Quenya 

minya

first

minya adj. "first" (MINI) (cf. Minyatur, Minyon); "eminent, prominent" (VT42:24, 25). Minyar "Firsts", the original name of the Vanyar (or rather the direct Quenya descendant of the original Primitive Quendian name) (WJ:380)

inga

first

inga (2) adj. "first" (ING)

enna

first

[enna adj. "first" (VT45:12)]

esta

first

esta (2) adj. "first" (ESE/ESET); this entry was marked with a query. The word Yestarë (q.v.) "Beginning-day" in LotR suggests that Tolkien decided to change the stem in question to _YESE/YESET_. We could then read *yesta for esta (but later this became a noun "beginning" rather than an adj. "first", PE17:120) and also prefix a y to the other words derived from ESE/ESET (essë* > yessë, essëa > yessëa). Estanossë noun "the firstborn", read likewise Yestanossë** (*Yestanessi?) but in a later text, Tolkien used Minnónar (q.v.) for "the Firstborn" as a name of the Elves, and this form may be preferred. _(In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word _Estanossë is cited as "Estanesse", but according to VT45:12, the second-to-last vowel is actually o in Tolkien's manuscript.)

setta

first

[setta, setya adj. "first" (possibly also "primary", but Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible) (VT46:13)]

Sindarin 

minui

ordinal. first

Sindarin [VT/42:10, VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

minui

ordinal. first

Cognates

  • Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/25
Sindarin [VT42/10; VT42/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

main

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

Sindarin [VT/42:10, VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mein

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

Sindarin [VT/42:10, VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mein

ordinal. first

Cognates

  • Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/10

ned

noun. first, *one more; first; *during

This word replaced the preposition uin “of the” in the third version of the King’s Letter, appearing in the phrase nelchaenen ned Echuir “the thirty-first day of Stirring”. Both Carl Hostetter (VT31/30) and David Salo (SG/229) theorized that this replacement has a similar prepositional function, from either √NOT “count” or √NED “middle”. Fiona Jallings suggested it might be a temporal preposition, with sense “during” (FJNS/349).

On VT47/40, note 67, Patrick Wynne suggested that this word might be a cognate of the newly published Quenya word net(ë) “one more”. This theory is supported by the most likely interpretation of nelchaenen. This word seems to mean “thirtieth” rather than “thirty-first”, and Patrick Wynne suggested that nelchaenen ned means “thirtieth and one more” = “thirty-first”. I find this theory the most compelling, and use it here.

Element in

minui

first

1) minui (lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form), 2) mîn (lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”; 3) erui (single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

minui

first

(lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form)

mîn

first

(lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”

erui

first

(single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

Telerin 

minya

ordinal. first

Cognates

  • Q. minya “first; eminent, prominent” ✧ VT42/25

Primitive elvish

minya

ordinal. first

Derivatives

  • S. main “prime, chief, pre-eminent” ✧ VT42/25
Primitive elvish [VT42/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

edhen

adjective. first

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. enna “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶edenā “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE
    • ᴹ√EDE(L) “precede, come forward, hence” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶edenā > eðen[edenā] > [edena] > [eðena] > [eðen]✧ EtyAC/EDE

Variations

  • eðen ✧ EtyAC/EDE (eðen)
Noldorin [EtyAC/EDE] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ereg

place name. First

Earlier name for the river S. Erui from Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, apparently a Noldorin word meaning ereg “first” (TI/312, WR/436).

Changes

  • EregErui “First” ✧ TI/312
  • EregErui ✧ WRI/Erui
Noldorin [TI/312; TII/Ereg; WR/436; WRI/Erui] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ereg

adjective. first

Element in

  • N. Ereg “First” ✧ TI/312

Elements

WordGloss
er“one, alone”
-eg“suffix for ordinal numbers”

Variations

  • Ereg ✧ TI/312

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 

minya

ordinal. first

Derivations

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

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MINI > minya[minja]✧ Ety/MINI

inga

adjective. first

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ING “first, foremost” ✧ Ety/ING

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ING > inga[iŋga]✧ Ety/ING

enna

adjective. first

Cognates

  • N. edhen “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶edenā “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE
    • ᴹ√EDE(L) “precede, come forward, hence” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶edenā > enna[edenā] > [ednā] > [ennā] > [enna]✧ EtyAC/EDE

Variations

  • enna ✧ EtyAC/EDE (enna)

esta

adjective. first

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ESE(T) “precede (forward)” ✧ Ety/ESE; EtyAC/SET

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Estanosse “Firstborn” ✧ Ety/ESE (Estanosse); EtyAC/SET (Estanor/?Estannoss)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ESE/ESET > esta[esta]✧ Ety/ESE
Qenya [Ety/ESE; EtyAC/SET] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

edenā

adjective. first

Derivations

  • ᴹ√EDE(L) “precede, come forward, hence” ✧ EtyAC/EDE

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. enna “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE
  • N. edhen “first” ✧ EtyAC/EDE
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/EDE] Group: Eldamo. Published by

settā

adjective. first

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ESE(T) “precede (forward)” ✧ EtyAC/SET

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. essea “?primary” ✧ EtyAC/SET
  • N. seth “first, forth” ✧ EtyAC/SET
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/SET] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

minya

ordinal. first

Element in

Variations

  • minya ✧ PE14/051; PE14/082; PE14/084
Early Quenya [PE14/051; PE14/082; PE14/084] Group: Eldamo. Published by