Sindarin 

bar

noun. dwelling, home

Sindarin [S/428, WR/379-80, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bar

noun. inhabited land

Sindarin [S/428, WR/379-80, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bar

a house

pl1. bair _ n. _a house, a single house or dwelling (esp. of the larger and more permanent sort), a family dwelling. Q. mar (mard-).

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:163-4] < *_mbar_ or _mbardă_ < MBAR settle. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

bar

noun. house, dwelling, home

bardh

home

{ð}_ n. _home, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:164] < *_mbar_ or _mbardă_ < MBAR settle. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

bardh

noun. home

A word for “home” appearing in draft notes from the 1960s discussing the root √MBAR, where it was contrasted with bâr “house, dwelling”:

> In Sindarin bar [< ✱mbăr-] (pl. bair) was used for a single house or dwelling, especially of the larger and more permanent sort; barð [< ✱mbardā̆] was much as English “home”, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in (PE17/164).

It was also contrasted with milbar “dear home” which was used for the “emotional senses ‘home’ as the place of one’s birth, or desire, or one’s home returned to after journey or exile” (PE17/164). In later versions of these notes on √MBAR, Tolkien mentioned bâr and milbar but not bardh (PE17/109).

Neo-Sindarin: Given its absense from the final version of the √MBAR notes, it is possible Tolkien abandoned bardh “home”. However, I prefer to retain it for purposes of Neo-Sindarin for the ordinary sense of “home”, and reserve milbar for one’s “emotional home” or “✱true home” from which one is currently separated, as opposed to the home that you are living now = bardh. I would use bâr primarily in the sense “house, dwelling”.

Cognates

  • Q. mar(da) “dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home, dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home; [ᴱQ.] world” ✧ PE17/164

Derivations

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mbardā̆ > barð[mbarda] > [barda] > [barða] > [barð]✧ PE17/164

Variations

  • barð ✧ PE17/164
Sindarin [PE17/164] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bâr

noun. house, dwelling, home, house, dwelling, home; [N.] earth

The basic Sindarin word for “house, dwelling, home” derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell” (PE17/109; PE17/164). This Sindarin word (unlike its Quenya counterpart már) can also be used to refer to the “house” of a clan or family, as in Bar Bëora “House of Bëor” (WJ/230) and Narn e·mbar Hador “✱Tale of the House of Hador” (MR/373). It could also mean “-home (for a people)” in compound names for regions as in Eglamar “Home of the Eglain” and Brithombar (WJ/379; S/120), but it seems this use was archaic and in more recent names the trend was to use dôr “land” (PE17/164).

This word appears as both bâr with long â and bar with short a. As a general rule, it has a long â when used as an independent word, following the general Sindarin principle whereby short vowels (usually) lengthened in monosyllables. It has a short vowel when appearing in compounds or as a “pseudo-prefix” in names like Bar-en-Danwedh “House of Ransom” (S/203).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where (adverbial?) G. bar appeared as a variant of G. barthi or barai “at home, home” (GL/21). In the Gnomish Lexicon its noun form seems to be G. bara “home” (GL/21), but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Grammar it was bar “home” (GG/8). These Gnomish words were all derived from the early root ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live” (QL/63).

In Gnomish Lexicon slips, Tolkien modified the word to G. bawr “house” derived from primitive ᴱ✶mbāră (PE13/116). In the Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin Tolkien had G. bar “dwelling” (PE15/21). In the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s it was ᴱN. bâr “house”, though a change in its mutated form {i·bhar >>} i·mâr indicates some vacillation on its primitive form (PE13/120 and note #2). In Early Noldorin word-lists of this period it was bar “house” (PE13/138).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was N. bár “home” written in the margin next to the root ᴹ√MBAR “dwell, inhabit” (EtyAC/MBAR), but it also meant “Earth” in the name N. Barthan “Earth-smith” (Ety/TAN). In later notes (date unknown) this name was S. Barthan “World-artificer” (LT1A/Talka Marda). In notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s it was †băr “home”, which became bār after vowels lengthened in monosyllables (PE22/36).

In notes from the 1960s, Tolkien described this word in some detail, first saying:

> In Sindarin bar [< ✱mbăr-] (pl. bair) was used for a single house or dwelling, especially of the larger and more permanent sort; barð [< ✱mbardā̆] was much as English “home”, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in (PE17/164).

Here it seems bar = “house, dwelling” but bardh = “home”. However, in a later iteration of these notes Tolkien said:

> There were thus tendencies both (a) for Noldorin terms for things peculiar to their culture to be translated into Sindarin forms or imitated ... Examples ... were (a) the use of Sindarin bâr (< ✱mbăr(a)) for “house” a settled built dwelling of a family, larger or smaller: in true Sindarin use it only denoted a small area in which some group had at last settled more or less permanently (PE17/164).

This was revised slightly to read:

> There was thus a tendency: (a) for Noldorin words and terms for things peculiar to their culture to be translated into Sindarin, or imitated ... Examples of these processes are: (a) the use of Sindarin bâr (< ✱mbăr(a)) for “house”: the permanent building serving as the home of a family, larger or smaller, though in genuine older Sindarin use this word referred to a (small) area, in which some group had at last settled, more or less permanently (PE17/164).

Both these later paragraph imply that the original sense of Sindarin bâr was something like “✱settlement (of a group or community)” but came to mean “house, dwelling” under the influence of Quenya már.

Of its uses in compounds Tolkien said:

> This was also in old compounds used (like Q -mar) for a region, but not in ordinary language ... Only in old names was -bar used like Q -mar for a region inhabited by a people. For this Sindarin used usually -dor (< ndor) “land” (PE17/165).

Cognates

  • Q. már “home, dwelling, habitation, home, dwelling, habitation; [ᴹQ.] house; earth” ✧ PE17/164; SA/bar
  • Q. mar(da) “dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home, dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home; [ᴱQ.] world” ✧ PE17/163; PE17/164

Derivations

  • mbar(ă) “dwelling, habitation” ✧ PE17/109; PE17/109; PE17/163; PE17/164; SA/bar
    • MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mbar(ă) > bâr[mbara] > [mbar] > [bar]✧ PE17/109
mbar(ă) > bâr[mbara] > [mbar] > [bar]✧ PE17/109
mbar > bar[mbara] > [mbar] > [bar]✧ PE17/163
mbā̆r > bar[mbara] > [mbar] > [bar]✧ PE17/164
mbā̆r > bair[mbarī] > [mbari] > [bari] > [beri] > [beir] > [bair]✧ PE17/164
mbár > bar[mbar] > [bar]✧ SA/bar

Variations

  • bar ✧ PE17/163 (bar); PE17/164; PE17/164; SA/bar
  • Bar ✧ S/203; UT/100; WJ/379; WJ/414; WJ/418
Sindarin [AotM/062; MR/373; PE17/097; PE17/109; PE17/163; PE17/164; S/203; SA/bar; SD/129; UT/040; UT/054; UT/100; WJ/379; WJ/414; WJ/418] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cae

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

Sindarin [Ety/363, X/OE] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ceven

noun. Earth

Sindarin [VT/44:21,27] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

Sindarin [MR/373] adan+adar. Group: SINDICT. Published by

dor

noun. land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live

The form dor in the Etymologies is a misreading, see VT/45. In composition and in toponyms, the word is nevertheless reduced to Dor

Sindarin [Ety/376, S/430, WJ/413, Letters/417, VT/45:38, R] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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.

Derivations

Element in

Variations

  • ndir ✧ PE17/060
Sindarin [PE17/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

adan

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

Sindarin [LotR/A(v), S/427, PM/324, WJ/387, Letters/282] Q. atan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

dôr

noun. land, land, [N.] region where certain people live, [ᴱN.] country; [G.] people of the land

Cognates

  • Q. -ndor “land, country” ✧ SA/dôr

Derivations

  • ndorē “land” ✧ PE17/164; SA/dôr; WJ/413
    • NDOR “land; hard, firm; [ᴹ√] dwell, stay, rest, abide” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
    • DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding”
    • DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ndor > -dor[-ndorē] > [-ndore] > [-ndor] > [-dor]✧ PE17/164
ndor > dôr[ndorē] > [ndore] > [dore] > [dor] > [dōr]✧ SA/dôr
ndorē > dôr[ndorē] > [ndore] > [dore] > [dor] > [dōr]✧ WJ/413
ndorē > -ndor > -nor/-nnor[-ndorē] > [-ndore] > [-ndor] > [-nnor]✧ WJ/413

Variations

  • Dor ✧ Let/417; MR/200; PE17/133; S/121; S/188; SI/Doriath; UT/245; UTI/Doriath; WJ/192
  • dor ✧ Let/427; RC/384
  • -dor ✧ PE17/164
  • Dôr ✧ WJ/370
Sindarin [Let/417; Let/427; MR/200; PE17/133; PE17/164; RC/384; S/121; S/188; SA/dôr; SI/Doriath; UT/245; UTI/Doriath; WJ/192; WJ/370; WJ/413] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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

Sindarin [UT/385] MS *druγ, Dr druγu. Group: SINDICT. Published by

dôr

noun. land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live

The form dor in the Etymologies is a misreading, see VT/45. In composition and in toponyms, the word is nevertheless reduced to Dor

Sindarin [Ety/376, S/430, WJ/413, Letters/417, VT/45:38, R] Group: SINDICT. Published by

sennas

noun. guesthouse

Sindarin [RC/523] "resting place", from *send, *senn (SED) ?. Group: SINDICT. Published by

adanath

noun. men

Sindarin [MR/373] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

Sindarin [LotR/I:XII, WJ/378, S/390] dûn+adan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

Sindarin [UT/385] drû+adan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

ennorath

noun. central lands, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, LotR/II:I, RGEO/72-75] Group: SINDICT. Published by

noss

house

(family) 1) noss (construct nos, pl. nyss) (family, clan), 2) nost (pl. nyst) (family) (PM:360), 3) nothrim (family); no distinct pl. form (PM:360)

noss

house

(construct nos, pl. nyss) (family, clan)

nost

house

(pl. nyst) (family) (PM:360)

bar

bar

PQ *mbar- from Root MBAR "dwelling, habitation"

Sindarin [Tolkien Gateway] Published by

bâr

dwelling

bâr (house, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds

bâr

dwelling

(house, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds

bâr

house

bâr (dwelling, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

bâr

house

(dwelling, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

bâr

earth

(dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

bâr

home

bâr (dwelling, house, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

bâr

home

(dwelling, house, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

bâr

land

(dwelling, house, home, family; earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

car

house

(building, dwelling-place) 1) car or cardh (i gar[dh], o char[dh]) (building), pl. cerdh (i cherdh) or cair (i chair). Note: cardh also means "deed, feat". Therefore, the form car may be preferred for clarity. 2) adab (building), pl. edaib. In ”Noldorin”, the plural was edeb. 3)

car

house

or cardh (i gar[dh], o char[dh]) (building), pl. cerdh (i cherdh) or cair (i chair). Note: cardh also means "deed, feat". Therefore, the form car may be preferred for clarity.

amar

earth

(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair

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.

cae

noun. earth

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

cae

earth

(i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also

ceven

earth

1) ceven (i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23), 2) (world) Amar (archaic Ambar), pl. Emair; 3) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds. 4) (maybe ”earth” as substance) cae (i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also SOIL.

ceven

earth

(i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23)

parth

enclosed grassland

(i barth, o pharth) (field, sward), pl. perth (i pherth);

brannon

lord

(i** vrannon), pl. brennyn (i** mrennyn), coll. pl. brannonnath

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.

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.

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”.

adab

house

(building), pl. edaib. In ”Noldorin”, the plural was edeb.

dôr

land

1) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, region), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr), coll. pl. dorath (WJ:413), 2) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

dôr

land

(i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, region), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr), coll. pl. dorath (WJ:413)

heron

lord

(i cheron, o cheron) (master), pl. heryn (i cheryn), coll. pl. heronnath** (VT45:22). Since the pl. heryn clashes with the fem. sg. heryn** ”lady”, other words for ”lord” may be preferred.

hîr

lord

1) hîr (i chîr, o chîr; also hir-, her- at the beginning of compounds) (master), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîr), coll. pl. híriath (Letters:282, 386; VT41:9); 2) heron (i cheron, o cheron) (master), pl. heryn (i cheryn), coll. pl. heronnath (VT45:22)._ _Since the pl. heryn clashes with the fem. sg. heryn ”lady”, other words for ”lord” may be preferred. 3) brannon (i vrannon), pl. brennyn (i mrennyn), coll. pl. brannonnath; 4) tûr (i dûr, o thûr, construct tur) (mastery, power, control; master, victor), pl. tuir (i thuir), coll. pl. túrath.

hîr

lord

(i chîr, o chîr; also hir-, her- at the beginning of compounds) (master), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîr), coll. pl. híriath (Letters:282, 386; VT41:9)

nand

wide grassland

(construct nan) (valley), pl. naind, coll. pl. **nannath **(VT45:36);

tûr

lord

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

curunír

man of craft

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

dôr

dwelling place

(i nôr, construct dor) (land, region), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413).

ennor

place name. central land, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, X/ND2] Published by

gobel

enclosed dwelling

(i ’obel) (walled house or village, ”town”), pl. gebil (i ngebil = i ñebil). Archaic pl. göbil.

gobel

village

(i ’obel) (enclosed dwelling, ”town”), pl. gebil (i ngebil = i ñebil). Archaic pl. ✱göbil.

ortha

raise

ortha- (i ortha, in orthar);

ortha

raise

(i ortha, in orthar);

dortha

dwell

dortha- (i northa, i ndorthar) (stay)

dortha

dwell

(i northa, i ndorthar) (stay)

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

grôd

underground dwelling

(i ’rôd, construct grod) (cave, delving, excavation), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)

orthad

raising

(MR:373)

rhavan

wild man

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

rhûd

dwelling underground

(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (artificial cave, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid) (PM:365)*.

sennas

guesthouse

(i hennas), pl. sennais (i sennais), coll. pl. sennassath (RC:523)

nothrim

house

(family); no distinct pl. form (PM:360)

thalion

dauntless man

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

dúnadan

man of the west

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