balan

noun. Vala, Vala, [N.] Power, God

At one point (Let/427), Tolkien stated that the plural form Belain (and presumably its singular Balan) did not exist in Sindarin and its derivative Orbelain “Vala-day” was a phonetic translation of Q. Valanya. Elsewhere, though, Balan is well attested as a Sindarin word.

balan

Vala

pl1. Belain** ** n. Vala.

balan

noun. Vala, divine power, divinity

balannor

place name. Land of the Valar

Sindarin cognate of Q. Valinórë (PE17/26), a compound of Balan “Vala” and dôr “land”.

Conceptual Development: The first cognates of ᴱQ. Valinor appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s: (rejected) G. Dor Banion and G. Gwalien (GL/21, LT2A/Valar). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the cognate was N. Balannor (Ety/BAL), and this is the source of the derivation given above.

In a letter from 1972, Tolkien stated that Belain (plural of Balan) was not a word in Sindarin (Let/427). Furthermore, in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, he changed the Sindarin name for the “Annals of Valinor” from N. Inias Valannor to S. Ínias Dor-Rodyn (MR/200). It is possible that Tolkien decided that the normal Sindarin word for the Vala was S. Rodon, so that S. Dor-Rodyn was the equivalent of Valinor.

Balannor

noun. land of Gods

Balan (“power, god”) + (n-)dor (“land, dwelling”)

Balannor

'the Land of the Valar'

topon. 'the Land of the Valar'. Q. Valandor.

balan

vala

(i Valan), pl. Belain (i Melain). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. form used with the article was "iMbelain" (LR:365 s.v. KIRIK).

rodon

noun. Vala

A Sindarin term for the Vala (PE17/33), appearing in its plural form S. Rodyn as one of the days of the week (LotR/1110) and also in the Sindarin name for Valinor: Dor-Rodyn (MR/200). It is derived from the prefixal form rod- of raud “noble” (PE17/118, 186). Its final element might be the augmentative suffix -on, perhaps literally meaning “✱Most Noble”. It could also be the agental suffix -on, as suggested by David Salo (GS/283), but that suffix is usually masculine (WJ/400), whereas Rodon seems to apply to all Valar.

rodon

vala

1) Rodon (pl. Rodyn, coll. pl. Rodonnath), 2) Balan (i Valan), pl. Belain (i Melain). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. form used with the article was "iMbelain" (LR:365 s.v. KIRIK).

rodon

vala

(pl. Rodyn, coll. pl. Rodonnath)

coltha-

verb. to bear up; to weigh, balance it on scales; to be worth, value or be equivalent to; to endure

bâl

divine power

construct bal, pl. bail (divinity). Note: the word can also be used as an adj. "divine".

tûr

power

tûr (i dûr, o thûr, construct tur) (victory, mastery, control; master, victor, lord), pl. tuir (i thuir), coll. pl. túrath.

tûr

power

(i dûr, o thûr, construct tur) (victory, mastery, control; master, victor, lord), pl. t**uir (i th**uir), coll. pl. túrath.

balan

noun. Power, God

balan

noun. Vala, divine power, divinity

balannor

place name. land of the Gods in the West

balaniā

noun. Balaniā

¤kurwē

noun. power, ability

valandor

place name. Land of the Valar

An archaic name for Valinórë (SA/dôr, PE17/26), a compound of Vala and the suffix -ndor “land”.

valinórë

place name. Land of the Valar

Land of the Valar within Aman (S/37), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and nórë “land” (SA/val, dôr). It usually appeared in the shorter form Valinor. In older Quenya, this name would have meant “Valian folk”, but it was blended with archaic Valandor to get its current meaning (PE17/20, SA/dôr).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valinor appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/70), and its long form Valinōre appeared in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/66). The name ᴹQ. Valinor appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/110, 205), and in The Etymologies it already had the same derivation as given above (Ety/BAL, NDOR).

In the earlier stages, the name Aman had not yet been invented, so Valinor referred to the entire land of the West, not just the land of the Valar within it.

See ✶Bali(a)nōrē for a discussion of its complex etymology.

Vala

power, god, angelic power

Vala (1) noun "Power, God, angelic power", pl. Valar or Vali (BAL, Appendix E, LT2:348), described as "angelic governors" or "angelic guardians" (Letters:354, 407). The Valar are a group of immensely powerful spirits guarding the world on behalf of its Creator; they are sometimes called Gods (as when Valacirca, q.v., is translated "Sickle of the Gods"), but this is strictly wrong according to Christian terminology: the Valar were created beings. The noun vala is also the name of tengwa #22 (Appendix E). Genitive plural Valion "of the Valar" (FS, MR:18); this form shows the pl. Vali, (irregular) alternative to Valar (the straightforward gen. pl. Valaron is also attested, PE17:175). Pl. allative valannar *"to/on the Valar" (LR:47, 56; SD:246). Feminine form Valië (Silm), in Tolkiens earlier material also Valdë; his early writings also list Valon or Valmo (q.v.) as specifically masc. forms. The gender-specific forms are not obligatory; thus in PE17:22 Varda is called a Vala (not a Valië), likewise Yavanna in PE17:93. Vala is properly or originally a verb "has power" (sc. over the matter of Eä, the universe), also used as a noun "a Power" _(WJ:403). The verb vala- "rule, order", exclusively used with reference to the Valar, is only attested in the sentences á vala Manwë! "may Manwë order it!" and Valar valuvar "the will of the Valar will be done" (WJ:404). However, Tolkien did not originally intend the word Valar to signify "powers"; in his early conception it apparently meant "the happy ones", cf. valto, vald- (LT2:348)_. For various compounds including the word Vala(r), see below.

avalô

noun. Power, God

An Adûnaic noun translated as “God” or “Power” (SD/247, 305), the equivalent of (and possibly derived from) Q. Vala. It is probably pronounced [awalō], since the sound [w] in Adûnaic was sometime written “v” (SD/434). It frequently appeared in its plural or subjective plural forms Avalôi(m) “Powers, Gods”.

Conceptual Development: In early drafts of Adûnaic its plural was Avalâi with a long â instead of ô, perhaps indicating an earlier singular form Avalâ closer to Vala. Earlier still this word was given as plural Balāi, a more direct derivative of the Elvish root form ᴹ√BAL.