Quenya 

sindanórië

place name. Grey Country, Land of Greyness

The name of a land mentioned in Galadriel’s Namárië poem (LotR/337). In one place, Tolkien said it was the “name of a mythical region of shadows lying at outer feet of the Mountains of Valinor” (PE17/72). This name is a compound of sinda “grey” and nórë “country”, with the suffix -ië common in abstract nouns. In another note Tolkien said that sindanórië was an archiac formation that meant “land of greyness” and was equivalent to sindie-nóre (PE17/72), so perhaps the -ië suffix at the end was actually associated with the adjective sinda “grey”.

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
sinda“grey”
nórë“land, country; †people, race, tribe, land, country, [ᴹQ.] region where certain people live, [ᴱQ.] nation; [Q.] †people, race, tribe, [ᴹQ.] folk, [ᴱQ.] family”
-ië“abstract noun, adverb”

Variations

  • sindanórië ✧ PE17/072 (sindanórië)
Quenya [LotR/0377; PE17/072; RGEO/58; RGEO/59] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nórië

country

#nórië noun "country", in sindanórië (see sinda) (Nam, RGEO:67)

sindië

greyness

sindië (þ) noun "greyness", sindië-nórë *"land of greyness", also (more literally corresponding to the English translation) nórë sindiëo (PE17:72), other names of sindanórië, see sinda.

sindië

noun. greyness

Elements

WordGloss
sinda“grey”
-ië“abstract noun, adverb”

Variations

  • sindie ✧ PE17/072

nóre

noun. country

country

Quenya [PE 19:76] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

sinda

grey

sinda (þ) adj. "grey" (PE17:72); nominal pl. Sindar used = "Grey-elves", lit. *"Grey ones"; see WJ:375. Gen. pl. Sindaron in WJ:369. With general meaning "grey" also in Sindacollo > Singollo "Grey-cloak, Thingol" (SA:thin(d), PE17:72; see also sindë, Sindicollo);†sindanórië "grey land", ablative sindanóriello "from/out of a grey country" (Nam); the reference is to a "mythical region of shadows lying at outer feet of the Mountains of Valinor" (PE17:72). However, other sources give sindë (q.v.) as the Quenya word for "grey"; perhaps sinda came to mean primarily "Grey-elf" as a noun. Derived adjective Sindarin "Grey-elven", normally used as a noun to refer to the Grey-elven language. (Appendix F)

sinda

adjective. grey

The best known Quenya word for “grey” and an element in a number of names. It is also used as a noun Sinda “Grey Elf”. Tolkien sometimes used a variant form sindë for “grey” (WJ/384; PE17/141; Ety/THIN); see that entry for details.

Cognates

  • S. thind “grey, grey, [N.] pale” ✧ PE17/072; SA/thin(d)

Derivations

  • THIN “*grey” ✧ PE17/072
  • thindā “grey” ✧ PE17/072

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ΘIN > sinda[tʰinda] > [θinda] > [sinda]✧ PE17/072
þindā > sinda[tʰindā] > [θindā] > [θinda] > [sinda]✧ PE17/072

Variations

  • Sinda ✧ PE21/77
Quenya [PE17/072; PE17/117; PE21/77; SA/thin(d)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sindë

grey, pale or silvery grey

sindë (þ) adj. "grey, pale or silvery grey" (the Vanyarin dialect preserves the older form þindë) (WJ:384, THIN; in SA:thin(d) the form given is sinda, cf. also sindanóriello "from a grey country" in Namárië. Sindë and sinda_ are apparently variants of the same word.) _Stem sindi-, given the primitive form ¤thindi; cf. Sindicollo (q.v.)

mísë

grey

mísë (þ, cf. Sindarin mith-) adj. "grey" (used as noun of grey clothes in the phrase mi mísë of someone clad "in grey"). The underlying stem refers a paler or whiter "grey" than sinda, making mísë "a luminous grey" (PE17:71-72)

hiswa

grey

hiswa (þ) adj. "grey" (KHIS/KHITH, Narqelion)

mista

grey

mista adj. "grey"; see lassemista

mista

adjective. grey

Cognates

  • S. mith “grey, light grey, pale grey”

Derivations

Element in