1) nem (pl. nim; coll. pl. nemmath), 2) bund (i mund, o mbund, construct mun) (snout, cape [of land]), pl. bynd (i mbynd)
Quenya
nengwë
nose
mén
noun. beak, nose
Sindarin
irth
noun. beak
Derivations
- ᴺ✶. IRIT “peck, prick”
nem
nose
nem
nose
(pl. nim; coll. pl. nemmath)
bund
nose
(i mund, o mbund, construct mun) (snout, cape [of land]), pl. bynd (i mbynd)
Noldorin
nem
noun. nose
nem
noun. nose
A word for “nose” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, with archaic form nemb and derived from ᴹ√NEÑ-WI (Ety/NEÑ-WI), an elaboration of the shorter root ᴹ√NEÑ (EtyAC/NEÑ-WI). The mb is a result of the Old Noldorin change of labialized velars into labials (ñw > ñgw > mb), a sound change that also occurred in Sindarin.
Conceptual Development: Similar but earlier “nose” words include G. nûn {“a nostril” >>} “a nose (of men only)” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/61) and ᴱN. {nheth >>} neth “nose” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/151).
Cognates
- ᴹQ. nengwe “nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶NEÑ-WI > nemb > nem [neŋwi] > [neŋgwi] > [neŋgwe] > [nembe] > [nemb] > [nemb] > [nemm] > [nem] ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
nemb
noun. nose
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
nin
noun. nose, beak
Derivations
nengwe
noun. nose
A word for “nose” in The Etymologies written around 1937, derived from ᴹ√NEÑ-WI (Ety/NEÑ-WI), an elaboration of the shorter root ᴹ√NEÑ (EtyAC/NEÑ-WI). Given its primitive form, its stem ought to be nengwi-, but in attested compounds this word is consistently nengwe-, so perhaps Tolkien changed his mind on its primitive form.
Conceptual Development: The earliest percursor to this word seems to be ᴱQ. nen (neng-) “nostril” in several documents from the 1920s (PE14/72; PE15/75; PE16/113), whose dual nenqi was also used for a “nose” of one person (PE14/76; PE15/75). In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had nin (ning-) “beak, nose” < ᴹ✶nengǝ (PE21/26), though this phonetic shift of short e to i is rather unusual and seems to be limited to this document.
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- ᴹQ. nengwea “nasal” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
- ᴹQ. nengwetanwa “nasal-infixed”
- ᴹQ. nengwetehta “nasal sign” ✧ PE22/011
- ᴺQ. nenquet- “to condescend, (orig.) speak down the nose”
- ᴺQ. nungwë “cold (in the nose or head)”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶NEÑ-WI > nengwe [neŋwi] > [neŋgwi] > [neŋgwe] ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
Doriathrin
nîw
noun. nose
A Doriathrin noun for “nose” derived from ᴹ✶neñwi (Ety/LIW). It is likely an example of how [[ilk|[ŋg] vanished before [w] lengthening the preceding vowel]], especially if the [[ilk|[e] first became [i] before the [ŋg]]], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/nîw).
Cognates
- ᴹQ. nengwe “nose” ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶NEÑ-WI > nîw [neŋwi] > [neŋgwi] > [neŋgwe] > [niŋgwe] > [nīwe] > [nīw] ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
Middle Primitive Elvish
nengǝ
noun. beak, nose
Derivations
- ᴹ√NEÑ “*nose”
Derivatives
- ᴹQ. nin “nose, beak” ✧ PE21/26
Variations
- neŋgǝ- ✧ PE21/26
neñwi
noun. nose
Derivations
- ᴹ√NEÑ “*nose” ✧ EtyAC/NEÑ-WI
Derivatives
Variations
- NEÑ-WI ✧ Ety/NEÑ-WI
Early Noldorin
neth
noun. nose
Changes
nheth→ neth ✧ PE13/151Variations
- nheth ✧ PE13/151 (
nheth)
Early Quenya
men
noun. nose, beak
The word ᴱQ. men (mem-) “nose, beak” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√MEME (QL/61).
Neo-Quenya: In later writings, Tolkien used ᴹQ. nengwe for “nose”, but I think it might be worth adapting this word as ᴺQ. mén (mem-) “beak”, with a long vowel to help distinguish it from Q. men “way”. This derivation is similar to ᴹQ. kén (kem-) “soil, earth” < ᴹ√KEM from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KEM); hat-tip to Röandil for suggesting this comparison and the form mén.
Derivations
- ᴱ√MEME “*tip” ✧ QL/061
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴱ√MEME > men [mem] ✧ QL/061 Variations
- men ✧ QL/061
nengwë (stem *nengwi-, given the primitive form ¤neñ-wi) noun "nose", pl. nengwi given (NEÑ-WI)