heri

lady

heri noun "lady" (KHER, LT1:272)

heri

noun. lady

Derivations

• ✶kherī “lady”
  • √KHER “possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power”

Element in

• Q. hérincë “*little lady” ✧ UT/195

Variations

• héri ✧ UT/195 (héri)

quimellë

lady

quimellë noun "lady" (GL:45)

massa

bread

#massa noun "bread" (massamma "our bread", VT43:18); massánië "breadgiver", used as a title of the highest woman among any Elvish people, since she had the keeping and gift of the coimas (lembas). Also simply translated "Lady" (PM:404)

massa

noun. bread

A word for “bread” appearing as massa (VT43/12) or massë (PE17/52) in Tolkien’s later writings, most notably as an element in Q. massánië “breadgiver” (PM/404). It was in competition with, and possibly replaced, the word masta “bread”. The distinction between the two was discussed in notes from 1960s (PE17/52):

> Assume a Primitive Eldarin derivation ✱mbassē “(baked) bread”. The other derivatives were ✱mbasta with short final, an infinitive or verbal noun formation denoting a single action of the stem .. and ✱mbazdā denoting the passive result of the action, and when used substantivally a single product of this: mbazda would thus mean baked or a baked thing ... In Quenya we have masse “bread” as a material, and masta “a cake or loaf” (zd > st).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I prefer to use massa as the typical word for “bread” rather than massë, to avoid conflict with other words like [ᴹQ.] masse “where”. I would also use masta as a more general word for baked goods, including bread but also other baked things like cakes and loafs.

Cognates

• S. bas(t) “bread”

Derivations

• ✶mbassē “(baked) bread” ✧ PE17/052
  • √MBAS “bake, bake, [ᴱ√] cook; [ᴹ√] knead” ✧ PE17/051

Element in

• Q. ámen anta síra ilaurëa massamma “give us this day our daily bread” ✧ VT43/18
• Q. coimas “life-bread, lembas”
• Q. massánië “Lady, breadgiver”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mbassē > masse	[mbassē] > [massē] > [masse]	✧ PE17/052

Variations

• masse ✧ PE17/052

massë

bread

massë noun "bread" (as a material), variant of massa, q.v. (PE17:52). Notice that *massë has also been extrapolated as a question-word "where?"

massë

noun. bread

masta

noun. bread

massánië

noun. Lady, breadgiver

A title for noble Elvish women as the keeper of the recipe for lembas (PM/404), a compound of Q. massa “bread” and an abstract form of anta- “give”. Christopher Tolkien suggested this term was probably inspired by the etymology of the English word “Lady”, derived from Old English “hlæfdige” meaning “kneader of bread” (PM/405 note #1).

Cognates

• S. besain “the Lady, breadgiver” ✧ PM/404

Elements

Word	Gloss
massa	“bread”
anta-	“to give, present; †to add to”

Lindissë

woman

Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)

tári

noun. queen, queen, [ᴱQ.] mistress, lady

Element in

• Q. Airë Tári “Holy Queen” ✧ PM/363
• Q. Elainen tárin Periandion ar meldenya anyáran “*to Elaine, queen of Hobbits and my very old friend” ✧ VT49/40
• Q. Elentári “Queen of the Stars, Star-queen” ✧ PE17/067; SA/tar
• Q. Kementári “Queen of the Earth” ✧ SA/tar
• Q. ómaryo airetári-lírinen “in the song of her voice, holy and queenly” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. ómaryo lírinen airetário “in [by means of] her voice’s song, of the holy-queen” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. lírinen ómo i·aire tário “by the song of the voice of the holy queen” ✧ PE17/076
• Q. lírinen ómo i·aire táríva “by the song of the voice of the holy queen” ✧ PE17/076
• Q. tintilar lirinen ómaryo Airë-tário ✧ PM/364
• Q. táris(së) “queenship”

Variations

• Tári ✧ PM/363
• tā́ri ✧ RGEO/58

wenci

woman, maiden

wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)

Acairis

bride

Acairis ("k") fem. name, "bride" (LT1:252; in Tolkien's later Quenya, "bride" is rather indis)

nissë

woman

nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.

nissë

noun. woman

nína

woman

#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])

nís

woman

nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †ní, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.

nís

noun. woman

The usual Quenya word for “woman” or more exactly a “female person” of any race, in later writings appearing as both nís (MR/213, 226, 229) and nisse (VT47/18, 33). Even in the cases where its singular was nís, its plural form was given as nissi, indicating a stem form of niss-. In rough notes from 1968 Tolkien said “The monosyllabic nouns (especially those with only one stem-consonant) were a small dwindling class often replaced by strengthened forms (as nis- was [by] nisse)” (VT47/18).

Thus it seems the ancient form was ✱nis- from the root √NIS, which like its male counterpart Q. nér “man” inherited a long vowel from the ancient subjective form ✱nīs. But the voiceless s was felt to be intrinsic to word, and it was thus strengthened to niss- in inflected forms to avoid the sound changes associated with an isolated s. From this a longer form nisse was generalized. In practice I think either form can be used, with singular nís being preserved by analogy with nér. However, I think inflected forms are probably all based on nisse, such as genitive nisseo “of a woman” rather than ✱✱nisso.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had both ᴹQ. nis and nisse “woman” derived the root ᴹ√NIS, with plural nissi in both cases (Ety/NIS, NDIS). He explained this variation as follows: “nis was a blend of old nīs (nisen) and the elab[orated] form ✱nis-sē” (EtyAC/NĪ¹). Hence it is was essentially the same as the scenario described above, but in the 1930s the long vowel in ancient nīs did not survive in the later short form nis.

In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, Tolkien experimented with some alternate plural forms nínaron [genitive plural] >> nísi [ordinary plural] (VT43/26-29, 31), the former apparently representing a variant singular form ✱nína, but in later writings plural nissi was restored.

Derivations

• ✶nīs “woman, female person”
  • √NIS “woman”
  • √NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female” ✧ PE21/71
• √NIS “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33

Element in

• Q. aistana elyë imíca nísi “blessed art thou amongst women” ✧ VT43/31; VT43/31
• Q. Artanis “Noble Woman”
• Q. Hávanissi “Bread-women”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√nis- > nisse	[nisse]	✧ VT47/18
√nis > nisse	[nisse]	✧ VT47/33

Variations

• nisse ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33

rína

crowned

rína adj. "crowned" (RIG), also used as a suffix "garlanded, crowned" (PE17:182)

tári

queen

tári noun "queen", used especially of Varda (TĀ/TA3, LT1:264), etymologically "she that is high" (SA:tar). Dative tárin in the Elaine inscription (VT49:40), genitive tário in Namárië. Elentári "Starqueen", a title of Varda. (Nam, RGEO:67). Tarinya "my queen" (UT:179; sic, not *tárinya). Táris or tárissë "queenship" (PE17:155)

varni

queen

varni noun "queen" (LT1:273; rather tári in Tolkien's later Quenya)

ní

woman, female

†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".

turinqui

queen

turinqui ("q") noun "queen" (LT1:260; apparently the fem. of tur. In Tolkien's later Quenya, "queen" is tári.)

rianna

noun. queen

Derivations

• √RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown”

heruin

noun. lady

n. lady. >> heryn, Rocheruin

heruin

noun. lady

Element in

• S. Roch-cheruin “Steed of the Lady”

heryn

noun. lady

heryn

noun. lady

n. lady. >> heruin, Rocheryn

heryn

noun. lady

Derivations

• ✶kherūnī “lady” ✧ PE17/097

Element in

• S. Roch-cheruin “Steed of the Lady” ✧ PE17/097; PE17/097
• S. roch heryn “Lady(’s) horse” ✧ PE17/097
• S. roch na-heryna “the horse of (the) Lady” ✧ PE17/097
• S. Roheryn “Horse of the Lady”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶herūnī > heruin	[kʰerūnī] > [kʰerūni] > [xerūni] > [xeruin] > [heruin]	✧ PE17/097
✶herūnī > heryn	[kʰerūnī] > [kʰerunī] > [kʰeruni] > [xeruni] > [xeryni] > [xeryn] > [heryn]	✧ PE17/097

Variations

• heruin ✧ PE17/097

híril

noun. lady, lady; [G.] princess, †queen

Element in

• S. Hírilorn “Tree of the Lady” ✧ SA/heru

rodel

lady

1a _n._lady, high lady. >> Nimrodel

bas(t)

noun. bread

This was the word for “bread” in Sindarin and its conceptual precursors for much of Tolkien’s life, derived from the equally long-lived root √MBAS “bake”. The word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s where G. bast “bread” was derived from the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (GL/22). ᴱN. bast “bread” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/138) and appeared again as N. bast “bread” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MBAS “knead” (Ety/MBAS).

It appeared without a final t in the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s: anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín “give us this day our daily bread” (VT44/21). However the t was restored in the phrase penim vast “we have no bread” from around 1959 (PE17/144). The late vacillations on the presence and absence of t are likely connected to Tolkien challenges with the derivation of lembas; see that entry for discussion. Likewise, the mutated forms mbas vs. vast indicate some late uncertainty on whether the primitive form began with mb- or b-.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume the normal form was bast “bread” from ancient mbasta, so that lenited forms show mb-.

Cognates

• Q. massa “bread”
• Q. masta “bread, cake, loaf, bread, cake, loaf, *baked good”

Derivations

• √MBAS “bake, bake, [ᴱ√] cook; [ᴹ√] knead”

Element in

• S. anno ammen sír i mbas ilaurui vín “give us this day our daily bread” ✧ VT44/27
• S. lembas “waybread, journey-bread”
• ᴺS. losbas “ryebread”
• S. penim vast “we have no bread” ✧ PE17/144

bass

noun. bread

In the Etymologies, the word for "bread" is given as bast , Quenya masta, but it seems that Tolkien later changed his mind and updated the word to bass, as shown in Quenya massánie, Sindarin besain, besoneth "bread-giver", and in the mutated form (i)mbas (apparently prefixed with the article). These latter Sindarin forms are however dubious, as we would rather have expected bessain (as a regular cognate of Quenya massánie) and bassoneth (without i-affection), and possibly a different mutation pattern after the article

rodel

noun. lady, high lady

Element in

• S. Nimrodel “Lady of the White Cave” ✧ PE17/049

lembas

noun. journey bread made by the Elves

adaneth

noun. (mortal) woman

rîn

noun/adjective. crowned lady, queen

rían

noun. queen, queen, *(lit.) crowned-lady

Element in

• S. Celebrían “Silver-queen” ✧ Let/423

arwen

noun. noble woman

bassoneth

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

besain

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

besoneth

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

bessain

noun. bread-giver

See bass for a discussion regarding this word

rîn

noun/adjective. crowned

bess

noun. (young) woman

bereth

noun. queen, spouse

bereth

queen

(i vereth) (spouse), pl. berith (i mberith)

bess

noun. wife

ríen

queen

(crowned lady), pl. ?rîn (idh rîn). The adjective rîn ”crowned” may also be used as a noun ”crowned woman” =  ”queen”, but with no distinct pl. form except when article precedes (idh rîn again); coll. pl. ríniath. Note: a homophone means ”remembrance”.

rîs

noun. queen

rîs

queen

1) rîs, no distinct pl. except with article preceding (idh rîs); coll. pl. ?rissath; 2) rían (”crown-gift”), pl. ríain (idh ríain); 3) bereth (i vereth) (spouse), pl. berith (i mberith), 4) ríen (crowned lady), pl. ?rîn (idh rîn). The adjective rîn ”crowned” may also be used as a noun ”crowned woman” = ”queen”, but with no distinct pl. form except when article precedes (idh rîn again); coll. pl. ríniath. Note: a homophone means ”remembrance”.

rîs

noun. queen

rîs

queen

no distinct pl. except with article preceding (idh rîs); coll. pl. ?rissath

bassoneth

lady

(bread-giver) (i massoneth, o mbassoneth), pl. bassonith (i mbassonith). Archaic ✱bassauneth.

brennil

lady

(i vrennil), pl. same as sg. except with article: i mrennil. Coll. pl. brenillath.

dî

lady

(i nî, o ndi) (bride), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndî).

heryn

lady

1) heryn (i cheryn, o cheryn), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i cheryn), 2) hiril (i chiril, o chiril), no distinct pl. form even with article (i chiril), coll. pl. hirillath. 3) brennil (i vrennil), pl. same as sg. except with article: i mrennil. Coll. pl. brenillath. 4) bassoneth (bread-giver) (i massoneth, o mbassoneth), pl. bassonith (i mbassonith). Archaic *bassauneth. 5) dî (i nî, o ndi) (bride), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndî).

heryn

lady

(i cheryn, o cheryn), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i cheryn)

hiril

lady

(i chiril, o chiril), no distinct pl. form even with article (i chiril), coll. pl. hirillath.

ríen

crowned lady

(queen), pl. ?rîn (idh rîn)

bass

bread

bass (i mass, o mbass, construct bas), pl. bais (i mbais). The sg. form with article "imbas" in VT44:23 may be seen as archaic Sindarin, for later *i mas(s) as suggested here. In ”Noldorin”, the word for "bread" was bast (LR:372 s.v. MBAS), but otherwise it would have the same mutations.

bass

bread

(i mass, o mbass, construct bas), pl. bais (i mbais). The sg. form with article "imbas" in VT44:23 may be seen as archaic Sindarin, for later ✱i mas(s) as suggested here. – In ”Noldorin”, the word for "bread" was bast (LR:372 s.v. MBAS), but otherwise it would have the same mutations.

lembas

way-bread, journey-bread

pl. lembais.

adaneth

mortal woman

(pl. edenith), also firieth (pl. firith).

dî

noun. woman, lady, bride

dess

young woman

(i ness, o ndess, constuct des), pl. diss (i ndiss).

dî

bride

1) dî (i nî, o ndi) (lady), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndî), 2) díneth (i níneth, o ndineth), pl. dínith (i ndínith)

dî

bride

(i nî, o ndi) (lady), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndî)

bess

woman

bess (i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

bess

woman

(i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

díneth

bride

(i níneth, o ndineth), pl. dínith (i ndínith)

rían

queen

(”crown-gift”), pl. ríain (idh ríain)

gwanur

kinsman

(i ’wanur) (brother), pl. gwenyr (in gwenyr). Note: a homophone of the sg. means ”pair of twins”.

rîn

crowned

rîn (no distinct pl. form). Also used as noun CROWNED WOMAN (= queen): rîn, construct rin, no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîn). Note: a homphone means ”remembrance”.

rîn

adjective. crowned

Element in

• ᴺS. rínada- “to crown, coronate”

rîn

crowned

(no distinct pl. form). Also used as noun

rîn

crowned woman

construct rin, no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîn). Note: a homphone means ”remembrance”.

kali

noun. woman

A noun translated “woman” (SD/434).

kherī

noun. lady

Derivations

• √KHER “possess, possess, [ᴹ√] rule, govern, [ᴱ√] have power”

Derivatives

• Q. heri “lady”

Variations

• herī ✧ PE17/097

kherūnī

noun. lady

Changes

• herūnī → cherūnī ✧ PE17/098

Derivatives

• S. heryn “lady” ✧ PE17/097

Element in

• S. Roch-cheruin “Steed of the Lady” ✧ PE17/098

Elements

Word	Gloss
kherū	“lord, master”
NĪ/INI	“*female, [ᴹ√] female”

Variations

• herūnī ✧ PE17/097; PE17/098 (herūnī)
• cherūnī ✧ PE17/098

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

Derivatives

• ✶ndī̆s “*bride, [ᴹ✶] bride”
  • Q. indis “wife, [ᴹQ.] bride; [Q.] wife”
• ✶nīs “woman, female person”
  • Q. nís “woman”
• Q. nillë “small [woman]” ✧ VT47/33
• Q. nís “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33
• Q. nisto “large woman” ✧ VT47/33

Variations

• nis- ✧ VT47/18
• nis ✧ VT47/33

barathī

noun. queen

Derivations

• √BARATH “height combined with strength/size/majesty” ✧ PE17/022
  • √BAR “[ᴹ√] raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)”

Derivatives

• Q. Varsi ✧ PE17/023
• S. bereth “queen, spouse; supreme, sublime” ✧ PE17/023

Element in

• ✶elen-barathī “star-queen” ✧ MR/387; PE17/066

Variations

• barathi ✧ MR/387
• barathī(e) ✧ PE17/023
• mbarathī ✧ PE17/066

brennil

noun. lady

brennil

noun. lady

Element in

• N. Gilbrennil “Varda”

hiril

noun. lady

hiril

noun. lady

Cognates

• Ilk. hiril “lady”
• ᴹQ. heri “lady” ✧ Ety/KHER

Derivations

• On. khíril “lady” ✧ Ety/KHER
  • ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess” ✧ Ety/KHER

Elements

Word	Gloss
hîr	“master, lord”
-(r)il	“feminine suffix”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. khíril > hiril	[xīril] > [hīril] > [hiril]	✧ Ety/KHER

dî

noun. woman, lady

bast

noun. bread

bast

noun. bread

Cognates

• ᴹQ. masta “bread” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Derivations

• ᴹ√M(B)AS “knead” ✧ Ety/KOR; Ety/MBAS

Element in

• Ilk. basgorn “round bread” ✧ Ety/KOR
• N. basgorn “loaf, loaf, [G.] loaf of bread, [ᴱN.] round loaf, cake” ✧ Ety/MBAS

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MBAS > bast	[mbasta] > [basta] > [bast]	✧ Ety/MBAS

rhien

noun. (crowned) lady

Derivations

• ᴹ√RIG “*crown” ✧ Ety/TĀ
• ᴹ✶rīʒende “queen, lit. ‘crowned’ or crowned-lady” ✧ EtyAC/RIG
  • ᴹ√RIG “*crown” ✧ EtyAC/RIG

Element in

• N. Galadhrien “Tree-lady” ✧ TI/249

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√RIG > rhien	[rigende] > [riɣende] > [riɣend] > [r̥iɣend] > [r̥iend] > [r̥ienn] > [r̥ien]	✧ Ety/TĀ
ᴹ✶rīʒende > rhiend	[rigende] > [riɣende] > [riɣend] > [r̥iɣend] > [r̥iend] > [r̥ienn] > [r̥ien]	✧ EtyAC/RIG

Variations

• rhiend ✧ EtyAC/RIG (rhiend)

dî

noun. woman, bride, lady

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s for “woman” derived from the root ᴹ√NĪ of the same meaning (Ety/NĪ¹). It began with d- due to the influence of N. dîr and as partial blending with derivatives of ᴹ✶ndisi “bride” (Ety/DER); its Old Noldorin form was ON. nī (Ety/NĪ¹). In The Etymologies, this word was archaic: “dî was only rare and poetical (‘bride, lady’): it was replaced in sense ‘woman’ by bess [see BES], and in sense ‘bride’ by cpd. di-neth” (Ety/NĪ¹). The scenario in The Etymologies was that the word N. bess itself originally meant “†wife” but came to mean “woman”, much like its male counterpart N. benn meant “†husband” came to mean “man” (Ety/BES).

Conceptual Development: Earlier words of similar form include (archaic) G. †nîr “woman” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/60) and (rejected) ᴱN. {nain} “woman” from the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s.

Neo-Sindarin: The word S. bess reappeared in later writings with the gloss “wife” (SD/129), indicating Tolkien probably abandoned the scenario in The Etymologies whereby dî became archaic and was replaced by bess for “woman”. As such some Neo-Sindarin writers restore ᴺS. dî as the word for “woman”; this was first suggested to me by Elaran and it is my current recommendation. However, N. bess remains popular for “woman” in Neo-Sindarin as well.

Derivations

• ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
• On. nī “woman” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/NIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹
  • ᴹ✶nī “woman” ✧ EtyAC/NDIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ PE21/55
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ EtyAC/NDIS; Ety/NIS

Element in

• N. dineth “bride” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/NIS

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. nī > dī	[nī] > [dī]	✧ Ety/NĪ¹

Variations

• dī ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS
• Dí ✧ EtyAC/NIS (Dí)

rhien

noun/adjective. crowned lady, queen

rhîn

noun/adjective. crowned lady, queen

dess

noun. young woman

dineth

noun. bride

dineth

noun. bride

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bride”, a combination of N. †dî “woman, bride” and N. neth “young” (Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS, NIS).

Element in

• N. Dineth “Nessa” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/NIS

Elements

Word	Gloss
dî	“woman, bride, lady”
neth	“young”

Variations

• di-neth ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS

dîs

noun. bride

dîs

noun. bride

A word for “bride” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶ndīse under the root ᴹ√NDIS (Ety/NDIS). Ordinarily the s in this word would have been lost, but it was influenced by N. †dess “young woman” < ON. ndissa from the same root (EtyAC/NDIS). Dîs “bride” in turn influenced the form of N. †dî “woman”, originally ON. nī < ᴹ√NĪ (Ety/DER, NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS).

Neo-Sindarin: While I think this word is perfectly serviceable, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin it may be better to use the longer and more distinctive word dineth for bride.

Derivations

• ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
• On. ndīs “bride” ✧ Ety/NDIS
  • ᴹ✶ndīse “bride” ✧ Ety/NDIS
  • ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ Ety/DER; Ety/I²; Ety/NDIS
    • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
    • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
  • ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ EtyAC/NIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
• ᴹ✶ndīse “bride” ✧ EtyAC/NIS
  • ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ Ety/DER; Ety/I²; Ety/NDIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS

Element in

• N. -dis “female agent”
• S. Lindis
• S. Meldis “?Beloved Bride”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. ndîs > dîs	[ndīs] > [dīs]	✧ Ety/NDIS

rhien

noun/adjective. crowned

rhîn

noun/adjective. crowned

rhîn

adjective. crowned

An adjective appearing as N. rhîn “crowned” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√RIG (Ety/RIG). The long î is probably the result of the vocalization of g before nasal n, from primitive adjective ✱rignā.

Neo-Sindarin: Since initial r unvoiced to rh in Noldorin of the 1930s but not in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, most Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. rîn “crowned”, as suggested in HSD (HSD).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. rína “crowned” ✧ Ety/RIG

Derivations

• ᴹ√RIG “*crown” ✧ Ety/RIG; Ety/TĀ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√RIG > rhîn	[rigna] > [riŋna] > [rīna] > [rīn] > [r̥īn]	✧ Ety/RIG

bess

noun. (young) woman

bereth

noun. queen, spouse

bereth

noun. queen

Derivations

• ᴹ√BARATH “*queen” ✧ Ety/BARATH
  • ᴹ√BAR “raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)” ✧ Ety/BARATH

Element in

• N. Berethil
• N. Elbereth “Queen of Stars, (lit.) Star Queen” ✧ Ety/BARATH; Ety/EL

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√BARATH > bereth	[baratʰi] > [baraθi] > [bereθi] > [bereiθ] > [bereθ]	✧ Ety/BARATH

Variations

• bereth ✧ Ety/BARATH; Ety/EL

bess

noun. wife

rhîs

noun. queen

rhîs

noun. queen

Derivations

• ᴹ√RIG “*crown” ✧ Ety/RIG

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√RIG > rhîs	[rigisse] > [riɣisse] > [riɣiss] > [r̥iɣiss] > [r̥īss] > [r̥īs]	✧ Ety/RIG