edain is the plural of adan, "man" in Sindarin. The Sindarin word Edain, singular Adan (Quenya Atani, Atan) literally meant Second People, and originally referred to all Men, but later it only applied to the Men of Beleriand and their descendants. The Quenya term Atani kept its old meaning. The noble Edain were also known as Atanatari which means Fathers of Men.
Sindarin
adan
noun. Man (as a species)
Cognates
- Q. Atan “Man, (lit.) the Second (People)” ✧ LotR/1034; LotR/1128; LotRI/Atani; LotRI/Edain; PE17/018; PM/324; SI/Atani; SI/Atani; UTI/Atani; UTI/Edain; WJ/219; LRI/Atani; MR/007; WJI/Atani
Derivations
- Q. Atan “Man, (lit.) the Second (People)” ✧ WJ/387
Element in
- S. Adanedhel “Elf-man” ✧ SA/adan
- S. Adanel
- S. adaneth “(mortal) woman”
- S. Aradan “*Noble-man” ✧ SA/adan
- S. Arthedain “*Realm of the Edain”
- S. Drúadan “Wose, (lit.) Wild-man” ✧ PM/324; UT/385; UTI/Drúedain
- S. Dúnadan “Man of the West” ✧ Let/282; PE17/018; PM/324; SA/adan
- S. Edenedair “Fathers of Men”
- S. Edennil “Friend of Men”
- S. Elladan “Elf-man” ✧ Let/282
- S. Eradan
- S. i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, ach hí in Ellath îr ed epholar “*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it” ✧ VT50/14; VT50/14
- S. Nern in Adanath “Legendarium of the Fathers of Men” ✧ MR/373
- S. ónen i-Estel Edain “I gave Hope to the Dúnedain” ✧ LotR/1061; PE17/117
- S. os i Veleglinn i edain agorer vi Veleriann “*from the Great Song that men made in Beleriand” ✧ VT50/18
- S. Rhúnedain “*Easterlings” ✧ PE17/018
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources Q. Atan > Adan [atan] > [adan] ✧ WJ/387 Q. Atan > Edain [atani] > [edeni] > [edein] > [edain] ✧ WJ/387 Variations
- adan ✧ PE17/018; PE17/127; PM/324; SA/adan; UT/385; UTI/Drúedain
Edain
Edain
The usual Sindarin word for “Man” as a species, borrowed from Q. Atan after the Sindar first encountered the men of the west (PE17/18). It often appeared in its plural form Edain “Men” (LotR/1061; PE17/117; WJ/219). Like in Quenya, this word was biased towards considering the houses of the Elf-friends and their descendants as the “true Men”, but the proper term for such men was a Dúnadan “Man of the West”, and strictly speaking Adan applied to all kinds of Men, such as the Rhúnedain “✱Easterlings” (PE17/18) or the Drúedain “Woses” (UT/385). Unlike English, this word has no association with the male gender, and originally meant “the Second”, referring to Men as the second-born children of Eru. For a further discussion of its conceptual development, see the entry for Q. Atan “Man”.