cuil
noun. life, life, [G.] lifetime
cuil
noun. life
cuin
adjective. alive
An adjective for “alive” in The Etymologies of the 1930s based on the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake” (Ety/KUY).
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien had G. cuib “alive” (GL/27) and in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. cuif (cuiv-) “alive” (PE13/141).
cuin
adjective. alive
echui(w)
noun. awakening
cuina-
verb. to be alive
echui
noun. awakening
echuiw
noun. awakening
lembas
noun. waybread
coivië
noun. life, life, [ᴱQ.] liveliness; awakening
The usual word for “life” in Tolkien’s later writings based on the root √KOY (NM/84, 119; VT49/42), in one place appearing with the variant koive (PE17/68). In another place Tolkien instead used kuivie for “life” in the phrase kuivie-lankasse “on the brink of life”, reflecting Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation between √KOY and √KUY as the root for life.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. koivie was “awakening” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/48) as reflected in the name ᴱQ. Koivie-néni “Waters of Awakening” from this period (QL/48), but the word was glossed “liveliness” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/29). The noun for “life, being alive” was ᴹQ. kuile in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake” (Ety/KUY), but was usually coivie in Tolkien’s writings from the 1950s and 60s, as noted above.
Neo-Quenya: I prefer √KOY as the root for “life” for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, so I’d use coivie as the noun “life, liveliness”, and use cuivië for “awakening” as seen in the later form of the name Q. Cuiviénen “Water of Awakening” (S/48).
coi
life
coi ("k")"life" (LT1:257; in Tolkien's later Quenya cuilë)
coivië
life
coivië _("k")_noun "life" (coivierya, *"his/her life", VT49:41, 42). In early material, the word is glossed "awakening" instead (LT1:257; in LotR-style Quenya cuivië, as in Cuiviénen)
coivë
noun. life
cuivië
noun. life
coimas
life-bread
coimas noun "life-bread" = Sindarin lembas(SA:cuivië, PM:395); coimas Eldaron "the coimas of the Eldar" (PM:395)
cuilë
life, being alive
cuilë ("k")noun "life, being alive" (KUY)
vehtë
life - not life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity
vehtë noun "life - not Life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity", thus also "the place where a person, people &c. lived and had their business, i.e. habitat, haunt" (PE17:189)
coimas
noun. life-bread, lembas
A Quenya term for “lembas” (Elven waybread) but of different etymological origins appearing in notes from the 1950s, a combination of √KOY “live” and a reduced form of massa or masta “bread” (PM/395, 403-4). As such, its stem form is likely to be either coimass- or coimast-; I prefer the first of these. Tolkien also had Q. lerembas in notes from the 1960s as a more direct cognate of S. lembas (PE17/51).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I’d stick to coimas, as the etymology of lerembas is rather muddled.
coimen
noun. life-year
coina
alive
coina _("k")_adj. "alive" (LT1:257; Tolkien's later Quenya also has cuina, though coina may still be a valid word: properly, the root of words for "life" is coi- rather than cui-, the latter referring to "awakening" instead)
cuina
alive
cuina ("k")adj. "alive" (KUY). See coina.
laulë
noun. mode of life, *lifestyle
coirë
stirring
coirë noun "stirring", in the calendar of Imladris a precisely defined period of 54 days (Appendix D), but translated "the first day of Spring" in the Silmarillion Appendix (SA:cuivië). Early "Qenya" has coirë ("k")"life" (LT1:257; in Tolkien's later Quenya, the word for "life" is cuilë or coivië; however, cf. the adj. coirëa from a late source).
cuivië
awakening
cuivië noun "awakening" (early "Qenya" coivië, q.v., but this word Tolkien later used = *"life"). In Cuiviénen, "Water of Awakening" (SA:cuivië, SA:nen, KUY; spelt with a k_ in the Etymologies). Somewhat surprisingly, cuivië is used to mean "life" in cuivie-lancassë ("k"), literally 'on the brink of life' ("of a perilous situation in which one is likely to fall into death") (VT42:8)_ The form coivië is used for "life" elsewhere.
-valta
-less
-valta suffix "-less", also -viltë (evidently endings used to derive adjectives like "lifeless") (GL:23) The ending -lóra appears with the same meaning in Tolkien's later Quenya.
-viltë
-less
-viltë adjectival ending "-less", also -valta (evidently endings used to derive adjectives like "lifeless") (GL:23). Rather -lóra in Tolkien's later Quenya.
cuivië
noun. awakening
A word for “awakening”, most notably an element in the word Cuiviénen “Water of Awakening” (S/48). It was derived from the root √KUY (Ety/KUY). In a few places it appeared as kuive instead (PE17/68; Ety/KUY).
Conceptual Development: The earliest form for “Waters of Awakening” was ᴱQ. Koivie-néni (LT1/85), and ᴱQ. koivie was glossed as “awakening” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/48). It was glossed “liveliness” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, however, and ᴱQ. qîvie was “awakening” (GL/29).
-lóra
-less, without
-lóra ending "-less, without", as in ómalóra "voiceless" (VT45:28)
al-
prefix. -less
-less
cuivë
awakening
cuivë ("k")noun "awakening" (KUY)
cuivë
noun. awakening
cuil
life
cuil (i guil, o chuil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chuil)
cuil
life
(i guil, o chuil), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chuil)
echui
noun. awakening
A noun for “awakening”, most notably in Nen Echui “Water of Awakening” (SA/cuivië, LR/406). It appeared as N. echui(w) “awakening” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶et-kuiwē under the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake” (Ety/KUY).
Conceptual Development: The earliest name for the “Waters of Awakening” was G. Nenin a Gwivros from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, and in that document G. cwivros “awakening” appeared as a noun form of G. cwivra- “awaken (intr.)” (GL/29). ᴱN. {cuibros >>} cuivros “awakening” appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/141) before the word became echui(w) in The Etymologies of the 1930s, as noted above.
cuithas
noun. life (period of life); living, livelihood
cuilvorn
noun. lifetime
cuin
alive
cuin (lenited guin; no distinct pl. form).
cuin
alive
(lenited guin; no distinct pl. form).
echui
noun. awakening
ledhbas(t)
noun. waybread
pen-
-less
pref. -less. >> penadar
pen-
-less
pref. -less. Q. _pen _without, not having. . This gloss was rejected.
cuina
be alive
(i guina, i chuinar)
echui
awakening
echui (echuiw). No distinct pl. form. Coll. pl. echuiwath.
echui
awakening
(echuiw). No distinct pl. form. Coll. pl. echuiwath.
echuir
stirring, season of
. No distinct pl. form.
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!
loa
noun. life
koire
noun. life
koi
noun. life
koile
noun. life
laume
noun. life
koito
noun. *life
laule
noun. life, mode of life
A noun appearing as {laume >>} ᴱQ. lauste “life, mode of life” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LAWA “✱life (of plants)” (QL/52). Tolkien also gave laule = laume, so presumably this was also equivalent to lauste. The word laume “life” also appeared (undeleted) in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/52).
Neo-Quenya: Since √LAW had a similar meaning in Tolkien’s later writings, I’d retain ᴺQ. laulë “mode of life” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, along with other words derived from it. In the “Neologism of the Day” (NotD) series on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) posted at 2023-06-18, Valerie suggested this word might mean “✱lifestyle” as well.
lauste
noun. life, mode of life
-valta
suffix. -less
-vilte
suffix. -less
qívie
noun. awakening
cuil
noun. life
cuilvorn
noun. lifetime
A word appearing as ᴱN. {cuilborn >>} cuilvorn “lifetime”, a combination of cuil “life” and born “age” (PE13/141). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s it was G. cuilborn “lifetime” with the same elements (GL/27).
Neo-Sindarin: Since [N.] cuil “life” appears in Tolkien’s later writing, I’d retain ᴺS. cuilvorn “lifetime” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, and assume the second element was based on the root ᴹ√BOR(ON) “endure”, hence = “✱life’s endurance”.
urguil
adjective. lifeless
uchuil
adjective. lifeless
cuif
adjective. alive
cuivros
noun. awakening
cuith
noun. life, the vital principle; living body
A word appearing as G. cuith in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with glosses “life, the vital principle” and “a living body”; Tolkien specified that it was never used for “a lifetime”, which was instead G. cuil (GL/27). It was likely based on the early root ᴱ√KOẎO “have life” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Koivië-néni).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d retain ᴺS. cuith as “life, the vital principle” in reference to the biological process of life and being alive. For “life” in its more ordinary sense I’d use [N.] cuil.
cuithos
noun. life (period of life); living, livelihood
A word appearing as G. cuithos “life (period of life); living, livelihood” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, a noun form of G. cuitha- “am alive” (GL/27).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d update this word to ᴺS. cuithas using the later abstraction noun suffix -as, and would assume it is an abstraction based on ᴺS. cuith “[biological process of] life”. I would use it to refer both to the means of providing for one’s life (= “livelihood”) as well as a period of time within one’s life, as opposed to one’s entire lifetime which would be ᴺS. cuilvorn.
cuil
noun. life, lifetime
cuilborn
noun. lifetime
cuib
adjective. alive
-(a)vlid
suffix. -less
cwivros
noun. awakening
lawa
root. *life (esp. plants)
kuile
noun. life, being alive
kuina
adjective. alive
An adjective appearing as ᴹQ. kuina “alive” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake” (Ety/KUY).
Conceptual Development: A similar adjective ᴱQ. koina “living, alive” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s based on the early root ᴱ√KOẎO “have life” (QL/48).
Neo-Quenya: Tolkien vacillated between the two roots √KOY and √KUY for “life”; I prefer to use √KOY for purposes of Neo-Eldarin, so I’d use ᴺQ. coina for “alive”. For “living” I’d using the word Q. coirëa from the 1950s (PM/399).
koire
noun. Stirring
kuivie
noun. awakening
kuive
noun. awakening
et-kuiwē
noun. awakening
A noun for “life” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KUY “come to life, awake” (Ety/KUY).
Conceptual Development: This word dates back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien clarified that G. cuil “life” was “usually [the] quality of being alive, but [was] also used = lifetime” (GL/27). ᴱN. cuil “life” also appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/141).