esta

first

esta (2) adj. "first" (ESE/ESET); this entry was marked with a query. The word Yestarë (q.v.) "Beginning-day" in LotR suggests that Tolkien decided to change the stem in question to _YESE/YESET_. We could then read *yesta for esta (but later this became a noun "beginning" rather than an adj. "first", PE17:120) and also prefix a y to the other words derived from ESE/ESET (essë* > yessë, essëa > yessëa). Estanossë noun "the firstborn", read likewise Yestanossë** (*Yestanessi?) but in a later text, Tolkien used Minnónar (q.v.) for "the Firstborn" as a name of the Elves, and this form may be preferred. _(In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word _Estanossë is cited as "Estanesse", but according to VT45:12, the second-to-last vowel is actually o in Tolkien's manuscript.)

esta-

verb. name

yesta

beginning

yesta (2) noun "beginning" (PE17:120). Also attested in the compound yestarë (see below), but cf. esta #2.

yesta

noun. beginning, beginning, *start

@@@ gloss “start” suggested by Robert Reynolds

Derivations

• √YESET “beginning”

Element in

• Q. Yestarë “first day of the year” ✧ PE17/120

essëa

primary

essëa adj. ?"primary" (gloss not certainly legible); read probably *yessëa in LotR-style Quenya; see esta #2 below (ESE/ESET). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essëa in the Etymologies was "in place, local" (VT45:12).

setta

first

[setta, setya adj. "first" (possibly also "primary", but Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible) (VT46:13)]

enna

first

[enna adj. "first" (VT45:12)]

esse

noun. name

essë

name

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).

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

essë

beginning

essë (3) noun "beginning" (ESE/ESET). This entry was marked by a query in Etym, and a word in the appendices to LotR suggests that it was emended to *YESE/YESET; we may therefore read *yessë for essë. (See esta #2.) However, for the purposes of writing the form yesta "beginning" from PE17:120 may be preferred.

inga

first

inga (2) adj. "first" (ING)

minya

first

minya adj. "first" (MINI) (cf. Minyatur, Minyon); "eminent, prominent" (VT42:24, 25). Minyar "Firsts", the original name of the Vanyar (or rather the direct Quenya descendant of the original Primitive Quendian name) (WJ:380)

sanda

name

[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)

sanya

name

[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)

-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).

ello

call, shout of triumph

[ello] noun "call, shout of triumph" (GYEL (< GEL) )

yello

call, shout of triumph

yello (2) noun "call, shout of triumph" (GYEL); changed by Tolkien from ello.

esta

adverb. outwards

Elements

Word	Gloss
ET	“out, forth”
-da	“motion to or towards a point, allative suffix”

yestië

noun. beginning

Elements

Word	Gloss
yesta-	“to begin, to begin, *start”

yessë

noun. beginning

Derivations

• √YESET “beginning”

esta-

verb. to name

eneth

noun. name

mein

ordinal. first

Cognates

• Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/10

minui

ordinal. first

minui

ordinal. first

Cognates

• Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/25

ned

noun. first, *one more; first; *during

This word replaced the preposition uin “of the” in the third version of the King’s Letter, appearing in the phrase nelchaenen ned Echuir “the thirty-first day of Stirring”. Both Carl Hostetter (VT31/30) and David Salo (SG/229) theorized that this replacement has a similar prepositional function, from either √NOT “count” or √NED “middle”. Fiona Jallings suggested it might be a temporal preposition, with sense “during” (FJNS/349).

On VT47/40, note 67, Patrick Wynne suggested that this word might be a cognate of the newly published Quenya word net(ë) “one more”. This theory is supported by the most likely interpretation of nelchaenen. This word seems to mean “thirtieth” rather than “thirty-first”, and Patrick Wynne suggested that nelchaenen ned means “thirtieth and one more” = “thirty-first”. I find this theory the most compelling, and use it here.

Element in

• S. a Pherhael ar am Meril suilad uin aran o Minas Tirith nelchaenen ned Echuir “to Samwise and Rose the King’s greeting from Minas Tirith, the thirty-first day of Stirring” ✧ SD/129
• ᴺS. neman “when, (lit.) during what”

main

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

mein

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

nalla

noun. call

nallan

noun. call

A word appearing in the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings from 1954 in the phrase le nallan sí di’nguruthos. In Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien translated {nallon >>} nallon as “a call”, followed by another form nalla, with alternates nalla, nalloth, nallar in the upper margin. Christopher Gilson suggested that the gloss might instead be “to call” or “my call”; if the latter is correct, then nallan might be the 1st sg. possessive form of nalla.

In the 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings from 1965 Tolkien changed nallan to nallon. In The Road Goes Ever On (RGEO) from 1967 he confirmed that this new form was a verb form meaning “I cry” (RGEO/64).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I think we can retain nallan as a noun for “a call”. While it is tempting to use the form nalla instead, I have no idea how the a might have survived at the end of this word, so I think nallan is better.

Changes

• nallon → nallan ✧ PE17/094

Derivations

• √NAL “call, cry”

Element in

• S. le nallon sí di’nguruthos “here overwhelmed in dread of Death I cry” ✧ PE17/094

Variations

• nalla ✧ PE17/094
• nallon ✧ PE17/094 (nallon)
• nalloth ✧ PE17/094
• nallar ✧ PE17/094

nallar

noun. call

nalloth

noun. call

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

call

1) (vb.) esta- (to name) (i esta, in estar), 2) (call out) ialla- (VT46:22), also can- (i gân, i chenir) (shout, cry out). See also CRY (OUT).

esta

call

(to name) (i esta, in estar)

ess

noun. name

Cognates

• Q. essë “name”

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

erui

first

(single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

minui

first

1) minui (lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form), 2) mîn (lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”; 3) erui (single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

minui

first

(lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form)

mîn

first

(lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”

ialla-

call

(VT46:22), also can- (i gân, i chenir) (shout, cry out). See also

minya

ordinal. first

Cognates

• Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/25

minya

ordinal. first

Derivatives

• S. main “prime, chief, pre-eminent” ✧ VT42/25

yeset Reconstructed

root. beginning

The root ᴹ√ESE(T) “precede” and ᴹ√SET “precede forward” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. esse “beginning”, ᴹQ. esta “first”, and N. seth {“first” >>} “forth”, but the ᴹ√SET forms were rejected and the ᴹ√ESE(T) forms marked with a “?”, being in conflict with ᴹ√ES “indicate, name” (Ety/ESE; EtyAC/SET). The appearance of Q. yesta “beginning” and Q. Yestarë “first day of the year” in later writings (LotR/1108-1109; PE17/120) indicate the root was probably revised to ✱√YESET.

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. yessë “beginning”
• Q. yesta “beginning, beginning, *start”
• ᴺQ. yesta- “to begin, to begin, *start”
• ᴺS. iesta- “to begin”

Element in

• ᴺS. iestor “first day of the new year”

en

root. name

Derivatives

• S. en- “*to name”
• ᴺS. enwiol “nominal”

edhen

adjective. first

Cognates

• ᴹQ. enna “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Derivations

• ᴹ✶edenā “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE
  • ᴹ√EDE(L) “precede, come forward, hence” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶edenā > eðen	[edenā] > [edena] > [eðena] > [eðen]	✧ EtyAC/EDE

Variations

• eðen ✧ EtyAC/EDE (eðen)

ereg

place name. First

Earlier name for the river S. Erui from Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, apparently a Noldorin word meaning ereg “first” (TI/312, WR/436).

Changes

• Ereg → Erui “First” ✧ TI/312
• Ereg → Erui ✧ WRI/Erui

ereg

adjective. first

Element in

• N. Ereg “First” ✧ TI/312

Elements

Word	Gloss
er	“one, alone”
-eg	“suffix for ordinal numbers”

Variations

• Ereg ✧ TI/312

ialla-

verb. to call

ial

noun. (?) a call, (?) a cry