Valinorean language
Quenya
valin
happy
Valinórea
noun. Valinorean language
valinórë
place name. Land of the Valar
Land of the Valar within Aman (S/37), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and nórë “land” (SA/val, dôr). It usually appeared in the shorter form Valinor. In older Quenya, this name would have meant “Valian folk”, but it was blended with archaic Valandor to get its current meaning (PE17/20, SA/dôr).
Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valinor appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/70), and its long form Valinōre appeared in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/66). The name ᴹQ. Valinor appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/110, 205), and in The Etymologies it already had the same derivation as given above (Ety/BAL, NDOR).
In the earlier stages, the name Aman had not yet been invented, so Valinor referred to the entire land of the West, not just the land of the Valar within it.
See ✶Bali(a)nōrē for a discussion of its complex etymology.
Valinor
the land (or people) of the valar
Valinor place-name "the land (or people) of the Valar", *"Vali-land" (Vali = Valar), land of the Gods in the West (BAL, NDOR); cf. Valandor. Full form Valinórë (BAL; Vali-nórëunder NDOR).Said to be "the true Eldarin name of Aman", the latter name being explained as a borrowing from Valarin in some versions of the linguistic scenario (VT49:26). In the early "Qenya Lexicon", Valinor, Valinórë is glossed "Asgard", the name of the city of the gods in Norse mythology (LT1:272). It seems that in such more restricted use, Valinor is not the entire Blessed Realm but rather the specific region beyond the Pelóri where (most of) the Valar dwelt, with Val(i)mar as the chief city. Thus it is said of Eärendil that he "went into Valinor and to the halls of Valimar" only after he had already left his ship and ventured as far as Tirion (Silmarillion, chapter 24). Possessive Valinóreva in Nurtalë Valinóreva, the "Hiding of Valinor", the possessive case here assuming the function of object genitive (Silm); genitive Valinórëo in Yénië Valinórëo "Annals of Valinor" (MR:200; the last word was changed from Valinóren, Tolkien revising the genitive ending from -n to -o)
yénië valinóreo
proper name. Annals of Valinor
Quenya title of the “Annals of Valinor” (MR/200), a combination of yénië “annals” and the genitive form of Valinórë. It also appeared as Valinóre Yénie.
Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name appeared as ᴹQ. Yénie Valinóren (LR/202) using the earlier form of the Quenya genitive: the suffix -n instead of later -o. This name was preceded by the forms ᴹQ. Valinórelúmien >> ᴹQ. Nyarna Valinóren, all with the same translation.
Valinor
Valinor
valima
adjective. happy
valima adj. "happy" (QL:99). See valin.
Use alassëa instead.
nillë
noun. silver glint; Valinorian imagines [images of real stars]
A rather obscure term given as {ille >>} ñille for the “Valinorian imagines”, false stars made in imitation of the real ones created by Varda along with the dome over Valinor (Nur-menel) which protected that land from the spies of Melkor (PE17/22; MR/388). Whether this idea survived as part of the Legendarium is unclear, but this word also happens to be the closest equivalent to S. gil or gail, the usual Sindarin word for “star”, both derived from the root √(Ñ)GIL.
valandor
place name. Land of the Valar
-o
of goodness
-o (1) genitive ending, as in Altariello, Oromëo, Elenna-nórëo, Rithil-Anamo, Rúmilo, Lestanórëo, neldëo, omentielvo, sindiëo, Valinórëo, veryanwesto, q.v. In words ending in -a, the genitive ending replaces this final vowel, hence atto, Ráno, Vardo, vorondo as the genitive forms of atta, Rána, Varda, voronda (q.v.) Following a noun in -ië, the ending can have the longer form -no, e.g. *máriéno "of goodness" (PE17:59, but contrast sindiëo "of greyness" in PE17:72). Where the word ends in -o already, the genitive is not distinct in form, e.g. ciryamo (q.v.) = "mariner" or "mariners". Pl. -ion and -ron, q.v.; dual -to (but possibly -uo in the case of nouns that have nominative dual forms in -u rather than -t). The Quenya genitive describes source, origin or former ownership rather than current ownership (which is rather covered by the possessive-adjectival case in -va). The ending -o may also take on an ablativic sense, "from", as in Oiolossëo "from (Mount) Oiolossë" (Nam), sio "hence" (VT49:18). In some of Tolkiens earlier material, the genitive ending was -n rather than -o, cf. such a revision as Yénië Valinóren "Annals of Valinor" becoming Yénië Valinórëo (MR:200).
-va
from
-va possessive ending, presumably related to the preposition va "from". In Eldaliéva, Ingoldova, miruvóreva, Oroméva, rómeva, Valinóreva (q.v. for references), Follondiéva, Hyallondiéva (see under turmen for references). Following a consonant, the ending instead appears as -wa (andamacilwa "of the long sword", PE17:147, rómenwa *"of the East", PE17:59). Pl. -vë when governing a plural word (from archaic -vai) (WJ:407), but it seems that -va was used throughout in late Exilic Quenya (cf. miruvóreva governing the plural word yuldar in Namárië). Pl. -iva (-ivë*), dual -twa, partitive pl. -líva**.
Valandor
the land of the valar
Valandor place-name "the land of the Valar", confused with and replaced by Valinórë "the people of the Valar", short form Valinor (SA:dôr, Silm)
vald-
blessedness, happiness
vald- noun "blessedness, happiness" (LT1:272 a final vowel would seem to be required). See valin regarding the dubious conceptual validity of this and related words.
Valimar
vali-home
Valimar place-name "Vali-home" (Vali = Valar), the city of the Valar in Valinor, also in shorter form Valmar. Cf. the Silmarillion: "the city of Valimar where all is glad" (Valaquenta); "in the midst of the plain beyond the mountains they [the Valar] built their city, Valmar of many bells" (chapter 1). In Namárië, the word Valimar is used = Valinor, since Valimar was its chief city (Nam, RGEO:67)
Almaren
blessedness
Almaren place-name, the first abode of the Valar in Arda, apparently related to almarë "blessedness" (Silm, LR:357)
Almáriel
blessedness
Almáriel fem. name, apparently containing almarë "blessedness" (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
almarë
blessedness, 'blessings', good fortune, bliss
almarë noun "blessedness, 'blessings', good fortune, bliss". In deleted entries in Etym, the glosses provided were "blessedness, prosperity, bliss" (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
almië
blessedness, 'blessings', good fortune, bliss
almië noun "blessedness, 'blessings', good fortune, bliss". In deleted entries in Etym, the glosses were "blessedness, prosperity, bliss" (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
ho
from
ho prep. "from" (3O); cf. hó-
ló
from
ló, lo (2) prep. "from", also used = "by" introducing the agent after a passive construction: nahtana ló Turin *"slain by Túrin" (VT49:24). A similar and possibly identical form is mentioned in the Etymologies as being somehow related to the ablative ending -llo, but is not there clearly defined (VT45:28). At one point, Tolkien suggested that lo rather than the ending -llo was used with proper names (lo Manwë rather than Manwello for "from Manwë"), but this seems to have been a short-lived idea (VT49:24).
nillë
silver glint
nillë ("ñ") a star-imagine on Nur-menel (q.v.), from a stem ngil- noun "silver glint" (MR:388)
o
preposition. from
tinwë
spark
tinwë noun "spark" (gloss misquoted as "sparkle" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, see VT46:19), also "star"; pl. tinwi "sparks", properly used of the star-imagines on Nur-menel (q.v.). Cf. nillë. (TIN, MR:388) In early "Qenya", tinwë was simply glossed "star" (LT1:269, cf. MC:214). In one late source, the meaning of tinwë is given as "spark", and it is said that this word (like Sindarin gil) was used of the stars of heaven "in place of the older and more elevated el, elen- stem" (VT42:11).
va
from
va prep. "from" (VT43:20; prefixed in the form var- in var-úra "from evil", VT43:24). In VT49:24, va, au and o are quoted as variants of the stem awa "away from".
varnë
brown, swart, dark brown
varnë (1) adj. "brown, swart, dark brown", stem-form varni- (BARÁN)
valin adj. "happy" (LT1:272, ). This word, as well as valima and vald-, connect with Tolkien's early concept of Valar meaning "happy ones". Since the term Valar was later reinterpreted as "the Powers", the conceptual validity of these terms for "happy" depends on whether the bliss associated with the Valar and Valinor is regarded as sufficient to give them a secondary justification.