Návatar

father

Návatar noun a title of Aulë referring to his position as the immediate author of the Dwarvish race, apparently including atar "father", but the first element cannot be related to any known term for "Dwarf" (PM:391 cf. 381)

atar

father

atar noun "father" (SA; WJ:402, UT:193, LT1:255, VT43:37, VT44:12). According to the Etymologies (ATA) the pl. is atari, but contrast #atári in Atanatári "Fathers of Men" (q.v.); possibly the word behaves differently when compounded. Atarinya "my father" (LR:70), atar(inya) the form a child would use addressing his or her father, also reduced to atya (VT47:26). Diminutive masc. name Atarincë ("k") "Little father", amilessë (never used in narrative) of Curufinwë = Curufin (PM:353). Átaremma, Ataremma "our Father" as the first word of the Quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer, written before Tolkien changed -mm- as the marker of 1st person pl. exclusive to -lm-; notice -e- as a connecting vowel before the ending -mma "our". In some versions of the Lord's Prayer, including the final version, the initial a of atar "father" is lengthened, producing #átar. This may be a contraction of *a atar "o Father", or the vowel may be lengthened to give special emphasis to #Átar "Father" as a religious title (VT43:13). However, in VT44:12 Atar is also a vocative form referring to God, and yet the initial vowel remains short.

atar

noun. father

atar

noun. father

The Quenya word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; WJ/402; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. atar “father” dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though in that document it was “a more solemn word ... usually to 1st Person of the Blessed Trinity”, as opposed to more ordinary ᴱQ. attu “father” (QL/33). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s, ᴱQ. atar was the ordinary word for “father”, but with variant archaic form †attar (PE15/72). ᴹQ. atar “father” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). It appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s in various inflected forms (PE22/118-119). It continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s later writings. Thus this word was established early and retained its form throughout Tolkien’s life with only minor variations.

Cognates

• S. adar “father” ✧ PM/324

Derivations

• ✶atar “father”
  • √AT(AR) “father”

Element in

• Q. alcar i Ataren ar i Yondon ar i Airefëan “glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” ✧ VT43/37
• Q. Atanatar “Father of Men” ✧ SA/atar
• Q. atar aranya “*royal father” ✧ UT/193
• Q. Átaremma i ëa han Eä “our Father who art in Heaven” ✧ VT43/13; VT43/13; VT43/13; VT43/13; VT43/13; VT43/13; VT43/13
• Q. Atarincë “Little Father”
• Q. Atar meneldëa Eru órava (o)messë “God the Father of Heaven, have mercy on us” ✧ VT44/16
• Q. atartil “thumb [nursery rhymes]”
• Q. atya “daddy, (my) father”
• Q. Ilquendatar “Father of All Quendi”
• Q. Ilúvatar “Father of All” ✧ SA/atar; WJ/402
• Q. Návatar “*Dwarf-father”
• ᴺQ. atartur “patriarch, (lit.) master-father”

Variations

• atar ✧ PM/324; SA/atar; UT/193; VT43/37; WJ/402
• Atar ✧ VT44/16

amal

mother

amal noun "mother"; also emel (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

amil

mother

amil noun "mother" (AM1), also emil (q.v.) Longer variant amillë (VT44:18-19), compounded Eruamillë "Mother of God" in Tolkien's translation of the Hail Mary (VT43:32). If amil is a shortened form of amillë, it should probably have the stem-form amill-. Also compare amilyë, amya, emya. Compounded amil- in amilessë noun "mothername" (cf. essë "name"), name given to a child by its mother, sometimes with prophetic implications (amilessi tercenyë "mother-names of insight"). (MR:217).

amil(lë)

noun. mother

Tolkien used a number of similar forms for “mother” for most of his life. The earliest of these are ᴱQ. amis (amits-) “mother” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s along with variants ᴱQ. ambi, âmi, amaimi under the root ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). An additional variant ammi appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/30). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. ambe or mambe “mother” (PE16/135). This became ᴹQ. amil “mother” in The Etymologies under the root ᴹ√AM “mother” (Ety/AM¹).

This 1930s form amil appears to have survived for some time. It appeared in a longer form Amille in Quenya Prayers of the 1950s (VT43/26; VT44/12, 18), and as an element in the term amilessi “mother-names” in a late essay on Elvish naming (MR/217). In the initial drafts of Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s Tolkien used the form amilye or amye as an affectionate word for “mother”, and amaltil as the finger name for the second finger (VT47/26-27 note #34 and #35).

However, in those documents Tolkien seems to have revised the root for “mother” from √AM to √EM and the affectionate forms from amye to emya or emme (VT47/10; VT48/6, 19). The revised word for “mother” appears to be emil based on the 1st person possessive form emil(inya) (VT47/26).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain the root √AM for “mother”, since that is what Tolkien used for 50 years, and ignore the very late change to √EM. As such, I would recommend amil(le) for “mother” and affectionate forms amme “mommy” and amya. However, if you prefer to use Tolkien’s “final” forms, then emil(le), emme and emya seem to be what Tolkien adopted in the late 1960s.

Cognates

• S. emel “mother”

Derivations

• ✶amal “mother”
  • √AM “mother” ✧ VT48/19; VT48/19

Element in

• Q. amaltil “*mother finger”
• Q. amilessë “mother-name”
• Q. Amillë Eruva lissëo “Mother of divine grace” ✧ VT44/18
• Q. Amillë Hristo “Mother of Christ” ✧ VT44/18
• ᴺQ. amilosto “metropolis”
• Q. amya “mummy, (orig.) my mother”
• Q. Eruamillë “*Mother of God”

Variations

• Amille ✧ VT44/18

ammë

mother

ammë noun "mother" (AM1)

emel

mother

emel noun "mother"; also amal (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

emil

mother

emil noun "mother", emilinya "my mother" (also reduced to emya) the terms a child would use in addressing his or her mother (VT47:26). Emil would seem to be a variant of amil. Also compare emel.

emil

noun. mother

ontari

mother

ontari noun "mother" or etymologically "begetter, parent" (fem.); clashing with the plural ontari "parents", this was apparently an emphemeral form (see ontarë, ontaril, ontarië for other feminine forms of "begetter, parent") (VT44:7)

ontaril

mother

ontaril noun "mother", female *"begetter" (cf. onta-). Variant of ontarë. (VT43:32)

atto

father, daddy

atto noun "father, daddy" (hypocoristic)(ATA, LR:49), supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). The dual form attat listed in VT48:19 seems to be formed from the alternative form atta, though attat was changed by Tolkien from attot. - Compare atya.

ataryo

daddy

ataryo, also taryo (cited as (a)taryo), noun "daddy", also used as a name for the thumb in children's play, but Tolkien emended it to atto/atya (VT48:4). Compare atar "father".

(a)taryo

noun. daddy

mamil

mother, mummy

mamil noun *"mother, mummy" (UT:191)

atya

daddy

atya (2) noun "daddy", supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26, PE17:170), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6); reduction of at(an)ya "my father" (or, as explained in VT48:19, reduction of at-nya of similar meaning). Compare atto.

adar

noun. father

adar

noun. father

The Sindarin word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; VT44/21-22; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: N. adar “father” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, however, G. †ador “father” was marked as archaic, and it seems {athon >>} G. nathon was the ordinary word for ”father” (GL/17, 59).

Cognates

• Q. atar “father” ✧ PM/324

Derivations

• Os. atar
  • ✶atar “father”
  • √AT(AR) “father”

Element in

• S. ae Adar nín i vi Menel “our Father who [art] in Heaven” ✧ VT44/22
• S. atheg “[little] father; thumb” ✧ VT48/17 (aderig)
• S. Edenedair “Fathers of Men”
• S. Eladar “Starfather”
• S. Iarwain Ben-adar “Oldest and Fatherless”

Variations

• Adar ✧ VT44/22

atheg

noun. "litte father"

atheg

noun. thumb (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

emel

noun. mother

emel

noun. mother

A word for “mother” in notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, along with a diminutive form emelig (VT48/17 note #13). These forms were struck through and replaced by emig as the proper diminutive form from the root √EM (VT48/6), but that doesn’t necessarily invalidate emel = “mother”, which appeared elsewhere as (probably primitive) emel, emer in rough versions of these notes (VT48/19 note #16). These Sindarin forms are unusual in that the medial m did not become v, which means the primitive form was likely based on ✱emm- as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT48/17 note #14).

Conceptual Development: G. amil “mother” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along with rejected forms {anwin, amril} and an archaic variant †amaith (GL/19). The forms {emaith >>} amaith appeared unglossed in Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising that document (PE13/109). In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a form N. †emil for “mother” under the root ᴹ√AM of the same meaning, but Tolkien said this word was archaic, apparently replaced by N. naneth (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹). With N. emil, the a became e via i-affection, but the medial m failing to become v requires an explanation similar to that of 1960s S. emel.

Neo-Sindarin: I generally prefer derivatives of the earlier root √AM for “mother” words in Quenya, but in the case of Sindarin, I find emel and emig from √EM to be better and more widely accepted.

Cognates

• Q. amil(lë) “mother”

Derivations

• √AM “mother” ✧ VT48/17

Element in

• S. Emeldir “Manhearted, *Manly-mother”
• S. emig “[little] mother, mommy” ✧ VT48/17 (emel) (emelig*)

Variations

• emen ✧ VT48/17 (emen)

emmel

noun. mother

emig

noun. "litte mother"

emig

noun. index finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

ada

father

(pl. edai)

adar

father

adar (pl. edair);

adar

father

(pl. edair);

naneth

mother

naneth (pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

naneth

mother

(pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

adanadar

father of men

normally pl. Edenedair "Fathers of Men", the early Edain.

emig

little mother

(no distinct pl. form except with article: in emig). Also used (in children’s play) as a name for the index finger (VT48:6, 17)

ada

daddy

ada (pl. edai)

ada

daddy

(pl. edai)

atta

noun. father

Cognates

• Q. atto “daddy, father (familiar/family)” ✧ VT48/06

Element in

• T. attacë “father [diminutive]; *daddy” ✧ VT48/06

emmë

noun. mother

Cognates

• Q. emmë “mummy, mother (familiar/family)” ✧ VT48/06

Element in

• T. emmecë “mother [diminutive]; *mommy” ✧ VT48/06

Variations

• emme ✧ VT48/06

attô

noun. father

A noun for “father” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, attû and attô, with no indication as to which would be preferred. For reasons similar to those given in the entry for ammê “mother”, my guess is that attû is an archaic form, and attô was preferred by the time of Classical Adûnaic. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AT(AR) “father”, perhaps from Primitive Elvish ᴹ✶atū.

Derivations

• √AT(AR) “father”

Variations

• attū/attō ✧ SD/434

ammê

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, ammî and ammê, with no indication as to which would be preferred. However, ammî resembles a plural word, and Tolkien elsewhere stated that such forms tended to change their final vowel to -ê (SD/438), so my guess is that ammî is an archaic form. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AM “mother”. Some authors have suggested it is directly related to ᴹQ. amme (AAD/10, AL/Adûnaic), but as Andreas Moehn points out (EotAL/MAM) such basic words are rarely borrowed from other languages, so the relationship is more likely from the Primitive Elvish root.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. amme “mother”

Derivations

• √AM “mother”

Variations

• ammī/ammē ✧ SD/434

at(ar)

root. father

As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).

Derivatives

• Ad. attô “father”
• ✶atar “father”
  • Q. atar “father”
  • Os. atar
  • S. adar “father”
• Q. atto “daddy, father (familiar/family)” ✧ VT48/19
• Q. tata “*daddy”

Element in

• Q. atamir “heirloom”
• Q. atya “daddy, (my) father” ✧ VT48/19
• S. advir “heirloom”

Variations

• at/atar ✧ VT48/19

atar

noun. father

Derivations

• √AT(AR) “father”

Derivatives

• Q. atar “father”
• Os. atar
  • S. adar “father”

Variations

• atan ✧ PE21/71; PE21/83
• átar ✧ PE21/74; PE21/75; PE21/76
• atta ✧ PE21/83
• atto ✧ PE21/83

am

root. mother

For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).

Derivatives

• Ad. ammê “mother”
• ✶amal “mother” ✧ VT48/19; VT48/19
  • Q. amil(lë) “mother”
• Q. emmë “mummy, mother (familiar/family)” ✧ VT48/19
• S. emel “mother” ✧ VT48/17

Element in

• Q. amya “mummy, (orig.) my mother” ✧ VT48/19

Variations

• am ✧ VT48/17; VT48/19
• em ✧ VT48/17; VT48/19

amal

noun. mother

Derivations

• √AM “mother” ✧ VT48/19; VT48/19

Derivatives

• Q. amil(lë) “mother”

Variations

• amas ✧ PE21/83
• amma ✧ PE21/83
• amme ✧ PE21/83
• emel ✧ VT48/19
• emer ✧ VT48/19

amas

noun. mother

amma

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

em

root. mother

emel

noun. mother

emer

noun. mother

adar

noun. father

adar

noun. father

Cognates

• ᴹQ. atar “father” ✧ Ety/ATA

Derivations

• ᴹ✶atar “father” ✧ Ety/ATA
  • ᴹ√ATA “father” ✧ Ety/ATA

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶atar > adar	[atar] > [adar]	✧ Ety/ATA
ᴹ✶atar > edeir > eder	[atarī] > [atari] > [eteri] > [eteir] > [edeir] > [eder]	✧ Ety/ATA

emil

noun. mother

emil

noun. mother

Cognates

• ᴹQ. amil “mother” ✧ Ety/AM¹

Derivations

• ᴹ✶amī̆l “mother”
  • ᴹ√AM “mother”
• ᴹ√AM “mother” ✧ Ety/AM¹

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√AM¹ > emil	[amil] > [emil]	✧ Ety/AM¹

naneth

noun. mother

naneth

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the (Noldorin-only?) root ᴹ√NAN (Ety/NAN). It apparently replaced archaic/poetic N. †emil (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon had a similar set of words for “mother”: G. maba, mabir, baba, and mavwin from the early root ᴱ√maƀ “something nice” (GL/57). The last of these appeared as G. mavwen “ancestress” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document, with an archaic meaning of “mother” and variant forms mafwyn and mavuin (PE13/115). In these slips, it seems the normal “mother” word was G. nân (originally glossed “father”) with variant nanwin (PE13/115). This last word is likely the direct precursor of N. naneth.

Neo-Sindarin: I would use S. emel from the late 1960s as the normal word for “mother” in Neo-Sindarin, but would retain N. naneth as a dialectical or more formal variant.

Derivations

• ᴹ√NAN “*mother” ✧ Ety/AM¹; Ety/NAN

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NAN > naneth	[nanitta] > [nanittʰa] > [naniθθa] > [naneθθa] > [naneθθ] > [naneθ]	✧ Ety/NAN

ada

noun. father, daddy

ada

noun. father (hypocoristic), father (hypocoristic), [G.] daddy

A hypocoristic (affectionate) word for “father” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, hence roughly equivalent to English “daddy”, derived from the root ᴹ√ATA “father” (Ety/ATA).

Conceptual Development: A similar set of affection words appeared the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s: G. ada or nada, adi or nadi (GL/17, 59).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. atto “father (hypocoristic)” ✧ Ety/ATA

Derivations

• ᴹ√ATA “father” ✧ Ety/ATA

nana

noun. mother, mummy