fairë

free

fairë (4) adj. "free" (LT1:250) (rather léra, lerina or mirima in LotR-style Quenya)

aranya

free

aranya, also ranya, adj. "free". Another gloss was not certainly legible, but the editors suggest "uncontrolling" (VT46:10)

lerina

free

lerina adj. "free" of things: not guarded, reserved, made fast, or "owned" (VT41:5)

léra

free

léra adj. noun "free", of persons (VT41:5)

mirima

free

mirima adj. "free" (MIS). ("Free" is rather expressed as léra in Tolkiens later Quenya; mirima would be prone to confusion with mírima above.)

aman

blessed, free from evil

aman adj. "blessed, free from evil". Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:399), though in other versions Tolkien cited an Elvish etymology (cf. VT49:26-27). Place-name Aman the Blessed Realm, from the stem mān- "good, blessed, unmarred" (SA:mān), translated "Unmarred State" (VT49:26). Allative Amanna (VT49:26). Adj. amanya "of Aman, Amanian" (WJ:411), nominal pl. Amanyar "those of Aman", Elves dwelling there (with negations Úamanyar, Alamanyar "those not of Aman"). Also fuller Amaneldi noun "Aman-elves" (WJ:373).Masc. name Amandil *"Aman-friend" (Appendix A, SA:mān), the father of Elendil; also name of the Númenorean king Tar-Amandil (UT:210).

latin

open, free, cleared (of land)

latin, latina adj. "open, free, cleared (of land)" (LAT). According to VT41:5, the adjective latina "is used rather of freedom of movement, of things not encumbered with obstacles".

lehta

free, released

lehta (2) adj. "free, released" (VT39:17); #lehta tengwë "free element, released element", a term for "vowel" (only pl. lehta tengwi [ñ] is attested; we would rather expect *lehtë tengwi with the pl. form of the adjective) (VT39:17)

lerya-

release, set free, let go

lerya- vb. "release, set free, let go"; negated avalerya- "bind, make fast, restrain, deprive of liberty" (VT41:5, 6)

ráva

free, unfettered, uncontrolled, lawless

ráva (1) adj. "free, unfettered, uncontrolled, lawless" (PE17:78), "wild, untamed"_ (RAB). _In PE17:78, the gloss "wild" is given to the variant hráva instead.

rúna-

[to] free

rúna- vb. "[to] free" (VT43:23). Compare eterúna-, etrúna-, q.v. It is not quite clear whether rúna by itself is an adjective or a verb; the gloss "free" makes room for both interpretations. If #runando "redeemer" (q.v.) is formed from this noun, it would cover "to redeem" as well.

sen-

let loose, free, let go

sen- vb. "let loose, free, let go" (VT43:18)

latina

adjective. free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles, free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles, [ᴹQ.] open, cleared (of land)

lerina

adjective. free (of things)

léra

adjective. free (of persons)

sen-

verb. to let loose, free, let go

lehta

adjective. free, released

ráva

adjective. free, unfettered, uncontrolled, lawless

rúna-

verb. to free

fairië

freedom

fairië noun "freedom" (LT1:250; since this is an abstract formation based on fairë "free", a meaning only ascribed to this word in early "Qenya" whereas fairë has a string of other meanings in Tolkien's later Quenya, the conceptual validity of fairië "freedom" may be questioned).

niqu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “be chill, cold (of weather)” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a derivative of the root √NIK(W) and with the glosses “to snow, it is chill, it freezes” (PE17/168). In this 1959 note Tolkien gave several inflected forms making it clear nicu- was an impersonal verb: nīqua “it is freezing”, nicune “it snowed, froze”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d mostly use nicu- as an impersonal verb for cold weather: nique “it is cold, it is freezing”. For the freezing of water or similar substances, I’d use ᴺQ. hel-. For “to snow” I’d use ᴺQ. hris-, a modernization of archaic †hriz-.

nicu-

verb. to be chill, cold, freeze (of weather), snow

aulerya-

verb. to rid, free somebody of something

A neologism coined by Arael in the “Neologism of the Day” (NotD) series on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server posted at 2023-06-08, a combination of au- “away” and lerya- “to set free”.

aman

place name. Blessed Realm

The continent in the Uttermost West where the Valar dwelled after the first wars with Morgoth destroyed the world as it was initially created (S/37). Its name is derived from the same root √MAN “blessed, unmarred” as the name of Manwë (PE17/162). The most common translation of this name was the “Blessed Realm” (S/62), though more precisely it describes the “unmarred” state of this land, free from the influence of Morgoth (PE17/162).

Tolkien elsewhere said that Aman was adapted from an (unknown) word from Valarin, meaning “at peace, in accord (with Eru)”, much as Manwë was an adaptation of Val. Mānawenūz (WJ/399). This is not incompatible with its derivation from the root √MAN, which itself may have been adopted into Primitive Elvish from Valarin.

Conceptual Development: According to Christopher Tolkien, the idea for this name first emerged from Ad. Amân, the Adûnaic name for Manwë (SD/376). In Tolkien’s earliest writings, the name for the Land of the Valar was simply ᴱQ. Valinor (LT1/70), but in later writings this became the Elvish name for this land, whereas Aman was its “proper” name (PE17/106).

perina

divided in middle, halved

perina adj.? *"divided in middle, halved" (PER) The word is not glossed, but seems to connect with the verb perya- "halve". If the relationship is the same as between the verb lerya- "to free" and the adj. lerina "free", then perina is most likely an adjective "halved"d.

ranya-

to stray

ranya- (1) vb. "to stray" (RAN), (2) ranya noun "erratic wandering" (VT42:13), (3) ranya, also aranya, adj. "free". Another gloss was not certainly legible, but the editors suggest "uncontrolling" (VT46:10)

léramo

noun. freeman

lérië

noun. freedom

hel-

verb. to freeze (of water)

mána

blessed

mána 1) adj. "blessed" (FS); also manna, q.v. 2) noun "any good thing or fortunate thing; a boon or blessing, a grace, being esp. used of some thing/person/event that helps or amends an evil or difficulty. (Cf. frequent ejaculation on receiving aid in trouble: yé mána (ma) = what a blessing, what a good thing!)" (VT49:41)

leryalë

noun. release

Amarië

good

Amarië fem. name; perhaps derived from mára "good" with prefixing of the stem-vowel and the feminine ending -ië (Silm)

ainima

blessed, holy (of things)

ainima adj. "blessed, holy (of things)" (PE17:149)

ala-

good

ala- (3), also al-, a prefix expressing "good" or "well" (PE17:146), as in alaquenta (q.v.) Whether Tolkien imagined this ending to coexist with the negative prefix of the same form (#2 above) is unclear and perhaps dubious.

almárëa

blessed

almárëa adj. "blessed". In a deleted entry in Etym, the gloss provided was "bless", but this would seem to be a mistake, since the word does not look like a verb. Another deleted entry agrees with the retained entry GALA that almárëa means "blessed" (GALA, VT45:5, 14)

amanya

blessed

amanya adj. "blessed" (VT49:39, 41)

fainu-

release

fainu- vb. "release" (LT1:250). Rather lerya- or sen- in Tolkien's later Quenya.

fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

hriz-

verb. to snow

In notes written around 1959, Tolkien experimented with various roots for impersonal “snow” verbs, first giving the aorist form of a derived verb Q. hrisya “it snows” < hriþya from the root √SRITH, then the present tense form of a basic verb Q. hríza “it is snowing” from the root √SRIS (PE17/168).

Neo-Quenya: The basic verb form †hriz- is likely archaic, since z usually became r in Quenya’s phonetic development. In this case, though, I suspect the medial z dissimilated back to s after the hr, since Quenya disliked repeated r’s (PE19/73-74). This occurred, for example, with the verb ras- “stick out” < †raz- < √RAS.

Thus, I would use modern Quenya hrise “[it] snows”, hrinse “[it] snowed”, ihrísie “[it] has snowed”. Since this is an impersonal verbs, no explicit subject is required.

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

lára

blessed

[lára (3) adj. "blessed", also lárëa (VT45:26)]

láta

open

láta adj. "open" (VT39:23), "open, not closed" (PE17:159, VT41:5)

manaitë

blessed

manaitë adj. "blessed" (VT49:41, 42)

manaquenta

blessed

manaquenta adj. "blessed" (VT44:10; see manquë, manquenta)

manna

blessed

manna adj. "blessed" (also mána, q.v.) (VT43:30, VT45:32, VT49:41)

manquë

blessed

manquë, manquenta adj. "blessed" (VT44:10-11; it cannot be ruled out that manquë spelt manque in the source is simply an uncompleted form of manquenta. Whatever the case, Tolkien decided to use the form manaquenta instead, q.v.)

mára

adjective. good

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

olos

snow, fallen snow

†olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

†olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

panta

open

panta adj. "open" (PAT)

hris-

verb. to snow

ranta

noun. course

ler

root. free

A root appearing twice in a list of roots from 1959-60, the first time described as “free (of moveable things or moving things), able to move as willed, unimpeded, unhampered, loose, not fixed fast or static” and the second time as “am free to do, sc., am under no restraint (physical or other)” (VT41/5-6). In the second instance it was compared to √POL which had the sense of being physically able to do something. It seems that √LER = “able to do something because there is nothing preventing it” vs. √POL = “able to something because of physical ability”. It might also be contrasted with √LEK which has the sense of freeing something that was once bound, whereas with √LER the thing that is free may have never been bound in the first place.

lat

root. open, unenclosed, free to entry; low, lowlying, at ground level, open, unenclosed, free to entry, [ᴹ√] lie open; be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area); [√] low, lowlying, at ground level

This root has a lengthy history in Tolkien’s development of the Elvish languages.

Its development seems to have begun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with unglossed ᴱ√LAHA which had derivatives like ᴱQ. lá “moor, heath, open space” and ᴱQ. lāta- “spread, extend, lie (of country)” (QL/50). This root was compared to a variety of other roots: ᴱ√ALA, ᴱ√AŘA, ᴱ√ṆŘṆ, ᴱ√LAŘA and ᴱ√LATA, but the last of these was a later addition, both to the list and as an entry in the lexicon (QL/51). This newer entry had derivatives like ᴱQ. latwa “smooth, glossy” and ᴱQ. latsin(a) “level, smooth”, the latter transferred from ᴱ√LAHA. This new root also had Gnomish derivatives such as G. lad “a level, a flat; fair dealing” and G. ladin “level, smooth; fair, equitable” (GL/52).

After the 1910s it seems ᴱ√LAHA “✱open” faded out of use (though it may have remerged much later as √LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond”: PE17/91), but ᴱ√LATA “✱level, smooth” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√LAT “lie open” with derivatives like ᴹQ. latin(a) “open, free, cleared (of land)” and N. lhand “open space, level” (Ety/LAT). It is also evident in N. -lad “plain” from names like N. Lithlad “Plain of Ash” and N. Dagorlad “Battle Plain” from Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/208, 389), both of which reappeared in the published version (LotR/243, 636).

The root appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s with the gloss “be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)” and a Quenya verb ᴹQ. lat- of similar meaning (PE22/126). In this document it was compared to ᴹ√LAD “lie flat, be flat”, and Tolkien said the two roots were confused in Noldorin as a way of explaining N. laden “flat (and wide)”.

The next appearance of √LAT is in etymological notes from 1959-60 with the gloss “open, unenclosed, free to entry” and contrasted with √PAK “shut” (VT41/5-6). In these notes the derivative Q. latina also reappeared with a meaning similar to the one it had in The Etymologies: “free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles”. The last appearance of √LAT in currently published materials is in 1968 notes on D/L variations in Common Eldarin, where it was glossed “at ground level, low; lowlying” and compared to √DAT “fall down” (VT48/24); in this document it had no derivatives.

All this amounts to considerable conceptual variation in the meaning of this root. To summarize:

• 1910s ᴱ√LATA “✱level, smooth” as alternate to ᴱ√LAHA “✱open” (QL/50-51).

• 1930s ᴹ√LAT “lie open” compared to (unglossed) ᴹ√LAD (Ety/LAD, LAT).

• 1940s ᴹ√LAT “be extended, stretch, be situated (of an area)” contrasted with ᴹ√LAD “lie flat, be flat” (PE22/126).

• 1959-60 √LAT “open, unenclosed, free to entry” contrasted with √PAK “shut” (VT41/5-6).

• 1968 √LAT “at ground level, low; lowlying” contrasted with √DAT “fall down” (VT48/24).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume this root has the sense “(lie) open, be extended, unenclosed”, as this is consistent with the largest number of derivatives of the root.

sen

root. let loose, free, let go

A primitive form given as ✱sen- “let loose, free, let go” to explain the verb ✶ab(a)sene- > Q. apsen- “remit, release, forgive” from the final Quenya version of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s (VT43/12, 18). It is probably the basis for the (mutated) element hen in similar words in the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer: S. díhena- and gohena-, as suggested by Bill Welden (VT44/22, 28-29). This primitive element ✱sen- appears nowhere else with this meaning, and is similar in semantic scope to the better established root √LEK.

man

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit

This root for “(morally) good” and “holy” things dates back to Tolkien’s earliest versions of Elvish, probably due to its long-standing connection to the name Q. Manwë, one of the most stable names in Tolkien’s Legendarium. The unglossed root ᴱ√MANA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mane “good (moral)” and ᴱQ. manimo “holy soul” (QL/58). Derivatives like G. mani “good (of men and character only), holy” and G. manos “spirit that has gone to the Valar” also appear in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit” appeared with derivatives like ᴹQ. manu/N. mân “departed spirit” (Ety/MAN). Earlier versions of the entry had the gloss “holy” (EtyAC/MAN), and an earlier version of the entry for ᴹ√MBAD has MAN- “blessed” (EtyAC/MBAD).

The senses “good, blessed, holy” were retained in Tolkien’s later writings, though sometimes the root was given in its augmented form √AMAN. In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, √MAN was contrasted with √ARA which also meant “good”, but with the nuance of one specimen that is “good of its kind” and hence “excels, without necessarily implying that others are bad or marred” (PE17/147). Elsewhere in QN Tolkien elaborated on the meaning of √MAN in more detail:

> √MAN “good”. This implies that a person/thing is (relatively or absolutely) “unmarred”: that is in Elvish thought unaffected by the disorders introduced into Arda by Morgoth: and therefore is true to its nature & function. If applied to mind/spirit it is more or less equivalent to morally good; but applied to bodies it naturally refers to health and to absence of distortions, damages, blemishes, &c (PE17/162).

In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, √AMAN “good (morally), holy, blessed, free from evil” was contrasted with √AYA(N) “treat with awe/reverence” and √MAGA “good (physically)” (PE17/149). In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, Tolkien said the root meant “blessed, holy” and was adapted from Valarin (PM/357 note #18), which is consistent with the fact that its derivatives were almost entirely limited to Quenya and not Sindarin; where derivatives do appear in Sindarin, such as S. Avon the equivalent of Q. Aman (PE17/162), they were probably loan words from Quenya.

aman

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil

manrā

adjective. good

rhain

adjective. free

lhain

adjective. free(d)

lhain

adjective. free, freed

lhein

adjective. free, freed

lheithian

noun. release from bondage, release, freeing

adleithian

noun. *release, freeing

leithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

lheithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

edra-

verb. to open

edro

verb. open!

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

iôr

noun. course

iôr

noun. course

leithia-

verb. to release

leithian

noun. release from bondage

lhaden

adjective. open, cleared

lheitho

verb. to release

panna-

verb. to open, to enlarge

rath

noun. course, riverbed

rath

noun. street (in a city)

lain

adjective. free, freed

leithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

leithian

noun. release from bondage, release from bondage, [N.] release, freeing

adleitha

free

(i adleitha, in adleithar), also †adleg- (i adleg, in edlegir), pa.t. adlenc, pp. adlengen, pl. edlengin).

lain

free, freed

; no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”thread”.

rain

free

rain (wandering, erratic). No distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”border” (VT46:10; suggested Sindarin form of ” Noldorin” rhain)

rain

free

(wandering, erratic). No distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”border” *(VT46:10; suggested Sindarin form of ” Noldorin” rhain)*

lain

adjective. free(d), *liberated

lain

free, freed

1) lain; no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”thread”. 2)

leitha

set free

(i leitha, i leithar)

rain

adjective. free, *unconstrained

leinas

noun. freedom, liberty

leithian

freeing

leithian (release), pl. leithiain

leithian

freeing

(release), pl. leithiain

hel-

verb. to freeze

adleitha

release

(verb, = "to free") adleitha- (i adleitha, in adleithar); also adleg- (i adleg, in edlegir), pa.t. adlenc, pp. adlengen, pl. edlengin). RELEASE (noun) 1) adleithian, pl. adleithiain, 2) leithian (freeing), pl. leithiain

leithian

release

(freeing), pl. leithiain

bain

good

_ adj. _good, wholesome, blessed, fair (esp. of weather). . This gloss was rejected.

edra-

verb. to open

edra-

verb. open

_ v. _open (out). >> edro

edro

verb. open!

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

laden

adjective. open, cleared

los

snow

{ŏ}_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, loss, Loss(h)oth

loss

noun. snow (especially fallen or long-lying snow)

loss

noun. snow

_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, los, Loss(h)oth

ma

adjective. good

_ adj. _good. Archaic and obsolete except as interjection 'good, excellent, that's right'.

maer

good

_ adj. _good.

maer

good

adj. good, proper, excellent. Q. mára good, proper, Q. maira excellent. >> mae-. This gloss was rejected.

rath

noun. course, riverbed

rath

noun. street (in a city)

ŷr

noun. course

adleitha

release

(i adleitha, in adleithar); also adleg- (i adleg, in edlegir), pa.t. adlenc, pp. adlengen, pl. edlengin).

adleithian

release

pl. adleithiain

edra

open

(verb) 1) *edra- (i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro. 2) panna- (i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

edra

open

(i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro.

glosta-

verb. to snow

A neologism for “to snow” coined by Fiona Jallings, based on the root √(G)LOS “snow, whiteness”.

laden

open

(adj.) laden (plain, flat, wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

laden

open

(plain, flat,  wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

loss

snow

(fallen snow) loss (construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

maer

good

_(”useful” of things _ not of moral qualities) maer (lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.

maer

good

(lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.

panna

open

(i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

rath

course

rath (climb, climbing path, street, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255)

rath

course

(climb, climbing path, street, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255)

yr

course

; no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. yrath). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” iôr.

ŷr

course

*ŷr (construct yr; no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. yrath). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” iôr.