Quenya 

lossë

blossom

lossë (2) noun "blossom" ("usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom") (LOT(H) )

lossë

noun. inflorescence (of white flowers), [ᴹQ.] (white) blossom, flower, [ᴱQ.] (white) flower; [Q.] inflorescence (of white flowers); [ᴱQ.] rose

This word was associated with white flowers for much of Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s, ᴱQ. losse was “rose” (QL/65; PME/56), but in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s its plural was translated as “flowers” (PE14/56), while its gloss became “white-flower” in notes associated with the Earendel poem from around 1930 (PE16/100).

The Etymologies written around 1937, Tolkien derived ᴹQ. losse from the root ᴹ√LOT(H) and translated it as “blossom” or “flower”, but specified that it was “usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom” (Ety/LOT(H); GOLÓS). In notes from around 1959, Tolkien said losse was used of “snow” but also as “the laden inflorescence of flowers on trees or shrubs, especially infoliate or pale” (PE17/161).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume lossë mainly meant “snow”, but that it could also be used of white flowers, either an individual white flower or a scattering of white flowers on a plant, as if covered by snow (though in the latter case, I would use plural lossi “white flowers” to be less ambiguous).

Quenya [PE17/160; PE17/161] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lossë

noun/adjective. snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy

The general Quenya word for “snow” derived from the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; VT42/18), more specifically “fallen snow” (RGEO/61), as opposed to a “snow fall” or “✱falling snow” which is hrissë (PE17/168). At various points Tolkien said this word could also be used as an adjective “snowy, snow-white” (RGEO/61; PE17/161), but I would do so only in poetry or in compounds. For more ordinary speech, I would use the adjective form lossëa for clarity (PE17/71, 161; VT42/18). Strictly speaking, the noun and adjective forms of lossë have distinct primitive origins: ✶lossē “snow” vs. ✶lossĭ “snowy, snow-white” (PE17/161), so the stem form of the adjective would be lossi-.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a word ᴹQ. olosse “snow, fallen snow” derived from the root ᴹ√GOLOS; Tolkien modified the entry to mark this form as poetic (†) and gave it a variant olos (Ety/GOLÓS).

Quenya [PE16/096; PE17/026; PE17/161; RGEO/61; SA/los; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lossë

snow

lossë (1) noun "snow" or adj. "snow-white" (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18); losselië noun"white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

lossëa

snow-white

lossëa adj. "snow-white" (so in VT42:18; this would be an adjective derived from lossë "snow", but elsewhere, Tolkien implies that lossë itself can also be used as an adjective "snow-white"; see lossë #1 above)

olossë

snow, fallen snow

olossë noun "snow, fallen snow" (GOLÓS, LOT[H])

oiolossë

place name. Ever (Snow) White

Another name for Taniquetil (LotR/377, S/37) variously translated as “Everlasting Whiteness”, “Ever-snow”, “Ever-white” or “Ever-snow-white”. This name is a compound of oi(o) “ever” and lossë “snow, snow-white” (RGEO/61).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as ᴹQ. Ialasse “Everlasting Whiteness” (SM/81). A similar form ᴹQ. Iolosse appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/EY, GEY) and possibly also in the Silmarillion texts (LR/210), but it was rejected and replaced by its final form ᴹQ. Oiolosse (Ety/OY, LR/209).

Quenya [Let/278; LotR/0377; LotRI/Mount Everwhite; LotRI/Oiolossë; LT1I/Oiolossë; MRI/Oiolossë; PE17/026; PE17/069; PE17/161; PE23/143; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/61; RGEO/62; RGEO/66; S/037; SA/coron; SA/los; SI/Amon Uilos; SI/Oiolossë; UT/055; UTI/Amon Uilos; UTI/Oiolossë; WJ/403; WJI/Oiolossë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

silquelosseën

blossom-white hair

silquelosseën ("q") noun "blossom-white hair" (MC:216; this is "Qenya", but compare lossë)

merillë

noun. rose

A neologism for “rose” coined by Tamas Ferencz, inspired by S. meril of the same meaning.

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

fauta-

verb. to snow

fauta- vb. *"to snow" (actually glossed fauta = "it snows") (GL:35)

fáwë

snow

fáwë vb. "snow" (GL:35; rather lossë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

olos

snow, fallen snow

olos (2) noun "snow, fallen snow" (prob. oloss-, cf. the longer form olossë below; this form should be preferred since olos also = "dream, vision") (GOLOS)

alalbë

noun. inflorescence

alalmë

inflorescence

alalmë (1) noun "inflorescence" (PE17:153), cf. alma #2.

alalmë

noun. inflorescence

A word appearing as {alalbe >>} alalme “inflorescence” in notes from around 1959, derived from √GAL (PE17/153). Compare this to [ᴹQ./ᴱQ.] alalme “elm” from The Etymologies of the 1930s and the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (Ety/ÁLAM; QL/29); in the 1959 notes Tolkien decided “elm” was albe.

Neo-Quenya: In these 1959 notes, the root √GAL had a connection to flowers seen nowhere else; see alma “flower” for discussion. As such, I think this “inflorescence” word was a transient idea, and I would use other words like lós and olos “inflorescence” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

fána

white

fána, fánë (1) adj. "white" (Markirya - fánë as a sg. form in may be a misreading). Compare fanya.

fána

adjective. white, white; [ᴹQ.] cloud

@@@ as suggested by Helge Fauskanger, the form fánë “white” in the Markirya poem may be a slip or misreading

Quenya [MC/221; MC/222] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fánë

adjective. white

hriz-

verb. to snow

#hriz- vb. "to snow", impersonal, given in the form hríza "it is snowing". Normally z would turn to r in Exilic Quenya, but since two r's close to one another were disliked, it may be that hriz- became *hris- instead (compare razë "sticks out" becoming rasë instead of **rarë, PE19:73) Past tense hrinsë (with s from the original root SRIS) and another form which the editor tentatively reads as hrissë (the development ns > ss is regular). (PE17:168)

ninqui carcar yarra

the white rocks snarling

The sixteenth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is the plural of the adjective ninquë “white” modifying the plural of the noun carca “rock”, followed by the infinitive (or short active-participle) of the verb yarra- “to snarl”, used adjectivally. Note that carca normally means “fang, tooth”, so its uses for “rocks” here may be poetic to describe sharp rocks, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya).

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

> ninqu-i carca-r yarra = “✱white-(plural) rock-(plural) snarling”

Conceptual Development: In the first draft, noun was the plural of ondo “rock” (MC/222).

ninquë

white, chill, cold, palid

ninquë adj. "white, chill, cold, palid" (WJ:417, SA:nim, PE17:168, NIK-W - spelt "ninqe" in Etym and in LT1:266, MC:213, MC:220, GL:60), pl. ninqui in Markirya. Compounded in Ninquelótë noun "White-Flower" (SA:nim), = Sindarin Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor; ninqueruvissë ("q") "white-horse-on" _(MC:216; this is "Qenya", read _ninqueroccossë or *ninquiroccossë in LotR-style Quenya). Normally ninquë would be expected to have the stem-form ninqui-, given the primitive form ¤ninkwi; Ninquelótë rather than *Ninquilótë must be seen as an analogical form.

niquë

snow

niquë (2) ("q")noun "snow" (NIK-W)

Primitive elvish

lossē

noun. snow

Primitive elvish [PE17/161; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

loth

noun. inflorescence

Primitive elvish [PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sris

root. snow

An apparently verbal root as √SRIS “snow” appearing in etymological notes from around 1959 with derivatives like Q. hrisse “fall of snow” and Q. hríza “it is snowing”; it replaced a deleted root √SRITH “snow” (PE17/168).

Primitive elvish [PE17/168; PE17/185] Group: Eldamo. Published by

srith

root. snow

Primitive elvish [PE17/168] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

loss

noun. snow

The usual Sindarin word for “snow” (Let/278; PE17/161; RGEO/62), especially fallen and long-lying snow (VT42/18), derived from primitive ✶lossē (PE17/161) based on the root √(G)LOS (PE17/26; RGEO/62). It sometimes appeared in a shorter form los (PE17/26, 161). See the entry on [s] for a discussion of these long vs. short variations; for purposes of Neo-Sindarin loss is probably preferable.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest iteration of this word was G. glui “snow” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, likely related to nearby words like G. gloss “white” (GL/40). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. gloss from the root ᴹ√GOLOS was both noun “snow” and adjective “snow-white” (Ety/GOLÓS), but in later writing Tolkien split these into S loss “snow” (see above) and S. gloss “(dazzling) white” (RGEO/62; VT42/18).

Sindarin [Let/278; PE17/026; PE17/161; RGEO/62; SA/los; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

loss

noun. snow

_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, los, Loss(h)oth

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:161] < LOS snow (as a substance or a white mass). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

loss

noun. snow (especially fallen or long-lying snow)

Sindarin [S/434, VT/42:18, RGEO/70] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

Sindarin [Ety/359, RGEO/70, VT/42:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

los

snow

{ŏ}_ n. _snow. Q. losse. >> glos, glosui, loss, Loss(h)oth

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:161] < LOS snow (as a substance or a white mass). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

los

noun. snow

loss

snow

(construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

loss

snow

(fallen snow) loss (construct los; pl. lyss if there is a pl.) (RGEO:61-62, Letters:278, VT42:18) (Note: homophones mean ”flower” [more commonly loth] and ”wilderness”.).

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.  

lossen

snowy

(pl. lessin, for archaic lössin). Adj.

glawar

blossom

n. (golden) blossom. Q. loar, lávar.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:159] < LAW, LAWAR. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

lúth

noun. blossom

_ n. Bot. _blossom, inflorescence. >> Lúthien

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:15:161] < LOT, LOTH flower. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

meril

feminine name. Rose

A Sindarin translation of the name of Sam’s daughter “Rose”, presumably of the same meaning, appearing in Tolkien’s unpublished epilogue to The Lord of the Rings and in the King’s Letter (SD/126, 129). The etymology of the name is unclear.

Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of the epilogue the name appeared as N. Beril (SD/117).

Sindarin [AotM/062; SD/121; SD/126; SD/129; SDI1/Beril; SDI1/Meril; WJI/Meril] Group: Eldamo. Published by

meril

noun. rose

A word for “rose” in the name Meril “Rose” of one of Samwise’s daughters (SD/126). The name was initially given as Beril (SD/117).

edlothia

blossom

(verb) #edlothia- (i edlothia, in edlothiar) (flower);

edlothia

blossom

(i edlothia, in edlothiar) (flower);

loth

blossom

loth (see

loth

blossom

(see

meril

rose

meril (i veril), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meril), coll. pl. ?merillath. The word is attested as the Sindarin equivalent of the name Rose (SD:128-31)

meril

rose

(i veril), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meril), coll. pl. ?merillath. The word is attested as the Sindarin equivalent of the name Rose (SD:128-31)

edlothia-

verb. to blossom, flower

The sentence from WR/293 is hardly legible and is not translated, but this word is however a plausible form

Sindarin [edlothiand WR/293, X/TL] Group: SINDICT. Published by

fain

noun/adjective. white

Sindarin [Ety/387, WR/288, RC/268, VT/46:15, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

fain

noun/adjective. cloud

Sindarin [Ety/387, WR/288, RC/268, VT/46:15, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glân

adjective. white, [bright shining] white; [N.] clear; [G.] pure, †bright; [ᴱN.] clean

goloth

noun. inflorescence, a head of small flowers

Sindarin [VT/42:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

meril

noun. rose (flower)

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

nim

white

_adj. _white. >> Nimbrethil

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:19] < T. _nimbi _white. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

nim

white

_adj. _white (usual word). >> nimp, nimras

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:168] < _nimbĭ _< _nimpĭ_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

nim

adjective. white

Sindarin [PE17/019; PE17/168; SA/nim] Group: Eldamo. Published by

silivren

adjective. (white) glittering

Sindarin [LotR/II:I, RGEO/72] silif+-ren. Group: SINDICT. Published by

uilos

noun/adjective. always white, ever white as snow

Sindarin [RGEO/74, Letters/278, UT/55] ui- + loss "everlasting snow, ever (white as) snow. Group: SINDICT. Published by

uilos

noun/adjective. a small white everlasting flower also called simbelmynë or "evermind"

Sindarin [RGEO/74, Letters/278, UT/55] ui- + loss "everlasting snow, ever (white as) snow. Group: SINDICT. Published by

edlothiad

blossoming

(flowering), pl. edlothiaid if there is a pl.

faen

white

(radiant). No distinct pl. form.

fain

white

; no distinct pl. form.

glân

white

  1. glân (clear), lenited lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”. 2) nimp (nim-) (pale); no distinct pl. form. 3) faen (radiant). No distinct pl. form. 4) fain; no distinct pl. form.

glân

white

(clear), lenited ’lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”.

goloth

flower

(i ’oloth) (collection of flowers), pl. gelyth (i ngelyth = i ñelyth). Archaic pl. gölyth. Also in the form gwaloth (i ’waloth), pl. gwelyth (in gwelyth). Also goloth.

lossoth

snow-men

(a coll. pl.)

nimp

white

(nim-) (pale); no distinct pl. form.

nínim

snowdrop

(”white tear”), no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nínimmath. – The niphredil seems to be a flower similar to the snowdrop (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. niphrediliath)

silivren

glittering white

(lenited hilivren; pl. *silivrin**). *Verb

Noldorin 

gloss

adjective. snow-white, dazzling-white

Noldorin [Ety/359, RGEO/70, VT/42:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

beril

feminine name. Rose

Noldorin [SD/117; SDI1/Beril; SDI1/Meril] Group: Eldamo. Published by

beril

noun. rose

brassen

adjective. white-hot

Noldorin [Ety/351] Group: SINDICT. Published by

fein

noun/adjective. white

Noldorin [Ety/387, WR/288, RC/268, VT/46:15, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

fein

noun/adjective. cloud

Noldorin [Ety/387, WR/288, RC/268, VT/46:15, X/EI] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwaloth

noun. blossom, collection of flowers

This form replaced deleted goloth in the manuscript of The Etymologies, see VT/45:29. The deleted form is however also later attested in VT/42:18

Noldorin [Ety/370, VT/45:29] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Telerin 

nimbi

adjective. white

Telerin [PE17/019; PE17/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nimbi

adjective. white

About Nimrodel: "Nim is evidently the Telerin word nimbi 'white'." >> Nimrais >> Nimrodel

Telerin [PE17/49] 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!

Early Quenya

losse

noun. rose; (white) flower

Early Quenya [LT2A/Lôs; PE13/102; PE14/056; PE15/28; PE16/100; PME/056; QL/044; QL/056] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lossa

adjective. white

Early Quenya [MC/213; MC/216; PE16/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ondoli losse karkane

the white rocks snarling

The fifteenth line of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/213). The first word is the plural of ondo “rock” modified by the plural of the adjective lossa “white”, with the “bare stem” infinitive form of the verb karka- “to snarl”, as suggested by Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter (PE16/84, notes on line #10 and #11), apparently functioning as either an active-participle or a verbal object.

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

> ondo-li loss-e karka-ne = “✱rock-(plural) white-(plural) snarl-ing”

Early Quenya [MC/213] Group: Eldamo. Published by

losille

noun. rose

A variant of ᴱQ. losse “rose” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (QL/56; PME/56). In later writings lossë was associated with white flowers, not roses.

Early Quenya [PME/056; QL/056] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fáwe

noun. snow

A Qenya noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, cognate to G. “snow” (GL/35).

Early Quenya [GL/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ninqe

adjective. white

Early Quenya [GL/60; LT1A/Nielíqui; LT1A/Taniquetil; MC/213; MC/220; PE13/164; PE14/045; PE14/048; PE14/077; PE14/080; PE15/78; PE16/056; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/064; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/077; PE16/081; PE16/100; PE16/140; PME/066; QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqileninqe

adjective. snow-white

A word for “snow-white” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a combination of ᴱQ. niqilis “fine snow” and ᴱQ. ninqe “white” (QL/66).

Early Quenya [QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqis

noun. snow

Early Quenya [LT1A/Taniquetil; PME/066; QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

losse

noun. (white) blossom, flower

Qenya [Ety/GOLÓS; Ety/LOT(H)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ninqe

adjective. white

Qenya [Ety/NIK-W; PE21/15] Group: Eldamo. Published by

niqe

noun. snow

Old Noldorin 

losse

noun. snow

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

Gnomish

noun. snow

A noun for “snow” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/35). It was first glossed “a hoard”, probably a cognate of ᴱQ. foa “hoard” under the root the early root ᴱ√FOƷO (QL/38), but its gloss was revised and it was given an new Qenya cognate ᴱQ. fáwe. This change in gloss probably reflects a new root, but nothing in the Qenya Lexicon seems appropriate.

glui

noun. snow

Early Primitive Elvish

niqi

root. white

Early Primitive Elvish [LT1A/Taniquetil; QL/066] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ƕawa Speculative

root. snow

A hypothetical root explaining words in the Gnomish Lexicon such as ᴱQ. fáwe/G. “snow” and ᴱQ. fauta-/G. fôtha- “to snow” (GL/35). Given the existence of ᴱ√FAWA “smell”, I theorize this root may be slightly different, perhaps ?ᴱ√ǶAWA, but that’s just a guess. There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

span

root. white

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/LEP; Ety/ÑGUR; Ety/ÓLOS; Ety/PHAY; Ety/SPAN; Ety/TĀ] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Ancient telerin

nimbi

adjective. white

Ancient telerin [PE17/019; PE17/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by