Quenya 

farnë

dwelling

#farnë (2) noun "dwelling", in orofarnë (as translated in Letters:224, but in other notes of Tolkiens the word was interpreted "any growing thing or plant", PE17:83)

marda

dwelling

marda noun "dwelling" (PE17:107)

hróta

noun. dwelling underground, artificial cave or rockhewn hall

A word glossed “dwelling underground, artificial cave or rockhewn hall” derived from the root √s-rot (PM/365 note #56), appearing in 1959 notes discussing the origin of the name of Felagund, which in that document was based on a Khuzdul name.

mar(da)

noun. 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

A word for “dwelling, mansion, hall” derived from √MBAR “dwell” (PE17/64), most notably as an element in oromardi “lofty halls” in the Namárië “poem” (LotR/377). Its plural mardi indicates a stem form of mard-, but its uninflected form appeared as both short mar (PE17/64, 163-4; PE21/80) and longer marda (PE17/107; PE21/76). Tolkien described its meaning more precisely in some notes from the 1960s:

> The derivative form ✱mbardā became in Quenya marda: “a thing or place dwelt in, dwelling” and since it could be applied to the actual dwelling-places or buildings (alone or grouped) approached the sense “house”. Though it did not in fact refer to “buildings”, and could equally well be applied to dwelling-places of natural origin, such as caves or groves (PE17/107).

And in an earlier version of these notes:

> The usual word in Eldarin for a “home”, as the established residence of a family consisting of one or more associated buildings, was ✱mbā̆r (stem mbăr-), and ✱mbardā (an adjectival formation). In Q mar (stem mard-), a blending of the two, was used like “residence”, usually with a defining genitive, for the “great house” of a family (PE17/164).

In Tolkien’s later writings, it seems this word was distinct from and coexisted with Q. már (mar-) “home” (PE17/106, 164).

Conceptual Development: This word for “dwelling” was often intermingled and confused with már “home”, making its conceptual development difficult to trace. There are some other earlier words for which some extension was added to √MBAR. In the 1910s ᴱQ. marda meant “world” as in ᴱQ. Talka Marda “Smith of the World” (LT1/180; 15/8); in The Qenya Phonology Tolkien said marda had a dialectical variant ᴱQ. mára (PE12/24) and in the Gnomish Lexicon it had the form Marwa “World” (GL/18).

The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s had an adverbial variant ᴹQ. marta “home” of ᴹQ. mar “house” (PE21/25, 27); this adverbial form became marda “home” in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s (PE21/76). In the 1930s more generally the stem form of short ᴹQ. mar was frequently mard- (PE21/27; EtyAC/MBAR; LR/72) but not always (LR/63). The coexistence of már and mard- was not clearly established until the 1960s (see above).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use marda primarily as a “dwelling” as in “a thing dwelled in”, usable of buildings but also of natural dwellings like caves. Of constructed dwellings, it generally applies to larger or more elaborate dwellings such as mansions and halls, as in oromar “high hall”. I would assume the same was true of natural dwellings, with marda only applicable to a complex of inhabitable caverns rather than an individual cave. For the home of an individual or family I would use már “home”, and for the building itself I would use cöa “house” (dwelling or not).

I would use mard- as the stem form of this word as with its plural mardi. Strictly speaking its uninflected form would be mar < ✶mbardā̆ after the ancient loss of short final ă, but in practice this was generally reformed to marda to make it more distinct from már “home”. Thus sissë i luinë marda (ná) “here is the blue mansion” but tassë i ninqui mardi (nár) “there are the white mansions”.

Quenya [MR/385; PE17/064; PE17/107; PE17/163; PE17/164; PE21/76; PE21/80; VT44/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

martan

noun. dwelling-house

A word for “dwelling-house” in notes from the mid-1960s with forms martan (martam-) and longer martaman, a combination of √MBAR “dwell” and √TAM “construct” (PE17/107).

Quenya [PE17/107; PE17/109] Group: Eldamo. Published by

már

noun. home, dwelling, habitation, home, dwelling, habitation; [ᴹQ.] house; earth

This is the basic Quenya word for a “home” or “dwelling”, derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell”.

Conceptual Development: This word dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where (archaic) ᴱQ. †mar (mas-) was glossed “dwelling of men, -land, the Earth” (QL/60). It appeared under the early root ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live”, but that root was mingled with many others, and its stem form mas- indicates some unusual developments. The contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa instead has mař “dwelling, -land, †Earth” (PME/60), consistent with an earlier deleted form of the root, ᴱ√MAŘA [MAÐA] (QL/60).

In the Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin from the 1910s Tolkien had mar as a cognate to G. bar “dwelling” (PE15/21). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s it was glossed “house” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·mar tye “that house (of yours)” (PE14/55). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s mar was glossed “home”, where its plural form mari indicated a stem form of mar- (PE15/74).

In the Declension of Nouns of the 1930s, ᴹQ. mar “house” had a stem form of mard- (PE21/27), and on the title page of The Etymologies from 1937, Tolkien had mar(d)- “home, dwelling” from the root ᴹ√MBAR (EtyAC/MBAR). It appeared in the form Mardello “from Earth” in Fíriel’s Song from the mid-1930s, along with an uninflected form i-mar “the earth” (LR/72), but as mar- in the (1930s) genitive form hon-maren “heart of the house” (LR/63).

In Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from this 1930s, it appeared as már “habitation”, the first time that it had a long á (PE19/36). In Quenya Verbal System from 1948, már “house” appeared with long á in a couple phrases like már karnelya e·tulle “having built a house he came” (PE22/108). The word már “habitation” reappeared in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) of the 1950s (PE19/76).

Tolkien discussed the word már at length in notes from the 1960s on the root √MBAR, first writing:

> The usual word in Eldarin for a “home”, as the established residence of a family consisting of one or more associated buildings, was ✱mbā̆r (stem mbăr-), and ✱mbardā̆ (an adjectival formation). In Q mar (stem mard-), a blending of the two, was used like “residence” usually with a defining genitive, for the “great house” of a family. In place-names -mar (stem mār-) was used for a region settled by a community or group, as Eldamar “Elvenhome” the coastal region of Aman, settled by the Elves (PE17/164).

And then in a later version of the same notes:

> The simplest form of this base ✱mbără became a much used word or element in primitive Eldarin: which may be rendered “dwelling”. This application was probably a development during the period of the Great Journey to the Western Shores, during which many halls of varying duration were made by the Eldar at the choice of their leaders, as a whole, or for separate groups. This element survived in various forms in Quenya and Sindarin with sense­ changes due to the divergent history of the Eldar that passed over Sea and of those remaining in Beleriand. The principal forms were the primitive simple form PE ✱mbăr(a) > uninflected mbār, inflected mbar-; and the derivative form ✱mbardā ...

The former survived in Quenya in the archaic word már, which was used with a defining genitive or more often in genitival compound: as Ingwemar, Valimar, Eldamar ... This signified, when added to a personal name the “residence” of a family of which the head was the named person; it included not only the permanent buildings, developed by the Eldar in Aman, but also the surrounding attached land ... After the name of a people or “kindred” it referred to the whole area occupied or owned by them, in which their dwellings or “houses” were distributed (PE17/106).

These revised notes indicate that marda was a distinct word:

> The derivative form ✱mbardā became in Quenya marda “a dwelling”. This normally referred to the actual dwelling place, but was not limited to buildings, and could equally well be applied to dwellings of natural origin (such as caves or groves). It was nonetheless the nearest equivalent to “house” in most of its senses ... Not to the use of “house” as the name of a (small) separate building with a function such as bake-house, wood-house; nor to the use of “house” as a family especially of power or authority. The former in Quenya was usually koa. The latter was represented by words for “kindred” [nóre] (PE17/107).

Thus it seems in these notes, már = “residence”, marda = “dwelling” but coa = “house” as in a type of building.

In terms of its use in other words and phrases, mar or már is most notably an element in Eldamar “Elvenhome” (S/59), Val(i)mar “Dwelling of the Valar” (RGEO/62), and Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva “[ᴱQ.] Cottage of the Lost Play; House of Departed Mirth” (LT1/28; PE21/80). As for mard-, its most notable use was in oromardi “lofty halls” from the Namárië poem (LotR/377).

Although always meaning “home” or “dwelling” and always derived from √MBAR “dwell”, the various changes in the stem form between mar, mard- and már make the conceptual development difficult to trace. The rough timeline seems to be:

  • In the 1910s the stem was mař- >> mas-, becoming mar- in the 1920s.

  • In the 1930s the stem was mostly mard-, but in OP1 már (mar-) with long á was introduced and became more prevalent in the 1940s and 50s.

  • In the 1960s Tolkien decided that már (mar-) < ✱mbără and marda (mard-) < ✱mbardā were distinct words of similar meaning.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would use már mainly in the sense “home, a place dwelled in”, as opposed to marda for “a dwelling” whether inhabited or not. In place names -mar can refer to the dwelling place of an entire people, or of an individual family. The word már might be used as “house” in the sense of the dwelling place of a family, but when referring specifically to the building, the word coa is more appropriate.

Quenya [PE17/106; PE17/164; PE19/076; SA/bar; VT47/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

felco

cave, mine, underground dwelling

felco noun "cave, mine, underground dwelling" (PE17:118); also felca, felehta

hróta

dwelling underground, artificial cave or rockhewn hall

hróta noun "dwelling underground, artificial cave or rockhewn hall" (PM:365)

martan

dwelling-house

martan (1) noun "dwelling-house" (stem martam-), longer variant martanan (stem martamn- as in pl. martamni) (PE17:107)

már

home, house, dwelling

már (mar-) (2) noun "home, house, dwelling" (also "house" in the sense of family as in Mardil, q.v.). See mar above for references. In Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil, and as final element in Eldamar, Fanyamar, Valimar, Vinyamar..

valimar

place name. Dwelling of the Valar

City of the Valar within Aman (S/38), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and már “home” (SA/val, bar). It also appeared in the shorter form Valmar, which was used more frequently in The Silmarillion. The long form Valimar was used in Galadriel’s Namárië poem (LotR/377), where it was equated to the whole of the land of Valinórë.

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valmar appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/74), and ᴹQ. Valmar appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/111, 209). The form ᴹQ. Valimar first appeared in drafts of the Namárië poem from the 1940s (TI/285).

Quenya [LotR/0377; LotR/0378; LotRI/Valimar; MRI/Valmar; PE17/064; PE17/074; PE17/106; PE17/107; PMI/Valmar; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/62; SA/bar; SA/val; SI/Valimar; SI/Valmar; UTI/Valmar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

martaman

noun. dwelling-house

ambar

a-mbar

ambar (1) ("a-mbar") noun "oikumenē [Greek: the earth as the human habitation], Earth, world" (MBAR), stem ambar- (PE17:66), related to and associated with mar "home, dwelling" (VT45:33); in VT46:13 the latter glosses are possibly also ascribed to the word ambar itself (the wording is not clear). The form ambaren also listed in the Etymologies was presumably intended as the genitive singular at the time of writing (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular); in the printed version in LR, the misreading "ambaron" appears (see VT45:33). Ambar-metta noun "the end of the world" (EO); spelt ambarmetta in VT44:36. The element #umbar in Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.) would seem to be a variant of ambar, just like ambar #2 "doom" also alternates with umbar (see below).

mar

earth

mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

nórë

land

nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" hasnórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)

felya

cave

felya noun "cave" (PHÉLEG), "mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]" (PE17:118)

-ndor

land

-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)

cemi

earth, soil, land

cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)

indo

house

indo (2) noun "house" (LT2:343), probably obsoleted by #1 above (in Tolkiens later Quenya, the word for "house" appears as coa).

kemen

earth

kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.

mélamar

home

mélamar noun "home", Exilic Quenya word of emotional sense: place of ones birth or the familiar places from which one has been separated (PE17:109). Mélamarimma noun "Our Home", an expression used by Exilic Noldor for Aman.

nossë

clan, family, 'house'

nossë noun "clan, family, 'house' " (NŌ), "kindred, family" (PM:320), "kin, people" (LT1:250, LT1:272, LT2:338)

nór

land

nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) this is land as opposed to water and sea (nor in Letters:308). Cf. nórë.

nór

noun. land

A term for “land” as in “(dry) land as opposed to the sea”, mentioned in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/413) and again in notes from around 1968 (PE17/106-107).

Possible Etymology: In the Quendi and Eldar essay this term was derived from primitive ✶ndōro, but in the aforementioned 1968 notes Tolkien clarified that its stem form was nŏr-. This means it was probably derived from ancient ✱ndŏr-, where the long vowel in the uninflected form was inherited from the Common Eldarin subjective form ✱ndōr, a phenomenon also seen in words like nér (ner-) “man”. I prefer this second derivation, as it makes the independent word more distinct from the suffixal form -ndor or -nóre used in the names of countries.

Quenya [PE17/106; PE17/107; WJ/413] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nóre

noun. land

Quenya [PE 22:116, 124] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

os

house, cottage

os (ost-) noun "house, cottage" (LT2:336; hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya writers may use coa or már)

rotelë

cave

rotelë noun "cave" (LT2:347)

rotto

cave, tunnel

rotto noun "cave, tunnel" (VT46:12), "a small grot or tunnel" (PM:365)

Sindarin 

barthan

noun. dwelling-house, large building of masonry used as a dwelling

A noun for “a large building of masonry used as a dwelling” added to Sindarin late in the First Age in imitation of the Quenya word Q. martan (martam-) “dwelling-house” of the same basic meaning (PE17/109). Barthan was an elaboration of bâr “house” from the root √MBAR. Its second element was √TAM “construct”, which in Sindarin was √TAN (PE17/107-8). In North Sindarin it was bartham.

Conceptual Development: G. brann or brand “dwelling, hall” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s likewise seems to refer to a large dwelling, most notably as its suffixal form -vran in the name G. Gilthavran “Hall of the Moon King” (GL/24, 38). This name was first given as Gilthauran where the second element u̯rand was derived from ᴱ✶gu̯ara- “to dwell” (GL/38). After its change to -vran, brann, it was probably derived instead from the early root ᴱ√MBARA (QL/60, 63).

Sindarin [PE17/109] 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).

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

bar

noun. dwelling, home

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

bar

noun. house, dwelling, home

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

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

groth

noun. delving, underground dwelling

Sindarin [WJ/415, S/431, VT/46:12] Group: SINDICT. 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

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”.

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

rhûd

noun. dwelling underground, artifical cave, rockhewn hall, mine

A neologism proposed by David Salo in his Gateway to Sindarin, the equivalent of Q. hróta (GS/284). As we already have plenty of attested words for caves and mines, I see no need for this word.

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

dôr

dwelling place

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

dôr

dwelling place

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

dôr

dwelling place

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

gobel

enclosed dwelling

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

grôd

underground dwelling

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

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)*.

rhûd

dwelling underground

*rhûd (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).

feleg

noun. cave

n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:118] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

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)

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.

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)

gobel

village

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

grôd

cave

1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12), 3) rond (construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath, 4) roth (delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i **athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd), 5) fela (pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela** as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.

grôd

cave

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

rhûd

artificial cave

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

rhûd

rockhewn hall

(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûdthe lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, artificial cave, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365);

bar

noun. inhabited land

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

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

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

dôr

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

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

ennorath

noun. central lands, middle-earth

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

groth

noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation

Sindarin [WJ/415, S/431, VT/46:12] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rond

noun. cave roof

Sindarin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

Sindarin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

roth

noun. cave

n. cave. Q. rondo.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:117] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

sennas

noun. guesthouse

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

adab

house

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

amar

earth

(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair

cae

noun. 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

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.

ceven

earth

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

ennor

place name. central land, middle-earth

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

fela

cave

(pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.

groth

cave

(i ’roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12)

nand

wide grassland

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

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)

noss

clan

noss (construct nos, pl. nyss) (family, house)

noss

clan

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

nost

house

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

nothrim

house

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

othronn

fortress in a cave/caves

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).

parth

enclosed grassland

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

rond

cave

(construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath

rond

hall with vaulted roof

(construct ron) (cave, cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath

roth

cave

(delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i ’athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd)

sennas

guesthouse

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

tham

hall

tham, pl. thaim, coll. pl. thammath;

tham

hall

pl. thaim, coll. pl. thammath;

thamas

great hall

pl. themais, coll. pl. thamassath;

Noldorin 

dôr

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

Noldorin [Ety/NDOR; Ety/PHAU; Ety/THŌN; EtyAC/NDOR; LR/265; PE22/033; PE22/036; PE22/038] Group: Eldamo. 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

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

amar

noun. earth

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

amar

noun. Earth

Noldorin [Ety/MBAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ambar

noun. earth

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

car

noun. house, building

Noldorin [Ety/362] Group: SINDICT. Published by

car(dh)

noun. house, house, *construction, structure

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing as car or carð with the gloss “house” under the root ᴹ√KAR “make, build, construct” (Ety/KAR). Its Quenya cognate ᴹQ. kar (kard-) was glossed “building, house”.

Neo-Sindarin: Given the meaning of its root, I would use cardh for any kind of building-like construction or structure for purposes of Neo-Sindarin. For an ordinary “house” where people live, I would use S. bâr.

cardh

noun. house, building

Noldorin [Ety/362] Group: SINDICT. Published by

coe

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

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

coe

noun. earth

An indeclinable word given as {cíw >>} coe “earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KEM (Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM).

Possible Etymology: The primitive form of rejected cíw is given as ᴹ✶kēm and its derivation is clear: the long ē became ī and then the final m reduced to w after i as usual. The derivation of coe is more obscure, however. The likeliest explanation is that Tolkien imagined its ancient form with a slightly lowered vowel which he generally represented as ǣ in this period (in later writings as ę̄). According to the first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Comparative Vowel Tables from the 1930s (PE18/46; PE19/25), ǣ &gt; ei &gt; ai &gt; ae, and in The Etymologies itself, it seems ai often became oe instead of ae.

Neo-Sindarin: Updating the derivation of hypothetical ✱kę̄m would produced ᴺS. cae in Sindarin phonology. But given the obscurity of its derivation, I recommend using 1950s S. ceven for “earth” instead.

Noldorin [Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fela

noun. cave

Noldorin [Ety/381] Group: SINDICT. Published by

fela

noun. cave

Noldorin [Ety/PHÉLEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gathrod

noun. cave

Noldorin [Ety/358] gath+grôd (GAT(H)). Group: SINDICT. Published by

gathrod

noun. cave

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “cave”, apparently a combination of N. gath “cavern” and ᴹ√ROT “tunnel” (Ety/GAT(H)). Its initial element also appeared in the name N. Doriath “Land of the Cave”, but in later writings S. Doriath was redefined as “Land of the Fence” with final element S. iath “fence” (WJ/370), so N. gathrod “cave” was probably abandoned.

Noldorin [Ety/GAT(H)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gobel

noun. walled house or village, town

Noldorin [Ety/380] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rhond

noun. cave roof

Noldorin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rhond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

Noldorin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rhonn

noun. cave roof

Noldorin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rhonn

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

Noldorin [Ety/384, VT/46:12, S/437, WJ/414, X/RH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

rond

noun. cave

tham

noun. hall

Noldorin [Ety/387] Group: SINDICT. Published by

tham

noun. hall

Noldorin [Ety/STAB] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thamas

noun. great hall

Noldorin [Ety/387] Group: SINDICT. Published by

thamb

noun. hall

Noldorin [Ety/387] Group: SINDICT. Published by

thambas

noun. great hall

Noldorin [Ety/387] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Primitive elvish

mbar(ă)

noun. dwelling, habitation

Primitive elvish [PE17/106; PE17/109; PE17/163; PE17/164; PE19/076; RC/020; SA/bar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

keme

noun. earth

Primitive elvish [PE21/80] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kemen

noun. earth

Primitive elvish [PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ndorē

noun. land

Primitive elvish [Let/384; PE17/106; PE17/107; PE17/164; PE19/076; SA/dôr; VT42/04; WJ/413] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ndōro

noun. land

Primitive elvish [WJ/413] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Telerin 

cava

noun. house

Adûnaic

dâira

noun. Earth

A noun translated as “Earth” in the final version of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). It may be related to S. dôr “land”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/13).

Conceptual Development: In the Lament of Akallabêth (first draft), this noun appeared as kamāt (SD/311).

thâni

noun. land

A noun translated “land” (SD/435) appearing in the Adûnaic names for the Blessed Realm: Amatthâni and thâni’nAmân. Its Primitive Adûnaic form was also ✶thāni, though its primitive was glossed “realm" (SD/420).

zadan

noun. house

A noun translated “house” and fully declined as an example of a Strong I noun (SD/430).

zâyan

noun. land

An Adûnaic word for “land” (SD/423). It has an irregular plural form zâin which is the result of the phonetic change (SD/423): [[pad|medial [w] and [j] vanished before [u] and [i]]]. Thus, the archaic plural changed from †zâyîn > zâîn > zâin.

Conceptual Development: In earlier names this word appeared as zen (SD/378, 385).

Adûnaic [SD/423; SD/429; SD/435] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Nandorin 

dóri-

noun. land

Isolated from Lindórinan. The independent form of the word may differ; it is unclear where the i of the compound Lindórinan comes from. In the Etymologies, the Eldarin words for "land" are derived from a stem NDOR "dwell, stay, rest, abide" (LR:376).

No Nandorin word is there listed, but Sindarin dor is derived from primitive ndorê. Notice, however, that Tolkien many years later derived the Eldarin words for "land" from a stem DORO "dried up, hard, unyielding" (WJ:413). However, this later source does confirm that the Primitive Quendian form was ndorê, now thought to be formed by initial enrichment d > nd. This is defined as "the hard, dry land as opposed to water or bog", later developing the meaning "land in general as opposed to sea", and finally also "a land" as a particular region, "with more or less defined bounds".

Whether dóri- actually comes from ndorê is highly doubtful (this would rather yield *dora in Nandorin), but it must be derived from the same set of stems.

Nandorin [H. Fauskanger (LR:376, WJ:413)] < Lindórinan. 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!

Gnomish

gwast

noun. dwelling

A noun for “dwelling” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√[[ep|ŋwa[ð]-]] (GL/47).

-vran

suffix. dwelling

A suffixal form of G. brann (GL/24); see S. barthan for discussion.

-vron

suffix. dwelling

noun. dwelling, house

A word for “dwelling, house” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/66), likely related to ᴱQ. “dwelling, village” derived from the early root ᴱ√RU’U (QL/80).

bar

noun. home, dwelling

Gnomish [GG/08; GL/21; LT1A/Eldamar; PE15/21] Group: Eldamo. Published by

brann

noun. dwelling, hall

Gnomish [GL/24; GL/38] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gondobar

place name. City of Stone, Dwelling of Stone

Gnomish [GL/41; LBI/Gondobar; LT2/158; LT2A/Gondobar; LT2I/Gondobar; PE13/102; PE15/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gondothlimbar

place name. City of the Dwellers in Stone, Dwelling of the Folk of Stone

Gnomish [GL/41; LBI/Gondothlimbar; LT2/158; LT2A/Gondothlimbar; LT2I/Gondothlimbar; PE13/102; PE15/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

baur

noun. house

brand

noun. hall

grûda

noun. cave

redhos

noun. land

thambros

noun. hall

Early Quenya

vilmar

place name. dwelling of Manwe in the high airs

A dwelling of Manwe appearing only in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s (QL/101), a combination of the root ᴱ√VILI having to do with air and with mar “dwelling”.

Early Quenya [LT1A/Vilna; PE15/68; QL/101] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kaime

noun. dwelling, home

A word in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “dwelling, home” under the early root ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” (QL/46).

Early Quenya [QL/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

san

noun. hall, dwelling, house

The word ᴱQ. san (sam(b)-) “hall, dwelling, house” appeared in Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SAMA (QL/81).

Early Quenya [QL/081] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mar

noun. house, home, dwelling (of men); -land, the Earth

Early Quenya [LT1A/Eldamar; LT1A/Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva; PE14/047; PE14/055; PE15/21; PE15/74; PME/060; QL/042; QL/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. dwelling, village, hamlet

Early Quenya [PME/081; QL/080] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hos(t)

noun. dwelling, hamlet

Early Quenya [PME/071] Group: Eldamo. Published by

iluin(do)

noun. dwelling beyond the stars for the blessed

Early Quenya [PME/042; QL/042] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ilumar

noun. dwelling beyond the stars for the blessed

Early Quenya [PME/042; QL/042] Group: Eldamo. Published by

indo

noun. house

A word for “house” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√IŘI [IÐI] “dwell” (QL/43). It also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/43).

Early Quenya [LT2A/Idril; PE16/132; PME/043; QL/042; QL/043] Group: Eldamo. Published by

os

noun. cottage, house

Early Quenya [LT2A/Belegost; QL/071] Group: Eldamo. Published by

orot

noun. cave

Early Quenya [QL/071; QL/080] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rótele

noun. cave

Early Quenya [LT2A/Rothwarin; QL/080] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

mar

noun. home, dwelling, house, habitation; earth

Qenya [Ety/ÉNED; Ety/GAWA; Ety/MBAR; Ety/TAN; EtyAC/MBAR; EtyAC/SIL; LR/063; LR/072; PE19/036; PE21/19; PE21/27; PE21/69; PE22/108] Group: Eldamo. Published by

felya

noun. cave

Qenya [Ety/PHÉLEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hún

noun. earth, earth, *ground

A word in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s with stem form hun- and gloss “earth” (QL/39). It might be a later iteration of ᴱQ. han “ground, earth” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/39), and if so then hún might also be used as “✱ground”. I think it is useful to assume so for purposes of Neo-Quenya, as the other attested word for “ground”, Q. talan, is probably used more often for “floor”, including floors above the ground level.

Qenya [PE21/19; PE21/24; PE21/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

marta

adverb. home

Qenya [PE21/25; PE21/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

ndorē

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

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/NDOR; PE18/056; PE19/036; PE19/059; PE21/32] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. land

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE21/38] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pheleg

root. cave

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/PHÉLEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rǭda

noun. cave

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ROD; EtyAC/ROD] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

dôr

noun. land

A Doriathrin noun for “land” (EtyAC/NDOR) apparently from primitive ᴹ✶ndorē (Ety/NDOR). If its primitive form indeed had a short [o], then this word may be an example of how short vowels sometimes lengthened in monosyllables in Ilkorin.

Doriathrin [Ety/THŌN; EtyAC/NDOR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bar Reconstructed

noun. home

A noun meaning something like “home” attested only in compounds like Eglamar “Elvenhome”.

rôth

noun. cave

A Doriathrin noun for “cave”, also appearing as roth, derived from primitive ᴹ✶rǭda or ᴹ✶roda (Ety/ROD, EtyAC/ROD). The [[ilk|[d] spirantilized to [ð] (“dh”)]] as usual, then after the final vowel was lost the [[ilk|final [ð] became [θ]]] as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/roth). The original sound [ð] is preserved in the plural rodhin.

Doriathrin [Ety/ROD; EtyAC/ROD] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

bâr

noun. house

Early Noldorin [PE13/120; PE13/122; PE13/128; PE13/138; PE13/156] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gorod

noun. cave

Early Primitive Elvish

sōđā

noun. house

Early Primitive Elvish [PE12/021; QL/081] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

mbar

noun. home

Old Noldorin [EtyAC/MBAR; PE21/58] Group: Eldamo. Published by

phelga

noun. cave

Old Noldorin [Ety/PHÉLEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Telerin

felga

noun. cave

Middle Telerin [Ety/PHÉLEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by