Quenya 

sar

(small) stone

sar (sard-, as in pl. sardi) noun "(small) stone" (SAR). In Elessar, q.v. Since Tolkien let this name have a stem in -sarn- (genitive Ele[s]sarno, VT49:28), he may seem to have changed the stem-form of sar from sard- to sarn-.

sar

noun. stone (small)

A word for “stone”, most notably in the name Q. Elessar “Elfstone” (LotR/375). The genitive for that name was given as Elesarno (PE22/158; VT49/28), so the stem for this word is probably sarn-, especially given its better-attested Sindarin cognate S. sarn. It is a derivative of the root ᴹ√SAR, and referred to a small (individual) stone (Ety/SAR), as opposed to Q. ondo which is stone as a material or large rocks or bodies of stone.

Conceptual Development: The earliest hint of this word was ᴱQ. sar “earth, soil” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, but this was marked with an “X” and ᴱQ. kemen (of similar meaning) was written next to it as an alternative (PE16/139). ᴹQ. sar “(small) stone” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√SAR, but there it had a plural sardi and hence a stem form of sard- (Ety/KEM). In that document, N. sarn was “stone as material” and hence not directly related. But later S. sarn was used for individual stones, and thus was probably a direct cognate of Q. sar (sarn-), as discussed above.

Cognates

  • S. sarn “(small) stone, pebble; stony (place), (small) stone, pebble; stony (place); [N.] stone as a material”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. ambalasar “stalagmite, (lit.) up-growing stone”
  • ᴺQ. ëassar “pearl, (lit.) sea-pebble/stone”
  • Q. Elessar “Elfstone” ✧ LotR/0375
  • ᴺQ. helissar “amethyst”
  • ᴺQ. hwandasar “pumice, (lit.) sponge-stone”
  • ᴺQ. inwissar “opal, (lit.) mood-change stone”
  • ᴺQ. liptasar “dripstone”
  • ᴺQ. malatsar “chrysolite”
  • Q. sarnië “shingle, pebble bank”
  • ᴺQ. sarnincë “pebble”
  • ᴺQ. sarnunta “diadem”
  • ᴺQ. undalasar “stalactite, (lit.) down-growing stone”
  • ᴺQ. ussar “sulphur, (lit.) fire-stone”

sarno

table

sarno noun "table" (QL:82)

mar

earth

mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

Elessar

elf-stone

Elessar masc. name "Elf-stone" (Elen + sar, actually "Star-stone", cf. Elendil concerning elen "star" being used to mean "Elf") (LotR3:V ch. 8). Genitive Elesarno _(VT49:28, read _Elessarno?) indicates that the stem is -sarn-. As a common noun, elessar or "elf-stone" may signify "beryl" (in the chapter Flight to the Ford in the LotR, Aragorn finds "a single pale-green jewel" and declares: "It is a beryl, an elf-stone"). Elessar as a name may also be seen as a pun or variant of Elesser "Elf-friend".

kemen

earth

kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.

cemi

earth, soil, land

cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)

paluhta

noun. table

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
palo“plane (surface), the flat, *level, flatness; plain”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

Sindarin 

cae

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

Sindarin [Ety/363, X/OE] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ceven

noun. Earth

Sindarin [VT/44:21,27] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ennorath

noun. central lands, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, LotR/II:I, RGEO/72-75] Group: SINDICT. Published by

sardh

noun. table

Derivations

  • THAR “*across, beyond, [ᴹ√] across, beyond”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

amar

earth

(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair

bâr

earth

(dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

cae

noun. earth

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

cae

earth

(i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also

ceven

earth

1) ceven (i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23), 2) (world) Amar (archaic Ambar), pl. Emair; 3) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds. 4) (maybe ”earth” as substance) cae (i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also SOIL.

ceven

earth

(i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23)

edhelharn

elf-stone

(a term for beryl) edhelharn (pl. edhelhern) (SD:128-31).

edhelharn

elf-stone

(a term for beryl) edhelharn (pl. edhelhern) (SD:128-31). SEEING STONE (palantír) *gwachaedir (i **wachaedir), no distinct pl. form except with prefixed article (in gwachaedir), coll. pl. ?gwachaediriath or ?gwachadirnath (the latter form assuming that -dir is reduced from older -dirn) The form occurring in the primary source, gwahaedir, must represent the late Gondorian pronunciation with h for ch** (PM:186).

ennor

place name. central land, middle-earth

Sindarin [LotR/E, X/ND2] Published by

Adûnaic

dâira

noun. Earth

A noun translated as “Earth” in the final version of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). It may be related to S. dôr “land”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/13).

Conceptual Development: In the Lament of Akallabêth (first draft), this noun appeared as kamāt (SD/311).

Element in

Variations

  • dāira ✧ SD/247

Primitive elvish

sar

root. score, incise; write, score, incise; [extended sense] write; [ᴹ√] *stone

ᴹ√SAR appeared as unglossed root in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. sar “(small) stone” and N. sarn “stone as a material” (Ety/SAR). Tolkien use of both these words in later writings in names like Q. Elessar “Elfstone” (LotR/375) and S. Sarn Athrad “Ford of Stones” (S/92) indicates the ongoing validatity of this meaning, though in later writings S. sarn also = “pebble, small stone” (RC/327; VT42/11).

However, in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien gave a different meaning for this root as √SAR “score, incise”, from which it developed the extended sense “write” and became the basis for the name of the first alphabet of the Elves, the Q. sarati (WJ/396). This use ᴱQ. sar- as “write” dates back to Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/133). Despite the difference in meaning, I think two root could still be essentially the same, with √SAR = “stone” as a noun and √SAR = “score (stone)” as a verb, and from there eventually developing the sense “write” to serve as the basis for sarati. In one place in the Quendi and Eldar Tolkien revised √SAR >> √SYAR, perhaps indicating he considered making √SYAR an etymological variant of √SAR (WJ/419 note #24).

Changes

  • SARSYAR “score, incise; write” ✧ WJ/419

Derivatives

  • ᴺQ. sár “(incised) mark, notch, tally; (generalized) score (of game or contest)”
  • ᴺQ. sar- “to mark (i.e. by incision), notch, score; (by later extension) †to write [on]”
  • Q. sarat “letter (of the Rúmilian alphabet)” ✧ WJ/396
  • Q. sarmë “writing”

Variations

  • SYAR ✧ WJ/419
Primitive elvish [WJ/396; WJ/419] Group: Eldamo. Published by

syar

root. score, incise; write

keme

noun. earth

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”

Variations

  • kĕmĕ ✧ PE21/80 (kĕmĕ)
Primitive elvish [PE21/80] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kemen

noun. earth

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”

Derivatives

  • Q. cemen “the earth; earth, the earth; earth, [ᴹQ.] soil”
  • S. cevenEarth, earth; Earth”
Primitive elvish [PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

amar

noun. earth

Noldorin [Ety/372] Group: SINDICT. Published by

amar

noun. Earth

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. Ambar “Earth, World” ✧ Ety/MBAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MBAR “dwell, inhabit” ✧ Ety/MBAR
    • ᴹ√BAR “raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)” ✧ Ety/BAR

Element in

  • N. Emerin “Middle-earth” ✧ Ety/MBAR
  • N. Gondobar “Stone of the World” ✧ Ety/MBAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MBAR > ambar > amar[ambar] > [ambar] > [ammar] > [amar]✧ Ety/MBAR
Noldorin [Ety/MBAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ambar

noun. earth

Noldorin [Ety/372] Group: SINDICT. Published by

coe

noun. earth

This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies

Noldorin [Ety/363, X/OE] Group: SINDICT. Published by

coe

noun. earth

An indeclinable word given as {cíw >>} coe “earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KEM (Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM).

Possible Etymology: The primitive form of rejected cíw is given as ᴹ✶kēm and its derivation is clear: the long ē became ī and then the final m reduced to w after i as usual. The derivation of coe is more obscure, however. The likeliest explanation is that Tolkien imagined its ancient form with a slightly lowered vowel which he generally represented as ǣ in this period (in later writings as ę̄). According to the first version of the Tengwesta Qenderinwa and Comparative Vowel Tables from the 1930s (PE18/46; PE19/25), ǣ > ei > ai > ae, and in The Etymologies itself, it seems ai often became oe instead of ae.

Neo-Sindarin: Updating the derivation of hypothetical ✱kę̄m would produced ᴺS. cae in Sindarin phonology. But given the obscurity of its derivation, I recommend using 1950s S. ceven for “earth” instead.

Changes

  • cíwcoe ✧ Ety/KEM

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. kemen “soil, earth; Great Lands” ✧ Ety/KEM

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth” ✧ Ety/KEM
  • ᴹ✶kēm “*earth” ✧ EtyAC/KEM
    • ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth” ✧ Ety/KEM

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KEM > coe[kǣm] > [kaim] > [kai] > [koe]✧ Ety/KEM
ᴹ✶kēm > cíw[kēm] > [kīm] > [kīv] > [kīw]✧ EtyAC/KEM

Variations

  • cíw ✧ EtyAC/KEM (cíw)
Noldorin [Ety/KEM; EtyAC/KEM] 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 

sar

noun. stone (small)

Cognates

  • N. sarn “stone as a material” ✧ Ety/SAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√SAR “*stone” ✧ Ety/SAR

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√SAR > sar[sarda] > [sard] > [sar]✧ Ety/SAR

hún

noun. earth, earth, *ground

A word in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s with stem form hun- and gloss “earth” (QL/39). It might be a later iteration of ᴱQ. han “ground, earth” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/39), and if so then hún might also be used as “✱ground”. I think it is useful to assume so for purposes of Neo-Quenya, as the other attested word for “ground”, Q. talan, is probably used more often for “floor”, including floors above the ground level.

Variations

  • hun ✧ PE21/19
Qenya [PE21/19; PE21/24; PE21/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

sar

root. *stone

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶sarnā “of stone” ✧ Ety/STAR
    • ᴹQ. sarna “of stone”
  • ᴹQ. sar “stone (small)” ✧ Ety/SAR
  • Q. sarda “hard (*as stone)”
  • ᴹQ. sarna “of stone” ✧ Ety/SAR
  • ᴹQ. sarne “stony place” ✧ Ety/SAR
  • ᴺQ. sarya- “to stone”
  • N. sarn “stone as a material” ✧ Ety/SAR
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/SAR; Ety/STAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

sard

noun. table

A noun appearing as G. sard “table” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which Tolkien compared to G. thrad “plank” (GL/67, 73). It was likely based on the early root ᴱ√SARA from the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon having to do with sawing and sawed things like planks (QL/82). However, elsewhere in Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien had G. thar- “ to saw (up)” indicating a variant or revised root ᴱ√ÞARA (GL/72).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume the verbal sense of thar- “to saw” might still be viable as related to the later root √THAR “✱across” (referring to a sawing motion). From this I would adapt the Gnomish word for “table” as ᴺS. sardh, where the final rd became rdh as with words like gardh, and the initial s is due to dissimilation of th away from the final spirant dh; compare to úsaeth a deleted variant of úthaes (VT44/30).

Cognates

Derivations

groth

noun. earth, soil

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “earth, soil” (GL/42). Its derivation is unclear, but it might be from a strengthened form of the root ᴱ√ROTO “hollow”.

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ROTO “hollow”

Element in

clog

noun. stone (small)

Early Quenya

sar

noun. earth, soil

A word for “earth, soil” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, but it was marked with an “X” and ᴱQ. kemen (of similar meaning) was written next to it as an alternative (PE16/139).

Changes

  • sarkemen “earth, soil” ✧ PE16/139
Early Quenya [PE16/139] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sarno

noun. table

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. {sarne >>} sarno “table” in Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SARA having to do with sawing and sawed things like planks (QL/82). The contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa also had sarno “table” (PME/82).

Changes

  • sarnesarno ✧ QL/082

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ÞARA “*saw” ✧ QL/082

Element in

  • Eq. palasar “great table” ✧ QL/071

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√SARA > sarno[sarnō] > [sarno]✧ QL/082

Variations

  • sarne ✧ QL/082 (sarne)
Early Quenya [PME/082; QL/071; QL/082] Group: Eldamo. Published by

palukta

noun. table

A noun appearing as ᴱQ. palukta “table” in Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√PALA having to do with flat things (QL/71).

Neo-Quenya: Since √PAL was still associated with flat things in Tolkien’s later writing ([ᴹQ.] palar “flat field”, Q. palta “flat of the hand”), I would retain this word for purposes of Neo-Quenya in a slightly modified form: ᴺQ. paluhta “table”.

Early Quenya [QL/071] Group: Eldamo. Published by