Númen(n)órë noun "people of the west", confused with Númendor "land of the west" (SA:dôr); hence Númenor as the name of the great isle given to the Edain by the Valar (FS, LR:56); full form Númenórë (LR:47, SD:247, NDŪ); allative númenórenna "to Númenor" (LR:56)
Quenya
númenórë
place name. Westernesse, (lit.) West-land
Cognates
- Ad. Anadûnê “Westernesse” ✧ S/261; SI/Westernesse
Elements
Word Gloss númen “west, direction or region of the sunset, occident, (lit.) going down” nórë “land, country; †people, race, tribe, land, country, [ᴹQ.] region where certain people live, [ᴱQ.] nation; [Q.] †people, race, tribe, [ᴹQ.] folk, [ᴱQ.] family” Variations
- Númenóre ✧ Let/151; Let/224; PE17/016; PE17/064
- Númenor ✧ LotR/0194; RC/778
- Númenor(e) ✧ PE17/015
- Númen(n)órë ✧ SA/dôr
- Númendor ✧ SA/dôr (Númendor)
Númen(n)órë
people of the west
The island-continent where the Edain settled after the fall of Beleriand (LotR/1035, S/261), often appearing in its shorter form Númenor. It is generally translated as “Westernesse” (LotR/194, S/261) but more literally means “West-land” (Let/224, RC/778). It is a compound of númen “west” and nórë “land” (Let/361).
Conceptual Development: In the very first draft of the Fall of Númenor, this name was given as ᴹQ. Númar or ᴹQ. Númenos (LR/11), but in the next draft these became the name its capital city, and the name Númenor emerged as the name of the land (LR/14). The full form ᴹQ. Númenóre appeared in The Etymologies, already with the derivation discussed above (Ety/NDŪ). It also appeared in an adjectival form Númenórea in linguistic notes from the 1930s (PE22/19).