Quenya 

aman

place name. Blessed Realm

The continent in the Uttermost West where the Valar dwelled after the first wars with Morgoth destroyed the world as it was initially created (S/37). Its name is derived from the same root √MAN “blessed, unmarred” as the name of Manwë (PE17/162). The most common translation of this name was the “Blessed Realm” (S/62), though more precisely it describes the “unmarred” state of this land, free from the influence of Morgoth (PE17/162).

Tolkien elsewhere said that Aman was adapted from an (unknown) word from Valarin, meaning “at peace, in accord (with Eru)”, much as Manwë was an adaptation of Val. Mānawenūz (WJ/399). This is not incompatible with its derivation from the root √MAN, which itself may have been adopted into Primitive Elvish from Valarin.

Conceptual Development: According to Christopher Tolkien, the idea for this name first emerged from Ad. Amân, the Adûnaic name for Manwë (SD/376). In Tolkien’s earliest writings, the name for the Land of the Valar was simply ᴱQ. Valinor (LT1/70), but in later writings this became the Elvish name for this land, whereas Aman was its “proper” name (PE17/106).

Cognates

  • S. Avon “Unmarred State” ✧ PE17/162

Derivations

  • Ámān “Unmarred State” ✧ PE17/162
    • MAN “good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit” ✧ PE17/162
  • MAN “good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit” ✧ SA/mān

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
Ámān > Aman[amān] > [aman]✧ PE17/162
mān- > Aman[amān] > [aman]✧ SA/mān

Variations

  • aman ✧ WJ/399
Quenya [LBI/Aman; LotRI/Aman; LotRI/Blessed Realm; LRI/Aman; LT1I/Aman; LT2I/Aman; MRI/Aman; PE17/106; PE17/162; PMI/Aman; RC/766; S/062; SA/mān; SD/376; SDI2/Amân; SI/Aman; SI/Blessed Realm; SMI/Aman; UTI/Aman; VT49/26; WJ/399; WJI/Aman] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

zen’namân

place name. Blessed Realm, Land of Amân

A draft Adûnaic name for the Blessed Realm, later replaced by Amatthâni (SD/385). Its initial element zen is a draft name for “land” also seen in the draft name Zen’nabâr “Land of Gift”. Its final element is Amân, the Adûnaic name of Manwë, joined to the first element with an elided form of the genitive prefix an- “of”. Therefore, the literal meaning of the name is “Land of Amân (Manwë)”.

Elements

WordGloss
zen“land (draft)”
an-“of; genitive/adjectival prefix”
Amân“Manwë”
Adûnaic [SD/385; SDI2/Zen’namân] Group: Eldamo. Published by