máhanaxar

place name. Ring of Doom, *(lit.) Ring of Judgement

The circle of thrones where the Valar sat in council (S/38), an adaptation of the Valarin word Māχananaškād “Doom-ring” (WJ/399, 401). The Valarin word māχan more accurately means “authority, authoritative decision” (WJ/399), so the “doom” in its English translation is most likely used in its older sense “judgement”. This circle is also known by the (Vanyarin?) name Rithil-Anamo, said to be a translation of the same Valarin name (WJ/401).

aldaron

masculine name. Lord of Forests, (lit.) Of Trees

A title of Oromë as the Lord of Forests (S/29). The name is genitive plural of alda “tree”, so its literal meaning is “Of Trees”.

Conceptual Development: This name was well established in Tolkien’s lengendarium, appearing as ᴱQ. Aldaron “King of Forests” in the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/66) and in later stories as ᴹQ. Aldaron “Lord of Forests” (SM/79, LR/206), always having the same basic meaning and form. This name appeared in the published version of The Silmarillion, but according to Christopher Tolkien, his father deleted this name from the final version of the “Valaquenta”, leaving only S. Tauron (MR/202, notes §8). A shorter form Aldar appeared in linguistic notes from the 1950s (PE22/86), though whether this form was intended to be a name of Oromë is unclear.

atanatar

proper name. Father of Men

A title given to the three houses of the Elf-friends in Beleriand: the Beorians, Hadorians and Halethians, usually appearing in the plural form Atanatári “Fathers of Men” (S/103). More properly, it was used to describe the original leaders of those houses (PM/324). The title is compound of Atan “Man” and atar “father”. It was also the name of the 10th and 16th kings of Gondor (LotR/1038).

atanatárion

proper name. (legendarium) of the Fathers of Men

A Númenórean story cycle containing the three great tales: Beren and Lúthien, the Children of Húrin and the Fall of Gondolin (MR/373). The title is the genitive plural of Atanatar “Father of Men”, so “of the Fathers of Men”. The “legendarium” portion of the English gloss is implied, though it is explicit in the Sindarin equivalent: Nern in Edenedair.

findë

noun. hair (especially of the head), tress or plait of hair, hair (especially of the head); tress or plait of hair, [ᴹQ.] braid of hair

A word mentioned by Tolkien in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 with glosses “hair, especially of the head” (PM/340) and “hair - a tress or plait of hair” (PM/345). The word finde also appeared in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 with the gloss “tress, lock” alongside a long form Q. findelë of the same meaning (PE17/119). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, it was ᴹQ. finde “tress, braid of hair” under the root ᴹ√SPIN (Ety/SPIN). The root was likewise √SPIN(ID) in the 1957 Notes on Names, but in the 1968 Shibboleth Tolkien used the root form √PHIN.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use findë as a general word for hair (though primarily used for head-hair), also able to refer to a tress, plait or braid of hair, though the word Q. findelë is more specific to that sense. An entire head of hair would be Q. findessë (PM/345), while a single hair would be Q. finë (PE17/17; PM/340). Despite Tolkien’s 1968 change of √SPIN >> √PHIN, I would assume a root form of √SPIN(ID) “hair”, since elsewhere √PHIN usually meant “skill(ful)” (PE17/17, 119, 181; Ety/PHIN).

hröangolmë

noun. lore of the body and arts of healing

A term for “the lore of the body and arts of healing” appearing in notes from 1965, first written hröanissë (NM/322). It is a combination of hröa “body” and nolmë “lore”.

ilya

every, each, all (of a particular group of things), every, each, all (of a particular group of things), [ᴹQ.] the whole

The word ilye means “all”, for example in the phrase ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë “and all paths are drowned deep in shadow” from the Namárië poem (LotR/377). The word ilye is simply the plural of singular ilya, an adjective and pronoun meaning “each, every, all of a particular group of things” (VT39/20) derived from the root √IL “all”.

In the singular, ilya seems to function as a pronoun meaning “all”, as in A anamelda na ep’ ilya “A is dearest of all” (PE17/57), but see also illi “all”. As an adjective before a singular noun, it likely means “each” or “every” as in ilya tie “each/every path” vs. ilye tier “all paths”, since this was the behavior of earlier adjectives for “all” (see below).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had the plural adjective ᴱQ. ompi “all, every” with singular ompa “each” under the early root ᴱ√OMO “every, all” (QL/70). The singular ompa was also used as a pronoun “all” in the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s (PE14/54), so the singular/plural/pronoun distribution of early ompa seems almost the same as later ilya. The early language also had ᴱQ. māka “each, every” as a cognate to G. gôr “each, all” and based on ᴱ✶ŋu̯a “together” (GL/41), but there are no signs of this elsewhere.

The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. ilya “all, the whole” under the root ᴹ√IL “all” (Ety/IL) and it was also use this way in poems from the 1930s and 40s (LR/72; SD/310). But Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had ᴹQ. qáqa “every, each” which in its plural form qaqi meant “all (the)”, though more properly qaqi was the plural of pronominal ᴹQ. qaqe “every person/thing” (PE23/105-106). The word qáqa could also be used as a pronoun meaning “all facts”, since in DRC the “neuter” pronouns could only refer to abstract concepts (QL/105).

Neo-Quenya: There are some instance of singular ilya being used with plural nouns, such as ilya raxellor “from all dangers” and ᴹQ. ilya maller “all roads”. I think that when singular ilya is used with a plural noun it has the sense “every” as in every instance of the group. When used with a singular noun I think it instead has the sense “each” as in each instance considered individually. Consider: á mate ilya masta lintave lan nante lauce “eat each loaf quickly while they are warm”, as opposed to á mate ilya mastar nó i naucor tulir “eat every loaf (= every one of the loaves) before the dwarves come”.

This is pretty speculative, however.

lanotoitë

adjective. innumerable, *innumerate, without knowledge of mathematics, (lit.) incapable of counting; innumerable

A word appearing as {alánŏtoite >>} lanŏtoite “innumerable” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 as a combination of la- and an adjectival form of not- “count”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume notoite means “capable of counting”, so that lanotoite would mean “✱innumerate, without knowledge of mathematics, (lit.) incapable of counting”. For “innumerable” I would use únótima.

mairë

noun. art, work of high and beautiful art, process of producing an art work

A word in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 that Tolkien described as meaning “a work (or the process of producing a work) of high and beautiful art” based on the root √MAY “make (in artistic sense)” (PE17/163). It thus has most of the same meanings as English “art”.

máhan

proper name. one of the eight chiefs of the Valar

A title for the chiefs of the Valar, equivalent to Aratar (WJ/399). It was an adaptation of the Valarin word māχanāz “authority” (WJ/402), as opposed to Aratar which was a translation of that Valarin word.

súlë

noun. breath; (movement of) spirit, emission of power (of will or desire)

A word for “spirit” appearing in The Lord of the Rings appendices, where it was given as the name of tengwa #9 [3, “s” from older “th”] (LotR/1123). It also meant “breath” (PE17/124) and was originally derived from the primitive root √THŪ “puff, blow” (NM/237; PE17/124; Ety/THŪ). In this respect, súlë resembled the Ancient Greek word πνεῦμα (“pneuma”), which also originally meant “breath” but came to be used for the spirit or soul.

The meaning of the Quenya word was not quite the same, however. It was not used for a “soul” (which was fëa) or a disembodied spirit (which was fairë). Tolkien said:

> Eldar did not confound ordinary “breath” of the lungs with “spirit” ... the Eldar held that “spirits”, the more as they had native power, could emit their influence to make contact with or act upon things exterior to themselves: primarily on upon other spirits, or other incarnate persons (via the fëar), but also in the case of great spirits (such as the Valar or greater Maiar) directly upon physical things without the mediacy of bodies normally necessary in the case of fairondi or incarnates. To describe this, they used (but by deliberate symbolism taken e.g. from such cases as their breathing upon a cold or frosted surface, which was then melted) the √THŪ [“breath”] ... Hence [primitive Eldarin] thū́lē “blowing forth” was used = “spirit” in this special sense: the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit (PE17/124).

Thus súlë was used metaphorically as “spirit” in the sense of the movement of a spirit’s power or will upon the world, alongside its more ordinary meaning as “breath”.

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s, already with the meaning and etymology given above (Ety/THŪ). Its appearance in compounds like Súlimë “March” (LotR/1110) and Súlimo “Breather” (S/26, PE21/85) imply a stem form of súli-, but in one place it was given a primitive form ✶thū́lē, which implies a stem form of súle-. The prefixal form súli- was due to blending with primitive ✶sūli, the basis of S. sûl “wind” (NM/237).

There are cases where, especially in his earlier writing, Tolkien used súle for “spirit” in a more traditional sense, as in the phrase ksaráre psare súle “longing frets the spirit” (PE22/119). Thus it may be that Tolkien originally conceived of a semantic evolution for súle closer to Greek πνεῦμα, before differentiating it more clearly as described above.

ala-

verb. to plant, grow, to grow (of plants) [intr. and trans.], plant; *to thrive, flourish (of other creatures)

A verb glossed “plant, grow” in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s discussing the derivation of S. galenas “pipeweed” (PE17/100). The verb ala- was used several times in verb charts, such as illustrating pronominal suffixes (PE17/132) or giving the inflections of a-verbs (PE22/164).

Conceptual Development: As suggested by Gilson, Welden and Hostetter, the earliest appearance of this verb might be in the phrase ᴱQ. alildon ornin lassevarnen, which seems to mean something like “✱grow trees leaf-brown” (PE16/80). The word element (and verb?) ᴹQ. ’al appeared under the root ᴹ√GALA “thrive” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/GALA). The first iteration of this root had the glosses “grow, thrive, prosper, be healthy, be glad” along with a word element (and verb?) al-, but the gloss “grow” was deleted along with a statement that “grow is ol-” (Ety/GAL(AS)).

Indeed, the verb ᴹQ. ’alā- “grow” appeared in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1: PE22/98) from the late 1940s and again in the Quenya Verbal System from 1948 (QVS: PE22/106 note #39), but in the latter document it was replaced by ᴹQ. ola- “grow” (PE22/113 note #80). However, in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s, primitive ✶galā- was restored, but with a more specific sense “grow (of plants)”, as opposed to ✶olā- “become, come into being, turn into (another state)” (PE22/134). This plant-growth meaning seems to have carried forward into Tolkien’s later writings (see above: PE17/100).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume the verb ala- only means “grow” when applied to plants, but more generally could mean “✱thrive, flourish” when applied to other living creatures, as in i lótë ala “the flower grows” but i Elda ala “the Elf thrives/flourishes”. Based on its glosses from PE17/100, I would assume it can also be used transitively when applied to plants to mean “cause to grow = plant”, as in i Elda ala lóti “the Elf grows/plants flowers” or álëa lóti “... is planting flowers”.

alca

ray of light

alca ("k")noun "ray of light" (AKLA-R)

atalantë

downfall, overthrow, especially as name [atalantë] of the [downfallen] land of númenor

atalantë noun "downfall, overthrow, especially as name [Atalantë] of the [downfallen] land of Númenor" (DAT/DANT, TALÁT, Akallabêth, SD:247, 310; also LR:47, VT45:26). Variant atalantië "Downfall", said to be a normal noun-formation in Quenya (Letters:347, footnote). From the common noun atalantë "collapse, downfall" is derived the adj. atalantëa "ruinous, downfallen", pl. atalantië in Markirya (changed to sg. atalantëa this change does not make immediate sense, since the adjective undoubtedly modifies a plural noun, but Tolkien does not always let adjectives agree in number).

avarin

proper name. language(s) of the Avari, *of the Avari

Term referring to the languages of the Avari (WJ/410).

Conceptual Development: The term ᴹQ. Avarin appeared in the Comparative Tables from the 1930s, replacing the older term ᴹQ. Lemberin (PE19/19). Earlier still in the 1920s, Tolkien used the term ᴱQ. Ilkorin to refer to the languages of the Elves who remained behind in Middle-earth (PE14/62), but by the 1930s the term ᴹQ. Ilkorin referred only to the languages of the Elves of Beleriand (which in still later writings became Sindarin).

ca(ta)

preposition. behind, at back of place, behind, at back of place; [ᴹQ.] after [of time]

A preposition appearing as ca, cata, cana “behind, at back of place” in notes from the mid-1950s (VT43/30). In notes associated with the Aia María prayer from the 1950s Tolkien wrote the forms canye, calye, ca- (VT43/29), probably related to carelye from the 2nd version of the prayer (VT43/27), though in the prayer its position implies the English meaning “with thee”.

Conceptual Development: The 1948 Quenya Verbal System had the word ᴹQ. kata as a preposition meaning “after [of time]” in the phrase ᴹQ. kanya ére kata tulma alwara “to be wise after the event is useless”, along with an adverb ᴹQ. kato “afterwards” in another variant of the phrase (PE22/124). These were probably related to Cad- in words like N. Cadloer “July, ✱After-summer” in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices from around this period (PM/136).

caraxë

noun. *jagged hedge of spikes, [ᴹQ.] jagged hedge of spikes, [ᴱQ.] row of spikes or teeth

A word for a “jagged hedge of spikes” (Ety/KARAK), most notably used as an element in the name Helcaraxë, loosely translated as “Grinding Ice” (S/134; Ety/KARAK).

Conceptual Development: A similar form ᴱQ. karkasse or karkaras (karkarass-) “row of spikes or teeth” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as an elaboration of ᴱQ. karka “fang, tooth” (QL/48), and ᴱQ. karkasse “row of teeth” appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/48). ᴹQ. karakse “jagged hedge of spikes” emerged in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KARAK “sharp fang, spike, tooth” (Ety/KARAK).

coloitë

adjective. capable of bearing, tolerant (of), enduring

A word whose base meaning is “capable of bearing”, a verbal adjective that is a combination of col- “bear” with the suffix -itë “capable of doing” (PE22/155). By extension, the adjective also means “tolerant (of), enduring” using a more metaphorical sense of “bear”.

cuivienyarna

proper name. Legend of the Awakening [of the Quendi]

The legend of the awakening of the Elves (WJ/420), a compound of cuivië “awakening” and nyarna “legend”.

latin

open, free, cleared (of land)

latin, latina adj. "open, free, cleared (of land)" (LAT). According to VT41:5, the adjective latina "is used rather of freedom of movement, of things not encumbered with obstacles".

laurelindórenan

place name. (Land of the) Valley of Singing Gold

The full Quenya name of S. Lórien (UT/253), appearing in the even longer Entish description of that land: Laurelindórenan lindelorendor malinornélion ornemalin (LotR/467). The name is a combination of the elements laurë “gold”, lin(dë) “singing”, -ndor “land” and the suffix -nan “valley” (Let/448, UT/253). This name was crafted by Galadriel, and was an allusion to the Golden Tree of Valinor, Laurelin (UT/253).

Conceptual Development: This name appeared as Laurelindórinan in the first edition of The Lord of the Rings, revised to Laurelindórenan in the second (SD/73). It also appeared in a shorter variant Laurelindórë “Land of Singing Gold” (PE17/80). It seems that when Tolkien first conceived of this name, it was merely an extended, Enticized version of Lórien (PE17/80). The idea that it was the full name coined by Galadriel came later, as Tolkien further developed the etymological history of S. Lórien (UT/253).

maitalë

the act (not the result) of doing work of art

maitalë noun "the act (not the result) of doing work of art" (PE17:163)

maqua

hand-full; complete hand with all five fingers; a closing of closed [hand] (facing down) for taking; group of five (similar) things

maqua noun "a hand-full; complete hand with all five fingers; a closing of closed [hand] (facing down) for taking; group of five (similar) things"; in colloquial usage also "hand" as a limb (VT47:7, 18-20); dual maquat "group of ten" (VT47:7, 10). Compounded maquanotië = "decimal system" in counting (VT47:10), Lungumaqua "Heavyhand" (VT47:19)

mírima

adjective. very valuable, very precious, very lovely (of work of art only)

A word for “very valuable” in Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings based on the root √MIR “esteem, value” (PE17/37). This word also appeared in notes from around 1959-60, where Tolkien translated it as “very precious, very lovely (of work of art only)” (PE17/165). I read the parenthetical comment to mean the sense “very lovely” of mírima could only be applied to works of art and not people.

nirmë

act of will, exercise of will

nirmë noun "an act of will, exercise of will" (VT39:30, VT41:6, PE17:168), "the act or action of níra" (VT41:17)

noldo

one of the people of the noldor

noldo (ñ) noun "one of the people of the Noldor", "one of the wise folk, Gnome". Cf. the gloss "Gnome" in early "Qenya" (LT1:262). Also name of tengwa #19, that is used for the initial n of noldo in Tengwar spelling. Originally pronounced ngoldo (also spelt ñoldo by Tolkien, ÑGOLOD); initial ng had become n in Third Age pronunciation (Appendix E). Pl. Noldor ("Ñoldor"), "the Wise", name of the second clan of the Eldar (WJ:380, 381); gen. pl. Noldoron "of the Noldor" is attested (VT39:16)

nortil

cape (of land), only used of the ends of promontories or other seaward projections that were relatively sharp and spike-like

nortil (probably *nortill-) noun "a cape (of land), only used of the ends of promontories or other seaward projections that were relatively sharp and spike-like" (VT47:28)

nortil

noun. cape (of land)

A word in notes from the late 1960s described as “a cape (of land), only used of the ends of promontories or other seaward projections that were relatively sharp and spike-like” (VT47/28). It is a combination of Q. nór “land” and √TIL “point”, so literally “✱land-point”.

númeheru

lord of the west

#númeheru noun "Lord of the West" (númë + heru), attested in these inflected forms: 1) númeheruen "of [the] Lord of the West" (Manwë) (SD:290); this is "Qenya" with genitive in -en instead of -o as in LotR-style Quenya; 2) pl. númeheruvi "Lords-of-West" ("West-lords" = Valar) in SD:246.

númenyaron

of the lords [valar] of the west

númenyaron inflected adj. used as noun?, a word occurring in a phrase from an earlier version of Fíriel's Song, Valion númenyaron, "of the Lords [Valar] of the West". But númenyaron cannot simply mean "of the West"; it seems to be the plural genitive of númenya "western", hence literally *"of the western (things, persons, realms)" or "of the Westerners".

sarto

trusty follower, loyal companion (member of comitatus of a lord, or prince)

sarto noun "trusty follower, loyal companion (member of comitatus of a lord, or prince)", also satar (PE17:183)

satar

trusty follower, loyal companion (member of comitatus of a lord, or prince)

satar noun "trusty follower, loyal companion (member of comitatus of a lord, or prince)", often in form sarto (PE17:183)

telerinwa

of the shores of elfland

telerinwa adj. Telerin (paraphrased "of the Shores of Elfland" in MC:215, since the Teleri dwelt on the shores of the Blessed Realm.) (PE16:96, MC:216)

vírin

magic glassy substance of great lucency used in fashioning the moon. used of things of great and pure transparency.

vírin noun "a magic glassy substance of great lucency used in fashioning the Moon. Used of things of great and pure transparency." (LT2:339)

ó-

used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units

ó- (usually reduced to o- when unstressed) a prefix "used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units". In omentië, onóna, ónoni, q.v. _(WJ:367, PE17:191; in the Etymologies, stem WŌ, the prefix _o-, ó- is simply defined as "together".) In VT43:29 is found a table showing how pronominal endings can be added to the preposition ó-; the resulting forms are onyë or óni "with me", ómë "with us" [also in VT43:36, where "us" is said to be exclusive], ólyë or ólë "with you" (olyë only sg. "you", whereas ólë can be either sg. or pl.), ósë "with him/her", ótë *"with them" (of animates where "them" refers to non-persons, óta [or shortened ót] is used, though the conceptual validity of ta as a pl. pronoun is questionable), ósa (or shortened ós) "with it". (Two additional forms, ótar and ótari, presumably mean "with them" of inanimate things; see VT49:56 for a possible second attestation of tar as the word for plural inanimate "they".) However, Tolkien's later decision to the effect that ó- refers to two parties only may throw doubt upon the conceptual validity of some of these forms, where at least three persons would be implied (like ótë "with them", where one person is "with" two or more others though Tolkien indicates that two groups may also be involved where the preposition ó- is used). The explicit statement in WJ:367 that the prepostion o (variant of ó) did not exist independently in Quenya is however difficult to get around, so instead using the preposition ó/o (with or without endings) for "with", writers may rather use as, the form appearing in the last version of Tolkien's Quenya Hail Mary (also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with you").

ómaryo lírinen airetário

in [by means of] her voice’s song, of the holy-queen

The 7th phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> ómaryo airetári-lírinen >> ómaryo lírinen airetário

Tolkien removed the element airetári “holy queen” from the compound and turned it into a separate genitive element airetário “holy queen’s, of [the] holy queen”. Presumably it modifies the noun lírë “song” in the instrumental phrase ómaryo lírinen “in [by means of] her voice’s song”.

The preceding genitive ómaryo “her voice’s” also modifies the noun lírë. The placement of the two genitives before and after the noun help clarify that they modify the same noun. In English, there isn’t a natural way of having two such distinct modifications of the same noun. This could help explain why the English poetic translation of this phrase is so different from the Elvish: “in the song of her voice, holy and queenly”.

On the other hand, it could be that this phrase is still semi-poetic, since Tolkien gave different “prose” translations of the phrase elsewhere (P17/76, PM/364).

úmë

great collection or crowd of things of same sort

úmë (2) "great collection or crowd of things of same sort" (a struck-out note gave the rejected gloss "largeness") (VT48:32), "throng, great concourse of things without order" (PE17:115). Compare úvë.

omentië

noun. meeting (of pathways), (lit.) coming together of journey-path, meeting or junction of the directions of two people

tárion

noun. alternate name of the last day of the Eldarin six-day week

aiya eldalië ar atanatári, utúlie’n aurë

Behold, people of the Eldar and Fathers of Men, the day has come!

ar elendil vorondo voronwë

and of the faith of Elendil the Faithful

Second phrase @@@

ar súlë manwëo etsurinyë ar eldaron indor turyaner

*and the spirit of Manwe went out and the hearts of the Eldar were comforted / or obeyed

aþa Archaic

adverb. I agree of course, of course I do

ca

preposition. behind, at back of place

cana

preposition. behind, at back of place

et i péti

*out of the lips, out of the mouth

et sillumello ter yénion yéni tenn’ ambarmetta

*from this hour, through years of years until the ending of the world

latina

adjective. free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles, free (of movement), not encumbered with obstacles, [ᴹQ.] open, cleared (of land)

losselië telerinwa

*the white people of the shores of Elfland

lírinen ómo i·aire tário

by the song of the voice of the holy queen

lírinen ómo i·aire táríva

by the song of the voice of the holy queen

mirya

adjective. beautiful, lovely (of works of art only)

nai tiruvantes i hárar mahalmassen mi númen

in the keeping of those who sit upon thrones of the West

Third phrase @@@

nirmë

noun. act of will, exercise of will

nó

before (of time); at back (of place), before (of time); at back (of place); [ᴹQ.] yester-; [ᴱQ.] after (of place), behind; after (only of time); than

pó

preposition. before, in front (of place); after (of time)

quentalë ardanómion

*History of the Places of Arda

tulta-

verb. to send (from point of view of receiver), to send (from point of view of receiver), [ᴹQ.] to send for, send hither, fetch, summon, (lit.) cause to come

vanda sina termaruva elenna·nóreo alcar enyalien

This oath shall stand in memory of the glory of the Land of the Star

First phrase @@@

þá Archaic

adverb. I agree of course, of course I do

antara

very high, very lofty

antara adj. "very high, very lofty", the adjective tára "lofty" with the superlative prefix an- (q.v.) We might have expected *antára. Also place-name Antaro (VT45:5, 36), said to be the "name of a mountain in Valinor south of Taniq[u]etil" (VT46:17)

sallumëa

adjective. regular, of fixed periods of time

A neologism for “regular” in the sense “occurring over fixed periods of time” coined by Arael and posted on 2024-10-20 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of ᴹ√STAN “fix” and an adjectival form of lúmë “time”.

lindóra

adjective. millions of, many millions, *a multitude of

A neologism meaning “millions of” or “many millions” coined by Tamas Ferencz, a combination of li(n)- “many” and an adjectival form of the suffix [ᴱQ.] -(n)dórë used in “-illion” numbers. It expresses a vast quantity: lindóre eleni “a multitude of stars”.

minomë

adverb. instead, in place of, in exchange of

A neologism coined by Tamas Ferencz, a combination of mi and nómë “place”. He also suggested ᴺQ. menessë as the locative of [ᴹQ.] men “place”, but in Tolkien’s later writings men usually means “way”.

elen

noun. star

The most common Quenya word for “star”, mentioned very frequently, derived from an extended form ✶elen of the root √EL “behold” (PE17/67; WJ/360, 362). Its usual plural form is eleni, but it has an archaic plural †eldi sometimes used in verse, the result of the Ancient Quenya sound whereby [[aq|[ln] became [ld]]] after the ancient plural underwent the Quenya syncope, ✶elenī > AQ. elni; its normal modern plural form eleni was actually a reformation from the singular (PE17/57, 151; WJ/362).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, though in the original entry for the root ᴹ√EL Tolkien said it was poetical and gave variants ellen and elena (Ety/EL).

illi

pronoun. all

A pronoun for “all” appearing in the phrase A ancalima imb’ illi “A [is] brightest among all” (PE17/91), presumably a plural variant of pronominal ilya “all”. I would use it when the referent is plural, as in Mana neri cennel? Cennen illi teo. “Which men did you see? I saw all of them.” Compare this to á anta ilya nin “give [it] all to me” referring to “all” as a collective, functionally singular.

sinda

adjective. grey

The best known Quenya word for “grey” and an element in a number of names. It is also used as a noun Sinda “Grey Elf”. Tolkien sometimes used a variant form sindë for “grey” (WJ/384; PE17/141; Ety/THIN); see that entry for details.

talumë

adverb. at that time

A word for “at the time (we are thinking of or speaking of)” appearing in a list of demonstratives from 1968 (VT49/11), a combination of ta “that” and lúmë “time”. Similarly formed ᴹQ. tallume “at that date/time” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/110).

él Archaic

noun. star

An archaic or poetic word for star (WJ/362), somewhat common in compounds but in ordinary speech typically appearing as elen. It was derived directly from the primitive root √EL “behold”, the basis for other star words (PM/340; WJ/360).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as poetical ᴹQ. él “star” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above, though in this document the root ᴹ√EL meant “star” (Ety/EL), a common gloss for the root in later writings as well.

aitë

adjective. of any kind, of any sort

alaitë

adjective. of no kind, of no sort

hyaitë

adjective. of other sort, of other kind

ilítë

adjective. of all kinds, of all sorts

lappa

noun. loose-end, end of rope, hem of robe

linítë

adjective. of several kinds, of several sorts

manaitë

adjective. of what kind, of what sort, what kind of

semítë

adjective. of few kinds, of few sorts

helinwa

noun. of pansies; (of colour) a blue-violet

lengesta

noun. character (of a person), set of characteristic traits

A neologism coined by Luinyelle on 2023-07-19 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), an abstract noun derived from lenga- “behave”.

sanastëa

adjective. mindful, cognizant, aware of, conscious of

-lda

your

-lda (1) "your", 2nd person pl. possessive suffix (VT49:16). Onnalda *"your child" (VT49:42). In an earlier manuscript, this ending was used for singular "you" instead, attested in the phrase Arwen vanimalda "Arwen your beauty", sc. "O beautiful Arwen", and in meletyalda "your majesty" (WJ:369) Arwen vanimalda was however changed to Arwen vanimelda in the second edition of LotR, Tolkien reinterpreting the last word (see vanimalda). The ending for singular "your" appears as -lya elsewhere. (LotR1:II ch. 6)

-më

suffix. abstract noun

-më (2) abstract suffix, as in melmë "love" (cf. the verb mel-), #cilmë "choice" (possibly implying a verb *cil- "to choose"). According to PE17:68, primitive -mē (and -wē) were endings used to derive nouns denoting "a single action", which may fit the meaning of cilmë (but melmë "love" would normally be something lasting rather than "a single action").

-ntë

they

-ntë "they", pronomimal ending, inflexion of 3rd person plural when no subject is previously mentioned (CO; see also VT49:49). This ending competes with -ltë (q.v.) in Tolkiens conception (VT49:57; for "they do", both carintë and cariltë are attested, VT49:16 vs. 17). The corresponding pronominal possessive suffix appears as -ntya or -nta in various sources.

-sta

your

-sta (1) "your", dual 2nd person possessive pronominal ending: "of you two" (VT49:45, 16), cf. -stë (q.v.) Genitive -sto in veryanwesto "of your wedding" (VT49:45) and tengwiesto "of your reading" (VT49:47), allative -stanna in parmastanna "on your book" (VT49:47). An archaic ending of similar form could also be the third person dual "of the two of them" (but according to VT49:51, the corresponding subject ending was changed to -ttë, and then the ending for "their" would presumably become -tta)

-tar

king

-tar or tar-, element meaning "king" or "queen" in compounds and names (TĀ/TA3), e.g. Valatar; compare the independent nouns tár, tári. Prefix Tar- especially in the names of the Kings and Queens of Númenor (e.g. Tar-Amandil); see their individual names (like Amandil in this case), cf. also Tar-Mairon "King Excellent", title used by Sauron (PE17:183). Also in Tareldar "High-elves"; see also Tarmenel.

-ttë

they

-ttë (1) "they", dual 3rd person pronominal ending ("the two of them") (VT49:51), replacing (also within the legendarium) the older ending -stë (which was later used for the second person only). This older ending -stë corresponds to a possessive ending -sta "their" (VT49:16), but this was presumably likewise altered to *-tta as the new ending for dual "their" = "of the two of them".

-va

from

-va possessive ending, presumably related to the preposition va "from". In Eldaliéva, Ingoldova, miruvóreva, Oroméva, rómeva, Valinóreva (q.v. for references), Follondiéva, Hyallondiéva (see under turmen for references). Following a consonant, the ending instead appears as -wa (andamacilwa "of the long sword", PE17:147, rómenwa *"of the East", PE17:59). Pl. -vë when governing a plural word (from archaic -vai) (WJ:407), but it seems that -va was used throughout in late Exilic Quenya (cf. miruvóreva governing the plural word yuldar in Namárië). Pl. -iva (-ivë*), dual -twa, partitive pl. -líva**.

Ae

day

Ae (Quenya?) noun "day" (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK - ae was written over ar [# 2] in the names of the Valinorean week, but ar was not struck out.)

Ainu

holy one, angelic spirit

Ainu noun "holy one, angelic spirit"; fem. Aini (AYAN, LT1:248); "one of the 'order' of the Valar and Maiar, made before Eä"; pl. Ainur is attested. Adopted and adapted from Valarin ayanūz(WJ:399). In the early "Qenya Lexicon", ainu was glossed "a pagan god", and aini was similarly "a pagan goddess", but as Christopher Tolkien notes, "Of course no one within the context of the mythology can call the Ainur 'pagan' " (LT1:248). Ainulindalë noun "Music of the Ainur" (SA:lin #2), the First History (WJ:406), the Song of Creation (AYAN)

Este

noun. Peace

Peace, name of wife of Lórien

Istar

wizard

Istar noun "Wizard", used of Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast etc. Pl. Istari is attested. Gen. pl. in the phrase Heren Istarion "Order of Wizards" (UT:388). "The istari are translated wizards because of the connexion of wizard with wise and so with witting and knowing" (Letters:207); by this translation Tolkien tries to reproduce the relationship between Quenya istar and ista- #1, 2.

ala

day

[ala (7) noun "day", also alan "daytime". The forms allen, alanen listed after these words could be inflected forms of them, genitive "of daytime", constracted (allen = al'nen) and uncontracted. However, Tolkien struck out all of this (VT45:13).]

amba

more

amba 2) adj. and noun "more", "used of any kind of measurement spatial, temporal, or quantitative" (PE:17:91). Cf. adverb ambë.

amba

more

An adjective or (pro)noun for “more” along with an adverbial form ambë derived from √AMA “addition, increase, plus” (PE17/91). These words were part of a (brief?) conceptual framework around 1967 in which the intensive prefix am- was derived from this root. Elsewhere the root √AM generally meant “up”, and Tolkien seems to have reverted to an-intensives by 1969 as evidenced by anírime “most beautiful” (PE23/133).

Neo-Quenya: Despite these conceptual changes, I think it is worth retaining amba and ambe “more”, perhaps based on ✱an-bā and ✱an-bē. The first of these would clash with amba “up”, but I think it could usually be distinguished by context: á anta amba nin “give more to me” vs. mennes amba i oron “he went up the mountain”. See √AMA for more discussion.

ambë

more

ambë adv. "more", "used of any kind of measurement spatial, temporal, or quantitative" (PE17:91). As noun or adjective, amba.

apa

after

apa (1) prep. "after" (VT44:36), attested as a prefix in apacenyë and Apanónar, q.v. Variant ep- in epessë, q.v.; see epë for futher discussion. (According to VT44:36, apa was glossed "after" and also "before" in one late manuscript, but both meanings were rejected.) See also apa # 2 below. For Neo-Quenya purposes, apa should probably be ascribed the meaning "after", as in our most widely-published sources (compare Apanónar, "the After-born", as a name of Men in the Silmarillion). Variants pa, pá (VT44:36), but like apa these are also ascribed other meanings elsewhere; see separate entry. Apo (VT44:36) may be yet another variant of the word for "after".

ar

day

ar (2) noun "day" (PE17:148), apparently short for árë, occurring in the names of the Valinorean week listed below. Tolkien indicated that ar in these names could also be arë when the following element begins in a consonant (VT45:27). Usually the word for "day" in LotR-style Quenya is rather aurë (or ré), q.v.

aran

king

aran noun "king"; pl. arani (WJ:369, VT45:16, PE17:186); gen.pl. aranion "of kings" in asëa aranion, q.v.; aranya "my king" (aran + nya) (UT:193). Aran Meletyalda "king your mighty" = "your majesty" (WJ:369); aran Ondórëo, "a king of Gondor" (VT49:27). Also in arandil "king's friend, royalist", arandur "king's servant, minister" (Letters:386); Arantar masc. name, "King-Lord" (Appendix A); Arandor "Kingsland" region in Númenor (UT:165); the long form Arandórë appears as a name of Arnor in PE17:28 (elsewhere Arnanórë, q.v.) Othercompounds ingaran, Noldóran, Núaran, q.v.

asta

month

asta (1) noun "month", a division of the year (VT42:20). Pl. astar is attested (Appendix D). According to VT48:11, the basic meaning of asta is "division, a part", especially one of other equal parts: "of the year, a month or period". According to VT48:19, asta is also used in Quenya as a group suffix (see quentasta).

elen

star

elen noun "star" (SA:êl, elen, EL, VT49:39); pl. eleni (occasionally in verse: eldi) (WJ:362, PE17:127); partitive pl. elelli for elenli (PE17:127), gen. pl. elenion in the phrase Elenion Ancalima "brightest of stars" (LotR2:IV ch. 9; see Letters:385 for translation); elen atta "two stars" (VT49:44), genitive elen atto "of two stars" (VT49:45), eleni neldë "three stars", archaic elenion neldë = "of stars three". Genitive "of 3 stars" = elenion neldë (for archaic elenion neldëo) (VT49:45). Allative elenna "starwards" used as name of Númenor _(Silm; see Elenna)_; ablative pl. elenillor "from stars" in Markirya. **Nai elen siluva ***"may a star shine", VT49:38.

fëa

spirit

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

ier

as

ier prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably rejected in favour of sívë, q.v.). In an abandoned version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien used ier...ter for "as...so" (VT43:17).

ilya

all

ilya adj. and noun "all" (LR:47, 56; SD:310), "all, the whole" (IL); "each, every, all of a particular group of things" (VT39:20); ilyë before a plural noun, "all" being inflected like an adjective (Nam, RGEO:67): ilyë tier "all paths" (Namárië, VT39:20), ilyë mahalmar "all thrones" (CO), ilya raxellor "from all dangers" (VT44:9; we might expect *ilyë raxellor here), ilyárëa (older ilyázëa) "daily, of every day" (evidently ilya "every" + árë, ázë "day" + -a adjectival ending) (VT43:18). Tolkien apparently abandoned ilyárëa in favour of ilaurëa, q.v.

laima

noun. plant

A noun for “plant” appearing in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 derived from the root √LAY (PE17/159).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. laute (lausi-) “living thing, (esp.) vegetable” and ᴱQ. lauke (lauki-) “vegetable, plant species”, both derived from the early root ᴱ√LAWA (QL/52). The word lauke also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa with the gloss “plant” (PME/52) and appeared again in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s with the gloss “vegetable” and an accusative form of lautya (PE16/141), indicating a new stem form lauty-.

leper

noun. finger

The Quenya word for “finger” appearing in various notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, derived from the root √LEP “pick up” (VT47/10; VT48/5).

Conceptual Development: The Quenya “finger” words went through quite a few conceptual changes, but they were always based on the root √LEP. The earliest of these was ᴱQ. let (lept-) “finger” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√LEPE with plural form lepsi (QL/53). In Qenya word lists of the 1920s, however, this became ᴱQ. lepta “finger”, still with the plural lepsi (PE15/72; PE16/137).

The form was ᴹQ. let (leps-) in the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s (PE21/19, 26), expanded to ᴹQ. lepse “finger” in The Etymologies written around 1937, based on the root ᴹ√LEPET of the same meaning (Ety/LEPET). This form demonstrated the 1930s sound change whereby pt became ps (PE19/44 note #44). Tolkien revised this sound change so that the result remained pt (PE19/44), and in 1940s drafts to The Lord of the Rings Tolkien used the word ᴹQ. rakkalepta “✱claw-fingered” in Treebeard’s description of orcs (SD/68), though in the published version this word only appeared in English.

In the Outline of Phonology from the 1950s (OP2) Tolkien considered restoring the sound change pt > ps (PE19/84 note #75), and Q. lepsë appeared in notes from the late 1950s or early 60s on the tree name S. lebethron, so named because “its leaves (like chestnut) [were] shaped like a fingered hand” (PE17/89). However, he again abandoned this, clarifying that the actual result of [[q|[pt] was a spirantal [ɸt]]] (spelled pt to represent the bilabial pronunciation), and that in Tarquesta pronunciation (Exhilic Quenya of the first age) the [ɸ] vocalized to [u̯] so that ✶lepta > leꝑta > Q. leu̯ta “finger” (PE19/84). Q. lepta appeared in several words in the 1960s: Q. leptafinya “clever-fingered” (PE17/17) and Q. Tyelpelepta “✱silver-fingered” (VT47/27).

In drafts of the 1968 notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals, lepta reappeared as an independent word, but with the gloss “thumb” (VT47/27). In the final versions of these notes, however, Tolkien used leper for “finger”, as noted above.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use leper for “finger”, but would retain lepta as an adjective meaning “fingered”, especially in compounds like [ᴹQ.] raccalepta “claw-fingered”.

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

linquë

hyacinth

linquë (3) noun "hyacinth" (plant, not jewel) (PE17:62). The wording in the source is not altogether clear; it is said that the word lassë (leaf) "would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque)". If linquë is not the term for a hyacinth, it must refer to the kind of leaf a hyacinth has. Compare #2 above.

lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

mairëa

beautiful

mairëa adj. "beautiful" (of things made by art) (PE17:163). An alternative (and peculiar) form "mairia" is also implied in the source.

mírya

beautiful

mírya adj. "beautiful" (of work of art only) (PE17:165)

mísë

grey

mísë (þ, cf. Sindarin mith-) adj. "grey" (used as noun of grey clothes in the phrase mi mísë of someone clad "in grey"). The underlying stem refers a paler or whiter "grey" than sinda, making mísë "a luminous grey" (PE17:71-72)

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

o

preposition. from

A preposition for “from”, especially in the genitival sense “originating from”. For “from” in a positional sense, it is far more common to use the ablative suffix -llo.

Conceptual Development: The preposition ᴱQ. ô was first mentioned in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as the equivalent of G. a(n·) “from” which had an ablative sense (GL/17). In Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants written in 1936, Tolkien mentioned {o >> ho >>} o as a preposition based on primitive ᴹ✶ʒō̆ “away from, from among” (PE21/60 and note #48). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ho “from” appeared under the root ᴹ√ƷŌ̆ “from, away, from among, out of” (Ety/ƷŌ̆). This primitive form ʒō̆ was also the basis of the Quenya genitive suffix ᴹQ. -o.

In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, Tolkien mentioned the preposition Q. o “from” as a reduction of ancient ✶ăwă “away” (PE17/148). In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 Tolkien again mentioned ō < ✶hō “from” with some difficult-to-read qualifications that seem to indicate this was “from” in the genitival sense, as opposed to ✶lō “from” in the positional/ablative sense (PE22/168).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would assume that o is a rarely used preposition, usually replaced by either genitive -o [originating from] or ablative -llo [moving from].

onóna

twin-born

onóna (1) adj. "twin-born"; (2) noun "one of a pair of twins"; pl. ónoni "twins" (WJ:367)

quendë

elf

quendë noun "Elf", the little-used analogical sg. of Quendi, q.v. (KWEN(ED), WJ:361)

quentasta

historical account

quentasta noun *"historical account", "any particular arrangement (by some author) of a series of records or evidences into a given historical account" (not History as such, which is quentalë). (VT39:16, VT48:19). May include the "group suffix" -asta.

quáco

noun. crow

A word in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 for “crow”, derived from primitive ✶k(a)wāk (WJ/395). In notes from the late 1960s Tolkien instead had Q. {koake >>} quácë “frog” < ✶kāwāk, with primitive ✶kā for “crow” (VT47/36).

See ᴹQ. korko for a discussion of earlier forms.

ré

day

ré noun "day" (of the sun), a full 24-hour cycle (Appendix D) composed of aurë (day, daylight) and lómë "night" (VT49:45). Short -rë in compounds like Ringarë (q.v.). Allative rénna (VT49:45).

sairon

wizard

sairon noun "wizard" (SAY); according to LT2:337 and GL:29, Sairon is also the Quenya (or Qenya) name of Dairon (Daeron).

sinda

grey

sinda (þ) adj. "grey" (PE17:72); nominal pl. Sindar used = "Grey-elves", lit. *"Grey ones"; see WJ:375. Gen. pl. Sindaron in WJ:369. With general meaning "grey" also in Sindacollo > Singollo "Grey-cloak, Thingol" (SA:thin(d), PE17:72; see also sindë, Sindicollo);†sindanórië "grey land", ablative sindanóriello "from/out of a grey country" (Nam); the reference is to a "mythical region of shadows lying at outer feet of the Mountains of Valinor" (PE17:72). However, other sources give sindë (q.v.) as the Quenya word for "grey"; perhaps sinda came to mean primarily "Grey-elf" as a noun. Derived adjective Sindarin "Grey-elven", normally used as a noun to refer to the Grey-elven language. (Appendix F)

sindë

grey, pale or silvery grey

sindë (þ) adj. "grey, pale or silvery grey" (the Vanyarin dialect preserves the older form þindë) (WJ:384, THIN; in SA:thin(d) the form given is sinda, cf. also sindanóriello "from a grey country" in Namárië. Sindë and sinda_ are apparently variants of the same word.) _Stem sindi-, given the primitive form ¤thindi; cf. Sindicollo (q.v.)

sívë

as

sívë (1) prep. "as", apparently ve of similar meaning with the prefix sí- "this, here, now"; sívë therefore makes a comparison with something close, whereas tambë (q.v.) refers to something remote. Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17). Elided sív' in VT43:12, since the next word begins in the vowel e-.

súlë

spirit, breath

súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

ta

they, them

ta (3) pron. "they, them", an "impersonal" 3rd person pl. stem, referring "only to 'abstracts' or to things (such as inanimates) not by the Eldar regarded as persons" (VT43:20, cf. ta as an inanimate Common Eldarin plural pronoun, VT49:52). Compare te, q.v. The word ta occurring in some versions of Tolkien's Quenya Lord's Prayer may exemplify this use of ta as an "impersonal" plural pronoun: emmë avatyarir ta** "we forgive them" (VT43:8, 9; this refers to trespasses, not the trespassers). However, since Tolkien also wanted ta to mean "that" (see #1 above), he may seem to be somewhat dissatisfied with ta "they, them", introducing variant forms like tai (VT49:32) to free up ta as a sg. pronoun. In one document, tai was in turn altered to te (VT49:33), which could suggest that the distinction between animate and inanimate "they, them" was abandoned and the form te (q.v.) could be used for both. In some documents, Tolkien seems to use tar as the plural form (VT49:56 mentions this as an uncertain reading in a source where the word was struck out; compare ótar under ó**-).

tai

they, them

tai (2) pron. "they, them", 3rd person pl., used with reference to inanimates rather than persons or living things (VT49:32, see ta #3 above). Perhaps to avoid the clash with tai "that which", the pronoun tai "they, them" was altered to te in at least one manuscript (VT49:33), so that it would merge with the pronoun used of living beings and the distinction between animate and inanimate would be abandoned (see te).

talumë

at this time

talumë adv. "at this time" meaning "at the time we are thinking of of speaking of", not referring to the present (which is silumë = "at this time" in the narrower sense). (VT49:11)

taran

king

taran (1) noun "king", possibly ephemeral variant of aran, q.v. (PE17:186)

te

they, them

te pron. "they, them", 3rd person pl. (VT49:51, LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308). The pronoun te represents an original stem-form (VT49:50). Dative ten, téna or tien "for them, to them" (q.v.) Stressed té (VT49:51). Ótë "with them", q.v. VT43:20 connects te "them" with a discussion of Common Eldarin pronominal stems (ca. 1940s), where te is the "personal" 3rd person pl. stem, referring to persons rather than abstracts or inanimates (which are denoted by ta instead; see, however, the entry ta #3 regarding the problems with this form, and the hints that te may possibly be used with reference to inanimates as well)). Also consider the reflexive pronoun intë "themselves", the final element of which is apparently this pronoun te; see also tú for the dual form.

tár

king

tár noun "king" (only used of the legitimate kings of whole tribes); the pl. tári "kings" must not be confused with the sg. tári "queen" (TĀ/TA3). Prefix tar-, compare -tar above. The normal Quenya word for "king" is aran, but compare Tarumbar.

tú

they, them

tú pron. "they, them", 3rd person dual ("the two of them"), both "personal and neuter" (the pronoun can be used of persons and things alike). (VT49:51) Tolkien also considered tet for the same meaning, listing it alongside tú in one source (VT49:56), but this form was apparently abandoned.

va

from

va prep. "from" (VT43:20; prefixed in the form var- in var-úra "from evil", VT43:24). In VT49:24, va, au and o are quoted as variants of the stem awa "away from".

vanima

beautiful, fair

vanima adj. "beautiful, fair" (BAN, VT39:14) (glossed "proper, right, fair" in early "Qenya", LT1:272, though a later source says the word is used "only of living things, especially Elves and Men", PE17:150); nominal pl. vanimar "beautiful ones", partitive pl. genitive vanimálion, translated "of beautiful children", but literally meaning *"of [some] beautiful ones") (LotR3:VI ch. 6, translated in Letters:308). Arwen vanimalda "Beautiful Arwen", literally "Arwen your beauty" (see -lda for reference; changed to Arwen vanimelda in the second edition of LotR; see vanimelda).

vanwa

gone, lost, no longer to be had, vanished, departed, dead, past, past and over, gone on the road, over

vanwa adj. "gone, lost, no longer to be had, vanished, departed, dead, past, past and over, gone on the road, over" (WJ:366, Nam, RGEO:67, WAN, LT1:264; older wanwa, PE17:143). The word was "not applied to _dead persons _except those who would not return, either because of a special doom (as [in the case of] Men) or because of a special will of their own (as Felagund or Míriel) or a special ban of Mandos (as Feanor)" (PE17:143). Also see avanwa.

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

ve

as, like

ve (1) prep. "as, like" (Nam, RGEO:66, Markirya, MC:213, 214, VT27:20, 27, VT49:22); in Narqelion ve may mean either "in" or "as". Ve fírimor quetir *"as mortals say" (VT49:10), ve senwa (or senya) "as usual" (VT49:10). Followed by genitive, ve apparently expresses "after the manner of": ve quenderinwë coaron ("k") "after the manner of bodies of Elven-kind" (PE17:174). Tolkien variously derived Quenya ve from older wē, bē or vai(VT49:10, 32, PE17:189)

ya

as

ya (2) or yan, prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably abandoned in favour of sívë)

árë

day

árë noun "day" (PM:127) or "sunlight" (SA:arien). Stem ári- _(PE17:126, where the word is further defined as "warmth, especially of the sun, sunlight"). Also name of tengwa #31; cf. also ar # 2. Originally pronounced ázë; when /z/ merged with /r/, the letter became superfluous and was given the new value ss, hence it was re-named essë (Appendix E)_. Also árë nuquerna *"árë reversed", name of tengwa #32, similar to normal árë but turned upside down (Appendix E). See also ilyázëa, ilyárëa under ilya. In the Etymologies, this word has a short initial vowel: arë pl. ari (AR1)

linquelos

noun. hyacinth

A neologism coined by Parmandil posted on 2025-03-25 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as a combination of linquë “leaf of a hyacinth” and lós “inflorescence”.

aran

noun. king

quentasta

noun. historical account

eldatár

`Vm#1~C6 noun. elf-king, elfking, elven-king

-cca

your

[-cca ("k") ?"your", apparently an abandoned 2nd person plural or dual possessive (VT49:49). Compare -lca.]

-lca

your

[-lca ("k") ?"your", apparently an abandoned 2nd person plural possessive (VT49:49). Cf. -cca.]

-lto

they

-lto, "Qenya" pronominal ending "they"; see -ltë

-ltë

they

-ltë, 3rd person pl. pronominal suffix, "they" (VT49:51; cariltë "they do", VT49:16, 17). It alternates with -ntë in Tolkiens manuscripts (VT49:17, 57). In his early material, the ending also appears as -lto, occurring in Fíriel's Song (meldielto "they are beloved" and cárielto "they made"), also in LT1:114: tulielto "they have come" (cf. VT49:57). Compare -lta, -ltya as the ending for "their".

-ltë

suffix. they

-ntë

suffix. they

-tya,

your, thy

-tya, pronominal ending, 2nd person sg. intimate/familiar "your, thy" (VT49:16, 38, 48); compare -tyë

-vë

as, like

-vë, (3) apparently an ending used to derive adverbs from adjectives (see andavë under anda and oiavë under oia). May be related to the preposition ve "as, like".

Quende#

noun. Elf

Elf

ala

after, beyond

ala (5) prep. "after, beyond" (MC:221, 214; however, LotR-style Quenya has han and pella "beyond" and apa "after")

ala-

verb. plant, grow

ala- (4) vb. "plant, grow" _(the first gloss would suggest that the following one is transitive: to "grow" plants) (PE17:100). _Compare al- "thrive, *grow" (which however seems intransitive).

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

ambë

adverb. more

apo

after

apo prep. ?"after" (see apa #1) (VT44:36)

av-

verb. depart

#av- vb. "depart" (cited in the form avin "he departs", read "I depart" in LotR-style Quenya), pa.t. ambë (QL:33). The word may perhaps be used to translate "leave" with a direct object, since "depart" is at least vaguely transitive in English.

calwa

beautiful

calwa ("k") adj. "beautiful" (LT1:254)

carco

crow

[carco ("k")noun "crow" (KARKA)] (Changed by Tolkien to corco.)

cata

after

cimba

noun. edge, brink

corco

crow

corco ("k")noun "crow" (KORKA, see KARKA)

curuvar

wizard

curuvar _("k")_noun "wizard" (LT1:269 but Gandalf, Saruman etc. were istari)

empanya-

verb. plant

*empanya- vb. "plant" (deduced from the "Qenya" pl. past tense empannen, VT27:20-22)

epe

after

haran

king, chieftain

haran (#harn-, as in pl. harni) noun "king, chieftain" (3AR, TĀ/TA3, VT45:17; for "king", the word aran is to be preferred in LotR-style Quenya). In a deleted entry in the Etymologies, haran was glossed "chief" (VT45:17)

hiswa

grey

hiswa (þ) adj. "grey" (KHIS/KHITH, Narqelion)

ho

from

ho prep. "from" (3O); cf. hó-

hó

spirit, shadow

hó noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)

illi

all

illi noun "all" (as independent noun, apparently treated as a plural form). Imb' illi "among all" (VT47:30)

ilyë

adjective. all

laima

plant

laima noun "plant" (PE17:159). Cf. olvar.

lanotoite

adjective. innumerable

leper

finger

leper (pl. leperi given) noun "finger" (VT44:16, VT47:10, 14, 24, VT48:5; an older source gives the word for "finger" as lepsë, q.v.)

lepsë

finger

lepsë noun "finger" (LEP/LEPET; see leper). According to VT45:27, Tolkien derived lepsë from primitive ¤lepti; if so, lepsë should have the stem-form *lepsi-. However, Tolkien struck out the ancestral form lepti, so we cannot be sure whether this idea was maintained or not. In later sources, the word for "finger" appears as leper.

leuta

noun. finger

lil

more

lil adverbial particle "more" (PE14:80)

láta

open

láta adj. "open" (VT39:23), "open, not closed" (PE17:159, VT41:5)

ló

from

ló, lo (2) prep. "from", also used = "by" introducing the agent after a passive construction: nahtana ló Turin *"slain by Túrin" (VT49:24). A similar and possibly identical form is mentioned in the Etymologies as being somehow related to the ablative ending -llo, but is not there clearly defined (VT45:28). At one point, Tolkien suggested that lo rather than the ending -llo was used with proper names (lo Manwë rather than Manwello for "from Manwë"), but this seems to have been a short-lived idea (VT49:24).

meles

love

meles, melessë noun "love" (LT1:262; rather melmë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

melmë

love

melmë noun "love" (MEL)

mista

grey

mista adj. "grey"; see lassemista

mista

adjective. grey

nér

noun. man

panta

open

panta adj. "open" (PAT)

quáco

crow

quáco ("q")noun "crow" _(WJ:395; _Etym also has corco, q.v.)

rainë

peace

rainë noun "peace" (VT44:34-35)

réna

edge, border, margin

réna noun "edge, border, margin" (REG)

ríma

edge, hem, border

ríma noun "edge, hem, border" (RĪ)

silumë

at this time

silumë adv. "at this time" (VT49:11, 18). Compare talumë, #sillumë.

sívë

peace

sívë (2) noun "peace" (VT44:35)

sívë

noun. peace

toi

they

toi pron. "they" (FS; replaced by te in LotR-style Quenya?)

túr

king

túr, tur noun "king" (PE16:138, LT1:260); rather aran in LotR-style Quenya, but cf. the verb tur-. Also compare the final element -tur, -ntur "lord" in names like Axantur, Falastur, Fëanturi, Vëantur (q.v.)

vanima

adjective. beautiful

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

vardar

king

vardar noun "king" (LT1:273; rather aran in LotR-style Quenya)

vilissë

spirit

vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)

vëo

man

†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

ye

as

[ye (3), also yé, prep. "as" (VT43:16, struck out; in the text in question Tolkien finally settled on sívë, q.v.)]

él

star

†él noun "star", pl. éli given (WJ:362, EL)

ílë

star

ílë noun "star" (LT1:269; rather elen, él in LotR-style Quenya.)

þúlë Archaic

noun. spirit

iasintë

noun. hyacinth

ar fennuir

proper name. Day of the Fanturi, fourth day of the Valian week

The Noldorin name for the 4th day of the Valian 5-day week, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the plural of Fannor, the common title of Lórien and Mandos (Ety/LEP).

ar uiar

proper name. Day of Ulmo, second day of the Valian week

The Noldorin name for the 2nd day of the Valian 5-day week, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and Uiar, the Noldorin name of Ulmo (Ety/LEP).

ar vanwe

proper name. Day of Manwe, first day of the Valian week

The Noldorin name for the 1st day of the Valian 5-day week, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the lenited form of Manwe (Ety/AR¹, LEP).

ar vedhwen

proper name. Day of the Spouses, third day of the Valian week

The Noldorin name for the 3rd day of the Valian 5-day week, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the lenited form of Bedhwen “Spouses”, a term referring to Aule and Yavanna (Ety/LEP).

ar velegol

proper name. Day of Aule, alternate name of the third day of the Valian week

Another name for Ar Vedhwen, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the lenited form of Belegol “Aule” (Ety/LEP).

Conceptual Development: The alternate name was first written as (rejected) Ar Ifan containing Ifan “Yavanna” (EtyAC/LEP).

taur

noun. king (only used of the legitimate kings of whole tribes)

In LotR/IV:IV, Frodo is called Daur, which might be the mutated form of this word

caraes

noun. *jagged hedge of spikes

dor-daideloth

place name. Land of (the Shadow of) Dread, Loathly Land

anfang

noun. one of the Longbeards (a tribe of Dwarves)

aran

noun. king (used of a lord or king of a specified region)

curunir

noun. man of craft, wizard

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

ennyn ðurin aran vória

the Doors of Durin Lord of Moria

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

giliath

noun. all the host of stars

golodh

noun. "Deep Elf" or "Gnome", one of the Wise Folk

gwanur

noun. a pair of twins

maeth

noun. battle, fight (not of general host but of two or a few)

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

penninar

noun. last day of the year

thinnas

noun. lit. "shortness" (name of a mark indicating short quality of vowel)

âr

noun. king (used of a lord or king of a specified region)

corch

noun. crow

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “crow” derived from the root ᴹ√KORKA of the same meaning, replacing rejected N. carach derived from ᴹ√KARKA (Ety/KARKA).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. crunc “crow”, probably related to G. crug “beak” (GL/27) and possibly also to ᴱQ. karon “crow” from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/45). The forms crunc and crwnc “crow” appeared in Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document (PE13/111), and ᴱN. crunc “crow” appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/141). The word ᴱN. corch also appeared in the same Early Noldorin Word-lists, but was unglossed, so it is not clear whether it was connected to 1930s N. corch “crow”.

ar-

prefix. day

dagor

noun. battle

el

noun. star

geil

noun. star

sîdh

noun. peace

arnediad

adjective. innumerable, countless, endless, without reckoning, numberless

arnœdiad

adjective. innumerable, countless, endless, without reckoning, numberless

aronoded

adjective. innumerable, countless, endless

aur

noun. day, sunlight, morning

bein

adjective. beautiful, fair

benn

noun. man, male

corch

noun. crow

dagor

noun. battle

dagr

noun. battle

dagra-

verb. to battle

edhel

noun. Elf

edra-

verb. to open

edro

verb. open!

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. Northmen

geil

noun. star, bright spark

golodhrim

noun. Deep Elves, Gnomes

gwanna-

verb. to depart, die

gwanur

noun. brother or kinsman, kinswoman

lhaden

adjective. open, cleared

lhebed

noun. finger

Tolkien later seems to have replaced this form by leber

lhebed

noun. finger

mel-

verb. to love

meleth

noun. love

meleth

noun. love

mid

adjective. grey

mith

adjective. (pale) grey

mith

adjective. grey

mân

noun. departed spirit

mîl

noun. love, affection

panna-

verb. to open, to enlarge

rhîf

noun. edge, hem, border

sîdh

noun. peace

thind

adjective. grey, pale

thinn

adjective. grey, pale

âr

noun. king

bārun-adūnō rakkhatū kamāt sōbēthumā eruvō

the Lord of West broke asunder earth assent-with of God

The first draft of the 4th phrase of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/311). It differs considerably from the final version:

• The subject is singular “Lord” rather than plural “Lords”, as is the case with the second draft as well.

• The adjectival phrase adūnō “of the West” uses the draft-genitive case instead of the later genitive prefix an-.

• The verb form is rakkhatū, perhaps the draft past tense of an early version rakhat- of the verb rahat-. It later changed >> urahhata >> urahta >> yurahta. It is glossed “broke asunder” rather than simply “broke” as in later versions.

• The word for “Earth” is kamāt rather than later dâira.

• In the final phrase sōbēthumā eruvō “assent-with of God”, the two words are likely declined into the draft-instrumental and draft-genitive cases, respectively.

narîka ’nbâri ’nadûn yanâkhim

The Eagles of the Lords of the West are at hand

An isolated Adûnaic sentence in “The Notion Club Papers” story (SD/251). Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (VSH/26) that this same sentence is mentioned previously on SD/231 where Lowdham speaks in “an unknown tongue”, and then cries out in English “Behold the Eagles of the Lords of the West! They are coming over Nūmenōr!”. If so, this provides another translation of the phrase.

The first word, Narîka “Eagles” seems to be the subjective plural of #narak “eagle”, but is unusual in that it is declined as if it were a neuter noun. The names of animals are generally common-nouns (SD/426). Perhaps when this sentence was written, Tolkien had not yet fleshed out the Adûnaic gender rules.

Narîka is modified by the noun phrase ’nBâri “of the Lords”, which is a combination of the genitive prefix an- “of” (elided) and the plural of the noun bâr “lord”. This is also unusual in that it uses the short i rather than the long î for the plural, another sign that this may be an early sentence (the Adûnaic draft-plural often used a short i).

The phrase is further modified by ’nAdûn “of the West”, another instance of an elided genitive an- prefixed to the noun adûn “west”.

The verb yanâkhim is glossed “are at hand”. Its initial element ya- is likely the third neuter person plural pronominal suffix “they” and it ends with the normal plural verb suffix -m. This leaves the verb form nâkhi, which seems to be an inflection of the verb nakh- “come”. A literal interpretation might be “✱The Eagles of the Lords of the West are coming”, as supported by the second translation mentioned above, so that this is an example of the Adûnaic continuative-present tense. This analysis of yanâkhim was suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne (VSH/27).

ârû

noun. king

A noun translated as “king” (SD/429). The Adûnaic word for “queen” is not attested, but could be a feminized form of this word, such as ✱ârî.

katha

adjective. all

A word translated “all” in the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/288, VT24/12). This word appeared in the form kâtha in the final typescript version of the Lament (SD/247), but in all other instances appeared as katha. If the final typescript is later than the final manuscript, kâtha may be its final form, but I believe that the manuscript was later, and katha better matches its appearance as an element in kathuphazgân “conqueror” (SD/429). This last example is interesting in that it is an example of an adjective declined into the objective case.

khô

noun. crow

A noun translated “crow” (SD/426). Tolkien listed this noun in two forms, khâu and khô, both as examples of seemingly uniconsonantal nouns that prehistorically were biconsonantal (from prehistoric ✶khaw). Most authors have suggested these are simply variations on the same noun illustrating different paths of phonetic development (AAD/18, AL/Adûnaic). Another interesting possibility is that khâu is an (archaic?) subjective form of khô, produced from the usual a-fortification of primitive ✶khaw → ✶khāw, which would develop phonetically in Classical Adûnaic to khâu and khô. As support for this idea, the plural form of khâu is given as khāwī(m), which appears to include the subjective plural suffix -im.

This line of reasoning is quite speculative. Nevertheless, it is probably easier to use the form khô over khâu, since the inflections of khô would be more regular: plural khôi, dual ✱khôwat, objective ✱khôwu, etc.

manô

noun. spirit

A noun translated “spirit” and fully declined as an example of a Weak II noun (SD/438). It appeared with both a short a (SD/424) and long â (SD/438). Given its ending -ô, it might be a masculine-noun, but it seems unlikely that spirits would only be male. This entry assumes it is a common-noun instead. It is probably related to ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit” as suggested by various authors (AAD/19, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/MAN).

-ô

preposition. from

A prepositional suffix translated “from” (SD/429). In a few places, the suffix appears with the glide-consonant v (pronounced [w]) between it and a preceding u-vowel (SD/247, 249). It is likely related to the Quenya genitive inflection Q. -o.

Conceptual Development: At an earlier conceptual stage, this suffix was a grammatical inflection, the draft-genitive -ō (SD/438).

gwen

root. fair, beautiful; (probably originally) fresh, fair, unblemished (especially of beauty of youth)

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives having to do with freshness and greenness, as in ᴹQ. wenya “green, yellow-green, fresh” and Ilk. gwên “greenness”. In that document it was also the basis for N. bein “fair, beautiful” by way of blending with ᴹ√BAN “beautiful”. In the entry for ᴹ√GWEN Tolkien said it needed to be distinguished from ᴹ√WEN(ED) “maiden”, but in the entry for ᴹ√WEN(ED) he said maiden words needed to be transferred to ᴹ√GWEN (Ety/WEN).

This connection between “fresh” and “maiden” reappeared in notes from 1959, where √GWEN was given with gloss “fair, beautiful (probably originally fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth)” as this basis for “maiden” words (PE17/191). But Tolkien soon rejected this notion and reverted back to √WEN(ED); this may be a reflection of Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation between Q. wende versus vende as the proper Quenya word for “maiden”; wende (which seems to be his preference) would be better supported by an ancient root beginning with gw-, but that would also invalidate the Sindarin form gwend “maiden” (not ✱✱bend).

Tolkien seems to have given up on √GWEN for maiden words, and the sense “fresh” seems to have been reassigned to the root √KEW in later notes (VT48/7), so √GWEN may have been abandoned completely.

wā

root. blow; noise of wind, echoic representation of sound of wind

This and similar roots were the basis for “wind” words for much of Tolkien’s life, especially in Sindarin and its precursors. Its first appearance was unglossed ᴱ√GWĀ in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. ’wā “wind” and ᴱQ. ’wanwavoite “windy”, where presumably the ’ indicated the lost initial g; there were also two erased variants of the root ᴱ√WĀ and ᴱ√WA’A (WAƷA?) (QL/102). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. gwâ “wind” and G. gwavwed “windy” (GL/43).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WĀ “blow” with extended variants ᴹ√WAIWA and ᴹ√WAWA and derivatives like ᴹQ. vaiwa/N. gwaew “wind” (Ety/WĀ). ᴹQ. ván/N. gwaun “goose” < ᴹ√WĀ-N also seem to be related (Ety/WA-N; EtyAC/WA-N), perhaps based on the noise the goose makes. The root √WĀ appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “blow” (PE17/33), “[used?] of noise of wind” (PE17/34), “echoic representation of sound of wind” (NM/237), and in the variant form √WAY “blow, or be disturbed” (PE17/33) or √WAY “blow (as of wind)” (PE17/154, 189). √WAY was its most common variant form, but it had many others such as √WAW, √WIW, √SWA, √SWAW and √SWAR.

map

root. take away, take hold of, grasp, take away, take hold of, grasp, [ᴹ√] lay hold of with hand, seize

This root was connected to grabbing things by hand for most of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√MAPA “seize” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. map- “seize, take” and ᴱQ. maptale “robbery” (QL/59). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon its main derivative was G. mab “hand” (GL/55). In the Gnomish Lexicon, Tolkien did redefine mab as a dual form of G. mô “hand”, but it was later restored as an independent word and survived all the way into Sindarin as S. mâb “hand”.

The root reappeared as ᴹ√MAP “lay hold of with hand, seize” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a similar set of derivatives (Ety/MAP). √MAP was mentioned again in the late 1960s in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals, with glosses like “take hold of, grasp” (VT47/7) and “take away” (VT47/20). But in these same notes Tolkien made the somewhat shocking decision to abandon this root, proposing instead that S. mâb was derived from CE ✶makwā “handful” (VT47/6).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would ignore this very late idea, since √MAP appears so regularly in Tolkien’s earlier writings.

nor

root. run (or leap) of animals or men, run (or leap) of animals or men; [ᴹ√] run as of wheels, roll along, [ᴱ√] go smoothly, ride, spin

This root was the basis for Elvish words having to do with “running” and (in earlier notes) “rolling” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/67), and it had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. nor- “run, roll” (GL/61) and dronn “race, course, track” < ✱n’rond- (GL/31). ᴹ√NORO “run as of wheels, roll along” reappeared in a page of roots in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, though this page was deleted (PE22/127 note #152). √NOR “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)” also appeared in some etymological notes associated with The Lord of the Rings, probably from the late 1950s (PE17/168).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I’d retain both senses “run” and “roll” for this root, but limit the latter to the rolling of wheels as an extrapolation from the movement of legs.

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

run

root. rub, grind, smooth, polish, rub, grind, smooth, polish; [ᴹ√] flat of hand or sole of foot

A root appearing in an undated note from around 1968 as part of an explanation for the tree-name S. lebethron, given as {√RON >>} √RUN “rub, grind, smooth, polish”, with a derivatives Q. runda “smooth, polished” and [deleted] ron “smoothed by polishing”, probably Sindarin (PE17/89).

The Etymologies of the 1930s instead had the root ᴹ√RUN “flat of hand or sole of foot” with derivatives like ᴹQ. runya/N. rhein “footprint”, and also as the basis for the final element of ᴹQ. tallune/N. tellen “sole of foot” (Ety/RUN). It’s conceivable the two iterations of the root are related based on the “smoothness” of the hand or foot.

epe

preposition. after of time; after or behind of place

gweth

root. report, give account of, inform of things unknown or wished to be known

A (Sindarin-only?) root appearing in notes written around 1960 to explain the words S. gweth- “✱to report” and S. dangweth “answer, ✱(lit.) back-report” (PM/395). Given that its Sindarin derivative was gweth- and not ✱✱beth-, the actual primitive root must be ✱√WETH, otherwise the ancient gw would have become b.

nandē

noun. a valley, bottom (originally used only of not very large areas the sides of which were part of their own configuration)

swā

root. echoic representation of sound of wind

tultā-

verb. to make come, fetch, send (from point of view of receiver)

il

root. all

A root meaning “all” in Tolkien’s writings from the 1930s through 1960s (VT48/25) with derivatives in both Quenya and Sindarin, the most notable being Q. Ilúvatar “All-father” (MR/39). Its earliest precursor is the root ᴱ√ILU “ether, the slender airs among the stars” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, whose derivatives include various sky-words as well as ᴱQ. Ilúvatar, since in this early period the name meant “Heavenly Father” (QL/42). The meaning of the root shifted to ᴹ√IL “all” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IL), and it retained this sense thereafter.

mel

root. love, love, [ᴹ√] love (as friend)

This root was the basis for Elvish “love” words for all of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√MELE “love” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mel- “to love”, ᴱQ. meles(se) “love”, and ᴱQ. melin “dear, beloved” (QL/60). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had similar derivatives like G. mel- “love” and G. melon “dear, beloved” (GL/57).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien specified that ᴹ√MEL meant “love (as friend)”, and for the first time it included the derivative N. mellon “friend” (Ety/MEL); Gnomish “friend” words from the 1910s were mostly based on G. ged (GL/38). However, the same entry included ᴹQ. melindo/ᴹQ. melisse “lover” (male and female), so it seems even in the 1930s it could refer to romantic love (Ety/MEL). The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings associated with “love” (PE18/46, 96; PE17/41; VT39/10).

In notes from 1959, Tolkien elaborated on the precise sense of √MEL and its role in romantic and non-romantic love:

> Love, which Men might call “friendship” (but for the greater strength and warmth and permanency with which it was felt by the Quendi) was represented by √mel. This was primarily a motion or inclination of the fëa [“spirit”], and therefore could occur between persons of the same sex or different sexes. It included no sexual or procreative desire, though naturally in Incarnates the difference of sex altered the emotion, since “sex” is held by the Eldar to belong also to the fëa and not solely to the hröa [“body”], and is therefore not wholly included in procreation ... The “desire” for marriage and bodily union was represented by √yer; but this never in the uncorrupted occurred without “love” √mel, nor without the desire for children. This element was therefore seldom used except to describe occasions of its dominance in the process of courting and marriage. The feelings of lovers desiring marriage, and of husband and wife, were usually described by √mel. This “love” remained, of course, permanent after the satisfaction of √yer in the “Time of the Children”; but was strengthened by this satisfaction and the memory of it to a normally unbreakable bond (NM/20).

Thus √MEL was close in sense to Greek “philia”, used of friendship, whereas √YER was used of “eros” or sexual desire. But in Elvish thinking, √MEL was essential for romantic love, and √YER only arose from that. Furthermore, √YER was not the most important element in the love between romantic partners, as the period of procreation and child-rearing took up a relatively small portion of Elvish lives. It was the more enduring feeling of friendship between lovers that really mattered, and thus √MEL was used of both non-romantic and romantic love, though it had not particular sexual connotation.

mith

root. grey

Tolkien introduced the root ᴹ√MITH in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a blending of ᴹ√MIS “✱wet” and ᴹ√KHITH “mist, fog”, with the derivative N. mith “white fog, wet mist” as in N. Mithrim “✱Mist Lake” (Ety/MITH, RINGI; EtyAC/MITH). As a later addition to this entry Tolkien wrote the adjective N. mith “grey”, and that was the more common use of this word in Tolkien’s later writings. In a 1955 letter to David Masson Tolkien specified that “usage suggests that MIÞ- is paler and whiter, a luminous grey” (PE17/72).

elen

noun. star

ēl

noun. star

amba

?. more

bani

adjective. fair

banya

adjective. beautiful

gō

preposition. from

kawāk

noun. crow

lepe

noun. finger

leper

noun. finger

lepero Archaic

noun. finger

melā

verb. love

ndilā

verb. love, be devoted to

ndē̆r

noun. man

stin

root. grey

te

pronoun. they

thindi

adjective. grey

thindā

adjective. grey

thini

adjective. grey

tī

pronoun. they

wanyā

adjective. fair

ăwă

preposition. from

ʒō

preposition. from

dor-na-daerachas

place name. Land of Great Dread

A proposed replacement name for Dor Daedeloth in very late notes from 1971 that Tolkien made to The Lord of the Rings maps (WJ/187), translated “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183). The first few elements seem to be dôr “land”, na(n) “of” and daer “great”. This means the final element achas (perhaps lented from ✱gachas) must mean “dread”, but there are no other clear equivalents to this word in Tolkien’s writing. In a Discord chat from 2022-10-17, Röandil proposed the first element might instead by dae (still meaning “great”), and that the second element rachas might be related to Q. raxë “danger”.

dor daedeloth

place name. Land of Great Dread; Land of Shadow of Horror

The land of Morgoth (S/127), translated “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183), a combination of dôr “land”, a form of daer “great” and deloth “abhorrence, detestation, loathing” (SA/del, WJ/187).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name first appeared as G. Ladwen-na-Dhaideloth “Heath of the Sky-roof” (LT2/287), revised to G. Dor-na-Dhaideloth of similar meaning (LT2A/Dor-na-Dhaideloth, LT2/287). In the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, Tolkien revised the meaning of last element of ᴱN. Dor-na-Dhaideloth to “[Land of the] High Plain” (LB/49).

In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, it generally appeared as N. Dor-Daideloth (SM/269, LR/250) or Dor-Daedeloth (LR/120, LR/256). At this time the name was usually glossed “Land of Dread”, but this was only accurate as a translation of its shorter variant Dor-Deloth (LR/405, WJ/183), which was also translated as “Loathly Land” in The Etymologies (Ety/DYEL). In one place in this period the name appeared as Dor-na-Daideloth “Land of the Shadow of Dread” (LR/405), a better indication of its full meaning. In The Etymologies from the 1930s, there was a word N. dae “shadow”, which appeared as an element in the variant name N. Daedhelos “Shadow of Fear” (Ety/DAY). These factors are probably the source of Christopher Tolkien’s translation in the Silmarillion Index: “Land of Shadow of Horror” (SI/Dor Daedeloth, SA/dae).

However, in revisions to the Silmarillion map from 1950s, J.R.R. Tolkien translated S. Dor Dae-deloth as “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183), and later still considered changing the name to S. Dor-na-Daerachas of the same meaning (WJ/187). This indicates that he altered the sense of the element dae from “shadow” to “great”, though exactly when he did so is difficult to pin down.

eryd-wethion

place name. Mountains of the Region of Shadows

A reappearance of the name N. Eredwethion from the 1930s, appearing in notes from the 1950s as both Eryd-wethion and Erydweithian(d) (PE17/42-3, WJ/113). At this stage, it appears the final element is no longer the genitive plural, but is one of the suffixes -ion or -ian(d) used in regional names. This name was replaced by Ered Wethrin; see that entry for further discussion.

finnel

noun/adjective. head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair, head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair; [N.] (braided) hair; [G.] tress

This word had a quite lengthy history as an element in the name S. Glorfindel “Golden Hair”. It appeared in the Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin as G. findel “tress” (PE15/24) and in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon with the gloss “a lock of hair”, but in that document it was deleted and replaced by G. finn “a lock of hair” and G. fingl or finnil “tress” (GL/35). It appeared as N. finnel “(braided) hair” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SPIN (Ety/SPIN).

In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 findel was an adjective meaning “having beautiful hair” or “having fine hair” (PE17/119, 151). In a torn half sheet from the late 1950s or early 1960s it was OS. findel, S. finnel “mass of long hair”, and in a document from around 1965 it was (archaic) findel “head of hair, fax” from primitive ✶spindilā (PE17/17). In this last document Tolkien said it was “preserved mainly in such old names as Glorfindel”, so Tolkien may have intended that it was no longer in active use in modern Sindarin.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use fîn for a single hair, find for a tress or lock of hair or hair in general, with finnel used for an entire head of hair, assuming finnel survived into modern Sindarin with the usual sound change of medial nd to nn. I would assume it can also be used adjectivally in reference to having beautiful hair.

forlindon

place name. Lindon north of the Gulf of Lune

A name for the northern part of Lindon (PM/313), a combination of that name with the prefixal form for- of forn “north”.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Forlindon appeared on the draft maps for Lord of the Rings from the 1940s (TI/302).

guruthos

noun. dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, [N.] fear of death

A word for the fear of death in the phrase le nallon sí di’nguruthos, translated in The Road Goes Ever On published from 1967 as “here overwhelmed in dread of Death I cry” or more literally “to thee I cry here beneath-death-horror” (RGEO/64), also translated in a 1958 letter to Rhona Beare as “to thee I cry now in the shadow of (the fear of) death” (Let/278). In notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien identified the elements as guru “death” and thoss “fear” (PE17/87), based on the roots √ÑGUR and √THOS (PE17/95).

Conceptual Development: The form N. {gurthos >>} guruthos “fear of death” appeared in the margin of The Etymologies next to the entry for the root ᴹ√GOS “dread” where the word’s final element was probably N. gost “dread, terror” (EtyAC/GOS). As such, its initial element when the word was first introduced was probably N. guruth “death” (Ety/ÑGUR).

harlindon

place name. Lindon south of the Gulf of Lune

A name for the southern part of Lindon (PM/313), a combination of that name with the prefixal form har- of harn “south”.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Harlindon appeared on the draft maps for Lord of the Rings from the 1940s (TI/302).

sarch nia chîn húrin

proper name. Grave of the Children of Húrin

Name of the grave of Túrin and Nienor (UT/140), a combination of sarch “grave”, the definite plural form nia of the preposition na(n) “of” (also seen in Glaer nia Chîn Húrin), the mutated plural chîn of hên “child” and the name of their father Húrin. The unmutated form Hîn in the Unfinished Tales was an editorial decision by Christopher Tolkien (LR/322 note §25); the name was spelled correctly (with Chîn) in The Children of Húrin (CH/247).

sigil elu-naeth

proper name. Necklace of the Woe of Thingol

Another name for Nauglamír, translated “Necklace of the Woe of Thingol” (WJ/258). It is a combination of sigil “necklace”, Thingol’s other name Elu and the noun naeth “woe”.

Achad Tarlang

place name. The long narrow 'col' or passage over the long spur of the mountains that separated Lamedon from the plain of Erech

topon. The long narrow 'col' or passage over the long spur of the mountains that separated Lamedon from the plain of Erech. It is not certain whether this was named after some ancient man with the Sindarin name Tarlang ('stiff-neck', sc. 'proud') or was due to the obsolescence of Tarlang 'the stiff, tough passage' to which S. ached had been prefixed in explanation, so that Achad Tarlang 'the crossing called Tarlang' was interpreted as 'Tarlang's Neck'. The neck was not the name of the passage but of the lower, narrower ridge (crossed by the road) between the main mountains, and the mountainous region at southern end of the spur. Fachad, lang

Dorgannas Iaur

noun. account of the shapes of the lands of old

(n-)dôr (“land, dwelling place”) + cant (“shape”) + as (#abstract collective suffix) + iaur (“old”) #The suffix -as probably denotes “a complete set of different things of one kind”.

Narn-i-Chîn Húrin

noun. tale of the children of Húrin

narn (“tale”) + in (pl. gen. article) + hîn (pl. of hên “child”), hûr (“vigour, fiery spirit”) + ind (“inner thought, heart”) This name is said by Ch. Tolkien to be have been “improperly changed” by him in UT to “Narn-i-Hîn Húrin”.

Sarch nia Hîn Húrin

noun. grave of the children of Húrin

sarch (“grave”), nia (pre-LR period plural genitive article, later changed to in WJ: hîn (pl. of hên “child”), hûr (“vigour, fiery spirit”) + ind (“inner thought, heart”)

amar

chiefly used later of the inhabited regions of the great land masses not including Aman or Eressea

n. chiefly used later of the inhabited regions of the great land masses not including Aman or Eressea (or usually even Númenor). . This gloss was rejected.

ann-thennath

noun. a verse mode, lit. "long-shorts" (alternance of long and short vowels, or rather alternance of long and short verse units, possibly of masculine and feminine rhymes)

The word is not translated by Tolkien. Refer to Tolkien's Legendarium p. 115 for a discussion of its probable meaning

calan

noun. day, period of actual daylight

Attested in the first edition of LotR, but omitted from the second.

dorgannas iaur

proper name. [Account of the] Shapes of the Lands of Old

A treatise on the geography of Beleriand, translated “account of the shapes of the lands of old” (WJ/192), its first word a combination dôr “land”, the lenited form gan(n) of cant “shape” and the suffix -as.

emyn hen dúnadan

place name. *Hills of the Eye of the Dúnadan

Earlier rejected name for Emyn Beraid (PM/186), apparently a combination of the plural of amon “hill”, hen “eye” and Dúnadan “Man of the West”, hence: “✱Hills of the Eye of the Dúnadan”.

glaer nia chîn húrin

Tale of the Children of Húrin

An earlier Sindarin name for “Tale of the Children of Húrin”, revised to Narn i Chîn Húrin (WJ/160). It uses glaer “long lay, narrative poem” instead of narn “tale”, and the definite plural form nia of the preposition na(n) “of”, the latter also seen in Sarch nia Chîn Húrin.

gor-

prefix. owing to approach of GUR to other stems Sindarin tended to use gor- in a very strong sense of things very painful and horrible to do

_ pref. _owing to approach of GUR to other stems (as ÑGUR 'death', ÑGOR 'terror, dread') Sindarin tended to use gor- in a very strong sense of things very painful and horrible to do. It used dír- 'tough' for lesser efforts. Q. uru-. >> dirbedui, gorbedui, gornod

linnod

noun. (?) a chant of a certain metrical type, where each (half-)verse is composed of seven syllables

The word is not translated by Tolkien. The first meaning assumes that -od is a singulative affix (cf. filigod ). The second meaning is proposed by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne in Tolkien's Legendarium p. 132, based on the metrical characteristics of Gilraen's linnod

nor-

verb. run (of men and animals using legs : not of fluids

_v. _run (of men and animals using legs : not of fluids, etc.). Pret. onur. >> noro, northa-

aran gondor ar arnor ar hîr i mbair annui

king of Gondor and Arnor and Lord of the Westlands

nern in adanath

legendarium of the Fathers of Men

nern in edenedair

legendarium of the Fathers of Men

galadhrim

noun. Elves of Lothlórien

Dor Daedelos

noun. land of great / shadow of fear

(n-)dôr (“land, dwelling-place”), dae (“shadow”) #or daer (“great”) + delos (“abhorrence, loathing, detestation”) [Etym. DYEL-] probably del (“fear”) + gos, goth (#gost? “dread”)

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

Taur-e-Ndaedelos

noun. forest of the great (shadow of) fear (Mirkwood)

taur (“great wood, forest”) + en (sing. gen. article) + #daer (“great”) or #dae (“shadow”) + delos (“abhorrence, loathing, detestation”) [Etym. DYEL-] probably del (“fear”) + gos, goth (#gost? “dread”); #dae is not found in Etym, but the stem is probably NDAY.

Teler

noun. an Elf, one of the Teleri

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

aeglos

noun. icicle (a pendent spear of ice formed by the freezing of dripping water)

aerlinn in edhil o imladris

*Holy Song of the Elves of Rivendell

anglennatha i varanduiniant erin dolothen ethuil

will approach the Bridge of Baranduin on the eighth day of Spring

aran

noun. king (used of a lord or king of a specified region)

calben

noun. Elf of the Great Journey (lit. "light person")

craban

noun. kind of crow of large size, raven

curunír

noun. man of craft, wizard

danwaith

noun. the Nandor (a tribe of Elves)

denwaith

noun. the Nandor (a tribe of Elves), the people of Denwe

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

dúnedhel

noun. Elf of the West, Elf of Beleriand (including Noldor and Sindar)

egladhrim

noun. "The Forsaken", Elves of the Falathrim

eglath

noun. "The Forsaken", Elves of the Falathrim

elenath

noun. starry host, all the host of the stars of heaven

fennas nogothrim, lasto beth lammen

doorway of the Dwarf-folk listen to the word of my tongue

findel Archaic

noun/adjective. head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair

giliath

noun. all the host of stars

glinnel

noun. Elf, one of the Teleri

glîn

noun. gleam, glint (usually of fine slender but bright shafts of light, particularly applied to light of eyes)

glînn

noun. gleam, glint (usually of fine slender but bright shafts of light, particularly applied to light of eyes)

golodh

noun. "Deep Elf" or "Gnome", one of the Wise Folk

gwanunig

noun. a twin (one of a pair of twins)

gwanûn

noun. a pair of twins

gódhel

noun. "Deep Elf" or "Gnome", one of the Wise Folk

iathrim

noun. Elves of Doriath

laegeldrim

noun. the people of the Green Elves

laegrim

noun. the people of the Green Elves

lanc

noun. sharp edge (not of tools), sudden end (as a cliff-edge, or the clean edge of things made by hand or built)

lothron

noun. the month of May

miniel

noun. an Elf, one of the Vanyar

narn beren ion barahir

*Tale of Beren son of Barahir

narn e·dant gondolin ar orthad en·êl

*Tale of the Fall of Gondolin and the Raising of the Star

narn e·mbar hador

*Tale of the House of Hador

narn e·’rach morgoth

Tale of the Curse of Morgoth

narn i chîn húrin

Tale of the Children of Húrin

narthan

noun. beacon, signal fire to notify of the approach of an enemy

narwain

noun. the month of January

nobad

noun. the pair of fingers composed of the thumb and the index (grouped together as in the act of picking something)

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

od

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

oraearon

noun. seventh day of the Númenórean week, Sea-day

oranor

noun. second day of the week, day of the Sun

orbelain

noun. sixth day of the week, day of the Powers or Valar

orgaladh

noun. fourth day of the Númenórean week, day of the White Tree

This day was formerly called orgaladhad in the Elvish calendar

orgaladhad

noun. fourth day of the Elvish week, day of the Two Trees

This day was renamed orgaladh in the Númenórean calendar

orgilion

noun. first day of the week, day of the Stars

orithil

noun. third day of the week, day of the Moon

ormenel

noun. fifth day of the week, Heavens' day

pengolodh

noun. teaching sage, doctor (of lore), teacher of lore, teaching sage, doctor (of lore), *professor

penninor

noun. last day of the year

rodyn

noun. alternate name of the last day of the Eldarin six-day week

seregon

noun. "Blood of Stone", a plant of the kind called in English "stonecrop", with deep red flowers, that grew on Amon Rûdh

telerrim

noun. the Teleri, a tribe of Elves

ódhel

noun. Deep Elf or Gnome, one of the Wise Folk

o

of

(od), followed by hard mutation. With article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by ”mixed” mutation according to David Salo’s reconstuctuons). (WJ:366). Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning”.

gwanûn

pair of twins

(in gwanûn) (WJ:367). Also gwanur (in gwanur) (LotR Appendix A). Note: a homophone of gwanur means ”brother; kinsman or kinswoman”

pesgannas

noun. syntax, study of syntactical structures, (lit.) shapes of phrases

A neologism coined by Ellanto and Luinyelle, posted on 2024-05-07 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), an abstract noun form of [ᴺS.] pesgant “syntax”.

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

gwanon

noun. twin

The Sindarin word for a “twin”, with a plural form gwenyn using the ordinary pluralization rules of Sindarin (PE23/140; PM/365). It is likely a combination of gwa- “together” and primitive ✱nonā “born” based on the root √NŌ; compare Q. onóna “twin-born” of similar derivation (WJ/367). It also had a specialized dual form gwanûr for a pair of twins (LotR/1054), derived instead from ✶wo-nōrē “together-birth”, functionally a singular noun in archaic speech but in modern speech treated as a variant plural applicable only to a pair of twins (PE23/140). Gwanûr is thus probably used more often than gwenyn.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. gadwi “twins”, a dual form of G. gad(a) “link” (GL/37), along with a longer variant G. hethgadwi or heth-gedwi that had heth “sibling” as a prefix (GL/49). The Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60 had another dual form gwanūn, probably based on ✱wo-nōnā, from which a singular gwanunig was derived.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use gwanon as the singular, gwanûr as the dual, and gwenyn as the ordinary plural, since these forms appear in either The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1054) or in notes from 1969 (PE23/140; PM/365).

il

adjective. *all

An untranslated word from the phrase sí il chem en i Naugrim en ir Ellath thor den ammen appearing on the Túrin Wrapper (VT50/5). Carl Hostetter suggested this phrase may mean something like “✱now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) to us”, and il likely means “all” based on the root √IL of similar meaning (VT50/22).

leber

noun. finger

The Sindarin word for “finger”, derived from primitive ✶leper and based on the root √LEP “pick up” (VT47/10; VT48/5).

Conceptual Development: Tolkien used various Elvish words for “finger” over his life, but most were based on the root √LEP. The Gnomish Grammar and Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. leptha “finger” (GG/13; GL/53), clearly derived from the early root ᴱ√LEPE that was the basis for contemporaneous Qenya finger words (QL/53). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it was ᴱN. lhê “finger”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶lept- (PE13/148). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was N. lhebed “finger” based on the root ᴹ√LEPET of the same meaning (Ety/LEP). In drafts of the 1968 notes mentioned above, Tolkien had S. lebed “finger” (VT47/27), but this was replaced by leber in the finished versions (VT47/23-24 note #30).

êl Archaic

noun. star

A Sindarin word for “star” that is largely archaic and poetic, and is mainly used as element in names like Elrond (Let/281; WJ/363; Ety/EL); the more usual word for “star” in ordinary speech was gil (RGEO/65). However, the collective form elenath is still used in common speech to refer to the entire host of stars (WJ/363). The plural of êl is elin, as this word was derived from ancient ✶elen, and the final n that was lost in the singular was preserved in the plural. In some cases Tolkien posited a restored analogical singular elen from the plural form (PE17/24, 67, 139), but this isn’t in keeping with the notion that the word was archaic, so I would ignore this for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: This word and its root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where N. el “star” was derived from the root ᴹ√EL of similar meaning, but was “only [used] in names” (Ety/EL). It seems Tolkien introduced the root to give a new etymology for names like N. Elrond and N. Elwing, which initially appeared under the root ᴹ√ƷEL “sky” (Ety/ƷEL).

aglan

noun. ray of light

laph

noun. loose-end, end of rope, hem of robe

cauda-

verb. to get flavour of, perceive, notice; to taste (of the taster or person)

@@@ or códa-/coda-;

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

gilion

of stars

(lenited ngilion; pl. gilioen). Archaic ✱giliaun.

glavradeb

adjective. full of the din of voices

gwanur

pair of twins

(in gwanur), also gwanûn (in gwanûn) (WJ:367)

gwenyn

pair of twins

(PM:353, 365)

hûl

cry of encouragement in battle

(i chûl, o chûl, construct hul), pl. huil (i chuil)

palt

noun. wide flat leaf; page of book; blade (of swords, knives, oars, etc.)

-eg

suffix. your

_2nd sg./pl. poss. suff. your.Maybe the familiar form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Later -gen_. >> -el, -gen

-el

suffix. your

_2nd sg./pl. poss. suff. _your. Maybe the polite form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Later -lein. >> -eg, -lein

-gen

suffix. your

_2nd sg. poss. suff. your.Maybe the familiar form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -eg_. >> -eg

-lein

suffix. your

_2nd sg. poss. suff. your.Maybe the polite form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -el_. >> -el

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

edhel

noun. Elf

_ n. _Elf, a general name for all the Elves (since the name Quendi had gone out of use in Sindarin). Probably related to or connected with Q. Elda. >> edhellen

elen

star

pl1. elin, pl2. elenath _n._star. Its collective plural (pl2.) designates 'the (host of all the) stars, (all) the (visible) stars of the firmament'. Q. elen, pl1. eldi, eleni. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'. >> êl

gil

noun. star, bright spark

In The Etymologies (Ety/358, corrected by VT/45:15), this word was given as geil , plural gîl. However, later in LotR/E and RGEO/73, Tolkien seems to consider gil as a singular (with no hints in the sources of what the plural would be, besides the collective plural giliath )

linnod

noun. (?) a single verse used as a maxim

The word is not translated by Tolkien. The first meaning assumes that -od is a singulative affix (cf. filigod ). The second meaning is proposed by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne in Tolkien's Legendarium p. 132, based on the metrical characteristics of Gilraen's linnod

narthan

noun. beacon

An element in the name Fornarthan “North Beacon” from notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from 1967-69 (VT42/20). Since the initial element of this name is clearly “north”, the element narthan must be “beacon”, perhaps a combination of √NAR “fire” and √THAN “kindle, set light to”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT42/30 note #47).

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from, of. In older S. o had the form od before vowels. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'.

pennoediad

adjective. innumerable

A word appearing in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 glossed “innumerable” as a combination of pen “without” and the gerund of noedia- “to count”. The oe [œ] is archaic and the modern form would be pennediad.

pân

noun/adjective. all, all, *complete, entire, full, the whole

A word for “all” appearing only in its mutated plural form phain in the King’s Letter from the phrase ar e aníra ennas suilannad mhellyn în phain “and he desires to greet there all his friends” (SD/129). It is almost certainly based on the root √KWA “complete, full”.

Neo-Sindarin: In a conversation on Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) from 2022-03-10 involving Arael, Raccoon, Lokyt, and Röandil it was suggested that pân might also mean “✱complete, entire, full, the whole”. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word as both an adjective and a (pro)noun as in anno annin bân “give me [it] all”. As an adjective it would usually be in the plural: edhil bain “all elves” or i edhil bain “all [of] the elves”, except perhaps when modifying a mass noun: nen bân “all water” or i nen bân “all [of] the water”.

Also recall that Sindarin has a system of class plurals which are used to designate an entire class or all of a group in a given context, such as edhelrim meaning either “all of elvenkind” or “all the elves in this context”. Thus I would only use pân with an ordinary plural when it is necessary to emphasize the completeness or wholeness of the group in question. When used with a class plural I would give pân the sense “entire” or “the whole”. Compare Aran Edhelrim “King of Elvenkind” vs Aran Edhelrim Bân “King of the Whole of Elvenkind” (no elf excluded).

abonnen

afterborn

pl. Ebennin (archaic "Eboennin" = Ebönnin, WJ:387), Elvish name of Men as the "Secondborn" of Eru. – If ab can be used as an independent preposition, it is probably followed by soft mutation.****

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

aran

king

1. (king of a region) aran (pl. erain). Coll. pl. aranath. Also †âr with stem-form aran- (also with pl. erain; the longer form aran may be a back-formation from this plural). 2) (king of a people) †taur (i daur, o thaur) (said in LR:389 s.v. _T_Ā to refer to ”legitimate kings of the whole tribes”), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath.

aur

day

aur (morning), pl. oer. As prefix or- in names of weekdays.

aur

day

(morning), pl. oer. As prefix or- in names of weekdays.

bannen

gone

#bannen (pl. bennin). Isolated from govannen ”met”, based on the assumption that this past participle includes a form of the verb #bad- ”go”.

bannen

adjective. gone

A neologism for “gone” derived from ᴹ√BAT proposed by David Salo as part of his theory for the derivation of govannen “met” (GS/241, 260). While I think this theory is correct for the 1940s, I think the relevant forms were abandoned by the late 1950s, and I would recommend attested gwanwen instead for “departed, ✱gone”.

bannen

gone

(pl. bennin). Isolated from govannen ”met”, based on the assumption that this past participle includes a form of the verb #bad- ”go”.

corch

crow

corch (i gorch, o chorch), pl. cyrch (i chyrch). Also *craban (i graban, o chraban), pl. crebain (i chrebain). Only the pl. crebain* is attested. The sg. could be either craban, creban or croban**, but the first of these seems the most likely.

corch

crow

(i gorch, o chorch), pl. cyrch (i chyrch). Also ✱craban (i graban, o chraban), pl. crebain (i chrebain). Only the pl. crebain is attested. The sg. could be either ✱craban, ✱creban or ✱croban, but the first of these seems the most likely.

curunír

wizard

curunír (i gurunír, o churunír) (man of craft), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. curuníriath.

dagor

battle

(noun) 1) dagor (i nagor, o ndagor), analogical pl. degyr (i ndegyr), coll. pl. dagorath. Archaic dagr, so we might have expected dagrath as the coll. pl.; dagorath would be an analogical formation. 2) (battle of two or a few, not a general host) maeth (i vaeth) (fight), no distinct pl. except with article (i maeth). 3) auth (war), pl. oeth, coll. pl. othath. Note: a homophone means "dim shape, apparition".

dîr

man

1. (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

elui

adjective. starry

A neologism for “starry” coined by Gábor Lőrinczi from the VQP (VQP), an adjectival form of êl “star”.

hîn

they

(of women) hîn. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

ithron

wizard

1. ithron (= Quenya istar, one of the order Gandalf belonged to), pl. ithryn, coll. pl. ithronnath (UT:388), 2)

leber

finger

leber (pl. lebir) (VT47:10, 23, 24; VT48:5). This may replace ”Noldorin” lhebed, which we would otherwise update to Sindarin as lebed. For names of specific fingers, see INDEX FINGER, LITTLE FINGER, MIDDLE FINGER, RING FINGER, THUMB.

limloth

noun. hyacinth

A neologism coined by Parmandil and Echuidor, posted on 2025-03-25 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as the equivalent of ᴺQ. linquelos.

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

rîw

edge

*rîw (construct riw) (hem, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîw). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhîf.

rîw

edge

(construct riw) (hem, border), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rîw). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” rhîf.

sîdh

peace

sîdh (i hîdh), no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîdh) if there is any pl. form. 1) aeg (point, thorn). No distinct pl. form. (but aeglir can be used for a range of mountain peaks). Note: aeg is also used as adj. "sharp, pointed, piercing". 2) mîn (i vîn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mîn), coll. pl. míniath. Note: homophones include the numeral ”one” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”. 3) egnas (sharp point; literally "thorn-point"), pl. egnais, coll. pl. egnassath.

taur

king

(i daur, o thaur) (said in LR:389 s.v. TĀ to refer to ”legitimate kings of the whole tribes”), pl. toer (i thoer), coll. pl. torath.

uiveleth

hJrな$3F noun. eternal love, love that will last for ever

The prefix ‘ui-’ that means eternal plus lenited form of meleth (love) ‘veleth’.

ab

preposition. after

dagor

noun. battle

thind

adjective. grey, grey, [N.] pale

if from þindā, why no a-affection? @@@

Ara-

prefix. king

pref. king. >> ar-, Arathorn

ab-

prefix. after, later

adanath

noun. men

aeglos

noun. snowthorn, a plant like furze (gorse), but larger and with white flowers

alae

interjection. (?) behold!

Uncertain meaning, but compare with Quenya ela! "imperative exclamation directing sight to an actually visible object" (WJ/362)

ar-

prefix. king

pref. king. >> ara-, Arathorn

ara

noun. king

_ n. _king. 

arnœdiad

adjective. innumerable, countless, endless, without reckoning, numberless

aur

noun. day, sunlight, morning

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

bain

adjective. beautiful, fair

bain

beautiful

_ adj. _beautiful. Q. vanya.

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

calben

noun. all Elves but the Avari

dagor

noun. battle

edhel

noun. Elf

edhel

Elf

pl1. edhil, pl2. edhellim {ð} _n. _Elf. A name used by the Sindar for themselves, characterizing other varieties by an adjective or prefix. >> Aredhel, Thinnedhel

edhel

Elf

{ð} _n. _Elf.

edhel

Elf

d _ n. _Elf. Q. elda.

edhelharn

noun. elf-stone

edra-

verb. to open

edra-

verb. open

_ v. _open (out). >> edro

edro

verb. open!

el

star

n. star.

elen Archaic

noun. star

ell

noun. elf

n. elf, esp. [?in ?the ?South]. Noldorin form.

elleth

noun. elf-maid

ellon

noun. elf

elvellon

noun. elf-friend

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

faer

noun. spirit

gil-

noun. star

gill

noun. star

golodhrim

noun. Deep Elves, Gnomes

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

gwanunig

noun. twin

gwenyn

noun. twins

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

gódhellim

noun. "Deep Elves" or "Gnomes", the Wise Folk

hithren

adjective. grey

_ adj. _grey. >> thind

hithren

adjective. grey

hû

spirit

_ n. _spirit, shadow.

ithron

noun. wizard

lachend

noun. Deep Elf (Sindarin name for the Ñoldor)

lachenn

noun. Deep Elf (Sindarin name for the Ñoldor)

laden

adjective. open, cleared

laegel

noun. a Green Elf

lebed

noun. finger

Tolkien later seems to have replaced this form by leber

lebenedh

noun. middle finger

lebent

noun. ring finger

leber

noun. finger

lebig

noun. little finger

lind

adjective. fair

mith

adjective. (pale) grey

mith

grey

adj. grey, light grey. >> Mithrandir, mithril

mithren

adjective. grey

mithren

adjective. grey

mornedhel

noun. Dark-Elf

niged

noun. little finger

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from. . This gloss was rejected.

pen-noediad

adjective. innumerable

adj. innumerable.

pân

adjective. all, in totality

As no other word beginning in ph- is attested, it is assumed that a nasal mutation is triggered by the pronoun în.1 , hence the form observed in the "King's Letter"

rîw

noun. edge, hem, border

sui

conjunction. as, like

tawarwaith

noun. Silvan elves

thin

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thind, Thingol, thinn

thind

adjective. grey, pale

thind

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thin, Thingol, thinn

thind

adjective. grey

_ adj. _grey. Obsolete except in names as Thingol. >> hithren

thinn

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thin, thind, Thingol

thinn

adjective. grey

_adj. _grey. Q. sinde.

thinn

adjective. grey

êl

noun. star (little used except in verses)

êl

star

pl1. elin, pl2. elenath** ** n. star. Q. elen, pl1. eldi, eleni, pl2. elelli. >> elen

îdh

noun. peace

peace, tranquillity

ódhellim

noun. Deep Elves or Gnomes, the Wise Folk

ab

after

#ab (only attested as a prefix, as in:)

ab

after

(only attested as a prefix, as in:)

am

adverb/adjective. more

A neologism coined by Fayanzār posted on 2018-01-06 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), inspired by ambë “more”. The word am is more frequently used for “up” in Sindarin, but the two senses are close enough that the can coexist, distinguished by context: anno am annin “give up [= more] to me” vs. pado am i bend “walk up the slope”.

aran

king

(pl. erain). Coll. pl. aranath. Also †âr with stem-form aran- (also with pl. erain; the longer form aran may be a back-formation from this plural).

aronoded

innumerable

aronoded (countless, endless), pl. erenedid (archaic erönödid)

aronoded

innumerable

(countless, endless), pl. erenedid (archaic erönödid)

auth

battle

(war), pl. oeth, coll. pl. othath. Note: a homophone means "dim shape, apparition".

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

beautiful

bain (fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

beautiful

(fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

be

as

(like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salo’s reconstruction)

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

calan

daytime

(i galan, o chalan), pl. celain (i chelain)

cil-

verb. choose

dagor

battle

(i nagor, o ndagor), analogical pl. degyr (i ndegyr), coll. pl. dagorath. Archaic dagr, so we might have expected dagrath as the coll. pl.; dagorath would be an analogical formation.

dagra

battle

(verb, "do battle, make war") dagra- (i nagra, i ndagrar), also dagrada- (i nagrada, i ndagradar)

dagra

battle

(i nagra, i ndagrar), also dagrada- (i nagrada, i ndagradar)

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

edhel

elf

edhel (pl. edhil). Coll. pl. Edhelrim (or Edhellim) (UT:318). Also †eledh, pl. elidh, coll. pl. eledhrim (Letters:281), also elen, pl. elin, also with coll. pl. eledhrim (elen + rim with the regular change nr > dhr). _(WJ:363, 377-78; _the shorter coll. pl. Eldrim > Elrim_ _may also occur). But since elin also means "stars", other terms for "Elf" may be preferred.

edinor

anniversary day

(pl. edinoer). Archaic edinaur. In ”Noldorin”, the word appeared as edinar.

edra

open

(verb) 1) *edra- (i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro. 2) panna- (i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

edra

open

(i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro.

fae

spirit

1. fae (soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form. 2) faer (radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

fae

spirit

(soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form.

faer

spirit

(radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

galas

plant

galas (i **alas) (growth), pl. gelais (i ngelais = i ñelais), coll. pl. galassath**

galas

plant

(i ’alas) (growth), pl. gelais (i ngelais = i ñelais), coll. pl. galassath

gwanna

depart

gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (die)

gwanna

depart

(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (die)

gwanunig

twin

gwanunig (i **wanunig**), a singular formed from:

gwanunig

twin

(i ’wanunig), a singular formed from:

gîl

star

gîl (i ngîl = i ñîl, o n**gîl, construct gil) (bright spark, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. giliath** (RGEO, MR:388). Poetic †êl (elen-, pl. elin, coll. pl. elenath) (RGEO, Letters:281, WJ:363).

gîl

star

(i ngîl = i ñîl, o n’gîl, construct gil) (bright spark, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. giliath **(RGEO, MR:388). Poetic †êl (elen-, pl. **elin, coll. pl. elenath) (RGEO, Letters:281, WJ:363).

hîn

they

. It is unclear whether Tolkien maintained this ”Noldorin” pronoun in Sindarin.

hûr

fiery spirit

(i chûr, o chûr, construct hur) (readiness for action, vigour), pl. huir (i chuir) if there is a pl.

laden

open

(adj.) laden (plain, flat, wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

laden

open

(plain, flat,  wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

lanc

sharp edge

(sudden end, brink), pl. lainc, coll. pl. langath. Note: homophones mean ”naked” and also ”neck, throat”.

maeth

battle

(i vaeth) (fight), no distinct pl. except with article (i maeth).

mela

love

(vb.) mela- (i vela, i melar), pa.t. melant (VT45:34)

mela

love

(i vela, i melar), pa.t. melant (VT45:34)

meleth

love

(noun) meleth (i veleth), pl. melith (i melith)

meleth

love

(i veleth), pl. melith (i melith)

mith

grey

(lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

mithren

grey

1. *mithren (lenited vithren, pl. mithrin). 2) thind (pale); no distinct pl. form. 3) (pale grey) mith (lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

mithren

grey

(lenited vithren, pl. mithrin).

mîl

love

mîl (i vîl) (affection, kindness), no distinct form in pl. except with article (i mîl), coll. pl. míliath

mîl

love

(i vîl) (affection, kindness), no distinct form in pl. except with article (i mîl), coll. pl. míliath

narthan

beacon

narthan (”fire-sign”), pl. nerthain (VT45:20)

narthan

beacon

(”fire-sign”), pl. nerthain (VT45:20)

panna

open

(i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

pân

all

(adj.) *pân, pl. pain (only attested in mutated pl. form phain, SD:128-31). Not to be confused with the noun pân ”plank”.

pân

all

pl. pain (only attested in mutated pl. form phain, SD:128-31). Not to be confused with the noun pân ”plank”.

ranoth

noun. month

redhin

adjective. related

sui

as

1. prep. “like, as”) sui (VT44:23), 2) (prep.) be (like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salos reconstruction)

sui

as

(VT44:23)

sîdh

peace

(i hîdh), no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîdh) if there is any pl. form.

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

thind

grey

(pale); no distinct pl. form.

thinnas

shortness

thinnas (also used for a “breve”, a mark indicating that a vowel is short). Verb

thinnas

noun. shortness

vomentië

noun. meeting of ways

él síla lúmena vomentienguo

A star shines upon the hour of the meeting of our ways

má

preposition. by (hand of), of agent

él

noun. star

elen Archaic

noun. star

ho

preposition. from

leper

noun. finger

lindórinand Archaic

place name. Vale of the Land of Singers

Lindórinand

place name. Vale of the Land of the Singers

[The Singers being Lindar, Teleri]. The elements must be lind- "singer, Linda" (cf. pl. Lindi), dóri- "land" (the independent form may differ; see dóri-) and nand "valley" (q.v.). >> Lórien (UT:253)

galadrim

noun. Elves of Lothlórien

Note: "The Galadrim were 'Tree-people' (though the formation is Sindarin, + S [rim] = Q rimbë, great number) = true Sindarin galadhrim."

Danas

noun. Green-elves, Nandor

In Etym derived from the stem DAN (LR:353), simply defined as an "element found in names of the Green-elves", and tentatively compared to NDAN "back" (since the Nandor "turned back" and did not complete the march to the Sea). Tolkien's later view on the derivation of the name of the Green-elves, as set down in WJ:412, is that the stem dan- and its strengthened form ndan- do indeed have a similar meaning: these forms have to do with "the reversal of an action, so as to undo or nullify its effect", and a primitive form ndandô, "one who goes back on his word or decision", is suggested. However, it seems unlikely that the Nandor would have called themselves by such a name, and indeed Tolkien in WJ:385 states that "this people still called themselves by the old clan-name Lindai [= Quenya Lindar], which had at that time taken the form Lindi in their tongue". It may be, then, that Tolkien had rejected the idea that the Nandor called themselves Danas. - As for the ending -as, it is probably to be compared to the Sindarin class plural ending -ath; indeed a Sindarin ("Noldorin") form Danath evidently closely corresponding to Danas is given in LR:353.

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final -ô becomes -â in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from -ê); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.

cwenda

noun. elf

A doubtful word according to Tolkien's later conception; in the branch of Eldarin that Nandorin belongs to, primitive KW became P far back in Elvish linguistic history [WJ:375 cf. 407 note 5]. This was not a problem in Tolkien's earlier conception, in which the Danians came from the host of the Noldor, not the Teleri [see PM:76; the idea of the Nandor being of Noldorin origin also occurs in VT47:29]. In his later version of Nandorin, the word cwenda is probably best ignored; simply emending it to *penda would produce a clash with primitive pendâ "sloping" [cf. WJ:375].

In the Etymologies, Tolkien derived cwenda from kwenedê "elf" (stem KWEN(ED) of similar meaning, LR:366; as for the shift of original final -ê to Nandorin -â, compare hrassa "precipice" from khrassê). But later the primitive word that yielded Quenya Quende was reconstructed as kwende (WJ:360).

No certain example shows how original short final -e comes out in Nandorin, so we cannot say whether kwende is also capable of yielding cwenda, ignoring the question of kw failing to become p.

balin fundinul uzbad khazaddûmu

Balin son of Fundin Lord of Moria

durin

masculine name. king

khaw

noun. crow

A Primitive Adûnaic word glossed “crow” (SD/426). Tolkien gave two primitive forms of this word, khāw and khăw, which could just be variant forms of the same root ✱KHAW. A more intriguing possibility is that khāw is actually the subjective form of khăw, since this would indicate that this subjective formation dates back to the primitive stages of the language. As evidence of this, the derived plural khāwī(m) (SD/426) does resemble the Classical Adûnaic subjective plural.

Contradicting this conjecture is the fact that khaw, as an animal name, should be declined as a common-noun, using the common subjective suffix -an. Elsewhere, though, Tolkien declined some animal names as if they were neuter nouns, for example narîka as the subjective plural of #narak (SD/251). Perhaps not all animals were common nouns, or perhaps Tolkien’s ideas for the subjective tense were not fully formed when these examples were written.

manaw

noun. spirit

The primitive form of manô “spirit” (SD/424). Its plural form manaw+yi is also attested.

dor-lómin

place name. *Echoing-land

uruk-hai

noun. Orc-folk

tûrac Archaic

noun. king

bar

noun. man