Primitive elvish

yan

root. *join

The earliest iteration of this root was ᴱ√ẎATA “join” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. yarta “yoke” and ᴱQ. yatta “neck; isthmus” (QL/105). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. gada- “join, connect, unite” and G. gath⁽⁾ “neck” < ᴱ✶yatt- (GL/36). It reappeared as ᴹ√YAT “join” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like ᴹQ. yanta/N. iant “yoke” and ᴹQ. yanwe/N. ianw “bridge” < ᴹ✶yatmā (Ety/YAT). Above ᴹ√YAT there was a deleted root ᴹ√YATH with a single derivative ᴹQ. yatta “neck, isthmus” that was not deleted (EtyAC/YAK). ᴹQ. yatta may have been transferred to ᴹ√YAT, though as pointed out by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne it might also have been transferred to ᴹ√YAK, which included among its derivatives ᴹQ. yat (yaht-) “neck” (Ety/YAK).

In later writings, Q. yanta and S. iant were used for “bridge” (LotR/1123; SD/129). The word Q. yanwë reappeared with the gloss “joining” in notes from 1969, initially derived from ✶yadme but this was deleted and replaced by √YAN (VT49/45-56). Carl Hostetter suggested that rejected ✶yadme probably reflected the earlier phonological developments seen in The Etymologies whereby tm became dm, then nm, and ultimately nw. However, sometime in the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien abandoned tm > dm > nm > nw, deciding instead that tm &gt; tw, which may have motivated him to change the root ᴹ√YAT to √YAN. A similar revision can be seen in change of ᴹ√TEK to √TEÑ in the derivation of Q. tengwa “letter”.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain the phonological developments of the 1930s to 1950s whereby km, tm > gm, dm > ñm, nm > ngw, nw. As such, I think it is better to retain the 1930s form of the root ᴹ√YAT “join”, which also helps avoid conflict with √YAN “wide, extensive, large”. As the above discussion indicates, Tolkien seems to have been vacillating on tm > tw vs. tm > nw as late as 1969.

Primitive elvish [VT49/45; VT49/46] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ya

pronoun. relative pronoun

Primitive elvish [PE23/114; PE23/119; PE23/130; PE23/131; PE23/132] Group: Eldamo. Published by

as(a)

preposition. and

Primitive elvish [PE17/041; VT43/30; VT47/31] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yad

root. wide

Quenya 

yan

for/to which

yan relative pronoun in dative "for/to which" or "for/to whom" (PE16:90, 92, 96). Used for "to whom" in the poem Nieninque; according to the system described elsewhere, which distinguishes personal ye "who" from impersonal ya "which", "to whom" would be *yen instead. A wholly distinct ya(n) seems to appear as an ephemeral word for "as" in one version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer; see ya #2 (VT43:16, VT49:18)

yan

adverb/conjunction. *as

@@@ possibly modal adverb

Quenya [VT43/16; VT43/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ya

as

ya (2) or yan, prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably abandoned in favour of sívë)

ya

which, what

ya (1) relative pronoun "which, what" (attested in VT43:28, 34 and in the Arctic sentence), with locative suffix in Namárië: see #yassë. According to VT47:21, ya is impersonal, "which" rather than "who(m)" (compare the personal form ye). The dative form yan (q.v.) is however used for "to whom" (rather than "to which") in one text, indicating that Tolkien did not always distinguish between personal and impersonal forms. In the phrase lúmessë ya [variant: **] firuvammë, "in [the] hour that we shall die", the relative pronoun is not explicitly marked for case and is evidently understood to share the case of the preceding noun (hence not lúmessë yassë**... "in [the] hour in which"...) (VT43:27-28) Presumably, ya has the plural form *yar* (e.g. i nati yar hirnen** "the things that/which I found").

yanda

wide

yanda adj. "wide" (PE17:115); variant of yána #1, q.v.

ya

pronoun. which, that (relative pronoun)

The basic relative pronoun in Quenya, mostly used in inflected forms such as: yassen tintilar i eleni “wherein the stars tremble” (LotR/377). See the entry on relative pronouns for further discusion.

Conceptual Development: The use of ᴱQ. ya as a relative pronoun dates back to the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s (PE14/54), but for a period in the 1930s and 40s ᴹQ. ya was used more as a remote demonstrative (Ety/YA; PE23/96-98). See the entry on correlatives for more on this usage as of 1948.

Quenya [CPT/1296; CPT/1298; LotR/0377; PE16/096; PE17/066; PE17/135; RGEO/58; VT47/21] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yanda

adjective. wide

yan i wilyar antar miquelis

*to whom the air gives kisses

and

and

a (2) conj. "and", a variant of ar occurring in Fíriel's Song (that also has ar; a seems to be used before words in f-, but contrast ar formenna "and northwards" in a late text, VT49:26). According to PE17:41, "Old Quenya" could have the conjunction a (as a variant of ar) before n, ñ, m, h, hy, hw (f is not mentioned), PE17:71 adding ty, ny, hr, hl, ñ, l, r, þ, s. See ar #1. It may be that the a or the sentence nornë a lintieryanen "he ran with his speed" (i.e. as quickly as he could) is to be understood as this conjunction, if the literal meaning is "he ran and [did so] with his speed" (PE17:58).

ar

conjunction. and, and; [ᴱQ., ᴹQ.] but

The word ar was the Quenya word for “and” for much of Tolkien’s life. It was related to (and originally identical with) Q. ar(a) “beside” (PE17/70). The word ar was always used between sentences, but in sets of items sometimes yo and ta were used instead.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s ᴱQ. ar(a) was glossed “but” under the early root ᴱ√ƷARA “spread, extend sideways” (QL/32). In this earliest period the word for “and” was ᴱQ. ya(n) (QL/104). By the end of the 1920s when Tolkien composed the Nieninqe and Earendil poems, he consistently translated ar as “and” (MC/216; PE16/100). The translation “but” reappeared in a few phrases from the 1940s (PE22/124; PE23/74), but it is not clear if these were genuine shifts in meaning or loose translations.

By the time Tolkien wrote The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ar “and” was derived from the root ᴹ√AR “beside, outside” (Ety/AR²). This seems to have remained the case up through most of the 1950s, with the possible exception of a couple phrases in the 1930s where Tolkien used a “and” instead (LR/61, 72). In this period the usual Noldorin/Sindarin word for “and” was also ar.

At some point while writing drafts of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien decided that the Sindarin word for “and” should a in the famous phrase pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter”. His motivations for this change are unclear, but he noticed the problem in notes written between the first and second edition of The Lord of the Rings, saying “a·Berhael. ‘And’ cannot therefore be [derived from] arĭ!” (PE17/102). From this point forward, Tolkien considered two possible roots serving as the basis for “and”: √AD(A) and √AS, both meaning “beside” (PE17/145; VT48/25). In his later writings, Tolkien seems to favor √AS which appeared in a few different notes from 1968 (VT47/31; VT48/25), though ada reappeared in notes from 1969 (VT49/25).

Assimilations: In the notes written between both the 1st and 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien considered what kind of assimilations ar might have before consonants if it were derived from √AS or √AD (PE17/41). For √AS it became a before the consonants f, h, hw, hy, became as before t, k, p, q, s, and became al before l. For √AD it became a before the consonants n, m, became as before s, and became al before l. In notes from around 1964 Tolkien said:

> It is not necessary here to specify all the assimilations that could have occurred at these different stages, since in fact few have left traces in the forms of “and” ... Later after development to ar, only as survived as an occasional form before t, and as the usual form before s (of any origin); while al appeared before l. But in written Quenya ar was usually written in all cases, though the pronunciation of ar-s, ar-l as as-s, al-l remained usual (PE17/71).

In this particular discussion, ar as derived from √AD. However, the system Tolkien described was that all the older assimilations were abandoned, and the only ones that survived were based on later assimilations involved r of any origin: rs &gt; ss and rl &gt; ll. These sound shifts only affected pronunciation, not spelling. Thus the same arguments would be apply if ar was derived from √AS.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would write ar “and” in all cases, and would assume it was derived from derived from √AS, but would further assume that the Tarquesta pronunciations before s and l were as-s, al-l.

Quenya [CPT/1296; LotR/0377; LotR/0967; Minor-Doc/1955-CT; NM/239; NM/240; PE16/096; PE17/041; PE17/070; PE17/071; PE17/072; PE17/102; PE17/103; PE17/145; PE17/174; PE17/175; PE22/147; PE22/154; PE22/158; PE22/162; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; S/190; SA/ar; UT/305; VT43/17; VT43/18; VT43/21; VT43/31; VT43/34; VT43/36; VT44/10; VT44/34; VT47/04; VT47/31; VT49/25; VT49/27; VT49/40; WJ/166] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-yë

conjunction. and

- (4) conj. "and" as a suffix added to the second of a pair, as Menel Cemenyë "Heaven and Earth" (VT47:30, 31, VT49:25). Other "pairs" are mentioned as examples but not actually translated into Quenya by Tolkien: Sun and Moon (*Anar Isilyë), Land and Sea (*Nór Eäryë), fire and water (*nárë nenyë, or *úr nenyë).

ar

and

ar (1) conj. "and" (AR2, SA, FS, Nam, RGEO:67, CO, LR:47, 56, MC:216, VT43:31, VT44:10, 34; see VT47:31 for etymology, cf. also VT49:25, 40). The older form of the conjunction was az (PE17:41). Ar is often assimilated to al, as before l, s (PE17:41, 71), but "in written Quenya ar was usually written in all cases" (PE17:71). In one case, Tolkien altered the phrase ar larmar "and raiments" to al larmar; the former may then be seen as representing the spelling, whereas the latter represents the pronunciation(PE17:175). More complex schemes of assimilation are suggested to have existed in "Old Quenya", the conjunction varying between ar, a and as depending on the following consonant (PE17:41, 71). An alternative longer form of the conjunction, arë, is said to occur "occasionally in Tolkien's later writings" (VT43:31, cf. VT48:14). In the Etymologies, the word for "and" was first written as ar(a) (VT45:6). In one source, Tolkien notes that Quenya used ar "as preposition beside, next, or as adverb = and" (PE17:145); compare ara.

ar

and

o (1) conj. "and", occurring solely in SD:246; all other sources give ar.

arë

and

arë conj. "and", longer form of ar, q.v. (VT43:31)

az

and

az, archaic form of the conjunction ar "and"; see ar #1.

yo

and

yo conj. "and", "often used between _two _items (of any part of speech) that were by nature or custom clearly associated, like the names of spouses (Manwë yo Varda), or "sword and sheath" (*macil yo vainë*), "bow and arrows" (quinga yo pilindi), or groups like "Elves and Men" (Eldar yo Fírimor but contrast eldain a fírimoin [dative forms] in FS, where Tolkien joins the words with a, seemingly simply a variant of the common conjunction ar). In one source, yo is apparently a preposition "with" (yo hildinyar* = "with my heirs", SD:56).

sív’ emmë apsenet tien i úcarir emmen

as we forgive those who trespass against us

The eighth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word sív’ is an elided form of sívë “as”. It is followed by the emphatic second person plural subject pronoun emmë “us” and apsenet “forgive [them]”, the aorist form of the verb apsen- “forgive” with a plural direct object suffix -t. The fourth word tien “those” is a dative (indirect object) form of tie, apparently a variant of the third person plural pronoun te.

The second half of this phrase is the subordinate clause i úcarir emmen “who trespass against us”, composed of i “who”, úcarir “trespass” (aorist plural of úcar- “to do wrong, to sin”) and emmen “against us” (dative of emmë). The last of these is unusual in that it has an emphatic pronoun used as an object rather than the subject.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> sív(e) emmë apsene-t tie-n i úcari-r emme-n = “✱as we forgive-them those-for who trespass-(plural) us-against”

Taken together, the first half of the phrase has a subject (emmë), verb (apsene), a direct object suffix (-t) and an indirect object (tien). The sense of the phrase is probably something like “✱as we forgive them [the trespasses] for those [the trespassers] who trespass against us”.

Conceptual Development: Earlier versions of the prayer (I-IV) used a different verb avatyar- for “forgive”, as well as different prepositions for “so”: ier (I-IIa) and yan (III-IV). They also lacked any Quenya equivalent of “those who” (tien i in versions V-VI). The literal meaning of this phrase in versions I-IV of the prayer seems to be “✱as we forgive our trespassers”.

Tolkien considered a variety of ways to express “trespassers”. In version I-III, he used a (?verbal) element meaning “trespass” with the agental suffix -ndo: lucando (I), lucindo (IIa-IIb) and rocindë (III), all meaning “trespasser” and all in the plural. In version IV, he used rohtalië “trespass-people”, a compound of the noun rohta “trespass” and lië “people”.

These he combined with either the independent pronoun menya “our” (I-IIb, IV) or the possessive suffix -mma “our” (I deletion, III). Finally, he used an ablative element meaning “from”, either the preposition va (I-IIb) or the ablative suffix -llo (I deletion, III-IV). There was a similar construction for the verb avatyar- in line 6.

In version V of the prayer, Tolkien corrected úcarer to úcarir. This second form is more consistent with the rules Tolkien followed elsewhere in forming the aorist tense of a (basic) verb: it ends in an -e if unsuffixed but has an -i- between it and any suffix (-r in this case). However, Tolkien still used the form úcarer in version IV of the prayer, for reasons unknown.

| |  I  |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |ier|yan|sív’| |emme| |{avatyarirat >>}|avatyarir ta|avatyarilta|apsenet| | |tien i| |{lucandollommar >>}|va menya lucandor|va menya lucindor|rocindillomman|menya rohtaliello|úcarer emmen|

For better consistency with Tolkien’s other writings, I have used the more typical aorist form úcarir for the entry of this phrase. As Helge Fauskanger points out (LP-AM), there is a similar issue with apsenet, which might be expected to be ✱✱apsenit, though in this case the variation may be due to the fact that object suffixes are appended directly to the verb instead of to a subject suffix.

Quenya [VT43/08; VT43/09; VT43/10; VT43/11; VT43/12] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yar

to whom

yar inflected relative pronoun "to whom" (MC:215; this may be "Qenya", but on the other hand both the relative pronoun ya and an allativic ending -r are still valid in Tolkien's later Quenya, cf. mir "into". Later versions of the text in question however use yan [q.v.], with the common dative ending -n.) Likely, yar could also be the plural form of the relative pronoun ya, q.v.

conjunction. when

A relative conjunction “when” appearing in various phrases in Tolkien’s writings of the 1950s and 60s, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ya.

Conceptual Development: Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had ᴹQ. í glossed “(relative) at the time mentioned, at the same time”, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i (PE23/109). This was also given the gloss “when, whenever” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from this same period (PE22/121). Earlier still, ᴹQ. íre was used as the relative conjunction “when” in Fíriel’s Song of the 1930s. In the Early Qenya Grammar it seems ᴱQ. yan “when” served this function (PE14/59).

Quenya [CPT/1298; VT43/34; VT49/23] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-vë

as, like

-, (3) apparently an ending used to derive adverbs from adjectives (see andavë under anda and oiavë under oia). May be related to the preposition ve "as, like".

aista

adjective. *holy

anta-

verb. give

anta- (1) vb. "give" (ANA1, MC:215, 221), pa.t. antanë (antanen "I gave", VT49:14) or †ánë, perfect ánië (PE17:147, cf. QL:31). According to VT49:14, Tolkien noted that anta- was sometimes often with an "ironic tone" to refer to missiles, so that antanen hatal sena "I gave him a spear (as a present)" was often used with the real sense of "I cast a spear at him". Usually the recipient of the thing given is mentioned in the dative or allative case (like sena in this example), but there is also a construction similar to English "present someone with something" in which the recipient is the object and the gift appears in the instrumental case: antanenyes parmanen, "I presented him with a book" (PE17:91). The verb occurs several times in FS: antalto"they gave"; strangely, no past tense marker seems to be present (see -lto for the ending); antar a pl. verb translated "they gave", though in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the present tense "give" (pl.); antaróta "he gave it" (anta-ró-ta "gave-he-it"), another verb occurring in Fíriel's Song, once again with no past tense marker. Also antáva "will give", future tense of anta- "give"; read perhaps *antuva in LotR-style Quenya; similarly antaváro* "he will give" (LR:63) might later have appeared as antuvas (with the ending -s rather than "Qenya" -ro for "he"). Antalë imperative "give thou" (VT43:17), sc. anta "give" + the element le "thou", but this was a form Tolkien abandoned. Apparently ana** was at one point considered as another imperative "give", but Tolkien rewrote the text in question (VT44:13), and the normal patterns would suggest *á anta with an independent imperative particle.

ier

as

ier prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably rejected in favour of sívë, q.v.). In an abandoned version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien used ier...ter for "as...so" (VT43:17).

ier

preposition. *as

Quenya [VT43/16; VT43/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

landa

wide

landa (2) adj. "wide" (LAD). Maybe in landatavárë = *"wide-wood"? (TI:415)

landa

adjective. wide, wide, [ᴱQ.] broad

palla

wide, expansive

palla adj. "wide, expansive" (PAL)

sívë

as

sívë (1) prep. "as", apparently ve of similar meaning with the prefix - "this, here, now"; sívë therefore makes a comparison with something close, whereas tambë (q.v.) refers to something remote. Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17). Elided sív' in VT43:12, since the next word begins in the vowel e-.

sívë

preposition. *as

Quenya [VT43/17; VT43/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ve

as, like

ve (1) prep. "as, like" (Nam, RGEO:66, Markirya, MC:213, 214, VT27:20, 27, VT49:22); in Narqelion ve may mean either "in" or "as". Ve fírimor quetir *"as mortals say" (VT49:10), ve senwa (or senya) "as usual" (VT49:10). Followed by genitive, ve apparently expresses "after the manner of": ve quenderinwë coaron ("k") "after the manner of bodies of Elven-kind" (PE17:174). Tolkien variously derived Quenya ve from older , or vai(VT49:10, 32, PE17:189)

ye

as

[ye (3), also , prep. "as" (VT43:16, struck out; in the text in question Tolkien finally settled on sívë, q.v.)]

yonda

wide, roomy, extensive

yonda adj."wide, roomy, extensive" (PE17:43), also (as alternative form of yonna) glossed "enclosed", with the latter meaning perhaps intended as the passive participle of the verb yor-

when

(2) conj. "when" in the sentence yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). Compare írë #2.

í(qua), illume, iquallume

conjunction. when, whenever

Quenya [PE 22:121] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

írë

when

írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare #2.

malumë

adverb. when

Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Noldorin 

a

conjunction. and

ar

conjunction. and

pann

adjective. wide

anna-

verb. to give

Noldorin [Ety/348] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lhand

adjective. wide, broad

Noldorin [Landroval LotR/VI:IV, Ety/367, X/LH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

lhann

adjective. wide, broad

Noldorin [Landroval LotR/VI:IV, Ety/367, X/LH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

pann

adjective. wide

Noldorin [Ety/380] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ûr

noun. wide

Noldorin [Ety/396] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ûr

adjective. wide

Noldorin [Ety/UR; EtyAC/UR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Black Speech

agh

conjunction. and

Black Speech [LotR/0254; LotR/1117; PE17/011] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

a

conjunction. and

See ah for the form that this conjunction might take before a vowel

Sindarin [LotR/II:IV, LotR/VI:IV, S/428, SD/129-31, LB/354] Group: SINDICT. Published by

a

and

conj. and.Form of ad/ada before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> ad, ada, adh

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:102] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

a

and

conj. and. About his mutation, see PE17:145.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:145] < ADA beside, alongside, by. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

a

conjunction. and

conj. and. Pedo mellon a minno! 'Say friend and enter'. Q. ar

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:41] Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

ad

conjunction. and

conj. and. a/adh before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> a, ada, adh

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:102] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

ada

conjunction. and

conj. and. a/adh before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> a, ad, adh

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:102] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

adh

conjunction. and

ah

conjunction. and

ar

conjunction. and

See ah for the form that this conjunction might take before a vowel

Sindarin [LotR/II:IV, LotR/VI:IV, S/428, SD/129-31, LB/354] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ar

conjunction. and, and, [G.] too, besides

Ídh

and

{ð}_ conj. _and. It was not mutated before vowels. >> a

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:41] < O.S. _ath_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

Ídh

and

{ð} conj. and.Form of ad/ada before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> a, ad, ada

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:102] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

Ídh

and

{ð} conj. and. About his mutation, see PE17:145.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:145] < ADA beside, alongside, by. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

a

and

a, or ah when the next word begins in a vowel: Finrod ah Andreth, Finrod and Andreth. In some sources, Tolkien uses ar as the conjunction "and", but a(h) would seem to be the proper Sindarin form.

a

and

or ah when the next word begins in a vowel: Finrod ah Andreth, Finrod and Andreth. In some sources, Tolkien uses ar as the conjunction "and", but a(h) would seem to be the proper Sindarin form.

iand

adjective. wide

Sindarin [PE17/115] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ah

preposition/conjunction. and, with

The title Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth is translated as "converse of Finrod and Andreth", but some scholars actually believe this word to be unrelated with the conjunction a.1 , ar "and", and they render it as "with". Other scholars consider that "and" and "with" (in the comitative sense) are not exclusive of each other, and regard ah as the form taken by this conjunction before a vowel. That a, ar and ah are etymologically related has finally been confirmed in VT/43:29-30. Compare also with Welsh, where the coordination "and" also takes different forms whether it occurs before a vowel or a consonant (respectively ac and a). In written Welsh, a often triggers the aspirate mutation: bara a chaws "bread and cheese". This usage is seldom applied in colloquial Welsh (Modern Welsh §510)

Sindarin [MR/329] Group: SINDICT. Published by

aned

give

Sindarin [PE 22:163] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

anno

verb. give!

Sindarin [VT/44:21,27] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ir

conjunction. (?) when

This word is not translated. It could be related to Quenya íre "when". Some scholars also consider that it could be the form taken by the article i before a vowel, on a pattern similar to ah . To this respect, it might be interesting to note the ir was the allative/dative form of the article in the old Gnomish lexicon, PE/11:9

Sindarin [LB/354] Group: SINDICT. Published by

land

adjective. wide, broad

Sindarin [Landroval LotR/VI:IV, Ety/367, X/LH, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

sui

conjunction. as, like

Sindarin [VT/44:21,27] Group: SINDICT. Published by

sui

preposition. *as

sui mín i gohenam di ai gerir úgerth ammen

as we forgive those who trespass against us

The eighth line of Ae Adar Nín, Tolkien’s Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer (VT44/21). The first word is the preposition sui “as”. The second word has the same form as mín “our” but seems to function as men “us” (as it appeared in the first draft of this sentence). The third word is i “who”, followed by gohenam, the 2nd-pl inflection of the verb gohena- “to forgive” with its direct object di, the lenited form of the pronoun ti “them”.

The function of the sixth word ai (“those who”) is difficult to decipher. See the entry for that word for further discussion.

The seventh word gerir is a lenited form of cerir (as it appeared in the draft), which itself is the plural of the verb car- “to do”. This followed by úgerth, the plural of úgarth “trespass, ✱misdeed” and ammen “to us”, a combination of an “to, for” and men “us”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> sui mín i gohena-m di [← ti] ai gerir [← cerir] úgerth am-men = “✱as us who forgive-we them who do-(plural) trespasses to-us”

The sense of this phrase seems to be: “as us, who forgive those who do trespasses to us”.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien wrote a draft version (I) before producing a revised version (II) of this phrase (VT44/22, note on line 8). For “as we [us]”, Tolkien used the preposition sui “as” in both versions, but for “us” Tolkien wrote mín >> men in the draft, and then mí ni >> mín in the revision. Of these, men “us” seems to me to be the most consistent with Tolkien’s use of this pronoun elsewhere. Bill Welden discussed possible interpretations of this pronoun usage on VT44/28.

For “forgive”, Tolkien first wrote dihenam in the draft, which is another form of the verb díhena- “forgive” used in the previous line of the prayer. Tolkien replaced this with góhenam in the draft, which appeared as gohenam in the revised phrase. As pointed out by Bill Welden (VT44/29), it isn’t clear whether Tolkien intended to replace díhena- with gohena- generally as the Sindarin verb for “forgive”, or whether both verbs were valid with slightly different connotations.

See the entry for the word ai “✱those who” for a discussion of the development of that word (ayath >> ay >> ai).

Tolkien reversed the order of úgarth “trespass” and cerir “do-(plural)” between the draft and revised versions, which required changing cerir to its lenited form gerir (which Tolkien first wrote mistakenly as garer in the revised version before correcting it to gerir).

In the draft version, Tolkien wrote ann for “against us”, but as Bill Welden points out (VT44/22), Tolkien almost certainly intended ammen as it appeared in the revised version and elsewhere in the prayer, and simply failed to complete this form in the draft.

|  I  |II| |sui| |{mín >>} men|{mí ni >>} mín| |i| |{dihenam >>} góhenam|gohenam| |di| |{ayath >> ay >>} ai|ai| |ugerth|{garer >>} gerir| |cerir|úgerth| |ann|ammen|

Sindarin [VT44/21; VT44/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

anna

give

anna- (i anna, in annar), pa.t. ?aun (with endings one-)

anna

give

(i anna, in annar), pa.t. ?aun (with endings one-)

be

as

(like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salo’s reconstruction)

io

conjunction. when

A neologism coined by Röandil as io “when” posted on 2024-03-19 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), the Sindarin equivalent of Q. “when”. In stressed positions, this conjunction might remain iaw. Both of these forms conflict with existing Noldorin words: [N.] io “ago” and [N.] iau “corn”, but that doesn’t preclude their use.

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

ir

when

?ir (not used in questions but to indicate time, as in ”when I saw you, I was glad”). This is one of several possible interpretations of the word, which occurs in a Sindarin poem untranslated by Tolkien (ir Isil ammen Eruchín…síla, ?”when the Moon shines for us Children of Eru…”, The Lays of Beleriand p. 354). By another interpretation, ir is simply a variant of the definite article.(relative pronoun), see THAT

ir

when

(not used in questions but to indicate time, as in ”when

ir

i

is simply a variant of the definite article.

laden

wide

  1. laden (plain, flat, open, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT), 2) land (plain), pl. laind. Also used as noun ”open space, level”. 3) pann (i bann, o phann, construct pan), pl. pain (i phain). Since the pl. form clashes with *pain ”all” (mutated phain, SD:129), other terms may be preferred for clarity. 4) ûr (pl. uir). Notice the homophone ûr ”fire, heat”.

laden

wide

(plain, flat,  open, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

land

wide

(plain), pl. laind. Also used as noun ”open space, level”.

palan

over a wide area

(far off)

pann

wide

(i bann, o phann, construct pan), pl. pain (i phain). Since the pl. form clashes with ✱pain ”all” (mutated phain, SD:129), other terms may be preferred for clarity.

sui

as

  1. prep. “like, as”) sui (VT44:23), 2) (prep.) be (like, according to). Followed by lenition? With article ben (followed by "mixed mutation" according to David Salos reconstruction)

sui

as

(VT44:23)

ûr

wide

(pl. uir). Notice the homophone ûr ”fire, heat”.


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 Quenya

yan

conjunction. when

Early Quenya [PE14/059] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ya(n)

conjunction. and

The usual word for “and” in the 1910s was ᴱQ. ya(n) (PE15/69, VT40/8). It was derived from the early root ᴱ√YA (or possibly ᴱ√(D)YṆTṆ) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/104-105). In his later writings, the usual word for “and” was Q. ar, but something like ya(n) survived in the “dual” conjunction yo “both ... and”.

Early Quenya [LFC/030; PE15/69; QL/043; QL/104; VT40/08] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ya

pronoun. relative pronoun

Early Quenya [MC/215; PE14/054; PE16/080; PE16/090; PE16/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

eldar yan indi

*Elves and Men

Early Quenya [QL/043] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yar i vilya anta miqilis

to whom the air gives kisses

Early Quenya [MC/215; PE16/090; PE16/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-víke

suffix. as

Early Quenya [PE15/69; QL/101] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

yan

root. *holy

Middle Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

yan(a)

pronoun. yan(a)

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE23/096] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(a)yan

root. *holy

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/AYAN; Ety/YAN; EtyAC/YAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yan

root. give

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “give” with derivatives ON. yanta- “give” and ᴹQ. Ariante “Day-bringer” (EtyAC/YAN²). Tolkien marked this entry with a “?”, and elsewhere in The Etymologies he derived ᴹQ. anta-/N. anna- “give” from ᴹ√ANA (Ety/ANA¹), so I suspect this root was a transient idea.

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/YAN²] Group: Eldamo. Published by

patnā

adjective. wide

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

Qenya 

yan(an)

adverb. at that (distant) time, then (long ago)

A correlative appearing as yanan or (archaic) †yan in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/96, 109), a combination of ᴹQ. ya “yonder” and ᴹQ. -n(an) “time”. In Tolkien’s later writings, ya was a relative pronoun and not a demonstrative.

Qenya [PE23/096; PE23/109; PE23/110] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ye

conjunction. and

yo

conjunction. and

Qenya [PE22/125; PE23/077; PE23/091; PE23/092; PE23/095; PE23/097; PE23/110; SD/056] Group: Eldamo. Published by

yu

conjunction. and

landa

adjective. wide, wide, [ᴱQ.] broad

indon

conjunction. as

The correlative ᴹQ. indon “as” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/111), a combination of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i and the similative suffix ᴹQ. -ndon.

man(an)

adverb. when

The correlatives manan or man “when” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/109), a combination of interrogative ᴹQ. ma and ᴹQ. -n(an) “time”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would stick to ᴹQ. mallume, since I think -n(an) was abandoned.

Qenya [PE23/109; PE23/110] Group: Eldamo. Published by

íre

conjunction. when

Gnomish

le

preposition. and

dos

adverb. when

Early Primitive Elvish

yḷtḷ

root. *join

The unglossed root ᴱ√YḶTḶ appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a variation of ᴱ√ẎATA “join”, possibly via L infix, having a single derivative ᴱQ. yalta “yoke” (QL/106). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, the words G. galt “yoke” and G. ilt- “to yoke, join” are almost certainly related (GL/37, 50). In the 1930s, the words ᴹQ. yanta/N. iant were used for “yoke” as derivatives of ᴹ√YAT (Ety/YAT), but later still Q. yanta/S. iant where used for “bridge” (LotR/1123; SD/129). Thus, I think it is worth positing a Neo-Root ᴺ√YALTA to serve as the basis for “yoke” words.

Early Primitive Elvish [QL/106] Group: Eldamo. Published by

root. as

Early Primitive Elvish [QL/101] Group: Eldamo. Published by