Quenya 

min

cardinal. one

min numeral "one", also minë (VT45:34, VT48:6)

min

cardinal. one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first

Cognates

  • S. min “one, one, [G.] single” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
  • T. min “one” ✧ VT48/06

Derivations

  • min “one”
    • MIN “one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out”

Element in

Quenya [PE17/095; VT48/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

minë

cardinal. one

minë numeral "one", also min (MINI, VT45:34)

mir

cardinal. one

mir (2) cardinal "one" (LT1:260; in LotR-style Quenya rather minë)

menya

our

menya (pl. menyë is attested) possessive pron. "our", 1st person pl. exclusive independent possessive pronoun (VT43:19, 35). Evidently derived from the dative form men "for us" by adding the adjectival ending -ya. Compare ninya, q.v.

mo

one, someone, anyone

mo, indefinite pronoun "one, someone, anyone" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 20, 26)

a

cardinal. one

Quenya [PE 22:94; PE 22:124f] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

erëa

cardinal. one

erëa adj.? "one" or *"single", apparently an adjectival form (see er) (VT44:17)

-lma

our

-lma pronominal ending "our", 1st person pl. exclusive (VT49:16), also attested (with the genitive ending -o that displaces final -a) in the word omentielmo "of our meeting" (nominative omentielma, PE17:58). Tolkien emended omentielmo to omentielvo in the Second Edition of LotR, reflecting a revision of the Quenya pronominal system (cf. VT49:38, 49, Letters:447). The cluster -lm- in the endings for inclusive "we/our" was altered to -lv- (VT43:14). In the revised system, -lma should apparently signify exclusive "our".

-mma

our

-mma "our", 1st person dual exlusive possessive ending: *"my and one others" (VT49:16). At an earlier conceptual phase, Tolkien apparently intended the same ending to be plural inclusive "our" (VT49:55, RS:324), cf. Mélamarimma "Our Home" (q.v.) In the latter word, Tolkien slips in i as a connecting vowel before this ending; elsewhere he used e, as in Átaremma "our Father" (see atar).

-ngwa

our

-ngwa "our", 1st person dual inclusive possessive pronominal ending: *"thy and my", corresponding to the ending -ngwë for dual inclusive "we" (VT49:16)

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).

aicalë

peak

aicalë ("k")noun "a peak" (AYAK)

er

one, alone

er cardinal "one, alone" (ERE, VT48:6, VT49:54), in an early source also adv. "only, but, still" (LT1:269); Eru er "one God" (VT44:17; er was here emended by Tolkien from erëa, which seems to be an adjectival form *"one, single".)

-lwa

our

-lwa, possessive pronominal ending, 1st person pl. inclusive "our" (VT49:16), later (in exilic Quenya) used in the form #-lva, genitive -lvo in omentielvo (see -lv-).

Sindarin 

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

Sindarin [Ety/373, VT/42:24-25, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

min

cardinal. one, one, [G.] single

Cognates

  • Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06

Element in

  • S. Miniel “Vanyar”
  • S. minlamad “?alliteration, (lit.) first-echoing”
  • S. minui “first” ✧ VT42/25
  • S. minuial “(dawn) twilight”

Variations

  • min ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
  • mîn ✧ VT42/25
Sindarin [PE17/095; VT42/25; VT48/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

min

adjective. our

Sindarin [VT/44:21,22,28] Group: SINDICT. Published by

min

noun. peak

A word glossed “peak” appearing in the name S. Min-Rimmon “Peak of the Rimmon” from the Unfinished Index to The Lord of the Rings (RC/511). It is probably a derivative of √MIN.

Cognates

Derivations

  • MIN “one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out”

Element in

Variations

  • min ✧ RC/511

min

card

_ card. _one. Q. min. >> er, tad

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

mín

adjective. our

Sindarin [VT/44:21,22,28] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mín

pronoun. our

Changes

  • minvin ✧ VT44/24
  • mínvín ✧ VT44/28

Element in

Variations

  • min ✧ VT44/22 (min)
Sindarin [VT44/22; VT44/24; VT44/28] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-main

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -men

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

mîn

fraction. one (first of a series)

Sindarin [Ety/373, VT/42:24-25, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

-men

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -main

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

can

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> canad, leben

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

nel

card

_ card. _three. Q. nelde. Fcan, canad, neledh

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

pen

pronoun. one, somebody, anybody

Usually enclitic and mutated as ben.2

Sindarin [WJ/376] Group: SINDICT. Published by

-enc

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. _our.Maybe the incl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

eneg

card

_ card. _six. Q. enque, enc-. >> odog

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

caen-

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cainen. >> cae, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

canad

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> can, leben

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

leben

card

_ card. _five. Q. lepen, lempe. >> eneg

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

neder

card

_ card. _nine. Q. nerte. >> cae, caen-

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

cae

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cea. >> caen-, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

er

card

_ card. _one. Q. er. >> min, tad

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

odog

card

_ card. _seven. Q. otos. >> tolod

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tad

card

_ card. _two. Q. atta. Fnel, neledh

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tad

card

card. two. . This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:14] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

tolod

card

_ card. _eight. Q. tolto. >> neder

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

min

cardinal. one

1) (number ”one” as the first in a series) min, mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”. 2) (number) êr, whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone); 3)

Sindarin [Parviphith] Published by

min

one

mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”.

vín

our

vín; see WE

vín

our

; see

pen

cardinal. one

(indefinite pronoun) (= somebody, anybody) pen (WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lords Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean *”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of *ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

pen

one

(WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lord’s Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean ✱”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of ✱ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

êr

one

whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone)

aeg

horn

(point, thorn). No distinct pl. form. (but aeglir can be used for a range of mountain peaks). Note: aeg is also used as adj. "sharp, pointed, piercing". 2) mîn (i vîn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mîn), coll. pl. míniath. Note: homophones include the numeral ”one” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”. 3) egnas (sharp point; literally "thorn-point"), pl. egnais, coll. pl. egnassath.

till

sharp-pointed peak

(i** dill, o thill, construct til; also -dil, -thil at the end of compounds)  (tine, point, sharp horn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i** thill). Archaic †tild.  

eru

the one

isolated from

Telerin 

min

cardinal. one

Cognates

  • Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first” ✧ VT48/06

er

cardinal. one

Cognates

  • Q. er “one, alone, one, alone; [ᴱQ.] only, a single” ✧ VT48/06

Primitive elvish

min

cardinal. one

Derivations

  • MIN “one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out”

Derivatives

  • Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first”

Element in

Variations

  • Min ✧ NM/060
Primitive elvish [NM/060; WJ/421] Group: Eldamo. Published by

min

root. one, first of a series, one, first of a series; [ᴹ√] stand alone, stick out

This and similar roots were used for Elvish words for “one” for most of Tolkien’s life, though generally in competition with √ER. The root first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mir “one” and ᴱQ. minqe “eleven”; the parenthetical comment (mi’i) indicated it originally had some other now-lost consonant, though Tolkien marked this comment with a “?” (QL/61). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. min “one single” (GL/57).

The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had a distinct root ᴱ√MINI from which “tower” words were derived, such as ᴱQ. mindon/G. mindon (QL/61; GL/57). In The Etymologies of the 1930s these roots were merged together into a single root ᴹ√MINI “stand alone, stick out”, whose derivatives included both ᴹQ. min/N. min “one” as well as ᴹQ. mindo and N. mindon/minnas “tower” (Ety/MIN).

In Tolkien’s later writings √MIN was mostly mentioned in the context of Elvish numbering systems, and given glosses like “one” or “first of a series” (VT42/24; VT47/16-17), but in notes written in 1967-69 Tolkien indicated it was still the basis for “tower” words, most likely from the sense “prominent” (VT42/24). In these later notes Tolkien was careful to distinguish √MIN “one” used in counting vs. √ER “one” used for individual things: √MIN was for the first of a series of things, whereas √ER was for a single thing that was unique, alone or in isolation. The distinct senses of these two roots dates back at least as far as The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/ER, MIN).

Derivatives

  • min “one”
    • Q. min “one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first”
  • sminu “slim”
  • Q. minassë “fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” ✧ VT42/24
  • Q. mindë “turret” ✧ VT42/24
  • Q. mindon “(lofty) tower, (lofty or isolated) tower; [ᴱQ.] turret” ✧ VT42/24
  • Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/24
  • S. min “peak”
  • ᴺS. minai “distinct, unique, single”
  • S. minas “tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” ✧ VT42/24

Element in

  • min(i)kewē̆ “eleven, (lit.) fresh one” ✧ VT48/07
  • ᴺQ. minquetyar- “to accentuate, (lit.) pronounce prominently”

Variations

  • min ✧ VT47/16; VT47/17; VT48/07
Primitive elvish [VT42/24; VT47/16; VT47/17; VT48/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

imin

masculine name. One

Element in

Primitive elvish [NM/055; NM/060; WJ/380; WJ/421; WJI/Imin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tilte

noun. peak

Derivations

  • TIL “point, horn”

Derivatives

  • Q. tildë “a fine sharp point, fine sharp point, [ᴹQ.] spike; (mountain) horn, [ᴱQ.] tip, ️peak”

Element in

Primitive elvish [PE17/186] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

Noldorin [Ety/373, VT/42:24-25, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

min

cardinal. one

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. min “one” ✧ Ety/MINI

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out” ✧ Ety/MINI

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MINI > min[mini] > [mine] > [min]✧ Ety/MINI
Noldorin [Ety/MINI] Group: Eldamo. 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!

Qenya 

min

cardinal. one

Cognates

  • N. min “one” ✧ Ety/MINI

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out” ✧ Ety/MINI

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MINI > mine[mine]✧ Ety/MINI
ᴹ√MINI > min[min]✧ Ety/MINI

Variations

  • mine ✧ Ety/MINI
Qenya [Ety/MINI; EtyAC/MINI] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mine

cardinal. one

mintye

noun. peak

A word in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s glossed “peak” given as an example for the Quenya declension of nouns ending in -ye (PE22/44). It is probably a derivative of ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out”.

Cognates

  • S. min “peak”

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out”

aikale

noun. peak

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “a peak”, an abstract noun formation of ᴹQ. aika “sharp” (Ety/AYAK).

Elements

WordGloss
aika“sharp”
-le“abstract noun”

Doriathrin

er Reconstructed

cardinal. one

The Ilkorin word for “one” attested only in the name Ermabuin or Ermab(r)in “One-handed” (Ety/MAP).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. er “one, alone”

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ER “be alone, deprived”

Element in

Middle Primitive Elvish

min

root. stand alone, stick out

Derivatives

  • ᴹ√MINIK(W) “*eleven” ✧ Ety/MINI
    • ᴹQ. minqe “eleven” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • ᴹ✶miniya “single, distinct, unique” ✧ Ety/MINI
    • N. minei “single, distinct, unique” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • ᴹQ. min “one” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • ᴹQ. minda “prominent, conspicuous” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • ᴹQ. mindon “(isolated) tower” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • ᴹQ. mintye “peak”
  • ᴹQ. minya “first” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • N. min “one” ✧ Ety/MINI
  • N. minnas “tower” ✧ Ety/MINI

Element in

  • ᴹ✶minitunda “isolated hill, tower” ✧ Ety/MINI; Ety/TUN
  • ᴹQ. Minyen “first day [of year]” ✧ Ety/YEN
  • N. Minnastirith “Watchtower” ✧ Ety/TIR

Variations

  • MINI ✧ Ety/MINI; Ety/TIR; Ety/TUN; Ety/YEN
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/MINI; Ety/TIR; Ety/TUN; Ety/YEN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

min

cardinal. one, single

Cognates

  • Eq. mir “one” ✧ LT1A/Minethlos

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “*one” ✧ LT1A/Minethlos

Element in

  • G. mintha “ūna, in one place, together” ✧ GL/57
Gnomish [GL/57; LT1A/Minethlos] Group: Eldamo. Published by

er

adjective. one

Cognates

  • Eq. er “one, only, alone, a single” ✧ GL/32
  • Eq. er “only, but, still” ✧ LT1A/Tol Eressëa

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ERE “remain alone” ✧ LT1A/Tol Eressëa

Element in

  • G. ereg “alone, only” ✧ GL/32
  • G. ereth “solitude, oneness, loneliness” ✧ GL/32; LT1A/Tol Eressëa
  • G. ert “once, once only” ✧ GL/32
  • G. erw “only” ✧ GL/32
  • G. er(e)tha- “to isolate, rob, deprive” ✧ GL/32
  • G. erwed “unique” ✧ GL/32

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√ERE > er[er]✧ LT1A/Tol Eressëa
Gnomish [GL/32; LT1A/Tol Eressëa] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

min

noun. bit, piece

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MINI “*small, less” ✧ QL/061

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√MINI > min[mind] > [min]✧ QL/061

Variations

  • min ✧ QL/061
Early Quenya [QL/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

min

cardinal. one (in a series); the first

Element in

  • Eq. hu·karne ha min “he did it first (i.e. either before anyone else did so, or before he did anything else)” ✧ PE14/084
  • Eq. mindóre “million”
  • Eq. mindóra “million” ✧ PE14/049
  • Eq. minya “first” ✧ PE14/049
  • Eq. minya yukainen “twenty one” ✧ PE14/049

Variations

  • min ✧ PE14/049; PE14/082; PE14/084
Early Quenya [PE14/049; PE14/082; PE14/084] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mir

cardinal. one

Cognates

  • G. min “one, single” ✧ LT1A/Minethlos

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “*one” ✧ LT1A/Minethlos; QL/061

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√MĪ¹ > mir[mir]✧ QL/061
Early Quenya [LT1A/Minethlos; PME/061; QL/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

el

adverb/adjective. one