nessa adj. "young" (NETH), alsoNessa as name of a Valië, the spouse of Tulkas (adopted and adapted from Valarin, or an archaic Elvish formation: WJ:404 vs. 416). Also called Indis, "bride" (NETH, NI1). The fem. name Nessanië (UT:210) would seem to incorporate Nessa's name; the second element could mean "tear" (nië), but since Nessa is not normally associated with sorrow, this #nië is perhaps rather a variant of ní "female" (compare Tintanië as a variant of Tintallë).
Quenya
nessa
feminine name. she that has manlike valour or strength
nessa
young
nessamelda
noun. species of tree in Númenor, (lit.) beloved of Nessa
nessamelda
nessa-beloved
nessamelda adj. "Nessa-beloved", name of a tree (UT:167)
nessa
Nessa
Nessa ([ˈnesːa]) is a Quenya name meaning "young".
Valatári
vala-queen
Valatári noun "Vala-queen" (BAL; this entry of the Etymologies states that Vala has no feminine form except this compound, but Silm gives Valië as a feminine form). The word Valatári is apparently also the unchanged plural form, so used in this quote: "The Valatári were Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Vana, Vaire, Este, Nessa, Uinen" (BAL; Tolkien later reclassified Uinen as a Maia, not a Valatári/Valië). Notice that the plural form of Valatar would apparently also be *Valatári.
indis
wife
indis noun, translated "wife" in UT:8, but the form is assigned the meaning "bride" in other places (the regular translation of "wife" is rather veri or vessë). Indis "Bride", name of the goddess Nessa. (NDIS-SĒ /SĀ (NETH, NI1, NDER, I) ); Indis Nessa *"Bride Nessa", title and name of the Valië (NETH) The stem-form of indis "bride" is somewhat obscure; according to VT45:37 the stem could be indiss- (pl. indissi given), but the alternative form pl. form inderi shows a curious shift from i to e as well as the more regular change from s (via z) to r between vowels (compare the pl. of olos, q.v.) The stem indiss- may be preferred by writers.
indis
noun. wife, [ᴹQ.] bride, [ᴺQ.] *fiancée; [Q.] wife
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bride” derived from the root ᴹ√NDIS (EtyAC/NDIS). It was translate “wife” in the later phrase Q. Indis i·Ciryamo “The Mariner’s Wife” (UT/8), but I think this is a loose translation and “bride” is more accurate. In The Etymologies Tolkien gave two plural forms: inderi (which might be indesi) and indissi, the latter influenced by the plural ᴹQ. nissi for “women” (EtyAC/NDIS). I’d use the stem form indiss- for this word, to avoid awkward changes of the final consonant from s to r in inflected forms.
Neo-Quenya: In a post on 2024-09-27 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Luinyelle suggested it might also mean “fiancée”.
veri
wife
veri noun "wife" (VT49:45)
veri
noun. wife
The most common word for “wife” in Quenya (VT49/45).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as ᴱQ. veri “wife” under the early root ᴱ√VEŘE [VEÐE] (QL/101), but there it was marked archaic (†). It also had a number of competing forms: archaic ᴱQ. †veruni and ᴱQ. †vesse alongside only one non-archaic form ᴱQ. vestin. One of these forms, ᴹQ. vesse, reappeared for “wife” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/BES). Later veri “wife” was restored, but derived from a new root √BER for marriage words (VT49/45).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain the 1930s root ᴹ√BES for marriage words in order to preserve Noldorin/Sindarin forms, but I would still use the veri for “wife”, just conceived of as a derivative of the root √BES, coming from ✱besī with intervocalic s > z > r.
vessë
wife
vessë noun "wife" (BES). A later source gives the word for "wife" as veri.
vinya
young
vinya (1) adj. "young" (VT46:22, VT47:26, PE17:191) or "new" (cf. compounds Vinyamar, Vinyarië below; cf. also winya "new, fresh, young" in a deleted entry in the Etymologies, VT45:16; there the word was first written as vinya.) Vinya "the Young", original name of the isle of Númenor among its own people (SD:332).
Spouse of Tulkas and one of the Valier (S/29). Her name was most likely an adaptation of her Valarin title (WJ/404), though some interpreted it as a development from ancient ✶Neresā meaning “she that has manlike valour or strength” (WJ/416).
Conceptual Development: Her name ᴱQ. Nessa had already appeared in the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/75), though its derivation and meaning at this early stage is unclear. In The Etymologies, the name ᴹQ. Nessa appeared as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NETH “young” (Ety/NETH). The derivation above did not appeared until the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60.