Quenya 

massa

bread

#massa noun "bread" (massamma "our bread", VT43:18); massánië "breadgiver", used as a title of the highest woman among any Elvish people, since she had the keeping and gift of the coimas (lembas). Also simply translated "Lady" (PM:404)

massa

noun. bread

A word for “bread” appearing as massa (VT43/12) or massë (PE17/52) in Tolkien’s later writings, most notably as an element in Q. massánië “breadgiver” (PM/404). It was in competition with, and possibly replaced, the word masta “bread”. The distinction between the two was discussed in notes from 1960s (PE17/52):

> Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation ✱mbassē “(baked) bread”. The other derivatives were ✱mbasta with short final, an infinitive or verbal noun formation denoting a single action of the stem .. and ✱mbazdā denoting the passive result of the action, and when used substantivally a single product of this: mbazda would thus mean baked or a baked thing ... In Quenya we have masse “bread” as a material, and masta “a cake or loaf” (zd > st).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer to use massa as the typical word for “bread” rather than massë, to avoid conflict with other words like [ᴹQ.] masse “where”. I would also use masta as a more general word for baked goods, including bread but also other baked things like cakes and loafs.

Cognates

Derivations

  • mbassē “(baked) bread” ✧ PE17/052
    • MBAS “bake, bake, [ᴱ√] cook; [ᴹ√] knead” ✧ PE17/051

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mbassē > masse[mbassē] > [massē] > [masse]✧ PE17/052

Variations

  • masse ✧ PE17/052
Quenya [PE17/052; VT43/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

massë

bread

massë noun "bread" (as a material), variant of massa, q.v. (PE17:52). Notice that *massë has also been extrapolated as a question-word "where?"

massë

noun. bread

masta

noun. bread

Quenya [PE 22:119; PE 22:162] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

masta

noun. bread, cake, loaf, bread, cake, loaf, *baked good

This was the basic Quenya word for “bread” for much of Tolkien’s life, appearing as ᴱQ. masta “bread” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (QL/59) and appearing again in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/141). It was ᴹQ. masta “bread” in The Etymologies under the root ᴹ√MBAS “knead” (Ety/MBAS) and the word appeared again in sentences from the Quenya Verbal System written in 1948 (PE22/119).

Starting with Quenya prayers in the 1950s Tolkien began to experiment with other forms, however. In the Átaremma “prayer” Tolkien revised mastamma “our bread” to massamma in the final version of the prayer (VT43/11-12), and in notes on lembas from the late 1950s he had massánië “Lady, breadgiver” as the title of the keeper of lembas (PM/404). This change seems to have been inspired by the Sindarin word lembas itself, and the problem of how to explain its final s rather than st. In notes probably from the mid-1960s (PE17/51-52) Tolkien wrote:

> lembas “waybread”. This seems meant to be associated with Primitive Eldarin stems ✱LED “go” and ✱MBAS “bake” but is not readily derived from them according to Sindarin developments. Something like ✱leðbast would be expected.

He resolved this quandary by separating the basic word for “bread” from masta:

> Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation ✱mbassē “(baked) bread”. The other derivatives were ✱mbasta with short final, an infinitive or verbal noun formation denoting a single action of the stem .. and ✱mbazdā denoting the passive result of the action, and when used substantivally a single product of this: mbazda would thus mean baked or a baked thing ... In Quenya we have masse “bread” as a material, and masta “a cake or loaf” (zd > st).

Thus it seems that massa or massë was the word for “bread” (giving a clean explanation for the final s in lembas) while masta was a more general term for baked goods, including other items like cakes and loafs. Note, however, that Tolkien continued to use masta for “bread” in later sentences, including one in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969: vá matuvatyë mastanya “you are not to eat my bread” (PE22/162).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer to use massa as the typical word for “bread” rather than massë, to avoid conflict with other words like [ᴹQ.] masse “where”. I reserve masta as a more general word for baked goods, including bread but also other baked things like cakes and loafs.

Cognates

Derivations

  • mbazdā “baked or a baked thing” ✧ PE17/052

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mbazdā > masta[mbazdā] > [mbastā] > [mastā] > [masta]✧ PE17/052
Quenya [PE17/052; PE22/162; VT43/11; VT43/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

masta

cake or loaf

masta noun "cake or loaf" (PE17:52), in an earlier source defined as "bread" (MBAS, PM:404; later sources have massa or massë for this meaning). Mastamma "our bread" in Tolkiens translatation of the Lords Prayer (VT43:18). In the Etymologies, Tolkien emended the gloss of masta from "dough" to "bread" (VT45:33).

Sindarin 

bas(t)

noun. bread

This was the word for “bread” in Sindarin and its conceptual precursors for much of Tolkien’s life, derived from the equally long-lived root √MBAS “bake”. The word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s where G. bast “bread” was derived from the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (GL/22). ᴱN. bast “bread” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/138) and appeared again as N. bast “bread” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MBAS “knead” (Ety/MBAS).

It appeared without a final t in the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s: anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín “give us this day our daily bread” (VT44/21). However the t was restored in the phrase penim vast “we have no bread” from around 1959 (PE17/144). The late vacillations on the presence and absence of t are likely connected to Tolkien challenges with the derivation of lembas; see that entry for discussion. Likewise, the mutated forms mbas vs. vast indicate some late uncertainty on whether the primitive form began with mb- or b-.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume the normal form was bast “bread” from ancient mbasta, so that lenited forms show mb-.

Cognates

  • Q. massa “bread”
  • Q. masta “bread, cake, loaf, bread, cake, loaf, *baked good”

Derivations

  • MBAS “bake, bake, [ᴱ√] cook; [ᴹ√] knead”

Element in

Sindarin [PE17/144; VT44/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bass

noun. bread

In the Etymologies, the word for "bread" is given as bast , Quenya masta, but it seems that Tolkien later changed his mind and updated the word to bass, as shown in Quenya massánie, Sindarin besain, besoneth "bread-giver", and in the mutated form (i)mbas (apparently prefixed with the article). These latter Sindarin forms are however dubious, as we would rather have expected bessain (as a regular cognate of Quenya massánie) and bassoneth (without i-affection), and possibly a different mutation pattern after the article

Sindarin [besain, besoneth, imbas PM/404-405, VT/44:21] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bassoneth

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

Sindarin [PM/404-405, X/Z] bass+oneth. Group: SINDICT. Published by

besain

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

Sindarin [PM/404-405, X/Z] Group: SINDICT. Published by

besoneth

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

Sindarin [PM/404-405, X/Z] bass+oneth. Group: SINDICT. Published by

bessain

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

Sindarin [PM/404-405, X/Z] Group: SINDICT. Published by

cram

noun. cake of compressed flour or meal (often containing honey and milk)

Sindarin [Ety/365, LotR/II:VIII] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lembas

noun. journey bread made by the Elves

Sindarin [PM/404, LotR/II:VIII] lend+bass. Group: SINDICT. Published by

bass

bread

bass (i mass, o mbass, construct bas), pl. bais (i mbais). The sg. form with article "imbas" in VT44:23 may be seen as archaic Sindarin, for later *i mas(s) as suggested here. In ”Noldorin”, the word for "bread" was bast (LR:372 s.v. MBAS), but otherwise it would have the same mutations.

bass

bread

(i mass, o mbass, construct bas), pl. bais (i mbais). The sg. form with article "imbas" in VT44:23 may be seen as archaic Sindarin, for later ✱i mas(s) as suggested here. – In ”Noldorin”, the word for "bread" was bast (LR:372 s.v. MBAS), but otherwise it would have the same mutations.

lembas

way-bread, journey-bread

pl. lembais.

cram

cake

(of compressed flour or meal, often containing honey and milk, for use on long journeys) cram (i gram, o chram), pl. craim (i chraim), coll. pl. crammath

cram

cake

(i gram, o chram), pl. craim (i chraim), coll. pl. crammath

Noldorin 

bast

noun. bread

Noldorin [Ety/372] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bast

noun. bread

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. masta “bread” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√M(B)AS “knead” ✧ Ety/KOR; Ety/MBAS

Element in

  • Ilk. basgorn “round bread” ✧ Ety/KOR
  • N. basgorn “loaf, loaf, [G.] loaf of bread, [ᴱN.] round loaf, cake” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MBAS > bast[mbasta] > [basta] > [bast]✧ Ety/MBAS
Noldorin [Ety/KOR; Ety/MBAS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cram

noun. cake of compressed flour or meal (often containing honey and milk)

Noldorin [Ety/365, LotR/II:VIII] Group: SINDICT. Published by

cramb

noun. cake of compressed flour or meal (often containing honey and milk)

Noldorin [Ety/365, LotR/II:VIII] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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 

masta

noun. bread

Changes

  • mastamasta “dough” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Cognates

  • N. bast “bread” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√M(B)AS “knead” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MBAS > masta[mbasta] > [masta]✧ Ety/MBAS
Qenya [Ety/MBAS; EtyAC/MBAS; PE22/119] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

bast

noun. bread

Cognates

Derivations

Element in

Gnomish [GG/08; GL/22; GL/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

bast

noun. bread

Derivations

Element in

  • En. basgorn “round loaf, cake”
  • En. ormast “breadless” ✧ PE13/156
  • En. ummast “without bread” ✧ PE13/155 (ummast)

Variations

  • mast ✧ PE13/155 (mast)
Early Noldorin [PE13/138; PE13/155; PE13/156] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

masta

noun. bread

Cognates

Derivations

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶mb[asta] > masta[mbastā] > [mbasta] > [masta]✧ PE16/141
ᴱ√M(B)ASA > masta[mbastā] > [mbasta] > [masta]✧ QL/059
Early Quenya [PE16/141; PME/059; QL/059] Group: Eldamo. Published by