Quenya 

ría

wreath

ría noun "wreath" (PM:347)

ría

noun. wreath, garland

The word ría “wreath, garland” appeared in the 1968 Shibboleth of Fëanor as a derivative of the root √RIG in a discussion of the etymology of the name Galadriel (PM/347). The same word ría “a wreath, garland” appeared in another 1968 discussion of her name, but there it was based on √RIƷ “wind about, wreathe” (NM/353).

Conceptual Development: In notes from 1959 Tolkien instead had Q. rië “garland” from √RIG “twine” (PE17/182). This in turn was a later iteration of ᴹQ. ríe “crown” from The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶rīgē under the root ᴹ√RIG having to do with crowns (Ety/RIG; EtyAC/RIG). As published in The Lost Road, this word was given rie (LR/383), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne corrected this to ríe in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT46/11).

The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. serin (serind-) “wreath, crown” under the early root ᴱ√SERE “twine, tie, bind” (QL/83). In the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was Serin(do) “crown” (PME/83).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d use the 1968 word ría for “wreathe, garland”, but I’d also retain 1959 rië for its 1930s sense “crown”.

Cognates

  • T. ría “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347
  • S. “wreath, garland, wreath, garland; [N.] crown” ✧ PM/347

Derivations

  • rīgā “wreath, garland” ✧ NM/353; PM/347
    • RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown” ✧ NM/353; PM/347

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
riʒ > ría[rīɣa] > [rīa]✧ NM/353
rīgā > ría[rīgā] > [rīɣā] > [rīā] > [rīa]✧ PM/347
Quenya [NM/353; PM/347] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rië

garland

rië noun "garland", also apparently riendë (PE17:182).

rië

noun. garland, [ᴹQ.] crown, [Q.] garland

Derivations

  • RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown” ✧ PE17/182

Element in

  • Q. Culúrien “*Golden Garland”
  • Q. riel(lë) “garlanded maiden, maiden crowned with a festive garland”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
RIG > rië[rige] > [riɣe] > [rie]✧ PE17/182

Variations

  • rië ✧ PE17/182
  • riende ✧ PE17/182

riendë

noun. garland

fen

reed

fen (feng-) noun "reed" (QL:38, stem feng- also in GL:34).

liscë

reed, sedge

liscë _("k")_noun "reed, sedge" (LT2:335)

Sindarin 

noun. wreath, garland, wreath, garland; [N.] crown

A word for “wreath, garland” appearing in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 as the basis for -riel “crowned maiden” in the name Galadriel (PM/347). It was derived from primitive ✶rīgā based on the root √RIG “twine, wreathe”.

Conceptual Development: N. rhî “crown” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶rīgē under the root ᴹ√RIG (Ety/RIG). The difference from its Sindarin form is because initial r unvoiced to rh in Noldorin of the 1930s. In The Etymologies this word was also the basis for the name of Tuor’s mother: N. Rhian “Crown-gift” (Ety/RIG), later appearing as S. Rían (S/148).

Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s instead had ᴱN. mindeb “crown”, though its derivation is unclear (PE13/150).

Cognates

  • Q. ría “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347

Derivations

  • rīgā “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347
    • RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown” ✧ NM/353; PM/347

Element in

  • S. Rían “Crown-gift”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
rīgā > [rīgā] > [rīga] > [rīɣa] > [rīɣ] > [rī]✧ PM/347

lisg

noun. reed, reed, [G.] sedge

A word appearing as an element in the name Lisgardh “Land of Reeds” (UT/34).

Conceptual Development: An earlier version of this name was G. Arlisgion or Garlisgion “Place of Reeds” (LT2/153; GL/67), which contained G. lisg or lisc “reed, sedge” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/54). This became ᴱN. lhesg “sedge” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/148).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. liske “reed, reed, [ᴱQ.] sedge”

Derivations

Element in

  • S. Lisgardh “Land of Reeds” ✧ UT/034

wreath

(construct ri) (crown, garland), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rî), coll. pl. ríath

wreath

(construct ri) (crown, garland), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rî), coll. pl. ríath

garland

(construct ri) (wreath, crown), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rî);

garland

(construct ri) (wreath, crown), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rî);

riel

garlanded maiden

(princess), pl. ?rîl (idh rîl). Isolated from the name Galadriel.

lisc

reed

lisc, no distinct pl. form.

lisc

reed

no distinct pl. form.****

Telerin 

ría

noun. wreath, garland

Cognates

  • Q. ría “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347

Derivations

  • rīgā “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347
    • RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown” ✧ NM/353; PM/347

Element in

  • T. rielle “maiden crowned with a festive garland”

Primitive elvish

rīgā

noun. wreath, garland

Derivations

  • RIG “wreathe, twine, wind about; wreath, garland, crown” ✧ NM/353; PM/347

Derivatives

  • Q. ría “wreath, garland” ✧ NM/353; PM/347
  • S. “wreath, garland, wreath, garland; [N.] crown” ✧ PM/347
  • T. ría “wreath, garland” ✧ PM/347

Element in

  • rigelle “woman bearing a garland” ✧ NM/349; NM/353

Variations

  • rīʒā ✧ NM/349
  • riʒ ✧ NM/353
Primitive elvish [NM/349; NM/353; PM/347] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

noun. reed, grass-stem

A word appearing in the Declension of Nouns (DN) of the early 1930s glossed “grass-stem, reed” and derived from the root ᴹ√RĪI̯ as an example of a monosyllabic vocalic noun (PE21/38). In drafts of this section it was glossed only “reed” (PE21/41 note #147).

Derivations

  • ᴹ√RIY “*scatter, [ᴱ√] scatter” ✧ PE21/38
Qenya [PE21/38; PE21/41] Group: Eldamo. Published by

liske

noun. reed, reed, [ᴱQ.] sedge

A word mentioned in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) of the 1930s, with the gloss “reed” and derived from primitive ᴹ✶lisge (PE19/51).

Conceptual Development: The word/root ᴱQ. LISKE “sedge, reeds” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/55). In the contemporaneous Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin, [ᴱQ.] liske was given as a cognate to G. lisg “reed” (PE15/28).

Cognates

  • S. lisg “reed, reed, [G.] sedge”

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶lisge “reed” ✧ PE19/051

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶lisge > liske[lisge] > [lizge] > [liske]✧ PE19/051

Middle Primitive Elvish

lisge

noun. reed

Derivations

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. liske “reed, reed, [ᴱQ.] sedge” ✧ PE19/051
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE19/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

fen

noun. reed

A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “reed” under the early root ᴱ√FEŊE (QL/38). It appeared as its stem form feng- “reed” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as a cognate of G. feng “(war) arrow” (GL/34).

Cognates

  • G. feng “arrow, war arrow” ✧ GL/34

Derivations

  • ᴱ√FEŊE “*cut” ✧ QL/038

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√FEŊE > fen[ɸeŋg] > [feŋg] > [fen]✧ QL/038
Early Quenya [GL/34; QL/038] Group: Eldamo. Published by