gō

preposition. from

kel

root. flow (down or away), run (of water or rivers), go away, flow (down or away), run (of water or rivers), go away, [ᴹ√] run away especially downwards or at end; [ᴱ√] ooze, trickle

√KEL was established as the root for “flow” very early in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, also with the variant vocalic extension √KELU. ᴱ√KELE appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “flow, run” and also “ooze, trickle”, though the latter sense did not appear in later writing (QL/46). It also had a variant ᴱ√KELU elsewhere compared to ᴱ√QEL+U of similar meaning (QL/75). It had derivatives in both Qenya and Gnomish such as ᴱQ. kelu- “flow”, G. celu- “trickle” and ᴱQ. kelu(me)/G. celu “stream” (QL/75; GL/25).

The root ᴹ√KEL reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s where it seems to have an added connotation of “flow downwards”, given its gloss “go, run (especially of water), flow away downhill” (Ety/KEL). This more specific meaning to the root continued to appear in later writings, with glosses such as 1930s “flow, flow away, run (of rivers)” (PE18/58), 1940s “run away especially downwards or at end” (PE22/114), 1950s “go away, flow away or flow down (of water)” (PE18/103), and 1960s “flow (down)” (PE17/157). The u-extension ✶kelu with the (continuative?) sense “flow, well up” remained common throughout all these periods as well (PE18/86; PE22/98, 133, 135).

Starting with The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien compared this root with etymological variants √KWEL “fade (away), die away, grow faint” and √KYEL “come to an end, cease, run out” (Ety/KWEL, KYEL; PE18/58, 103), and indeed Tolkien used it as one of his basic examples of such etymological variations:

> There existed in Quenderin 1. √KEL “flow, flow away, run (of rivers)”. Of this simple base, since the initial variation is possible, while the sundóma is the same 2. √KJEL “cease, come to an end”, and 3. √KWEL “fade, die away, grow faint” may be regarded as differentiated variants (second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa, TQ2, circa 1950, PE18/103).

A similar note appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/58). Likewise ✶kelu was one of his main examples of variant vocalic extensions:

> This “variant extension” always had the form i or u. It appears in many cases where its original function is no longer discoverable, if indeed that was more than to serve as a euphonic connecting link to affixes. But the added element [u] often appears as a differentiator as in kel¹-u beside kel², and some old verbs have a fixed u as the end of their base (TQ2, PE18/86).

In the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, it seems that √KYEL “end” was replaced by √TEL “close, end, come to an end” (WJ/411) as indicated by the replacement of 1930s ᴹQ. tyelma “ending” (LR/72) by later Q. telma “conclusion” (WJ/411). In a 1967 note the etymological variant √KYEL seems to have been assigned a new meaning “go down slowly”, which served as the basis for Q. tyellë “grade, a step in a stairway or ladder” (PE17/157).

To summarize, the base root √KEL meant “flow (down)” for pretty much all of Tolkien’s life, usually used with a variant vocalic extension √KELU, and starting in the 1930s it had etymological variants √KWEL and √KYEL, with √KWEL always meaning “fade (away), die” and √KYEL meaning “cease, end” from the 1930s to 40s, but changing to “go down slowly” sometime between the 1950 and 1967 (but probably before the 1st edition of LotR), with “end” being reassigned to √TEL by 1960. See the entry on √TEL for further discussion of those developments.

men

root. go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√MEN in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where it seemed to be stationary in nature given its derivatives ᴹQ. men “place, spot” and ᴹQ. ména “region” (Ety/MEN). It was an element in direction words like ᴹQ. formen/N. forven, apparently meaning “✱north place” at this conceptual stage. In Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from the late 1940s, Tolkien first glossed ᴹ√MEN as “place, spot”, but that instance of the root was revised to ᴹ√NOM (PE23/112 and note #12), and a bit later in the same document Tolkien gave a new meaning to ᴹ√MEN as “purpose, aim” (PE23/112).

In the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, Tolkien first gave ᴹ√MEN the gloss “aim at, intend, purpose” with the more specific sense “make for, proceed towards” when used with the allative, but then crossed this out and simply made the gloss “go, proceed” (PE22/103 and note #21). In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, Tolkien first gave √MEN the gloss as “place, situation, site”, then revised it to “direction, object, point moved toward” (PE21/79 and note #39).

Thereafter Tolkien mostly gave this root the basic sense “go” (PE17/93, 143, 165; VT39/11; VT42/32). Tolkien gave a somewhat lengthy description of the root in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959:

> √MEN go, move, proceed in any direction (irrespective of speaker’s position, or assumed point of thought). mēn- a way, a going, a mov[ement] (PE17/165).

Thus in the 1950s and 1960s, Q. formen likely meant “✱north way” rather than “✱north place”. However, in a footnote in The Road Goes Ever On from 1967, Tolkien did say that men had the meaning “direction, region” as part of an explanation of √MENEL “heavens” = men + el (“region of stars”), so it seems Tolkien did not entirely abandon the use of this element as a name for places.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I sometimes see √MEN use for movement in general (as in motion picture) rather than movement in a direction. I personally recommend using ᴱQ. lev- “(intr.) move” from Qenya Wordlists of the 1920s for that purpose (PE16/132) since I think it is important to distinguish “move” from “go”, but if you prefer to use only later words you might be more comfortable expanding the semantic scope of √MEN to movement in general.

@@@ 1950s mendë “will” = “✱intent” and 1964 menta- “have as object, (in)tend”

am

root. go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up

For all of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “up” was √AM. Its best known derivatives are probably Q. ambo, S. amon “hill”. Tolkien introduced this root all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave it as ᴱ√AM(U) “up(ward)” (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM “up” (Ety/AM²), and in 1967 notes Tolkien gave it as “AM, go up, especially of climbing” (PE17/157). In a separate set of notes on comparison from early 1967, Tolkien said:

> But there existed a “base” that was intrinsically “comparative”, √AMA. This signified addition, increase, plus (PE17/91).

Tolkien did not explicitly connect this to √AM “up”, but it seems likely the two were related. See the discussion of √AMA for further details.

del

root. walk, go, proceed, travel

This root appears in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 with the sense “walk, go, proceed, travel” (WJ/360). Its derivatives were S. Edhel “Elf” and Q. †Eldo which blended with Elda “Elf”, both originally with the sense “one who goes” (✶edelō): those who left lake Cuiviénen to travel to Valinor. It is also the basis of several words meaning “to go”: T. delia- and Q. lelya-.

Many of Quenya derivatives of this root actually derive from an inversion √LED of the original √DEL. According to the Quendi and Eldar essay, this inversion only occurred in Quenya (WJ/363). In earlier writings like The Etymologies, however, ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” was the basic root in all languages. It seems that Tolkien revised ᴹ√LED >> √DEL, preserving √LED only as a Quenya variant. The strongest sign of this change was Tolkien’s consistent alteration of N. Eledh >> S. Edhel.

This leaves open the question of what happened to the other non-Quenya derivatives of ᴹ√LED, such as S. edlen(n) “exile”. It is possible that they were transferred to a new root √LEN, which was the basis for S. lembas “way bread” (PE17/60). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to assume the verb [N.] †ledh- “go, fare, travel” did exist, but was archaic and survived only as an element in other verbs like [ᴺS.] edledhia- “go into exile” and [N.] neledh- “enter”.

dew

root. go wrong, fail

A Sindarin-only root in linguistic notes from 1959 meaning “go wrong, fail” with the basic sense of “miss mark, go (or send) wrong, fall short or beside ([one’s] aim, what is due or proper)” (PE17/151); in a marginal note Tolkien also wrote “go awry, ill, wrongly”. Its Quenya equivalent was √LOY.

laʒ

root. cross, pass over, go beyond

Tolkien considered several similar roots for the Elvish words “neck”, “throat” and “beyond”.

In The Etymologies, the words for “throat” were ᴹQ. lanko and N. lhanc from the root ᴹ√LAK with nasal-infixion (Ety/LAK, Ety/TARAG). The Noldorin form also appeared as an element in the adjective N. tarlanc “stiff-necked, obstinate”. In The Lord of the Rings, it seems that this last word had shifted to S. tarlang, as in the place name Tarlang (LotR/790). The earlier words reappeared as S. lang and Q. lango “neck, passage”, whose roots were either √LAG (PE17/65) or √LAƷA (PE17/91-92).

Tolkien also established the word Q. lá as the Quenya element meaning “beyond”, most notably in the preposition pella (the Namárië poem, LotR/377), whose literal meaning was “beyond the border”. There is an early hint of this sense in The Etymologies in the root ᴹ√LĀ, unglossed but said to be related to the “ablative element” ᴹ√LŌ (EtyAC/LŌ). Other possible precursors are ᴱ√ALA “spread” and related ᴱ√LAHA or ᴱ√LĀ from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/29, 32, 50).

In notes from 1965, Tolkien stated that the root of lá “beyond” was √LAŊ, distinct from the root √LAG of lango (PE17/65). But in notes from 1967, Tolkien briefly considered using the root √ALA/LA for lá “beyond” (PE17/90), but quickly changed it to √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond” (PE17/91-92), the same as the root of Q. lango “neck” as noted above. This leaves us with two scenarios: that lango “neck” and lá “beyond” had distinct origins from the roots √LAG and √LAÑ respectively (1965: PE17/65), or that lango “neck” and lá “beyond” had the same origin in the root √LAƷ “cross, pass over, go beyond” (1967: PE17/91-92).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin I prefer the 1967 scenario with the root √LAƷA “cross, pass over, go beyond”, and would assume “neck” is based on the sense “passage”, since it frees up the root √LAG to retain its meaning from The Etymologies: ᴹ√LAG “✱cut” (Ety/LAG). There are quite a few Quenya neologisms dependent the existence of √LAÑ “across”, however, so I would assume this exists as a variant of √LAƷ. For “throat” words, see the discusssion in the entry for ᴹ√LAK.

led

root. go, proceed, go, proceed, [ᴹ√] fare, travel

This root appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/LED) and in some later writings (PE17/51, 139) with the basic sense “go”. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien decided that √LED was a Quenya-only variant of the original root √DEL (WJ/360, 363). Elsewhere, Tolkien said that √LED was “not much used in Sindarin except in compounds with ✶et ‘out’ as edlen(n)” (PE17/51). Its Sindarin derivative S. lembas “way bread” was reassigned to √LEN (PE17/60). See √DEL and √LEN for further discussion.

loy

root. go wrong, fail, go wrong, fail, [ᴹ√] miss, fail to go; lack, be without

A Quenya-only root in linguistic notes from 1959 meaning “go wrong, fail” with the basic sense of “miss mark, go (or send) wrong, fall short or beside ([one’s] aim, what is due or proper)” (PE17/151); in a marginal note Tolkien also wrote “go awry, ill, wrongly”. Its Sindarin equivalent was √DEW. The root ᴹ√LOY also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “lack, be without; miss, fail to go”, though all of its derivatives were rejected (EtyAC/LOYO).

nor

root. run (or leap) of animals or men, run (or leap) of animals or men; [ᴹ√] run as of wheels, roll along, [ᴱ√] go smoothly, ride, spin

This root was the basis for Elvish words having to do with “running” and (in earlier notes) “rolling” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/67), and it had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. nor- “run, roll” (GL/61) and dronn “race, course, track” < ✱n’rond- (GL/31). ᴹ√NORO “run as of wheels, roll along” reappeared in a page of roots in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, though this page was deleted (PE22/127 note #152). √NOR “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)” also appeared in some etymological notes associated with The Lord of the Rings, probably from the late 1950s (PE17/168).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d retain both senses “run” and “roll” for this root, but limit the latter to the rolling of wheels as an extrapolation from the movement of legs.

ran

root. wander, stray, meander, go on an uncertain course, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen); err

This root first appeared as ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. ranya-/N. rhenia- “to stray”, ᴹQ. ránen/N. rhaun “errant”, and ᴹQ. Rana/N. Rhân as names for the Moon (Ety/RAN). These Moon-names also appeared in earlier writings but without clear etymologies (LT1/192; GL/64). Such Moon names continued to appear in later writings, for example: Q. Rána “Wayward” (S/99). The root √RAN itself was mentioned quite frequently in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “wander, stray” (PE17/182), “wander, stray, go on uncertain course” (VT42/12) and “err, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen)” (PE17/78).

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.

delya-

verb. walk, go, proceed, travel

kyel

root. go down slowly

sedu

verb. go to rest

sedu-

verb. to go to rest

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

malat

root. gold

manrā

adjective. good

wo

root. together

This root was the basis for the prefix Q. o- and S. go- “together”. In the 1910s Gnomish Lexicon, G. go- (unaccented) or gwa- “together” was derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a and the Qenya form was ᴱQ. ma- (GL/40-41). In the 1920s the Early Noldorin form was still ᴱN. go- or gwa- but the Qenya form was ᴱQ. va- (PE13/162), probably from primitive ✱wa-. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WŌ̆ “together” with derivatives ᴹQ. o- and N. go- or stressed gwa- (Ety/WŌ; EtyAC/WŌ).

In The Etymologies Tolkien explained the go-/gwa- variation in Noldorin as the result of the sound change whereby stressed wŏ became wa in Common Eldarin (Ety/WŌ); Tolkien gave a similar explanation for Sindarin in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/367). Despite stressed wŏ > wa being an ancient change, the wa variant did not survive in Quenya. Tolkien explained the sound change whereby wo became o in Quenya several times: in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1940s, in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, and in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (PE19/53, 106; WJ/367). The root √WO itself also appeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/16, 191; WJ/361), in one place with the variant √WONO (PE17/191).

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.

nanmen-

verb. return

abta-

verb. refuse, deny, say no

au-

prefix. away

awa-

prefix. away

awā

adverb. away

gardā

noun. region

gwa-lassiē

noun. foliage

lañna

adverb. athwart

mai

adverb. well

sir

root. flow

The root √SIR and similar roots meant “flow” for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] “flow” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variant sini and derived forms like ᴱQ. sindi “river” and ᴱQ. síre “stream” (QL/84). The latter word became “river” in Tolkien’s later writings, and words appearing in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon like G. sîr “river” and G. siriol “flowing” (GL/67-68) rather than ✱✱sidh- indicate Tolkien very early revised the root to ✱ᴱ√SIRI. Indeed, the root was ᴹ√SIR “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, and the root appeared with this form and essential meaning several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE22/127, 135).

stīrē

noun. face

wō

prefix. together

ówō

adverb. together

ăwă

preposition. from

ʒō

preposition. from

stir Reconstructed

root. face

The root ✱√STIR is implied by the names Elestirnë “Star-brow” (UT/184) and Carnistir “Red-face” (PM/353), as well as the primitive word ✶stīrē “face” (VT41/10). It is probably an s-fortification of the root TIR “watch”. It likely replaces the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. thio “to seem” and N. thîr “look, face, expression, countenance”, the latter providing an earlier etymology for N. Cranthir “Ruddy-face” (Ety/THĒ). The original gloss of this 1930s root was “perceive, see” (EtyAC/THĒ). This deleted gloss in turn indicates that 1930s ᴹ√THĒ was itself a later iteration of 1910s ᴱ√SEHE [þeχe] from the Qenya Lexicon, which was mostly connected to eye-words but also had derivatives like ᴱQ. sehta-/G. thê- “see” (PE12/21; QL/82; GL/72); see the entry √KHEN for the later derivation of eye-words.

go'

go'

Q. ŏ-'. >> gwá. This gloss was rejected.

golas

noun. foliage

_ n. _foliage. Q. walass(s), olassie. >> Legolas

golas(s)

noun. foliage

_ n. _foliage. >> legolas

govad-

verb. to meet

go-

together

_pref. _together. Q. o-.

go

together

(prefix) go-, gwa- (+ lenition) (co-, com-).

go

together

gwa- (+ lenition) (co-, com-).

dadwen-

verb. to return, go back

A Sindarin verb for “return, go back” as a combination of √(N)DAN “back” and √MEN “go”, contrasted with dandol- “return, come back” appearing in notes from around 1959 (PE17/166). Tolkien first gave this verb as {namen >>} damen reflecting vacillation on the primitive prefix ✱nan- > ✱ndan-. Later in the same notes he gave a form dadwen, reflecting either vacillation of the development of ancient nm in Sindarin (to either dw or mm), or vacillation on the prefix itself ((n)dad- vs. (n)dan-).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use ᴺS. dammen- for this word as the most phonologically plausible. Tolkien represented intervocalic m as both mm and m in Sindarin (e.g. lammad vs. minlamad), so damen- is possible as well. Either way, the pronunciation would be [damen] with short [m].

gwae-

verb. to go, depart, to go [away], depart

This highly irregular verb appeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 as the Sindarin equivalent of Q. auta- “go (away), depart” which is itself very irregular, with both verbs derived from the invertible root √WĀ/AWA (PE17/148). The Sindarin verb has a present tense form gwaen “I go” and past forms 1st. sg. anwen “✱I went” and 3rd. sg. anu/awn “✱he/she went”, with these past forms apparently based on an ancient nasal-infixed strong past ✶anwē (from which the archaic Q. strong past †anwe “went” was derived). It has two more forms gwanu/gwawn. These seem to be the equivalent of Q. vanwa “lost” < ✶wanwā.

The present tense form gwaen “I go” is especially peculiar. Compare this to the more regular present tenses cewin “I taste” < kawin(e) (PE22/152) and galon “I grow” < galān(e) (PE17/131). I think the likeliest explanation is that gwaen is derived from an ancient aorist form wa-i-nĭ, with ai becoming ae as was usual of Sindarin’s phonetic developments. If so, the presents of this verb would be based on √WA and the past inflections based on √AW.

A final twist is that in the note from DLN Tolkien mentions u-intrusion, a sound change parallel to the more common i-intrusion, whereby a final u moved before a preceding consonant. The forms awn and gwawn are thus the u-intruded results of anu and gwanu. This u-intrusion would not occur in forms with further suffixes, like anwen “I went”.

A probably related form gwanwen “departed” appears in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60 (WJ/378). This could be an independent adjective, but could also be a passive participle of gwae- (or some variant of it), possibly a strengthened or elaborated form of gwanu/gwawn. Note that Q&E also states that:

> The only normal derivative [of AWA] is the preposition o, the usual word for ‘from, of’. None of the forms of the element ✱awa are found as a prefix in S, probably because they became like or the same as the products of ✱wō, ✱wo (WJ/366).

Some people believe this indicates that Tolkien rejected other derivatives like gwae-, but since Q&E also contains gwanwen, I think this statement only applies to direct derivatives of AWA, as opposed to gwae- and gwanwen which are derived from the inverted root WĀ.

Neo-Sindarin: How to handle this verb in the context of Neo-Sindarin is unclear. Given the extreme irregularity of this verb, it is tempting to discard it. Unfortunately, we have no other attested Sindarin verbs for “to depart”. Furthermore, common verbs like “go” tend to be irregular in many languages (such as English as “go” vs. “went”), so it makes sense the same would be true of Sindarin. As such, I propose the following conjugation for this verb (hat tip to Gilruin for most of this paradigm; he suggested much better forms than my original ideas):

• Present tense ✱gwae “go” < primitive ✶gwa-ĭ, with inflections added to this form: gwaen “I go”, ✱gwael “you go”, etc.

• Past tense awn “went” < ✶anwē with u-intrusion. Inflected forms are based on non-intruded anw-: anwen “I went”, ✱anwel “you went”, etc.

• Past/passive participle gwanwen “departed”, an elaboration of the older (archaic?) perfective participle gwanu/gwawn.

• Future ✱gwatha “will go”, ✱gwathon “I will go”, < ✶wa-thā, wa-thā-nĭ.

• Gerund ✱gwaed (< ✶wa-itā) and active participle ✱gwaul (< ✶wa-ālā) “departing”.

• Imperative ✱gwaw “go!” < ✶wa-ā, as with baw “don’t!” < ✶bā (WJ/371-2).

Finally, this verb means “go” specifically in the sense “depart”, that is: “go away”. For “go (generally and in any direction)”, use the verb men-.

If you dislike the irregularity of gwae- or you believe that Tolkien’s notes in Q&E (see above) indicate this verb was rejected along with (most) Sindarin derivatives of AWA, then the neologism haena- “to leave, depart” gives an alternative verb.

men-

verb. to go

The basic Sindarin verb for “go”, derived from the root √MEN (PE17/143). Its archaic past form emēnē was discussed in notes from around 1965 (PE17/93); its modern past would be ✱evín. It also appeared in its gerund form in the sentence niðin mened “I have a mind to go, I intend to go” in notes from 1969 (PE22/165).

gwaen

suffix. I go

('waen) _ v. pres. & pron. suff. _I go. >> anwen. This gloss was rejected.

golas

foliage

golas (i **olas) (collection of leaves), pl. gelais (i ngelais = i ñelais), coll. pl. golassath. Archaic pl. göleis**._.

golas

foliage

(i ’olas) (collection of leaves), pl. gelais (i ngelais = i ñelais), coll. pl. golassath. Archaic pl. göleis.

govad

meet

*govad- (i **ovad, i ngevedir = i ñevedir), pa.t. govant, past participle govannen** ”met”. (The latter is the only attested form.)

govad

meet

(i ’ovad, i ngevedir = i ñevedir), pa.t. govant, past participle govannen ”met”. (The latter is the only attested form.)

gobab-

verb. to shake

godref

through together

(AI:92)

minna-

verb. go in

_ v. _go in, enter. >> minno

ban- Archaic

verb. ?to go

gwa-

prefix. together (only in old compounds, the living form is go-)

nidhin mened

I have a mind to go, I intend to go

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

A noun for “gold” based on the root √MALAT. The Etymologies of the 1930s specified that N. malt was “gold (as metal)” derived from the root ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). This is consistent with Tolkien’s later notes in which Q. malta was “gold (metal)”, as opposed to Q. laurë/S. glaur which was “gold (colour or light)” (PE17/51, 159). Note that in The Etymologies the form was revised to (h)malt indicating an archaic voiceless hm that was the result of ancient sm (EtyAC/SMAL), but this would no longer be the case after the root became √MALAT.

bain

good

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

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.

bad

go

#bad- (i vâd, i medir), pa.t. bant. Isolated from trevad- ”traverse”.

bad

go

(i vâd, i medir), pa.t. bant. Isolated from trevad- ”traverse”.

nevra-

verb. to face, go forward

A neologism coined by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo based on √NEB “turn towards (speaker)” (PE17/27) and inspired by Ilk. nivra- “to face, go forward”, also serving as a replacement for ᴱN. athra- and G. gwintha-.

edledhia-

verb. to go into exile

dammen-

verb. to return, go back

edledh

go into exile

edledh- (i edledh, in edledhir), pa.t. edlent or edledhas. (VT45:27; the ”Noldorin” forms have gl for Sindarin dl), also edledhia- (i edledhia, in edledhiar). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” egledhia-

edledh

go into exile

*edledh- (i edledh, in edledhir), pa.t. edlent or edledhas. (VT45:27; the ”Noldorin” forms have gl for Sindarin dl)

edledh

go into exile

(i edledh, in edledhir), pa.t. edlent or edledhas. (VT45:27; the ”Noldorin” forms have gl for Sindarin dl)

neledh

go in

neledh- (i neledh, i neledhir) (enter)

neledh

go in

(i neledh, i neledhir) (enter)

nod- Archaic

verb. to count

An (archaic?) verb for “count” implied by various compounds like pen-nod “without count” and únodui “countless” (PE17/144-145). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien said that “not- count, nut- tie coalesced in Exilic ✱nod-, but ‘count’ was always expressed by gonod- unless some other prefix was added, as in arnediad” (Ety/WŌ). Thus it seems nod “count” survived only an element in compounds, and words like [N.] gonod- “count up, reckon” and nedia- “count” became the usual verbs for counting. According to The Etymologies it seems the basic verb form [N.] nod- meant only “to tie” in the modern form of the language.

Conceptual Development: In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, nod- was mentioned as element in ᴱN. go-nod- “count up” (PE13/162).

nu

preposition. under

The Sindarin word for “under”, appearing as an element in names like Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash” (WJ/239) and Taur-nu-Fuin “Forest under Nightshade” (S/155), clearly based on the root √N(D)Ū “sink, go down” (17/64).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. no “under” derived from the root ᴹ√NŪ̆ (Ety/NU), with either short u becoming o, or unstressed au becoming o]], the latter being indicated by a parentical nau [perhaps the primitive form?] appearing after its Quenya equivalent ᴹQ. no “under” (EtyAC/NU). As noted above, in Tolkien’s later writings the form was nu, probably derived from ✱nū with the vowel shortening when unstressed.

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.

malad

gold

(as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malt

gold

(i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

malad

gold

(i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl.

mall

gold

(i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

dadwen

verb. return

_v. _return, going/coming back. Q. nanwen-. >> damen

region

noun. holly-tree area

[HKF] reg (Dor. regorn “holly tree”) + ion (Dor. gen. pl. suffix) = Dor. Regornion [Etym. ERÉK-]

ened

adverb. moreover

A neologism coined by Fayanzār posted on 2018-01-16 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), inspired by Q. entë “moreover” derived from √ENET.

gwachae

away

1. (adj.) gwachae (remote), lenited wachae, no distinct pl. form. The form occurring in the primary source, #gwahae, must represent the late Gondorian pronunciantion with h for ch (PM:186, isolated from gwahaedir). 2) (adv.) e, ed (out, forth); also as adjectival prefix "outer" and preposition "out from, out of" (WJ:367)

gwachae

away

(remote), lenited ’wachae, no distinct pl. form. The form occurring in the primary source, #gwahae, must represent the late Gondorian pronunciantion with h for ch *(PM:186, isolated from gwahaedir)*.         

torn

down

(noun) *torn (i dorn, o thorn), pl. tyrn (i thyrn). Only the pl. tyrn is attested, as part of the name Tyrn Gorthad ”Barrow-downs”.

torn

down

(i dorn, o thorn), pl. tyrn (i thyrn). Only the pl. tyrn is attested, as part of the name Tyrn Gorthad ”Barrow-downs”. 

tol-

verb. to come

The basic Sindarin verb for “to come”, well attested from the 1930s-1960s and derived from the root √TUL of similar meaning (Ety/TUL; PE17/166; PE22/168; VT44/25). The Sindarin o was the result of the usual sound change whereby [[s|short [u] became [o]]] in Sindarin’s phonetic development.

Conceptual Development: A verb G. tul- appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but there its meaning was “(1) bring; (2) come to” (GL/71), and in one place Tolkien said its original meaning was “to support” (GL/69). This is in keeping with the broader meaning of the early root ᴱ√TULU, which was glossed “fetch, bear, bring; move, come; (originally) uphold, support, bear, carry” (QL/95).

rong

adverb. soon

al-

well

pref. #well. Q. al(a)-. . This gloss was rejected.

anha-

verb. to give

aphad-

verb. to follow

In WJ/387, the verbal stem is given as aphad-, and the etymology as *ap-pata. If we follow the latter, the verb should perhaps read aphada-

aphad-

verb. to follow

A verb in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “follow”, derived from primitive ✶ap-pata “walk behind, on a track or path” (WJ/387), with primitive pp aspirating and then becoming voiceless spirants, with ph pronounced as a long [ff].

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had similarly formed G. obra- “follow; succeed” based on G. ob “after” (GL/62), precursor to S. ab “after”.

ardhon

noun. great region, province

ardhon

noun. world

athra-

verb. to cross

v. to cross (to and fro).

avar

noun. refuser

This plural name was known to the loremasters, but went out of daily use at the time of the Exile

avar

noun. the Avari, Elves who refused the invitation of the Valar

This plural name was known to the loremasters, but went out of daily use at the time of the Exile

avar Archaic

proper name. Refuser

boda

verb. refuse, forbid

cail

noun. fence or palisade of spikes and sharp stakes

damen

verb. return

_ v. _return. Q. nanwen-. >> dan-

damen-

verb. to return

danna

fall

_ v. _fall. Q. lanta-.

danna-

verb. to fall

Written dant- in the Etymologies

danna-

verb. to fall

A Sindarin verb for “fall” in Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, cognate to Q. lanta- and derived from √DAN-TA (PE17/62). Elsewhere the root for “fall down” was √DAT (VT47/29; VT48/24; Ety/DAT), so √DAN-TA was probably a nasal-infixed variant of the root; compare ᴹ√DAT vs. ᴹ√DANT from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/DAT). In Sindarin, medial ancient nt became nn, so ✱danta- > S. danna-.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. {lanta- >>} lantha- “fall onto, settle on, alight” (GL/52). It had a past form lantathi with a light pencil stroke through it indicating was thus tentatively rejected. This Gnomish verb is clearly cognate to ᴱQ. lant- “drop, fall” from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LANTAN [LṆTṆ] (QL/51).

The Etymologies of the 1930s had the root {ᴹ√LANT >>} ᴹ√DAT or ᴹ√DANT “fall down” (Ety/DAT, TALÁT; EtyAC/LANTA). Under the entry for ᴹ√DAT, Tolkien had N. dant- “to fall” with passive participle dannen “fallen” (Ety/DAT). Likely N. dant- was a stem form which would become dann- when inflected, since in Noldorin of the 1930s and 40s ancient medial nt also became nn, as it did in Sindarin.

dant

noun. fall

ephel

noun. outer fence, encircling fence

gala-

verb. to grow

An untranslated verb in notes from around 1962 along with a full paradigm of pronominal suffixes (PE17/131-132). The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. galo “to grow” under the root ᴹ√GALA “thrive” (Ety/GALA), and the later Sindarin verb probably has the same meaning.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. {cal- >>} caltha- “wax, grow, flourish” based on the early root ᴱ√cala having to do with growth (GL/25). Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document had altha- “to shoot up, grow (high)” (PE13/109).

gardh

noun. bounded or defined region

gardh

noun. world

gardh

noun. region

gavar

noun. *Refuser

hair

noun/adjective. left (hand)

harvo

noun. left hand

harvo

noun. left side

iath

noun. fence

iath

noun. fence

iâth

noun. fence

iâth

noun. fence

lain

adjective. free, freed

lant

noun. fall

leithia-

verb. to release, to release, [N.] set free

A verb appearing in its [Noldorin] infinitive form N. lheitho “to release, set free” under the root ᴹ√LEK “loose, let loose, release” (Ety/LEK). Here the initial lh is the result of the Noldorin unvoicing of initial l, a sound change Tolkien abandoned for Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, and indeed this entry also had an “EN” [Exhilic Noldorin] form leithia- “to release”, consistent with the use of Leithian “Release from Bondage” in The Silmarillion (S/162).

leithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

mae

adverb. well

mae

adverb. well

adv. well. Ai na vedui Dúnadan. Mae g'ovannen. 'Ah! At last, Dúnadan ! Well met !'.

mae

well

_ adv. _well. >> mael

mael

adjective. well

_ adj. _well. adjective << adverb. >> mae

mael

adjective. well

nor-

verb. to run

nor-

verb. to ride

nu

preposition. under

With suffixed article, see also nuin

nuin

preposition. under the

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from, of. In older S. o had the form od before vowels. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'.

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from. . This gloss was rejected.

od

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

pad-

walk

_ v. _walk, step. Q. pata-. >> Tharbad

pada-

verb. to walk

padra-

walk

_ v. _walk. >> pad-

rib-

verb. to flow like a (torrent ?)

The reading of the gloss is uncertain

thîr

noun. face, face, [N.] look, expression, countenance

A word appearing as an element in the name Caranthir “Red-face”, derived from primitive ✶stīrē (VT41/10), which was likely tied to the root √TIR “watch”.

Conceptual Development: The same noun N. thîr appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the glosses “look, face, expression, countenance”, but there it was derived from the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” (Ety/THĒ). Earlier “face” words include G. gwint from the 1910s (GL/46) and ᴱN. ant from the 1920s with more elaborate form ᴱN. annas (PE13/137, 160).

ad

again

(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ad

again

also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

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

adleitha

release

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

adleitha

free

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

adleithian

release

pl. adleithiain

ammen

for us

(to us).

an

for

(prep.) an (+ nasal mutation), with article ni ”for the” (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

for

(adverbial prefix) an-

an

for

(+ nasal mutation), with article ’ni ”for the” (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

for the

(for) + i (the).

aphada

follow

aphada- (i aphada, in aphadar) (WJ:387)

aran

king of a region

(pl. erain)

ardh

region

1. ardh (realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath. 2) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413), 3) gardh (i **ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh), 4) gwaith (i **waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

ardh

region

(realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath.

athra

cross

(verb) #athra- (isolated from the gerund athrad "crossing") (i athra, in athrar), also athrada- (traverse) (i athrada, in athradar)

athra

cross

(isolated from the gerund athrad "crossing") (i athra, in athrar), also athrada- (traverse) (i athrada, in athradar)

cail

fence

(i gail, o chail) (palisade); no distinct pl. form except with article (i chail).

cell

running

(of water: flowing), lenited gell; pl. cill

crom

left

(lenited grom, pl. crym), with corresponding noun

crumguru

having a cunning left hand

lenited grumguru, pl. crumgyry (or crymgyry if the entire word is umlauted, but this may be unlikely) (VT45:24)

dad

downward

;

dadbenn

downhill, sloping down

(inclined, prone [to do]), lenited dhadbenn, pl. dedbinn;

danna

fall

(verb) ?danna- (i dhanna, i nannar), pa.t. dant, past participle ("fallen") dannen, pl. dennin.

danna

fall

(i dhanna, i nannar), pa.t. dant, past participle ("fallen") dannen, pl. dennin.

dant

fall, falling

(i dhant) (autumn), pl. daint (i naint), also (and maybe particularly when the meaning is "autumn") dannas (i dhannas), pl. dannais (i nannais) (PM:135)

dath

steep fall

(i dhath) (hole, pit, abyss), pl. daith (i naith) (VT45:8).

dî

under

unstressed di (beneath, in) (VT45:37). Note: a homophone means ”bride, lady”.

dôr

region

(i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413)

dû

nightfall

(i dhû) (night, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

e

away

ed (out, forth); also as adjectival prefix "outer" and preposition "out from, out of" (WJ:367)

eden

begun again

(new), pl. edin

eithel

well

(= source) eithel (spring, issue of water), pl. eithil

eithel

well

(spring, issue of water), pl. eithil

ephel

fence

(pl. ephil)

gardh

region

(i ’ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh)

gilwen

region of stars

(Quenya Ilmen), also Gilith. In the Etymologies, this word is derived from a root GIL (LR:358) and would then have the form ’Ilwen (’Ilwith) when lenited. But in a later source, Tolkien cited the relevant root as ÑGIL (MR:388), and the lenited form would then be Ngilwen (Ngilwith).

gwa

adverb. away

gwaith

region

(i ’waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

gwanna

depart

gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (die)

gwanna

depart

(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (die)

hair

left

(adj.) hair (lenited chair; no distinct pl. form); also used as noun

hair

left

HAND (*hair, o chair, i chair, no distinct pl. form even with article; cited in archaic form heir, LR:365 s.v. KHYAR). Adj. LEFT also crom (lenited grom, pl. crym), with corresponding noun

hair

left

(lenited chair; no distinct pl. form); also used as noun

hair

left hand

o chair, i chair, no distinct pl. form even with article; cited in archaic form heir, LR:365 s.v. KHYAR). Adj.

hil-

verb. to follow

A neologism for “to follow” coined by Sami Paldanius in the VQP (VQP), derived from the root √KHIL of similar meaning. I prefer attested aphad- “follow”.

hâr

left

(noun, the direction) hâr (i châr) (south).

hâr

left

(i châr) (south).

ior

i

in ”Noldorin”, but apparently ✱yr- in Sindarin. Compare

iâd

noun. fence

iâth

fence

(noun) 1) iâth (construct iath, pl. iaith) (WJ:370, 378), also ?iâd (construct iad), pl. iaid. 2) lest (girdle, boundary), pl. list, 3) (outer/encircling fence) ephel (pl. ephil), 4) (with spikes and sharp stakes) cail (i gail, o chail) (palisade); no distinct pl. form except with article (i chail).

iâth

fence

(construct iath, pl. iaith) (WJ:370, 378), also ?iâd (construct iad), pl. iaid.

lant

fall

_(noun) _1) #lant (pl. laint, coll. pl. lannath). This is apparently a Quenya borrowing, dant being the native Sindarin word. Note: a homophone means ”clearing in forest”. 2) pend (i bend, o phend; construct pen) (declivity), pl. pind (i phind), coll. pl. pennath. 3)

lant

fall

(pl. laint, coll. pl. lannath). This is apparently a Quenya borrowing, dant being the native Sindarin word. Note: a homophone means ”clearing in forest”. 2) pend (i bend, o phend; construct pen) (declivity), pl. pind (i phind), coll. pl. pennath. 3)

lanthir

waterfall

(no distinct pl. form). Coll. pl. lanthiriath.

leitha

set free

(i leitha, i leithar)

leithian

release

(freeing), pl. leithiain

lest

fence

(girdle, boundary), pl. list

mae

well

(adverb) mae (lenited vae).

mae

well

(lenited vae).

nor

run

(verb) 1) nor- (i nôr, in nerir). Only attested as imperative noro! 2) *yr-. Only the ”Old Noldorin” form yurine* ”I run” is given in the source; the verbal stem would become ior**- in ”Noldorin”, but apparently *yr- in Sindarin. Compare COURSE, q.v., where the words come from the same root __-.

nor

run

(i nôr, in nerir). Only attested as imperative noro! 2) ✱yr-. Only the ”Old Noldorin” form yurine ”

nu

under

1. (prep.) nu, followed by lenition (with article nuin ”under the”, followed by ”mixed mutation” according to David Salos reconstructions), 2) dî, unstressed di (beneath, in) (VT45:37). Note: a homophone means ”bride, lady”.

nu

under

followed by lenition (with article nuin ”under the”, followed by ”mixed mutation” according to David Salo’s reconstructions)

nîf

face

1. nîf (construct nif) (front). No distinct pl. form. 2) thîr (look, expression, countenance) (VT41:10)

nîf

face

(construct nif) (front). No distinct pl. form.

o

of

(od), followed by hard mutation. With article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by ”mixed” mutation according to David Salo’s reconstuctuons). (WJ:366). Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning”.

pada

walk

(on a track or path) pada- (i bada, i phadar)

pada

walk

(on a track or path) pada- (i bada, i phadar)

penna

slant down

(i benna, i phennar)

pêl

fence, fenced field

(i bêl, construct pel) (enclosure, garth), pl. peli (i pheli), the latter forms reflecting the stem pele- (root PEL(ES), LR:380)

rain

free

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

renia

wander

renia- (sail, fly, stray) (i renia, idh reniar).

renia

wander

(sail, fly, stray) (i renia, idh reniar).

rimma

flow like a torrent

(i rimma, idh rimmar)

rû²

adverb. soon, anon

siria

flow

(vb.) siria- (i hiria, i siriar).

siria

flow

(i hiria, i siriar).

tawarwaith

silvan elves

Tawarwaith (lit. ”Forest-people”)

tawarwaith

silvan elves

(lit. ”Forest-people”)

thangail

shield fence

(shield wall). No distinct pl. form? (UT:281)

thar

athwart

(adverbial prefix) thar- (across, over, beyond)

thar

athwart

(across, over, beyond)

thora

fence

(verb) *thora- (the curious form ”thoro-” occurs in the primary source, LR:393 s.v. THUR). The passive participle thoren ”fenced, guarded, hidden” is cited (pl. thorin).

thora

fence

(the curious form ”thoro-” occurs in the primary source, LR:393 s.v. THUR). The passive participle thoren ”fenced, guarded, hidden” is cited (pl. thorin).

thîr

face

(look, expression, countenance) (VT41:10)

tuilinn

swallow

(etymologically ”spring-singer”) *tuilinn (i duilinn, o thuilinn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thuilinn). Form normalized from tuilind in source; the latter would be an archaic form.

tuilinn

swallow

(i duilinn, o thuilinn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thuilinn). Form normalized from tuilind in source; the latter would be an archaic form.

go-

prefix. together

govad-

verb. to meet

go-

prefix. together

neledh-

verb. *to go in, enter

The form neledhi appeared in the phrase N. lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh “five foot high the door and three may walk abreast”, appearing on a preliminary sketch of Thrór’s Map from 1936 (TAI/92, 150 and note #6). The interpretation of this phrase is difficult; Tolkien also wrote an Old English translation of the phrase which ended “þrie maeg samod þurghgangend” = “three may together through-go”, which is inconsistent with its Modern English translation.

Didier Willis (PED-TAI) and David Salo (GS/217) suggested this form is the Noldorin-style infinitive neledhi of a verb neledh- “to enter”, so that neledhi gar = “✱may enter”, distinct from both English and Old English translations. They further suggested this verb is a combination of N. ne- “in” and N. ledh- “go”, seen respectively as elements in N. nestag- “stick in” (Ety/STAK) and N. egledhia- “go into exile” (Ety/LED) in The Etymologies of the 1930s, the latter based on ON. led- “to fare”. The entry for the full phrase has a discussion of alternate theories.

egledhia-

verb. to go into exile

gwa-

prefix. together (only in old compounds, the living form is go-)

glaur

noun. gold

côl

noun. gold (metal)

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

afor

proper name. Refuser, an Elf who did not journey to Aman

dad

adverb. down

A word for “down” in The Etymologies under the root ᴹ√DAT “fall down”; Tolkien marked dad as EN [Exhilic Noldorin] (Ety/DAT). The original ink entry had a prefix dad- “down” that Tolkien simply marked as N[oldorin] (EtyAC/DAT).

Conceptual Development: Early Noldorin Word-lists had ᴱN. dad as an element in words like ᴱN. dadvenn “downhill” (PE13/139) and ᴱN. dadnuin “sinking down” (PE13/161).

mai

adverb. well

no

preposition. under

nod- Archaic

verb. to count

anna-

verb. to give

athrada-

verb. to cross, traverse

crom

noun. left

crom

adjective. left

An adjective for “left” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ᴹ✶krumbā under the root ᴹ√KURUM (Ety/KURÚM). See N. crumguru for further discussion.

crum

noun. left hand

crumui

adjective. left-handed

dad

adverb. down, downwards

dant-

verb. to fall

Written dant- in the Etymologies

dant-

verb. to fall

ephel

noun. outer fence, encircling fence

gala-

verb. to grow

gwa- Archaic

prefix. together

gwanna-

verb. to depart, die

hargam

noun. left-handed

heir

noun/adjective. left (hand)

leithia-

verb. to release

leithia-

verb. to release

leithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

lhain

adjective. free, freed

lhein

adjective. free, freed

lheithian

noun. release, freeing, release from bondage

lheitho

verb. to release

no

preposition. under

With suffixed article, see also nuin

nu

preposition. under

With suffixed article, see also nuin

nuin

preposition. under the

nœdia- Archaic

verb. to count

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

pendrad

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

pendrath

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

rhain

adjective. free

The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. {rhein >>} rhain “free” derived from ᴹ✶(a)ranı̯ā under the root ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray”; it also had a deleted variant erein, presumably from aranı̯ā (EtyAC/RAN). See also S. rain “erratic wandering” for a later appearance of a similarly derived word.

Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this adjective as ᴺS. rain “free” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, as suggested in HSD (HSD), since the unvoicing of initial r to rh was a feature of Noldorin of the 1930s but not Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s. I would use it as “free” in the sense “✱unconstrained”.

rhib-

verb. to flow like a (torrent ?)

The reading of the gloss is uncertain

siria-

verb. to flow

thora-

verb. to fence

tol-

verb. to come

tuilin

noun. swallow (bird)

tuilind

noun. swallow (bird)

tuilinn

noun. swallow (bird)

go-hilleg

proper name. Númenóreans

lango

passage

lango (2) noun "passage", especially across or over an obstacle, also "neck" (PE17:92)

ron(go)

adverb. soon

ron (rongo)

adverb. soon

lenna-

verb. go

lenna- vb. "go", pa.t. lendë "went" (LED; cf. lelya-). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word lenna- wrongly appears as **linna-; see VT45:27.

men-

verb. go

#men- (4) vb. "go" (VT47:11, cf. VT42:30, VT49:23), attested in the aorist (menë) in the sentence imbi Menel Cemenyë menë Ráno tië "between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon". In the verb nanwen- "return" (or go/come back), -men- is changed to -wen- following nan- "back" (etymological form cited as nan-men-, PE17:166). In examples from VT49:23, 24, Tolkien used men- in the sense of "go as far as": 1st person sg. aorist menin (menin coaryanna "I arrive at [or come/get to] his house"), endingless aorist menë, present tense ména- "is on point of arrival, is just coming to an end", past tense mennë "arrived, reached", in this tense usually with locative rather than allative (mennen sís "I arrive[d] here"), perfect eménië "has just arrived", future menuva "will arrive". All of these examples were first written with the verb as ten- rather than men-, Tolkien then emending the initial consonant.

auta-

verb. go away, leave

auta- (1) vb. "go away, leave" (leave the point of the speaker's thought); old "strong" past tense anwë, usually replaced by vánë, perfect avánië but when the meaning is purely physical "went away (to another place)" rather than "disappear", the past tense oantë, perfect oantië was used. Past participle vanwa "gone, lost, no longer to be had, vanished, departed, dead, past and over" (WJ:366)

avamanyar

collective name. Elves who would not go to Aman

Another name of the Avari meaning “Elves who would not go to Aman”. This term was coined to distinguish them from the Úmanyar “Elves who did not go to Aman, but not because they refused” (that is, the Sindar). It is a combination of Amanyar (“Elves of Aman”) with the prefix ava- for refusal. Unlike the other elaborations of Amanyar, this term appears in the singular in at least one place: avamanya “not (willing to go to) Aman” (PE17/143).

enelmo

go-between, intervener, intermediary [as noun], mediator

enelmo noun "a go-between, intervener, intermediary [as noun], mediator" (VT47:14)

langa-

verb. to cross, go over, pass over

langa- vb. "to cross, go over, pass over" (VT49:65)

lelya-

verb. go, proceed (in any direction), travel

lelya- (1) vb. "go, proceed (in any direction), travel", pa.t. lendë / elendë (WJ:363, VT14:5, PE17:139) At one point Tolkien assigned a more specific meaning to the underlying root LED: "go away from the speaker or the point in mind, depart" (PE17:52), which would make lelya- a near synonym of auta-. The same source denies that the derivatives of _LED _were used simply for "go, move, travel", but elsewhere Tolkien assigns precisely that meaning to lelya-.

lenweta-

verb. go away, migrate, leave ones abode

lenweta- vb. "go away, migrate, leave ones abode", pa.t. lenwentë (PE17:51)

lerya-

verb. release, set free, let go

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

menta-

verb. send, cause to go

menta- (1) vb. "send, cause to go" (in a desired direction) (VT41:6, VT43:15). A similar-sounding primitive verb mentioned in PE17:93 is said to have past and perfect forms that would produce Quenya *mennë*, eménië, but here Tolkien seems to be discussing a distinct intransitive verb "go" and its Sindarin descendants, and Quenya menta- rather belongs to the causative (transitive) verbs which according to the same source has "weak" past-tense forms (in -në, hence mentanë "sent", and likely ementië** as perfect "has sent").

mína

desiring to start, eager to go

mína adj. "desiring to start, eager to go", also verb mína- "desire to go in some direction, to wish to go to a place, make for it, have some end in view" (VT39:11)

pel-

verb. go round, revolve, return

pel- vb. "go round, revolve, return" (PEL), apparently also transitive "encircle" (mentioned in the Silmarillion Appendix as a meaning of the root), cf. also "Qenya" pele- "surround, fence in, pen in" (pa.t. pellë given, QL:73)

sen-

verb. let loose, free, let go

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

ten-

verb. go as far as

[ten- (3) vb. "go as far as", 1st person sg. aorist tenin, (tenin coaryanna "I arrive at [or come/get to] his house"), endingless aorist tenë, present tense téna- "is on point of arrival, is just coming to an end", past tense tennë "arrived, reached", in this tense usually with locative rather than allative: tennen sís "I arrive[d] here", perfect eténië "has just arrived", future tenuva "will arrive".] (VT49:23, 35, 36; Tolkien emended the initial consonant from t to m throughout)

tinga-

verb. to go (for a long while)

A verb glossed “go (for a long while)” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 derived from a never-before-seen root √TIG and via nasal-infixion of the root, but an “X X” was written in the margins next it which seems to indicate this was a transient idea (PE22/157 and note #70).

vanya-

verb. go, depart, disappear

vanya- (2) vb. "go, depart, disappear", pa.t. vannë (WAN). The verb auta- may have replaced this word in Tolkien's later conception.

lenna-

verb. to come, to come; [ᴹQ.] to go, depart

mína

adjective. desiring to start, eager to go

áva márië

go happily

mína-

verb. to desire to go in some direction, wish to go to a place, make for it; to have some end in view

anta-

verb. cause to go to, send; give

anya-

verb. go to, reach,arrive at

auta-

verb. go away

etsurya-

verb. to go out, to go out, *blow out

A verb appearing in the phrase ar thúlë Manwëo {etturinye &gt;&gt;} etsurinye... “and the spirit [breath] of Manwe went out” (NM/239-240). According to Carl Hostetter, etturinye was not crossed out, but a revision of the phrase used etsurinye instead. This second form is likely the half-strong past tense of a verb etsurya-, a combination of et “out” and surya- (< ✱thusya-) “blow (intr.)”, so more literally “✱to blow out [of something]”. The translation “went out” is therefore probably a loose translation, and this verb should only be used of a blowing thing like breath or wind. The form etturinye is what the past tense would have been if developed directly from ancient ✱et-thusya, while etsurinye would be a reformation from surya- after th > s in modern Quenya.

lenda-

verb. to go free

men-

verb. go; come [to any point other than the ’here’ of the speaker]

vanya-

verb. to pass, to pass [away], *be lost, [ᴹQ.] disappear; [ᴹQ.] go, depart

Amarië

good

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

Tar-culu

gold

Tar-culu ("k"), name listed in the Etymologies but not elsewhere attested. The second element is apparently culu "gold" (a word Tolkien seems to have abandoned); Hostetter and Wynne suggest that this may be an alternative name of Tar-Calion (= Ar-Pharazôn "the Golden"); see VT45:24.

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.

culo

gold

[culo, culu ("k")noun "gold" (substance)] (KUL, VT49:47; the word culu_ also occurred in early "Qenya" [LT1:258], but in the Etymologies it was struck out; the regular Quenya word for "gold" is apparently _malta. In another version, culo meant "flame" [VT45:24], but this is apparently also a word Tolkien abandoned.)

laurë

gold

†laurë noun "gold", but of golden light and colour, not of the metal: "golden light" (according to PE17:61 a poetic word). Nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto "may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading" (VT49:47). In Etym defined as "light of the golden Tree Laurelin, gold", not properly used of the metal gold (LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, GLAW(-R), VT27:20, 27, PE17:159). In early "Qenya", however, laurë was defined as "(the mystic name of) gold" (LT1:255, 258) or simply "gold" (LT1:248, 268). In Laurelin and Laurefindil, q.v., Laurenandë "Gold-valley" = Lórien (the land, not the Vala) (UT:253) and laurinquë name of a tree, possibly *"Gold-full one" (UT:168). Laurendon "like gold" or "in gold fashion" (but after citing this form, Tolkien decided to abandon the similative ending -ndon, PE17:58).

malta

gold

malta noun "gold", also name of tengwa #18 (Appendix E). The Etymologies (entry SMAL) instead has malda, q.v. for discussion, but according to VT46:14, the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well. Also compare the root MALAT listed in PM:366.

mára

adjective. good

etelelya-

verb. to go into exile, go out

A neologism for “go into exile” created by Boris Shapiro in PPQ (PPQ) from the early 2000s, analogous N. egledhia-. Helge Fauskanger instead used this verb to mean “go out, go forth” for his NQNT (NQNT). I think both meanings can coexist.

etemen-

verb. to go out, go forth

A neologism for “go out” used by Helge Fauskanger in his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of et(e)- “out” and men- “go”.

o-

prefix. together

A prefix meaning “together” derived from primitive √WO (WJ/367). The modern Quenya form of the prefix is the result of the sound change whereby “unstressed wo was often reduced to o with loss of w” (PE19/106). Note that “when stressed the [primitive] sequence wo was usually changed > wa”, so in theory Quenya might have a variant prefix ✱va- “together” that was the result of an ancient stressed prefix, much like Sindarin go- vs. gwa-. However, there is little sign of such a prefix va- in Quenya; the only example is vávea “(con)similar”. Instead, the short o- generally became ó- in those rare cases where it was stressed (WJ/367).

In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 Tolkien said that o- was “used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units”, as opposed to yo- used for three or more things (WJ/361, 367). In examples elsewhere, though, o- “together” seems to have a more general meaning in words like olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves” or ombari “company, dwellers together” (NM/117). I would therefore assume yo- is only used when plurality was emphasized, and o- “together” was the default choice otherwise.

Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor to this suffix appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱQ. ma- “together” derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a (GL/40). This was part of a paradigm in which G. go- was the result of unstressed ᴱ✶ŋu̯a, and gwa- was the normal phonological result. There was also an apparently related suffix ᴱQ. -ngwe in the Narqelion poem in phrases like ómalingwe lir’ amaldar = “✱(together) with voices singing gently”, which could also be derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a. The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱQ. va- as the equivalent of ᴱN. go- “together”, probably reflecting a change to primitive ✱wa- (PE13/162).

The Etymologies of the 1930s had both ᴹQ. ō̆- and N. go- “together” derived from the root ᴹ√WŌ̆ (Ety/WŌ). In this new paradigm, N. gwa- was the result of stressed primitive wó-. In Quenya primitive wō and unstressed wŏ blended to produce o- “together”, which could be either short o or long ó. In the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) of the 1940s, Tolkien seems to hint that stressed (g)wo- > wá- in Quenya as well (PE19/53). But as noted above there is only one example (vávea) of prefixal wa-/va- “together” in actual Quenya words from Tolkien’s later writings.

tul-

verb. to come, to come, [ᴱQ.] move (intr.); to bring, carry, fetch; to produce, bear fruit

The Quenya verb for “to come”, which is very well-attested. It is derived from the root √TUL whose basic sense is “move towards the speaker” (PE17/188), as in “come here”: á tule sís. English may also use “come with” in the sense “accompany” such as “I will come with you”, but Quenya uses men- (“go”) for this purpose (PE22/162), such as menuvan ó le = “I will go with you”.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. tulu- dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it appeared under the early root ᴱ√TULU, but in that early document it has a much broader set of glosses: “(1) bring, carry, fetch; (2) intr. move, come; (3) produce, bear fruit” (QL/95). By the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s its list of glosses was reduced to “come” (PE14/57), and Tolkien used the verb only to mean “come” thereafter. Tolkien often used this verb in grammatical examples, which is part of the reason it is so well-attested.

nimba-

verb. to face, go forward

tumba-

verb. to cast down (into depths); *to dive; (orig.) to go or cause to go deep, endeepen

-nwa

passive suffix

-nwa is said to be "a passive suffix" irregularly occurring in the word vanwa "lost" (PE17:63), the word seems to be irregular since the underlying root means "go away" and so vanwa is in a sense a past active participle, *"having gone". Compare PE17:68.

lendë

left, went

lendë vb. "left, went" (pa.t. of lelya- "go") (FS, LR:47, SD:310, WJ:362), or, according to the Etymologies, the pa.t. of lenna- "go" and lesta- "leave" (LED, ELED. In the Etymologies as printed in LR, lenna- was misread as "linna-"; see VT45:27)

mentië

passage, journey, direction of travel

mentië noun "passage, journey, direction of travel" (PE17:13); the elements are men- "go, proceed" + tië "path, road". Not to be confused with the gerund of menta- #1.

ména

region

ména noun "region" (MEN). Not to be confused with the present/continuative tense of #men- "go".

nanwen-

verb. return

nanwen- vb. "return" (go/come back) (PE17:166). The etymological form nan-men- indicates that the second element is #men- "go", changed to -wen- following nan- "back"; hence the perfect should perhaps be *naneménië.

tenta-

verb. point to, point out; indicate; direct toward, be directed toward

tenta- vb. "point to, point out; indicate; direct toward, be directed toward" (VT49:22-24). Compare hententa-, leptenta-, q.v. When constructed with a direct object, the verb may mean "go forth towards". In our examples, tenta is constructed with an allative (tentanë numenna "pointed westward", VT49:23; this may be the normal construction when the meaning is "point"). Pa.t. tentanë is attested (also with ending -s: tentanes "it pointed", VT49:26); there is also an alternative strong pa.t. form tenantë (VT49:22-23). Other examples of such double past tense forms (e.g. orta-) would suggest that the form tentanë is transitive ("pointed to/out, directed towards, went forth towards"), while tenantë is intransitive ("was directed towards"). Tolkien also considered the pa.t. form tentë, but emended it.

lanta-

verb. to fall, to fall; [ᴱQ.] to drop

The Quenya verb for “to fall”, dating all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though in that document it had the form ᴱQ. lant- and the additional gloss “drop” (QL/51). In the Qenya Lexicon it was derived from the early root ᴱ√LANTAN [LṆTṆ], but in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien changed the root {ᴹ√LANTA >>} ᴹ√DA(N)T “fall down” as the basis for ᴹQ. lanta- “to fall” (Ety/DAT; EtyAC/LANTA). Q. lanta- “fall” appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings as well (MC/222; PE17/62; VT49/47), most notably in the Namárië poem in its first phrase: ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen “ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind” (LotR/377).

The word lanta was occasionally used as a noun for “a fall”; see that entry for discussion.

Neo-Quenya: In Tolkien’s later writings, lanta- was used only for intransitive “fall”. However, we have no Quenya verbs for transitive “drop” other than 1910s ᴱQ. lant-, so I would assume that lanta- can be used this way as well for purposes of Neo-Quenya (QL/51). For example, lantan “I fall” vs. lantan i macil “I drop [make fall] the sword”.

-va

from

-va possessive ending, presumably related to the preposition va "from". In Eldaliéva, Ingoldova, miruvóreva, Oroméva, rómeva, Valinóreva (q.v. for references), Follondiéva, Hyallondiéva (see under turmen for references). Following a consonant, the ending instead appears as -wa (andamacilwa "of the long sword", PE17:147, rómenwa *"of the East", PE17:59). Pl. -vë when governing a plural word (from archaic -vai) (WJ:407), but it seems that -va was used throughout in late Exilic Quenya (cf. miruvóreva governing the plural word yuldar in Namárië). Pl. -iva (-ivë*), dual -twa, partitive pl. -líva**.

Mairen

well

Mairen fem. name(UT:210), initial element perhaps related or identical to mai "well". The second element is obscure; the root REN "recall, have in mind" (PM:372) could be related; if so the name may imply "well remembered", "(of) good memory" or something similar. It may also connect with the adj. maira, q.v. and compare the masc. name Mairon (PE18:163).

an

for

an (1) _conj. and prep. _"for" (Nam, RGEO:66), an cé mo quernë… "for if one turned…" (VT49:8), also used adverbially in the formula an + a noun to express "one more" (of the thing concerned: an quetta "a word more", PE17:91). The an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! "the Eagles of the Lords are at hand" (SD:290) however seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana "to, towards" (NĀ1). The phrase an i falmalī _(PE17:127) is not clearly translated but seems to be a paraphrase of the word falmalinnar "upon the foaming waves" (Nam)_, suggesting that an can be used as a paraphrase of the allative ending (and if falmalī is seen as a Book Quenya accusative form because of the long final vowel, this is evidence that an governs the accusative case). In the "Arctic" sentence, an is translated "until". Regarding an as used in Namárië, various sources indicate that it means an "moreover, further(more), to proceed" (VT49:18-19) or ("properly") "further, plus, in addition" (PE17:69, 90). According to one late source (ca. 1966 or later), an "is very frequently used after a full stop, when an account or description is confirmed after a pause. So in Galadriels Elvish lament […]: An sí Tintallë, etc. [= For now the Kindler, etc…] This is translated by me for, side an is (as here) often in fact used when the additional matter provides an explanation of or reason for what has already been said". Related is the use of an + noun to express "one more"; here an is presumably accented, something the word would not normally be when used as a conjunction or preposition.

úamanyar

those not of aman

Úamanyar noun "those not of Aman" (sg. Úamanya, PE17:143), Elves who did not reach the Blessed Realm (but did leave Cuiviénen with the intention of going there) = Heceldi _(WJ:371). Also Úmanyar and fuller Úmaneldi. (WJ:373)_. Also called Lembi, q.v.

nan-

prefix. back (again), back (again); [ᴹQ.] backwards

A prefix for “back (again)” in notes from 1959 based on the root √NDANA (PE17/166). The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. nan- “backwards” under the root ᴹ√NDAN “back” (Ety/NDAN).

leryalë

noun. release

A neologism coined by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo as a replacement for ᴱQ. erefainu “release”. It is simply a noun form of lerya- “to release”.

ovanta-

verb. to meet

-stir

suffix. face

An element meaning “face” in the name Carnistir “Red-Face” (S. Caranthir), derived from primitive ✶stīrē (PM/353; VT41/10). Its form as an independent word would mostly likely be ✱síre (Classical Quenya þíre), but that would conflict with sírë “river” in spoken Quenya (Tarquesta). There are a number of other Quenya “face” words attested, such as cendelë, so it is probably safer to use one of these for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

Yón

region, any (fairly extensive) region between obstacles such as rivers or mountains

yón (2), variant of yondë, q.v. Defined as "a region, any (fairly extensive) region _between obstacles such as rivers or mountains" (PE17:43)_

amba

adverb. up(wards)

An adverb for “up(wards)” derived from the root √AM “up” (PE17/157; Ety/AM²). In one place Tolkien said it “is generally limited to the qualification of words signifying or implying motion: especially ‘rise, ascend, climb, grow etc.’ (PE17/91)”, but that was not the case in (for example) Ambarussa “Top-russet” (PM/354), so this rule was not universal.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. amu “up(wards)” reflecting the earliest form of the root ᴱ√AM(U) (QL/30), but by the 1920s it was amba “up” (PE13/137; PE16/62), a form that was retained thereafter. In one place in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave it an alternate form ama beside amba (Ety/UNU), but since this was as an element in ᴹQ. amatikse “above dot” (Ety/TIK; EtyAC/UNU) I think it is more likely a variant of prefixal am- “up”.

anta

face

anta (2) noun "face" (ANA1, VT45:5). Cf. cendelë.

aranya

free

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

ata

again

ata adv. "again", also prefix ata-, at- "back, again, re-; second time, double" (AT(AT), PE17:166, cf. ataquanta-, ataquetië) or "two" (PE17:166), also "ambi-" as in ataformaitë, q.v.

au

away

au (2) adv. "away", of position rather than movement (compare oa). PE17:148

au-

prefix. away (from)

A prefix meaning “away” derived from √AWA of similar meaning (PE17/24). In one note from the late 1960s, it had variants o and va (VT49/24). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien further specified that it meant “away from the speaker or the place of his thought” (WJ/365) and thus could not be used with verbs like tul- “come” indicating motion towards something (WJ/368). For these other senses of “away (from)”, the prefix hó- is used instead; see that entry.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. au “away from” was mentioned as a prefix in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√AVA (QL/33).

av-

verb. depart

#av- vb. "depart" (cited in the form avin "he departs", read "I depart" in LotR-style Quenya), pa.t. ambë (QL:33). The word may perhaps be used to translate "leave" with a direct object, since "depart" is at least vaguely transitive in English.

ava-

verb. refuse, forbid

avaquet-

verb. refuse, forbid

avaquet- ("q")vb. "refuse, forbid" (KWET)

canwa

face

#canwa (2) noun "face", isolated from canwarya ("k") *"his face", evidently an ephemeral form Tolkien abandoned in favour of cendelë, q.v. (VT49:21; see VT49:34 regarding uncertainties as to the manuscript reading)

canwa

noun. face

A word appearing as kanwarya in one of the drafts of the Ambidexters Sentence, apparently a 3rd-sg possessive form meaning “✱his face” (VT49/6, 21). Patrick Wynne suggested it might be derived from √KAT “shape” as in katmā > kanwa, patterned after Latin “faciēs” which also originally meant “shape”. It seems the n in this word was revised, but what the change was intended to be is unclear. Tolkien eventually revised this word to cendelë, so canwa was probably abandoned.

cendelë

face

cendelë noun "face" (VT49:21)

cendelë

noun. face, face, *visage

A word for “face” in the Ambidexters Sentence of the late 1960s (VT49/8). Patrick Wynne suggested it is likely an abstract noun formation from the verb cenda- “watch, observe”, and hence similar in origin to English/French “visage” which likewise originated from a Latin verb meaning “to see” (VT49/21). Earlier “face” words ᴱQ. alma and ᴱQ. yéma have similar derivations, as pointed out by Patrick Wynne.

ehtelu-

verb. well, bubble out

entulessë

return

entulessë noun "return" (UT:171)

entulessë

proper name. Return

The name of the Númerórean ship that was the first to return to Middle-earth, six centuries after Númenor was settled (UT/171). It is the noun entulessë “return” used as a name.

entulessë

noun. return

A noun for “return” attested as the name of a ship: Entulessë (UT/171). It seems to be an abstract noun based on the verb entul- “return, come again”.

entë

moreover, further, furthermore, what is more

entë (1) conj. "moreover, further, furthermore, what is more" (VT47:15, VT48:14). Compare yunquentë as a variant of yunquenta, q.v.

fainu-

verb. release

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

fairë

free

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

farnë

foliage

farnë (1) noun "foliage", archaic faznë (VT46:9). Not to be confused with farnë as the pa.t. of the verb farya-, q.v.

hahta

noun. fence

fence, hedge

ho

from

ho prep. "from" (3O); cf. hó-

hyarya

left

hyarya adj. "left" (opposite of right). (KHYAR). Compare hyarma.

hó-

away, from, from among

hó- verbal prefix; "away, from, from among", the point of view being outside the thing, place, or group in thought (WJ:368)

lanna

athwart

lanna prep. "athwart" (PE17:65)

lanta

fall

lanta (1) noun "a fall" (DAT/DANT (TALÁT) ), also lantë.

lanta-

fall

lanta- (2) "fall" (DAT/DANT (TALÁT), Narqelion, VT45:26, VT49:54); lantar aorist tense pl. (Nam, RGEO:66); pl. pa.t. lantaner "fell" (pl.) (SD:246); lantier "they fell", a plural past tense of lanta- "fall" occurring in LR:47; read probably lantaner in LotR-style Quenya, as in SD:246. Also sg. lantië "fell" (LR:56); read likewise *lantanë? (The forms in -ier, -ië seem to be properly perfects.) Future tense lantuva, VT49:47. Participle lantala "falling" (with locative ending: lantalassë) in Markirya.

lantar

fall

-r plural ending used on verbs with a plural subject (VT49:48, 50, 51), e.g. lantar "fall" in Namárië (with the plural subject lassi "leaves"), or unduláver as the pl. form of undulávë "licked down, covered" (PE17:72). The ending is sometimes missing where we might expect it; for instance, the verb tarnë "stood" has multiple subjects and yet does not appear as *tarner in PE17:71.

lantë

fall

#lantë (1) noun "fall" in Noldolantë, q.v. Also lanta.

lantë

noun. fall

A noun for “fall” appearing as an element of the title Noldolantë “Fall of the Noldor” (S/87).

Neo-Quenya: The word lasse-lanta “leaf-fall” (LotR/1107) indicates the noun for “a fall” should be lanta, which is also how the noun appears in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/DAT). However, there is an alternate form lassewinta “leaf fall” in drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/376) where the second element seems to be the infinitive of the verb winta-, so perhaps lasselanta also includes the infinitive of the verb lanta- “to fall”.

The form lantë more strongly resembles other Quenya nouns, which more often end in -e rather than -a. As such, I prefer lantë over lanta as the independent noun for “a fall”.

lanya-

verb. to cross

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)

lelta-

verb. send

#lelta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: leltanelyes "you sent him" (VT47:21)

lenta

adjective. free

lenta-

verb. send

[#lenta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: lentanelyes "you sent him". Changed by Tolkien to #lelta-, q.v. (VT47:22, 21)]

lerina

free

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

lutta-

verb. flow, float

lutta- vb. "flow, float" (LT1:249)

lutu-

verb. flow, float

lutu- vb. "flow, float" (LT1:249)

lá

athwart, over, across, beyond

lá (2) prep. "athwart, over, across, beyond" (PE17:65), also used in phrases of comparison, e.g. "A ná calima lá B", A is bright beyond (= brighter than) B (VT42:32).

léra

free

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

ló

from

ló, lo (2) prep. "from", also used = "by" introducing the agent after a passive construction: nahtana ló Turin *"slain by Túrin" (VT49:24). A similar and possibly identical form is mentioned in the Etymologies as being somehow related to the ablative ending -llo, but is not there clearly defined (VT45:28). At one point, Tolkien suggested that lo rather than the ending -llo was used with proper names (lo Manwë rather than Manwello for "from Manwë"), but this seems to have been a short-lived idea (VT49:24).

mai

well

mai (1) adv. "well" (VT47:6), apparently also used as prefix (PE17:17:162, 163, 172)

mai

adverb. well, well; [ᴱQ.] too much

mandë

well

mandë (2) adv. "well" (VT49:26; this is "Qenya"). Rather mai in Tolkiens later Quenya.

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.)

nan

adverb. again

no

under

no prep. "under" (NŪ; all other sources give nu instead. In early "Qenya", no meant "upon"; MC:214)

nor-

verb. run

not-

verb. to count, to count, [ᴹQ.] reckon

A verb for “count” (PE17/63), most notable as an element in the adjective únótima “numberless, countless, (lit.) uncountable” from the phrase yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron “long years numberless as the wings of trees” in the Namárië “poem” (LotR/377). In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. not- was glossed “reckon” and was derived from the root ᴹ√NOT “count, reckon” (Ety/NOT).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use the verb not- primarily in the sense “count”, and for “reckon” I would use onot-.

nu

under

nu prep. "under" _(LR:56, Markirya, Nam, RGEO:66, MC:214; the _Etymologies alone gives no [q.v.] instead). In Mar-nu-Falmar, nuhuinenna, q.v. Prefix nú- in nútil, q.v.

o

preposition. from

A preposition for “from”, especially in the genitival sense “originating from”. For “from” in a positional sense, it is far more common to use the ablative suffix -llo.

Conceptual Development: The preposition ᴱQ. ô was first mentioned in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as the equivalent of G. a(n·) “from” which had an ablative sense (GL/17). In Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants written in 1936, Tolkien mentioned {o >> ho >>} o as a preposition based on primitive ᴹ✶ʒō̆ “away from, from among” (PE21/60 and note #48). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ho “from” appeared under the root ᴹ√ƷŌ̆ “from, away, from among, out of” (Ety/ƷŌ̆). This primitive form ʒō̆ was also the basis of the Quenya genitive suffix ᴹQ. -o.

In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, Tolkien mentioned the preposition Q. o “from” as a reduction of ancient ✶ăwă “away” (PE17/148). In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 Tolkien again mentioned ō < ✶hō “from” with some difficult-to-read qualifications that seem to indicate this was “from” in the genitival sense, as opposed to ✶lō “from” in the positional/ablative sense (PE22/168).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would assume that o is a rarely used preposition, usually replaced by either genitive -o [originating from] or ablative -llo [moving from].

pal-

verb. shake

pal- (1) vb. "shake", pa.t. pallë given (PE16:143).

pata-

verb. walk

pata- vb. "walk" (PE17:34)

rato

soon

rato adv. "soon" (Arct)

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.

sir-

verb. flow

sir- (1) vb. "flow" (SIR)

sir-

verb. flow

sirya

verb. flow

tampo

well

tampo noun "well" (QL:93)

tarwë

cross, crucifix

tarwë noun "cross, Crucifix" (QL:89)

ten

for

ten (2) conj. "for", in Fíriel's Song; apparently replaced by an in LotR-style Quenya.

tuilindo

swallow

tuilindo noun "swallow", etymologically "spring-singer" (TUY, LIN2, LT1:269, LT2:338)

undu

down, under, beneath

undu adv. (and prep.?) "down, under, beneath" (UNU, VT46:20); prefixundu- "down", in undulávë "down-licked" = covered. (Nam)

undu

down

undu

adverb. down, under, down, under, [ᴹQ.] beneath

An adverb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “down, under, beneath” under the root ᴹ√UNU, parallel to amba “up(wards)” (Ety/UNU). It was also used as a prefix meaning “down, under” in unduláve “swallowed = down-licked” from the Namárië “poem” (LotR/377; PE17/72). As a prefix, it had a shorter form un(u)- as in untup- “cover down” (PE17/73) and [ᴹQ.] unutikse “under dot [in writing]” (Ety/TIK).

Conceptual Development: A rejected page of verbal roots from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 had ᴹQ. undu “down from on high” (prefixal form unu-) and ᴹQ. undo “down, low down”, both based on ᴹ√NDŪ (PE22/127).

uo

together

[uo adv. "together" (PE17:191)]

uo

adverb. together

The adverb uo “together” appeared as a derivative of ✶ówō in a rejected page of notes on the etymology about the prefix o- of the same meaning, probably from around 1959 (PE17/191).

Neo-Quenya: Though the page is rejected, the etymology of ᴺQ. uo “together” remains plausible, so I would retain this adverb for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

va

from

va prep. "from" (VT43:20; prefixed in the form var- in var-úra "from evil", VT43:24). In VT49:24, va, au and o are quoted as variants of the stem awa "away from".

vanta

walk

vanta (2) noun "walk" (BAT)

vare

verb. err, stray

wa-

prefix. together

yonwa

fence, border, boundary

yonwa noun "fence, border, boundary" (PE17:43)

yur-

verb. run

yur- vb. "run" (quoted in form yurin, translated "runs", but within Tolkien's later framework it looks like a 1st person aorist "I run")-QL:106 (cf. entry YUR in Etym)

yón

noun. region

úmanyar

those not of aman

Úmanyar pl. noun "those not of Aman", Eldar that did not reach Aman, sc. Sindar and Nandor _(SA:mān). _Sg. #Úmanya.Also Úamanyar.

loru-

verb. to fall asleep

A neologism coined by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo to replace the “fall asleep” senses of the Early Qenya verb ᴱQ. fanta- (QL/37).

nívë

noun. face

A neologism for “face” coined by Petri Tikka in PPQ (PPQ) from the early 2000s, derived from the root ᴹ√NIB “face, front”, but I see no reason not to use attested [ᴹQ.] anta or cendelë “face” for that purpose for that purpose.

oment-

verb. to meet

sar-

verb. to cross

A neologism for “cross” appearing in ABNW (ABNW) from the early 2000s, derived from ᴹ√THAR “cross”.

tampo

noun. well

uo

adverb. together

vel-

verb. to meet

A neologism for “to meet” used in NQNT, deduced from ᴱQ. véla “see”, assuming this is a present-continuative verb form and that the actual sense is “meet” (QQ/vel-). I am of the opinion that omen- (lit. “to move together”) is a better Quenya word for “to meet” based on omentië “meeting”.

yad-

verb. to go

A verb appearing in the Lament of Akallabêth in the form ayadda “(it) went” (SD/247, VT24/12). Its initial element is the 3rd persons neuter plural suffix a- “it”. This leaves the basic verb form yadda, which is the past tense according to the theories used here.

Conceptual Development: It appeared in the form yadda in the first draft version of the Lament, and this form was also briefly considered as a replacement for unakkha “he-came” in the first sentence of the Lament (SD/312).

pharaz

noun. gold

A noun meaning “gold”, the only Adûnaic word defined in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1114).

Conceptual Development: This noun also appears in “Lowdham’s Report on the Adunaic Language” from the 1940s (SD/426).

-ô

preposition. from

A prepositional suffix translated “from” (SD/429). In a few places, the suffix appears with the glide-consonant v (pronounced [w]) between it and a preceding u-vowel (SD/247, 249). It is likely related to the Quenya genitive inflection Q. -o.

Conceptual Development: At an earlier conceptual stage, this suffix was a grammatical inflection, the draft-genitive -ō (SD/438).

nakh-

verb. to come

A verb translated in the past tense as “came” (SD/247, 311), so probably meaning “to come”. Like kalab-, this is one of the few Adûnaic verbs attested in more than one conjugation. As such, it is useful in the study of Adûnaic verbs, in this case biconsonantal-verbs as opposed to triconsonantal kalab-.

It is attested in two forms, unakkha “he-came” and yanākhim “are at hand”. The initial elements in these forms are the 3rd-sg masculine pronominal prefix u- and the 3rd-pl neuter pronominal prefix ya-, respectively, while the latter form has the plural verbal suffix -m. Removing these elements leaves the conjugated forms nakkha and nākhi, which are the past and continuative-present tenses according to the theories used here. If the second form is the continuative-present, its literal meaning may be “are coming”.

Conceptual Development: In the draft version of the Lament of Akallabêth, this verb stem was apparently nek-, with past forms hunekkū >> unekkū “he-came”, with Tolkien vacillating on the proper form of the 3rd-sg masculine pronominal prefix u-.

-ak Reconstructed

preposition. away

A suffix in the word êphalak “far away”, a derivative of êphal “far” (SD/247). Some authors have suggested that -ak is an intensive suffix “very” instead of suffix meaning “away” (LGtAG, NBA/32). However, the corresponding Quenya word vahai(y)a “far away” is a combination va “(away) from” and haiya “far”, so it seems to me that the literal translation “away” is more likely to be correct (this translation of va was published after LGtAG and NBA were written).

lóri

noun. gold

kalab

root. fall

A Primitive Adûnaic root gloss “fall” (SD/416) appearing as an element in the name Akallabêth (PM/158) and also most likely the basis for the verb kalab- “to fall (down)”.

buri

suffix. son of

au

adverb. away

au-

prefix. away

hacta, hatta

noun. fence

fence, hedge

han-

verb. to give

ho

preposition. from

vo-

prefix. together