al-

well

pref. #well. Q. al(a)-. . This gloss was rejected.

mae

adverb. well

adv. well. Ai na vedui Dúnadan. Mae g'ovannen. 'Ah! At last, Dúnadan ! Well met !'.

mae

well

_ adv. _well. >> mael

mael

adjective. well

_ adj. _well. adjective << adverb. >> mae

mae

adverb. well

mael

adjective. well

barad eithel

place name. Tower of the Well

A fortress on the river Sirion, translated “Tower of the Well” (S/191). It is a combination of barad “tower” and eithel “spring, (water) source” (SA/barad, eithel).

eithel ivrin

place name. Ivrin’s Well

Source of the river Narog (S/209) translated “Ivrin’s Well” (WJ/139), a combination of eithel “spring, well” and the name Ivrin (SA/eithel).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as N. Ivrineithil with the same elements and meaning (SM/313, LR/139). However, in this earlier form, the second element eithil seems to be plural. Silmarillion drafts of from the 1950s likewise had plural eithil: Eithil Ivrin (WJ/85, 139). Christopher Tolkien chose to use singular Eithel in The Silmarillion as published (S/209).

eithel sirion

place name. Well of Sirion

Source of the river Sirion (S/120) translated “Sirion’s Well” (WJ/182), a combination of eithel “spring, well” and the name Sirion (SA/eithel).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as N. Eithyl Sirion (SM/311), revised to N. Eithel Sirion (LR/127), both with the same translation “Sirion’s Well”.

mae govannen

well met

This is the best known Sindarin greeting, used by Glorfindel when greeting Aragorn west of Rivendell. For the meaning of the elements in this phrase, see the discussion below.

Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts as N. mai govannen “well met” (RS/194, 198 note #5), with the only difference from the published version being N. mai “well” rather than S. mae. The element govannen “met” is certainly a past/passive participle, but it is not entirely clear what the verb was intended to be when Tolkien coined the phrase. One likely possibility is N. ✱govad- “to meet, (lit.) together tread”, a combination of the prefix N. go- “together” and the verbal root ᴹ√BAT “tread”, analogous to N. trevad- “traverse, ✱(lit.) through tread” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/BAT). Another possibility is the root ᴹ√BA “go, proceed” from the Quenya Verbal System of 1940s (PE22/112), perhaps with a verb form N. ✱govan- “together go”.

Either way, it seems likely that in the original phrase, govannen “met” was not mutated. In Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s, Tolkien revisited this notion, deciding the verb should be mutated following the adverb mae. At first he wrote:

> go-vannen “met”: past participle from go- “together” (cf. Q o- above) + past participle form of stem ba(n)- [from footnote: connected with Quenya ABA/BA, go (away), as in vanwa “gone, departed”], a Sindarin stem not related to but having similar sense as Q men-, forming Sindarin verb govan-, to come to same place, meet, in past participle form govannen (PE17/16).

He struck this through and devised a new etymology that would allow the verb to be a mutated form, as suggested by Christopher Gilson:

> go-vannen “met”: past participle from S covad- “collect”, transitive or intransitive, “assemble, bring together” (√KOB-) past tense covant, past participle covannen “art brought together” (PE17/16).

He then reversed himself, saying:

> This won’t really do. The explanation of the word as containing Sindarin √BAN “meet”, come up against, prefixed by go (< Common Eldarin WĀ, WO) is obviously right (PE17/16).

Tolkien then squeezed a new analysis of the phrase into the margin as mae “well” + g(ī)’ovannen “thou met”, where the second element of the phrase was derived from the ancient pronoun kī “thou” [2nd person familiar] + gwā-ƀandina (PE17/17). By introducing the pronoun ki between “well” and “met”, Tolkien was able to explain the initial g- as a mutated remnant of this pronoun, combined with ’ovannen after its initial consonant g- was lost. Of interest is the d in ƀandina, which seems to hint at a possible new root (√BAD or √BAT) for the base verb form; see the section on Alternate Explanations below for more details on this variant root.

The reason an alternate root was of interest is that the root √BA(N) “go” was on shaky grounds, having been in competion with √BĀ/ABA “refuse” dating all the way back to the 1930s. In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, Tolkien firmly rejected this root:

> Delete √BA(N) “go.” (For this sense Quenya, Sindarin stem is √MEN.) ... √ABA, BĀ [root of refusal and negative command] distinct from AWA, WĀ “away” (PE17/143).

Hereafter, any remaining derivatives of √BA(N) “go” were reassigned to other roots, such as Q. vanwa “lost, gone” < √WĀ “away” (WJ/366). In the same bundle of 1959 notes, Tolkien again mentioned the root √KOB. In a page of roots having to do with “flower” and “snow” Tolkien gave:

> √KOB, KOM- gather, collect. bring to same place / point. S cova-, weak intransitive. gather, assemble, come to same place, meet. mae-govannen, well met! (PE17/157).

This note was marked through and, according to Christopher Gilson, presumably replaced by a new note in a different page of roots having to do with “beautiful”:

> √KOB/KOM. gather, collect (bring or come into same place). {S cova(d) “bring” >>} S cova “come together, meet”, covad “bring together, make meet” (covannen, late Sindarin for covan(n) in mae-govannen “well-met”) (PE17/158).

If this analysis of the order of changes is correct, it seems the last thing Tolkien said on the topic was that the base verb in mae govannen was S. cova- “come together, meet”.

Alternate Theory: One challenge with the above analysis is that the order of composition for these various 1959 notes is not at all clear. Tolkien seems to have committed to the rejection of √BA(N) “go”, since the root √BĀ/ABA “refuse” was mentioned regularly in notes from 1959 forward. However, it is not entirely clear whether √KOB/KOM was actually restored. Christopher Gilson only said that “presumably” the note on PE17/157 was replaced by the note on PE17/158; it is possible that the order was reversed. One argument in favor of this ordering are the variations on the verb cova(d)-: on PE17/16 covad- was both transitive and intransitive, on PE17/158 Tolkien first wrote cova(d) “bring” before splitting it into intransitive cova- and transitive covad- and on PE17/157, it was intransitive only cova-. If the order was PE17/16 >> PE17/158 >> PE17/157, then √KOB/KOM may have been ultimately rejected.

If this is the case, then the explanation kī + gwā-ƀandina > g(ī)’ovannen “thou met” from PE17/17 may have been restored or perhaps was even added as a marginal note after the rejection of √KOB/KOM. As noted above, the d in ƀandina hints that the verbal root may also have changed from √BAN to √BAD or √BAT. Based on the form only, √BAD would seem to be most likely, but there is no appropriate meaning assigned to the root √BAD: in The Etymologies, it seems ᴹ√BAD = “judge” (Ety/BAD). However, as noted above, ᴹ√BAT “tread” would work fine, and ƀandina may be an Old Sindarin passive participle of govad- < ✱wo-BAT, perhaps even a restoration of the Noldorin form of the verb from the 1940s. The ƀ hints that it is an Old Sindarin form, and ƀandina may be a reformed passive participle after wo-bat > OS. gwa-ƀad.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to stick with S. cova- “meet” as the basis for the second element of mae govannen “well met”. I think the alternate theory is a bit of a stretch. While I think it is possible that PE17/16 >> PE17/158 >> PE17/157 was the order of composition, I think Christopher Gilson’s suggested order of PE17/157 >> PE17/158 is equally likely. Furthermore, it requires some fancy guesswork to determine the root for ƀandina given the firm rejection of √BA(N) “go”, and some phonological gymnastics to justify the initial g- in govannen as the passive participle of govad-. All in all, sticking with S. cova- “meet” seems like the simpler scenario to me.

Barad Eithel

noun. tower of [the] well

barad (“tower”) + eithel (“spring, well”)

eithel

noun. source, spring, well, source, spring, well, [N.] issue of water, fountain

A Sindarin noun for a source of water (RC/772). It appeared as an element in several names, such as Mitheithel, the Sindarin name for the river Hoarwell (LotR/200). From its glosses, it seems it could apply to a variety of water sources, including springs, wells and fountains (RC/772, SA/eithel, LR/301). It was derived from the primitive form ✶et-kelē, literally “✱out-flow”, but in ancient times the [tk] was transposed to [kt] giving ektelē (SA/kel; Ety/KEL). In Sindarin, this pair of voiceless stops became spirants [xθ], and then the [[s|[x] vocalized to [i]]] to form the diphthong [ei].

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, there were two distinct precursors to this word, G. aithl “spring” (GL/18) and G. {ecthel >>} ectheluin “fountain, fount” (GL/31) or ecthelin (GL/25); the latter’s form was ecthel in various name lists form this period (PE13/104; PE15/23). In Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s, there was an additional form ᴱN. eithlos “fountain” with several variants (PE13/142, 158); ᴱN. aithl “spring, fount, source” also reappeared (PE13/136, 158). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, these two forms seem to have merged into N. eithel “spring, issue of water” (Ety/KEL), and this is the source of derivation given above. All of the earlier forms seem to broadly have the same etymology, and so the changes represent the evolving phonetic development of the languages.

mae-govannen

verb. well met

_ weak intr. v. _well met. . This gloss was rejected.

al-

prefix. well, happily

mae

adverb/adjective. well; excellent, admirable

Maed(h)ros

noun. Sindarized combination of Q Maitimo “well-shaped” and Russandol “copper-top”

maed (“shaply”) + ross (“copper-coloured”); [Etym. MAD-, RUS-] gives translation “pale glitter”; maedh (“pale, fellow, fawn”) + ross (“flash, glitter of metal”)

eithel

noun. issue of water, spring, well

eithel

well

(= source) eithel (spring, issue of water), pl. eithil

eithel

well

(spring, issue of water), pl. eithil

mae

well

(adverb) mae (lenited vae).

mae

well

(lenited vae).

eithla-

verb. to spring, well forth, *issue forth

gal-

prefix. well, blessedly

mae govannen

meet); well met

(as greeting) mae govannen.

navaer

interjection. farewell, (lit.) be well

novaer

interjection. goodbye, farewell, (lit.) be well

-il

suffix. feminine suffix

A fairly common feminine suffix appearing as -il in Sindarin, either formed on its own or as a variant of the feminine suffix -iel. This suffix was also common Noldorin words in The Etymologies of the 1930s, along with an alternate form -ril that seems to be a feminine agental suffix, the equivalent of masculine -(r)on, seen in pairs like N. melethril/melethron “lover” and N. odhril/odhron “parent” (Ety/MEL, ONO). The -il suffix and its -ril variant are seen all the way back in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s in pairs like G. gwadhril/gwadhron “inhabitant” (GL/47) and G. ainil/ainos “god”, female and male respectively (GL/18). So it seems this feminine suffix was well established in Tolkien’s mind.

celu

spring

(of water) 1) celu (i gelu, o chelu) (source), analogical pl. cely (i chely). Archaic celw; so the coll. pl. is likely celwath. 2) (well) eithel (source, issue of water), pl. eithil.

eithel

issue of water

eithel (spring, well), pl. eithil

eithel

issue of water

eithel (spring, well, source), pl. eithil.

eithel

issue of water

(spring, well), pl. eithil

ardh

region

1. ardh (realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath. 2) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413), 3) gardh (i **ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh), 4) gwaith (i **waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

dôr

region

(i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413)

tuia

spring

(verb) tuia- (i duia, i thuiar) (swell, sprout)

tuia

spring

(i duia, i thuiar) (swell, sprout)

aich

adverb. also

A neologism for “also” suggested by Elaran in a private Discord conversation on 2019-07-14 as a replacement for eithro “✱also” whose meaning and etymology is unclear. This word aich is derived from ancient adverbial ✱as-jē and patterned after (probably adverbial) G. arthi (GL/20).

ardhon

noun. great region, province

ardhon

noun. world

bain

good

_ adj. _good, wholesome, blessed, fair (esp. of weather). . This gloss was rejected.

celu

noun. spring, source

ein-

prefix. excellent, admirable

ethuil

noun. spring, spring [the season]

gardh

noun. bounded or defined region

gardh

noun. world

gardh

noun. region

ma

adjective. good

_ adj. _good. Archaic and obsolete except as interjection 'good, excellent, that's right'.

maed

adjective. shapely

maed

adjective. shapely, shapely, *pretty

maer

good

_ adj. _good.

maer

good

adj. good, proper, excellent. Q. mára good, proper, Q. maira excellent. >> mae-. This gloss was rejected.

maer

adjective. excellent

_ adj. _excellent. Q. maira admirable, excellent, precious. >> maer-, maeron

raud

excellent

_ adj. _excellent, noble, eminent.

region

noun. holly-tree area

[HKF] reg (Dor. regorn “holly tree”) + ion (Dor. gen. pl. suffix) = Dor. Regornion [Etym. ERÉK-]

rhû

evil

adj. evil, wicked. Q. hruo. >> Rhudaur

rhû

evil

_ adj. _evil, wicked. Q. hrúa, hrúya. >> rhu-, Rhudaur

sael

adjective. wise

sael

adjective. wise

tuil

noun. spring

aran

king of a region

(pl. erain)

ardh

region

(realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath.

cadwar

shapely

1. cadwar (lenited gadwar, pl. cedwair), also cadwor (lenited gadwor, pl. cadwoer). Archaic *cadwaur. 2) maed (lenited vaed; no distinct pl. form) (handy). Note: a homophone means ”skilled, handy”.

cadwar

shapely

(lenited gadwar, pl. cedwair), also cadwor (lenited gadwor, pl. cadwoer). Archaic ✱cadwaur.

cavren

adjective. acceptable

celos

water falling swiftly from a spring

(i gelos, o chelos) (freshet), pl. celys (i chelys).

celu

spring

(i gelu, o chelu) (source), analogical pl. cely (i chely). Archaic celw; so the coll. pl. is likely celwath.

eithel

spring

(source, issue of water), pl. eithil.

ethuil

spring

(season) ethuil (no distinct pl. form). SPRING-SINGER, see SWALLOW

ethuil

spring

(no distinct pl. form).

gardh

region

(i ’ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh)

gilwen

region of stars

(Quenya Ilmen), also Gilith. In the Etymologies, this word is derived from a root GIL (LR:358) and would then have the form ’Ilwen (’Ilwith) when lenited. But in a later source, Tolkien cited the relevant root as ÑGIL (MR:388), and the lenited form would then be Ngilwen (Ngilwith).

gwaith

region

(i ’waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

idhren

wise

idhren (pondering, thoughtful), pl. idhrin. 4) goll (lenited ngoll, pl. gyll). 5) golwen (learned in deep arts), lenited ngolwen, pl. gelwin (archaic *gölwin)

idhren

wise

(pondering, thoughtful), pl. idhrin. 4) goll (lenited ngoll, pl. gyll). 5) golwen (learned in deep arts), lenited ngolwen, pl. gelwin (archaic ✱gölwin)

maed

shapely

(lenited vaed; no distinct pl. form) (handy). Note: a homophone means ”skilled, handy”.

maer

good

_(”useful” of things _ not of moral qualities) maer (lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.

maer

good

(lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.

maeras

noun. goodness

@@@ Discord 2022-04-24

noen

wise

(sensible). Pl. form (if any) uncertain. The archaic form of the word is given as nohen (VT46:7), which would have the pl. form nöhin. If the regular change of ö to e occured before the loss of h, the pl. form of noen could be nain for older nein.

ogol

evil

1. ogol (wicked), pl. egyl (archaic ögyl) (VT48:32), 2) possibly also um (bad), pl. ym (or uim?) (David Salo would read *ûm with a long vowel. According to VT46:20, it may be that Tolkien intended um as a primitive base rather than as a ”Noldorin” word; the word ogol may therefore be preferred.)

ogol

evil

(wicked), pl. egyl (archaic ögyl) (VT48:32)

sael

wise

1. sael (lenited hael; no distinct pl. form), 2) noen (sensible). Pl. form (if any) uncertain. The archaic form of the word is given as nohen (VT46:7), which would have the pl. form nöhin. If the regular change of ö to e occured before the loss of h, the pl. form of noen could be nain for older nein. 3)

sael

wise

(lenited hael; no distinct pl. form)

seidia

set aside

seidia- (appropriate to special purpose or owner) (i heidia, i seidiar) (VT42:20).

um

evil

(bad), pl. ym (or uim?) (David Salo would read ✱ûm with a long vowel. According to VT46:20, it may be that Tolkien intended um as a primitive base rather than as a ”Noldorin” word; the word ogol may therefore be preferred.)

ummas

noun. evil

úmarth

evil fate

(pl. úmerth).

Mairen

well

Mairen fem. name(UT:210), initial element perhaps related or identical to mai "well". The second element is obscure; the root REN "recall, have in mind" (PM:372) could be related; if so the name may imply "well remembered", "(of) good memory" or something similar. It may also connect with the adj. maira, q.v. and compare the masc. name Mairon (PE18:163).

mai

well

mai (1) adv. "well" (VT47:6), apparently also used as prefix (PE17:17:162, 163, 172)

mandë

well

mandë (2) adv. "well" (VT49:26; this is "Qenya"). Rather mai in Tolkiens later Quenya.

tampo

well

tampo noun "well" (QL:93)

mai

adverb. well, well; [ᴱQ.] too much

maitimo

masculine name. Well-shaped One

The mother-name of Maedhros (PM/353). It seems to be a compound of maitë “shapely” and the agental suffix -mo, translated “Well-shaped One” (PM/353, 366).

maitë

adjective. handy, skillful; having a hand, handed; shapely, handy, skillful, [ᴹQ.] skilled; [Q.] shapely, well-shaped; (as suffix) having a hand, handed

An adjective for “handy, skilful” in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/6). ᴹQ. maite had a similar gloss “handy, skilled” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien gave its primitive form as ✶magiti in the 1960s (VT41/10) and as ᴹ✶maʒiti in the 1930s (Ety/MAƷ). Either way, it seems to be a combination of Q. má “hand” and the adjective suffix -itë, with a stem form of maiti-.

As a suffix in compounds, it has the sense “handed” as in Q. formaitë “righthanded” (Ety/PHOR) and Q. morimaitë “black-handed” (PE17/110). As prefix, however, it seems to have meant “shapely, well shaped” as in Maitimo “Well-shaped One” (PM/353). It seems likely the same would be true if the adjective were applied to an object, such as maitë macil “a well-shaped [skillfully made] sword”, as opposed to maitë ohtar “a handy/skillful warrior”.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. maqa or maqalea meant “handy, skilled (with hands)” while ᴱQ. mavoite (mavoisi-) meant “having hands”, both under the early root ᴱ√MAHA (QL/57). The Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. maite “handed” as an element in ᴱQ. erumaite “one handed” (PE14/51, 84; PE16/140). ᴹQ. maite appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as noted above, but with the abnormal plural form maisi (Ety/MAƷ) that seems to be remnant of Early Qenya phonetic developments from the 1910s.

Maitimo

well-shaped one

Maitimo noun "well-shaped one", mother-name (never used in narrative) of Nelyafinwë = Maedhros (PM:353)

alaquenta

well (happily) said

alaquenta adj. "well (happily) said" (PE17:146)

lanwa

within bounds, limited, finite, (well-)defined

lanwa (1) adj. "within bounds, limited, finite, (well-)defined" (VT42:8)

lóna

noun. (deep) pool, mere, river-feeding well

A noun lóna glossed “pool, mere” derived from the root √LON and distinct in origin from Sindarin lô “flood” < √LOG (VT42/10).

Conceptual Development: This word seems to be a remnant of Tolkien’s investigation into the origin of the river-name S. Lhûn (PE17/136-137; VT48/27-28), where Tolkien first considered having a related Quenya word hlōna “a river” (PE17/136), then another related word lōn(e) “deep pool or lake” (PE17/137), but this notion was rejected and Tolkien said:

> The stem (S)LOW- does not appear in Quenya, where it is replaced by √LŎNŎ, as in lōn/lōne (pl. lōni) “deep pool or river-feeding well” (PE17/137).

This word and its derivation seems to have reemerged as lóna “pool, mere” in the notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from 1967-69, as described above (VT42/10).

yondë

any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bonds (as mountains or rivers)

yondë noun "any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bonds (as mountains or rivers)", occurring as a suffix -yondë, -yon/-iondë, -ion in regional names. (PE17:43). Note: †yondë may also be an (archaic/poetic) past tense of the verb yor-, q.v.

al(a)-

prefix. well, happily

alacarna

adjective. well-done, well-made

alaquenta

adjective. well (happily) said

mai-

prefix. excellent, admirable, excellent, admirable; *well, happily

márië

noun/adverb. well, happily; goodness, good estate, being well, happiness

namárië

interjection. farewell, (lit.) be well, let it be well (to you)

ama-

prefix. *well, happily

celu-

verb. (begin to) flow; well up

ehtelu-

verb. well, bubble out

istima

adjective. wise, knowledgeable, v.well informed

istima

adjective. wise (in sense knowing very much), knowledgeable, very well informed, learned

lanwa

adjective. within bounds, limited, finite, (well-)defined

lón(ë)

noun. deep pool, river-feeding well

nai hirinyes

it may well chance for me to find it

nai nin híres

it may well chance for me to find it

quí(ta) la tuldes, nánë márië (nin)

[if he had not come], it was well to me (I was glad)

yondë

noun. region, any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bounds

@@@ yonde is salvageable as a derivative of YOD

á na márië

be well

namárië

Farewell

This was the poem that Galadriel recited to Frodo and the fellowship as they departed Lórien (LotR/377). It is the longest canonical Elvish text published by Tolkien, and one of the longest texts in the corpus. In the literature, it is usually called the Namárië or “Farewell” poem, though in one place Tolkien gave it the formal title Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” (RGEO/58).

As a poem, this text is freer in word order and syntax than ordinary Quenya prose (RGEO/58). This makes it somewhat difficult to interpret the poem, since the English translation of the poem does not correspond directly with the Elvish wording. Fortunately, Tolkien published an extensive commentary on the poem within his lifetime (RGEO/58-62), making the proper interpretation the poem abundantly clear. In this commentary, Tolkien included a prose version of the poem, written in a “normal style” and with more ordinary (and therefore easier to follow) word order. The prose version of the poem is discussed in a separate entry.

The text below mostly divides the poem into one phrase for each line of the original poem. The exceptions are lines 5-6, 9-10 and 13-14 which are organized differently to facilitate discussion. The English glosses are from the translation of the poem in the 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings. Only proper names are capitalized. Interpretations are discussed in the entries for individual phrases.

namárië

farewell

namárië interjection "farewell" (Nam, RGEO:67)

tampo

noun. well

maicarindo

noun. benefactor, (lit.) well-doer

A neologism for “benefactor” coined by Helge Fauskanger for his NQNT (NQNT), a combination of mai “well” and an agental form of car- “do”, so more literally “well-doer”.

mailengaitë

adjective. well-mannered

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-04-13 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of mai “well” and lengaitë “apt to behave”, adjectival form of lenga- “to behave”.

maimarta

adjective. lucky, (lit.) well-fated

A neologism for “lucky” coined by Luinyelle posted on 2025-10-03 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of mai “well” and marta “fated”.

aryë

adverb. as well, besides, in addition; also known as; also, too

A neologism for “also, as well, besides, too” coined by Elaran on 2023-06-22 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) derived from primitive ASjē based on the root √AS “beside” which is also the basis for ar “and”. I would use this neologism primarily in the sense “as well, in addition, besides” as a replacement for ᴱQ. aru, while for the sense “also” = “too” I would use attested: [ᴹQ.] yú (PE22/121-2). The neologism arye was originally proposed to mean “also known as”, such as: Artanis Nerwen, arye Altáriel. I would use arye for this sense as well.

-iel

suffix. -daughter; feminine suffix

The most common Quenya suffix for “daughter of” such as in Elerondiel “✱Daughter of Elrond” (PE17/56) or Uinéniel “Daughter of Uinen” (UT/182).

Conceptual Development: The earliest hint of this suffix was ᴱQ. -il mentioned by Tolkien in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as the equivalent of feminine patronymic ᴱQ. -wen (QL/103), but its only use in this period was in the masculine name ᴱQ. Indorildo, a variant of ᴱQ. Indorion and hence probably meaning “son of” (LT2/217). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien mentioned ᴹQ. -iel as a feminine patronymic under the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter” (Ety/YEL¹), but this root was rejected and in that document Tolkien seems to have replaced it with ᴹQ. -ien (EtyAC/YŌ).

In later writings Tolkien considered a bewildering variety of suffixes for the feminine patronymic, including -iel(d), -well, -wend and -ien (PE17/170, 190). In practice, though, only -iel appeared in actual names for “daughter of” (see above), perhaps because it is was the cleanest equivalent of the well-established masculine patronymic -ion “son of”.

maicámima

adjective. acceptable, (lit.) well-receivable

maisinwa

adjective. well-known, notable, famous

ala-

good

ala- (3), also al-, a prefix expressing "good" or "well" (PE17:146), as in alaquenta (q.v.) Whether Tolkien imagined this ending to coexist with the negative prefix of the same form (#2 above) is unclear and perhaps dubious.

alwa

healthy, strong, flourishing

[alwa adj. "healthy, strong, flourishing" (+ one gloss not certainly legible: ?"well grown") (VT45:14)]

carna

built, made

carna passive participle *"built, made" in Vincarna "newly-made" (MR:408), also struck-out alacarna "well-done, well-made" (PE17:172). Carna would seem to be the passive participle of car-, though a longer form carina (read *cárina?) is also attested (VT43:15).

lón

deep pool

lón, lónë (pl. lóni given) noun "deep pool", "river-[?feeding] well" (the second gloss was not certainly legible). A rejected paragraph in Tolkien's manuscript defined the word as "deep pool or lake" (VT48:28, PE17:137)

martan

earth-smith

Martan (2), also Martano, noun "Earth-smith", "Earthbuilder", a surname of Aule (TAN, GAWA/GOWO the form _Martan_ō given under MBAR must be understood as a primitive form). LT1:266 refers to a "very late note" where a variant Quenya form "Martamo" is derived from ¤mbartanō**"world-artificer"; the stated primitive form (as well as the Sindarin cognate Barthan) would suggest that the Quenya form should be Martano; on the other hand, tamo (q.v.) does occur as a variant of tano** "smith".

nir-

verb. press, thrust, force (in a given direction)

nir- vb. "press, thrust, force (in a given direction)" ("Though applicable to the pressure of a person on others, by mind and 'will' as well as by physical strength, [this verb] could also be used of physical pressures exerted by inanimates.") Given as a 1st person aorist nirin (VT41:17). Pa.t. probably *nindë since the R of nir- was originally D (the base is given as NID; compare rer- pa.t. rendë from RED concerning the past tense)

olca

evil, bad, wicked

olca adj. "evil, bad, wicked" (VT43:23-24, VT48:32, VT49:14, PE17:149). The root meaning implies "wickedness as well as badness or lack of worth" (PE17:170). Variant of ulca.

sat-

verb. set aside, appropriate to a special purpose or owner

#sat- vb. "set aside, appropriate to a special purpose or owner" (VT42:20). Cited in the form "sati-"; the final -i may be simply the connecting vowel of the aorist (as in *satin "I set aside"). This verb "was in Quenya applied to time as well as space" (VT42:20)

márië

goodness

márië (1) "goodness", "good" as noun (abstract formation from the adj. mára). (PE17:58, 89). Genitive máriéno, dative máriena, locative máriessë (PE17:59, occurring in the greeting (hara) máriessë "(stay) in happiness", PE17:162) Allative márienna *"to goodness", used as an interjection "farewell" (archaic namárië, q.v.),

Amarië

good

Amarië fem. name; perhaps derived from mára "good" with prefixing of the stem-vowel and the feminine ending -ië (Silm)

Yón

region, any (fairly extensive) region between obstacles such as rivers or mountains

yón (2), variant of yondë, q.v. Defined as "a region, any (fairly extensive) region _between obstacles such as rivers or mountains" (PE17:43)_

alma

good fortune, weal, wealth

alma (1) noun "good fortune, weal, wealth". In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses were "riches, (good) fortune, blessedness"; in another deleted entry, Tolkien provided the glosses "growth" and maybe "increase" (reading uncertain), also "good fortune, riches" (GALA [ALAM], VT45:5, 13, 14)

amya-

prefix. excellent, admirable

canya

adjective. wise

ehtelu-

verb. gush forth

ehtelë

issue of water, spring

ehtelë noun "issue of water, spring" (SA:kel-, KEL, ET). Compare "Qenya" ectelë ("k")"fountain" (LT1:257, LT2:338; in LotR-style Quenya ehtelë).

isqua

wise

isqua ("q") adj. "wise" (LT2:339).

iswa

wise

iswa adj. "wise" (LT2:339); rather saila in Tolkiens later Quenya.

mára

adjective. good

máralë

noun. goodness

máriën

noun. goodness

ména

region

ména noun "region" (MEN). Not to be confused with the present/continuative tense of #men- "go".

naxa

adjective. evil

naxa

noun/adjective. evil

nir-

verb. press, thrust, force

nóla

wise, learned

nóla ("ñ") (1) adj. "wise, learned" (ÑGOL) (note that this and the next nóla would be spelt differently in Tengwar writing, and originally they were also pronounced differently, since nóla "wise, learned" was ñóla in First Age Quenya).

saila

wise

#saila adj. "wise" (isolated from alasaila [q.v.] "unwise" in a late source)

saila

adjective. wise

saira

wise

saira adj. "wise" (SAY, VT46:12; a later source has the alternative formation #saila as above)

sirya-

verb. to flow, to flow [smoothly]

This verb first appeared in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as an example of ya-formative half-strong verb ᴹQ. siry(a)- “flow” (PE22/114), though its primitive form ᴹ✶siryă “flow smoothly” appeared a bit earlier in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1) from the late 1940s (PE22/98). This verb may have replaced the basic verb ᴹQ. sir- “flow” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/SIR), but see Conceptual Development below.

The verb sirya- continued to appear [albiet without translation] as an example of half-strong verb conjugation in Tolkien’s writings in the 1960s with a past form sirinye (PE17/77; PE22/164). In one place he conjugated it as a weak verb from primitive ✱siryā with weak past siryane (PE22/156), but this may have been a transient or experimental idea.

Conceptual Development: QVS from 1948 has a present-tense form síra as part of the sentence númen Endorello isse sí Vaia síra “westward of Middle-earth where now Ocean flows” (PE22/126). It is not entirely clear which verb it is the present tense for. It looks like the present tense of the basic verb ᴹQ. sir- “flow” from the 1930s, but could have been intended to be the present of the sirya- “flow” instead, since that is the verb for “flow” everywhere else in QVS.

Based on the discussion of half-strong verbs QVS, I would expected the present tense of sirya- to be the long imperfect ✱siryalya; compare the present imperfect taltalya “am slipping down” for half-strong talta- (PE22/115). Such long imperfects were used for the present tense of verbs with otherwise defective presents, the main example being a-verbs such as fara- “hunt” whose present was faralya “is hunting” (PE22/116). But Tolkien also said “some verbs make a strong present, so ōla-, is growing [from ola-]”. Thus síra might be an example of such a strong present for half-strong sirya.

Neo-Quenya: For purpose of Neo-Quenya, I would assume sirya- was the most common Quenya verb for “to flow”, conjugated as a ya-formative half-strong verb. I would further assume that, like in EVS1, sirya- has the implied meaning of “flow [smoothly]”. However, I would assume ᴹQ. sir- is a less commonly used verb for “flow”, especially applicable when flows are turbulent or not continuous, as in the “the Ocean is flowing [síra]” in the sentence given above. For example, Helge Fauskanger used sir- “flow” in his NQNT (NQNT).

tuilë

spring, spring-time

tuilë noun "spring, spring-time", also used = "dayspring, early morn" (VT39:7, TUY), in the calendar of Imladris a precisely defined period of 54 days, but also used without any exact definition. Cf. tuilérë, q.v. (Appendix D) - In early "Qenya", the word tuilë is glossed "Spring", but it is said that it literally refers to a "budding", also used collectively for "buds, new shoots, fresh green" (LT1:269). Cf. tuima in Tolkien's later Quenya.

tuilë

noun. spring, spring, [ᴹQ.] spring-time, [ᴱQ.] (lit.) a budding; buds, new shoots, fresh green

tára

wise

tára (2) ?"wise". (From tentative notes trying to explain Daur [unlenited *Taur] as Sindarin name of Frodo; the more normal word for "wise" seems to be saila/saira.)

tára

adjective. wise

ulca

evil, bad, wicked, wrong

ulca adj. "evil, bad, wicked, wrong" (QL:97, VT43:23-24, VT48:32, VT49:14; compounded in henulca "evileyed", SD:68); variant olca, q.v. Compare noun ulco. The adj. ulca may also itself be used as a noun "evil", as in the ablative form ulcallo "from evil" (VT43:8, 10) and the sentence cé mo quetë ulca *"if one speaks evil" (VT49:19).

ulco

evil

ulco (stem #ulcu-) noun "evil", pl. *ulqui (VT43:23-24; the stem-form is attested in the ablative case: ulcullo "from evil", VT43:12)

ulco

noun. evil

yando

also

yando adv. "also" (QL:104)

yón

noun. region

úmëa

evil

úmëa (2) adj. "evil" (UGU/UMU). Obsoleted by #1 above? Possibly connected to úmëai in Narqelion, if that is a "Qenya" plural form.

úra

evil, nasty

úra (1) adj. "evil, nasty" (VT43:24, VT48:32)

úro

evil

úro noun "evil" (VT43:24); Tolkien may have abandoned this form in favour of ulco, q.v.

cávima

adjective. acceptable

mai

adverb. well

eithel

noun. issue of water, spring, well, fountain

eithel sirion

place name. Sirion’s Well

ivrineithil

place name. Ivrin’s Well

eithel

noun. issue of water, spring, well

mai govannen

well met

siria-

verb. to flow

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing as its Noldorin-style infinitive sirio “flow”, derived from ON. sirya- under the root ᴹ√SIR “flow” (Ety/SIR). In this document, its Quenya equivalent was ᴹQ. sir- “flow” (Ety/SIR), but by 1948 Tolkien had introduced ᴹQ. sirya- “flow” as well (PE22/114).

galw

noun. ?increase, growth

-il

suffix. feminine suffix

ar-

prefix. etym. beside

ar-

prefix. without

cadwar

adjective. shapely

cadwar

adjective. shapely

cadwor

adjective. shapely

cadwor

adjective. shapely

An adjective appearing as cadwor, cadwar in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶katwārā “shapely” (Ety/KAT). The variant forms likely had to do with whether or not ā remained long or was shortened in the final syllable of the primitive form; if it remained long then [[os|ā > ō [ǭ] > au]] [cadwaur with usual soft-mutation of t > d] and then au became o in the polysyllable, producing cadwor.

Conceptual Development: The Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s had an untranslated adjective ᴱN. {cadeg >>} cadog that might have a similar meaning (PE13/125).

celw

noun. spring, source

ethuil

noun. spring

goll

adjective. wise

goll

adjective. wise

golwen

adjective. wise, learned in deep arts

noen

adjective. wise, sensible

sail

adjective. wise

mai

adverb. well

kelu

verb. well forth, begin to flow

as

root. beside

As discussed in the entry for √AR, for a considerable time in Tolkien’s life the basis for the word “and” was the root √AR with the sense “beside”, so that Q. A ar B “A and B” originally had the sense “A beside B”. However, at some point during the writing of the Lord of the Rings he decided that the Sindarin word for “and” was a, making √AR no longer suitable for its etymology.

From this point forward Tolkien toyed with two possible roots for “beside; and”, either √AD and √AS, with another option √ÑAR considered and rejected in 1957 (PE17/169). It seems Tolkien vacillated between the √AD and √AS, so an exact timeline is hard to nail down. Their primary difference would be in the prevocalic form of Sindarin “and”: either edhil adh edain [ada > aða] or edhil ah edain [asa > aha] for “elves and men”. The most detailed breakdown of these two possibilities appeared in Tolkien’s notes on words in The Lord of the Rings, probably written in the late 1950s (PE17/41). In these notes he kept flipping back and forth between ancient asa and ada, though ultimately settling on ada.

However, ah appeared in the title of the document Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” most likely written in 1959 (MR/329), and in a 1968 note Tolkien said the primitive form was as with S. ah “and” before vowels and a before consonants (VT43/30). So either Tolkien reversed himself again and adopted √AS, or he continued to vacillate. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root was √AS.

One result of the change of √AR >> √AS/√AD is that the Sindarin prefix ar- could no longer mean “beside” as it did in Noldorin. Indeed, in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor written in 1967-69 he said “Arnen originally was intended to mean ‘beside the water’, sc. Anduin, but ar- in this sense is Quenya, not Sindarin” (VT43/17). This leaves us with no good word for “beside” in Sindarin; at one point I coined a neologism sa for this purpose, but it is a real stretch.

As a final note, these 1950s and 1960s roots were not the first time Tolkien used √AS for something like “beside”. All the way back in the 1910s, Tolkien had the root √AS(A) in both the Quenya and Gnomish Lexicons (QL/33; GL/48) with derived forms like ᴱQ. ar “to, against, next, on (wall)” (QL/33), G. hath- “close to, by, beside, touching” (GL/48), and [maybe] G. art “beside, alongside of” (GL/20), though the last form may be unconnected given the unlikeliness of s > r in Gnomish.

-iel

suffix. feminine suffix

dāra

adjective. wise

gardā

noun. region

manrā

adjective. good

satya-

verb. set aside

sirya-

verb. to flow, to flow [smoothly]

-ye Reconstructed

suffix. feminine suffix

twílë

noun. spring

-êth

suffix. feminine suffix

A feminine suffix appearing in several names, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/11). On SD/427, Tolkien said that the affix -th was often found in feminine forms.

-î

suffix. feminine suffix

A suffix used to form feminine nouns from common or masculine nouns (SD/435). Another common variant was -ê (SD/438).

khibil

noun. spring

A noun translated “spring” and fully declined as an example of a Strong I noun (SD/430).