adj. good, proper, excellent. Q. mára good, proper, Q. maira excellent. >> mae-. This gloss was rejected.
Sindarin
maer
good
maer
good
tavn
noun. thing made by handicraft
A noun glossed “a thing made by handicraft” derived from primitive ✶taman- (PE17/107), probably pronounced ✱tavon since final -vn generally became -von.
celebrin
adjective. not implying 'made of silver' but 'like silver' in hue
_ adj. _not implying 'made of silver' but 'like silver' in hue, or worth. Q. #telperin, #telpin. >> Celebrimbor
echant
verb. Im Narvi hain ~echant~ 'I Narvi ~made~ them'
v. pa.t. of echad- 'shaped out', shaped and made. Im Narvi hain echant 'I Narvi made them'. edagant was originally a S. pa.t. form which was deleted (together with pa.t. edagad). >> echad-
gôn
noun. stone (a stone or a single thing made of stone)
A word mentioned in notes from the late 1950s, as contrasted with S. gond “stone”:
> Sindarin had a short form gŏn- < ✶PQ gōn, gon-, stone, a stone, or a single thing made of stone, as dist[inct] from gondō, stone — general as a substance or material (PE17/28).
Tolkien also mentioned it in his Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings, saying “in Sindarin the shorter gon- was used for smaller objects made of stone, especially carved figures” (RC/347). In notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969, Tolkien had gôn with plural form i·ñ(g)uin “stones” (PE23/139). In that document Tolkien revised {gond >>} gôn, but I believe this was because he realized gond was a mass noun that would not have a proper plural, and changed to the “short form” gôn to illustrate plural mutations.
As such, I think Tolkien intended gôn and gond to co-exist, with gôn being an individual stone or a (small) single thing made of stone, while gond was “stone” as a mass noun, for stone as a material, a body of rock, or stone as an abstraction.
tavn
noun. a thing made by handicraft
n. a thing made by handicraft. Q. taman.
glân
noun. hem, border (of textile and other hand-made things)
gondren
adjective. (made) of stone
gûl
noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)
i glinn hen agorer edain mi velerian, ach hí in ellath îr ed epholar
*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it
im narvi hain echant
I, Narvi, made them
lanc
noun. sharp edge (not of tools), sudden end (as a cliff-edge, or the clean edge of things made by hand or built)
lembas
noun. journey bread made by the Elves
os i veleglinn i edain agorer vi veleriann
*from the Great Song that men made in Beleriand
ost
noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art
maer
good
_(”useful” of things _ not of moral qualities) maer (lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.
maer
good
(lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.
tavnen
adjective. made (by craft of hand), wrought, fashioned
-garn
suffix. -made
carnen
adjective. done, made, finished
gondren
made of stone, stony
(stony), lenited ’ondren, pl. gendrin. Archaic pl. göndrin (TI:270).
gondren
made of stone
gondren (stony), lenited ondren, pl. gendrin. Archaic pl. göndrin. (TI:270)
gondren
made of stone, stony
1) gondren (stony), lenited ondren, pl. gendrin. Archaic pl. göndrin (TI:270). 2) sarn (lenited harn; pl. sern); also used as noun ”small stone, pebble, stone [as material]”; as adj. also = ”stony”.
gondren
made of stone
(stony), lenited ’ondren, pl. gendrin. Archaic pl. göndrin.** **(TI:270)
sarn
made of stone, stony
(lenited harn; pl. sern); also used as noun ”small stone, pebble, stone [as material]”; as adj. also = ”stony”.
car
make
1) car- (i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (do, build) (WJ:415), 2) echad- (i echad, in echedir) (fashion, shape), pa.t. echant (VT45:19)
sarn
stone
1) (small stone, or stone as material) sarn (i harn, o sarn), pl. sern (i sern); also used as adj. ”stony, made of stone”. 2) gôn (i **ôn, construct gon); pl. gŷn, coll. pl. #**gonath as in Argonath. 3) (larger stone) gond (i **ond, construct gon) (great stone or rock), pl. gynd (i ngynd = i ñynd), coll. pl. gonnath** (Letters:410).
sarn
stone
(i harn, o sarn), pl. sern (i sern); also used as adj. ”stony, made of stone”.
bain
good
_ adj. _good, wholesome, blessed, fair (esp. of weather). . This gloss was rejected.
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 imbas 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 m(b)-. However, I would assume there is a variant bas(s) [< ✶mbassē] that appears occasionally in compounds like lembas.
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
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
car-
verb. to do
caro
verb. do! make!
eryn
noun. wood
glad
noun. wood
glad
noun. wood
A word for a “wood” in the name Methed-en-Glad “End of the Wood” (UT/153) and possibly also Gladuial “✱Twilight Wood” (WJ/183, 188 note #48). It resembles galadh “tree” and is probably related to it, but it cannot be derived directly from the same root ᴹ√GALAD as that would produce ✱✱gladh. It was either derived from a variant root ✱√GALAT, or was a loan word from Nandorin where the word for “tree” was Nan. galad (MR/182; PE17/50, 60).
gond
noun. great stone, rock
gond
stone
_n. _stone, rock. Archaic S. gond > gonn. Q. ondo. >> Gondor
gûl
noun. perverted or evil knowledge, sorcery, necromancy
im
pronoun. I
In late writings (see esp. VT/47:37-38), Tolkien reinterpreted this form as a reflexive pronoun (= "self").
ma
adjective. good
_ adj. _good. Archaic and obsolete except as interjection 'good, excellent, that's right'.
ost
noun. city, town with wall round
othrad
noun. street
rath
noun. street
n. street.
rath
noun. street, street, track; [N.] course, river-bed
A word used in street-names in Minis Tirith, most notably Rath Celerdain “Lampwrights’ Street” (LotR/768) and Rath Dínen “Silent Street” (LotR/826). It was also an element in the (rejected) name Raith ’Ngorthrim “Paths of the Dead” (RC/526) and the river-name Rathlóriel “Golden-bed” (S/235), but the last of these may be a remnant of its 1930s meaning (see below). In the “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien indicated that rath meant “street (in a city)” (RC/523, 551).
The most extensive description of this word appears in a 1968 discussion of the (possibly related) name Amroth which Tolkien said “is connected with a stem RATH meaning ‘climb’ - with hands and feet, as in a tree or up a rocky slope”. Regarding S. rath Tolkien said:
> Both Quenya and Lindarin also possessed a word ratta, which might be a derivative (by lengthening the medial consonant, a frequent device in Primitive Eldarin) from either ✱rattha or ✱ratta from the stem RAT ... It meant ‘a track’; though often applied to ways known to mountaineers, to passes in the mountains and the climbing ways to them, it was not confined to ascents ... This is evidently the origin also of S. rath ... [which] had the same senses as Q., L. ratta, though in mountainous country it was most used of climbing ways ... In Minas Tirith, in the Númenórean Sindarin that was used in Gondor for the nomenclature of places, rath had become virtually equivalent to ‘street’, being applied to nearly all the paved ways within the city. Most of these were on an incline, often steep (NM/364).
Thus Sindarin rath was a blending of √RATH “climb” and ✶ratta “track” < √RAT “find a way”, and in the context of Minas Tirith was generalized to “(city) street” since most of that city’s streets were sloped.
Rath seems to have been used in the sense “climb” or “climbing track” in the name Andrath [= “✱Long Climb”] for the high-climbing pass from Rivendell over the Misty Mountains that Bilbo and the Dwarves took in The Hobbit, as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (UT/271, 278 note #4). However, the name Andrath was also used for the road running from Fornost down to Tharbad (TI/305; UT/348) which was unlikely to climb much, so in that case may have been used in the sense “street”, “track”, or “course”.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. rath was also derived from ON. rattha < ᴹ✶rattā̆ under the root ᴹ√RAT “walk”, but in that document it was glossed “course, river-bed” (Ety/RAT). In this sense it was the basis for the river-name N. Rathloriel, translated “Bed of Gold” in narratives from this period (LR/141). This translation of Rathlóriel survived in The Silmarillion as published (S/235), but may have been a remnant of the 1930s meaning of rath.
Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien’s 1968 note implies that original sense of S. rath was a “(climbing) track”, and may have meant “street” only in Númenórean Sindarin, or possibly just for street names in Minas Tirith. For city streets in other contexts I would use [N.] ostrad or [ᴺS.] othrad. I would furthermore ignore the 1930s translation N. rath “course, river-bed”, and would assume that Rathlóriel had a more metaphorical meaning: “✱Golden Street/Track”. For “(river) course” I was instead use the better-attested S. rant; see that entry for details.
rîw
noun. edge, hem, border
sarn
noun. stone (as a material)
Sern in UT/463 is a misprint, see VT/42:11
sarn
noun. small stone
Sern in UT/463 is a misprint, see VT/42:11
taur
noun. great wood, forest
angol
magic
(deep lore), pl. engyl. Note: a homophone means "stench".
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.
car
do
car- (i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (make, build) (WJ:415),
car
do
(i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (make, build) (WJ:415)
curunír
man of craft
(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath
dadbenn
do
(downhill, sloping down, inclined), lenited dhadbenn, pl. dedbinn. Verb
eryn
wood
1) (forest) eryn. No distinct pl. form. 2) glâd (i **lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid**) See FOREST. 2)
eryn
wood
. No distinct pl. form.
glâd
wood
(i ’lâd, construct glad) (small forest), pl. glaid (in glaid) See FOREST. 2)
glân
hem
1) glân (i **lân, construct glan) (border), pl. glain (in glain**) (VT42:8). Note: a homophone means ”white, clear”. 2) *rîw (construct riw) (edge, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîw). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhîf.
glân
hem
(i ’lân, construct glan) (border), pl. glain (in glain) (VT42:8). Note: a homophone means ”white, clear”.
gond
stone
(i ’ond, construct gon) (great stone or rock), pl. gynd (i ngynd = i ñynd), coll. pl. gonnath (Letters:410).
gondrath
street of stone
(i ’ondrath) (causeway, raised stone highway), pl. gendraith (i ngendraith = i ñendraith). Archaic pl. göndreith. (WJ:340)
gonhir
master of stone
(i ’Onhir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i Ngonhir = i Ñonhir), maybe primarily used as a coll. pl. Gonhirrim (WJ:205, there spelt ”Gonnhirrim”)
gôn
stone
(i ’ôn, construct gon); pl. gŷn, coll. pl. #gonath as in Argonath.
gûl
magic
1) gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (sorcery, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383), 2) angol (deep lore), pl. engyl**. Note: a homophone means "stench". DARK MAGIC, see .
gûl
magic
(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (sorcery, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)
heria
set vigorously out to do
(i cheria, i cheriar) (have an impulse, be compelled to do something, begin suddenly and vigorously) (VT45:22)
hîn
they
(of women) hîn. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.
hîn
they
. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.
im
i
but as subject usually simply the ending -n, as in ónen ”
lanc
sharp edge
(sudden end, brink), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”neck, throat”.
lembas
way-bread, journey-bread
pl. lembais.
maenas
craft
maenas (i vaenas) (handicraft, art), pl. maenais (i maenais), coll. pl. maenassath. Also curu (i guru, o churu) (cunning, cunning device, skill), pl. cyry (i chyry) (VT45:24);
maenas
craft
(i vaenas) (handicraft, art), pl. maenais (i maenais), coll. pl. maenassath. Also curu (i guru, o churu) (cunning, cunning device, skill), pl. cyry (i chyry) (VT45:24);
ni
pronoun. I
nin
i
”me”, genitive nín ”my”, dative anim or enni ”to me, for me”.
ost
city
ost (pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).
ost
city
(pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).
othrad
street
1) *othrad (pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad. 2) rath (climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255). 3)
othrad
noun. street
othrad
street
(pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad.
othronn
underground city or stronghold
(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)
rath
street
(climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255).
rîw
hem
(construct riw) (edge, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh** rîw). – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” **rhîf.
rîw
edge
*rîw (construct riw) (hem, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîw). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhîf.
rîw
edge
(construct riw) (hem, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîw). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhîf.
tawar
wood
(as material) tawar (i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).
tawar
wood
(i dawar, o thawar) (forest), pl. tewair (i thewair).
_ adj. _good.