Quenya 

lissë

sweet

lissë adj. "sweet" (Nam, RGEO:66); also noun "sweetness", used metaphorically for "grace" (VT43:29, VT44:18); in this sense the word may be compounded as #Erulissë, q.v. Genitive lissëo in VT44:18. - In the entry LIS in the Etymologies, Tolkien originally gave lissë as the noun "honey", but then changed it to lis with stem liss- (VT45:28)

lissë

adjective. sweet

Quenya [LotR/0377; PE17/064; PE17/154; RGEO/58] Group: Eldamo. Published by

melda

beloved, dear, sweet

melda adj. "beloved, dear, sweet" (MEL, VT45:34), superlative arimelda *"dearest" (PE17:56, see ar- #2), meldielto "they are beloved" (sc. meld[a]--lto "beloved-are-they" however, both the stative verb ending - "is/are" and the ending -lto "they" may be obsolete in LotR-style Quenya) (FS) PE17:55 gives the comparative form as arimelda or ammelda and the superlative as eremelda, anamelda or once again ammelda (PE17:55).

miquelis

soft, sweet kiss

miquelis (miquelis(s)-) noun "soft, sweet kiss" (PE16:96)

nes-

sweet smelling

nes- ?verb/?root "sweet smelling" (PE17:100); cf. Nísimaldar

raina

smiling, gracious, sweet-faced

raina (2) adj. "smiling, gracious, sweet-faced" (VT44:35, PE17:182). Cf. raita #3.

linda

adjective. beautiful (of sound), sweet, melodious; soft, gentle, light, beautiful (of sound), sweet, melodious; soft, gentle, light, [ᴱQ.] kind; [ᴹQ.] fair

Quenya [PE16/096; PE17/150] Group: Eldamo. Published by

miquelis

noun. (soft, sweet) kiss

raina

adjective. smiling, gracious, sweet-faced

Quenya [PE17/182; VT44/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lís

noun. honey, honey, *sugar, sweetener

A word for “honey” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 given as lîs and derived from the root √(G)LIS (PE17/154); the usual representation of a long vowel in Quenya would be ✱lís. In DLN Tolkien said that it sometimes appeared as līr- in inflections with the usual change of intervocalic s to r, but that its usual stem form was liss-. Indeed, in The Etymologies of the 1930s this word was ᴹQ. lis “honey” under the root ᴹ√LIS of the same meaning, and its stem form was also liss- as indicated by its [ᴹQ.] genitive lissen (Ety/LIS). Tolkien originally gave the base noun as lisse in The Etymologies, but this was deleted and replaced by lis (EtyAC/LIS). In The Etymologies its Noldorin cognate was N. glî.

Conceptual Development: A likely precursor to this word was ᴱQ. ile “honey” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, cognate to ᴱN. glí “honey” (GL/59).

Neo-Quenya: Since there are other honey-words in Quenya like Q. nehtë, I would use lís (liss-) for sweeteners in general, including both honey and sugar.

lista-

verb. to sweeten, make sweet

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

meluquetya

noun. sweet-speaking person, flatterer

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

lisselë

noun. sweetness

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

melu

noun. honey

A word for “honey” appearing only in the compound Q. melumatya “honey-eating” in notes from 1967 (PE17/68).

-ima

fair

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

lir-

verb. to sing, to sing, [ᴹQ.] chant

liru-

verb. to sing, to sing (gaily)

melu

honey

#melu noun "honey", isolated from melumatya, q.v. (PE17:68)

melwa

lovely

melwa adj. "lovely" (LT1:262); compare melda in Tolkiens later Quenya.

milya

soft, gentle, weak

milya (1) adj. "soft, gentle, weak" (VT45:34)

milyar

noun. soft

soft [sonants]

Quenya [PE 18:30] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

mussë

soft

mussë adj. "soft" (VT:39:17), also used as a noun (perhaps primarily in the pl. form mussi) with the same meaning as mussë tengwi, see below. (VT39:17)

mussë

adjective. soft

nectë

honey

nectë noun "honey" (LT1:262; Tolkien's later Quenya has lis; otherwise, nectë would have had to become nehtë_, a form appearing in the Etymologies with the meaning "honeycomb" [VT45:38]. However, this word clashes with _nehtë "angle" or "spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow promontory" from later sources [PE17:55, UT:282].)

nehte

noun. honey

honey

Quenya [PE 19:91] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

nehtë

noun. honey, honey; [ᴹQ.] honeycomb

A noun for “honey” appearing in 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2) derived from ✶negdē “exudation” based on the root √NEG “ooze, drip” (PE19/91). It was a later iteration of ᴹQ. nehte “honeycomb” in The Etymologies of the 1930s which had essentially the same derivation (EtyAC/NEG). This in turn was a later form of ᴱQ. nekte “honey” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√NEHE having to do with bees and honey (QL/65).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d use this word only for “honey”. For “honeycomb” I’d use ᴺQ. nehtelë inspired by ᴱQ. nektele “honeycomb” (QL/65)

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

írima

lovely, beautiful, desirable

írima adj. "lovely, beautiful, desirable" (ID, FS, PE17:155), in FS also pl. írimar; in the "Qenya" of Fíriel's Song, adjectives in -a form their plurals in -ar instead of -ë as in LotR-style Quenya.

Primitive elvish

lis

root. *sweet, [ᴱ√] sweetness, [ᴹ√] honey

This root was connected to sweet things throughout Tolkien’s life. It appeared as ᴱ√LISI “sweetness” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with some derivatives of similar meaning as well as others having to do with grace and blessing, such as ᴱQ. lis (list-) “grace, blessing”; Tolkien made it clear that “sweetness” was the root meaning (QL/54-55). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the “sweetness” words all began with gl- and “grace” words with l-: G. glais “sweetness”, G. glist “sugar” (GL/39) vs. G. list “grace, favour, kindness”, G. lista- “bless” (GL/54). This connection between √LIS and “grace” survived in Tolkien’s later writing, since he used Q. lissë for “grace” in Quenya prayers of the 1950s (VT43/29; VT44/12).

This root appeared as ᴹ√LIS “honey” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, with Noldorin derivatives still beginning with gl-: ᴹQ. lis vs. N. glî “honey” (Ety/LIS). It appeared as √(G)LIS in “Definitive Linguistic Notes” (DLN) from 1959, still serving as the basis for words for honey and sweetness (PE17/154), though some of the Sindarin “sweet” words began with l- in this document, such as: S. laich “sweet” (PE17/148).

Primitive elvish [PE17/148; PE17/154; PE17/160] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lisyā

adjective. sweet

Primitive elvish [PE17/148; PE17/154] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glis

root. *sweet

lindā

adjective. *sweet sounding

Primitive elvish [WJ/378; WJ/380; WJ/382; WJ/385] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nes-

adjective. sweet smelling

Primitive elvish [PE17/100] Group: Eldamo. Published by

bani

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [PE17/057] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wanyā

adjective. fair

Primitive elvish [WJ/380; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

laich

adjective. sweet

Sindarin [PE17/148; PE17/154] Group: Eldamo. Published by

leich

adjective. sweet

melui

adjective. lovely, sweet

Sindarin [RC/582; VT42/18] Group: Eldamo. Published by

raen

adjective. smiling, gracious, sweet-faced

Sindarin [PE17/182] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Imloth Melui

noun. sweet flower valley

im (“between, within”) + loth (“a head of small flowers”), mel (“dear”) + ui (adjective suffix) #M sometimes resists lenition when otherwise may cause confusion.

Sindarin [Tolkiendil] Group: Tolkiendil Compound Sindarin Names. Published by

lend

adjective. tuneful, sweet

Sindarin [Ety/369, X/LH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

melui

adjective. lovely, sweet

This word only occurs in the place name Imloth Melui, a vale where roses grew

Sindarin [LotR/V:VIII, VT/42:18, RC/582] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lend

sweet

(tuneful), pl. lind. Note: a homophone means ”way, journey”. No Sindarin adjective describing sweet taste occurs in published material.

melui

sweet

1) (= lovely) melui (lenited velui; no distinct pl. form) (VT42:18). 2) lend (tuneful), pl. lind. Note: a homophone means ”way, journey”. No Sindarin adjective describing sweet taste occurs in published material.

melui

sweet

(lenited velui; no distinct pl. form) (VT42:18).

liss Speculative

adjective. fragrant, sweet

lend

adjective. tuneful, sweet

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

raen

adjective. smiling

adj. smiling, gracious, sweet-faced. Q. raina. >> Gilraen

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:182] < RAYA 'smile', show pleasure or favour in facial expression. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

melethel

noun. darling, sweetheart

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/adaptations. Published by

Imloth Melui

Imloth Melui

The name Imloth Melui is translated as "sweet flower-valley".

Sindarin [Tolkien Gateway] Published by

lend

tuneful

lend (sweet), pl. lind. Note: a homophone means ”way, journey”.

lend

tuneful

(sweet), pl. lind. Note: a homophone means ”way, journey”.

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:150] < BAN beauty, with implication that it is due to _lack of fault_ or _blemish_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:150] < BAN beauty, with implication that it is due to _lack of fault_ or _blemish_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dail

adjective. lovely

_ adj. _lovely, beautiful. Q. lelya. >> deil

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:151] < _delya_ < DEL. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

deil

lovely

_ adj. _lovely, beautiful. Q. lelya. >> dail

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:151] < _delya_ < DEL. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

Sindarin [PM/352] Etym. "having a good fëa". Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:140] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:165] < _gwan_ < GWAN pale, fair. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

lind

adjective. fair

medlin

adjective. honey-eater, bear-like

Sindarin [Ety/369, X/DL] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

glî

honey

glî (i **lî**);

glî

honey

(i ’lî);

mae

soft

mae (lenited vae; no distinct pl. form). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” moe. Note: a homophone is the adverb mae = ”well”.

mae

soft

(lenited vae; no distinct pl. form). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” moe. Note: a homophone is the adverb mae = ”well”.

nîdh

honeycomb

(construct nidh; no distinct pl. form) (VT45:38).

Noldorin 

lhend

adjective. tuneful, sweet

Noldorin [Ety/LIND] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lhend

adjective. tuneful, sweet

Noldorin [Ety/369, X/LH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glin-

verb. to sing

Noldorin [Ety/GLIN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glî

noun. honey

Noldorin [Ety/369] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glî

noun. honey

A word for “honey” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶g-lisi under the root ᴹ√LIS of the same meaning (Ety/LIS).

Conceptual Development: In Early Noldorin Word-lists Tolkien also had ᴱN. glí “honey” (PE13/144), presumably similarly derived from the early root ᴱ√LISI. However, in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s the word for “honey” was G. neglis with an initial element √neg- (GL/59), the Gnomish equivalent of the early root ᴱ√NEHE that was the basis for ᴱQ. nekte “honey” (QL/65). It is possible that the second element of G. neglis was based on ᴱ√LISI and this was carried forward into later “honey” words.

meglin

adjective. honey-eater, bear-like

Noldorin [Ety/369, X/DL] Group: SINDICT. Published by

moe

adjective. soft

Noldorin [Ety/371] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Adûnaic

izrê

noun. sweetheart, beloved

A noun translated “sweetheart, beloved” and fully declined as an example of a weak II feminine-noun (SD/438).

Adûnaic [SD/424; SD/438] Group: Eldamo. Published by

zîrân

adjective. beloved

An adjective translated “(the) beloved” (SD/247), apparently formed from the verb zîr- “to love, desire” with the participle suffix -ân. Its placement in the sentence Anadûnê zîrân hikalba “Númenor beloved fell (down)” is unusual, since according to Tolkien adjectives normally precede the nouns they modify (SD/428). It is possible that the adjective here is being used as a noun “the beloved”, an idea supported by the translation of this sentence in the final manuscript: “Anadune the beloved she fell” (VT24/12). See the entry for the Adûnaic participle for further discussion.

Adûnaic [SD/247; VT24/12] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Telerin 

necte, nette

noun. honey

honey

Telerin [PE 19:91] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

nettë

noun. honey


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!

Early Primitive Elvish

suku

root. *sweet

The root ᴱ√SUKU⁽²⁾ appeared unglossed in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. suksa “sweet” and ᴱQ. sutya- “sweeten, soothe” (QL/87). A parenthetical comment indicated that ᴱ√ÐUKU might be the true root form. There are no signs of this root in Tolkien’s later writing.

Early Primitive Elvish [QL/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lisi

root. sweetness

Early Primitive Elvish [QL/054] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

glis

adjective. sweet

gûri

adjective. sweet

Gnomish [GL/43; QL/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gur

adjective. sweet

glais

noun. sweetness

idril

noun. sweetheart

Gnomish [GL/50; LT2A/Cûm an-Idrisaith] Group: Eldamo. Published by

melethli

noun. darling, sweetheart

garth

adjective. beloved

idril

feminine name. Beloved

Gnomish [GG/11; GG/15; GL/50; LT2/216; LT2A/Idril; LT2I/Idril; LT2I/Irildë; PE13/099; PE13/103; PE13/104; PE15/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lir-

verb. to sing

Gnomish [GL/39; GL/54; LT1A/Lindelos] Group: Eldamo. Published by

neglis

noun. honey

Early Quenya

líse

adjective. sweet

Early Quenya [GL/39; QL/055] Group: Eldamo. Published by

suksa

adjective. sweet

Early Quenya [QL/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sutya

adjective. sweet

Early Quenya [QL/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

narwe

noun. (sweet) lily

A word for “lily” or “sweet lily” in the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√NṚŘṚ [NṚÞṚ] “smell sweet” (QL/68; PME/68).

Early Quenya [PME/068; QL/068] Group: Eldamo. Published by

miruvóre

noun. nectar, drink of the Valar, sweet drink

Early Quenya [GL/43; LT1/153; LT1/160; LT1A/Miruvor; LT1I/Miruvor; PME/061; QL/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wóre

adjective. sweet (to taste only)

Early Quenya [QL/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lísele

noun. sweetness

Early Quenya [QL/055] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sutya-

verb. to sweeten, soothe

Early Quenya [QL/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

melitse

noun. darling, sweetheart

Early Quenya [PE15/77; QL/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ile

noun. honey

Early Quenya [PE13/149] Group: Eldamo. Published by

liri-

verb. to sing

Early Quenya [QL/054; VT40/08] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mírea

adjective. smiling

Early Quenya [QL/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nekte

noun. honey

Early Quenya [LT1A/Nielluin; PME/065; QL/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

lind

noun/adjective. tuneful, sweet; *singing

An adjective meaning “tuneful, sweet” developed from primitive ᴹ✶lindā (Ety/LIND, EtyAC/LIND). It is an example of how the usual Ilkorin a-affection was prevented or reverted before [nd], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Ilkorin/lind). This word may also have had the sense “✱singing” in the word myrilind “nightingale = ✱night singing”, from primitive ᴹ✶lindē.

Doriathrin [Ety/LIND; Ety/TIN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

lindā

adjective. sweet sounding

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/LIND; Ety/SLIN; EtyAC/LIND] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glisi

noun. honey

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/LIS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lis

root. honey

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/LIS; Ety/MAT; Ety/MOR; EtyAC/MAT] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

tyth

adjective. sweet (to the taste)

Early Noldorin [PE13/155] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glí

noun. honey

Early Noldorin [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gol-

verb. to sing

Early Noldorin [PE13/145] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwag

adjective. soft

Early Noldorin [PE13/146] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

melda

adjective. beloved, dear, sweet

Qenya [Ety/MEL; EtyAC/MEL; LR/072] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lin-

verb. to sing

lis

noun. honey

Qenya [Ety/LIS; EtyAC/LIS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vanima

adjective. fair

Primitive adûnaic

izray

noun. *sweetheart, beloved

The primitive form of izrê “sweetheart, beloved” (SD/424), probably derived from the root ✶Ad. √ZIR. The actual primitive word was more likely ✱izrai, produced via a-fortification from the biconsonantal vowel-suppression form ✱izri. Its plural form izray+yi is also attested.

Primitive adûnaic [SD/424] Group: Eldamo. Published by