sír

river

sír noun "river", shorter form of sirë (PE17:65, VT49:17)

sír

adverb. now

sírë

river

sírë noun "river" (SIR, VT46:13), "stream" (LT1:265). Also short form sír, q.v.Compare #sirya.

sí

now

sí adv. "now" (Nam, RGEO:67, LR:47, SD:310, VT43:34, VT49:18, PE17:94), sin (SI, LR:47) or sín _(SD:247, 310) _before vowels. Compare the distribution of a/an in English, though in his Quenya version of Hail Mary, Tolkien used sí also before a vowel (sí ar "now and", VT43:28). Si, a short (or incompletely annotated) form of sí (VT43:26, 34). In Fíriel's Song, sí is translated "here".

sí

adverb. now

sí

adverb. now

Cognates

• S. hí “now” ✧ PE17/027; PE17/045; PE17/127; PE22/147
• S. sí “here, in this place (of speaker)” ✧ PE22/147

Derivations

• ✶sī “this (by me), now or here” ✧ PE17/067; VT49/18
  • √SI “this, this, [ᴹ√] here, now” ✧ PE17/067

Element in

• Q. an sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë “for now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. an sí Varda, Tintallë, Elentári ortanë máryat Oiolossëo ve fanyar “for now Varda, Star-kindler, Star-queen [has] lifted up her (two) hands from Mount Everwhite like (white) clouds” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. á carë (sí) ancárië “try harder” ✧ PE17/094
• Q. Eru fai, sî, euva “*Eru (was) before, (is) now, will be (after)” ✧ PE22/147
• Q. ma Varda enquantuva i yulma nin sí “will Varda now refill the cup for me?” ✧ PE22/161
• Q. násië “now and at the hour of our death: Amen” ✧ VT43/34; VT43/34
• Q. sillë “like this”
• ᴺQ. silomë “tonight”
• Q. silumë “now, (lit.) at this time, now, at this time, *present” ✧ VT49/18
• ᴺQ. silussë “present tense, (lit.) here-and-now-tense”
• Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “who now shall refill the cup for me?” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “now who the cup for me will refill?” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. sí man i yulmar men enquantuva? “*who now shall refill the cups for us?” ✧ Minor-Doc/2013-05-13
• Q. sí man i yulmar n(g)wen enquantuva “*who now will refill the cups for us (dual)” ✧ VT21/06
• Q. sinomë “here, (lit.) in this place” ✧ PE22/147
• Q. sir(a) “hither” ✧ PE22/147
• Q. síra “*today, this day”
• Q. sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar! “now lost, lost to those from the east is Valimar!” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar! “now lost is, [to one] from the East lost, Valimar!” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. sívë “*as”
• Q. tensi “already, still, up to now/here; yet [from present]”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶sī > sí	[sī]	✧ PE17/067
✶si- > sí	[sī]	✧ VT49/18

Variations

• Sí ✧ LotR/0377
• sī ✧ PE17/070; PE17/094; RGEO/59
• sír ✧ PE22/147
• Sī̀ ✧ RGEO/58
• sī́ ✧ RGEO/58
• Sī ✧ RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/59
• si ✧ VT43/34

sír(ë)

noun. river, river, [ᴱQ.] stream

The most common Quenya word for “river”, derived from the root √SIR “flow”.

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as ᴱQ. sīre “stream” as a derivative of ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] (QL/84), and this form and gloss also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/84). The form ᴹQ. siri- “river” appeared in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s, along with uninflected sire with short i and various inflected forms with siry- (PE21/10). The form sīre “river” with long ī appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√SIR “flow” (Ety/SIR; EtyAC/SIR). In several notes from the mid-1960s, it appeared in monosyllabic form sír (PE17/65) or sīr (VT49/17), but it had dual form siryat from the late 1960s implying a stem form of sirĭ- and a development similar to that of DN from the early 1930s (VT47/11).

Neo-Eldarin: Its form síre is probably better known and more commonly used in Neo-Quenya. For example this is the typical form in Helge Fauskanger’s NQNT (NQNT).

Cognates

• S. sîr “river, stream”

Derivations

• √SIR “flow”

Element in

• ᴺQ. anasirë “tributary”
• Q. caitas lá i sír “it is beyond the river” ✧ PE17/065
• Q. caitas palla i sír “it is far beyond the river” ✧ PE17/065
• Q. imbë siryat “between two rivers” ✧ VT47/11
• ᴺQ. lantasírë “waterfall, (lit.) falling river”
• Q. lendes lann’ i sír “he came (to a point) beyond the river” ✧ PE17/065
• Q. lendes pallan(na) i sír “he came (to a point) far beyond the river” ✧ PE17/065
• Q. Siril

Variations

• sír ✧ PE17/065
• sīr ✧ VT49/17

sinar

noun. today, today, [ᴹQ.] this morning

Element in

• Q. ai tulinye sinar (entan) “I may come today (tomorrow)” ✧ PE22/139 (ai tulinye sinar (entan))

Elements

Word	Gloss
sina	“this”
árë	“sunlight, warmth (especially of the sun); day”

sindi

river

sindi noun "river" (LT1:265; rather sírë in LotR-style Quenya)

sirya

river

#sirya noun "river", attested in the dual form siryat (VT47:11). Compare sírë.

sin

now

sin (2) adv., a form of sí "now" (q.v.) often occurring before vowels; also sín (SI). However, sí itself (q.v.) may also appear before a vowel.

celusindi

river

celusindi _("k")_noun "river" (LT1:257; hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, where the terms sírë and sirya appear instead)

celu

stream

celu _("k")_noun "stream" (LT1:257; rather celumë in LotR-style Quenya)

celumë

stream, flow

celumë ("k")noun "stream, flow" (KEL, LT1:257); locative pl. celumessen ("k") in Markirya (ëar-celumessen is translated "in the flowing sea", lit. *"in sea-streams").

nen

river

nen noun "river" (LT1:248), "river, water" (LT1:262) (In Tolkien's later Quenya, nén with a long vowel means "water", but hardly "river" - that is sírë.)

nuinë

suffix. river

Element in

• ᴺQ. nuinerocco “hippopotamus, (lit.) river-horse”

hlóna

river, especially given to those at all seasons full of water from mountains

[hlóna (2) noun "a river, especially given to those at all seasons full of water from mountains" (VT48:27; the word is marked with a query and the note containing it rejected; it was apparently replaced by lón, q.v.)]

sîr

noun. river

sîr

stream

_ n. _stream. >> Nanduhirion

sîr

adverb. now

sîr

noun. river, stream

A common Sindarin word for “river” or “stream”, a relatively small river compared to S. duin. It is a derivative of √SIR “flow” (SA/sîr; Ety/SIR).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s where G. sîr “river” appeared (GL/67), a derivative of the early root ᴱ√SIŘI (or a variant of it) as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Sirion). ᴱN. sír “stream” appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, though in that instance it was changed to ᴱN. hír “lord” (PE13/147). N. sîr “river” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√SIR “flow” (Ety/SIR). It appeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings, variously glossed “river” (RC/384) or “stream” (PE17/37; RC/269), as well as being an element in many Sindarin and Noldorin river names.

Cognates

• Q. sír(ë) “river, river, [ᴱQ.] stream”

Derivations

• √SIR “flow” ✧ SA/sîr

Element in

• S. ethir “mouth of a river, (lit.) outflow” ✧ SA/sîr
• S. Glanhír “Boundary Stream”
• S. Gwathir “River of Shadow” ✧ UT/263
• S. lanthir “waterfall”
• S. Limhír “Clear/Sparkling River”
• S. Linhir “Fair Stream” ✧ RC/587
• S. Lithir “?Ash River”
• S. Methiriad “?End of Two Rivers”
• S. Minhiriath “Between the Rivers” ✧ SA/sîr
• S. Nanduhirion “Dimrill Dale, (lit.) Vale of (the Region of) Dim Streams” ✧ PE17/037; RC/269; SA/sîr
• S. Eglahir “*Elf-river”
• S. Ossir “Seven-rivers” ✧ RC/384
• S. Ossiriand “Land of Seven Rivers” ✧ SA/sîr
• S. Sîr Angren “*River of Iron”
• S. Sirannon “Gate-stream” ✧ SA/sîr
• S. Sirion “Great River” ✧ SA/sîr
• S. Sîr Luin
• S. Sîr Ninglor “Gladden River”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√sir- > sîr	[sīre] > [sīr]	✧ SA/sîr

Variations

• Sîr ✧ RC/384

sír

adverb. today

sí(r)

adverb. now

hî

now

_adv. _now. Q. sí. thî/hî << hî. >> thî****

thî

now

_adv. _now. Q. sí. thî/hî << hî. >> hî****

thî

adverb. now

si

adverb. now

hí

adverb. now

Changes

• hî → thî ✧ PE17/027

Cognates

• Q. sí “now” ✧ PE17/027; PE17/045; PE17/127; PE22/147

Derivations

• ✶khĭn- “*here, now” ✧ VT49/34

Element in

• S. annon edhellen, edro hi ammen “Elvish gate open now for us” ✧ LotR/0307; PE17/045
• S. i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, ach hí in Ellath îr ed epholar “*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it” ✧ VT50/15; VT50/15; VT50/15
• S. sí il chem en i Naugrim en ir Ellath thor den ammen “*now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) to us” ✧ VT50/22

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶khĭn- > hî	[kʰin] > [xin] > [xi] > [hi] > [hī]	✧ VT49/34

Variations

• hi ✧ LotR/0307; PE17/045
• thî ✧ PE17/027
• hî ✧ PE17/027; PE17/027 (hî); PE17/127; VT49/34
• hin ✧ PE17/127
• sîr ✧ PE22/147
• Sí ✧ VT50/22

hi

adverb. now

_ adv. _now. annon edhellen edro hi ammen! 'Elvish gate open now for us'.

hin

adverb. now

duin

noun. (long and large) river (having strong current)

sîr

river

1) (also = rill) sîr (i hîr, o sîr), in compounds sir- or -hir or -hír; no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîr), coll. pl. siriath. Note: sîr is also the adverb ”today”. 2) celon (i gelon, o chelon), pl. celyn (pl. i chelyn), 3) The word lind ”singer” may also be used of rivers (see . (WJ.309).

sîr

river

(i hîr, o sîr), in compounds sir- or -hir or -hír; no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîr), coll. pl. siriath. Note: sîr is also the adverb ”today”.

sîr

today

(adv.) sîr. Note: a homophone means ”river”.

sîr

today

. Note: a homophone means ”river”.

sîr

rill

(i hîr, o sîr), in compounds -hir or -hír; no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîr), coll. pl. siriath. Note: sîr is also the adverb ”today”.

sîr

rill (river)

sîr (i hîr, o sîr), in compounds -hir or -hír; no distinct pl. form except with article (i sîr), coll. pl. siriath. Note: sîr is also the adverb ”today”.

si

now

si (lenited hi)

si

now

(lenited hi)

sirith

stream

(i hirith, o sirith) (flowing), no distinct pl. except with article (i sirith)

ethir

of a river

(estuary), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. ethiriath. Note: a homophone means "spy".

celeth

stream

(noun) 1) celeth (i geleth, o cheleth), pl. celith (i chelith), 2) sirith (i hirith, o sirith) (flowing), no distinct pl. except with article (i sirith), 3) nên (water, lake, pool, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn, 4) rant (watercourse, water-channel, lode, vein), pl. raint (idh raint), coll. pl. rannath.

celeth

stream

(i geleth, o cheleth), pl. celith (i chelith)

nên

stream

(water, lake, pool, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn

rant

stream

(watercourse, water-channel, lode, vein), pl. raint (idh raint), coll. pl. rannath.

duin

river

(long, large river with strong current) duin (i dhuin), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nuin) (VT48:24)

duin

large river

(i dhuin), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nuin), coll. pl. duinath (Names:179, PM:54); compare the river-name Anduin, ”long river”.

lind

river

”singer” may also be used of rivers (see

celon

river

(i gelon, o chelon), pl. celyn (pl. i chelyn)

îdô

adverb. now

A word translated “now” in the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). In the final manuscript version, this is the only form of the word, but in the final typescript version and in all earlier versions, it sometimes appears in the form îdôn.

Some authors have suggested this variation occurs when îdô appears before words beginning in a vowel or semi-vowel (AL/Adûnaic, NBA/12), but this seems unlikely to me. Carl Hostetter, Patrick Wynne and Andreas Moehn instead suggested (VSH/18, AAD/16, LGtAG, EotAL/DAW) that îdôn is a subjective inflection of the word îdô, being used as a noun. The key evidence supporting this second theory is that where the form îdon appears, its gloss is always “now (is)” rather than simply “now”. As discussed elsewhere (SD/429), the subjective inflection can function as the verb “to be”.

I tend to agree with this theory of Hostetter, Wynne and Moehn, but I think the actually development is somewhat more complex. In the first draft version of the Lament of Akallabêth, this form of the word appears twice as īdōn “lo! now is”. As noted by Mr. Moehn (LGtAG), this version of the Lament used a predicate suffix -n “is” in several places: burodan “heavy-is”, rōkhī-nam “bent-are”. It seems likely that draft form īdōn “lo! now is” is another variation of this earlier syntax.

The draft predicate suffix -n differed from the later subjective case in that it applied to the predicate of a clause instead of the subject. Compare these changes from the draft to final versions:

• agannūlo burudan “death-shade heavy-is” >> agannâlô burôda “death-shadow [is] heavy”

• batānī rōkhī-nam “ways bent-are” >> batîna lôkhî “ways (are) bent”

In both draft sentences, the subject is uninflected and the predicate has the predicate suffix -n/-nam. Conversely, in the later sentences the subject is inflected into the subjective case while the predicate is uninflected. This demonstrates the functional shift in the use of the predicate suffix -n in these drafts to the later use of the subjective inflection.

In both the second draft and final typescript versions of the Lament, the form îdôn was retained in all the sentences where it appeared in the first draft. This means that it could have been a remnant of this earlier syntax. The form îdôn could be reinterpreted as the sentence’s subject, but this is also problematic, since îdô is certainly neuter and its subjective form should be ✱îdôwa, not îdôn.

It is my belief that Tolkien eventually decided that the suffix -n could no longer be used in this context and removed it, switching to an uninflected îdô “now” everywhere in the text as is the case in the final manuscript version of the Lament. On the basis of this deduction, I also believe that the manuscript version was written after than the typescript version.

Element in

• Ad. êphalak îdô Yôzâyan “far away now (is) the Land of Gift” ✧ SD/247
• Ad. ēphalek īdōn akallabēth “far away lo!now is She-that-is-fallen” ✧ SD/312
• Ad. êphal êphalak îdô hi-Akallabêth “far far away now (is) She-that-hath-fallen” ✧ SD/247
• Ad. ēphal ēphalek īdōn athanātē “far far away is now the Land of Gift” ✧ SD/312
• Ad. îdô katha batîna lôkhî “now all ways (are) bent” ✧ SD/247
• Ad. īdō kathī batānī rōkhī-nam “lo! now all ways bent-are” ✧ SD/312
• Ad. tâidô “once, then”

Variations

• īdō ✧ SD/247; SD/247; SD/288; SD/312; SD/312; SD/312

sīru

noun. stream

Derivations

• √SIR “flow”

Variations

• sīrŭ ✧ PE21/80

sîr

noun. river

sîr

noun. river

Cognates

• ᴹQ. síre “river” ✧ Ety/SIR

Derivations

• On. sīre “river” ✧ Ety/SIR
  • ᴹ√SIR “flow” ✧ Ety/SIR

Element in

• N. Beleghir “Great River”
• N. Calenhir “*Green River”
• N. Narosîr “Redway”
• N. Nanduhiriath “Dimrill-dale” ✧ RS/433
• N. Ossiriand “Land of Seven Rivers”
• N. Sirannon “Gate-stream”
• N. Sirion ✧ Ety/SIR

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. sīre > sîr	[sīre] > [sīr]	✧ Ety/SIR

sirion

noun. great river

duirro

noun. river-bank

celon

noun. river