a(n)

preposition. of

nan

preposition. of

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 neleduir

proper name. Day of the three kings, fifth day of the Valian week

The Noldorin name for the 5th day of the Valian 5-day week, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the term Neleduir “Three Kings” collectively referring to Osse, Orome and Tulkas (Ety/LEP).

ar nethwelein

proper name. Day of the younger Gods, fifth day of the Valian week

Another name for Ar Neleduir, a combination of the prefix ar- “day” and the term Nethwelein “Younger Gods” collectively referring to Osse, Orome and Tulkas (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

dor-daideloth

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

na

preposition. with, by; of

o

preposition. from, of

turumarth

masculine name. Master of Fate, Conqueror of Fate

anfang

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

aran

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

ennyn ðurin aran vória

the Doors of Durin Lord of Moria

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

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)

-ul

suffix. of

-u

suffix. of, in

balin fundinul uzbad khazaddûmu

Balin son of Fundin Lord of Moria

-o

suffix. of

él síla lúmena vomentienguo

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

má

preposition. by (hand of), of agent

nan

preposition. of

aeglir

noun. line of peaks, line of peaks, [N.] range of mountain peaks; [ᴱN.] peak, mountain top

A word for a mountain range, a compound of S. aeg “sharp” and S. lîr “line”, or more literally “line of (mountain) peaks”, most notably as an element in S. Hithaeglir “Misty Mountains, (lit.) Line of Misty Peaks” (Let/180; RC/11).

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was ᴱN. aiglir “peak, mountain top” in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, but there it was a singular rather than collective noun, an elaboration of ᴱN. aig “high, steep” (PE13/136, 158). In this period it had a distinct plural form eiglir as in ᴱN. Eiglir Engrin “Iron Mountains” (LB/33, 49). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as N. oeglir “range of mountain peaks” with essentially the same etymology as given above, except with the Noldorin word N. oeg “sharp” instead of later Sindarin word S. aeg. It appeared as aiglin or aeglin in some earlier versions of the name Hithaeglir (TMME/379; Let/180), but was corrected to aeglir in later versions of The Lord of the Rings.

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).

haudh-en-ndengin

place name. Hill of Slain, (lit.) Mound of the Slain

Mound of the Elves and Men slain during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, translated “Hill of Slain” (S/197). It is a combination of haudh “mound”, en “of the” and the plural of dangen “slain”.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name first appeared as G. Cûm a Thegranaithos “Mound of the First Sorrow”, revised to Cûm a Gumlaith of similar meaning (LT1/149). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the name was changed to N. Cûm-na-Dengin “Mound of Slain” (SM/312, LR/147), then to Amon Dengin “Hill of Slain” (LR/314) and finally Haudh-na-Dengin (LR/312). In The Etymologies, the middle preposition was replaced with the definite article i, Haudh i Ndengin (Ety/KHAG, NDAK) and in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s it changed to the combined article-preposition ina (WJ/79), then finally to en in Haudh-en-Ndengin (WJ/169).

minas tirith

place name. Tower of Guard, Tower of Watch

The name of Minas Anor after the resurgence of Mordor, translated “Tower of Guard” (LotR/245) or “Tower of Watch” (PE17/31). The name was also used for a stronghold of the Noldor on Tol Sirion in Beleriand (S/120). This name is a combination of minas “tower” and tirith “watching, guarding” (SA/minas, tir; PE17/31).

Conceptual Development: As a tower of the Noldor, Tolkien first used the name N. Inglormindon, but revised it to N. Minnastirith (LR/146), translated “Watchtower” (LR/264). The form Minnas-tirith also appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/TIR). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, Tolkien considered a variety of names for the capital of Gondor before settling on N. Minas Tirith (TI/115-6), which he initially translated as “Tower of Guard” (TI/127).

nanduhirion

place name. Dimrill Dale, (lit.) Vale of (the Region of) Dim Streams

A valley in the Misty Mountains translated “Dimrill Dale” (LotR/283) or more literally “Vale of (the Region of) Dim Streams” (RC/269, PE17/37). It is itself a translation of Kh. Azanulbizar of similar meaning (LotR/283, TI/166, PE17/35). This name is a combination of nan(d) “valley”, dû “night, dimness”, the lenited form hir of sîr “river, stream”, and the suffix -ion “-region, -land” (PE17/37).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this valley was first named N. Tum Dincelon “Dimrill Dale” (RS/434), later revised to N. Nanduhiriath (TI/174) and finally N. Nanduhirion (TI/166).

nor-

verb. to run (of men and animals using legs), to run (of men and animals using legs); [G.] to roll [of vehicles]

A verb for “to run”, most famously used in the phrase noro lim, noro lim Asfaloth “run swift, run swift, Asfaloth” (LotR/213; PE17/18). In Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien indicated its full meaning was “run (of men and animals using legs: not of fluids etc.)” (PE17/18), while in notes from around 1965 Tolkien said it meant “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)” and was derived from the root √NOR of the same meaning (PE17/168).

Conceptual Development: This verb dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which had G. nor- “run, roll” (GL/61), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NORO “run, go smoothly, ride, spin” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Nornorë; QL/67). The root ᴹ√NOR reappeared in a rejected page of verbal roots in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948, where it was glossed “run as of wheels, roll along” (PE22/127). The verb N. nor- was also used in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s in the untranslated phrase nora-lim, nora-lim (RS/196).

Neo-Sindarin: It is possible that by the 1950s and 60s, S. nor- could only be used for “run (with legs)”. However, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin I prefer to assume it could still be used of vehicles moving on wheels, but only when those vehicle are moving at or near full speed. It is clear that it cannot be used for running water, however.

o

preposition. from, of

This is the Sindarin preposition meaning “from”, as well as “of” in the sense “originating from” as in Celebrimbor o Eregion “Celebrimbor of Hollin” [= originating from] (LotR/305). In various phrases where it appears, o seems not to cause any mutation, as with o galadhremmin ennorath “from tree-tangled middle-lands” and o menel “from heaven” (LotR/238). However, in the Quendi and Eldar essay from around 1959-60, Tolkien indicated that this preposition causes stop mutation, which does not mutate voiced stops or nasal m. As Tolkien explained it:

> As the mutations following the preposition o show, it must prehistorically have ended in -t or -d. Possibly, therefore, it comes from ✱aud, with d of the same origin as that seen in Q öar. Some have thought that it received the addition -t (at a period when ✱au had already become ǭ > o) by association with ✱et “out, out of”. The latter retains its consonant in the form ed before vowels, but loses it before consonants, though es, ef, eth are often found before s, f, th. [Sindarin] o, however, is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o- (WJ/366-367).

A similar etymology (from aut- influenced by et) was given in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 (PE17/148). In the Quendi and Eldar essay, Tolkien also said:

> ✱ho as a proclitic might have given o; but it does not occur as a verbal prefix, although it possibly contributed to the Sindarin preposition o (see under ✱Awa, Sindarin) which is used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker (WJ/370).

Thus in origin this preposition was √AWA “away” + the ancient allative suffix ✶-da “towards”, originally meaning “towards away” = “away from the speaker”, but under the influence of ancient √HO came to simply mean “from” in general, regardless of the direction, either away from the speaker or away from someone or something else.

In the King’s Letter from the omitted epilogue of The Lord of the Rings, this preposition seems to have a definite variant uin in the phrase __suilad uin aran__ o Minas Tirith “the King’s greeting [= greeting from the King] from Minas Tirith”; compare indefinite o “from” later in the same phrase. In this period, in is usually the plural definite article and i is its singular, but in this case the following noun aran is singular. I suspect that for uin this n is epenthetic, used to separate ui = o + i from the following vowel. Compare also definite N. nui = no + i [= “under the”] from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NU).

Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this preposition seems to be G. a(n·) “from” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, of which Tolkien said:

> a(n·) with vowel mutation = Q ô. “from” {signifying motion} and used as addition to {both} ablative {and allative} cases. Is always suffixed to article in those cases (GL/17).

In Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document, this became G. ô “from” derived from ᴱ✶au̯(a) (PE13/115). The preposition ᴱN. o appeared in some untranslated phrases in the 1920s (PE13/128, 138). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. o “from” was derived from the root ᴹ√ƷO “from, away, from among, out of” rather than √AWA, and was equivalent to ᴹQ. ho (Ety/ƷŌ̆).

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).

tawen

adjective. wood (of material), ?wooden (of make), wood (of material), wooden (of make)

A word in a list of “large & small” roots from around 1968, apparently an adjectival form of taw “wood as material” (PE17/115). Its gloss is unclear but may be “wood (of material)” or “wooden (of make)” as suggested by Christopher Gilson. It appeared beside a form tewin, probably the plural.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the form was N. tawaren “wooden” (pl. tewerin), an adjectival form of longer N. tawar (Ety/TÁWAR).

amon hen

place name. Hill of Sight, (lit.) Hill of the Eye

A hill on the shore of Nen Hithoel, companion to Amon Lhaw. This name was usually translated “Hill of Sight” (LotR/393), but more literally meant “Hill of the Eye” (LotR/400, PE17/77). It is a combination of amon “hill” and hen “eye”.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts, this hill was first named ᴹQ. Tirmindon “✱Watch Tower” (TI/364), but was soon changed to N. Amon Hen(n) (TI/364, WR/128).

amon lhaw

place name. Hill of Hearing, *(lit.) Hill of Ears

A hill on the shore of Nen Hithoel, companion to Amon Hen. This name was usually translated “Hill of Hearing” (LotR/393), but more literally meant “✱Hill of Ears” (LotR/400, PE17/77). It is a combination of amon “hill” and lhaw “ears”, the plural of lheweg “ear”.

Conceptual Development: The first mention of these hills in Lord of the Rings drafts were a collection of experimental names like N. Lhawhen that combined the elements of hearing and sight (TI/387). When the hills were separated, this one was named ᴹQ. Larmindon “✱Listen Tower” (TI/364), but it was soon changed to N. Amon Lhaw (TI/364).

ephel dúath

place name. Mountains of Shadow; (lit.) Fence of Shadow

The “Mountains of Shadow” west of Mordor (LotR/636), or more literally the “Fence of Shadow” (RC/457). This name is combination of ephel “fence” and dúath “night shadow” (SA/pel, dú, gwath; PE17/152).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the earliest Elvish name these mountains was simply N. Duath (TI/309, TI/343), later revised to N. Hebel Dúath (WR/122) and finally Ephel Dúath (WR/180).

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

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”.

felagund

masculine name. Lord of Caves; Hewer of Caves; Den Dweller

This name was adopted by Finrod as the founder and ruler of Nargothrond. The name was derived from a title given to Finrod by the Dwarves: Kh. Felakgundu “Cave-hewer”, Sindarized as Felagund (PM/352). Some Elves re-interpreted this name as Felagon “✱Fair-minded Lord” (PM/352).

Conceptual Development: The ruler of Nargothrond in the Lost Tales was G. Orodreth (LTA2/82, 123). Felagund emerged as the founder of Nargothrond in The Lays of Beleriand, at which point Orodreth became his younger brother (LB/80). In the drafts of these poems, this new character was named ᴱN. Felagoth, but this was soon revised to ᴱN. Felagund (LB/169).

Thereafter, the character’s name remained Felagund in Tolkien’s writings, and it always referred to the grandson of Finwë who ruled Nargothrond. The purpose and meaning of the name changed over time, however, as Tolkien adjusted the names of other characters in the legendarium. When the Felagund first appeared, Finrod was the name of his father rather than Felagund himself (LB/138, 222).

In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, his true name was changed to N. Inglor. Felagund became his surname or title, translated “Lord of Caverns” or “Lord of Caves”, referring to his lordship over Nargothrond (LR/116, 254). In this version, the name N. Felagund was a compound of fela “cave” and †cunn “prince” (Ety/KUNDŪ, Ety/PHÉLEG). There is evidence that the name Felagund retained this etymology during the writing of the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings (PE17/118).

Sometime between the publication of the 1st and 2nd editions of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien revised the genealogy of the house of Finwë (MR/181 note §41-2). In the revised genealogy, Finarfin became the name of the youngest son of Finwë, while Finrod became the name of the eldest son of Finarfin and therefore Finwë’s grandson (PE17/118, MR/128 note §135). Sometime thereafter, Tolkien also revised the name’s etymology to its Khuzdul derivation, as noted above (S/114, PM/352, WJ/179).

The following table outlines the relationships of Felagund and his ancestors in early, middle and later iterations of the stories, as they appeared in the Lays of Beleriand (LB), Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s published in The Lost Road (LR) and the published version of The Silmarillion (S):

| |Early (LB)|Middle (LR)|Late (S)| |Grandfather|ᴱQ. Finwe|ᴹQ. Finwe|Q. Finwë| |Father|ᴱN. Finrod|N. Finrod|S. Finarfin| |Eldest Son|ᴱN. Felagund|N. Inglor Felagund|S. Finrod Felagund|

Even in its derivation from Kh. Felakgundu, the final element of Felagund’s name might still have been interpreted as †cund “prince, lord” by the Elves, as reflected in the translation “Lord of Caves” (S/61). The best evidence for this is that Tolkien said the name was sometimes Eldarized as Felagon, using the element -gon “lord” seen in the names of his cousins, Fingon and Turgon (PM/352). However, it is uncertain whether S. cunn/cund remained valid in Tolkien’s later conception of the language (see S. cund for discussion).

Finally, in notes from 1969, Tolkien consider yet another etymology for the name Felagund, giving it the meaning “den-dweller” (also a name for badgers) as a name given to him somewhat derisively by the sons of Fëanor referring to his tendency to hide away in Nargothrond (NM/304). In this scenario, the initial element was again S. fela “minor excavation”, though the meaning of the second element was unclear even to Elvish loremasters. However, in The Sillmarillion as published, Christopher Tolkien used the explanation that the name was given to Finrod by the Dwarves, based on notes for the name from 1959 and included in marginal notes in Tolkien’s copy of The Silmarillion itself (PM/352).

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-

alae! ered en echoriath, ered e·mbar nín

[?behold!] the mountains of Echoriath, the mountains of my home!

aran gondor ar arnor ar hîr i mbair annui

king of Gondor and Arnor and Lord of the Westlands

ennyn durin aran moria

the Doors of Durin, Lord of Moria

na(n)

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; provided with or by, associated with, marked with, with, along with, accompanied by; [N.] by

nern in adanath

legendarium of the Fathers of Men

nern in edenedair

legendarium of the Fathers of Men

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”)

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.

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)

craban

noun. kind of crow of large size, raven

denwaith

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

dúnedhel

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

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

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)

gwanunig

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

lanc

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

lî

noun. people (of one kind or origin), people (of one kind or origin), [G.] folk, many people, crowd of folk

na

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with; [N.] by

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

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

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

pengolodh

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

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

uin

preposition. of the

o

of)

M (also used = OF) o (od), followed by hard mutation. With article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by ”mixed” mutation according to David Salos reconstuctuons). (WJ:366). Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning”.

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”.

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-;

en

of the

e- (sg. genitival article)

glavradeb

adjective. full of the din of voices

palt

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

o

from

(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” (q.v. for this meaning of ”of”). 2) na (followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salo’s reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of” 3)

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.

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.

ondolindë

place name. Rock of the Music of Water, (lit.) Singing Stone

The original Quenya name of S. Gondolin, translated “Rock of the Music of Water” (S/125), but more literally “Singing Stone” or “Stone of Music” (PE17/133). It also appeared in the shorter form Ondolin (PE17/29). It is a compound of ondo “stone” and lindë “singing, song” (PE17/29, PM/374, SA/gond).

Conceptual Development: In the very early Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, a similar form ᴱQ. Ondolinda “Singing Stone” was given as the Quenya equivalent of G. Gondolin (GL/41), where its second element was apparently ᴱQ. linda “singing”.

sú

noun. sound of wind, sound of wind, [ᴱQ.] noise of wind

An ancient monosyllabic noun for the “sound of wind” appearing in notes from the late 1960s, which survived unchanged from its primitive form into modern Quenya (VT47/12, 35). It was derived from the root √SŪ of similar meaning.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. sú appeared all the way back in Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s with the glosses “noise of wind” or “(noise) of wind”, but there it was derived from the early root ᴱ√SUHYU “air, breath, exhale, puff” (QL/86; PME/86). There was no mention of Q. sú in the intervening five decades, however.

súlimo

masculine name. Lord of the Breath of Arda, (lit.) Breather

A title of Manwë as the Vala of Winds, glossed “Lord of the Breath of Arda” in The Silmarillion (S/26) and translated “Breather” in linguistic notes from the 1950s (PE21/85). This name is a compound of súlë (þúle) “spirit; breath”, and the agental suffix -mo, but was also influenced by ✶sūli “wind” (NM/237).

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/52), and ᴱQ. Súlimo appeared in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s as a personalized form of ᴱQ. súlime “wind” (QL/86, LT1A/Súlimo). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, Tolkien gave a new etymology of ᴹQ. Súlimo, deriving it from ᴹQ. súle “breath” (Ety/THŪ).

Tolkien continued to use similar derivations in his later writings, where Q. Súlimo appeared as a derivative of the related roots √THŪ or √SŪ, as a blending of more archaic Thūrimo and Sūlimo (PE17/124; NM/237). See the entry on Q. súlë for a discussion of the relation between “breath” and “spirit” in Elvish thought.

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.

turambar

masculine name. Master of Doom, Master of Fate

A sobriquet adopted by Túrin in defiance of the curse set upon him by Morgoth translated “Master of Doom” (S/217). The first element of this name is tur “master”. The second element resembles the variant form ambar of umbar seen in the phrase a Túrin Turambar turún’ ambartanen “O master of doom by doom mastered”. Elsewhere, however, Tolkien stated that the second element was derived directly from the primitive form ✶ṃbart(ă), with the middle vowel a originally associated with the verbal element tur-: ✶tura-mbar (PE17/104, 124).

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales (LT2/70). The name ᴱQ. Turambar appeared in the Qenya Lexicon beside a variant form Turamarto (QL/95), but in all the narratives it consistently appeared as Turambar. At the earliest stage, this name was likely a compound of the root ᴱ√TURU (LT1A/Meril-i-Turinqi, QL/95) and ᴱQ. ambar “fate” (LTA2/Turambar, QL/34).

In The Etymologies from the 1930s, ᴹQ. Turambar appeared as a derivative of the roots ᴹ√TUR and ᴹ√MBARAT (Ety/TUR, MBARAT), but Tolkien revised the Quenya word for “fate” to ᴹQ. umbar, so that it could no longer be a direct element of this name. Tolkien considered but rejected a new form ᴹQ. Turumbar (Ety/TUR). Hereafter, Tolkien probably considered the name to be an older compound assembled from its primitive elements.

Tolkien did gradually alter the translation of this name, from ᴱQ. “Conqueror of Fate” (LT2/86) >> ᴹQ. “Master of Fate” (Ety/TUR) >> Q. “Master of Doom” (S/217).

tyav-

verb. to taste, to taste; [ᴱQ.] (impersonal) to taste of, reminds one of

@@@ as derivative of KYAW perhaps past †tyaune > tyáve

úmë

noun. great collection or crowd of things of the same sort, throng, great collection or crowd of things of the same sort; [ᴹQ.] abundance, great quantity; [Q.] throng

A word for a “great collection or crowd of things of the same sort” from around 1968 based on the root √UM “abound” (VT48/32). Another note from the late 1960s has úme “throng” based on √UM “teem, throng”, but this note was marked through (PE17/115).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had ᴹQ. úve “abundance, great quantity” under the root ᴹ√UB “abound” (Ety/UB).

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”.

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”.

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.

nessamelda

noun. species of tree in Númenor, (lit.) beloved of Nessa

Name of a species of tree in Númenor (UT/167), a combination of Nessa and melda “beloved”.

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)

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".

onóna

noun/adjective. twin-born; one of a pair of twins

The Quenya word for “twin” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay form 1959-60, usable as an adjective or a noun (WJ/367), a combination of o- “together” and nóna “born”.

Conceptual Development: The English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱQ. yunga “twin” (PE15/78), clearly related to ᴱQ. yúyo “two” from this same period.

opo

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

A word appearing as opo, pō, pono, poto- “in front, of place” in notes from the mid-1950s (VT49/32) and as opo, pō “before, in front of” in notes from 1969 associated with the Ambidexters Sentence (VT49/32). In the latter notes, Tolkien said these were used to mean “after (of time)” in potai “therefore” from the first and third versions of the Ambidexters Sentence, but by the fourth and later versions this had become epetai (VT49/6-8). The root √OPO also appeared in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 with the glosses “before of place” (PE22/167 note #22) and “before, ahead, in front of place” (PE22/168).

Conceptual Development: As pointed out by Patrick Wynne (VT49/32), in Tolkien’s earliest writings ᴱQ. pote meant “after, behind (of place)” based on the early root ᴱ√POT-I (QL/72). At some point in the intervening decades (O)PO flipped from “behind” to “in front”. It thus had a form similar to epë, which likewise kept flipping between “before” and “after”.

Neo-Quenya: It is possible that opo was supplanted by epë, but I prefer to assume it was a variant used only for position in space but not time: “in front”. See also apa, another similar form that I assume is used only of time.

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)

vanyarin

proper name. *of the Vanyar; language of the Vanyar

An adjective describing the Vanya Elves, as well as a name for their dialect of Quenya (WJ/361; PE18/74), it is a combination of their tribal name with the language/adjective suffix -rin.

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.

-o

suffix. of; genitive ending

omentië

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

ósanwë

noun. communication of thought, interchange of thought; (lit.) thinking together (dual)

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

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

sustanë manwëo súlë ten i indo sindicollo ar he lastanë ar carnes

*the spirit of Manwe blew unto the heart of Thingol and he listened and did it

sá

adverb/interjection. very good, all right, I will, I agree of course, of course I do

tengwesta

noun. grammar, morphology, system or code of signs, collection of matter concerning writing, *language structure

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

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”.

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

tambina

adjective. of bronze, [ᴱQ.] of copper

-ima

suffix. -able, -ible, adjective suffix, apt to do

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

an-

prefix. of; genitive/adjectival prefix

A prefix translated as “of” (SD/247) and one of the ways that genitive relationships are expressed in Adûnaic (SD/429). According to Tolkien, “it is not a preposition ... it is the equivalent of an inflexion or suffix” (SD/435). As such, it is used to form adjectives from nouns, as anadûni “western, ✱of the West” from adûni “the West”. When following another noun, it is often elided so that the a is lost, as in Ârû ’nAdûnâi “King of the Númenóreans” (SD/429) and Bâr ’nAnadûnê “Lord of Númenor” (SD/428). This elision occurs in most examples, but seems not to happen in some cases:

• When the an- is separated from the modified noun: balîk hazad an-Nimruzîr “ships seven of-Nimruzîr” (SD/247).

• When the modified nouns is declined into the subjective case: Bârim an-Adûn “Lords of the West” (SD/247).

• However, when the subjective noun ends in a vowel, elision still occurs: narîka ’nBâri ’nAdûn “Eagles of the Lords of the West” (SD/251).

Tolkien used a dash to separate an- from the noun to which it is prefixed but omitted the dash when the prefix was elided. Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/10) that Ad. an- may be related to the Sindarin genitive marker S. na(n) “with, by”.

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).

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.

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)

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)