yo

conjunction. both ... and

A conjunction meaning “both ... and” in notes from around 1964 used to join two words (but not two sentences), as seen in the phrase: sanome tarne Olórin, Aracorno, Eomer, Imrahil, mi míse, mi telepta yo morna, mi laiqua yo ninquë, mi luinë ... “There stood Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer and Imrahil in grey, in silver and black, in green and white, [and] in blue” (PE17/71). In the same document Tolkien described this conjunction in some detail:

> yo, a reduced form of yŭ < yū “both”: this was often used between two items (of any part of speech) that were by nature or custom closely associated, but were not “pairs” (as e.g. were hands, feet, eyes, etc.). These might be names of persons: as Beren and Luthien, Manwe yo Varda; or of things as sword and sheath, bow and arrows; or of groups as Elves and Men (Eldar yo Firimar); or adjectives, as wine white and red; long and thin; or adverbs, as far and away; also verbs, especially those with related meanings, as hear and obey, see and consider.

Tolkien further specified that yo was not used in repetitions for emphasis (“through and through”) or synonyms like alternative names. But it could be used for words that were contrasting opposites such as “head and foot, top and bottom, up and down, young and old, men and women”.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s ᴱQ. ya(n) was the usual word for “and” (QL/104), but by the end of the 1920s this was replaced by ar “and” which Tolkien mostly used thereafter. However, in a number documents from the late 1940s Tolkien used ye (PE23/91-92, 95), yu (PE22/125; PE23/110), or yo (PE23/97) for “and”, with yo “and” also appearing in drafts of The Lord of the Rings (SD/56). By the 1950s ar “and” was restored, but Tolkien seems to have retained yo in a more limited dual sense, as described above.

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).

yó

yô

yó ("yô"), yond- see yondo. The genitive form of the relative pronoun ya "which" would likely also appear as yó "of which, from which" (for ya-o, cf. tó "thence" from ta-o).

yondo

noun. son, boy, son, boy; [ᴱQ.] male descendant, (great) grandson

The usual Quenya word for “son”, derived from the root √YON of similar meaning (PE17/170; VT43/37; Ety/YŌ).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but in that document ᴱQ. yondo meant “male descendant, usually (great) grandson” based on (archaic) ᴱQ. †yó “son” (QL/106). It seems the ordinary word for “son” in this period was ᴱQ. hilmo (QL/40, 106). These yo(n)- forms were also related to the Gnomish prefix G. go- “son of”, which showed the usual Gnomish sound change of initial y into g, but in the Gnomish Lexicon Tolkien changed {go- >>} G. bo- “son of” and introduced Qenya forms vô and vondo to match (GL/23, 40-41).

These early vacillations stabilized in the 1920s, since ᴱQ. yondo appeared with the gloss “son” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/45, 75) and various word lists from this period (PE13/144; PE15/77; PE16/135). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien also gave ᴹQ. yondo “son” under the root ᴹ√YŌ or ᴹ√YON of the same meaing (Ety/YŌ). Yondo was used to refer to the “Son” of the holy trinity in Quenya Prayers of the 1950s (VT43/36-37).

However, in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien flirted again with replacing yondo. In one note he said “delete entirely yondo = ‘son’, very unsuitable”, perhaps because it conflicted with the root √YON “wide, extensive” introduced in those notes (PE17/43), but here Tolkien reversed himself and instead changed {√YON >>} √YAN “wide, large, extensive” (PE17/42). In a note from 1957 he wrote anon above yon-do as a possible replacement, and in another note he wrote “Q[uenya] wanted son, daughter” but without deciding on any new words (PE17/170). In yet another note from this period Tolkien gave yondo the gloss “boy” as well as “son” (PE17/190).

These vacillations again seem to have been mostly transient. In notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s Tolkien gave Q. yonyo as a finger name for the middle finger, variously glossed “big boy” (VT47/10), “son” (VT47/16) or “boy, son” (VT47/27). Thus it seems the sense “son” was restored to √YON, but with an alternate sense “boy” added.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d limit yondo to mean “son” and use ᴹQ. seldo for an unrelated “boy”.

yo-

prefix. together (of three or more things)

A prefix appearing as an element in yomenië “meeting, gathering (of three or more coming from different directions)” in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/407). It is clearly based on primitive ✶jō(m) “together” as the plural equivalent of ✶wō (WJ/361), and thus likely means “together (of three or more things)”.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. so- “together, grouped” under the early root ᴱ√SŌ, a prefixal equivalent of ᴱQ. le “with (accompaniment)” (QL/85). Given the gloss “grouped”, I think so- also applied to multiple items grouped together.

yondë

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

@@@ yonde is salvageable as a derivative of YOD

yontil

noun. boy, son [finger name]

A nursery name for the middle finger in rough drafts of Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, a combination of √YON “son” and Q. til “tip”, and appearing beside alternate form Q. yonyo (VT47/27). In later versions of these notes, only yonyo appeared (VT47/10).

yomenië

meeting, gathering

yomenië noun "meeting, gathering" (of three or more coming from different directions) (WJ:407)

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-

yondo

son

yondo noun "son" (YŌ/YON, VT43:37); cf. yonya and the patronymic ending -ion. Early "Qenya" has yô, yond-, yondo "son" (LT2:342). According to LT2:344, these are poetic words, but yondo seems to be the normal word for "son" in LotR-style Quenya. Yón appears in VT44, 17, but Tolkien rewrote the text in question. In LT2:344, yondo is said to mean "male descendant, usually (great) grandson", but in Tolkien's later Quenya, yondo means "son", and the word is so glossed in LT2:342. Dative yondon in VT43:36 (here the "son" in question is Jesus). See also yonya. At one point, Tolkien rejected the word yondo as "very unsuitable" (for the intended meaning?), but no obvious replacement appeared in his writings (PE17:43), unless the (ephemeral?) form anon (q.v.) is regarded as such. In one source, yondo is also defined as "boy" (PE17:190).

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.

yonna

enclosed

yonna adj. (or passive participle) "enclosed", see yor-. (PE17:43)

yonwa

fence, border, boundary

yonwa noun "fence, border, boundary" (PE17:43)

yonya

my son

yonya noun with pronominal ending "my son" (evidently short for *yondonya; the form yonya may be used as a form of address only) (LR:61)

yonyo

son, big boy

yonyo noun "son, big boy". In one version, yonyo was also a term used in children's play for "middle finger" or "middle toe", but Tolkien may have dropped this notion, deciding to use hanno "brother" as the alternative play-name (VT47:10, 15, VT48:4)

yor-

enclose, set bounds to/about

yor- vb. "enclose, set bounds to/about" (PE17:43). Past tense yórë, †yondë, perfect oiórië (PE17:43). The forms yonda, yonna "enclosed" may be regarded as the passive participle of this verb.

yomenië

noun. meeting, gathering, meeting, gathering, *congress

@@@ extended meaning from NQ-Wiki

yonda

adjective. enclosed

yonda

adjective. wide, roomy, extensive

yonwa

noun. fence, border, boundary

yonyo

noun. (big) boy, son

A name for the middle finger in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, variously glossed “big boy” (VT47/10), “son” (VT47/16) or “boy, son” (VT47/27). As a finger name, it was revised to hanno “brother”, but it seems likely it could still be used as an ordinary (though possibly diminutive/affectionate) word for “boy” or “son”.

yor-

verb. to enclose, set bounds to/about, to enclose, set bounds to/about; *to include, contain

@@@ extended meaning “include, contain” from NQ-Wiki, also suggested by Tamas Ferencz

yosanwë

noun. (pl.) congruence

yonna

adjective. enclosed

yocar-

verb. to assemble, compose, construct

A neologism created by Tamas Ferencz in PPQ (PPQ) from the early 2000s, a combination of yo- “together” and car- “do, make”.

yosta

noun. content, (lit.) something contained, enclosed

A neologism for “content” coined by Luinyelle posted on 2025-03-01 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a noun form yod+dā based on YOD “enclose” so originally meaning “something enclosed”.

yonávë

noun. company, *companionship, camaraderie

yol-

verb. to smoulder

yomencöa

noun. synagogue, (lit.) meeting-house

yonta-

verb. to adopt (a son)

yontaro

noun. adoptive father (for a son)

yontarë

noun. adoptive mother (for a son)

-cca

your

[-cca ("k") ?"your", apparently an abandoned 2nd person plural or dual possessive (VT49:49). Compare -lca.]

-ilco

you (two)

[-ilco ("k") *"you (two)", abandoned pronominal ending for the familiar 2nd person dual; in later sources the relevant ending is rather -stë (VT49:48). The ending -ilco was apparently changed from -ilto (VT49:49). Compare -illo.]

-illo

you (two)

[-illo "you (two)", abandoned promoninal ending for the polite 2nd person dual; in later sources the relevant ending is rather -stë (VT49:48). This -illo was changed from -llo. Compare -ilco.]

-lca

your

[-lca ("k") ?"your", apparently an abandoned 2nd person plural possessive (VT49:49). Cf. -cca.]

-lda

your

-lda (1) "your", 2nd person pl. possessive suffix (VT49:16). Onnalda *"your child" (VT49:42). In an earlier manuscript, this ending was used for singular "you" instead, attested in the phrase Arwen vanimalda "Arwen your beauty", sc. "O beautiful Arwen", and in meletyalda "your majesty" (WJ:369) Arwen vanimalda was however changed to Arwen vanimelda in the second edition of LotR, Tolkien reinterpreting the last word (see vanimalda). The ending for singular "your" appears as -lya elsewhere. (LotR1:II ch. 6)

-ldë

you

-ldë (1) pronominal suffix "you", 2nd person pl. (VT49:51; carildë *"you do", VT49:16). This ending Tolkien revised from -llë in earlier sources (VT49:48, cf. PE17:69).

-llo

you

[-llo (2) "you", dual; abandoned pronominal ending. Also written -illo. (VT49:49)]

-llë

you

-llë (2) abandoned pronominal ending "you", 2nd person pl. (VT49:48); Tolkien later revised this ending to -ldë.

-lyë

you, thou

-l or -lyë (VT49:48, 51), pronominal endings for 2nd person sg. polite/formal "you, thou": caril or carilyë *"you do" (VT49:16), hamil "you judge" (VT42:33), anel "you were" (see ná #1); see -lyë for further examples. These endings may also be added to pronouns (etel/etelyë or mil, milyë; see et, mi). In one source, -l is rather used as a reduced affix denoting plural "you"; see heca! (WJ:364)

-ndë

you

[#-ndë (2) pronominal suffix for dual "you", as in carindë *"you (two) do". Tolkien changed the ending to -stë (VT49:33)]

-ntyë

you

[-ntyë "you", abandonded pronominal ending for 2nd person pl. familiar (VT49:49)]

-sta

your

-sta (1) "your", dual 2nd person possessive pronominal ending: "of you two" (VT49:45, 16), cf. -stë (q.v.) Genitive -sto in veryanwesto "of your wedding" (VT49:45) and tengwiesto "of your reading" (VT49:47), allative -stanna in parmastanna "on your book" (VT49:47). An archaic ending of similar form could also be the third person dual "of the two of them" (but according to VT49:51, the corresponding subject ending was changed to -ttë, and then the ending for "their" would presumably become -tta)

-stë

you

-stë "you", 2nd person dual pronominal ending (VT49:51, 53), e.g. caristë "the two of you do" (VT49:16). Tolkien first wrote carindë, but changed the ending (VT49:33). The ending -stë is derived from earlier -dde (VT49:46, 51). An archaic ending of similar form could also be the third person dual, "the two of them" (but see -ttë #1).

-tya,

your, thy

-tya, pronominal ending, 2nd person sg. intimate/familiar "your, thy" (VT49:16, 38, 48); compare -tyë

-tyë

you

-t (3) reduced pronominal affix of the 2. person, "you" (sg.), the long form being -tyë (both endings are listed in VT49:48). See heca regarding the example hecat (WJ:364). However, in a later source, Tolkien denies that -tyë has any short form (VT49:51, 57). The status of the ending -t is therefore doubtful.

-tyë

you, thou

-tyë pronominal ending "you, thou" (VT49:48, 51), 2nd person familiar/intimate: carityë *"you do" (VT49:16; the corresponding formal/polite ending is -l, -lyë, cf. PE17:135 where Tolkien states that hiruvalyë "thou shalt find" from Namárië would be hiruvatyë if the polite pronoun were replaced by the familiar one). Compare the independent pronoun tye. In VT49:51, Tolkien denies that the ending -tyë has any short form (see, however, -t # 3). Cf. natyë "you are"; see ná #1. Compare tye, -tya.

alyë

you

alyë imperative particle with ending -lyë "you"; see a #3.

ilcë

you

ilcë ("k") (2) *"you", emphatic pronoun of the 2nd person pl. familiar, apparently a form abandoned by Tolkien. An alternative form incë was also listed; a query appears between the forms (VT49:48).

imlë

yourself, thyself

imlë "yourself, thyself", 2nd person formal sg. reflexive pronoun, e.g. *tirilyë imlë, "you watch yourself". Compare intyë. (VT47:37)

incë

you

incë ("k") *"you", emphatic pronoun for 2nd person pl. familiar, apparently a form abandoned by Tolkien. It is listed as an alternative to ilcë in the source, a query appearing between the forms (VT49:48, 49). The word could also be read as intë (VT49:49)

indë

yourselves

indë "yourselves", 2nd person pl.. reflexive pronoun, e.g. *tirildë indë, "you watch yourselves". Indë is derived from earlier imde(VT47:37)

intyë

yourself, thyself

intyë *"yourself, thyself", 2nd person intimate sg. reflexive pronoun, e.g. *tiritye intyë, "you watch yourself" (but apparently the general reflexive pronoun immo can also be used). Compare imlë. (VT47:37)

laisi

youth, vigour, new life

laisi, laito noun "youth, vigour, new life" (LT1:267; rather vië or nésë, nessë in Tolkien's later Quenya)

le

you

le, pronominal element "you", (originally) the "reverential 2nd person sing" (RGEO:73, VT49:56). However, singular le was apparently altered to lye (q.v.), and le took on a plural significance (le for pl. "you" is apparently derived from de, the ancient 2nd person pl. stem, VT49:50-51). Stressed lé (VT49:51), dual let "the two of you" (ibid.). At certain points in Tolkiens conception, le was still sg. "thou" rather than pl. "you". It is attested as an ending in the imperative form antalë "give thou" (VT43:17); see anta-. The form ólë in VT43:29 apparently means *"with thee"; according to Tolkiens later system, it would rather mean "with you" (pl.) Compare aselyë "with thee" (sg.) in a later source (see as).

nalyë

you are

nalyë, vb. "you are", "thou art"; see ná #1

natyë

you are

natyë vb. "you are", "thou art"; see ná #1

nessa

young

nessa adj. "young" (NETH), alsoNessa as name of a Valië, the spouse of Tulkas (adopted and adapted from Valarin, or an archaic Elvish formation: WJ:404 vs. 416). Also called Indis, "bride" (NETH, NI1). The fem. name Nessanië (UT:210) would seem to incorporate Nessa's name; the second element could mean "tear" (nië), but since Nessa is not normally associated with sorrow, this #nië is perhaps rather a variant of ní "female" (compare Tintanië as a variant of Tintallë).

nessima

youthful

nessima adj. "youthful" (NETH)

nessë

youth

nessë noun "youth"; also nésë (NETH)

nésë

youth

nésë (Þ) noun "youth", also nessë (NETH). Not to be confused with nésë "he was"; see ná #1.

tye

you, thou, thee

tye pron. "you, thou, thee", 2nd person intimate/familar (LR:61, 70, Arct, VT49:36, 55), corresponding to formal/polite lye. According to VT49:51, tye was used as an endearment especially between lovers, and (grand)parents and children also used it to address one another ("to use the adult lye was more stern"). Tyenya "my tye", used = "dear kinsman" (VT49:51). The pronoun tye is derived from kie, sc. an original stem ki with an added -e(VT49:50). Stressed tyé; dual tyet "the two of you" (VT49:51 another note reproduced on the same page however states that tye has no dual form, and VT49:52 likewise states that the 2nd person familiar "never deleloped" dual or plural forms). Compare the reflexive pronoun intyë "yourself". Possibly related to the pronominal stem KE (2nd person sg.), if tye represents earlier *kye.

vanimalda

your beautiful

vanimalda adj. with suffix *"your beautiful"; Arwen vanimalda "Arwen your beauty = beautiful Arwen" (WJ:369, cf. PE17:55).The ending for sg. "your" normally appears as -lya rather than -lda (which according to late sources is rather the ending for plural "your", here inappropriate). Originally Tolkien seems to have intended vanimalda as an inflected form of vanima "beautiful", the ending -lda expressing comparative, superlative or simply "exceedingly" (PE17:56: vanimalda = "exceeding fair"). However, since this ending was later revised out of existence, Tolkien reinterpreted the word. The Second Edition of LotR changes one letter to arrive at the reading vanimelda, q.v. for Tolkiens new explanation.%

vinya

young

vinya (1) adj. "young" (VT46:22, VT47:26, PE17:191) or "new" (cf. compounds Vinyamar, Vinyarië below; cf. also winya "new, fresh, young" in a deleted entry in the Etymologies, VT45:16; there the word was first written as vinya.) Vinya "the Young", original name of the isle of Númenor among its own people (SD:332).

vínë

youth

vínë noun "youth" (probably as abstract) (VT47:26, PE17:191)

vírië

youth

vírië noun "youth" (as abstract) (VT46:22)

winyamo

youngster

winyamo noun "youngster" (VT47:26). In Exilic Quenya, this word would appear as *vinyamo; compare the related word winya > vinya "young, new".

-l(yë)

suffix. you (polite)

-ldë

suffix. you (plural)

-stë

suffix. you (dual)

< -zde < -dde

-tya

suffix. your (familiar)

-tyë

suffix. you (familiar)

elyë

pronoun. you (emphatic polite)

imlë

pronoun. yourself (polite)

indë

pronoun. yourselves

intyë

pronoun. yourself (familiar)

le

pronoun. you (plural)

lye

pronoun. you (polite)

tye

pronoun. you (familiar), thee

vinya

adjective. young, new

vinyamo

noun. youngster

vinyarë

noun. youth, youth, *young adulthood

vínë

noun. youth, youth, *childhood

-(i)llo

suffix. you (dual)

-cca

suffix. your (dual)

-ccë

suffix. you (dual)

-ilco

suffix. you (dual)

-l

suffix. you (polite)

-lda

suffix. your (plural)

-lda

suffix. your (dual)

-lla

suffix. your (dual)

-lla

suffix. your (plural polite)

-llë

suffix. you (plural)

-llë

suffix. you (dual polite)

-lya

suffix. your (polite)

-nca

suffix. your (plural familiar)

-ncë

suffix. you (plural familiar)

-ntyë

suffix. you (plural familiar)

-sta

suffix. your (dual)

-t

suffix. you (familiar)

-xa

suffix. your (dual)

-xë

suffix. you (dual)

carilye tar

you do, sir

ciryalya tar

your ship, sir

ilcë

pronoun. you (emphatic plural familiar)

vá matuvatyë mastanya

you are not to eat my bread, you shan’t eat my bread

winyamo

noun. youngster

-lya

thy, your

-lya 2nd person sg. formal/polite pronominal suffix "thy, your" (VT49:16, 38, 48). In tielyanna "upon your path" (UT:22 cf. 51), caritalya(s) "your doing (it)" (VT41:17), esselya "thy name" (VT43:14), onnalya "your child" (VT49:41, 42), parma-restalyanna *"upon your book-fair" (VT49:38), and, in Tolkien's Quenya Lord's Prayer, in the various translations of "thy kingdom": aranielya in the final version, earlier turinastalya, túrinastalya, turindielya, túrindielya (VT43:15). Also in indómelya (changed from mendelya) "thy will" (VT43:15-16)

-lyë

thou, you

-lyë pronominal ending "thou, you" (VT49:48), 2nd person sg. formal/polite: hiruvalyë "thou shalt find" (Nam, RGEO:67), carilyë *"you do" (VT49:16). Long form of -l, q.v. The ending also occurs in alyë, the imperative particle a with a pronominal suffix (VT43:17); see a #3. The intimate/familiar ending corresponding to polite/formal -lyë is -tyë, q.v

en

there, look! yon (yonder)

en (1) interjection "there, look! yon (yonder)" (EN, VT45:12)

lye

thou/thee, you

lye pron. "thou/thee, you", 2nd person sg. formal/polite (corresponding to familiar/intimate tye, q.v.) (VT49:36) It seems the original stem-form was le (VT49:50), distinct from de as a plural "you", but when initial d became l and the forms threatened to fall together, le was apparently altered to lye by analogy with the ending -lyë and the emphatic pronoun elyë. Stressed lyé (VT49:51). For lye as object, cf. nai Eru lye mánata "God bless you" (VT49:39). Allative lyenna "to you, upon you" (VT49:40-41). Compare the reflexive pronoun imlë "yourself, thyself", q.v. (it did not have to be *imlyë, for the corresponding pl. pronoun indë "yourselves" is distinct anyhow).

winya

new, fresh, young

winya (1) adj. "new, fresh, young" _(VT45:16; though the entry including this form was struck out in the Etymologies, _vinya "new" is a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, and it is meant to represent older winya. Compare winyamo, q.v.)

wén

greenness, youth, freshness

wén noun "greenness, youth, freshness" (GWEN), blended with wendë "maid"

en

adverb. then soon, then soon, [ᴹQ.] in that (future) case; there, yonder; look yon(der); far away; that, [ᴱQ.] that by you; thereupon

aite[?] kestallen

now, suppose, you ask me

imli

pronoun. *yourself (polite)

mára tyen

good to you, you like

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). Of the two, Tolkien appears to have settled on √AS, which appeared in a few different notes from 1968 (VT47/31; VT48/25).

Assimilations: In the notes written between both the 1st and 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien consider 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.

vinyahan

noun. younger brother

A neologism coined by Röandil posted on 2023-11-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of vinya “young” and háno “brother”, with longer variant vinyaháno.

vinyanet

noun. younger sister

A neologism coined by Röandil posted on 2023-11-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of vinya “young” and nésa “sister”, with longer variant vinyanésa [þ].

maldë

noun. yolk

A neologism for “yolk” coined by Raccoon and posted on 2024-08-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), based on the root √MAL “yellow”.

eldë

pronoun. you (plural emphatic)

lenya

pronoun. yours (plural)

lyenya

pronoun. yours (polite)

tyenya

noun. yours (familiar)

yalta

noun. yoke

nailyë

interjection. go ahead, you are welcome to proceed

A neologism for “go ahead, you are welcome to proceed” coined by Luinyelle posted on 2025-05-25 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as a combination of nai “may it be that” and lye “you (polite)”. Familiar and plural variants naityë and naildë also exist.

yó(m)

preposition. [together] with

A preposition appearing as yó(m) “with” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 (PE22/168). Earlier in the same set of documents, it appeared in a sentence vá meninye {yó &gt;&gt;} ó le “I won’t come with you” (PE22/162), but there it was replaced by ó. These were probably based on primitive forms ✶jō(m) “together (plural)” and ✶wō “together (two things)” from the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/361). If so, Tolkien may have revised {yó >>} ó in the sentence above because “you and I” is a pair rather than a group.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume yó meant “[together] with” when applied to groups of things, as opposed to ó for two things together, though I would also assume ó was the default and yó was only used when plurality needed to be emphasized.

car-

verb. to do, make, to do, make, [ᴹQ.] build

Car- is the Quenya verb for “do, make”, derived from the root √KAR of the same meaning, and was very well established in Tolkien’s mind. ᴱQ. karin “I do, make” dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45), and appeared regularly in Tolkien’s writings thereafter. Tolkien frequently used car- in examples of conjugating basic verbs, so the inflections of car- are pretty representative of Tolkien’s evolving notations of the Quenya verb system.

The English verb “do” has many specialized functions, such as in the formation of questions like “do you want to go?”. Quenya car- does not share many of those functions. Quenya car- serves as a “generic action” verb, in some sense acting like verbal pronoun, which can be substituted for a more specific verb. For example, in phrases like A carnë ta yallë B (carnë) “A did that as / like B (did)” (PE17/74) or ecuva nin carë sa nöa “I may do that tomorrow” (VT49/20), the verb car- is a placeholder for the specific action done, in the same way that ta and sa is a pronominal placeholder for the action as a noun.

The English verb “do” often requires a generic object like “it”, but that is not the case for Quenya car-: consider English “don’t do it” [with object] vs. Quenya áva carë [without object] (WJ/371) or the Quenya phrase á carë ancárië “try harder” (PE17/94), more literally “✱do [it] with more doing”. When car- has a specific direct object, it generally has the sense “make” or “build”, as in ma caruvalwë ohta “shall we make war” (PE22/161) or i carir quettar ómainen “those who form [make] words with voices” (WJ/391).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. karin “I make, build” under the root ᴹ√KAR {“make, do” >>} “make, build, construct” (Ety/KAR), and in this period kar- was more often glossed “make” rather than “do”, such as in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948. It could be that in the 1930s and 40s this verb was more limited in sense than it was earlier and later.

melehta

adjective. mighty

An adjective for “mighty” derived from the root √MBELEK in a page of notes having to do with “large & small” words, probably from the late 1960s (PE17/115), apparently from the primitive form ✱✶mbelektā (with [kt] > [ht]). A variant form meletya appears with the 2nd-plural possessive suffix -lda as Meletyalda “your mighty” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/369), likely from the primitive form ✱✶mbelekya (with [kj] > [tj]). This variant form has a more typical primitive adjective suffix ✶-ya, but is inconsistent with the attested Sindarin cognate S. belaith, so I’d stick with melehta for purposes of Neo-Quenya.

tul-

verb. to come, to come, [ᴱQ.] move (intr.); to bring, carry, fetch; to produce, bear fruit

The Quenya verb for “to come”, which is very well-attested. It is derived from the root √TUL whose basic sense is “move towards the speaker” (PE17/188), as in “come here”: á tule sís. English may also use “come with” in the sense “accompany” such as “I will come with you”, but Quenya uses men- (“go”) for this purpose (PE22/162), such as menuvan ó le = “I will go with you”.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. tulu- dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it appeared under the early root ᴱ√TULU, but in that early document it has a much broader set of glosses: “(1) bring, carry, fetch; (2) intr. move, come; (3) produce, bear fruit” (QL/95). By the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s its list of glosses was reduced to “come” (PE14/57), and Tolkien used the verb only to mean “come” thereafter. Tolkien often used this verb in grammatical examples, which is part of the reason it is so well-attested.

ó

preposition. [together] with

The preposition ó “with” appeared in draft versions of the Aia María prayer from the 1950s, in the phrase i Héru olesse “the Lord is with thee” (VT43/27), along with a chart for this preposition having pronominal suffixes (VT43/29). Prepositional ó is clearly related to the prefix o- “together”. In the third version of the prayer, it was revised to carelye (VT43/27), apparently a variant of the preposition ca as suggested by Wynne, Smith, and Hostetter (VT43/29). In the fourth and final version of the prayer it became aselye (VT43/28), using an otherwise unattested preposition possibly related to √AS “beside”.

In the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien said of primitive WO “together” that it “does not remain in Q as an independent word” (WJ/367). However, the preposition ó “with” reappeared in a phrase from 1969: vá meninye {yó &gt;&gt;} ó le “I won’t come with you” (PE22/162). Based on the revision of {yó >>} ó and the meaning of the related prefixes, it is likely that ó more specifically means “with (one other individual)” as opposed to yó(m) for “with (a group)”. However, I think ó could be used in most cases, and yó(m) is only used when accompanying a group is being emphasized.

Neo-Quenya: It seems likely that ó specifically means “[together] with”, and other senses of “with” would use other prepositions such as lé “with, by (means of)” or the instrumental suffix -nen.

-ldë

kindler

-ldë (2) feminine agental suffix. Tolkien at one point commented that Vardas title Tintallë "Kindler" should be Tintaldë because the ending -llë was rather the suffix for plural "you" (PE17:69). Since this pronominal suffix -llë was later revised to -ldë, it is now the ending of Tintaldë itself that would be potentially problematic.

-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).

-nya

my

-nya pronominal suffix, 1st person sg. possessive, "my" (VT49:16, 38, 48), e.g. tatanya "my daddy" (UT:191, VT48:17), meldonya "my [male] friend" (VT49:38), meldenya "my [female] friend" (Elaine inscription), omentienya "my meeting" (PE17:68), tyenya "my tye" (tye being an intimate form of "you"), used = "dear kinsman" (VT49:51, 56). This ending seems to prefer i as its connecting vowel where one is needed, cf. Anarinya "my sun" in LR:72, so also in hildinyar "my heirs". It was previously theorized by some that a final -ë would also be changed to -i- before -nya, but the example órenya "my heart [órë]" indicates that this is not the case (VT41:11).

Telellë

little elf

Telellë noun "little elf" (also Teler); the Telelli are said to be "young Elves of all clans who dwelt in Kôr to perfect their arts of singing and poetry" (LT1:267; see Teler)

Tintallë

kindler

Tintallë noun "Kindler", a title of Varda who kindled the stars (TIN, Nam, RGEO:67). From tinta- "kindle, make to sparkle" (MR:388). According to PE17:69, the form "should be Tintalde", apparently because -llë was at the time the ending for plural "you" and Tintallë could be taken as meaning *"you kindle" rather than as a noun "Kindler". However, Tolkien later changed the pronominal suffix, eliminating the clash of forms while leaving Tintallë correct (after the revision, it was *tintaldë itself that would be the verb "you kindle").

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)_

Yón

son

Yón (1) noun "Son" (VT44:12, 17, referring to Jesus. Tolkien rewrote the text in question. Normally the Quenya word for "son" appears as yondo, which also refers to Jesus in one text.)

ane-

was

#ane-, form of copula "was" when pronominal endings follow: anen "I was", anel "you were", anes "(s)he/it was" (VT49:28, 29); see ná #1.

anon

son

anon noun "son" (PE17:170), possibly intended by Tolkien as a replacement for yondo.

anon

noun. son

A transient word for “son” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, written of above the more common yon-do (PE17/170).

cam-

receive

#cam- vb. "receive" (attested in the past tense #camnë with pronominal endings added: camnelyes "you received it") (VT47:21)

car-

make, do, build, form

car- (1) vb. "make, do, build, form" (1st pers. aorist carin "I make, build"; the aorist is listed with all pronominal endings in VT49:16, also in pl. and dual forms carir, carit). Regarding the form carize- (PE17:128), see -s #1. Pa.t. carnë (KAR, PE17:74, 144). The infinitival aorist stem carë ("k") (by Patrick Wynne called a "general aorist infinitive" in VT49:34) occurs in ecë nin carë sa "I can do it" (VT49:34), also in áva carë "don't do it" (WJ:371) and uin carë (PE17:68); in the last example Tolkien calls carë an example of the "simplest aorist infinitive", the same source referring to carië as the "general infinitive" of the same verb. Pl. aorist carir "form" in the phrase i carir quettar ("k") "those who form words" (WJ:391, cf. VT49:16), continuative cára, future caruva (PE17:144), carita ("k"), infinitive/gerund "to do" or "doing" (VT42:33), with suffixes caritas "to do it" or "doing it", caritalya(s) "your doing (it)" in VT41:13,17, VT42:33. Past participle #carna, q.v.; VT43:15 also gives the long form carina ("k"), read perhaps *cárina. (Carima as a passive participle may be a mistake, VT43:15.) PE17:68 refers to a "simple past passive participle" of the form carinwa ("kari-nwa"). "Rare" past participle active (?) cárienwa* ("k") "having done" (PE17:68), unless this is also a kind of passive participle (the wording of the source is unclear). Some alternative forms in Fíriel's Song: past tense cárë ("káre") "made"; this may still be an alternative to the better-attested form carnë (LR:362) even in LotR-style Quenya. Cf. ohtacárë "war-made", made war (see #ohtacar-). Also cárië with various suffixes: cárier ("kárier") is translated "they made"; in LotR-style Quenya this could be seen as an augmentless perfect, hence "they have made", "they" being simply the plural ending -r. The literal meaning of cárielto* ("k") must also be "they made" (cf. -lto). Derived adjectives urcárima and urcarnë "hard to make / do", urucarin "made with difficulty" (PE17:154), saucarya "evil-doing" (PE17:68).

ellë

came

ellë vb. "came", pl. eller with a plural subject (MC:215; this is "Qenya"; in later Quenya, ellë could be the emphatic pronoun "you", pl., corresponding to singular elyë "thou" at least in the conceptual phase where -llë was the ending for plural "you".)

et

out

et prep. (and adv.?) "out", when followed by ablative "out of" (VT45:13) or literally "out from", as in EO: et Eärello "out of the Great Sea"; cf. also et sillumello "from this hour" in VT44:35. Et i pe/péti, untranslated phrase, perhaps "out of the mouth" (VT47:35). Prefixet- "forth, out" (ET), also in longer form ete- (as in etelehta, eteminya); verb ettuler "are coming forth" (ettul- = et + tul-). (SD:290; read probably *ettulir or continuative *ettúlar in Tolkien's later Quenya). The forms etemmë and etengwë (VT43:36) seem to incorporate pronominal suffixes for "us", hence ?"out of us", inclusive and exclusive respectively. The pronoun -mmë denoted plural inclusive "we" when this was written, though Tolkien would later make it dual exclusive instead (see -mmë). Second person forms are also given: etelyë, etellë ?"out of you", sg. and pl. respectively (Tolkien would later change the ending for pl. "you" from -llë to -ldë).

ham-

judge

#ham- (2) vb. "judge", attested in the aorist form hamil "you judge". (VT42:33; notice the pronominal ending -l "you". See nemë. The verb #ham- with the meaning "judge" may seem to be an ephemeral form in Tolkien's conception.)

hína

child

hína noun "child", also hina used in the vocative to a (young) child (also hinya "my child", for hinanya) (WJ:403). Pl. híni (surprisingly not **hínar) in Híni Ilúvataro "Children of Ilúvatar" (Silmarillion Index); dative hínin in VT44:35. In compounds -hin pl. -híni (as in Eruhíni, "Children of Eru", SA:híni). According to one source, the word is hín(i) and solely plural (PE17:157), but this is obviously contradicted by some of the sources quoted above.

hína

noun. child

A word for “child” derived from the root √KHIN (PE17/157; WJ/403), most notably an element in Eruhíni “Children of God”, a term for Elves and Men as the children of Eru. This word illustrates that hína has an abnormal plural form: híni rather than the expected ✱✱hínar. A variant hina with a short i was “only used in the vocative addressing a (young) child, especially in hinya (< hinanya) ‘my child’ (WJ/403)”.

Conceptual Development: The term Êruhîn “Children of God” first appeared as an Adûnaic word in the 1940s (SD/247-8, 358), later adapted as Quenya Eruhíni and Sindarin Eruchîn, which seems to be the source of Q. hína and S. hên “child”. At one point Tolkien coined masculine and feminine variants Q. hindo and Q. hindë, but they were deleted (PE17/157). Tolkien often used an alternate Quenya form sén (MR/423; UT/274; RGEO/66), perhaps out of a desire to have a Sindarin form Eruhîn that was closer to the original Adûnaic form. This variant continued to appear as late as 1969, where sén was written below Eruhíni as a variant form in Late Notes on Verbs (LVS: PE22/158).

immo

same one, self

immo, "same one, self" (VT49:33), general singular reflexive pronoun (covering both the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person sg.), except where the subject is impersonal, in which case imma is used instead (VT47:37). Hence *tirin immo* "I watch [my]self", tirilyë immo "you watch [your]self", tiris immo "(s)he watches [him/her]self" (but apparently tiris imma** "it watches [it]self").

lelta-

send

#lelta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: leltanelyes "you sent him" (VT47:21)

lenta-

send

[#lenta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: lentanelyes "you sent him". Changed by Tolkien to #lelta-, q.v. (VT47:22, 21)]

lé

way

lé (1) noun "way" = "method, manner" ("as in that is not As way"). Not to be confused with lé as a stressed form of le = plural "you"; Tolkien was himself dissatisfied with this clash (PE17:74).

me

we, us

me (1) 1st person pl. exclusive pronoun "we, us" (VT49:51; VT43:23, VT44:9). This pronoun preserves the original stem-form (VT49:50). Stressed mé (VT49:51). Cf. also mel-lumna "us-is-heavy", sc. *"is heavy for us" (LR:47, mel- is evidently an assimilated form of men "for us", dative of me; the form men is attested by itself, VT43:21). For me as object, cf. álamë** "do not [do something to] us", negative imperative particle with object pronoun suffixed (VT43:19: álamë tulya, "do not lead us"), ámen** "do [something for] us", imperative particle with dative pronoun suffixed (ámen apsenë "forgive us", VT43:12, 18). Dual exclusive met "we/us (two)" (Nam, VT49:51), "you and me" (VT47:11; the latter translation would make met an inclusive pronoun, though it is elsewhere suggested that it is rather exclusive: "him/her and me", corresponding to wet [q.v.] as the true inclusive dual form). Rá men or rámen "for us/on our behalf", see rá. Locative messë "on us", VT44:12 (also with prefix o, ó- ?"with" in the same source). See also ménë, ómë.

meletya

mighty

#meletya adj. "mighty", isolated from meletyalda adjective with suffix "your mighty" = "your majesty" (see -lda; meletya = *"mighty"). In full Aran Meletyalda "king your mighty" = "your majesty" (WJ:369). Compare melehta.

nam-

verb. to judge, to judge, *think (have as an opinion)

The verb nam- “judge” appeared in 1968 notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor, attested in the phrase namin alasaila “I judge [it] unwise” (VT41/13). This version of the verb is consistent with the name Námo, given in The Silmarillion as the true name of Mandos (S/28).

In a marginal note within Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 Tolkien revised the root to √NDAB “to judge” with a new form Návo to replace Námo (PE22/154 note #53). These notes initially had nem- for “judge”, revised to ham- and finally to nav- (PE22/154 note #53, 55, 56); it was after all these revisions that he coined the new root √NDAB.

The verb nav- “judge” appeared in several phrases:

• la năvin karitalya(s) mára “I do not advise you to do so, (lit.) I don't judge your doing (it) good”

• lá karitas, navin, alasaila ná “not doing this would be (I think) unwise”

• alasaila ná lá kare tai mo nave mára “it is unwise not to do what one judges good”

Based on the above phrases, it seems the basic sense of the verb is “judge” or “think = ✱have as an opinion”.

Conceptual Development: Tolkien introduced the name Námo in the 1950s, which is probably where this concept originated. It seems to have remained √NAM up through 1968, and then nam- >> nem- >> ham- >> nav- in 1969.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to use the form nam- “judge, ✱think [have as an opinion]” for consistency with the name Námo in The Silmarillion as published.

ná

is

ná (1) vb. "is" (am). (Nam, RGEO:67). This is the copula used to join adjectives, nouns or pronouns "in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have certain quality, or to be the same as another" (VT49:28). Also in impersonal constructions: ringa ná "it is cold" (VT49:23). The copula may however be omitted "where the meaning is clear" without it (VT49:9). Ná is also used as an interjection "yes" or "it is so" (VT49:28). Short na in airë [] na, "[] is holy" (VT43:14; some subject can evidently be inserted in the place of [].) Short na also functions as imperative: alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34), also na airë "be holy" (VT43:14); also cf. nai "be it that" (see nai #1). The imperative participle á may be prefixed (á na, PE17:58). However, VT49:28 cites ná as the imperative form. Pl. nar or nár "are" (PE15:36, VT49:27, 9, 30); dual nát (VT49:30). With pronominal endings: nányë/nanyë "I am", nalyë or natyë "you (sg.) are" (polite and familiar, respectively), nás "it is", násë "(s)he is", nalmë "we are" (VT49:27, 30). Some forms listed in VT49:27 are perhaps to be taken as representing the aorist: nain, naityë, nailyë (1st person sg, and 2nd person familiar/polite, respectively); does a following na represent the aorist with no pronominal ending? However, the forms nanyë, nalyë, ná, nassë, nalme, nar (changed from nár) are elsewhere said to be "aorist", without the extra vowel i (e.g. nalyë rather than nailyë); also notice that *"(s)he is" is here nassë rather than násë (VT49:30).Pa.t. nánë or né "was", pl. náner/nér and dual nét "were" (VT49:6, 9, 10, 27, 28, 30, 36). According to VT49:31, né "was" cannot receive pronominal endings (though nésë "he was" is attested elsewhere, VT49:28-29), and such endings are rather added to the form ane-, e.g. anen "I was", anel "you were", anes "(s)he/it was" (VT49:28-29). Future tense nauva "will be" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 27; another version however gives the future tense as uva, VT49:30). Nauva with a pronominal ending occurs in tanomë nauvan "I will be there" (VT49:19), this example indicating that forms of the verb ná may also be used to indicate position. Perfect anaië "has been" (VT49:27, first written as anáyë). Infinitive (or gerund) návë "being", PE17:68. See also nai #1.

né

was

né vb. "was"; see ná #1. Also used as interjection "yes" when the meaning is "it was so, it was as you say/ask" (VT49:31). Pl. nér "were", dual nét (VT49:30). Nésë "he was" (VT49:29), though Tolkien elsewhere stated that né did not "take any inflection of person" (VT49:31), pronominal endings rather being added to ane- (the form anes *he was" is attested). Anda né "long ago" (VT49:31).

oiórië

oiórië

oiórië, perfect tense of yor-, q.v. (PE17:43)

onya

my child

onya noun "my child", "my son" (not the normal word for "son", however [cf. yondo] onya seems to be derived from the stem ONO "beget") This may be a shortened form of *onnanya (see onna), like hinya "my child" (q.v.) is shortened from hinanya. It may be, then, that onya (like hinya) is only used in vocative. (UT:174)

tulta-

send for, fetch, summon

tulta- vb. "send for, fetch, summon" (TUL). Tultanelyes "you summoned him", changed by Tolkien to leltanelyes "you sent him" (possibly tulta- was meant to have the meaning "send" here, but Tolkien decided to use another word) (VT47:22)

u-

not do, not be

#u- vb. "not do, not be" (1st pers. aorist uin "I do not, am not"), pa.t. úmë (UGU/UMU). A late (ca. 1968) source gives the forms uin, uin(yë) "I am not", uil(yë) "you are not", uis "it is not", uilmë "we are not", uir "are not" and endingless ui *"is not" (VT49:29, 36); these forms were however struck out. The example uin carë "I dont" (PE17:68) combines this negative verb with a following verb in the "simplest aorist infinitive". Compare ua in another late source. See also ui, which (despite its use as an interjection "no") seems to be the endingless 3rd person aorist.

vinya

pale blue

vinya (2) < windya adj. "pale blue" (WIN/WIND)(It is uncertain whether Tolkien rejected this word or not; in any case, vinya is only attested with the meaning "young, new" in his later Quenya.)

vó

son

vó (actually spelt vô), also vondo, noun "son" (LT2:336; in Tolkien's later Quenya yondo)

wendi

maid, girl

wendi noun "maid, girl" (LT1:271), "young or small woman, girl" (VT48:18); see wendë

wendë

maid

wendë noun "maid" (GWEN), wendë > vendë "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16, VT47:17). Sana wendë "that maiden" (PE16:96 cf. 90). According to VT47:17, this word for "maiden" is "applied to all stages up to the fully adult (until marriage)".Early "Qenya" also had wendi "maid, girl" (LT1:271); this may look like a plural form in Tolkiens later Quenya. On the other hand, VT48:18 lists a word wendi "young or small woman, girl". It is unclear whether this is Quenya or a Common Eldarin form, but probably the former: PE17:191 displays the word for "maiden" as wendē, so the Quenya stem form is probably *wende- rather than wendi*-, the stem-form that would result from Common Eldarin wendi). In his Quenya translation of the Sub Tuum Praesidium, Tolkien used Wendë/Vendë to translate "virgin" with reference to the Virgin Mary. Here the plural genitive Wenderon appears in the phrase Wendë mi Wenderon "Virgin of Virgins"; we might have expected Wendion instead (VT44:18).If the pl. form of wendë is wender rather than wendi, as the gen.pl. wenderon suggests, this may be to avoid confusion with the sg. wendi** "girl".

wenya

green, yellow-green, fresh

wenya adj. "green, yellow-green, fresh" (GWEN), apparently "fair, beautiful" ("probably originally "fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth") in a later deleted note (PE17:191).

wine

noun. baby, child not yet fully grown

winë (stem *wini-, given the primitive form ¤wini) noun "baby, child not yet fully grown", "little-one", also used in children's play for "little finger" or "little toe" (VT46:10, 26, VT48:6, 16). Synonyms win(i)cë, winimo. In Exilic Quenya, this word would appear as *vinë; compare the related word winya > vinya "young, new".

winicë

baby

winicë (also wincë), noun "baby", also used in children's play for "little finger" or "little toe" (VT48:6). Synonyms winë, winimo. In Exilic Quenya, this word would appear as *vinicë*, vincë; compare the related word winya > vinya "young, new". Since the diminutive ending -icë descends from -iki(VT48:16), winicë may have the stem-form winici**-.

winima

childish

winima adj. "childish" (VT47:26). In Exilic Quenya, this word would appear as *vinima; compare the related word winya > vinya "young, new".

winimo

baby

winimo noun "baby", "little-one", used in children's play for "little finger" or "little toe" (VT47:10, VT48:6, 16). Synonyms winë, win(i)cë. In Exilic Quenya, this word would appear as *vinimo; compare the related word winya > vinya "young, new".

yanta

bridge

yanta noun "bridge", also name of tengwa #35 (Appendix E); in the Etymologies, yanta is defined as "yoke" (YAT)

ó-

used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units

ó- (usually reduced to o- when unstressed) a prefix "used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units". In omentië, onóna, ónoni, q.v. _(WJ:367, PE17:191; in the Etymologies, stem WŌ, the prefix _o-, ó- is simply defined as "together".) In VT43:29 is found a table showing how pronominal endings can be added to the preposition ó-; the resulting forms are onyë or óni "with me", ómë "with us" [also in VT43:36, where "us" is said to be exclusive], ólyë or ólë "with you" (olyë only sg. "you", whereas ólë can be either sg. or pl.), ósë "with him/her", ótë *"with them" (of animates where "them" refers to non-persons, óta [or shortened ót] is used, though the conceptual validity of ta as a pl. pronoun is questionable), ósa (or shortened ós) "with it". (Two additional forms, ótar and ótari, presumably mean "with them" of inanimate things; see VT49:56 for a possible second attestation of tar as the word for plural inanimate "they".) However, Tolkien's later decision to the effect that ó- refers to two parties only may throw doubt upon the conceptual validity of some of these forms, where at least three persons would be implied (like ótë "with them", where one person is "with" two or more others though Tolkien indicates that two groups may also be involved where the preposition ó- is used). The explicit statement in WJ:367 that the prepostion o (variant of ó) did not exist independently in Quenya is however difficult to get around, so instead using the preposition ó/o (with or without endings) for "with", writers may rather use as, the form appearing in the last version of Tolkien's Quenya Hail Mary (also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with you").

yár

blood

yár (yar-, as in dat.sg. yaren) noun "blood"_ (YAR; the Silmarillion appendix gives _sercë instead. According to VT46:22, Tolkien introduced yór_ as a replacement form in the Etymologies itself.)_

yór

blood

yór noun "blood"; see yár (VT46:22)

laiqua

adjective. green

sanomë

adverb. there

A word for “there” appearing in notes from mid-1960s in the phrase sanome tarne Olórin, Aracorno, Eomer, Imrahil “There stood Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer and Imrahil” (PE17/71). A similar form ᴹQ. sanome(s) appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from the late 1940s, where it was based on ᴹ√NOM “spot, place” (PE23/112).

The word can be contrasted with tanome “there” in different notes from the late 1960s (VT49/11, 19), and also in DRC from the 1940s. DRC made the distinction between these two words clear, in that tanome was “demonstrative there” pointing to a place not previously mentioned, while sanome was “anaphoric there” referring back to a place mentioned before. So “go there” would be á mene tanome, but “I went to the city and found Aragorn there” would be mennen i ostonna ar hirnen Aracorno sanome.

Lokyt originally suggested this distinction to me in a Discord conversation from 2022, and was eventually proven right by the publication of DRC in 2024.

yanta-

verb. to add to, enlarge, increase, augment

@@@ possibly lyanta- if you accepted gy- > dy- > ly-

atar

noun. father

The Quenya word for “father”, derived from the root √AT(AR) (PM/324; WJ/402; VT48/19).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. atar “father” dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, though in that document it was “a more solemn word ... usually to 1st Person of the Blessed Trinity”, as opposed to more ordinary ᴱQ. attu “father” (QL/33). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s, ᴱQ. atar was the ordinary word for “father”, but with variant archaic form †attar (PE15/72). ᴹQ. atar “father” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ATA of the same meaning (Ety/ATA). It appeared again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 in various inflected forms (PE22/118-119). It continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s later writings. Thus this word was established early and retained its form throughout Tolkien’s life with only minor variations.

cesta-

verb. to ask

ham-

verb. to judge

hir-

verb. to find

The most common Quenya verb for “find”, most notably appearing in the Namárië poem (LotR/378), based on the root √KHIR of the same basic meaning (PE17/75).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly use hir- in the sense “find something previously lost”, as opposed to tuv- = “find something new = discover”.

lenna-

verb. to come, to come; [ᴹQ.] to go, depart

mat-

verb. to eat

The verb for “to eat” derived from the root √MAT of the same meaning (VT39/7).

Conceptual Development: This verb and root are quite well established, dating all the way back to ᴱQ. mat- and ᴱ√MATA of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59) and appearing as ᴹQ. mat- and ᴹ√MAT in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), as well as numerous other places albeit with occasional variants like mata- (PE12/26). This verb was one Tolkien often used in examples of verb conjugations and as such its inflected forms changed considerably over time, but that is more a topic of the evolution of the Quenya verb system itself.

onna

noun. child, child, *offspring; [ᴹQ.] creature

A word for “child” appearing in various late notes and phrases (NM/31; PM/391; VT49/42), derived from the root √NŌ/ONO “beget, be born” and once appearing in a variant form onwe (PE17/170). Giving its derivation, its actual meaning may be closer to “✱offspring”, as first suggested to me by Tamas Ferencz.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. onna was instead glossed “creature”, though it was still derived from the root ᴹ√ONO “beget” (Ety/ONO).

-ië

suffix. is

-ië (3) "is", -ier "are", stative verb suffix occurring in Fíriel's Song: númessier "they are in the west", meldielto "they are...beloved", talantië "he is fallen", márië "it is good" (< *númessë "in the west", melda "beloved", *talanta "fallen"); future tense -iéva in hostainiéva "will be gathered" (< *hostaina "gathered"). Compare ye "is", yéva "will be", verbs that also occur in Fíriel's Song. This suffix is probably not valid in LotR-style Quenya: -ië is an infinitival or gerundial ending in CO, for ye "is" Namárië has ná, and the phrase "lost is" is vanwa ná, not *vanwië.

-lma

suffix. our (inclusive)

-lmë

we

-lmë 1st person pl. pronominal ending: "we" (VT49:38; 51 carilmë *"we do", VT49:16). It was originally intended to be inclusive "we" (VT49:48), including the person(s) spoken to, but by 1965 Tolkien made this the ending for exclusive "we" instead (cf. the changed definition of the corresponding possessive ending -lma, see above). _(VT49:38) Exemplified in laituvalmet "we shall bless them" (lait-uva-lme-t "bless-shall-we-them") (the meaning apparently changed from inclusive to exclusive "we", VT49:55), see also nalmë under ná# 1. (LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308_)

-lva

suffix. our (inclusive)

-lwa

suffix. our (inclusive)

-lwë

we

-lwë, later -lvë, pronominal ending "we" (VT49:51), 1st person pl. inclusive ending, occurring in the verbs carilwë "we do" (VT49:16) and navilwë (see #nav-). The ending became -lvë in later, Exilic Quenya (VT49:51). See -lv-.

-mmë

we

-mmë "we", 1st person dual exclusive pronominal ending: "I and one other" (compare the inclusive dual form -ngwë or -nquë). First written -immë in one source (VT49:57). Carimmë, "the two of us do" (VT49:16, cf. VT43:6). At an earlier conceptual stage, the ending was already exclusive, but plural rather than dual: vammë "we won't" (WJ:371), firuvammë "we will die" (VT43:34), etemmë ?"out of us" (VT43:36); see also VT49:48, 49, 55. Also compare the corresponding emphatic pronoun emmë (q.v.). The ending -lmë replaced -mmë in its former (plural exclusive) sense. In some early material, -mmë was apparently used as an ending for plural inclusive "we" (VT49:55).

-ngwë

we

-ngwë "we", 1st person dual inclusive pronominal ending: "thou and I" (compare the exclusive dual form -mmë). Caringwë, "the two of us do" (VT49:16). One source lists the ending as "-inke > -inque" instead (VT49:51, 53, 57; "inke" was apparently Old Quenya). In an earlier pronoun table reproduced in VT49:48, the ending -ngwë is listed as an alternative to -lmë, which Tolkien at the time used as the plural inclusive ending (a later revision made it plural exclusive).

-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.

-nya

suffix. my

-wen

maiden

-wen "maiden" as suffix, a frequent ending in feminine names like Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (SA:wen). Early "Qenya" also has -wen, feminine patronymic "daughter of" (LT1:271, 273), but the patronymic ending seems to be -iel "-daughter" in Tolkien's later Quenya.

-yë

conjunction. and

-yë (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).

Andórë

land of gift

Andórë noun full form of Andor, "land of gift", name of Númenor (SD:247)

Lindissë

woman

Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)

Námo

judge

Námo (1) noun "Judge", name of a Vala, normally called Mandos, properly the place where he dwells (WJ:402)

Návatar

father

Návatar noun a title of Aulë referring to his position as the immediate author of the Dwarvish race, apparently including atar "father", but the first element cannot be related to any known term for "Dwarf" (PM:391 cf. 381)

Tintanië

kindler

Tintanië noun "Kindler" = Varda (TIN; Tintánië under TAN, which according to VT46:17 Tolkien interpreted both as "Star-maker" and "Star-making")

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)_

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).

andor

place name. Land of Gift

A name of Númenor meaning “Land of Gift” (S/260). It is a compound of anna “gift” and -ndor “land”.

Conceptual Development: This name appeared in the earliest tales of Númenor (LR/19). In earlier writings, it often appeared in an extended form: ᴹQ. Andóre (SD/247, 305).

anna

gift

anna noun "gift" (ANA1, SA), "a thing handed, brought or sent to a person" (PE17:125), also name of tengwa #23 (Appendix E); pl. annar "gifts" in Fíriel's Song. Masc. name Annatar "Lord of Gifts, *Gift-lord", name assumed by Sauron when he tried to seduce the Eldar in the Second Age (SA:tar). Eruanna noun "God-gift", gift of God, i.e. "grace" (VT43:38)

anna, anwa

noun. gift

anwa

noun. gift

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)

as

with

as prep. "with" (together with), also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with thee" (VT47:31, VT43:29). The conjunction ar "and" may also appear in assimilated form as before s; see ar #1.

as

with

o (2) prep. "with" (MC:216; this is "Qenya"; WJ:367 states that no independent preposition o was used in Quenya. Writers may rather use as.) See ó- below.

as

preposition. with

atar

father

atar noun "father" (SA; WJ:402, UT:193, LT1:255, VT43:37, VT44:12). According to the Etymologies (ATA) the pl. is atari, but contrast #atári in Atanatári "Fathers of Men" (q.v.); possibly the word behaves differently when compounded. Atarinya "my father" (LR:70), atar(inya) the form a child would use addressing his or her father, also reduced to atya (VT47:26). Diminutive masc. name Atarincë ("k") "Little father", amilessë (never used in narrative) of Curufinwë = Curufin (PM:353). Átaremma, Ataremma "our Father" as the first word of the Quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer, written before Tolkien changed -mm- as the marker of 1st person pl. exclusive to -lm-; notice -e- as a connecting vowel before the ending -mma "our". In some versions of the Lord's Prayer, including the final version, the initial a of atar "father" is lengthened, producing #átar. This may be a contraction of *a atar "o Father", or the vowel may be lengthened to give special emphasis to #Átar "Father" as a religious title (VT43:13). However, in VT44:12 Atar is also a vocative form referring to God, and yet the initial vowel remains short.

atar

noun. father

atto

father, daddy

atto noun "father, daddy" (hypocoristic)(ATA, LR:49), supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). The dual form attat listed in VT48:19 seems to be formed from the alternative form atta, though attat was changed by Tolkien from attot. - Compare atya.

az

and

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

car-

with

#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)

emmë

we

emmë (2) pron. "we", emphatic pronoun; dative emmen (VT43:12, 20). In the source this pronoun is intended as the 1st person plural exclusive; later Tolkien changed the corresponding pronominal ending from -mmë to -lmë, and the plural emphatic pronoun would likewise change from emmë to *elmë. Since the ending -mmë was redefined as a dualexclusive pronoun, the form emmë may still be valid as such, as a dual emphatic pronoun "we" = "(s)he and I".

engë

was

engë vb. "was", "existed", past tense of ëa, q.v. (VT43:38, VT49:29)

enya

adverb. then soon

ezel

green

ezel, ezella adj. "green" (in Vanyarin Quenya only). Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399)

ezel(la)

adjective. green

fara-

verb. to hunt

A verb for “to hunt” based on the root √SPAR. In the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, Tolkien gave it as an example of an a-verb with an inherently continuative sense (PE22/113).

hahta

noun. fence

fence, hedge

hinyë

noun. baby

A word for a “baby” in rough notes on Elvish finger names (VT47/27), probably some kind of diminutive formation from √KHIN “child”. It had a variant hintil that is clearly specific to fingers only: = √KHIN + √TIL “✱baby finger, (lit.) child tip”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, it is probably better to use one of the baby words from the more finished versions of these notes, such as vinimo.

hyero

noun. wine

A word for “wine” appearing in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969, derived from primitive ✶syeru (PE23/139).

ilin

pale blue

ilin adj. "pale blue" (GLINDI)

laica

green

laica (1) adj. "green" (in older sources laiqua) (Letters:282, PE17:159). Laicolassë (laica + #olassë) "green-foliage" (PE17:46), Quenya cognate of Sindarin Laegolas (dialectal form Legolas); compare olassië. Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves", literally "green-leaf" (PE17:56).

laica

adjective. green

laiqua

green

laiqua ("q")adj. "green" (LÁYAK, LT1:267, MC:214), "Qenya" pl. laiquali ("q")(MC:216). Occurs in the phrase laiqua'ondoisen ("q") "green-rocks-upon" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"), Laiqualassë ("q") masc. name "Legolas" (Greenleaf) (LT1:267). Used as noun in the phrase mi laiqua of somebody clad "in green" (PE17:71). In later material, the word for "green" appears as laica, and the cognate of Legolas is said to be Laicolassë, q.v. (PE17:56)

laiquassë

greenness

laiquassë ("q")noun "greenness" (LT1:267)

landa

wide

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

landa

adjective. wide, wide, [ᴱQ.] broad

lé

with

lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)

lé

preposition. with

The preposition lé “with” was mentioned in a (rejected) etymology of S. di “with” in Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/94), from the phrase le nallon sí di’nguruthos (LotR/729), usually translated “here overwhelmed in dread of Death, I cry”. In this note, Tolkien eventually decided that S. (n)di actually meant “beneath”, and its Quenya equivalent was Q. nî.

Conceptual Development: Prepositional ᴹQ. le also appeared in the Lament of Atalante from the 1940s, in the phrase ᴹQ. Númeheruvi arda sakkante lenéme Ilúvatáren “the Lords of the West broke the world by [or with] leave of Ilúvatar” (SD/246, 310). Here “with” seems to be used in the instrumental sense “by means of”. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. le “with (accompaniment)” under the early root ᴱ√LĒ (QL/52). Le was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as the equivalent of G. li “with (of accompaniment only)”, but also used to mean “and” between nouns GL/54().

Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. lé for purposes of Neo-Quenya as a rarely-used instrumental preposition meaning “with, by (means of)”, reconceived as a derivative of √LEÑ “✱way, method, manner” (PE17/74).

melehta

mighty

melehta adj. "mighty" (PE17:115), cf. meletya

meletya

adjective. mighty

men

way

men (2) noun "way" (SA) or "place, spot" (MEN)

men

noun. way, way, *direction; [ᴹQ.] place, spot [only in compounds]

A noun or word element, most notably appearing in the four cardinal directions formen, hyarmen, númen, and rómen, which Christopher Tolkien translated as “way” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/men). This is consistent with the later meaning of its root: √MEN “go, move, proceed”, and in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien had a primitive form ✶mēn- “a way, a going, a mov[ement]” (PE17/165) which might be the source of Christopher Tolkien’s translation of Q. men.

Conceptual Development: The situation in Tolkien’s earlier writings was different. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. men was translated “place, spot” under the root ᴹ√MEN (Ety/MEN). In this document, it seems the literally meaning of direction words were “✱north-place”, “✱south-place”, etc., as opposed to later “✱north-direction, ✱south-direction”. This can be seen in other words Tolkien used in this period, such as ᴹQ. Ilmen “Place of Light” (SM/241).

This ambiguity continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as can be seen in a 1965 letter to Dick Plotz, where Tolkien translated númen “the direction or region of the sunset” (Let/361). Another example is menel “firmament, high heaven, the region of the stars”, which Tolkien said was “a Q. invention from men (direction, region) + el (the basis of many stars)” in The Road Goes Ever On as published in 1967 (RGEO/65). There are other Quenya words where men refers to a location rather than a direction: ruimen “fireplace, hearth” (PE17/183) and turmen “realm” = “✱mastered-region” (PE17/28), both from the mid-1960s.

However, some words are hard to explain as locations, such as alamen “a good omen on departure”, also from DLN of 1959 (PE17/162). Tolkien used men as an element in the terms coimen “life-year” and olmen “growth-year” in notes from around 1959, which are probably best explained as a “way” or “process” of life or growth (NM/84-85). However the stems of these words ended in mend-, so their element men may be different from what is seen in formen, etc. As another wrinkle, Tolkien regularly used nómë to mean “place” in his later writings, as in sinomë “in this place [= here]” (LotR/967) and tanomë “in that place [= there]” (VT49/11).

It is hard to determine how much of this variation is due to conceptual vacillation on Tolkien’s part. My best guess of the timelime is that:

• In the 1930s men meant “place, spot”, and the root ᴹ√MEN was not verbal (Ety/MEN).

• In the 1940s Tolkien decided that √MEN was verbal, meaning {“intend” >>} “go” (PE22/103).

• By the 1950s Tolkien reformulated men to mean “way, a going” in keeping with the new meaning of the root (PE17/165). In this period Tolkien also introduced nómë “place”.

• By the 1960s Tolkien partially reversed himself, deciding men could mean either “way, direction” and “place, region”, but without abandoning nómë.

Neo-Quenya: The word men is somewhat contentious in Neo-Quenya. The word men is a very popular element for “place” in many neologisms (especially older ones), such as ᴺQ. natsemen “website = ✱web-spot”, ᴺQ. tirmen “theater = ✱watch-place” and ᴺQ. mótamen “office = ✱work-place”. However, others feel that this sense has been entirely replaced by nómë, so that men in such compounds should be replaced by a suffix ᴺQ. -non (-nom-).

Given this ambiguity, I would use men only for “way, ✱direction” as a standalone word, and would instead use nómë = “place”. However, given Tolkien’s vacillations as described above, I would allow the use of men as “place, spot, region” in compounds [perhaps originally conceived of as a destination], though I think ᴺQ. -non “-place” is also fine.

menta-

send, cause to go

menta- (1) vb. "send, cause to go" (in a desired direction) (VT41:6, VT43:15). A similar-sounding primitive verb mentioned in PE17:93 is said to have past and perfect forms that would produce Quenya *mennë*, eménië, but here Tolkien seems to be discussing a distinct intransitive verb "go" and its Sindarin descendants, and Quenya menta- rather belongs to the causative (transitive) verbs which according to the same source has "weak" past-tense forms (in -në, hence mentanë "sent", and likely ementië** as perfect "has sent").

ména

region

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

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).

nam-

judge

#nam- vb. "judge", attested in the 1st person aorist: namin "I judge" (VT41:13). Compare Námo.

nav-

judge

#nav- vb. "judge" (cited in the form navë, apparently the 3rd person aorist). Also given with pronominal suffixes: navin *"I judge" (Tolkien's free translation: "I think"), navilwë "we judge" (VT42:33, 4, VT48:11)

nem-

judge

[#nem- vb. "judge", attested as endingless aorist nemë, changed by Tolkien to hamë and finally to navë "in all but one case" (Bill Welden). Forms like námo "judge" and namna "statute" point rather to #nam- (q.v.) as a verb "to judge" (VT42:34); the verb namin "I judge" is even listed in Etym.]

nem-

verb. to judge

ninya

my

ninya _possessive pron _occurring in Fíriel's Song, evidently meaning "my"; see indo-ninya. It may be derived from the dative form nin "for me" by adding the adjectival ending -ya. Compare menya, q.v.

nissë

woman

nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.

nissë

noun. woman

nusta

verb. smell

námo

noun. judge

nánë

was

nánë vb. "was", náner "were"; see ná #1

né

verb. was

was

né

was

né vb. in pa.t. "was"; see ná #1.

ní

woman, female

†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".

nína

woman

#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])

nís

woman

nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †ní, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.

omentië

meeting

omentië noun "meeting" (meeting or junction of the directions of two people) (WJ:367), omentielva "our meeting", only attested in the genitive: omentielvo "of our meeting" (discussed in VT48:11). See -lv-. Concerning the alternative reading omentielmo, see -lma. Omentienya "my meeting" (PE17:58). The form omentiemman appears in early material, with the ending -mma (at the time plural inclusive "our") and the ending -n (at the time the genitive ending) (RS:324, VT49:55)

onwë

child

onwë noun "child" (PE17:170)

onwë

noun. child

onya

noun. my child

An affection term for “my child”, a reduction of the 1st sg. possessive form onnanya of onna “child” (PE17/170; UT/174-5).

palla

wide, expansive

palla adj. "wide, expansive" (PAL)

sanomë

there

sanomë adv. "there" (PE17:71). Cf. sinomë, tanomë.

selda

child

selda adj.?noun? (meaning not clear, related to seldë "child" (meaning changed by Tolkien from "daughter") and seldo "boy". Thus selda may be an adjective "childlike", since -a is a frequent adjectival ending. Alternatively, as suggested in VT46:13, selda may be a neuter noun "child", corresponding to masc. seldo "boy" and fem. seldë "girl" (before Tolkien changed the meaning of the latter to "child"). (SEL-D, cf. VT46:22-23)

seldo

child

seldo noun (meaning not quite clear, likely the masculine form of seldë "child", hence *"boy") (SEL-D, VT46:13, 22-23)

seldë

child

seldë noun "child" (meaning changed by Tolkien from "daughter"; in his later texts the Quenya word for "child" is rather hína, and the final status of seldë is uncertain. See also tindómerel.) (SEL-D, VT46:13, 22-23) In one late source, Tolkien reverts to the meaning "daughter", but this may have been replaced by anel, q.v.

sercë

blood

sercë ("k")noun "blood" _(SA:sereg, PE17:184; the Etymologies gives _yár as the Quenya word for "blood")

sercë

noun. blood

A noun for “blood” appearing in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 derived from the root √SEREK of the same meaning (PE17/185). It appeared as an element in the word serkilixa “blood-thirsty” from 1968 (NM/176), indicating a stem form of serci-.

sin

now

sin (2) adv., a form of sí "now" (q.v.) often occurring before vowels; also sín (SI). However, sí itself (q.v.) may also appear before a vowel.

sinya

new

sinya adj. "new" (SI)

sornion

eyrie

sornion noun "eyrie" (LT1:266)

sén

noun. child

sí

now

sí adv. "now" (Nam, RGEO:67, LR:47, SD:310, VT43:34, VT49:18, PE17:94), sin (SI, LR:47) or sín _(SD:247, 310) _before vowels. Compare the distribution of a/an in English, though in his Quenya version of Hail Mary, Tolkien used sí also before a vowel (sí ar "now and", VT43:28). Si, a short (or incompletely annotated) form of sí (VT43:26, 34). In Fíriel's Song, sí is translated "here".

sí

adverb. now

sí

adverb. now

The Quenya word for “now” which is very well attested. In notes on demonstratives from 1968, it is a vowel-lengthened form of demonstrative si “this” (VT49/18) which seems to be a standard way of forming adverbs of time in Tolkien’s later writings; compare tá “then” (VT49/11) and yá “when” (VT49/23). This vowel-lengthening construction was explicitly described in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948: “The bare stems lengthened are used [for adverbs of time]” (PE23/109).

In Tolkien’s writings from the 1930s and 40s, he occasionally had sin or sín “now” with an n (Ety/SIN; LR/47; SD/247; SD/310). One working theory is that this is the form of sí when it appears before a vowel. However, in the aforementioned DRC from 1948, Tolkien had a variant form ᴹQ. sin(an) “now” using the suffix ᴹQ. -n(an), also used for adverbs of time.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. tyá “now” based on the early root ᴱ√KI “this by me” (QL/46, 49). In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) from the 1920s he had ᴱQ. qí or qin for adverbs of time based ᴱQ. qi “this”, hence = “✱now”. However, the untranslated text Sí Qente Feanor from the 1910s seems to use sí = “now” (PE15/32, 34).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mostly use sí “now”, but I would also use sín or sin in cases where the results are more euphonic, particularly preceding a word starting with a vowel.

sír

adverb. now

ta

there

ta (5) adv. "there" (VT49:33; this may be an Elvish root or "element" rather than a Quenya word; see tanomë; see however also tar, tara, tanna under ta #1).

tasse

there

tassë

there

tassë adv. "there" (VT49:11), short form tás. These seem to be properly locative forms of ta "that, it", hence "in that [place]". Compare allative tanna "thither" and ablative talo "thence".

tassë

adverb. there

The words tās and tasse “there” appeared in a list of demonstratives from 1968 (VT49/11), combinations of ta “that” and the locative suffix -ssë. Short form tas appeared in the phrase tas kennen nótime eldali “I saw a few elves there” in notes from 1969 (PE22/155). Similarly formed ᴹQ. tasse “there” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948, also with a short variant tas (PE23/97, 111).

taura

mighty, masterful

taura adj. "mighty, masterful" (TUR, PE17:115), "very mighty, vast, of unmeasured might or size" (VT39:10). Cf. túrëa.

tuvu-

receive

tuvu- vb. "receive" (GL:71; is this "Qenya" word related to #tuv- "find"?)

tás

there

tás adv. "there" (VT49:11); also tassë, q.v.

tás

adverb. there

ua-

not do, not be

ua- negative verb "not do, not be". If a verb is to be negated, ua (coming before the verb) receives any pronominal endings (and presumably also any endings for plurality or duality, -r or -t), whereas the uninflected tense-stem of the verb follows: With the ending -n for "I", one can thus have constructions like uan carë "I do not" (aorist), uan carnë "I did not" (past), uan cára "I am not doing" (present), uan caruva "I shall not do" (future). The verb ua- can itself be fully conjugated: #ua aorist (or present?), únë (past), úva "(future), #uië (perfect) (the aorist and perfect are attested only with the ending -n "I"). In "archaic Quenya" these tense-forms could be combined with an uninflected aorist stem, e.g. future *úvan carë = later Quenya uan caruva, "I shall not do". In later Quenya, only the forms ua (present or aorist) and "occasionally" the past tense form #únë were used in normal prose (únen* "I did not, was not"). (PE17:144; compare FS for úva** as a future-tense negative verb "will not")

vand-

way, path

vand- noun "way, path" (LT1:264; a final vowel would seem to be required, but in Tolkien's later Quenya, the words tië or mallë are to be preferred)

ve

we

ve (2) pron. "we", 1st person pl. inclusive (corresponding to exclusive me), derived from an original stem-form we (VT49:50, PE17:130). Variant vi, q.v. Stressed wé, later vé (VT49:51). Dative (*wéna >) véna, VT49:14. Dual wet*, later vet "the two of us" (inclusive; cf. exclusive met) (VT49:51). Also compare the dative form ngwin or ngwen (q.v.), but this would apparently be wen > ven** according to Tolkiens later ideas.

vendë

maiden

vendë < wendë noun "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16), "virgin" (in Tolkien's translations of Catholic prayers where the reference is to Mary; see VT44:10, 18). The form Véndë in VT44:10 seems abnormal; normally Quenya does not have a long vowel in front of a consonant cluster.

vi

we

vi pron. "we", 1st person inclusive (PE17:130), variant of ve #2.

we

we

we, wé, see ve #2

wen

maid, girl

wen noun "maid, girl" (*wend-), in early "Qenya" also wendi (Tolkien's later Quenya form wendë occurs in MC:215 and in Etym, stems GWEN, WEN/WENED). (LT1:271, 273)

wenci

woman, maiden

wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)

wendë

noun. maiden

windya

pale blue

windya > vinya adj. "pale blue" (WIN/WIND)(It is uncertain whether Tolkien rejected this word or not; in any case, vinya means "new" in his later versions of Quenya.)

windë

pale blue

[windë > vindë adj. "pale blue" (VT45:16)]

winima

adjective. childish

A word appearing as winima “childish” in notes from 1968, an adjectival form of winë (wini-) “child not yet full grown” (VT47/26).

Neo-Quenya: In other notes from this period, Tolkien said of winë that “Pengoloð gives these in archaic Quenya form before the change of w, in most situations to v” (VT48/6), so I would likewise adapt this word as ᴺQ. vinima.

yaltë

bridge

yaltë noun "bridge" (GL:37); rather yanta in Tolkien's later Quenya

yanda

wide

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

yanda

adjective. wide

yanta

noun. bridge

The Quenya word for “bridge” from The Lord of the Rings appendices, also the name of tengwa #35 [l] used in i-diphthongs (LotR/1123). ᴹQ. yanta “bridge” also appeared as the name of this tengwa in notes The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s and 40s (PE22/22, 51).

Conceptual Development: Earlier words for “bridge” include ᴱQ. penda “bridge” under the early root ᴱ√PENE (QL/73) and ᴱQ. ranta “arch, bridge” under the early root ᴱ√RAÞA (QL/79). See the entry for √YAN “join” for a discussion of the possible later development of yanta’s root.

yanwë

bridge, joining, isthmus

yanwë noun "bridge, joining, isthmus" (YAT, "joining", VT49:45, 46), changed by Tolkien from yanwa (VT46:22, VT49:34)

ye

is

ye (2) copula "is" (FS, VT46:22); both earlier and later sources rather point to ná (q.v.) as the copula "is", so ye may have been an experiment Tolkien later abandoned. Future tense yéva, q.v.

yón

noun. region

ñol-

smell

ñol- noun "smell" (VT45:5); strengthened aññol, q.v. Possibly ñol- should be regarded as simply the root underlying olmë, q.v.

ó

with, accompanying

úva

will not

úva (1) vb. "will not", future tense of a negative verb (present/aorist tense úyë?) in Fíriel's Song. Compare #úva as the future tense of the negative verb ua- (q.v.) in a later source (PE17:144, where the verb is cited with a 1st person sg. ending: úvan).

úyë

is

úyë vb., a form occurring in Fíriel's Song (cf. VT46:22), apparently ye "is" with the negative prefix ú-, hence "is not" (úyë sérë indo-ninya símen, translated "my hearth resteth not here", literally evidently *"[there] is not rest [for] my heart here")

miru

noun. wine

nus

noun. smell

sauta-

verb. to stink

sornion

noun. eyrie

susta-

verb. to stink

vinima

adjective. childish