)- “double” and KWER “revolve”.

atartur

noun. patriarch, (lit.) master-father

atacar-

verb. to revenge, (lit.) back-make

atacarmë

noun. vengeance, reaction

atanta-

verb. to give back

catta

noun. back

A neologism for “back” coined by Paul Strack in 2022 specifically for Eldamo, based on Q. ca(ta) “behind, at back of place”. This word can refer to the back of body as well as the back of other things.

atto

father, daddy

atto noun "father, daddy" (hypocoristic)(ATA, LR:49), supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). The dual form attat listed in VT48:19 seems to be formed from the alternative form atta, though attat was changed by Tolkien from attot. - Compare atya.

carasta-

verb. to build, to build, construct

A verb meaning “to build” derived from √KAR “do, make” and related to carassë “built fort or dwelling” (PE17/84).

talta-

verb. to slip, slide down, collapse, fall, to slip, slide down, collapse, fall, [ᴹQ.] slip down, slope

A verb derived from the root √TALAT, with various glosses like “slip, slide down, collapse” (MC/223), “slope, slip, slide down” (Ety/TALÁT), or “slip, fall” (PE22/113). In the Markirya poem of the 1960s it was translated “fall(ing)” in the phrase elenillor pella talta-taltala “beyond the stars falling”, but this seems to be a loose translation since in the glossary of the poem talta- was translated “slip, slide down, collapse” (MC/222-223). However, in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969, talta was simply glossed “fall” (PE22/164).

Tolkien used this verb as the primary example for the class of talat-stem verbs.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had a similar but transitive verb ᴱQ. tilt- “make slope, incline (tr.), decline, shake at foundations, make totter, etc.” under the early root ᴱ√TḶTḶ (QL/80). Its past tense form talte is the result of differing phonetic developments for long ḹ vs. short ḷ in Early Qenya.

átaremma i ëa han eä

our Father who art in Heaven

The first line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word Átaremma “our Father” is atar “father” with the 2nd-person-plural-exclusive suffix -mma consistent with the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings (after the 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, this suffix would be -lma).

The remainder of the phrase i ëa han Eä “who art in Heaven” is a circumlocution, literally meaning “✱who is beyond Creation [the Material Universe]”. This allowed Tolkien to avoid an explicit name for Heaven, though he did use Eruman for “Heaven” in the fifth line of the prayer.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> Átar-emma i ëa han Eä = “✱Father-our who is beyond Creation [the Material Universe]”

Conceptual Development: The form Ataremma for “our Father” appears in all versions of the prayer, sometimes preceded by the interjection a or Ai “O”. Wynne, Smith and Hostetter suggested that the long Á of Átaremma in versions V to VI of the prayer may be a coalescense with this interjection (VT43/13).

In versions I-IV, Tolkien use menel for the word “Heaven” in various configurations, most involving an assimilated locative, such as meneldea “in Heaven”. In other writings, Tolkien said that menel referred to the dome of the sky or “the firmament”, and therefore was not proper for “Heaven” (MR/387, PE17/152). Perhaps because of this, in version V he switched to the circumlocution i ëa pell’ Eä, with an assimilated form of the preposition pella “before”. In version VI he changed the preposition to han, as above.

In the earliest version (I), Tolkien used the word na for “is”, added at the end of the phrase, but it was omitted later.

| |  I  |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| | |A|Ai| | |Ataremma|Átaremma| | |i| |i| |{menellea >>}|menelzea|meneldea|ëa pell’ ëa|ëa han ëa| |na| |

-mma

our

-mma "our", 1st person dual exlusive possessive ending: *"my and one others" (VT49:16). At an earlier conceptual phase, Tolkien apparently intended the same ending to be plural inclusive "our" (VT49:55, RS:324), cf. Mélamarimma "Our Home" (q.v.) In the latter word, Tolkien slips in i as a connecting vowel before this ending; elsewhere he used e, as in Átaremma "our Father" (see atar).

-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.

alcar

alkar

alcar (so spelt in CO, VT43:37-38, and VT44:32/34; otherwise "alkar")noun "glory, radiance, brilliance, splendour" (WJ:369, CO, VT43:37-38, VT47:13, AKLA-R; the latter source also lists an alternative longer form alcarë, also occurring in VT44:7/10) Compare Alcarin, Atanalcar.

atquetië

atquetië

atquetië, see ataquetië

attaformaitë

attaformaitë

attaformaitë, see ataformaitë

attaformo

attaformo

#attaformo, see #ataformo

firindil

masculine name. Friend of Men

A variant form of Atandil (VT41/14). It is probably a compound of Fírima “Mortal Man” and the suffix -(n)dil “friend”.

formaitë

righthanded, dexterous

formaitë adj. "righthanded, dexterous" (PHOR, VT49:9, 31). Compare ataformaitë.

hérincë

little lady

hérincë ("k") noun *"little lady" (UT:195). Concerning the diminutive ending, cf. Atarincë, cirinci.

maitë

handed

maitë (stem *maiti-, given the primitive form ¤ma3iti) adj. "handed" or "handy, skillful" (VT49:32, 42) in Angamaitë, hyarmaitë, lungumaitë, morimaitë, Telemmaitë, q.v. Etym gives maitë pl. maisi "handy, skilled" (MA3), but Tolkien later eliminated the variation t/s (compare ataformaitë "ambidextrous", pl. ataformaiti).

talat-

verb. slipping, sliding, falling down

talat- vb. a stem used for "slipping, sliding, falling down" (Letters:347), cf. atalta-, talta- and talantië

talta-

verb. slip, slide down, collapse, slope

talta- vb. "slip, slide down, collapse, slope" (TALÁT); reduplicated stem in the participle talta-taltala in Markirya, simply translated "falling" in MC:215. Strong intransitive conjugation: present talta, aorist talt- [derived from talati > talti, hence presumably *talti*- with endings and taltë without any], past talantë, perfect ataltië. Weak transitive conjugation: present taltëa, aorist talta, past taltanë**. This is said to be the conjugation type of a certain class of verbs, namely "√TALAT stems" (PE17:186).

tanta

double

tanta (2) (prob. adj.) "double" (TATA)

taryo

taryo

taryo, see ataryo

at(a)-

prefix. double, second time, double, [repeat a] second time; [ᴱQ.] bi-, twi-; [ᴹQ.] back, again, re-

yuitë

adjective. dual

An adjective for “dual”, a combination of yu- “both” and the suffix -itë. Also used as a grammatical term.

tollë

noun. thumb

tolpë

noun. thumb

(a)taryo

noun. daddy

-lma

our

-lma pronominal ending "our", 1st person pl. exclusive (VT49:16), also attested (with the genitive ending -o that displaces final -a) in the word omentielmo "of our meeting" (nominative omentielma, PE17:58). Tolkien emended omentielmo to omentielvo in the Second Edition of LotR, reflecting a revision of the Quenya pronominal system (cf. VT49:38, 49, Letters:447). The cluster -lm- in the endings for inclusive "we/our" was altered to -lv- (VT43:14). In the revised system, -lma should apparently signify exclusive "our".

-lwa

our

-lwa, possessive pronominal ending, 1st person pl. inclusive "our" (VT49:16), later (in exilic Quenya) used in the form #-lva, genitive -lvo in omentielvo (see -lv-).

-ngwa

our

-ngwa "our", 1st person dual inclusive possessive pronominal ending: *"thy and my", corresponding to the ending -ngwë for dual inclusive "we" (VT49:16)

lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

menya

our

menya (pl. menyë is attested) possessive pron. "our", 1st person pl. exclusive independent possessive pronoun (VT43:19, 35). Evidently derived from the dative form men "for us" by adding the adjectival ending -ya. Compare ninya, q.v.

nan

adverb. again

ngwin

for us

ngwin dative pronoun ?"for us" _(VT21:6-7, 10, VT44:36). _Apparently belonging to the 1st person pl. It would be pronounced *nwin* at the end of the Third Age, but since Tolkien in another source implies that the 1st pl. exclusive base ñwe had the "independent" stem we- in Quenya (VT48:10), we must assume that the dative pronoun should rather be wen**, or in Exilic Quenya *ven. The form ngwin may reflect another conceptual phase when Tolkien meant the nasal element of ñwe to be preserved in Quenya as well. The vowel i rather than e is difficult to account for if the base is to be (ñ)we. In VT49:55, Carl F. Hosttetter suggests that ngwen rather than ngwin may actually be the correct reading of Tolkiens manuscript.

nápo

thumb

nápo noun "thumb" (VT47:10, VT48:4, 5). Compare nápat.

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

nér

noun. man

opto

noun. back

pontë

back, rear

pontë (ponti-) noun "back, rear" (QL:75)

satto

cardinal. two

satto, "Qenya" numeral "two" (in Tolkiens later Quenya atta) (VT49:54)

talta-

verb. slip, fall

tolmo

thumb

[tolmo noun "thumb", rejected by Tolkien in favour of nápo (VT48:15)]

tolpë

thumb

tolpë noun "thumb" (VT47:28, VT48:8), a form Tolkien may have rejected in favour of nápo, q.v.

toltil

thumb

[toltil noun "thumb" (VT47:26)]

toltil

noun. thumb

véna

for us

véna pron. "for us", (long) dative form of ve # 2, q.v.

vëo

man

†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

atta

cardinal. two

at

root. two, double, bi-, di-; back, re-; across, over, lying from side to side, two, double, bi-, di-; back, re-, [ᴹ√] again, twice; [ᴱ√] dual; [√] across, over, lying from side to side

As the main root for “two”, √AT dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱ√ATA appeared with the gloss “dual” (QL/33). At this very early stage, its derivatives had mainly to do with pairs such as ᴱQ. aqi “a brace, a couple of, both” and at- “bi-, twi-”, whereas the earliest Quenya word for “two” was ᴱQ. yúyo (PE14/49). Later on, Q. yúyo became “both” whereas “two” became Q. atta.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s this root appeared as ᴹ√AT(AT) (Ety/AT(AT)) with variants ᴹ√ATTA which became the basis for Quenya atta “two” (Ety/ATTA) and ᴹ√TATA which became the basis for Noldorin tâd “two” (Ety/TATA); these numerals retained this form thereafter into the Quenya and Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s (VT42/24-26). In the 1930s, the ᴹ√TATA variant took on the sense “double” in Quenya, and the ᴹ√ATTA variant took on the sense “across” in Noldorin. The base root ᴹ√AT had the sense “again, back”, as seen in both Quenya and Noldorin prefixes ᴹQ. at(a)-, N. ad- “back, again, re-” (Ety/AT(AT)).

This root continued to appear in the 1950s and 1960s, retaining its various meanings of “two” (VT42/27), “back, again” (PE17/148) and “across” (VT43/33). Tolkien explored the origin and development of this root at some length in his essays on Elvish numerals from the late 1960s, connecting it to √AT(AR) “father” via various Elvish finger names (VT48/19).

atar

noun. father

atata

root. two, two; [ᴹ√] again, back

atatya

adjective. double

-ata

suffix. numerative dual ending

tata

masculine name. Two

(a)tata

cardinal. two

at(ar)

root. father

As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).

tō/oto

root. back

The earliest appearance of this root was ᴹ√TOTO- “repeat” from Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/109). The root appeared as √TŌ/OTO in a discussion of prefixes for “back” from around 1959, where Tolkien specified its meaning as “back as an answer, or return by another agent to an action affecting him, as in answering, replying, avenging, requiting, repaying, rewarding”; Tolkien also considered the forms √UTU/TŪ (PE17/166). In this 1959 note Tolkien crossed √TŌ/OTO through and seems to have replaced it with √KHAN. Tolkien mentioned the root √OT in a discussion of numbers from the late 1960s, but only to specify that “there was no primitive base OT-” (VT47/16).

we

root. dual

A primitive “dual” element mentioned in notes on numbers from the late 1960s, contributing to the forms of primitive ✶enekwe “six” and ✶yun(e)kwe “twelve” in the Quenya branch of Elvish, as well as the ancient 1st person inclusive pronoun ✶ñwe (VT48/10). It was probably related to the ancient dual suffix ✶-ū (Let/427). It was also likely a later iteration the dual root ᴱ√WI from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s which was likewise connected to dual U (QL/33). This early root was mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as ᴱ✶u̯i (GL/45).

-ū

suffix. dual

khan

root. back

ndē̆r

noun. man

talat-

verb. slip (down), collapse, fall in ruin

atta

noun. father

tata

cardinal. two

lepet

noun. thumb

nápa

noun. thumb

tolmo

noun. thumb

satta

noun. two

The Adûnaic number “two” (SD/428). It seems likely that it is related to Q. atta “two”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne (AAD/22), though it is unclear how the initial s- might have developed in the Adûnaic. It may also be related to the Adûnaic dual suffix -at, as suggested by Andreas Moehn (EotAL/SAT).

attô

noun. father

A noun for “father” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, attû and attô, with no indication as to which would be preferred. For reasons similar to those given in the entry for ammê “mother”, my guess is that attû is an archaic form, and attô was preferred by the time of Classical Adûnaic. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AT(AR) “father”, perhaps from Primitive Elvish ᴹ✶atū.

mag- Speculative

verb. to build

A hypothetical verb from which the agental-formation magân “wright, ✱builder” is derived, itself attested only as an element in the name Balkumagân “Shipwright”. It may be related to the Elvish root ᴹ√MAG “use, handle”, as suggested by Andreas Moehn (EotAL/MAG).

athar

across

(preposition) *athar (beyond). Suggested correction of the reading "athan" in SD:62. As prep. probably followed by soft mutation. Also (as adverbial prefix) ath- (on both sides), athra-, thar- (athwart, over, beyond)

athar

across

(beyond). Suggested correction of the reading "athan" in SD:62. As prep. probably followed by soft mutation. – Also (as adverbial prefix) ath- (on both sides), athra-, thar- (athwart, over, beyond)

-ad

suffix. dual

The Sindarin dual was almost certainly derived from the same primitive form ✶ata as the Quenya dual ending -t, indicating this ending was ancient in form. The other Quenya dual, -u, would not have been active in Sindarin since final vowels were lost.

Tolkien stated (Let/427) that this ending was archaic and lost, but did not state when it disappeared. The ending may have still been active in the First Age. The ending appears in the day-name Orgaladhad “Day of the Two Trees”. Since the Sindar had no direct experience with the trees, this word was likely adopted from its Quenya cognate Aldúya when the Noldor and Sindar were reunited.

adar

noun. father

The Sindarin word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; VT44/21-22; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: N. adar “father” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, however, G. †ador “father” was marked as archaic, and it seems {athon >>} G. nathon was the ordinary word for ”father” (GL/17, 59).

advir

noun. heirloom

A noun for an “heirloom” appearing in notes from around 1959-60, where the second element is mîr “jewel, precious thing” (PE17/165). Lokyt suggested the first element might be connected to √AT(AR) “father”.

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

edennil

masculine name. Friend of Men

A name given to S. Finrod for his friendship with the Edain (MR/306). It is a compound of the plural of Adan “Man” and the suffix -dil “friend”.

naub

noun. thumb

A word for the thumb given as nawb in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968 (VT48/5), clearly based on the root √NAP “pick up” (VT47/29). Its dual form nobad was used to refer to the “thumb and index [finger] as a pair” (VT48/5).

Conceptual Development: In rough drafts of these notes, Tolkien used lebed for “thumb, picker” from primitive ✶lepet(ā) (VT47/27). In early writings N. lhebed was instead “finger” (Ety/LEP), and its use for “thumb” was likely a transient idea.

-main

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -men

-men

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -main

ad-

prefix. back, again, re-

adu

adjective. double

edaid

adjective. double

lebed

noun. thumb

mín

pronoun. our

tâd

cardinal. two

acharn

vengeance

acharn (pl. echern)

ad

again

(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ad

back

(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "second, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ada

daddy

ada (pl. edai)

adar

father

adar (pl. edair);

ammen

for us

ammen (to us).

dan

back

(prep.) dan (lenited nan) (again, against);

dîr

man

1) (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

edaid

double

(adj.) 1) edaid; no distinct pl. form, 2) tadol (lenited dadol, analogical pl. dedyl)

naub

thumb

*naub (pl. noeb). The spelling used in the source is nawb (VT48:5). Dual nobad, used of the thumb and the index finger grouped together in the act of picking something (VT48:5, 6). In childrens play the thumb was also called atheg, ”little father” (pl. ethig) (VT48:6, 17)

talt

slipping

(adj.) talt (lenited dalt, pl. ?telt) (falling, insecure)

tâd

cardinal. two

1) tâd (in compounds tad-, as in tad-dal ”two-legged”), 2) (adjectival prefix) ui- (twi-, both).

vín

our

vín; see WE

-enc

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. _our.Maybe the incl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46.

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

achared

noun. vengeance

_n. _vengeance.

achared

noun. vengeance

acharn

noun. vengeance

acharn

noun. vengeance

n. (an act of) vengeance.

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

adanath

noun. men

adar

noun. father

atheg

noun. "litte father"

atheg

noun. thumb (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

athra-

prefix. across

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

edaid

ordinal. double

erchamion

adjective. one-handed

erchammon

noun. one-handed man

erchammui

adjective. one-handed

erchamon

noun. one-handed man

min

adjective. our

mín

adjective. our

nawb

noun. thumb

tad

cardinal. two

thar

adverb. across

adv. & prep. across. . This gloss was rejected.

thar-

prefix. across, athwart, over, beyond

thar-

across

_ pref. _across, over, properly 'athwart'. Original S. form þara-. See also the rejected glose in PE17:34.

tâd

cardinal. two

acharn

vengeance

(pl. echern)

ad

again

also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ad

back

also meaning "second, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ada

father

(pl. edai)

ada

daddy

(pl. edai)

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

adanadar

father of men

normally pl. Edenedair "Fathers of Men", the early Edain.

adar

father

(pl. edair);

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

dan

back

(lenited nan) (again, against);

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

edaid

double

; no distinct pl. form

eden

begun again

(new), pl. edin

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

tad-dal

two-legged

(lenited dad-dal), pl. tad-dail.

tadol

double

(lenited dadol, analogical pl. dedyl)

talt

slipping

(lenited dalt, pl. ?telt) (falling, insecure)

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

tâd

two

(in compounds tad-, as in tad-dal ”two-legged”)

ui

two

(twi-, both).

vín

our

; see

adar

noun. father

tadol

adjective. double

tâd

cardinal. two

ad-

prefix. back, again, re-

forgam

adjective. righthanded

iath

preposition. across

ad-

prefix. back, again, re-

ada

noun. father, daddy

adar

noun. father

ath-

prefix. on both sides, across

benn

noun. man, male

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

erchamui

adjective. one-handed

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

tad

cardinal. two

tadol

ordinal. double

talt

adjective. slipping, falling, insecure

thar-

prefix. across, athwart, over, beyond

tâd

cardinal. two

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final -ô becomes -â in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from -ê); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.