yén

long year

yén noun, Elvish "long year" of 144 solar years, 52,596 days (Nam, Appendix D, E; RGEO:66. Tolkien earlier defined yén_ as 100 solar years; see PM:126. In the Etymologies, stem YEN, it seems to mean simply "year", but in the LotR Appendices the word for "year" instead appears as _loa or coranar, q.v.) Yénonótië "reckoning of years" (MR:51). Pl. yéni in Nam and Etym, entry YEN though the plural form is misread as "yen-" in the printed version of the Etymologies, cf. VT46:23. Yéni pa yéni "years upon years" (VT44:36). Pl. genitive yénion in yénion yéni "ages of ages" (VT44:36)

yén

noun. Elvish long year (144 solar years)

yénonótië

proper name. *Reckoning of Years

Title of a work by the sage Quennar (MR/57), probably a compound of yén “year” and ✱onótië, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/onótië).

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.

yéni avánier ve lintë yuldar

years have passed away like swift draughts

The 3rd phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier >> yéni avánier ve lintë yuldar

Tolkien moved the prepositional phrase ve lintë yuldar “like swift draughts” from between the subject and verb to behind the verb in the prose version. As this phrase functions adverbally (describing how the years are passing), it makes sense that it would follow the verb.

yénië

annal(s)

yénië noun "annal(s)"; Yénië Valinórëo "Annals of Valinor" (MR:200)

yéni únótimë ve aldaron rámar

long-years not-countable as trees’ wings

The 2nd phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron >> yéni únótimë ve aldaron rámar

Tolkien moved the genitive element aldaron “trees’, of trees” to be before the noun it modifies: rámar “wings”. Elsewhere Tolkien indicated that the Quenya genitive can appear after the noun in ordinary speech (WJ/368), so perhaps either placement is acceptable.

yénië

noun. annals

yéni únótimë ve rámar aldaron

long years numberless as the wings of trees

Second line @@@

yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier

the years have passed like swift draughts

Third line @@@

yénonótië

Yénonótië

Yénonótië means "Reckoning of Years" in Quenya (from the words yén 'long year' and onótië, 'reckoning').

quantien

last day of year

quantien ("q") noun "last day of year" (YEN) or "full year" (VT46:23). The latter gloss also turns up in PM:quantien "full year" = yén, a period of 144 solar years (PM:126; pl. quantiéni, PM:127). Since the latter meaning comes from drafts for the LotR Appendices that did not make it into the published LotR, it is difficult to tell whether it is canonical.

#onótië

reckoning

#onótië noun "reckoning" (isolated from Yénonótië *"reckoning of years", MR:51)

-nna

to

-n (1) dative ending, originating as a reduced form of -nă "to", related to the allative ending -nna (VT49:14). Attested in nin, men, ten, enyalien, Erun, airefëan, tárin, yondon (q.v.) and also added to the English name Elaine (Elainen) in a book dedication to Elaine Griffiths (VT49:40). The longer dative ending -na is also attested in connection with some pronouns, such as sena, téna, véna (q.v.), also in the noun mariéna from márië "goodness" (PE17:59). Pl. -in (as in hínin, see hína), partitive pl. -lin, dual -nt (Plotz). The preposition ana (#1) is said to be used "when purely dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that it can replace the dative ending, e.g. *ana Eru instead of Erun for "to God". In some of Tolkiens earlier material, the ending -n (or -en) expressed genitive rather than dative, but he later decided that the genitive ending was to be -o (cf. such a revision as Yénië Valinóren becoming Yénië Valinórëo, MR:200).

-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).

-on

name

-on gen.pl. ending (3O), in aldaron, aranion, elenion, Eldaron, #esseron, Ingweron, Istarion, Númevalion, Quendion, Silmarillion, Sindaron, tasarion (see Nan-Tasarion), Valion, wenderon, yénion. Normally the ending -on is added to the nominative plural, whether it ends in -i or -r, but some nouns in -ë that would have nominative plurals in -i seem to prefer the ending -ron in the genitive (hence #esseron as the gen. pl. of essë "name", though the nominative pl. is attested as essi and we might have expected the gen. pl. *ession; similarly wenderon, Ingweron).

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)

pá

on

pá, pa (1) prep. "on" with reference to contact of surfaces, especially vertical surface (in the sense in which a picture hangs on a wall); also used = "touching, as regards, concerning" (VT44:26). Another variant gives pá (and apa) with the meaning "on (above but touching)". (2) Variants of apa "after" (VT44:36), which preposition is in one source also ascribed the first meaning here discussed. For Neo-Quenya purposes, pá and pa may be used for "on" or "concerning", whereas apa is used for "after" (see entries for apa #1 and #2), or pa may also be seen as a shorter form of apa "after", as in the phrase yéni pa yéni *"years upon years" (VT44:36)

löa yucainen avar anduinë sí valútier

twenty years have flowed away down the Long River

-nna

to, at, upon

-nna "to, at, upon", allative ending, originating from -na "to" with fortified n, VT49:14. Attested in cilyanna, coraryanna, Endorenna, Elendilenna, númenórenna, parma-restalyanna, rénna, senna, tielyanna, q.v. If a noun ends in -n already, the ending -nna merges with it, as in Amanna, formenna, Elenna, númenna, rómenna as the allative forms of Aman, formen, elen, númen, rómen (q.v.). Plural -nnar in mannar, valannar, q.v.

ana

to

ana (1) prep. "to" (VT49:35), "as preposition _ana _is used when purely _dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that the preposition ana can be used instead of the dative ending -n (#1, q.v.) Also as prefix: ana- "to, towards" (NĀ1); an (q.v.) is used with this meaning in one source (PE17:127)_

apa

on

apa (2) prep. denoting "on" with reference to contact of surfaces, especially vertical surface (in the sense in which a picture hangs on a wall). Apa is said to have this meaning in various Tolkien manuscripts (VT44:26), but apa is also used for "after" (see apa #1 above), and the two were probably never meant to coexist in a single variant of Quenya. The clash may be avoided by consistently using the variants pá, pa (q.v.) mentioned by Tolkien in the sense of apa #2. Another variant gives apa, pá "on (above but touching)" (VT49:18).

esse

noun. name

essë

name

essë (1) noun "name", also later name of Tengwa #31, originally (MET) called árë (ázë). (Appendix E). With a pronominal ending esselya "thy name" (VT43:14). Pl. #essi in PM:339 and MR:470, gen.pl. #esseron "of names" in the compound Nómesseron (q.v.); we would rather have expected *ession, given the nom.pl. essi; perhaps #esser is a valid alternative plural form. Essecarmë noun "name-making" (MR:214, 470), Eldarin ceremony where the father announces the name of his child. Essecenta *("k") noun "Name-essay" (see centa) (MR:415); Essecilmë noun "name-choosing", an Eldarin ceremony where a child named him- or herself according to personal lámatyávë (q.v.) (MR:214, 471). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essë** in the Etymologies was "place" rather than "name" (VT45:12).

essë

noun. name

esta-

verb. name

na

to, towards

na (2) prep. "to, towards", possibly obsoleted by #1 above; for clarity writers may use the synonym ana instead (NĀ1). Originally, Tolkien glossed na as "at, by, near"; the new meaning entered together with the synonyms an, ana (VT45:36).

ná-

verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist

The basic Quenya verb for “to be”, based on the root √NĀ (PE17/93). It was typically used as the copula equating a noun to another noun or an adjective:

> √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).

In many circumstances this verb was optional:

> As a copula “be, is” is not usually expressed in Quenya where the meaning is clear: sc. in such expressions as “A is good” where the adjective (contrary to the usual order in Quenya of a qualifying adjective) follows: the normal Quenya for this is A mára (PE17/93).

For further discussion see the entry on the Quenya copula.

Conceptual Development: This verb dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was given as the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This verb and its root appeared regularly throughout Tolkien’s writings thereafter, but at times Tolkien considered alternative verbs for “to be”; see the entry ëa- for further discussion.

sanda

name

[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)

sanya

name

[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)

en

root. name

an

preposition. to

în

noun. year

A Sindarin word for “year”, derived from the primitive root ᴹ√YEN of similar meaning, with its vowel sound the result of [[s|a long [ē] becoming [ī]]].

Conceptual Development: The word în first appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s with the gloss and derivation given above. It did not directly appear in Tolkien’s later writings, but was an element in several later words such as S. ínias “annals” and S. ifant “aged” (lit. “year full”). Furthermore, its Quenya cognate yén did reappear in the Lord of the Rings appendices.

In The Etymologies, both N. în and ᴹQ. yén were glossed “year”, and there were other words for longer periods of time, such as ᴹQ. qantien “century, (lit.) full year” and N. anrand “cycle, age”. In the Lord of the Rings and other later writings, Tolkien changed the meaning Q. yén to an “Elvish century” of 144 years. It is quite likely that S. în also changed to this meaning, but since it did not appear as an independent word in later writing, we have no direct confirmation of this.

Neo-Sindarin: Most Neo-Sindarin writers continue to use în with the sense “year” (that is, a solar year of 365 days). If you are concerned with this word’s true meaning, you might instead use a neologism for this period of time, such as ᴺS. lóran or ᴺS. coranor, but since these are not in widespread use, it is less likely a reader would understand your meaning.

ínias

noun. annals

an

preposition. to, towards, for

With suffixed article and elision in aglar'ni Pheriannath

an

to

_ prep. _to, for. naur an edraith ammen! 'fire [be] for rescue/saving for us'. aglar an|i Pheriannath  'glory to all the Halflings'.

bo

preposition. on

eneth

noun. name

erin

preposition. on the

esta-

verb. to name

genediad

gerund noun. reckoning

genediad

gerund noun. calendar

genediad

noun. reckoning

A noun for “reckoning” from the King’s Letter, as in genediad Drannail “Shire-reckoning” (SD/129).

idhrinn

noun. year

na

to

e _ prep. _to, towards (of spacetime). n' before vowels. >> nan 2

na

preposition. to

prep. to Na-chaered palan-díriel lit. "To-distance (remote) after-gazing" >> na-chaered, nan 2

na-

verb. to be

A verb for “to be” based on the root √NĀ of the same meaning. This verb is barely attested in the Sindarin language, and the general consensus is that [for purposes of Neo-Sindarin at least] Sindarin omits the verb “to be” in most phrases, such as in naur an edraith ammen “fire [be] for saving us” (LotR/299) or ✱orchal i adan “tall [is] the man”; see the entry on the copula for further discussion.

The clearest attestation of the verb na- is its imperative form no “be!” in the phrase no aer i eneth lín “hallowed be thy name, (lit.) ✱be holy the name your”, from the Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s (VT44/21). This imperative form was preceded by some hard-to-read deleted forms, perhaps {dôd >> dád >> hae >>} no (VT44/22). The d-forms might be eroded/mutated variants of na-. Compare đa in the phrase inn đa v’im “a mind there is in me = I have a good mind (to do so)” in notes from the late 1960s (PE22/165), where đa could be another eroded form of na-. This phrase was first written as inn no v’im (PE22/165 note #108); see the entry for đa for further discussion.

Another clear attestation of na “be” is an apparent future form natho in the untranslated phrase Sí il chem {na} en i naugrim en ir Ellath {natho} thor den ammen in the so-called “Túrin Wrapper” from the late 1950s (VT50/5). This future[?] form natho was deleted and replaced by thor, and a deleted {na} also appears earlier in the phrase, possibly a false start. Carl Hostetter suggested this phrase might mean something like “✱now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) us” (VT50/22-25). If so, it seems the future of na- “be” was constructed from the bare future suffix (a)tha-, manifesting as tho “✱will be”.

Neo-Sindarin: As noted above, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin the general consensus is that this verb is barely used, and is omitted from most “to be” phrases as in the example orchal i adan given above. The verb’s one widely accepted use is as an imperative, such as in no mae “be well”. Based the Túrin Wrapper, I posit that tho can also be used for a future form “will be”, as in i adan tho orchal “the man will be tall”. I likewise posit a (purely hypothetical) past form [ᴺS.] nî “was”, based on the primitive past-tense element ✶-nē with [[os|long [ē] becoming [ī]]], as in i adan nî orchal “the man was tall”. Neither tho or nî are widely accepted Neo-Sindarin, however.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had the verb G. na- “is” (GL/58), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This irregular Gnomish verb had some inflected forms: plural nain, participle ol· and past form {ni >>} thi, the last of these being another inspiration for Neo-Sindarin nî “was”.

ínias dor-rodyn

proper name. Annals of Valinor

Sindarin name of the “Annals of Valinor”, a combination of ínias “annals” and Dor-Rodyn “✱Land of the Valar” (MR/200).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as N. Inias Valannor in keeping with the different rules of lenition from that period, later revised to Inias Balannor (LR/202).

an

to

(prep.) an (+ nasal mutation), with article ni "to the" (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

to

(adverbial prefix) an-. 3)

arnediad

without reckoning

(unnumbered, numberless), pl. ?arnediaid. Since the word literally means ”without reckoning” (ar + nediad) it is unclear whether it would pluralize as a common adjective. – Alternative form arneidiad (VT46:6).****

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

ess

noun. name

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

genediad

reckoning

1) genediad (i **enediad) (count), pl. genediaid (i ngenediaid = i ñenediaid) if there is a pl. Used = ”calendar” in the Kings Letter. 2) gonoded (i **onoded), pl. genedid (i ngededid** = i ñededid). Archaic pl. gönödid. Also #nediad (pl. nediaid), isolated from arnediad** (see below).

genediad

reckoning

(i ’enediad) (count), pl. genediaid (i ngenediaid = i ñenediaid) if there is a pl. Used = ”calendar” in the King’s Letter.

gonoded

reckoning

(i ’onoded), pl. genedid (i ngededid = i ñededid). Archaic pl. ✱gönödid. Also #nediad (pl. nediaid), isolated from arnediad (see below).

idhrinn

year

(no distinct pl. form).

or

on

(prep.) 1) or (above), with article erin ”on the” (followed by ”mixed mutation” according to David Salos reconstructions). Erin represents archaic örin. 2)

or

on

(above), with article erin ”on the” (followed by ”mixed mutation” according to David Salo’s reconstructions). Erin represents archaic örin.

po

on

po (lenited bo) (VT44:23)

po

on

(lenited bo) (VT44:23)

ínias

annals

ínias (perhaps with a collective meaning, cf. the plural gloss). An explicit pl. form would be íniais; coll. pl. íniassath.

ínias

annals

(perhaps with a collective meaning, cf. the plural gloss). An explicit pl. form would be íniais; coll. pl. íniassath.

în

year

1) în, no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. ?íniath. 2) idhrinn (no distinct pl. form). LONG YEAR (Valian year) ennin. No distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. enniniath.

în

year

no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. ?íniath.

în

noun. year

inias valannor

proper name. Annals of Valinor

Noldorin title for the “Annals of Valinor”, a combination of ínias “annals” and the lenited form of the Noldorin name of the region, Balannor (LR/202).

ínias

noun. annals

ennin

noun. Valian year

heltha-

verb. to strip

The form helta- in the Etymologies is a misreading according to VT/46:14

idhrin

noun. year

idhrind

noun. year

în

noun. year

u

preposition. to

-nud Reconstructed

preposition. on

A preposition attested only in the phrase “on us” in the Lament of Akallabêth, changing through the drafts as nēnum >> nēnu >> nēnud (SD/247, 312). Most authors identify -nud as the prepositional element (AAD/20, LGtAG, NBA/14), perhaps related to Q. nu “under”. If so, it may be a derivative of the Elvish roots √NŪ/UNU “under” or √NDU “down”, with a semantic shift to the meaning “on”.