Noldorin 

naneth

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the (Noldorin-only?) root ᴹ√NAN (Ety/NAN). It apparently replaced archaic/poetic N. †emil (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon had a similar set of words for “mother”: G. maba, mabir, baba, and mavwin from the early root ᴱ√maƀ “something nice” (GL/57). The last of these appeared as G. mavwen “ancestress” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document, with an archaic meaning of “mother” and variant forms mafwyn and mavuin (PE13/115). In these slips, it seems the normal “mother” word was G. nân (originally glossed “father”) with variant nanwin (PE13/115). This last word is likely the direct precursor of N. naneth.

Neo-Sindarin: I would use S. emel from the late 1960s as the normal word for “mother” in Neo-Sindarin, but would retain N. naneth as a dialectical or more formal variant.

Noldorin [Ety/AM¹; Ety/NAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

emil

noun. mother

Noldorin [EtyAC/AM¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by

emil

noun. mother

Noldorin [VT/45:5] Group: SINDICT. Published by

naneth

noun. mother

Noldorin [Ety/348, Ety/374] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nana

noun. mother (hypocoristic), *mommy

A hypocoristic (pet name) for “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the (Noldorin-only?) root ᴹ√NAN (Ety/NAN).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had the affectionate or childish diminutives {ami, ama >>} G. (m)ami, (m)ama “mummy” (GL/19), as well as G. babi “mummy, mamma” (GL/21).

Neo-Sindarin: I would use S. emig from the late 1960s as the normal diminutive word for “mother” in Neo-Sindarin, but would retain N. nana as a variant.

Noldorin [Ety/AM¹; Ety/NAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nana

noun. mother, mummy

Noldorin [Ety/348, Ety/374] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adar

noun. father

Noldorin [Ety/349, PM/324, MR/373, LotR/II:II, VT/44:21-22] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adar

noun. father

ada

noun. father, daddy

Noldorin [Ety/349] Group: SINDICT. Published by

amar

noun. earth

Noldorin [Ety/372] Group: SINDICT. Published by

amar

noun. Earth

Noldorin [Ety/MBAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ambar

noun. earth

Noldorin [Ety/372] Group: SINDICT. Published by

coe

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

Noldorin [Ety/363, X/OE] Group: SINDICT. Published by

coe

noun. earth

An indeclinable word given as {cíw >>} coe “earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KEM (Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM).

Possible Etymology: The primitive form of rejected cíw is given as ᴹ✶kēm and its derivation is clear: the long ē became ī and then the final m reduced to w after i as usual. The derivation of coe is more obscure, however. The likeliest explanation is that Tolkien imagined its ancient form with a slightly lowered vowel which he generally represented as ǣ in this period (in later writings as ę̄). According to the first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Comparative Vowel Tables from the 1930s (PE18/46; PE19/25), ǣ > ei > ai > ae, and in The Etymologies itself, it seems ai often became oe instead of ae.

Neo-Sindarin: Updating the derivation of hypothetical ✱kę̄m would produced ᴺS. cae in Sindarin phonology. But given the obscurity of its derivation, I recommend using 1950s S. ceven for “earth” instead.

Noldorin [Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

ammê

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, ammî and ammê, with no indication as to which would be preferred. However, ammî resembles a plural word, and Tolkien elsewhere stated that such forms tended to change their final vowel to (SD/438), so my guess is that ammî is an archaic form. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AM “mother”. Some authors have suggested it is directly related to ᴹQ. amme (AAD/10, AL/Adûnaic), but as Andreas Moehn points out (EotAL/MAM) such basic words are rarely borrowed from other languages, so the relationship is more likely from the Primitive Elvish root.

attô

noun. father

A noun for “father” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, attû and attô, with no indication as to which would be preferred. For reasons similar to those given in the entry for ammê “mother”, my guess is that attû is an archaic form, and attô was preferred by the time of Classical Adûnaic. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AT(AR) “father”, perhaps from Primitive Elvish ᴹ✶atū.

dâira

noun. Earth

A noun translated as “Earth” in the final version of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). It may be related to S. dôr “land”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/13).

Conceptual Development: In the Lament of Akallabêth (first draft), this noun appeared as kamāt (SD/311).

Primitive elvish

am

root. mother

For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).

Primitive elvish [VT48/17; VT48/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amal

noun. mother

Primitive elvish [PE21/83; VT48/17; VT48/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amas

noun. mother

amma

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

em

root. mother

emel

noun. mother

emer

noun. mother

at(ar)

root. father

As the basis for “father” words, √AT and its extended form √ATAR date all the way back to Tolkien’s earliest ideas. The root itself did not explicitly appear in the Qenya or Gnomish Lexicons of the 1910s, but forms like ᴱQ. atar, G. †ador “father” indicate its presence (QL/33; GL/17). The root ᴹ√ATA “father” did appear in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. atar, N. adar (Ety/ATA) and the base √AT(AR) “father” was mentioned again in late 1960s notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals (VT48/19). In this late period, the Elvish words for “father” remained Q. atar and S. adar (PM/324).

Primitive elvish [VT48/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atar

noun. father

Primitive elvish [PE21/71; PE21/74; PE21/75; PE21/76; PE21/77; PE21/83] Group: Eldamo. Published by

keme

noun. earth

Primitive elvish [PE21/80] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kemen

noun. earth

Primitive elvish [PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

en

root. name

Sindarin 

emel

noun. mother

A word for “mother” in notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, along with a diminutive form emelig (VT48/17 note #13). These forms were struck through and replaced by emig as the proper diminutive form from the root √EM (VT48/6), but that doesn’t necessarily invalidate emel = “mother”, which appeared elsewhere as (probably primitive) emel, emer in rough versions of these notes (VT48/19 note #16). These Sindarin forms are unusual in that the medial m did not become v, which means the primitive form was likely based on ✱emm- as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT48/17 note #14).

Conceptual Development: G. amil “mother” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along with rejected forms {anwin, amril} and an archaic variant †amaith (GL/19). The forms {emaith >>} amaith appeared unglossed in Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising that document (PE13/109). In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a form N. †emil for “mother” under the root ᴹ√AM of the same meaning, but Tolkien said this word was archaic, apparently replaced by N. naneth (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹). With N. emil, the a became e via i-affection, but the medial m failing to become v requires an explanation similar to that of 1960s S. emel.

Neo-Sindarin: I generally prefer derivatives of the earlier root √AM for “mother” words in Quenya, but in the case of Sindarin, I find emel and emig from √EM to be better and more widely accepted.

emel

noun. mother

Sindarin [Emeldir S/155, VT/48:17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

emmel

noun. mother

Sindarin [Emeldir S/155, VT/48:17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

emeldir

feminine name. Manhearted, *Manly-mother

Wife of Barahir and mother of Beren, translated “Manhearted” (S/155). Patrick Wynne suggested that her name may be a combination of emel “mother” and dîr “man”, so literally meaning: “manly-mother” or “mother with manly courage” (VT48/17-18, note #14).

Sindarin [MRI/Emeldir; S/155; SI/Emeldir; WJI/Emeldir] Group: Eldamo. Published by

emig

noun. [little] mother, *mommy

A diminutive word for “mother” in Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT48/6), replacing a longer but rejected diminutive emelig (VT48/6). It is based on either emel “mother” or the primitive root √EM.

Sindarin [VT48/06; VT48/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

emig

noun. "litte mother"

Sindarin [VT/48:6,17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adar

noun. father

Sindarin [Ety/349, PM/324, MR/373, LotR/II:II, VT/44:21-22] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adar

noun. father

The Sindarin word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; VT44/21-22; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: N. adar “father” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, however, G. †ador “father” was marked as archaic, and it seems {athon >>} G. nathon was the ordinary word for ”father” (GL/17, 59).

Sindarin [PM/324; VT44/22; VT48/17] Group: Eldamo. Published by

naneth

mother

naneth (pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

naneth

mother

(pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

emig

little mother

(no distinct pl. form except with article: in emig). Also used (in children’s play) as a name for the index finger (VT48:6, 17)

emig

little mother

emig (no distinct pl. form except with article: in emig). Also used (in childrens play) as a name for the index finger (VT48:6, 17)

mam

noun. grandmother, mother

ada

father

(pl. edai)

adar

father

adar (pl. edair);

adar

father

(pl. edair);

aer

adjective. holy

Sindarin [VT/44:21,24] Group: SINDICT. Published by

atheg

noun. "litte father"

Sindarin [VT/48:6,17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

atheg

noun. thumb (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

Sindarin [VT/48:6,17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

cae

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

Sindarin [Ety/363, X/OE] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ceven

noun. Earth

Sindarin [VT/44:21,27] Group: SINDICT. Published by

emig

noun. index finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

Sindarin [VT/48:6,17] Group: SINDICT. Published by

eneth

noun. name

Sindarin [VT/44:21,24] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ennorath

noun. central lands, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, LotR/II:I, RGEO/72-75] Group: SINDICT. Published by

esta-

verb. to name

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

Eru

the one

as a name of God: #Eru, isolated from CHILDREN OF THE ONE (Elves and Men) Eruchín** **(sg. *Eruchen)

adanadar

father of men

normally pl. Edenedair "Fathers of Men", the early Edain.

amar

earth

(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair

bâr

earth

(dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

cae

noun. earth

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

cae

earth

(i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also

ceven

earth

  1. ceven (i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23), 2) (world) Amar (archaic Ambar), pl. Emair; 3) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds. 4) (maybe ”earth” as substance) cae (i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also SOIL.

ceven

earth

(i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23)

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

ennor

place name. central land, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, X/ND2] Published by

ess

noun. name

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

gaer

holy

gaer (awful, fearful); lenited aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".

gaer

holy

(awful, fearful); lenited ’aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".

iaun

holy place

(fane, sanctuary), pl. ioen, coll. pl. ionath

Quenya 

amil(lë)

noun. mother

Tolkien used a number of similar forms for “mother” for most of his life. The earliest of these are ᴱQ. amis (amits-) “mother” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s along with variants ᴱQ. ambi, âmi, amaimi under the root ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). An additional variant ammi appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/30). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. ambe or mambe “mother” (PE16/135). This became ᴹQ. amil “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√AM “mother” (Ety/AM¹).

This 1930s form amil appears to have survived for some time. It appeared in a longer form Amille in Quenya Prayers of the 1950s (VT43/26; VT44/12, 18), and as an element in the term amilessi “mother-names” in a late essay on Elvish naming (MR/217). In the initial drafts of Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s Tolkien used the form amilye or amye as an affectionate word for “mother”, and amaltil as the finger name for the second finger (VT47/26-27 note #34 and #35).

However, in those documents Tolkien seems to have revised the root for “mother” from √AM to √EM and the affectionate forms from amye to emya or emme (VT47/10; VT48/6, 19). The revised word for “mother” appears to be emil based on the 1st person possessive form emil(inya) (VT47/26).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain the root √AM for “mother”, since that is what Tolkien used for 50 years, and ignore the very late change to √EM. As such, I would recommend amil(le) for “mother” and affectionate forms amme “mommy” and amya. However, if you prefer to use Tolkien’s “final” forms, then emil(le), emme and emya seem to be what Tolkien adopted in the late 1960s.

Quenya [VT44/18; VT47/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amal

mother

amal noun "mother"; also emel (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

amil

mother

amil noun "mother" (AM1), also emil (q.v.) Longer variant amillë (VT44:18-19), compounded Eruamillë "Mother of God" in Tolkien's translation of the Hail Mary (VT43:32). If amil is a shortened form of amillë, it should probably have the stem-form amill-. Also compare amilyë, amya, emya. Compounded amil- in amilessë noun "mothername" (cf. essë "name"), name given to a child by its mother, sometimes with prophetic implications (amilessi tercenyë "mother-names of insight"). (MR:217).

ammë

mother

ammë noun "mother" (AM1)

emel

mother

emel noun "mother"; also amal (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

emil

mother

emil noun "mother", emilinya "my mother" (also reduced to emya) the terms a child would use in addressing his or her mother (VT47:26). Emil would seem to be a variant of amil. Also compare emel.

ontari

mother

ontari noun "mother" or etymologically "begetter, parent" (fem.); clashing with the plural ontari "parents", this was apparently an emphemeral form (see ontarë, ontaril, ontarië for other feminine forms of "begetter, parent") (VT44:7)

ontaril

mother

ontaril noun "mother", female *"begetter" (cf. onta-). Variant of ontarë. (VT43:32)

emil

noun. mother

airë maría eruo ontaril

Holy Mary, Mother of God

The fifth line of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer. The first word airë “holy” is either an adjective or a form of address applied to the second word, María: the Quenyarized form of “Mary”. The third word Eruo “of God” is the genitive form of Eru “God”. The last word ontaril “mother” seems to be a feminine form of ᴹQ. ontaro “begetter, parent” (as suggested by the Wynne, Smith and Hostetter, VT43/32). If so, Eruo ontaril more literally means “✱genetrix (female begetter) of God”.

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

> Airë María Eru-o ontaril = “✱holy Mary God-of genetrix”

Conceptual Development: In the second version of the prayer, Tolkien used {Aini >>} aina (II) for “holy” instead of aire (I, III-IV). In the first two versions of the prayer Tolkien used Eruamillë (I-II) for “Mother of God”, a compound of Eru “God” and amil(lë) “mother”.

|  I  | II |III|IV| |Aire|{Aini >>} Aina|Aire| |María| |Eruamille|Eruo| | |ontaril|

Quenya [VT43/26; VT43/27; VT43/28] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amaltil

noun. *mother finger

A nursery name for the index finger in rough drafts of Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, a combination of Q. amil “mother” and Q. til “tip”, and appearing beside alternate form amilye (VT47/26-27 note #35). In later versions of these notes, the nursery name was emme or emya (VT47/10, VT48/6).

amya

noun. mummy, (orig.) my mother

An affectionate word used by a child to address his or her mother (PE17/170), also appearing as emya (VT47/10; VT48/6, 19) along with other variants like amye or amilye (VT47/26-27, 32). It is a reduction of the possessive form: amilinya “my mother”. See amil(lë) “mother” for a discussion of the am-/em- variation.

Quenya [PE17/170; VT47/10; VT47/26; VT47/27; VT47/32; VT48/06; VT48/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

emmë

noun. mummy, mother (familiar/family)

The affectionate word for “mother” (= “mummy”) was Q. emmë in notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the 1960s, based on the late 1960s root √EM for mother (VT47/10; VT48/6, 19).

Conceptual Development: The earliest hypocoristic (pet-name) word for “mother” was the “childish word” ᴱQ. ama in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√AMA (QL/30); it was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it became ᴹQ. amme “mother” derived from the root ᴹ√AM of the same meaning (Ety/AM¹), though in this document it seems to be an ordinary word and not a pet name, a variant of ᴹQ. amil. In late 1960s notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals Tolkien revised the Elvish root for “mother” from √AM to √EM, and the affectionate form became emme as noted above.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain the root √AM for “mother” since it is what Tolkien used for 50 years, and as such recommend restoring the 1930s form ammë to use as affectionate “mummy, mommy”; see the entry on Q. amil(lë) for further discussion.

Quenya [VT47/10; VT47/26; VT48/06; VT48/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

eruamillë

feminine name. *Mother of God

A title for Mary as the Mother of God in early drafts of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer (VT43/26-7), and also as a rejected word in Ortírielyanna, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Sub Tuum Praesidium (VT44/5). It is a compound of Eru “God” and amil(lë) “mother”. In later drafts of Aia María, this name was replaced by the term Eruo ontaril (VT43/27-28), and in the translation of other prayers he used the name Eruontarië of similar meaning.

Quenya [VT43/32; VT44/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

eruontarië

feminine name. *Mother of God, (lit.) God-genetrix

A title for Mary as the Mother of God in Ortírielyanna (VT44/5), Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Sub Tuum Praesidium, as well as Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto (VT44/12). It appeared in both the forms Eruontarië (VT44/12) and Eruontari (VT44/5). It is a compound of Eru “God” and the word ontarië “✱mother, genetrix”. In the final drafts of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer, he used the similar term Eruo ontaril (VT43/27-28).

Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of these prayers, Tolkien used the name Eruamillë of similar meaning.

Quenya [VT44/05; VT44/07; VT44/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amillë eruva lissëo

Mother of divine grace

The fourteenth line of Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto prayer (VT44/12). The first word is the noun amil(lë) “mother”. The second word is the adjective Eruva “divine”, the adjectival form of Eru “God”, meaning “of God, Godly” = “divine”. The final word lissëo “of grace” is the genitive form of the noun lissë “grace”, also seen in Erulissë “God’s grace” appearing in versions I-II of the first line of the Aia María prayer (VT43/26-7).

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

> Amillë Eru-va lissë-o = “✱Mother God-(adjective) grace-of”

amillë hristo

Mother of Christ

The thirteenth line of Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto prayer (VT44/12). The first word is amil(lë) “mother” followed by the Quenyarized name of Christ: Hristo. As suggested by Wynne, Smith and Hostetter, this second word is probably a genitive: Hristo = “of Christ” (VT44/18). The genitive forms of nouns ending in o are indistinguishable from their normal forms.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien first wrote this phrase in the opposite order: Hristo amille >> Amille Hristo (VT44/12, note on line 13). If Hristo is a genitive, either order could work, because the Quenya genitive can appear both before and after the noun it modifies. Perhaps Tolkien decided that placing it afterwards was less ambiguous, given that the genitive and normal forms of Hristo are identical.

amya

my mother

amya (1) noun "my mother", form used in address (PE17:170), cf. emya

mamil

mother, mummy

mamil noun *"mother, mummy" (UT:191)

ortírielyanna rucimmë, aina eruontari

we fly to thy patronage, O holy Mother of God

The first line of Ortírielyanna, Tolkien’s translation of the Sub Tuum Praesidium prayer. The first word Ortírielyanna “to thy patronage” is 2nd-person-polite (-lya “thy”) ablative (-nna “to”) form of ortírië “patronage”. The second word rucimmë “we fly” is the 1st-person-plural-exclusive inflection (-mmë “we”) of the verb ruc- “flee”. The third word is aina “holy” and the last word is Eruontari, a name of Mary as the genetrix (female begetter) of the Son of God.

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

> ortírie-lya-nna ruci-mme, Aina Eru-ontari = “✱patronage-thy-to flee-we, Holy God-genetrix”.

Conceptual Development: The first word was initially written Ortírielyanne (with final e instead of a), but Wynne, Smith and Hostetter suggested this is probably a slip (VT44/5). The third word was initially written Aini >> Aina. Tolkien considered several different Quenya translations for “Mother of God”; ignoring incomplete forms, the development was Eruamillë >> Eruontarië >> Eruontari.

amilessë

noun. mother-name

Quenya [MR/217; MR/470] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ontari(l)

noun. *mother, (lit.) genetrix

Quenya [VT43/32; VT44/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aina eruontarië

Holy Mother of God

The eleventh line of Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto prayer (VT44/12). The first word is aina “holy” followed by Eruontarië, a name of Mary as the genetrix (female begetter) of God. As pointed out by Wynne, Smith and Hostetter, this word is used to translate Latin “genetrix”, where as Latin “mater” is translated by amil(lë) (VT44/8).

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

> Aina Eruontarië = “✱Holy God-genetrix”

emya

noun. mummy, (orig.) my mother

Návatar

father

Návatar noun a title of Aulë referring to his position as the immediate author of the Dwarvish race, apparently including atar "father", but the first element cannot be related to any known term for "Dwarf" (PM:391 cf. 381)

atar

father

atar noun "father" (SA; WJ:402, UT:193, LT1:255, VT43:37, VT44:12). According to the Etymologies (ATA) the pl. is atari, but contrast #atári in Atanatári "Fathers of Men" (q.v.); possibly the word behaves differently when compounded. Atarinya "my father" (LR:70), atar(inya) the form a child would use addressing his or her father, also reduced to atya (VT47:26). Diminutive masc. name Atarincë ("k") "Little father", amilessë (never used in narrative) of Curufinwë = Curufin (PM:353). Átaremma, Ataremma "our Father" as the first word of the Quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer, written before Tolkien changed -mm- as the marker of 1st person pl. exclusive to -lm-; notice -e- as a connecting vowel before the ending -mma "our". In some versions of the Lord's Prayer, including the final version, the initial a of atar "father" is lengthened, producing #átar. This may be a contraction of *a atar "o Father", or the vowel may be lengthened to give special emphasis to #Átar "Father" as a religious title (VT43:13). However, in VT44:12 Atar is also a vocative form referring to God, and yet the initial vowel remains short.

atar

noun. father

Quenya [PE 22:118] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

atar

noun. father

The Quenya word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; WJ/402; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. atar “father” dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though in that document it was “a more solemn word ... usually to 1st Person of the Blessed Trinity”, as opposed to more ordinary ᴱQ. attu “father” (QL/33). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s, ᴱQ. atar was the ordinary word for “father”, but with variant archaic form †attar (PE15/72). ᴹQ. atar “father” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). It appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 in various inflected forms (PE22/118-119). It continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s later writings. Thus this word was established early and retained its form throughout Tolkien’s life with only minor variations.

Quenya [PM/324; SA/atar; UT/186; UT/193; UT/273; VT43/13; VT43/37; VT44/16; VT47/26; WJ/402] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ammë

noun. mummy, mother

silmóna

noun. nacre, mother-of-pearl, (lit.) pearl-womb

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2025-03-25 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as a combination of a reduced form of [ᴺQ.] ëarsil “pearl” and móna “womb”.

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

yentarë

noun. adoptive mother (for a daughter)

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

yontarë

noun. adoptive mother (for a son)

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Eru

the one

Eru divine name "the One" = God (VT43:32, VT44:16-17), "the One God" (Letters:387), a name reserved for the most solemn occasions (WJ:402). Often in the combination Eru Ilúvatar, "Eru Allfather" (cf. MR:112). Genitive Eruo (MR:329, VT43:28/32), dative Erun (VT44:32, 34). The adjectival form Eruva "divine" (Eruva lissëo "of divine grace", VT44:18) would be identical to the form appearing in the possessive case. Compound nouns: Eruhantalë "Thanksgiving to Eru", a Númenórean festival (UT:166, 436), Eruhin pl. Eruhíni "Children of Eru", Elves and Men (WJ:403; SA:híni, cf. _Eruhîn _in Letters:345), Eruion *"son of God" (or "God the Son"?) (VT44:16), Erukyermë "Prayer to Eru", a Númenórean festival (UT:166, 436), Erulaitalë "Praise of Eru", a Númenórean festival (UT:166, 436), Eruamillë "Mother of God" (in Tolkien's translation of the Hail Mary, VT43:32, see also VT44:7), Eruontari, Eruontarië other translations of "Mother (Begetter) of God" (VT44:7, 18), Erusén "the children of God" (RGEO:74; this is a strange form with no plural ending; contrast the synonym Eruhíni.) #Eruanna and #erulissë, various terms for "grace", literally "God-gift" and "God-sweetness", respectively (VT43:29; these words are attested in the genitive and instrumental case, respectively: Eruanno, erulissenen).

aina

holy

aina (2) adj "holy" (AYAN), derived from Ainu. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. According to VT43:32, the word is "obsolete, except in Ainur", apparently suggesting that airë or airëa (q.v.) was the normal term for "holy" in later Quenya. However, Tolkien repeatedly used aina in his translation of the Litany of Loreto: Aina Fairë "Holy Spirit", Aina Neldië "Holy Trinity", Aina Maria "Holy Mary", Aina Wendë "Holy Virgin". He also used Aina Eruontari for "holy Mother" in his rendering of the Sub Tuum Praesidium(WJ:399, FS, SA, VT43:32, VT44:5, 12, 17-18)

amilyë

mummy

amilyë or milyë (cited as (a)milyë), noun "mummy", also used as a play-name of the index finger, but Tolkien emended it to emmë, emya. (VT48:4) In its basic sense, (a)milyë would be a variant of amil, amillë "mother", q.v.

cemi

earth, soil, land

cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)

emmë

mummy

emmë (1) noun "mummy", hypocoristic form of "mother", also used in children's play for "index finger" and "index toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6, 17, 19). Also emya.

emya

mummy

emya noun "mummy", also used in children's play for "index finger" and "index toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). Said to be a reduction of emenya *"my mother", seemingly presupposing #emë as a word for "mother" (but this word normally appears as emil or amil, incorporating a feminine ending). In VT48:19, emya is explained as deriving from em-nya "my mother". Compare emmë # 2.

haruni

noun. grandmother

essë

noun. name

Quenya [LotR/1123; MR/216; MR/470; PM/339; UT/266; UTI/epessë; VT42/17; VT43/14; WJ/359] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-on

name

-on gen.pl. ending (3O), in aldaron, aranion, elenion, Eldaron, #esseron, Ingweron, Istarion, Númevalion, Quendion, Silmarillion, Sindaron, tasarion (see Nan-Tasarion), Valion, wenderon, yénion. Normally the ending -on is added to the nominative plural, whether it ends in -i or -r, but some nouns in -ë that would have nominative plurals in -i seem to prefer the ending -ron in the genitive (hence #esseron as the gen. pl. of essë "name", though the nominative pl. is attested as essi and we might have expected the gen. pl. *ession; similarly wenderon, Ingweron).

aira

holy

aira (2) adj. "holy"; see airë #1

airë

holy

airë (1) adj. "holy", #Airefëa "the Holy Spirit" (VT43:37, dative airefëan on the previous page), airetári or Airë Tári "holy queen" (a title of Varda, PM:363), genitive aire-tário "holy-queen's" (Nam, RGEO:67). However, according to PM:363, airë is the noun "sanctity", while aira is the adjective "holy". VT43:14 refers to an etymological note of "Sept.-Oct. 1957" where airë is said to be a noun "sanctity, holiness", and the adjective "holy" is given as airëa. However, the verb #airita- "hallow" seems to be formed from an adjective airë, airi- "holy". Evidently airë can function as both adjective ("holy") and noun ("holiness"); if so airë as adj. could represent a primitive adjective gaisi, whereas airë as noun may descend from gaisē. The former but not the latter would have the stem airi- (as observed in the derived verb #airita-), and compounds like airetári (rather than *airitári) would seem to contain properly the noun "holiness".

airëa

holy

airëa adj. "holy"; see airë.

aista

holy

aista (1) adj. "holy" (VT43:37)

atto

father, daddy

atto noun "father, daddy" (hypocoristic)(ATA, LR:49), supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). The dual form attat listed in VT48:19 seems to be formed from the alternative form atta, though attat was changed by Tolkien from attot. - Compare atya.

esse

noun. name

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

essë

name

essë (1) noun "name", also later name of Tengwa #31, originally (MET) called árë (ázë). (Appendix E). With a pronominal ending esselya "thy name" (VT43:14). Pl. #essi in PM:339 and MR:470, gen.pl. #esseron "of names" in the compound Nómesseron (q.v.); we would rather have expected *ession, given the nom.pl. essi; perhaps #esser is a valid alternative plural form. Essecarmë noun "name-making" (MR:214, 470), Eldarin ceremony where the father announces the name of his child. Essecenta *("k") noun "Name-essay" (see centa) (MR:415); Essecilmë noun "name-choosing", an Eldarin ceremony where a child named him- or herself according to personal lámatyávë (q.v.) (MR:214, 471). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essë** in the Etymologies was "place" rather than "name" (VT45:12).

esta-

verb. name

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

kemen

earth

kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.

mar

earth

mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

sanda

name

[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)

sanya

name

[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)

Telerin 

emmë

noun. mother

emmecë

noun. mother [diminutive]; *mommy

atta

noun. father


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!

Doriathrin

aman

noun. mother

Ilkorin for “mother” (Ety/AM¹), also appearing in its plural form emnin (EtyAC/AM¹).

Doriathrin [Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by

adar

noun. father

The Ilkorin word for “father” derived from primitive ᴹ✶atar[ă], also attested in its plural form edrin (Ety/ATA). It is identical to its Noldorin cognate N. adar having undergone similar phonetic changes from its primitive form, possibly ✱✶atară.

Doriathrin [Ety/ATA] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

nan

root. *mother

A (Noldorin only?) root in The Etymologies of the 1930s serving as the basis for a couple Noldorin mother words: N. naneth “mother” and N. nana “mother (hypocoristic)” (Ety/NAN).

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/AM¹; Ety/NAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

am

root. mother

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/AM¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amī̆l

noun. mother

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE21/66] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ata

root. father

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ATA] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atar

noun. father

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ATA; PE21/66] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atū

noun. father

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ATA] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aı̯an-

adjective. holy

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/AYAN; EtyAC/AYAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

ama

noun. mother

Early Quenya [PME/030; QL/030] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ambi

noun. mother

Early Quenya [PME/030; QL/030] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amis

noun. mother

Early Quenya [PME/030; QL/030] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(m)ambe

noun. mother

Early Quenya [PE16/135] Group: Eldamo. Published by

amaimi

noun. mother

ambe

noun. mother

ammi

noun. mother

âmi

noun. mother

haruni

noun. grandmother

The word ᴱQ. haruni “grandmother” appeared in both the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (QL/39; PME/39). It is a combination of ᴱQ. haru “grandfather” with the female suffix -ni. As there are no other alternatives, I would retain ᴺQ. haruni “grandmother” for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

Early Quenya [PME/039; QL/039] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atar

noun. father

Early Quenya [LT1A/Ilúvatar; PE14/077; PE15/72; PE15/76; PME/033; QL/033] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atto

noun. father

attu

noun. father

Early Quenya [PE16/135; PME/033; QL/033] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tatto

noun. father

en(we)

noun. name

Early Quenya [QL/035] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

amil

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

Qenya [Ety/AM¹; PE22/023] Group: Eldamo. Published by

atar

noun. father

Qenya [Ety/ATA; LR/061; PE22/018; PE22/046; PE22/047; PE22/118; PE22/119; PE23/081; PE23/105] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aina

adjective. holy

Qenya [Ety/AYAN; LR/072] Group: Eldamo. Published by

esse

noun. name

Qenya [Ety/ES; PE22/022; PE22/051; PE22/124; SD/047] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hún

noun. earth, earth, *ground

A word in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s with stem form hun- and gloss “earth” (QL/39). It might be a later iteration of ᴱQ. han “ground, earth” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/39), and if so then hún might also be used as “✱ground”. I think it is useful to assume so for purposes of Neo-Quenya, as the other attested word for “ground”, Q. talan, is probably used more often for “floor”, including floors above the ground level.

Qenya [PE21/19; PE21/24; PE21/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

amaith

noun. mother

amil

noun. mother

Gnomish [GL/19; PE13/109] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mab(a)

noun. mother

Gnomish [GL/29; GL/57] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mabir

noun. mother

nanwin

noun. mother

nân

noun. mother

mam

noun. grandmother, mother

A noun appearing as mam “grandmother, mother” in the Gnomish Lexicon, derived from ᴱ√maƀ or mam “something nice” (GL/57).

Neo-Sindarin: As we have no other attested alternatives, I would use ᴺS. mam for “grandmother” in Neo-Sindarin, based on a Neo-Root ᴺ√MAB (from primitive ✱mamba), but would not use it as “mother” for which we have plenty of later words.

cîmir

feminine name. Mother Earth

Gnomish [GL/18; GL/22; GL/26; GL/42; LT1A/Kémi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bladorwen

feminine name. Wide Earth, Mother Earth

Gnomish [GL/18; GL/23; LBI/Bladorwen; LT1A/Palúrien] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mavuin

noun. ancestress, †mother

mavwen

noun. ancestress, †mother

mavwin

noun. ancestress, †mother

Gnomish [GL/57; PE13/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bâb

noun. father

A word for “father” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips (PE13/111). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s itself, G. babi or baba was “mummy, mamma” (GL/21, 57). As pointed out by Gilson, Welden, Hostetter and Wynne, there is a complementary change of {nân “father” >>} G. nân “mother” elsewhere in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips (PE13/115).

ador

noun. father

nathon

noun. father

Gnomish [GL/17; GL/59] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(m)ami

noun. mummy

ami

noun. mummy

eirin

adjective. holy

enn

noun. name

Early Primitive Elvish

ama

root. *mother

Early Primitive Elvish [QL/030] Group: Eldamo. Published by