Othol

Othol

othrondir

proper name. ?Stronghold Man

Name of a man of Gondor (WJ/417), first written Othrondor (WJ/421 note #16), appearing in Tolkien’s aborted sequel to The Lord of the Rings: The New Shadow. His name seems to be a combination of othrond “underground stronghold” and dîr “man”.

othramar

place name. ?Stranger Home

A name appearing in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, also written Othranar and originally written as (deleted and incomplete) Athlama (PE17/141). Its initial element is a variant of othol “stranger, guest” (originally aþal), and its final element appears to be bâr “home”, so perhaps it means “✱Stranger Home”.

othgar(ed)

noun. a mistake in speech

_ n. _a mistake in speech. >> othgarn

oth-

prefix. [wrong] with a bad sense; unsuitable, bad, improper, useless, wrong

othgar(ed)

noun. doing wrong, *wrong doing

othol

noun. stranger, guest

othrond

noun. underground stronghold, underground stronghold, [N.] underground city, fortress

othui

ordinal. seventh

oth-

unsuitable; bad

_adj. _unsuitable; bad, improper, useless, wrong. Q. ur(u). . This gloss was rejected.

othgarn

noun. a misdeed

_ n. _a misdeed. Q. uskare, uxare. >> dewin, dýl, dýr

othgarn

noun. misdeed, misdeed, *sin

othlonn

noun. paved way

othrad

noun. street

othrond

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

othronn

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

othui

ordinal. seventh

groth

noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation

groth

noun. delving, underground dwelling

odothui

ordinal. seventh

odothui

ordinal. seventh

roth

noun. cave

n. cave. Q. rondo.

oeth

noun. war

othlonn

paved way

othlonn (pl. ethlynn)

othlonn

paved way

othlonn (pl. ethlynn for archaic öthlynn). Verb

othrad

street

1) *othrad (pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad. 2) rath (climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255). 3)

othronn

fortress in a cave/caves

*othronn (pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).

othronn

fortress in a cave/caves

*othronn (pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold or city). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).

othronn

underground city or stronghold

*othronn (pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othronn

underground stronghold or city

*othronn (pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othronn

underground stronghold or city

*othronn (pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othronn

fortress in a cave/caves

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).

othronn

underground city or stronghold

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othronn

underground stronghold or city

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othronn

underground stronghold or city

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

othrad

street

(pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad.

othestannen

adjective. infamous, of evil name, (lit.) ill-named

othovor

adjective. too much, (lit.) abundant in a bad way

othren

adjective. strange, weird, odd

othas

noun. warfare

othidh

noun. armistice

othlonn

noun. paved way

othlonn

paved way

(pl. ethlynn)

othra-

verb. to get away, escape

othrad

noun. street

othrim

noun. army

othrol

noun. warlike

othwen

noun. amazon

odothui

seventh

odothui, othui, also ochui (VT47:42)

groth

cave

(i ’roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12)

roth

cave

(delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i ’athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd)

eleg

adjective. other, else

hae

other side, on the

(adj.) hae (far, distant, further); lenited chae; no distinct pl. form.

egel

adjective. other

eithor

adjective. other, another

hae

other side, on the

(far, distant, further); lenited chae; no distinct pl. form.

rath

noun. street, street, track; [N.] course, river-bed

A word used in street-names in Minis Tirith, most notably Rath Celerdain “Lampwrights’ Street” (LotR/768) and Rath Dínen “Silent Street” (LotR/826). It was also an element in the (rejected) name Raith ’Ngorthrim “Paths of the Dead” (RC/526) and the river-name Rathlóriel “Golden-bed” (S/235), but the last of these may be a remnant of its 1930s meaning (see below). In the “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien indicated that rath meant “street (in a city)” (RC/523, 551).

The most extensive description of this word appears in a 1968 discussion of the (possibly related) name Amroth which Tolkien said “is connected with a stem RATH meaning ‘climb’ - with hands and feet, as in a tree or up a rocky slope”. Regarding S. rath Tolkien said:

> Both Quenya and Lindarin also possessed a word ratta, which might be a derivative (by lengthening the medial consonant, a frequent device in Primitive Eldarin) from either ✱rattha or ✱ratta from the stem RAT ... It meant ‘a track’; though often applied to ways known to mountaineers, to passes in the mountains and the climbing ways to them, it was not confined to ascents ... This is evidently the origin also of S. rath ... [which] had the same senses as Q., L. ratta, though in mountainous country it was most used of climbing ways ... In Minas Tirith, in the Númenórean Sindarin that was used in Gondor for the nomenclature of places, rath had become virtually equivalent to ‘street’, being applied to nearly all the paved ways within the city. Most of these were on an incline, often steep (NM/364).

Thus Sindarin rath was a blending of √RATH “climb” and ✶ratta “track” < √RAT “find a way”, and in the context of Minas Tirith was generalized to “(city) street” since most of that city’s streets were sloped.

Rath seems to have been used in the sense “climb” or “climbing track” in the name Andrath [= “✱Long Climb”] for the high-climbing pass from Rivendell over the Misty Mountains that Bilbo and the Dwarves took in The Hobbit, as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (UT/271, 278 note #4). However, the name Andrath was also used for the road running from Fornost down to Tharbad (TI/305; UT/348) which was unlikely to climb much, so in that case may have been used in the sense “street”, “track”, or “course”.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. rath was also derived from ON. rattha < ᴹ✶rattā̆ under the root ᴹ√RAT “walk”, but in that document it was glossed “course, river-bed” (Ety/RAT). In this sense it was the basis for the river-name N. Rathloriel, translated “Bed of Gold” in narratives from this period (LR/141). This translation of Rathlóriel survived in The Silmarillion as published (S/235), but may have been a remnant of the 1930s meaning of rath.

Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien’s 1968 note implies that original sense of S. rath was a “(climbing) track”, and may have meant “street” only in Númenórean Sindarin, or possibly just for street names in Minas Tirith. For city streets in other contexts I would use [N.] ostrad or [ᴺS.] othrad. I would furthermore ignore the 1930s translation N. rath “course, river-bed”, and would assume that Rathlóriel had a more metaphorical meaning: “✱Golden Street/Track”. For “(river) course” I was instead use the better-attested S. rant; see that entry for details.

garth

stronghold

1) garth (i **arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth), 2) ost (fortress, city), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (fortress with a watchtower), Othram** ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).

garth

fort, fortress

1) garth (i **arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth), 2) ost (city, stronghold), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (q.v.), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288). 3) barad (fortress, tower) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad** is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.

ost

stronghold

(fortress, city), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (fortress with a watchtower), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).

ost

fort, fortress

(city, stronghold), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (q.v.), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).

auth

war

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

auth

apparition

(spectral or vague apparition) auth (dim shape), pl. oeth, coll. pl. othath. Note: a homophone means "war, battle".

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".

grôd

cave

1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12), 3) rond (construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath, 4) roth (delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i **athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd), 5) fela (pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela** as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.

auth

war

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

auth

battle

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

auth

apparition

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

auth

dim shape

(spectral or vague apparition), pl. oeth, coll. pl. othath. Note: a homophone means "war, battle".

ad

second

(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "Reunion", and also in the term for

dagra

battle

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

egor

or

egor

gwathra

dim

(verb) gwathra- (i **wathra, in gwathrar**) (overshadow, veil, obscure)

gwathren

dim

(adj.) gwathren (shadowy), lenited wathren; pl. gwethrin. (A lenited pl. is attested in the name Ered Wethrin, Shadowy Mountains.);

mên

way

1) mên (i vên, construct men, in compounds -ven) (road), pl. mîn (i mîn), 2) lend (journey), pl. lind, coll. pl. lennath. Note: a homophone means ”tuneful, sweet”, 3) #pâd (construct pad), i bâd, pl. paid (i phaid). Isolated from Tharbad ”Crossroad”. 4) tê (i dê, o thê) (line), pl. tî (i thî), coll. pl. ?teath.

ost

city

ost (pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).

tadui

second

(adjective) 1) tadui (lenited dadui; no distinct pl. form), 2) edwen (pl. edwin).

athal

noun. stranger, guest

dagor

noun. battle

dagor

noun. battle

edwen

ordinal. second

edwen

ordinal. second

egor

conjunction. or

egor

conjunction. or

fain

dim

adj. dim, dimmed (applied to dimmed or fading lights or to things seen in them); filmy, fine-woven, etc. (applied to things that only partially screened light, such as a canopy of young still half-transparent leaves, or textures that veiled but only half-concealed a form).

feleg

noun. cave

n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.

glaw

noun. sunshine, sunshine; [N.] radiance

A word (or word element) appearing in linguistic notes from the late 1950s as glaw- “sunshine”, a derivative of the root √LAW (PE17/159). A similar word N. glaw “radiance” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but this word was derived from primitive ᴹ✶g’lā based on the root ᴹ√GAL, a Noldorin-only variant of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine” (Ety/KAL).

Conceptual Development: Possible earlier precursors to this word include ᴱN. glarw “ray, radiance” from Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/144) and G. glaros “glare, blaze, splendour” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/39), the latter probably related to the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44); see that entry for discussion.

glaw-

prefix. sunshine

_ pref. _sunshine.

men

noun. way, road

ochui

ordinal. seventh

ochui

ordinal. seventh

ost

noun. city, town with wall round

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

pâd

noun. way

rath

noun. street

n. street.

rond

noun. cave roof

rond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

tadeg

ordinal. second

tadui

ordinal. second

tadui

ordinal. second

taid

adjective. second (in the sense of supporting, second in command)

tharbad

noun. cross-way

ad

second

also meaning "back, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "Reunion", and also in the term for

aduial

second twilight

(evendim, the time of evening when the stars come out), pl. aduiail.

barad

fort, fortress

(fortress, tower) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.

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

make war

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

dagra

battle

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

edwen

second

(pl. edwin).

egor

or

**

fela

cave

(pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.

garth

stronghold

(i ’arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth)

garth

fort, fortress

(i ’arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth)

grôd

cave

(i ’rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)

gwathra

dim

(i ’wathra, in gwathrar) (overshadow, veil, obscure)

gwathren

dim

(shadowy), lenited ’wathren; pl. gwethrin. (A lenited pl. is attested in the name Ered Wethrin, Shadowy Mountains.);

gwist

noun. change

gwâth

dim light

(i ’wâth; construct gwath) (shadow, shade), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261);

hûl

cry of encouragement in battle

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

lend

way

(journey), pl. lind, coll. pl. lennath. Note: a homophone means ”tuneful, sweet”

maeth

battle

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

mên

way

(i vên, construct men, in compounds -ven) (road), pl. mîn (i mîn)

ost

city

(pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).

ostirion

fortress with a watchtower

(pl. ostiryn).

pâd

way

(construct pad), i bâd, pl. paid (i phaid). Isolated from Tharbad ”Crossroad”.

rath

street

(climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255).

rhûd

artificial cave

(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365)*

rond

cave

(construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath

tadui

second

(lenited dadui; no distinct pl. form)

tê

way

(i dê, o thê) (line), pl. tî (i thî), coll. pl. ?teath.

othlon

noun. paved way

A noun appearing as N. othlon “paved way” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a combination of N. ost “city” and N. lhonn “path” (Ety/LOD), where medial str &gt; sr &gt; th and final -nd &gt; -nn &gt; -n in Noldorin/Sindarin.

Neo-Sindarin: Some Neo-Sindarin writers update this as ᴺS. othlonn “paved way”, as suggested in HSD (HSD). Tolkien himself was inconsistent in using final -nn vs. -n, and for a time in the 2000s Neo-Sindarin writers used -nn in two-syllable words and -n only in words of three syllables or longer. Personally I would just stick with othlon.

The meaning of this word is also somewhat questionable. N. lhonn meant “path, pass” in the 1930s (vs. N. lhorn “haven = harbour”), but by the 1950s and 60s Tolkien used its successor S. lond almost exclusively to mean “haven = harbour”. Personally I would keep using othlon “paved way”, and assume some amount of semantic drift.

othrond

noun. underground city, fortress

othram

place name. City Wall

Name of the city wall around Minas Tirith appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/288), a combination of ost “city” and the lenited form of rham “wall”, as suggested by Roman Rausch (EE/3.30).

othlon

noun. paved way

othlond

noun. paved way

othrond

noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold

odotheg

place name. Seventh

odothui

place name. Seventh

@@@

ostrad

noun. street

A word appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as N. ostrad “street”, a combination of N. ost “city” and N. râd “path, track” (Ety/RAT).

Neo-Sindarin: Some Neo-Sindarin writers update this word to ᴺS. othrad “street” as suggested in HSD (HSD), based on words like othrond “stronghold” = ost + rond. I think either is fine if we assume othrad is an ancient compound and ostrad was a late (or reformed) compound; compare N. mistrad “error” which also shows medial str.

dagor

noun. battle

minas tirith

place name. Tower of Guard

ost

noun. city, town (with wall round)

auth

noun. war, battle

dagor

noun. battle

dagr

noun. battle

dagra-

verb. to battle

fela

noun. cave

fela

noun. cave

garth

noun. fort, fortress

garth

noun. fort, fortress

gathrod

noun. cave

gathrod

noun. cave

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “cave”, apparently a combination of N. gath “cavern” and ᴹ√ROT “tunnel” (Ety/GAT(H)). Its initial element also appeared in the name N. Doriath “Land of the Cave”, but in later writings S. Doriath was redefined as “Land of the Fence” with final element S. iath “fence” (WJ/370), so N. gathrod “cave” was probably abandoned.

maeth

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

ost

noun. city, town with wall round

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

ostrad

noun. street

rada-

verb. to make a way, find a way

rhond

noun. cave roof

rhond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

rhonn

noun. cave roof

rhonn

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

rond

noun. cave

oþlō

noun. *stranger, guest

oth

root. joint

khy-

root. other

Tolkien used a variety of different roots for “otherness” and “or” throughout his life. The earliest of these was ᴱ√VARA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. vára “other”, ᴱQ. var “or”, ᴱQ. varya “different” and ᴱQ. varimo “foreigner” (QL/100). Similar words in the Gnomish lexicon such as G. far(o)n “separate, different, strange” and G. faronwed “foreign” seem to be based on a distinct but possibly related root, apparently being derived from G. far- “separate, sever, divide” (GL/34). The Gnomish words for “otherness” seem to be based on the (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√ELE, such as G. el “or” and G. eleg “other, else” (GL/32); see the entry on ✱ᴱ√ELE for further discussion.

In the Early Qenya Grammar, the “other” words were based on ᴱQ. etya (comparative) and ᴱQ. nyanya (general), but these words were on a page of demonstratives and their primitive basis isn’t clear (PE14/55). The first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s had ᴹ√ETHE “other” as the basis for the “other person” pronoun ᴹQ. the, along with a rarer “[yet another] person” pronoun he (PE23/91), but there are no signs of the past 1948. The next published “or” word was S. egor from the King’s Letter in the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, written in 1948-1951 (SD/129).

The next set of “or/other” words do not appear until the 1960s. The primitive form ✶khē̆ appears in notes on reflexives from 1965 as the basis for Q. hé “him, the other” (VT49/15), probably a holdover from the 1948 pronoun he mentioned above (PE23/91). In rough notes on numbers written in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the possibly-related root √KES “other”, with derivatives Q. exa “other” and Q. exe “the other”, apparently adjective and noun (VT47/40). Finally in some notes written in 1968 or later, Tolkien gave the primitive element √KHY- “other”, with derivatives Q. hye “other person”, Q. hya “other thing”, and Q. hyana “other [adjective]” (VT49/14).

These primitive forms also seem to be connected to various words Tolkien considered for “or” in the Ambidexters Sentence composed in 1969: khe >> hela >> hya (VT49/14). Patrick Wynne suggested the first two of these might be connected to 1965 ✶khē̆, and the last one to 1968+ √KHY-. This last root may also be connected to Q. ahya- “change” (circa 1960); if so Tolkien may have been vacillating among various possible forms throughout the 1960s.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is better to use √KHY- and its derivatives, since they are a more comprehensive paradigm including the best available Quenya word for “or”.

kes

root. other

khyana

adjective. other

khyā̆

pronoun. other thing

khyē̆

pronoun. other person

elek

root. different, strange; other

otsōyā

ordinal. seventh

exa

other

exa adj.? "other" (apparently as adjective) (VT47:10, VT49:33). Also eces ("k"), unless this is intended as the stem underlying exa (the root KES with prefixed stem-vowel) rather than a Quenya word (VT49:33).

hyana

other

hyana adj. "other", cf. hya (VT49:14)

hye

other person

hye noun "other person", also used as a pronoun of "a 3rd person entering account [who is] not subject of the original verb" (VT49:15). This hye may then also be used as subject to in a following sentence, as in Tolkiens example "he [se] struck him [hye] and he [hye] fled" (VT49:15).

exa

adjective. other

he

pronoun. other person, him (the other)

hya

pronoun. other thing

hyana

adjective. other

hye

pronoun. other person, him (the other)

hela

conjunction. *other than

indil

noun. lily, other large single flower

A Quenya noun for “lily” or more generally any “large flower”, cognate of Ad. inzil.

Conceptual Development: This word appeared in two forms with competing etymologies. In the early 1950s, it appeared as Q. insil, a loan word from Atani inzil, where the [[aq|[nz] became [ns]]] (PE19/99). A similar word indil appeared in the 1959-60 essay Quendi and Eldar, where it was a derivative of Valarin iniðil (WJ/399), with the middle i lost due to the Quenya syncope and then the [[q|spirant [ð] becoming the stop [d] after the nasal [n]]].

In the second scenario, Tolkien did not directly connect Q. indil to Ad. inzil, but the coincidence of forms is too great: Tolkien must have imagined a reverse loan from Valarin > Quenya > Atani. Perhaps this loan took place before the [ð] became [d] in Quenya ([[q|[nð] > [nd]]]), and the voiced spirant was adapted as the sibilant [z] in Atani because that language did not possess spirants in its earliest historical stages.

I personally prefer this second scenario and the form indil, because using the first scenario would require discarding one of our few Valarin words (iniðil).

ollë

adjective. *other one

hyallë

adverb. otherwise, another way, differently

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-01-31 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of hya “other” and the suffix -llë; compare sillë “like this” and tallë “like that”.

exanen

adverb. otherwise, in an other way

hyaqui

conjunction. or else, otherwise

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-01-31 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of hya “or” and qui “if”; compare laqui “unless”.

hela

or

hela conj. "or", apparently an ephemeral form, replaced by hya (VT49:14-15). The editor theorizes that hela literally meant "other than" (VT49:15)

hya

or

hya conj. "or" or noun "other thing" (VT49:14)

indil

lily

indil noun "lily", or other large single flower. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399)

men

noun. way, way, *direction; [ᴹQ.] place, spot [only in compounds]

A noun or word element, most notably appearing in the four cardinal directions formen, hyarmen, númen, and rómen, which Christopher Tolkien translated as “way” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/men). This is consistent with the later meaning of its root: √MEN “go, move, proceed”, and in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien had a primitive form ✶mēn- “a way, a going, a mov[ement]” (PE17/165) which might be the source of Christopher Tolkien’s translation of Q. men.

Conceptual Development: The situation in Tolkien’s earlier writings was different. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. men was translated “place, spot” under the root ᴹ√MEN (Ety/MEN). In this document, it seems the literally meaning of direction words were “✱north-place”, “✱south-place”, etc., as opposed to later “✱north-direction, ✱south-direction”. This can be seen in other words Tolkien used in this period, such as ᴹQ. Ilmen “Place of Light” (SM/241).

This ambiguity continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as can be seen in a 1965 letter to Dick Plotz, where Tolkien translated númen “the direction or region of the sunset” (Let/361). Another example is menel “firmament, high heaven, the region of the stars”, which Tolkien said was “a Q. invention from men (direction, region) + el (the basis of many stars)” in The Road Goes Ever On as published in 1967 (RGEO/65). There are other Quenya words where men refers to a location rather than a direction: ruimen “fireplace, hearth” (PE17/183) and turmen “realm” = “✱mastered-region” (PE17/28), both from the mid-1960s.

However, some words are hard to explain as locations, such as alamen “a good omen on departure”, also from DLN of 1959 (PE17/162). Tolkien used men as an element in the terms coimen “life-year” and olmen “growth-year” in notes from around 1959, which are probably best explained as a “way” or “process” of life or growth (NM/84-85). However the stems of these words ended in mend-, so their element men may be different from what is seen in formen, etc. As another wrinkle, Tolkien regularly used nómë to mean “place” in his later writings, as in sinomë “in this place [= here]” (LotR/967) and tanomë “in that place [= there]” (VT49/11).

It is hard to determine how much of this variation is due to conceptual vacillation on Tolkien’s part. My best guess of the timelime is that:

• In the 1930s men meant “place, spot”, and the root ᴹ√MEN was not verbal (Ety/MEN).

• In the 1940s Tolkien decided that √MEN was verbal, meaning {“intend” >>} “go” (PE22/103).

• By the 1950s Tolkien reformulated men to mean “way, a going” in keeping with the new meaning of the root (PE17/165). In this period Tolkien also introduced nómë “place”.

• By the 1960s Tolkien partially reversed himself, deciding men could mean either “way, direction” and “place, region”, but without abandoning nómë.

Neo-Quenya: The word men is somewhat contentious in Neo-Quenya. The word men is a very popular element for “place” in many neologisms (especially older ones), such as ᴺQ. natsemen “website = ✱web-spot”, ᴺQ. tirmen “theater = ✱watch-place” and ᴺQ. mótamen “office = ✱work-place”. However, others feel that this sense has been entirely replaced by nómë, so that men in such compounds should be replaced by a suffix ᴺQ. -non (-nom-).

Given this ambiguity, I would use men only for “way, ✱direction” as a standalone word, and would instead use nómë = “place”. However, given Tolkien’s vacillations as described above, I would allow the use of men as “place, spot, region” in compounds [perhaps originally conceived of as a destination], though I think ᴺQ. -non “-place” is also fine.

ohta

war

ohta noun "war" (OKTA, KOT > KOTH). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, ohta was also the name of tengwa #15 (VT46:7), but Tolkien would later call this letter anca instead changing its value from ht to nc.

us-

prefix. [wrong] with a bad sense; unsuitable, bad, improper, useless, wrong

vistë Reconstructed

noun. change

This word is unattested, but there is indirect evidence for it as an element of walwistë “change of mind” (PE17/189). This word likely contains the archaic form †wistë from before the change of w- to v-. Its modern form would be ✱vistë. If you accept inwist- as the stem form of inwis “change of mind”, it likely contains †wistë as well.

There is another attested word wirne with the gloss “change” (PE17/191), but I think it is likelier to be the archaic form of the strong-past tense of the verb virya- instead of a noun.

hya

conjunction. or

ohta

noun. war

otsëa

ordinal. seventh

uxarë

noun. doing wrong, doing wrong, *misdeed

oxa

noun. joint

ahya-

change

#ahya- vb. "change" (intransitive), only attested in the past tense: ahyanë (PM:395)

aiano

noun. stranger

arta

fort, fortress

arta (2) noun "fort, fortress" (GARAT under 3AR)

attëa

second

attëa ordinal "second", replacing the archaic form tatya (VT42:25)

attëa

ordinal. second

atya

second

#atya (1) adj. "second" in Atyarussa "Second russa" (VT41:10)

atya

ordinal. second

felco

cave, mine, underground dwelling

felco noun "cave, mine, underground dwelling" (PE17:118); also felca, felehta

felya

cave

felya noun "cave" (PHÉLEG), "mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]" (PE17:118)

hossë

army, band, troop

hossë noun "army, band, troop" (LT2:340)

loiquetë

noun. mistake in speech

lé

way

lé (1) noun "way" = "method, manner" ("as in that is not As way"). Not to be confused with lé as a stressed form of le = plural "you"; Tolkien was himself dissatisfied with this clash (PE17:74).

mallë

street, road

mallë pl. maller noun"street, road" (MBAL, LR:47, 56, LT1:263, SD:310)

men

way

men (2) noun "way" (SA) or "place, spot" (MEN)

minassë

fort, city, with a citadel and central watch-tower

minassë noun "fort, city, with a citadel and central watch-tower" (VT42:24)

neuna

second

neuna adj. "second" (NDEW)

ohta

noun. war

war, hostility

ohta

noun. war

ostirion

fort

ostirion noun "fort" (TI:423)

osto

noun. city

otsëa

seventh

otsëa ordinal "seventh" (VT42:25). See otso.

rotelë

cave

rotelë noun "cave" (LT2:347)

rotto

cave, tunnel

rotto noun "cave, tunnel" (VT46:12), "a small grot or tunnel" (PM:365)

tatya

second

tatya archaic ordinal "second". Nominal pl. Tatyar "Seconds, Second Ones", the original name of the Noldor as the Second Clan of the Elves (or rather the direct Quenya descendant of the original name, which was probably Tatjāi). (WJ:380) Later, tatya as an ordinal was replaced by attëa (VT42:25).

tatya

ordinal. second

uscarë

doing wrong

uscarë (þ) noun "doing wrong" (PE17:151). Also uxarë. Cf. úcarë.

uscarë

noun. doing wrong

uxarë

doing wrong

uxarë noun "doing wrong" (PE17:151). Also uscarë. Cf. úcarë.

vand-

way, path

vand- noun "way, path" (LT1:264; a final vowel would seem to be required, but in Tolkien's later Quenya, the words tië or mallë are to be preferred)

var

or

var (1) conj. "or" (QL:100). In Tolkiens later Quenya, the word hya appears for "or". A phrase involving a double var…var may mean "either…or" in one early (untranslated) text, according to Christopher Gilsons interpretation (PE15:32, 39)

virya-

change, alter(nate)

virya- (2) vb. "change, alter(nate)" (intransitive), pa.t. virnë/virinyë, cf. transitive vista-, q.v. (PE17:189, 191)

vista-

change

vista- (2) vb. "change" (transitive), pa.t. vistanë, cf. intransitive virya-, q.v. (PE17:189, 191)

wirnë

change

wirnë noun? "change" (PE17:191)

wirnë

noun. change

@@@ Despite its gloss, wirnë might be the archaic strong past tense of virya-: it is almost identical to the strong past tense form on PE17/189. For a noun form, vistë may be preferable.

wistë

noun. change

úcalima

adjective. dim, murky

ecar

conjunction. or

herca

conjunction. or

azga Reconstructed

noun. war

A hypothetical noun for “war” appearing as an element in the verb azgarâ- “to wage war”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne (VSH/24), though as others have suggested (AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/ZAG’R) it could equally well be azgar.

kadar

noun. city

A noun appearing only as an element in kadar-lâi “city folk” (SD/435).

ototya

ordinal. seventh

tatya

ordinal. second

gathol Reconstructed

noun. fortress