Quenya 

Yón

son

Yón (1) noun "Son" (VT44:12, 17, referring to Jesus. Tolkien rewrote the text in question. Normally the Quenya word for "son" appears as yondo, which also refers to Jesus in one text.)

anon

son

anon noun "son" (PE17:170), possibly intended by Tolkien as a replacement for yondo.

anon

noun. son

A transient word for “son” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, written of above the more common yon-do (PE17/170).

son

(actually spelt ), also vondo, noun "son" (LT2:336; in Tolkien's later Quenya yondo)

yondo

son

yondo noun "son" (YŌ/YON, VT43:37); cf. yonya and the patronymic ending -ion. Early "Qenya" has , yond-, yondo "son" (LT2:342). According to LT2:344, these are poetic words, but yondo seems to be the normal word for "son" in LotR-style Quenya. Yón appears in VT44, 17, but Tolkien rewrote the text in question. In LT2:344, yondo is said to mean "male descendant, usually (great) grandson", but in Tolkien's later Quenya, yondo means "son", and the word is so glossed in LT2:342. Dative yondon in VT43:36 (here the "son" in question is Jesus). See also yonya. At one point, Tolkien rejected the word yondo as "very unsuitable" (for the intended meaning?), but no obvious replacement appeared in his writings (PE17:43), unless the (ephemeral?) form anon (q.v.) is regarded as such. In one source, yondo is also defined as "boy" (PE17:190).

yonyo

son, big boy

yonyo noun "son, big boy". In one version, yonyo was also a term used in children's play for "middle finger" or "middle toe", but Tolkien may have dropped this notion, deciding to use hanno "brother" as the alternative play-name (VT47:10, 15, VT48:4)

Sindarin 

iôn

noun. son

Sindarin [WJ/337] Group: SINDICT. Published by

iôn

masculine name. Son

A name that Eöl used for his son Maeglin while he was growing, which is simply ion(n) “son” used as a name (WJ/337).

Elements

WordGloss
ion(n)“son, son, *boy”
Sindarin [WJ/337; WJI/Iôn] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ion

noun. son

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Sindarin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ion

noun. scion, male descendant

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Sindarin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

iond

noun. son

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Sindarin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

iond

noun. scion, male descendant

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Sindarin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ion(n)

noun. son, son, *boy

The usual word for “son” in Sindarin, derived from the root √YON of similar meaning (MR/373; SD/129; VT50/18; Ety/YŌ). Tolkien gave it as both ion and ionn.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s the word for “son” was G. bo or bon (GL/23). This became ᴱN. “son” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/144). Tolkien introduced N. ionn “son” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√YO(N) of the same meaning (Ety/YŌ), and seems to have stuck with it thereafter.

Neo-Sindarin: In later writings, Tolkien sometimes glossed its Quenya equivalents yondo or yonyo as “boy” (PE17/190; VT47/10, 27). Since we don’t have any good Sindarin words for “boy”, I’d use ionn for this purpose as well.

Cognates

  • Q. yondo “son, boy, son, boy; [ᴱQ.] male descendant, (great) grandson”

Derivations

  • YON “son”

Element in

Variations

  • ion ✧ MR/373; VT50/18
Sindarin [AotM/062; MR/373; SD/129; VT50/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ionnath

noun. all the sons

Sindarin [SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

iôn

descendant

iôn (-ion) (son), pl. ŷn, coll. pl. #ionath_ isolated from Hurinionath (PM:202-3) as the name of the House of Húrin.(MR:373, WJ.337, PM:202-3, 218)_

iôn

descendant

(-ion) (son), pl. ŷn, coll. pl. #*ionath*** isolated from Hurinionath* (PM:202-3) as the name of the House of Húrin.(MR:373*

iôn

son

iôn (-ion) (descendant), pl. ŷn, coll. pl. #ionath_ isolated from Hurinionath (PM:202-3) as the name of the House of Húrin. (MR:373, WJ.337, PM:202-203, 218) _Also iond, pl. ynd, coll. pl. ionnath. DARK SON, see DARK ELF

iôn

son

(-ion) (descendant), pl. ŷn, coll. pl. #*ionath*** isolated from Hurinionath* (PM:202-3) as the name of the House of Húrin. (MR:373*

iond

wj

pl. ynd, coll. pl. ionnath.

Primitive elvish

yon

root. son

This root was the basis for Elvish “son” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest indications of this root are ᴱQ. †Y̯ó (or y̯ond-) “son” and ᴱQ. yondo “male descendant”, both tied to the patronymic suffix ᴱQ. -ion “son of, descendant of” appearing in many names (QL/106). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon there was also the related patronymic prefix G. go- (GL/40), which implies the existence of a root ✱ᴱ√YO(NO) since [[g|initial [j] usually became [g]]] in Gnomish. However, go- was deleted and changed to G. bo-, along with new Qenya forms ᴱQ. and ᴱQ. vondo (GL/23, 40), implying a change to a root ✱ᴱ√VO(NO).

In Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, ᴱN. “son” reappeared along with ᴱQ. ion and yondi (PE13/144). In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root appeared as ᴹ√ or ᴹ√YON “son” with derivatives like ᴹQ. yondo/N. ionn “son” and patronymic -ion (Ety/YŌ). However, in notes labeled “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature” from the late 1950s, Tolkien wrote “Delete entirely yondo = ‘son’! Very unsuitable” (PE17/43). This particular note was rejected when Tolkien changed √YON “wide, extensive” to √YAN (PE17/42). Other notes in the same bundle indicate Tolkien was still seeking a new word for son, saying “Q wanted: son, daughter”, though yon(do) remained among the forms he was considering (PE17/170, 190).

However, it seems Tolkien eventually stopped vacillating and restored √YON, since the patronymic -ion was never discarded, and yon- was the basis for “son” words in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/26).

Derivatives

  • -(i)ondo
    • Q. -ion “-son, masculine patronymic” ✧ PE17/170
    • S. -ien “feminine ending” ✧ PE17/170
    • S. -ion “-son” ✧ PE17/170
  • yondō “son, boy” ✧ VT47/26
    • Q. yondo “son, boy, son, boy; [ᴱQ.] male descendant, (great) grandson”
  • ᴺQ. yonta- “to adopt (a son)”
  • Q. yonyo “(big) boy, son”
  • S. ion(n) “son, son, *boy”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. súyon “nephew, daughter’s son”
  • Q. yontil “boy, son [finger name]”

Variations

  • ✧ PE17/190
  • yon ✧ PE17/190
  • yon- ✧ VT47/26
Primitive elvish [PE17/190; VT47/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

-ion

suffix. son

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. -ion “-son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Element in

Variations

  • -ion ✧ Ety/YŌ

ionn

noun. son

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Noldorin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ionn

noun. scion, male descendant

For the second meaning, cf. Hadorion, a Húrin's epithet in WJ/294, Hurinionath referring to the house of Húrin the Steward in PM/202-3,218, and Gil-Galad's epithet Ereinion, cf. also the gloss of the old Qenya cognate yondo "descendant of" in PE/12:106, or the use of the same suffix in later Quenya names such as Isildurioni and Anárioni "Heirs of Isildur (resp. Anárion)" in PM/192,196

Noldorin [Ety/400, MR/373, X/ND1, X/ND2] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ionn

noun. son

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. yondo “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Derivations

  • ᴹ√YO(N) “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Element in

  • N. -ion “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√YON > ionn[jondo] > [jond] > [jonn]✧ Ety/YŌ

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

yondo

noun. son

Cognates

  • N. ionn “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶yondō “son”
    • ᴹ√YO(N) “son” ✧ Ety/SEL-D
  • ᴹ√YO(N) “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√YON > yondo[jondo]✧ Ety/YŌ
Qenya [Ety/YŌ; LR/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

yo(n)

root. son

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶yondō “son” ✧ Ety/SEL-D
  • ᴹQ. -ion “-son” ✧ Ety/YŌ
  • ᴹQ. yondo “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ
  • N. ionn “son” ✧ Ety/YŌ

Variations

  • ✧ Ety/ÑGYŌ; Ety/SEL-D; Ety/YŌ
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ÑGYŌ; Ety/SEL-D; Ety/YŌ] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yondō

noun. son

Derivations

  • ᴹ√YO(N) “son” ✧ Ety/SEL-D

Derivatives

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Kalion “Son of Light, Valinorian Elda” ✧ PE21/37 (kalion)

Variations

  • ı̯ondō ✧ Ety/SEL-D; PE21/37 (ı̯ondō)
  • iondo ✧ EtyAC/SEL-D
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/SEL-D; EtyAC/SEL-D; PE21/37; PE21/58] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

bôr

noun. descendant

Gnomish [GL/23; LT2A/bo] Group: Eldamo. Published by

arn

noun. son

Gnomish [GL/20; PE13/110] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bo(n)

noun. son

Cognates

  • Eq. vondo “son” ✧ GL/23; LT2A/bo

Derivations

Element in

  • G. bo- “son of” ✧ LT2A/bo
  • G. bôr “descendant” ✧ GL/23

Variations

  • Bo ✧ GL/23
  • bon ✧ GL/23; LT2A/bo
  • bo ✧ LT2A/bo
Gnomish [GL/23; LT2A/bo] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

noun. son

Cognates

  • Eq. ion “son” ✧ PE13/144

Derivations

Early Noldorin [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

vo(no) Reconstructed

root. son

Derivatives

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

ion

noun. son

In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. Ion was the “mystic name of God, 2nd Person of Blessed Trinity”, that is the “Son” in the “Father, Son, Holy Ghost” trinity (QL/43). In that document yon or yond- was given in a couple of places as (archaic?) words for “son” (QL/43, 106). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, Tolkien gave ion as the equivalent of ᴱN. “son”, along with a plural form yondi (PE13/113). However, in the English-Qenya Dictionary Tolkien said yondi was an irregular plural form of ᴱQ. yondo “son” (PE15/77), and this is the form he typically used in later writings.

Cognates

  • En. “son” ✧ PE13/144

Derivations

Early Quenya [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fion

noun. son

A word glossed {“nephew” >>} “son” in an isolated entry of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with stem form fiond- (QL/37). The same word appeared unglossed under the early root ᴱ√SUẈU where it was derived from primitive ᴱ✶þẉ-iı̯on-d (QL/87).

Derivations

Element in

  • Eq. Fionwe ✧ LT1A/Fionwë; QL/038

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶þẉ-iı̯on-d > fion[θwijond] > [swijond] > [swiond] > [fiond] > [fion]✧ QL/087

Variations

  • Fion ✧ LT1A/Fionwë; QL/038
Early Quenya [LT1A/Fionwë; QL/038; QL/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. son

hilmo

noun. son

hilu

noun. son

A word for “son” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with variants hilu and hilmo under the early root ᴱ√HILI (QL/40), both variants also appearing in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/40).

Derivations

  • ᴱ√HILI “*youth, offspring” ✧ QL/040

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√HIL > hilu[xilū] > [xilu] > [hilu]✧ QL/040

Variations

  • hilmo ✧ PME/040; QL/040; QL/106
Early Quenya [PME/032; PME/040; QL/040; QL/106] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vondo

noun. son

Cognates

  • G. bo(n) “son” ✧ GL/23; LT2A/bo

Derivations

Variations

  • ✧ GL/23; LT2A/bo
Early Quenya [GL/23; LT2A/bo] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yon

noun. son

noun. son

Derivations

Element in

  • Eq. -ion “-son” ✧ LT2A/Indorion; QL/106
  • Eq. Ion “*Christ” ✧ QL/043; QL/106
  • Eq. súyon “nephew, daughter’s son” ✧ QL/087
  • Eq. yondo “son, male descendant, (great) grandson” ✧ QL/106

Variations

  • ✧ LT2A/go; LT2A/Indorion ()
  • Yon ✧ QL/043
  • yon ✧ QL/087 (yon)
  • Y̯ó ✧ QL/106 (Y̯ó)
Early Quenya [LT2A/go; LT2A/Indorion; QL/043; QL/087; QL/106] Group: Eldamo. Published by