1) dem (gloomy), lenited dhem, pl. dhim; 2) naer (dreadful, lamentable, woeful); no distinct pl. form. 3) nûr (pl. nuir). Note: homophones mean ”deep” and ”race”.
Quenya
lemba
adjective. sad
Derivations
- ᴹ√DEM “sad, gloomy”
Sindarin
nûr
adjective. sad
naer
adjective. sad, lamentable
dem
sad
dem
sad
(gloomy), lenited dhem, pl. dhim
dem
adjective. sad, gloomy
Derivations
Element in
- S. Dimbar “*Sad Home”
naer
sad
(dreadful, lamentable, woeful); no distinct pl. form.
nûr
sad
(pl. nuir). Note: homophones mean ”deep” and ”race”.
Primitive elvish
dim Reconstructed
root. sad, gloomy
Derivatives
- ᴺQ. nimbë “gloom, sadness”
Noldorin
dem
adjective. sad, gloomy
No language indication in the Etymologies, but Noldorin from context and phonological evidence
dem
adjective. sad, gloomy
noer
adjective. sad, lamentable
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!
Doriathrin
dem
adjective. sad, gloomy
An adjective meaning “sad, gloomy” from the primitive form ᴹ✶dimbā (Ety/DEM). A related form dimb “sad” appears as an element in the Ilkorin name Dimbar. This form dimb is likely either a stem form or a more primitive form.
Possible Etymology: There is no language marker for the word dem in The Etymologies (Ety/DEM). David Salo (GS/248) and Didier Willis (HSD/dem) both suggested that it is Noldorin, based on (1) the fact that the element dimb is explicitly marked as an Ilkorin word for “sad” and (2) the phonological evidence, in that primitive ᴹ✶dimbā would develop into Noldorin dem.
However, the key phonological changes producing dem from primitive ✶dimbā also occurred in Ilkorin: [[ilk|short [i], [u] became [e], [o] preceding final [a]]] and [[ilk|final [mb] became [m]]]. I believe that dem is in fact an Ilkorin word, and that the element Ilk. dimb “sad” appearing earlier in the entry is a stem form, as noted above.
Conceptual Development: The root form of this word in The Etymologies was first written ᴹ√DIM, rejected and replaced by ᴹ√DEM (EtyAC/DEM). As pointed out by Helge Fauskanger, the primitive forms could only be derived from the root ᴹ√DIM (AL-Ilkorin/dem), so it seems that Tolkien reverted the change of ᴹ√DIM >> ᴹ√DEM. An earlier form demb “gloomy, sad” of this adjective (EtyAC/DEM) likely reflects this vacillation.
Derivations
Element in
- Ilk. Dimbar “*Sad Home” ✧ Ety/DEM
- N. Tum Dincelon “Dimrill-dale”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶dimbā > dem [dimbā] > [dimba] > [demba] > [demb] > [dem] ✧ Ety/DEM ᴹ√DEM > demb [dembā] > [demba] > [demb] ✧ Ety/DEM Variations
- demb ✧ EtyAC/DEM
Middle Primitive Elvish
dimbā
adjective. sad, gloomy
Derivations
- ᴹ√DEM “sad, gloomy” ✧ EtyAC/DEM
Derivatives
dem
root. sad, gloomy
An Ilkorin-only root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sad, gloomy” (Ety/DEM). It was first given as √DIM, which Tolkien rejected and replaced by √DEM (EtyAC/DEM), but given the Ilkorin name Dimbar in both The Etymologies and contemporaneous Silmarillion drafts (LR/261), Tolkien likely reversed himself and restored √DIM. In later iterations of The Silmarillion, it is likely that S. Dimbar became a Sindarin name.
Changes
DIM→ DEM ✧ Ety/DEMDerivatives
Variations
- DIM ✧ EtyAC/DEM (
DIM)
For an earlier discussion, see Klockzo, 4th volume, p. 160 §147: The meaning of Núrnen long remained highly hypothetical. The current definition is based on Christopher Tolkien's index to UT and on the unfinished index of names published in RC. The Gnomish Lexicon listed nur- (nauri) "growl, grumble", nurn "plaint, lament, a complaint" and nurna- "bewail, lament, complain of" (PE/11:61). Likewise, the Qenyaqetsa included a root NURU- with several derivatives with similar meanings (PE/12:68). See also Q. nurrula "mumbling" (from nurru- "murmur, grumble") in the final version of the poem The Last Ark (MC/222-23). Patrick Wynne therefore noted: S. *nûr in Núrnen "Sad Water" is apparently "sad" in the sense "bewailing, lamenting, complaining, grumbling", no doubt a reference to the general mood of the hapless laborers in "the great slave-worked fields" beside the lake. (See Lambengolmor/856-860)