An adjective describing the Vanya Elves, as well as a name for their dialect of Quenya (WJ/361; PE18/74), it is a combination of their tribal name with the language/adjective suffix -rin.
Quenya
vanya
proper name. Fair Elves, the Fair
vanyarin
proper name. *of the Vanyar; language of the Vanyar
vanyar
Vanyar
The name Vanyar means "the Fair" in Quenya, referring to their golden hair. It seems to be from a primitive Elvish form bányâ (stem BAN) but also from wanjâ (stem WAN). The Teleri called them Baniai.
minyar
collective name. Firsts (original clan name of the Vanyar)
-ima
suffix. -able, -ible, adjective suffix, apt to do
-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.)
An Elf of the first tribe, known as “The Fair” (S/53). Their name developed from the primitive root √(G)WAN “pale, fair” referring to their fair hair (WJ/383).
Conceptual Development: Tolkien also considered deriving this name from primitive ✶banya “beautiful” (PM/402) from the root √BAN (PE17/165). In Quenya, these two roots were blended, so both origins could have been true in a sense.