man

pronoun. who, who; [ᴹQ.] what

The most common Quenya word for “who”, most notably appearing in the Namárië poem in the phrase sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “who now shall refill the cup for me?” (LotR/377). It is based on the interrogative element ma (PE17/68). Man might be a general interrogative element “who, what, which”; at one point Tolkien said man was a reduction of mana before vowels (PE23/135). However, in the Markirya, man was used for “who” before consonants, such as man tiruva fána cirya “Who shall heed a white ship?” (MC/222).

In writings from the 1930s and 40s, man was used for “what” (LR/59, 72) or as a general interrogative marker (PE23/99). However, it was used for “who” in the versions of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (MC/213-214).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mostly use man in the sense “who”, before both consonants and vowels. For “what” I would use mana, and as a general interrogative marker I’d use ma. In cases where you want an unambiguous word for “who = what person”, I would use mamo.

man

who

man pron. "who" (Nam, RGEO:67, FS, LR:59, Markirya, MC:213, 214); cf. PM:357 note 18, where a reference is made to the Eldarin interrogative element ma, man). However, man is translated "what" in LR:59: man-ië? "what is it?" (LR:59; the stative-verb suffix -ië_ is hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya) _Either Tolkien later adjusted the meaning of the word, or man covers both "who" and "what". Cf. also mana, manen.

mana

pronoun. what, what, which; [ᴹQ.] who

A Quenya word for “what”, used as both a pronoun and an adjective “which”. Examples include mana i coimas Eldaron? “What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?” (PM/395) and mana arano? “Which king’s” (PE23/135). ᴹQ. mana was an adjectival interrogative “what, which” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/105), but could also be used substantially for “what” (PE23/104).

In the sense “which” (indicating a choice) it was used together with the genitive, such as mana tana márion “which of those house”. But it could also be used as a direct adjective: mana nér “what man”. Inflicted forms are generally based on the base interrogative element ma, as in masse “where” using the locative suffix -ssë.

sí man i yulmar n(g)wen enquantuva

*who now will refill the cups for us (dual)

lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

vëo

man

†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

nér

noun. man

aratan

masculine name. *Noble Man

Second son of Isildur (S/295), his name seems to be a compound of ar(a)- “noble” and Atan “man”.

atan

noun. Man, (lit.) the Second (People)

This is the most common Quenya word for “Man” as a species, most frequently appearing in its plural form Atani (LotR/1034). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien wrote:

> The name Atan, pl. atani was already given in Quenya in Valinor to the “Second Kindred” whom the Eldar learned were to appear (or had appeared) in Endor. It meant “the Second”. The Sindar had no name for Men, until they arrived in Beleriand and were first found by Finrod. They borrowed the Q atan and gave it Sindarin form adan. For a long time this word therefore referred only to the three “houses” or kindreds of the “Elf-friends” or Elendili; and always tended to refer primarily to them. But when the Eldar became aware of other kinds of Men (more or less parallel to their own division into Eldar and Avari) they distinguished the Elendili as Núnatani, Dúnedain (pl. of Dún·adan) “western men” ... Other men were called Hrónatani, Rhúnedain [Easterlings] (PE17/18).

Thus while Atan applied to all humans, there was a bias towards considering the Elf-friends as the “true Men”, and Atan was sometimes used only to refer to them. Tolkien typically translated this word as “Man”, but the Elvish word has no particular association with the male gender, and actually means “the Second” (S/103; WJ/403; PE17/18) being related to the word atta “two”, referring to the fact that Men were the second-born race of the children of Eru.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. Atan seems to have been coined in the 1940s, for example appearing in the phrase ᴹQ. atani koitar endoresse “men live in Middle-earth” in the Quenya Verbal System document from this period (PE22/125).

The last description of this word’s origin appeared in notes from the late 1960s, where Tolkien said it was instead borrowed from the language of Men: “The name is said to have been derived from atan ‘man, human being as distinct from creatures’, a word used by that kindred which the Eldar first encountered in Beleriand” (PM/324 note #38).

However, as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien: “The statement here that Atani was derived from a word in the Bëorian language, atan ‘man’, contradicts what was said in the chapter Of the Coming of Men into the West that was added to the Quenta Silmarillion”, referring to the footnote on WJ/219 in Silmarillion drafts from the 1950s. This footnote was the same scenario as described above where Atan meant “the Second”, which is also how the origin of the word was described in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/386). It is this scenario that Christopher Tolkien used in the published version of the Silmarillion (S/103, 143; SI/Atani).

atanalcar

masculine name. *Man Glory

Fourth child of Elros, known only from a genealogy chart on UT/210. His name seems to be a compound of Atan “Man” and alcar “glory”.

atanamir

masculine name. *Man Jewel

Tar-Atanamir was the 13th ruler of Númenor (UT/221). His name seems to be a compound of Atan “Man” and mírë “jewel” (SA/mîr, PE17/24).

elatan

masculine name. *Star Man

The husband of Silmarien and father of Valandil, ancestor of the kings of Gondor and Arnor (UT/173). His name seems to be a compound of él “star” and Atan “Man”.

hallatan

masculine name. *Tall Man

Father of Hallacar (UT/211). His name seems to be a compound of halla “tall” and Atan “man”.

nér

noun. man, male person (of any kindred: elf, human or dwarf), man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; [ᴱQ.] husband; warrior

The Quenya word for a “man”, or more specifically a person of male gender of any kindred (WJ/393; PE23/87). This word is derived from the root √N(D)ER, and the é is long in Quenya as a remnant of the lengthened vowel in the primitive subjective form ndēr, but the stem form is ner- because the vowel was not long in ancient inflective forms (PE19/102). Thus the singular is nér but the plural is neri (MR/213), and likewise for other inflected forms. Nér can be used regardless of species and so is equally applicable to male Elves, Men, or Dwarves, but is unlikely to be used of male animals, for which the word [ᴹQ.] hanu is more applicable.

Conceptual Development: This word was very well established in Tolkien’s mind, appearing as ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), though in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “warrior, etc.” (PME/65). The long/short vowel variation had emerged by the time the Early Qenya Grammar was written in the 1920s, where Tolkien gave singular nēr but plural nĕri (PE14/43, 72).

The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s has this same long/short vowel split (PE21/20) as does The Etymologies from later in the 1930s which had ᴹQ. nér with plural neri as derivatives of the root ᴹ√(N)DER (Ety/DER). This remained the case in later writings as well, except that the unstrengthened form of the root changed from ᴹ√DER to √NER (WJ/393), though this only barely matters, since the actual derivatives were all from strengthened √NDER in pretty much all cases from the 1930s forward.

Elatan

star-man

Elatan, masc. name *"Star-man", cf. atan (UT:210)

Ercambo

one-hand man

Ercambo ("k") masc. name "one-hand Man" (VT47:7), the equivalent of Sindarin Erchamon, Erchamion as a title of Beren

Hallatan

tall man

Hallatan masc. name, apparently "tall man": halla + atan (UT:210)

Tarcil

high-man

Tarcil ("k") (#Tarcild-, as in pl. Tarcildi) masc. name, "high-Man", also used as a term for Númenórean (Appendix A, TUR, KHIL, VT46:17, PE17:101; the latter source provides the gloss "Great Man of Numenor"; tarcil(di) = "high-men = Elf-friends of Númenor"). Cf. the variant tarhildi, q.v.

aráto

champion, eminent man

aráto noun "champion, eminent man" (SA:ar(a) )

callo

noble man, hero

callo ("k")noun "noble man, hero" (KAL)

firë

mortal man

firë noun "mortal man" (PHIR), pl. firi given (the latter is not clearly glossed and may also be the archaic form from which firë is derived, since word-final short i became e in Quenya but since we would rather expect the spelling phiri if it were an archaic form, it is best taken as the pl. of firë.)

hanu

male (of men or elves), male animal, man

hanu noun "a male (of Men or Elves), male animal, man" (3AN, VT45:16)

istyar

scholar, learned man

istyar noun "scholar, learned man" (IS). According to VT45:18, Tolkien at one point also meant istyar to be the name of Tengwa #13 with overposed dots to indicate a palatal sound; the letter would thus have the value sty. However, according to the classical Tengwar spelling of Quenya as outlined in LotR Appendix E, such a letter would rather have the value *nty (since #13 is there assigned the value nt in Quenya).

nercë

noun. little man

A diminutive form of nér “man” given as {nerkĭ >>} nerke “little man” in notes from 1968 (VT47/33), with the addition of the diminutive suffix ✶-i(n)ki.

nercë

little man

nercë ("k")noun "little man", a diminutive of nér (VT47:33). VT48:18 seems to hint that -cë is to be derived from older -ki; if so, nercë should have the stem-form nerci-. Compare wenci.

nerdo

large, strong man

nerdo noun "large, strong man" (compare nér) (VT47:33)

nernehta

man-spearhead

nernehta noun "man-spearhead", a battle-formation (UT:282)

nerwen

feminine name. Man-maiden

The mother-name of Galadriel (UT/229, PM/337), also appearing in the longer form Nerwendë (PM/346). This name is a compound of nér “man” and the suffixal form -wen of vendë “maiden”.

quendu

elvish man

quendu noun *"Elvish man", pl. quendur given (MR:229; changed by Tolkien from quendo pl. quendor). Compare fem. quendi.

quén

one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman

quén (quen-, as in pl. queni; as final element in compounds -quen) noun "one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman", pl. queni = "persons", "(some) people", "they" with the most general meaning (as in "they [= people in general] say that..."). The element is combined with noun and adjective stems in old compounds to denote habitual occupations or functions, or to describe those having some notable (permanent) quality; examples include roquen, ciryaquen, arquen, q.v. Also in aiquen "whoever", ilquen "everybody" (WJ:361 cf. 360, 372).

vëaner

(adult) man

vëaner noun "(adult) man" (WEG)

nernehta

noun. man-spearhead

aráto

noun. champion, eminent man, noble, lord, king

farino

noun. hunted man, outlaw

atannahtar

noun. man-slayer

A neologism for “man-slayer” coined by Helge Fauskanger for his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of Atan “man” and [ᴺQ.] nahtar “slayer”.

penno

noun. poor man

A neologism for a “poor man” coined by Tamas Ferencz appearing in VQP (VQP) derived from √PEN “lack”.

salyon(do)

noun. hero, dauntless man

men

who

men (3) pron. "who", evidently a misreading or miswriting for man (MC:221, in Markirya)

vielóra

noun. eunuch

A neologism coined by Helge Fauskanger for his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of ᴱQ. vie “penis” (or “manhood”) and the suffix ᴹQ. -lóra “without”.

ye

who

ye (1) singular personal relative pronoun "who", maybe also object "whom" (plural form i). Compare the impersonal form ya. Also attested in the genitive and the ablative cases: yëo and yello, both translated "from whom" (though the former would also mean *"whose, of whom"). (VT47:21)

ye

pronoun. who

yá

when

yá (2) conj. "when" in the sentence yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). Compare írë #2.

yá

conjunction. when

A relative conjunction “when” appearing in various phrases in Tolkien’s writings of the 1950s and 60s, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ya.

Conceptual Development: Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had ᴹQ. í glossed “(relative) at the time mentioned, at the same time”, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i (PE23/109). This was also given the gloss “when, whenever” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from this same period (PE22/121). Earlier still, ᴹQ. íre was used as the relative conjunction “when” in Fíriel’s Song of the 1930s. In the Early Qenya Grammar it seems ᴱQ. yan “when” served this function (PE14/59).

í(qua), illume, iquallume

conjunction. when, whenever

írë

when

írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare yá #2.

malumë

adverb. when

túro

noun. guy, dude, bloke, fellow

A neologism for “guy, dude, bloke, fellow” coined by Fëastorno posted on 2025-03-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), inspired by Tolkien’s frequent use in the 1940s of the name Túro in various example sentences. As a noun for “guy” it is only intended for modern use, outside the legendarium.

man

pronoun. (?) what?

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long *ē* became *ī*, and the initial cluster *nd-* became *d-*, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial *nr-* became *dr-*. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

curunír

masculine name. Man of Skill

The Sindarin name of Saruman, translated “Man of Skill” (LotR/1085), “Man of Craft” (UT/390) or “one of cunning devices” (RC/389). His name is a compound of curu “skill, craft” (SA/curu) and the agental suffix -n(d)ir.

Conceptual Development: Saruman’s Sindarin name did not emerge until late in the writing of The Lord of the Rings (PM/228), but the noun N. curunir “a man of craft, wizard” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/KUR), where it had essentially the same derivation as above. This noun was capitalized (EtyAC/KUR) and so could have been Saruman’s name, but curunír also appeared in Tolkien’s later writings as a general word for “wizard” (PE22/151). Any even earlier precursor might be G. curug “wizard” in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GL/28).

adan

noun. Man (as a species)

The usual Sindarin word for “Man” as a species, borrowed from Q. Atan after the Sindar first encountered the men of the west (PE17/18). It often appeared in its plural form Edain “Men” (LotR/1061; PE17/117; WJ/219). Like in Quenya, this word was biased towards considering the houses of the Elf-friends and their descendants as the “true Men”, but the proper term for such men was a Dúnadan “Man of the West”, and strictly speaking Adan applied to all kinds of Men, such as the Rhúnedain “✱Easterlings” (PE17/18) or the Drúedain “Woses” (UT/385). Unlike English, this word has no association with the male gender, and originally meant “the Second”, referring to Men as the second-born children of Eru. For a further discussion of its conceptual development, see the entry for Q. Atan “Man”.

adanedhel

masculine name. Elf-man

A name given to Túrin in Nargothrond for his noble, Elf-like nature, translated “Elf-man” (S/210). It is a compound of Adan “man” and Edhel “Elf” (SA/adan, edhel).

aradan

masculine name. *Noble-man

The Sindarin name of Malach (S/143), a combination of the prefix ar(a)- “noble” and the noun Adan “Man” (SA/ar(a), adan).

borondir

masculine name. ?Steadfast-man

A soldier of Gondor who lived 500 years before the War of the Ring (UT/297). The initial element of his name may be (ON.) boron “steadfast” and its final element appears to be dîr “-man” (as suggested by David Salo, GS/344).

brandir

masculine name. *Noble Man

6th and last chief of the House of Haleth, who became the rival of Túrin (S/216). His name is a combination of brand “lofty, noble” and dîr “man”, hence: “✱Noble Man”.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, his name was given as G. Tamar (LT2/101). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s his name changed to N. Brandir and remained so thereafter (SM/129). In The Etymologies, this name was given as a compound of N. brann “lofty, noble” and N. dîr “man”, which is the source of the derivation given above (Ety/BARÁD, DER).

dírhael

masculine name. *Wise Man

Father of Gilraen (LotR/1057). His name may be a combination of dîr “man” and the lenited form hael of sael “wise”, hence: “✱Wise Man” (as suggested by David Salo, GS/346).

Conceptual Development: In drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices, this name first appeared as Dirhael with a short i (PM/196), sometimes alternating with Dirhoel with an oe (PM/238, 263), before Tolkien settled on the form Dírhael used in the published version of The Lord of the Rings.

dúnadan

proper name. Man of the West

Sindarin term for a “Man of the West”, the descendants of the Elf-friends of Beleriand and Númenor (LotR/233). This name is a combination of dûn “west” and Adan “Man” (SA/andúnë, adan; PE17/18).

Conceptual Development: In an early version of Glorfindel’s greeting to Aragon, this term was N. Torfir (TI/61), and throughout the Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the most common term for “High Men” was ᴹQ. Tarkil (TI/84, WR/310). It was not until very late in the drafts that the terms Dúnadan/Dúnedain appeared (WR/363 note #6).

hatholdir

masculine name. *Axe-man

A man of Númenor (UT/173), his name is apparently a combination of hathol “axe” and dîr “man”.

othrondir

proper name. ?Stronghold Man

Name of a man of Gondor (WJ/417), first written Othrondor (WJ/421 note #16), appearing in Tolkien’s aborted sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The New Shadow. His name seems to be a combination of othrond “underground stronghold” and dîr “man”.

thorondir

masculine name. *Eagle-man

22nd ruling steward of Gondor (LotR/1039), apparently of a combination of thoron “eagle” and dîr “man”.

Adanedhel (Túrin)

noun. man-elf

adan (“man”) + edhel (“elf”)

Aradan

noun. king-man

ar(a) (prefix “high, noble, royal”) + adan (“man”)

D

'Western Man

únadan, pl1. D**únedain _n. _lit. 'Western Man, Man of West(ernesse)' (Dún-adan), the three Houses of Men. Used in Rivendellas a name of Aragorn. Q. pl1. Núnatani. _Ai na vedui Dúnadan. Mae g'ovannen. _'Ah! At last, Dúnadan** ! Well met !'. >> adan

Dúnadan (pl. Dúnedain)

noun. west(ern) man

(n-)dûn (“west”) + adan (“a man from one of the three houses of the Edain”)

Elladan

noun. elf-man

ell (from CE *eldā- connected or concerned with the stars) + adan (“a man from one of the three houses of the Edain”)

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

elladan

masculine name. Elf-man

Son of Elrond (LotR/227). This name is translated “Elf-man”, a combination of archaic Sindarin †Ell “elf” and Adan “man” (Let/281-2).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this character was first named N. Elboron (WR/297). Earlier still, the name Ilk. Elboron used as a name for a son of Dior (LR/147). Later on, Elboron was used as the name of the son of Faramir (PM/221).

randir

wandering man

_ n. _wandering man, pilgrim. >> Mithrandir

mân

departed spirit

(i vân, construct man), pl. main (i main)

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

abonnen

noun/adjective. man, one born later than the Elves, a human being (elvish name for men)

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

aphadon

noun. man (elvish name for men)

curunír

noun. man of craft, wizard

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

eledhon

noun. *Elf-man

ellon

noun. Elf-man

ellon

noun. elf-man

ell (from CE *eldā- connected or concerned with the stars) + on (traditional ending for male names)

erchammon

noun. one-handed man

erchamon

noun. one-handed man

firion

noun. mortal man

firion

noun. a mortal man

fair (“mortal”) + on (traditional ending for male names)

gwaith

noun. man power, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people

ioron

noun. old man

rhavan

noun. wild man

thalion

noun. hero, dauntless man (especially as surname of Húrin Thalion)

Baranor (man of Gondor)

Baranor (man of Gondor)

Baranor was likely named after the first name Man of the same name. It could mean various things:

adanath

noun. men

dîr

man

1. (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

bôr

trusty man

bôr (boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. bŷr for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

bôr

steadfast man

bôr (boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (trusty man, faithful vassal), pl. bŷr (i mŷr) for older beryn, i meryn (archaic börin, i mörin). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

bôr

steadfast man

bôr (boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (trusty man, faithful vassal), analogical pl. pl. bŷr (i mŷr) for older beryn, i meryn (archaic börin, i mörin). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

bôr

trusty man

bôr (boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. bŷr (i mŷr) for older beryn, i meryn (archaic börin, i mörin). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

bôr

steadfast man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (trusty man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* (i m**ŷr) for older beryn, i meryn (archaic börin, i mörin). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were **berein, beren.

thalion

dauntless man)

o used as noun DAUNTLESS MAN) thalion (steadfast, strong; hero), pl. thelyn.

fair

mortal man

(human) fair (fír-), pl. fîr, coll. pl. firiath. Archaic sg. feir (WJ:387). Wheareas the above-mentioned terms are apparently gender-neutral, the following are gender-specific:

rhavan

wild man

(non-Edain human) rhavan (?i thravan or ?i ravan the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

rhavan

wild man

(non-Edain human) rhavan (?i thravan or ?i ravan the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). Also (of a Drúadan) drû (i dhrû), pl. drúin (in drúin), coll. pl. drúath (UT:385). Also compounded as Drúadan (i Dhrúadan), pl. Drúedain (in Drúedain). Cf. also Û-

Dúnadan

man of the west

(Númenórean) Dúnadan (i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

Dúnadan

man of the west

(Númenórean) Dúnadan (i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386)

curunír

man of craft

curunír (i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath

curunír

man of craft

curunír (i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

dírnaith

man-spearhead

(wedge-formation in battle) dírnaith (i nírnaith, o ndírnaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndírnaith). (UT:282)

dírnaith

man-spearhead

(wedge-formation in battle) dírnaith (i nírnaith, o ndírnaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndírnaith). (UT:282);

dírnaith

man-spearhead

(i nírnaith, o ndírnaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndírnaith). (UT:282)

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386)

ellon

elf-man

ellon (pl. ellyn),

ellon

elf-man

ellon (pl. ellyn) (WJ:363-64, 377).

ellon

elf-man

(pl. ellyn)

erchammon

one-handed man

*erchammon (pl. erchemmyn). The spelling used in the source is ”erchamon” (VT47:7)

erchammon

one-handed man

(pl. erchemmyn). The spelling used in the source is ”erchamon” (VT47:7)

fair

mortal man

(fír-), pl. fîr, coll. pl. firiath. Archaic sg. feir (WJ:387). Wheareas the above-mentioned terms are apparently gender-neutral, the following are gender-specific:

firion

mortal man

firion (pl. firyn).

firion

mortal man

firion (pl. firyn) and

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). Also (of a Drúadan) drû (i dhrû), pl. drúin (in drúin), coll. pl. drúath (UT:385). Also compounded as Drúadan (i Dhrúadan), pl. Drúedain (in Drúedain). Cf. also

thalion

dauntless man

thalion (hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”.

thalion

dauntless man

(steadfast, strong; hero), pl. thelyn. 

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

gwanwen

proper name. Departed

A term the Sindar used for the Elves who left Beleriand for Aman, derived from the same root as Q. vanwa: √WĀ/AWA (WJ/366, 378). Another variation was Gwanwel (WJ/378), perhaps incorporating †Ell “Elf”.

Conceptual Development: Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 had a similar form Gwenedhel, with deleted variants {gwenieðel} and {gweineðel} ultimately revised to Caleðel “✱Light Elf” (PE17/140).

gwanwen

departed

1. (past participle) gwanwen (lenited wanwen; pl. gwenwin), also as noun: a ”departed” one, one of the Elves of Aman: Gwanwen (i **Wanwen), pl. Gwenwin (in Gwenwin) (WJ:378), 2) gwann (dead), lenited wann; pl. gwain**;

gwanwen

departed

(lenited ’wanwen; pl. gwenwin), also as noun: a ”departed” one, one of the Elves of Aman: Gwanwen (i ’Wanwen), pl. Gwenwin (in Gwenwin) (WJ:378)

ai

pronoun. for those who

firiath

noun. mortal men

fair (“mortal”) + ath (collective plural suffix)

gwanwen

adjective. departed, departed, *gone, lost [to time], past

A word for “departed” in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60 (WJ/378), clearly derived from the root √WĀ “away”. It might be related to the verb gwae- from Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) of 1959 (PE17/148). That verb had an irregular passive participle gwawn or gwanu. The word gwanwen may be a modification of (archaic?) gwanu from DLN to more strongly resemble other passive participles like govannen (LotR/209) or onnen (WJ/387). Alternately, it could be a simple adjective, the Sindarin equivalent of Q. vanwa.

Neo-Sindarin: I would assume that, like its Quenya equivalent, gwanwen has the added connotation of “✱gone, lost [to time], past” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. haim or haithin “gone, departed, lost”, the latter based on the verb G. haitha- “hie, go, fare, walk” (GL/47).

ir

conjunction. (?) when

This word is not translated. It could be related to Quenya íre "when". Some scholars also consider that it could be the form taken by the article i before a vowel, on a pattern similar to ah . To this respect, it might be interesting to note the ir was the allative/dative form of the article in the old Gnomish lexicon, PE/11:9

gwann

departed

(dead), lenited ’wann; pl. gwain

io

conjunction. when

A neologism coined by Röandil as io “when” posted on 2024-03-19 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), the Sindarin equivalent of Q. yá “when”. In stressed positions, this conjunction might remain iaw. Both of these forms conflict with existing Noldorin words: [N.] io “ago” and [N.] iau “corn”, but that doesn’t preclude their use.

ir

when

?ir (not used in questions but to indicate time, as in ”when I saw you, I was glad”). This is one of several possible interpretations of the word, which occurs in a Sindarin poem untranslated by Tolkien (ir Isil ammen Eruchín…síla, ?”when the Moon shines for us Children of Eru…”, The Lays of Beleriand p. 354). By another interpretation, ir is simply a variant of the definite article.(relative pronoun), see THAT

ir

when

(not used in questions but to indicate time, as in ”when

ir

i

is simply a variant of the definite article.

manā

adjective. what

ndē̆r

noun. man

n(d)er

root. male (person), man

This root and ones like it were the basis for Elvish “man” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√NERE with derivatives like ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” and ᴱQ. nertu “strength” (QL/65). The latter had a cognate G. nert in contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, along with a set of related “strength” words (GL/60). But Gnomish also had a set of derivatives based on the elided primitive form ᴱ✶n’reu̯ such as G. †drio “hero” and driog “valiant” (GL/30). Derivatives with an initial n- continued to appear in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s, such as ᴱN. †nîr “hero, prince” and ᴱN. ne(i)rion “hero” (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the base root was ᴹ√DER “adult male, man (of any race)” with strengthened variant ᴹ√NDER “bridegroom”, but with the Quenya root becoming ᴹ√NĒR “man” under the influence of ᴹ√NĪ “woman” (Ety/DER, NDER, NĒR, NĪ); from this point forward Noldorin/Sindarin derivatives began with d-, such as S./N. dîr “man”. Likewise in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure, also from the late 1930s, the root was given as ᴹ√(N)DER “man, male”, again as a strengthening of ᴹ√DER (EVS1: PE22/98). However, in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1940s, the primitive root is given as ᴹ√NER “man” (TQ1: PE18/35) and likewise from the first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns from the late 1940s (QPP1: PE23/87).

Starting in the 1950s, Tolkien was more consistent in making the base root √NER with strengthened form √NDER. Tolkien gave √NDER/NER “male person” in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2: PE22/133) and Common Eldarin: Noun Structure (PE21/70), both from the early 1950s. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 the base root was √NERE, though Tolkien clarified that the base root as referred more specifically to “physical strength and valour” (WJ/393). The root is given as √NER “man, male” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/33).

nēr

noun. man, a male person

bar

noun. man

benn

noun. man, male, †husband

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “man” or “male” but originally with the sense “†husband”, derived from primitive ᴹ✶besnō under the root ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/BES, DER). The scenario in The Etymologies was that word for “husband” became N. herven while the original word for “man”, N. dîr, fell out of use except as an element in names and as an agental suffix.

Conceptual Development: G. {bend >>} †benn was a word for “husband” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but it was marked archaic and was replaced by bedhron; these Gnomish words were derived from the early root ᴱ√Bedh- [VEÐE] (GL/22).

Neo-Sindarin: The root for “marry” words was altered in Tolkien’s later writings to √BER, so many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. dîr as the normal word for “man”; see that entry for discussion. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable, since I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES for “marry, wed”.

dîr Archaic

noun. man, adult male; agental suffix

gwe

noun. man, warrior

thalion

noun. hero, dauntless man

torfir

proper name. High-man

benn

noun. man, male

brandir

masculine name. *Noble-man

bôr

noun. steadfast, trusty man, faithful vassal

curunir

noun. man of craft, wizard

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

gwaith

noun. man power, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people

gweith

noun. man power, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people

thalion

masculine name. hero, dauntless man

thalion

noun. hero, dauntless man (especially as surname of Húrin Thalion)

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

gwann

adjective. departed, dead

sapthân

noun. wise man, wizard

A noun translated “wise man, wizard” given as an example of the phonetic development of primitive aspirates in contact with stops (SD/421). According to Tolkien, it was pronounced [safθān], indicating that the combination pth would be pronounced as a voiceless labial fricative [f] followed by a voiceless dental fricative [θ]. Given the phonetic rules of Adûnaic, most voiceless stops would be pronounced as fricatives before another fricative in Classical Adûnaic.

narû

noun. man, male

A noun translated “soldier” and fully declined as an example of an (archaic) masculine Strong II noun (SD/437). The archaic form of this word is †naru which is a Strong II noun since it ends in a single short vowel. Its non-archaic form is narû, which is presumably declined as a Weak II noun; most masculine and feminine nouns became weak in Classical Adûnaic (SD/436). It may be related to the Primitive Elvish root √N(D)ER, as suggested by several authors (AAD/20, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/NERE).

nîlû

masculine name. (Man in the) Moon

The masculine personification of nîlu “the moon” (SD/426), perhaps the Adûnaic name for Q. Tilion.

saphdān

noun. wise man, wizard

The primitive form of sapthân “wise man, wizard”, derived from the root ✶Ad. √SAPHAD (SD/421). Its final element -ān may be a primitive form of the agental suffix -ân.

pen Archaic

noun. man, *somebody, *someone

arpen

noun. noble (man)

sharkû

noun. old man

tark

noun. man of Gondor

tharkûn

masculine name. Staff-man

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final -ô becomes -â in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from -ê); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.