Lórien

lórien

Lórien (from lor-, q.v.), place-name also used as the name of a Vala, properly the place where he dwells, whereas his real name is Irmo (WJ:402, LOS (ÓLOS, SPAN) ). Alternative forms Lorien (with a short o) and Lorion, MR:144.

lórien

proper name. *Dream Lands

The gardens of Irmo in Valinor, often used as the name of that Vala as well (S/28). Its initial element is lórë “dream”. Its final element -ien is seen in the names of other lands, such as Arvernien and Hildórien. This name was also used as the Quenya name for the forest-kingdom of Galadriel, S. Lórien, which appeared in the Quenya subtitle of the Namárië poem: Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” (RGEO/58). This example also indicates that the stem form of this name was Lóriend-.

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, but in its earliest manifestation, ᴱQ. Lórien was only the name of the Vala (LT1/66), glossed “King of Dreams” (QL/56). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, ᴹQ. Lórien was still only the name of the Vala (LR/205) and the name appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√LOS “dream” (Ety/LOS). His true name Irmo did not emerge until Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/150), at which point Lórien became the name of his lands.

Irmo

desirer

Irmo masc. name "Desirer", name of a Vala; normally called Lórien, properly the place where he dwells (WJ:402)

-ssë

at

-ssë (1) locative ending (compare the preposition se, sé "at", q.v.); in Lóriendessë, lúmessë, máriessë, yalúmessë (q.v. for reference); pl. -ssen in yassen, lúmissen, mahalmassen, símaryassen, tarmenissen, q.v. Pronouns take the simple ending -ssë, even if the pronoun is plural by its meaning (messë "on us", VT44:12). The part. pl. (-lissë or -lissen) and dual (-tsë) locative endings are known from the Plotz letter only.

se

at, in

se (2), also long sé, preposition "at, in" (VT43:30; compare the "locative prefix" se- possibly occurring in an early "Qenya" text, VT27:25)

lórien

place name. *Golden Lands

The forest ruled by Galadriel, originally named in Nandorin Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” (UT/253) but adapted into Sindarin (LotR/1127) in imitation of Q. Lórien (UT/253), the realm of Irmo in Aman.

Possible Etymology: In English, it was often called the “Golden Wood” (LotR/337), so its initial element is likely a variant of the prefixal form glor- of glaur “gold” (without the “g” due to its Nandorin origin), while its final element could be the plural -ien “lands” of the suffix -ian(d), hence: “✱Golden Lands”.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, the Gnomish equivalent of ᴱQ. Lórien was G. Luriel >> Lûrien (GL/55) while in The Etymologies from the 1930s, its Noldorin equivalent was N. Lhuien (Ety/LOS). When the forest was first named in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s it was Lórien (TI/234), which Tolkien indicated was a Lemberin name in drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/36). The derivation given above was described in Tolkien’s later writings on the history of Galadriel (UT/253).

na

preposition. at

prep. at (a point of time or place). Ai na vedui Dúnadan. Mae g'ovannen. 'Ah! At last, Dúnadan ! Well met !'.

-zê

preposition. at

A prepositional suffix translated “at” (SD/429), but not appearing in any example sentences. It is perhaps a later repurposing of the draft-dative case suffix -s, since the other draft-cases became prepositional suffixes in later versions of the Adûnaic grammar: draft genitive -ō versus later preposition -ô “from”, draft instrumental -ma versus later preposition -mâ “with”.