Noldorin 

nîf

noun. front, face

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

nîf

noun. front, face

Noldorin [Ety/378] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Sindarin 

nîf

noun. phantom, a seeming

nîf

face

1) nîf (construct nif) (front). No distinct pl. form. 2) thîr (look, expression, countenance) (VT41:10)

nîf

face

(construct nif) (front). No distinct pl. form.

nîf

front

nîf (construct nif) (face). No distinct pl. form.

nîf

front

(construct nif) (face). No distinct pl. form.

nivol

noun. phantom, a seeming

thîr

noun. face, face, [N.] look, expression, countenance

A word appearing as an element in the name Caranthir “Red-face”, derived from primitive ✶stīrē (VT41/10), which was likely tied to the root √TIR “watch”.

Conceptual Development: The same noun N. thîr appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the glosses “look, face, expression, countenance”, but there it was derived from the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” (Ety/THĒ). Earlier “face” words include G. gwint from the 1910s (GL/46) and ᴱN. ant from the 1920s with more elaborate form ᴱN. annas (PE13/137, 160).

thîr

face

(look, expression, countenance) (VT41:10)

Primitive elvish

stīrē

noun. face

Primitive elvish [VT41/10] Group: Eldamo. Published by

stir Reconstructed

root. face

The root ✱√STIR is implied by the names Elestirnë “Star-brow” (UT/184) and Carnistir “Red-face” (PM/353), as well as the primitive word ✶stīrē “face” (VT41/10). It is probably an s-fortification of the root TIR “watch”. It likely replaces the root ᴹ√THĒ “look (see or seem)” from The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. thio “to seem” and N. thîr “look, face, expression, countenance”, the latter providing an earlier etymology for N. Cranthir “Ruddy-face” (Ety/THĒ). The original gloss of this 1930s root was “perceive, see” (EtyAC/THĒ). This deleted gloss in turn indicates that 1930s ᴹ√THĒ was itself a later iteration of 1910s ᴱ√SEHE [þeχe] from the Qenya Lexicon, which was mostly connected to eye-words but also had derivatives like ᴱQ. sehta-/G. thê- “see” (PE12/21; QL/82; GL/72); see the entry √KHEN for the later derivation of eye-words.

Quenya 

-stir

suffix. face

An element meaning “face” in the name Carnistir “Red-Face” (S. Caranthir), derived from primitive ✶stīrē (PM/353; VT41/10). Its form as an independent word would mostly likely be ✱síre (Classical Quenya þíre), but that would conflict with sírë “river” in spoken Quenya (Tarquesta). There are a number of other Quenya “face” words attested, such as cendelë, so it is probably safer to use one of these for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

anta

face

anta (2) noun "face" (ANA1, VT45:5). Cf. cendelë.

canwa

face

#canwa (2) noun "face", isolated from canwarya ("k") *"his face", evidently an ephemeral form Tolkien abandoned in favour of cendelë, q.v. (VT49:21; see VT49:34 regarding uncertainties as to the manuscript reading)

canwa

noun. face

A word appearing as kanwarya in one of the drafts of the Ambidexters Sentence, apparently a 3rd-sg possessive form meaning “✱his face” (VT49/6, 21). Patrick Wynne suggested it might be derived from √KAT “shape” as in katmā > kanwa, patterned after Latin “faciēs” which also originally meant “shape”. It seems the n in this word was revised, but what the change was intended to be is unclear. Tolkien eventually revised this word to cendelë, so canwa was probably abandoned.

cendelë

face

cendelë noun "face" (VT49:21)

cendelë

noun. face, face, *visage

A word for “face” in the Ambidexters Sentence of the late 1960s (VT49/8). Patrick Wynne suggested it is likely an abstract noun formation from the verb cenda- “watch, observe”, and hence similar in origin to English/French “visage” which likewise originated from a Latin verb meaning “to see” (VT49/21). Earlier “face” words ᴱQ. alma and ᴱQ. yéma have similar derivations, as pointed out by Patrick Wynne.

nimulë

noun. phantom, a seeming

níma

noun. phantom, a seeming

hyámen

noun. front

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

nívë

noun. face

A neologism for “face” coined by Petri Tikka in PPQ (PPQ) from the early 2000s, derived from the root ᴹ√NIB “face, front”, but I see no reason not to use attested [ᴹQ.] anta or cendelë “face” for that purpose for that purpose.

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

pentë

noun. front

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. 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!

Doriathrin

nef

noun. face

A Doriathrin noun meaning “face” derived from the root ᴹ√NIB (Ety/NIB). The vowel change suggests a primitive form ✱✶niba, where the [i] became [e] because of Ilkorin a-affection. If this is the case, it is not a direct cognate of N. nîf “front, face”.

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

Middle Primitive Elvish

nībe

noun. front, face

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

Gnomish

gwint

noun. face

A noun for “face” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, related to the verb G. gwinta- “to see” (GL/46); see that entry for possible etymologies.

Gnomish [GL/46; GL/65; LT1A/Ilwë] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

alma

noun. face

A word in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the gloss “face, visage”, derived from the early root ᴱ√ALA “gaze”, but this word was deleted (QL/39). It also appeared with the gloss “face” in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa, where it was not deleted (PM/39).

Early Quenya [PME/029; QL/029] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yéma

noun. face

A word for “face” appearing in Early Qenya Word-lists from the 1920s (PE16/136) along with a list of body parts from the same period (PE14/117). It is likely derived from the early root ᴱ√DYĒ whose derivatives have to do with “gaze” or “look at” (QL/105), as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT49/21).

Early Quenya [PE14/117; PE16/136] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

anta

noun. face

Qenya [Ety/ANA¹; EtyAC/ANA¹; PE22/021; PE22/022; PE22/050] Group: Eldamo. Published by