Primitive elvish

kiryā

noun/adjective. (small swift sailing) ship; swift (especially of things that pass easily through obstacles)

Primitive elvish [PE18/098; PE18/106; PE21/74; PE21/75; PE21/77] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryaktō

noun. shipwright

Primitive elvish [PE18/085] Group: Eldamo. Published by

suffix. adjectival

Primitive elvish [PE21/82; PE23/128; WJ/382] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryā kyulmā

a ship’s mast

Primitive elvish [PE21/74] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Quenya 

cirya

noun. (sharp-prowed) ship; swift gliding, (sharp-prowed) ship, [ᴹQ.] boat; [Q.] swift gliding

Cirya has been the Quenya word for “ship” for much of Tolkien’s life, and is very well-attested with this meaning. ᴱQ. kirya “ship” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/46, 79) and in the English-Qenya Dictionary of this same period, where Tolkien described it as the “general term” for a ship, as opposed to ᴱQ. lunte “boat” (PE15/77).

Tolkien regularly used ᴹQ. kirya “ship” in lists of noun declensions from the late 1920s and early 1930s (PE16/112-115; PE21/4, 46, 53). In one of these it was glossed “boat” rather than “ship” (PE21/53). ᴹQ. kirya “ship” appeared in The Etymologies from around 1937 under the root ᴹ√KIR (Ety/KIR), and it was derived from the root √KIR in later notes as well (PE22/150). It continued to be used in declension examples all the way up to the famous Plotz of 1966-7 (VT6/14).

The second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) from around 1950 specified that its primitive antecedent had two variants: noun ✶kíryā “small swift sailing ship” and adjective kiryā́ “swift (especially of things that pass easily through obstacles)”, distinguished only by ancient patterns of stress (PE18/106). Hints of this second adjectival meaning can be seen in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, where Tolkien glossed kirya as an adjective meaning “swift gliding” in a note where he tried to distinguish the meaning of the roots √KIR and √KER (PE22/150).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use cirya only as a noun for “ship”, and would assume its adjectival use “swift” was archaic. I would further assume cirya is used of faster ships with deeper hulls that cut through the water (especially if driven by sails or other motor), as opposed to a slower or flatter Q. luntë “boat” which moves mainly by floating on top of the water. Thus [in my opinion] the distinction between cirya and luntë is mainly the relative depth of the hull rather than the size of the vessel, so that luntë could refer to a large barge and cirya to a small but swift sailboat.

Quenya [Let/427; MC/221; MC/222; PE17/058; PE17/074; PE17/147; PE21/80; PE22/150; PE23/128; PE23/129; PE23/134; Plotz/01; Plotz/02; Plotz/03; Plotz/04; Plotz/05; Plotz/06; Plotz/07; Plotz/08; Plotz/09; Plotz/10; S/265; SA/kir] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cirya

ship

cirya _("k")_noun "ship" (MC:213, 214, 220, 221), "(sharp-prowed) ship" (SA:kir-, where the word is misspelt círya with a long í; Christopher Tolkien probably confused it with the first element of the Sindarin name Círdan. It seems that Círyon, the name of Isildur's son, is likewise misspelt; read Ciryon as in the index and the main text of the Silmarillion. Cf. also kirya_ in Etym, stem KIR.) _Also in Markirya. In the Plotz letter, cirya is inflected for all cases except plural possessive (*ciryaiva). The curious dual form ciriat occurs in Letters:427, whereas Plotz gives the expected form ciryat. Locative ciryasse "upon a ship" (MC:216). Compounded in ciryaquen "shipman, sailor" (WJ:372), also ciryando (PE17:58), cf. also ciryamo "mariner" (UT:8). Masc. names Ciryaher* "Ship-lord" (Appendix A), Ciryandil "Ship-friend" (Appendix A), Ciryatan "Ship-builder" (Appendix A), also Tar-Ciryatan**, name of a Númenórean king, "King Shipbuilder" (SA:kir-)

ciryatan

noun. shipbuilder, shipwright

A Quenya word for “shipbuilder” or “shipwright” most notably used as the name of Tar-Ciryatan, the 12th ruler of Númenor (S/265; PM/151). It is a combination of cirya “ship” and tamo (-tan) “builder, wright”. The long í is likely due to intrusion of ancient medial y into the initial syllable: ✱kirya-tan > kiry(a)-dan > kīrdan. Tolkien vacillated on tamo vs. [ᴹQ.] tano (Ety/TAN) for this second element, but seems to have settled on tamo which would make the stem form of this word ✱ciryatam-.

Conceptual Development: The first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) of the 1930s had another word ᴹQ. kiryahto “shipwright” derived from ᴹ✶kirya-k’tō (PE18/62), and thus a combination ᴹQ. kirya “ship” and ᴹQ. ahto “builder, maker”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think both ciryatan and ciryahto can coexist, with the ciryatan referring to the principle designer or builder of the ship, and ciryahto for other workers helping build the ship.

ciryaher

masculine name. *Ship Lord

The given name of the 15th king of Gondor, later called Hyarmendacil (LotR/1045). This name is probably a compound of cirya “ship” and heru “lord”.

Conceptual Development: In drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices, his name was first given as Kiryahir, perhaps a combination with S. hîr “lord”.

Quenya [LotRI/Hyarmendacil I; PMI/Kiryahir] Group: Eldamo. Published by

círa

sail

círa ("k")vb. "sail" (apparently the continuative stem of #cir-) (Markirya)

ciryaquen

noun. shipman, sailor

A word for a “shipman, sailor” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, a combination of cirya “ship” with quén “person” (WJ/372). Tolkien specified that “these compounds being old were accented as unitary words and the main stress came on the syllable preceding -quen” (WJ/407), so stressed cirYAquen and (plural) cirYAqueni.

Conceptual Development: The Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s had ᴹQ. veaner “sailor” as a combination of ᴹQ. vea “sea” and ᴹQ. nér “man”, along with an archaic variant ᴹQ. vainar (PE21/17), the latter with some phonetic modifications particular to this document and not seen in Tolkien’s later writings.

Quenya [WJ/372; WJ/407] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cirya tyulma

a ship-mast, ship’s mast, mast of an unspecified ship or any ship

ciryandil

masculine name. *Ship Lover

The 14th king of Gondor (LotR/1038). This name is probably a compound of cirya “ship” and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend, -lover”.

Quenya [LotRI/Ciryandil; PMI/Kiryandil] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ciryatan

masculine name. Shipbuilder, Shipwright

Tar-Ciryatan was the 12th ruler of Númenor (S/265, UT/221), also known as Ad. Ar-Balkumagân (PM/151). His name is a compound of cirya “ship” and the suffixal form -tan “-builder, -wright” of tamo “smith”.

Quenya [LotR/1035; LotRI/Tar-Ciryatan; LRI/Tar-Atanamir; PM/151; PMI/Ar-Balkumagān; PMI/Kiryatan; PMI/Tar-Kiryatan; S/265; SA/kir; SI/Tar-Ciryatan; UTI/Tar-Ciryatam] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ciryando

noun. sailor

A word for a “sailor” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/58), a combination of cirya “ship” with the (masculine) agental suffix -ndo.

ciryahto

noun. shipwright

shipwright

Quenya [PE 18:62] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

ciryamo

mariner

ciryamo noun "mariner", nominative and genitive are identical since the noun already ends in -o, cf. Indis i-Ciryamo "the Mariner's Wife" (UT:8)

ciryamo

noun. mariner

A word for a “mariner” in the title Indis i·Ciryamo “The Mariner’s Wife” (UT/8), a combination of cirya “ship” with the agental suffix -mo.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. veniel “mariner” as an elaboration of ᴱQ. vene “small boat” (QL/100).

ciryando

sailor

ciryando ("k")noun "sailor" (PE17:58).

ciryaquen

shipman, sailor

ciryaquen ("k") "shipman, sailor" (WJ:372)

lútë

sail

lútë noun "sail" (MC:213; this is "Qenya")

veluntë

noun. sail

Sindarin 

cair

noun. ship

The Sindarin word for “ship”, most notably appearing as an element in the name Cair Andros “Ship of Long Foam” (LotR/812; PM/371). It is derived from primitive ✶kiryā, with the ancient i becoming e via a-affection [kery(a)], then the y intruding into the main syllable to form the diphthong ei [keir], and ultimately ei becoming ai as usual in final syllables in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s [kair]. This word has a somewhat unusual plural, since ī replaced final ā in its ancient plural [kiryā-ī > kirī], so that a-affection did not occur resulting in a modern plural form cîr “ships” (PE17/147). Its class plural is likewise the somewhat unusual ciriath “[all the] ships” for similar reasons.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies from around 1937 had N. ceir “ship” under the root ᴹ√KIR “cleave” (Ety/KIR), since in Noldorin of the 1930s ei did not (usually) become ai in final syllables. In Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, Tolkien gave cīr “ship”, first marked “N.”, then “Ilk.”, then “N. & Ilk.” (PE21/57 and note #28). It had the class plurals círiath or ciriath but it is not clear which of these was the intended final form (PE21/57 note #28). I think ciriath is more phonologically plausible; compare class plural S. Firiath “Mortals” vs. ordinary plural Fîr (WJ/387).

Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had the word ᴱN. cair followed by ᴱN. braithgair, but neither word was translated (PE13/139-140).

Sindarin [PE17/147; SA/an(d)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cirion

noun. shipman, sailor

Sindarin [Cirion (name)] Group: SINDICT. Published by

cair

noun. ship

Sindarin [Ety/365, LotR/A(iv), X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

círdan

noun. shipbuilder, shipwright

Sindarin [Ety/365, Ety/390, LotR/VI:IX, RC/28] cair+tân. Group: SINDICT. Published by

círdan

masculine name. Shipwright

An Elf-lord who was a famous ship builder, whose name was translated “Shipwright” (LotR/240). His name is simply círdan “shipbuilder” used as a name (Ety/KIR).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, his name was first given as N. Cirdan with a short i (WR/76). His name appeared in The Etymologies as C(e)irdan (Ety/TAN), where the (e) probably indicates its development from N. ceir “ship” (later S. cair).

Sindarin [LotR/0240; LotRI/Círdan; LT1I/Círdan; PE17/027; PM/385; PMI/Círdan; RC/028; RSI/Círdan; S/058; SA/kir; SI/Círdan; SMI/Círdan; UTI/Círdan; WJ/008; WJI/Círdan] Group: Eldamo. Published by

círdan

noun. shipbuilder, shipwright

Sindarin [PE17/027] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cair

ship

cair (in compounds cír-) (i gair, o chair), pl. cîr, i chîr; coll. pl. ciriath.

cair

ship

(in compounds cír-) (i gair, o chair), pl. cîr, i chîr; coll. pl. ciriath.

cirion

shipman

(i girion) (sailor), pl. ciryn (i chiryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.

cirion

shipman

cirion (i girion) (sailor), pl. ciryn (i chiryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.

cirion

sailor

cirion (i girion) (shipman), pl. ciryn (i chíryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.

cirion

sailor

(i girion) (shipman), pl. ciryn (i chíryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.

círdan

shipbuilder, shipwright

(i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain).

círdan

shipbuilder

círdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain)

círdan

shipwright

círdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipbuilder), pl. círdain (i chírdain). Compare Círdan as a proper name.

círdan

shipbuilder, shipwright

círdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain).

renia

sail

(verb) renia- (fly, wander, stray) (i renia, idh reniar)

renia

sail

(fly, wander, stray) (i renia, idh reniar)

Noldorin 

ceir

noun. ship

Noldorin [Ety/KIR; Ety/PAD; EtyAC/KIR; PE21/57] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ciriaeth

noun. shipwright

Noldorin [PE18/062] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cirdan

noun. shipbuilder

ceir

noun. ship

Noldorin [Ety/365, LotR/A(iv), X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ceirdan

noun. shipbuilder, shipwright

Noldorin [Ety/365, Ety/390, LotR/VI:IX, RC/28] cair+tân. Group: SINDICT. Published by

cirdan

noun. shipbuilder, shipwright

Noldorin [Ety/365, Ety/390, LotR/VI:IX, RC/28] cair+tân. Group: SINDICT. Published by

cirdan

masculine name. Shipbuilder

Noldorin [Ety/TAN; SD/067; SDI1/Círdan; WR/076; WR/077; WRI/Cirdan] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ciriaeth

noun. shipwright

shipwright

Noldorin [PE 18:62] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

cîr

noun. ship

Adûnaic

balak

noun. ship

The noun for “ship”, attested only in the plural (balîk) and objective (balku) forms (SD/247, PM/151). Its plural form indicates that it is a strong-noun (Strong I), so its final vowel must be short. In theory its final vowel could be any of a, i or u, each of which would be replaced by long î in plural nouns. However, its attested objective form uses the variant objective-with-syncope form balku instead of ordinary ✱baluk. Since the Adûnaic syncope seems only to occur for nouns with two identical short vowels, this indicates the singular form of this word is balak.

Adûnaic [PM/151; SD/247] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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!

Ancient quenya

kiryā

noun. kiryā

Ancient quenya [PE21/76] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

kirya

noun. ship, boat

Early Quenya [MC/213; MC/214; MC/216; MC/220; MC/221; PE14/046; PE14/079; PE15/70; PE15/77; PE16/056; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/061; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/077; PE16/078; PE16/100; PE16/104; PE16/112; PE16/113; PE16/114; PE16/115; PE16/147] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryan kantalár

kiryan kantalár

Early Quenya [PE16/057; PE16/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kirya kalliére

the ship shone

The seventh phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). The first word is kirya “ship” followed by the past 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kala- “to shine”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> kirya kall-ié-re = “✱ship shine-(past)-she”

Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the second draft of the poem, though Tolkien first wrote (and then deleted) the definite article i, and he put kirya into its nominative form kiryan (OM1b: PE16/57-8). For unclear reasons, he abandoned the nominative form in fourth and all later drafts (OM1d: PE16/62). This change was not reflected in the English translation; Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter speculated on its possible revised meaning in the Early Qenya Poetry article (PE16/62, notes on line #7).

Early Quenya [MC/220; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryassea

adjective. what is on board ship

An adjective appearing as ᴱQ. kiryassea “what is on board ship” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, an example of a how adjectives can be formed from the locative (PE14/47, 79).

Neo-Quenya: This construction remains valid in Tolkien’s later Quenya, such as 1950s menelessea “✱in heaven” (VT43/13). Thus, I would keep ᴺQ. ciryassëa as an adjective meaning “✱ship-board, on-board” referring to things on a ship, for example: ciryassëa sorasta “ship-board/on-board equipment”. For “on board” as a location, the ordinary locative would be used (PE14/46; PE15/70), for example: á mene ciryassë “go aboard/on board [= on ship]”.

Early Quenya [PE14/047] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryasse earendil or vea

Earendel, upon a ship upon the sea

Early Quenya [MC/216; PE16/100; PE16/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tala

noun. sail

A word appearing in its instrumental forms talainen or talalínen “with/on wings” in various versions of the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (MC/213, 220). In the earliest drafts of the poem, the form was ᴱQ. alainen “upon wings” (PE16/062). In a glossary associated with one of the drafts, Tolkien translated tala as “sail” (PE16/75), perhaps indicating the translation “wings” was metaphorical.

Early Quenya [MC/213; MC/216; MC/220; PE16/074; PE16/075; PE16/077; PE16/100; PE16/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

earendel

masculine name. Earendel

Early Quenya [GL/51; LBI/Eärendel; Let/008; LT1A/Eärendel; LT1I/Eärendel; LT2I/Eärendel; MC/216; PE12/025; PE13/099; PE13/103; PE13/104; PE15/07; PE15/22; PE15/29; PE16/100; PE16/104; PME/035; QL/034; QL/105] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-va

suffix. adjectival

Early Quenya [PE14/047; PE14/054; PE14/079; PE15/68; QL/030; QL/031; QL/033; QL/037; QL/038; QL/039; QL/040; QL/041; QL/042; QL/044; QL/046; QL/047; QL/048; QL/049; QL/051; QL/052; QL/053; QL/060; QL/061; QL/062; QL/065; QL/067; QL/068; QL/071; QL/073; QL/076; QL/078; QL/082; QL/083; QL/086; QL/091; QL/096; QL/098; QL/102; QL/105] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lunte

noun. ship, boat

Early Quenya [LT1A/Alqaluntë; LT1A/Ilsaluntë; MC/216; PE15/77; PE16/100; PE16/104; PE16/147; PME/057; QL/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sala-

verb. to sail

salta-

verb. to sail

Early Quenya [PE15/77] Group: Eldamo. Published by

velu

noun. sail

velunte

noun. sail

A word appearing as a noun ᴱQ. velunte “sail” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√VELU “unroll” (QL/100). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, Tolkien compared G. belon “sail” to Q. velu (GL/22), but that could be a reference to the root.

Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. veluntë “sail” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, based on a Neo-Root ᴺ√BELU “unroll”.

Early Quenya [GL/22; QL/100] Group: Eldamo. Published by

veniel

noun. mariner

Early Quenya [QL/100] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yarendilyon

noun. sailor

Early Quenya [QL/105] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

kirya

noun. ship, boat

Qenya [Ety/KIR; PE19/060; PE21/04; PE21/08; PE21/44; PE21/46; PE21/47; PE21/53; PE21/54; PE21/69; PE22/120; PE22/121; PE23/079; PE23/081; PE23/111; VT28/08] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryasta-

verb. to sail, to sail [a ship], *make a ship go

A verb for “to sail” appearing in the phrase ᴹQ. qe e·kárie i kirya aldaryas, ni kauva kiryasta menelyas “if he finishes the boat by Monday, I shall be able to sail on Wednesday”, from the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 (PE22/121). It is a verb form of kirya [cirya] “ship”, so more exactly appears to mean “to sail [a ship], ✱make a ship go”.

Conceptual Development: The English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱQ. salta- “sail, used of any smooth steady progression” (PE15/77), while the slightly later Early Qenya Word-list had ᴱQ. lut- “float, sail” (PE16/134).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would ciryasta- only for the act of making a ship go: i hesto ciryasta i cirya “the captain sails the ship”. For the movement of the ship itself, I would us lut- “float, [ᴱQ.] sail”: i cirya lute i earessë “the ship sails on the sea”.

kiryahto

noun. shipwright, shipwright, *[subordinate] ship-crafter

kirya karie

ship-making, making a ship/ships, nautical construction

kiryava karie

the making of a ship

-va

suffix. adjectival

Qenya [Ety/TER; PE21/59; PE23/081] Group: Eldamo. Published by

earendel

masculine name. Earendel

@@@ dual and plural forms representative of nouns in the same class

Qenya [LRI/Eärendel; PE21/33; PE21/34; PE22/020; PE22/041; PMI/Eärendil; RSI/Eärendel; SDI2/Eärendil; SMI/Eärendel; TI/102; TII/Eärendel; WJI/Eärendil; WR/223; WRI/Earendel] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vainar

noun. sailor

Qenya [PE21/17; PE21/31; PE21/33; PE21/36] Group: Eldamo. Published by

veaner

noun. sailor

Qenya [PE21/17; PE21/31; PE21/33; PE21/36] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

kiryā

noun. ship

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE19/060; PE21/65; PE21/66; PE21/68; PE23/076] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryaktō

noun. shipwright

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE18/062] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kirya kyulma

a ship’s mast

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE21/65; PE21/68] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kiryat tūlat

the 2 ships are approaching

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE23/076] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vaianer

noun. sailor

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE21/17; PE21/31] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

cîr

noun. ship

A noun for “ship” used to in some linguistic notes in the mid-1930s to illustrate the class plural: círiath. Tolkien first wrote these forms with a short vowel (cir, ciriath), and he vacillated on whether these were Noldorin or Ilkorin words, eventually deciding they were from both languages (PE21/57 noted #28). The proper etymology of the Ilkorin form is unclear; based on the example of gwene < ✱gwenyā we might expect Ilk. ✱✱cere instead.

Doriathrin [PE21/57] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

belon

noun. sail

earendel

masculine name. Earendel

ioringli

masculine name. Earendel

Gnomish [GL/51; LT1A/Eärendel; PE15/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lunta

noun. ship

Gnomish [GL/55; LT1A/Alqaluntë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

certhan

masculine name. Shipbuilder

Old Noldorin [Ety/TAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by