(building), pl. edaib. In ”Noldorin”, the plural was edeb.
Sindarin
dha
verb. there is
adab
house
mell
adjective. dear
_ adj. _dear, beloved. Q. melda.
na-
verb. to be
A verb for “to be” based on the root √NĀ of the same meaning. This verb is barely attested in the Sindarin language, and the general consensus is that [for purposes of Neo-Sindarin at least] Sindarin omits the verb “to be” in most phrases, such as in naur an edraith ammen “fire [be] for saving us” (LotR/299) or ✱orchal i adan “tall [is] the man”; see the entry on the copula for further discussion.
The clearest attestation of the verb na- is its imperative form no “be!” in the phrase no aer i eneth lín “hallowed be thy name, (lit.) ✱be holy the name your”, from the Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s (VT44/21). This imperative form was preceded by some hard-to-read deleted forms, perhaps {dôd >> dád >> hae >>} no (VT44/22). The d-forms might be eroded/mutated variants of na-. Compare đa in the phrase inn đa v’im “a mind there is in me = I have a good mind (to do so)” in notes from the late 1960s (PE22/165), where đa could be another eroded form of na-. This phrase was first written as inn no v’im (PE22/165 note #108); see the entry for đa for further discussion.
Another clear attestation of na “be” is an apparent future form natho in the untranslated phrase Sí il chem {na} en i naugrim en ir Ellath {natho} thor den ammen in the so-called “Túrin Wrapper” from the late 1950s (VT50/5). This future[?] form natho was deleted and replaced by thor, and a deleted {na} also appears earlier in the phrase, possibly a false start. Carl Hostetter suggested this phrase might mean something like “✱now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) us” (VT50/22-25). If so, it seems the future of na- “be” was constructed from the bare future suffix (a)tha-, manifesting as tho “✱will be”.
Neo-Sindarin: As noted above, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin the general consensus is that this verb is barely used, and is omitted from most “to be” phrases as in the example orchal i adan given above. The verb’s one widely accepted use is as an imperative, such as in no mae “be well”. Based the Túrin Wrapper, I posit that tho can also be used for a future form “will be”, as in i adan tho orchal “the man will be tall”. I likewise posit a (purely hypothetical) past form [ᴺS.] nî “was”, based on the primitive past-tense element ✶-nē with [[os|long [ē] becoming [ī]]], as in i adan nî orchal “the man was tall”. Neither tho or nî are widely accepted Neo-Sindarin, however.
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had the verb G. na- “is” (GL/58), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This irregular Gnomish verb had some inflected forms: plural nain, participle ol· and past form {ni >>} thi, the last of these being another inspiration for Neo-Sindarin nî “was”.
dear
mail (lenited vail, pl. mîl), also mell (lenited vell; pl. mill), also muin (lenited vuin; no distinct pl. form)
dear
(lenited vail, pl. mîl), also mell (lenited vell; pl. mill), also muin (lenited vuin; no distinct pl. form)
carn
noun. deed
carth
noun. deed
Sindarin noun for a “deed”, attested only in its lenited plural form gerth within the word úgarth “trespass” (VT44/28), which probably more literally means “✱misdeed”. This word is not completely compatible with its Quenya cognate Q. carda “deed” from primitive ✶kardā, which in Sindarin should produce ✱cardh. Perhaps the Sindarin word had a slightly different primitive form ✱✶kartā. The expect form cardh might appear as an element in the variant form athragarð of S. athragared “interaction”.
Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursors of this word are G. cara “deed, act” and G. carm “act, deed, exploit” in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GL/25; PE13/111), the latter a cognate of contemporaneous ᴱQ. karma “shape, fashion; act, deed” (QL/45). Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s had ᴱN. carbh “deed” (PE13/140), reflecting Tolkien’s changing conception of the phonetic development of final -m in Noldorin. In The Etymologies from the 1930s, the word appeared as N. carth or carð “deed” (cardh), but these forms were rejected and replaced by N. car(ð) “building” when Tolkien decided the root meant only “make, build” and not “do” (Ety/KAR), a decision he later reversed.
en
?. ?
laud
noun. feather
gelennil
masculine name. Lover of Trees
A name appearing only in some linguistic notes from the 1950s, beside variant form Gleðennil (PE21/83).
minol
noun. ingot
yll
noun. draught
adlant
slanting
(adj.) *adlant (oblique), pl. edlaint. This is a suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” atlant.
adlant
slanting
(oblique), pl. edlaint. This is a suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” atlant.
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)
or
high
(adjectival pref.) or- (above, over), also ar- (noble, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain. Nouns:
or
high
(above, over), also ar- (noble, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain. Nouns:
suith
draught
*suith (i huith, o suith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i suith). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” sûth.
suith
draught
(i huith, o suith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i suith). – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” sûth.
taur
tall
(also tor-, tar- in compounds) (lofty, high, sublime, noble; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”.
alae
interjection. ?
mell
adjective. dear, beloved
rhosc
adjective. russet, russet, [N.] brown
pess
noun. feather
Ara-
prefix. high, noble, royal
ar-
prefix. high, noble, royal
ingildon
place name. ?
inn dha v’im
I have a good mind (to do so), (lit.) there is an ‘inn’ in me
sennas
noun. guesthouse
suith
noun. draught
andrath
high pass
(literally "long climb"), pl. endraith.
brand
tall
(lofty, noble, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind.
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.
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.
cardh
deed
cardh (i gardh, o chardh), pl. cerdh (i cherdh). Note: cardh may also mean "house, building".
cardh
deed
(i gardh, o chardh), pl. cerdh (i cherdh). Note: cardh may also mean "house, building".
duinen
high tide
(i dhuinen), pl. duinin (i nuinin). (VT48:26).
gobel
village
(i ’obel) (enclosed dwelling, ”town”), pl. gebil (i ngebil = i ñebil). Archaic pl. ✱göbil.
gondrath
highway
(i ’ondrath) (street of stone, causeway), pl. gendraith (i ngendraith = i ñendraith). Archaic pl. göndreith. (WJ:340). Possibly the pl. can also be gondraith, without umlaut of the first element.
hall
tall
(exalted); lenited chall; pl. hail. Note: a homophone means ”veiled, hidden, shadowed, shady”.
nind
fragile
nind (thin, slender); no distinct pl. form
nind
fragile
(thin, slender); no distinct pl. form
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)
nothrim
house
(family); no distinct pl. form (PM:360)
raud
tall
(eminent, noble), in compounds -rod, pl. roed. Also used as noun ”champion, eminent man, [a] noble”.
rhosc
russet
rhosc (red, brown), lenited ?throsc or ?rosc (the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhysc
rhosc
russet
(red, brown), lenited ?throsc or ?rosc *(the lenition product of rh is uncertain)*, pl. rhysc
sennas
guesthouse
(i hennas), pl. sennais (i sennais), coll. pl. sennassath (RC:523)
telu
high roof
(i delu, o thelu) (dome), pl. tely (i thely).
úgarth
ill deed
(sin), pl. úgerth (VT44:23)
A word appearing in the phrase inn đa v’im “(lit.) a mind (inn) there is in me = I have a good mind (to do so)” from Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/165). This phrase was first written as inn no v’im with {no >>} đa (PE22/165 note #108). This alteration suggests that đa is a heavily eroded/mutated form of na- “to be”, perhaps particular to this idiomatic phrase. As a counter-argument, đa is being used here in an existential statement “there is = ✱exists”, and these same 1969 notes state that:
> Stem of verb “exist” (have being in primary world of history) was √EŊE, distinct from √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).
This means that (in Quenya at least) NA was not used for existential statements. This opens up the possibility that đa is a mutated form of ✱da- “exists” from an otherwise unattested root ✱√DA, the Sindarin equivalent of √EÑ.
Neo-Sindarin: Given the speculative nature of this verb, I cannot currently recommend its use in Neo-Sindarin. It is, however, our only known means of making existential statements in that language.