Quenya 

engwë

noun. thing [that exists]

A word for “thing” in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, related to the verb ëa “exists” and contrasted with tengwë “sign”. It thus seems to more exactly mean “a thing that actually exists in the world”, as opposed to a representation of that thing or thing that does not exist. The more ordinary Quenya word for “thing” is nat.

engwë

thing

engwë noun "thing" (VT39:7, VT49:28). Extrapolation may also point to *engwë as an emphatic dual inclusive pronoun "we" (thou and I), corresponding to the ending -ngwë.

lingwë

noun. fish

A word for “fish” appearing in its plural form lingwi “fish” in notes on The Lands and Beasts of Númenor from 1965 (NM/336) and appearing as ᴹQ. lingwe “fish” from primitive ᴹ✶liñwi under the root ᴹ√LIW in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LIW).

Conceptual Development: Tolkien had ᴱQ. ingwe “fish” under the early root ᴱ√IWI “fish” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/43), and this word was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/43). The word {engwe >>} ingwe appeared unglossed in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/145). ᴹQ. lingwe “fish” with initial l first emerged in The Etymologies of the 1930s, as noted above.

lingwë

fish

lingwë (stem *lingwi-, given the primitive form ¤liñwi) noun "fish" (LIW)

elvë

pronoun. we (emphatic inclusive)

ilmë

pronoun. we (emphatic inclusive)

nat

thing

nat noun "thing" (NĀ2); compare únat. VT49:30 lists "năta, nat", but it is unclear whether năta is here a Quenya word or an etymological form underlying Quenya nat.

nat

noun. thing, thing, [ᴹQ.] object

The usual Quenya noun for “thing” derived from the root √ “be, exist” (VT49/30, Ety/N²), so perhaps prehistorically simply “a thing that is”. Its plural form nati is indirectly attested in the plural únati of its (strong) negation únat “a thing impossible to be or to be done” (VT39/26).

Conceptual Development: This word is well established in Tolkien’s writings, appearing all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s (QL/64). In its earliest iteration, its stem form was natt- and its plural was natsi, where [[eq|[ti] became [tsi]]] as was the usual pattern in Early Qenya. The word reappear in texts and notes from the 1920s (PE14/43, 72; PE15/32, 68, 78). In one early dictionary entry it was glossed more generally as “affair, matter, thing”, but this entry was deleted (PE15/68); in other early writings the word for “affair” was given as ᴱQ. natto (QL/64). The word reappeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s with a simplified stem form nat- given its Noldorin equivalent N. nad (Ety/N²). The word appeared again in the late 1960s in notes associated with Q. ná- “to be”, where it was given the primitive form ✶năta (VT49/30).

nixi

name. fish

Quenya [PE 22:125] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

náma

noun. thing

A word for a “thing” in notes from 1969, likely a combination of ná- “be” and the instrumental suffix -ma, appearing in the phrase eleni námaron anírime “stars are the most beautiful of (created) things”. In the translation of the phrase Tolkien put a parenthetical “created” before the gloss “things”, but I don’t think he intended to imply that this was part of the meaning of the word, but rather a sense omitted from the Quenya phrase.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would stick to the better attested nat “thing”.

Noldorin 

hâl

noun. fish

Noldorin [VT/45:20] Group: SINDICT. Published by

hâl

noun. fish

A noun for “fish” appearing on the front page of The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶khala (EtyAC/KHAL¹). As such, it was probably based on the root ᴹ√KHAL “(small) fish” (Ety/KHAL¹), but may have transferred to ᴹ√SKAL “small fish” when Tolkien revised that root (Ety/SKAL²).

Noldorin [EtyAC/KHAL¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lhim

noun. fish

Noldorin [Ety/369, X/LH] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lhim

noun. fish

A noun appearing as N. lhim “fish” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from primitive ᴹ✶liñwi of the same meaning (Ety/LIW), where the labialized velar ñw (> ñgw) became the labial m (< mb) and the initial l unvoiced to lh.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had G. ing “fish” (GL/51), cognate to ᴱQ. ingwe of the same meaning (QL/43). In Gnomish labialized velars only became labials in limited circumstances, so the primitive ng survived.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the unvoicing of initial liquids did not occur in Sindarin, many people adapt this word as ᴺS. lim “fish” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, as suggested in HSD (HSD).

Noldorin [Ety/LIW; Ety/LOK] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lhimb

noun. fish

Noldorin [Ety/369, X/LH] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nad

noun. thing

Noldorin [Ety/374] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nad

noun. thing

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s, cognate of ᴹQ. nat “thing” and derived from the root ᴹ√ “to be” (Ety/N²).

Conceptual Development: The word G. nad appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along side a variant nân, but neither form was translated (GL/59). Earlier in the lexicon there was G. nath “thing, affair, matter” (GL/58) clearly based on the early root ᴱ√ “be, exist” and cognate to ᴱQ. nat (natt-) “thing” (QL/64). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, ᴱN. nad was glossed “thing” (PE13/150).

Noldorin [Ety/N²] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

năta

noun. thing

Primitive elvish [VT49/30] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

lim

noun. fish

Sindarin [Ety/369, X/LH] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bach

thing

(article for exchange, ware) (i mach, o mbach), pl. baich (i mbaich).

hâl

fish

(noun) hâl (i châl, o châl, construct hal), pl. hail (i chail) (VT45:20); also lim (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. limmath). Note: a homophone means ”clear, sparkling, light”.

hâl

fish

(i châl, o châl, construct hal), pl. hail (i chail) (VT45:20); also lim (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. limmath). Note: a homophone means ”clear, sparkling, light”.

lim

noun. fish

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

nad

thing

  1. nad (pl. naid), 2) bach (article for exchange, ware) (i mach, o mbach), pl. baich (i mbaich).

nad

thing

(pl. naid)


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 

engwe

pronoun. we (emphatic inclusive)

lingwe

noun. fish

tama

pronoun. thing

Early Quenya

ingwe

noun. fish

Early Quenya [PE16/145; PME/043; QL/043; QL/049; QL/091; QL/097] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nat

noun. thing

Early Quenya [PE14/043; PE14/072; PE15/32; PE15/68; PE15/78; QL/064] Group: Eldamo. Published by

neta

noun. thing

Gnomish

ing

noun. fish

Early Noldorin

nad

noun. thing

Early Noldorin [PE13/150] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

líw

noun. fish

A Doriathrin noun for “fish” derived from primitive ᴹ✶liñwi (Ety/LIW). It is the clearest example of how [[ilk|[ŋg] vanished before [w] lengthening the preceding vowel]], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/líw). @@@ same development in ᴱN hiw PE13/147

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as rejected ling (EtyAC/LIW), probably reflecting Tolkien’s uncertainty on the development of [-ŋgw-] in Ilkorin.

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

Middle Primitive Elvish

liñwi

noun. fish

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

skala

noun. fish

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/KHAL¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by