essë (1) noun "name", also later name of Tengwa #31, originally (MET) called árë (ázë). (Appendix E). With a pronominal ending esselya "thy name" (VT43:14). Pl. #essi in PM:339 and MR:470, gen.pl. #esseron "of names" in the compound Nómesseron (q.v.); we would rather have expected *ession, given the nom.pl. essi; perhaps #esser is a valid alternative plural form. Essecarmë noun "name-making" (MR:214, 470), Eldarin ceremony where the father announces the name of his child. Essecenta *("k") noun "Name-essay" (see centa) (MR:415); Essecilmë noun "name-choosing", an Eldarin ceremony where a child named him- or herself according to personal lámatyávë (q.v.) (MR:214, 471). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essë** in the Etymologies was "place" rather than "name" (VT45:12).
Quenya
Nómesseron
of place-names
esse
noun. name
essë
name
essë
noun. name
Cognates
- ᴺS. ess “name”
Derivations
- ᴹ√ES “indicate, name”
Element in
- Q. amilessë “mother-name”
- Q. anessë “given (or added) name, nickname, surname” ✧ MR/216
- Q. cilmessë “self-name”
- Q. epessë “after-name”
- Q. Essecarmë “Name-making” ✧ MR/470
- Q. Essecenta Eldarinwa “Enquiry (into the origins) of the Elvish names” ✧ WJ/359
- Q. Essecilmë “Name-choosing” ✧ MR/470
- Q. na airë esselya “hallowed be thy name” ✧ VT43/14
- Q. nómessë “place-name” ✧ VT42/17
- Q. notessë “numeral”
- ᴺQ. tengessë “address, (lit.) indication-name”
Variations
- esse ✧ LotR/1123
- essë ✧ MR/470
- Esse ✧ WJ/359
-on
name
-on gen.pl. ending (3O), in aldaron, aranion, elenion, Eldaron, #esseron, Ingweron, Istarion, Númevalion, Quendion, Silmarillion, Sindaron, tasarion (see Nan-Tasarion), Valion, wenderon, yénion. Normally the ending -on is added to the nominative plural, whether it ends in -i or -r, but some nouns in -ë that would have nominative plurals in -i seem to prefer the ending -ron in the genitive (hence #esseron as the gen. pl. of essë "name", though the nominative pl. is attested as essi and we might have expected the gen. pl. *ession; similarly wenderon, Ingweron).
esta-
verb. name
sanda
name
[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)
sanya
name
[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)
Nómesseron pl. noun in genitive: a compound "of place-names", apparently an inflected compound consisting of #nómë "place" + a genitive plural #esseron "of names" (VT42:17; we might have expected *ession, since essi rather than ?esser as the nominative plural of essë "name" is attested both in PM:339 and MR:470)