Quenya words in Parma Eldalambaron 17

compiled by Petri Tikka

This is a compilation of Quenya words in Parma Eldalamberon 17 “Words, Phrases and Passages in The Lord of the Rings” by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Christopher Gilson. I began to gather it for Helge Fauskanger’s Quenya-English wordlist (Quettaparma Quenyallo) in November 2007, finishing it in August 2008. I will probably do a little polishing later on, but it is essentially ready as it is. My intention was to include all previously unpublished Quenya words in the journal, as well as novel meanings for old words. As for instances where both the approximate meaning and form of the word are attested in a prior source, I was regrettably not consistent in inclusion of references, except later on in the process. This list is meant only as a rough reference, and as a help for Neo-Quenya enthusiasts. For context and detailed analysis, always refer to the original source.

 

The principles of this compilation are the same as Fauskanger’s Quettaparma, with the following exceptions. Words with solely basic (black) colour in their gloss have not been previously seen in Fauskanger’s wordlist, and thus are most likely newly attested (at least in later Quenya, the main object of Quettaparma). Red colour denotes additional information to a word that has already been in the wordlist. I have also tried to mark with green colour PE17 words that Fauskanger has already included in his wordlist.

 

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to J.R.R. Tolkien, the originator of these wonderful words, and Christopher Gilson, who has edited his papers meticulously. I am naturally also in debt to Helge Fauskanger for his eminently useful wordlists.

                                           

                     

<A>

acas, axë (“k”) noun “neck, the bony part of the neck (not including throat)”, pl. axi (PE17:92), used geographically of rock ridges

[ahtar noun? “vengeance” (PE17:166)]

aina- vb. “to hallow, bless, treat as holy” (PE17:149)

ainas noun “a hallow, a fane” (PE17:149)

ainima adj. “blessed, holy (of things)” (PE17:149)

airon noun “ocean” (PE17:27). Also eäron, q.v.

[akkar noun? “vengeance” (PE17:166)]

ala- verb ”plant, grow” (PE17:100)

[alacarna adj. “well-done, well-made” (PE17:172)]

alalbinóre, alalvinore noun “land of many Elms” (PE17:153)

alalmë noun “inflorescence” (PE17:153)

alalvëa adj. ”having many elms” (PE17:146)

alamen noun “a good omen on departure” (PE17:162)

alámen (ë) interjection “farewell”, lit. “go with a blessing, with good omen!” (PE17:162), imperative form corresponding to alamen, q.v.; cf. namárië, q.v.

alaquenta adj. “well (happily) said” (PE17:146)

[alatúl(i)e ?noun/?interjection “welcome” (PE17:172)]

[alatulya adj./?interjection “welcome” (PE17:172)]

albë, alvë noun “elm” (PE17:146); cf. alalmë, lalmë

aldarembina, pl. aldarembinë adj. ”tree-tangled” (PE17:26), Quenya equivalent of Sindarin galadhremmin.

alenessë, alanessë noun ”nicotiana, pipeweed” (PE17:100)

alla! intejection ”hail! welcome!” (PE17:146), internal variant of aiya, q.v.

alma noun “flower” (PE17:153)

almë noun ”a good thing, a ’blessing’, a piece of good fortune” (PE17:146); replaces alma, q.v.

alya, alima adj. ”fair, good” (PE17:146)

alya- vb. “to cause to prosper, bless (a work), help one” (PE17:146)

[amatúlie noun “blessed arrival” (PE17:172), replaced by alatúlie, q.v.]

[amatulya adj./?interjection “welcome (of something blessed)” (PE17:172), replaced by alatulya, q.v.]

ambë adv. “more” (PE17:91)

ambela adv. “further still beyond, far away beyond” (PE17:91)

ambuna adj. “of flat ground dotted with hills etc.” (PE17:93)

amna, ambena adv. “nearer to, (to a further point in the motion) towards an object” (PE17:91)

amya noun “my mother” used in address (PE17:170), cf. emya

amya- evidently a prefix corresponding to mai- (q.v.) (PE17:163, 172)

anacca/nacca (“k”) noun “narrows, defile, pass, cut” (PE17:166)

andū, nū- noun “going down, setting (of sun), west” (PE17:18)

Anduinë noun ”Anduin” (PE17:40)

andúna adj. “western” (PE17:18)

anel noun “daughter” (PE17:170), possibly meant as a replacement for seldë of the same meaning .

anon noun “son” (PE17:170), possibly meant as a replacement for yondo.

[aquet noun?/vb.? ”answer” (PE17:166)]

ar- prep. “by” (PE17:169); rejected gloss “near, by, beside”

aranus(së) noun “kingship” (PE17:155)

arato noun “a noble” (PE17:147)

Arandóre noun “King’s-land” (PE17:28) = Arnor. Cf. Arnanórë.

arata adj. “high, lofty, noble” (PE17:49, 186). Cf. Aratar.

aratō noun “lord (often = king)” (PE17:118): cf. aráto

Ardaranyë noun “the Kingdom of Arda” (PE17:105)

arimaitë adj. ”skilful” (PE17:162)

arma adj. “a ray of sunlight” (PE17:148)

arta adv. “etcetera” (PE17:71)

artaurë noun “realm” (PE17:28). Cf. turmen.

Arvernien noun “(the land) beside the Verna” (PE17:19). What is/are the Verna?

arya adj. “exelling”, used as the comparative form of mára (PE17:57). The superlative is i arya, with the article. Cf. mára.

arya- vb. “to excel” (PE17:56)

asa- prefix, as- before p, t, c, q, s (PE17:148), denoting easiness in doing; cf. asalastë, ascenë, q.v.

asalastë adj. “easily heard” (PE17:148)

[asanóte ?adj. perhaps *”easily counted” (PE17:172)]

ascenë, ascénima adj. “visible, easily seen” (PE17:148)

asië (Þ) noun ”ease, comfort” (PE17:148)

asta- vb. “to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)” (PE17:148)

astar noun “faith, loyalty (not belief)” (PE17:183)

astarindo, artarindo noun ”bystander” (one standing beside another as supporter) (PE17:71)

astarmo noun ”bystander”, mainly used in the sense “witness” (PE17:71)

asya- (Þ) vb. “to ease, assist, comfort” (PE17:148)

at- prefix “two” (PE17:166)

atamaitë adj. ”2-handed” (PE17:162)

atamir noun “heirloom, ‘máþum’” (PE17:165)

ataquanta- vb. “refall, fall second time, double fall” (PE17:166); perhaps Tolkien actually meant *atalanta < lanta- “to fall”, q.v.?

[at(a)quetie noun “saying again, repetition” (PE17:166)]

avanwa adj. ”refused, forbidden, banned” (PE17:143); blended in meaning with vanwa, q.v.

awalda adj. “move[d], stirred, excited” (PE17:189)

áyan, aian noun “a holy thing or object or place” (PE17:149)

 

<C>

calmatan noun “lampwright” (PE17:96)

canta (“k”) noun “shape” (PE17:175)

carassë noun “a built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks” (PE17:84)

carasta- vb. “to build” (PE17:84

carda (“k”) noun “deed” (PE17:51). Cf. car.

carpa (“k”) noun “mouth”, including lips, teeth, tongue etc. (PE17:126); also used for “language”, in particular the phonetic system. Cf. náva and páva.

carpa- (“k”) intrans. vb. ”talk, speak, use tongue” (PE17:126).

carpassë (“k”) noun ”mouth-system”, i.e. ”full organized language, including system, vocabulary, metre etc.” (PE17:126); probably replaced by pahta (2), q.v.

castol noun “helmet”, synonyms tholon (q.v.), sól (q.v.), also variant castolo (“k”) (PE17:186, 188)

cauma (”k”) noun ”protection or shelter natural or othwerise, sc. against sun, or rain, or wind – or against darts; shield” (PE17:108)

Celec-orna noun “Swift-tall”, Quenya form of Celegorn (PE17:112)

cenima (“k”) adj. “visible” (PE17:175)

ces- (Þ) (“k”), “to search (for something), to examine (something) in order to find (something)”, “enquire of, question, examine” (something) [[this might be meaning of the root?…]]. Cesë parma “to look in a book” (for a passage or information required). Past tense cense (Þ) given, replacing the phonologically expected form centë (also cited). (PE17:156)

cesta- (“k”) vb. “to seek, search for” (PE17:156)

cilin noun ”glass” (often used as in English for any thing or impliment made of glass) (PE17:37)

cilintír, cilintilla noun “looking-glass” (PE17:37), i.e. “mirror”.

cilinyul noun ”drinking-vessel (made of glass)” (PE17:37)

cinta adj. “small” (PE17:157)

ecces- (“k”) vb. “to find out, bring out by examining, or eyeing[?]” (PE17:156). Compare ces-.

ciryando (“k”) noun “sailor” (PE17:58). Cf. ciryaquen.

combë (“k”) noun “gathering, assembly, assemblage, collection”. Also ocombë (PE17:158)

comya- (“k”) vb. “gather, assemble” (transitive) (PE17:158)

condo (“k”) noun “prince, leader; lord” (PE17:113,117); possibly replaces cundu, q.v.

cunta-, cunya- vb. “rule” (PE17:117)

 

<E>

Eämbar noun ”dispositions and will of Eru, with regard to Creation as a whole” (PE17:105)

eäron noun “ocean” (PE17:27). Also airon, q.v.

ecca (“k”) noun “hole”, apparently associated with Sindarin torech “secret hole, lair” (PE17:186)

Eldavehtë noun description of Beleriand as “a habitation, haunt of place occupied by Eldar”, cf. vehtë, q.v. (PE17:189)

Elerondiel noun *“the daughter of Elrond”, the patronym name of Arwen (PE17:56). This would make the Quenya form of Elrond *Elerondo.

en (2), also ena, adv. “still”; quetir en “they still say” (PE17:167)

-enca suffix “without, -less” (PE17:167), cf. nec-, q.v.

endaquet- vb. “answer”, gloss uncertain (PE17:167)

enquanta- vb. “refill” (Nam, PE17:167)

enquete- vb. “repeat, say again” (PE17:167)

essë *”he, she”, independent emphatic pronoun (PE17:126)

 

<F>

fantarcenya (“k”) adj. “perspicacious, penetrating of sight or understanding” (PE17:176)

fanwa noun “veil, screen” (PE17:176, 180)

fanwos noun “mind-picture of apparition in dream”, possibly ephmeral variant of indemma (q.v.)

(PE17:174); in any case it does not fit well into Quenya phonology wich prohibits wo.

felco noun “cave, mine, underground dwelling” (PE17:118); also felca, felehta

fenna noun “door” (PE17:45, 181)

férima, ferina adj. “ready to hand, (quickly) available” (PE17:181)

ferya- vb. “make ready (promptly)” (PE17:181)

*fimbë adj. (stem fimbi-) “slender” (PE17:23)

[phin- noun “a single hair, filament” (PE17:17)]

finca adj. “clever (in petty ways)” (PE17:17, 119)

finda adj. “fine & delicately made” (PE17:181)

findel adj. “having beautiful hair” (PE17:119); is this Sindarin?

[phindele noun "mass of long hair" (PE17:17)]

findelë noun “tress, lock” (PE17:119); apparently a synonym of findë, q.v.

findilë noun “head of hair” (PE17:17). Cf. findessë.

fínë noun “dexterity” (PE17:119)

fínëa adj. ”dexterous” (PE17:119), also finwa, q.v.

finta- verb “to make, finish off, or decorate a thing with delicate work” (PE17:17), “show skill” (PE17:119)

fintaler noun “tricks” (PE17:119)

finwa adj. ”dexterous; ’clever’, fine, delicate” (PE17:119, 181)

finya, leptafinya adj. “clever(-fingered)” (PE17:17)

finya- vb. “to do a thing / make a thing (with fine work)” (PE17:181)

fó interjection “nay, no”, the gloss of the stem √PHŌ/Ū is “intejection of displeasure / dissent” (PE17:181)

forna adj. ”northern” (PE17:18)

Forolondië, Follondië noun, old name for Arnor (PE17:28), in full Turmen Follondiéva “(Realm of the) North-harbourage”

 

<H>

[haila ?adj. ?adv. “far beyond”, corresponding to palla (q.v.) but less remote (PE17:65); its relation to haira (q.v.) and survival is uncertain]

hala noun “a cast shadow” (PE17:184)

hampa adj. “restrained, delayed, kept” (PE17:68)

hanquenta vb.? or noun? “answer” (PE17:166)

χarin adj. “marred” (PE17:150), this would be harin in more standard spelling (and later pronunciation)

haura adj. “huge” (PE17:115)

henfanwa noun “eye-screen, veil upon eyes” (PE17:176)

henta- vb. “to eye, to examine (by looking), to scan, to read (silently)” (PE17:77, 156), perfect ehentanië; et-henta vb. “read aloud”, parmahentië noun “(book) reading”

hísilanya noun “hithlain, warp” (PE17:60), lit. “mist thread”.hlas noun “ear”, dual hlaru (PE17:62); probably replaces lár (2), q.v.

hloima noun “(a) poison(ous substance)” (PE17:185)

hloirë noun “venom, poison(ousness)” (PE17:185)

hloirëa adj. “venomous” (PE17:185)

hloita- vb. “to poison, envenom, fill with poison” (PE17:185)

hó noun “spirit, shadow” (PE17:86)

höa adj. “large, big” (evidently of size) (PE17:115)

holya-, holta- vb. ”shut, close” (PE17:98). holma, holla. holde.

hrai- prefix denoting difficulty (PE17:154, 185), cf. ur(u)-

hraia adj. “awkward, difficult” (PE17:154); ephemerally meant “easy” (PE17:172)

hraicénima, hraicenë adj. “scarcely visible, hard to see” (PE17:154)

hranga adj. “awkward, hard; stiff, awkward, difficult” (PE17:154, 185)

hranga- vb. “thwart” (PE17:154), weak verb

hravan noun “a wild beast” (PE17:78); cf. Hravani, laman

Hrávani noun “Wild-men, Savages” (PE17:18)

hrissë noun “fall of snow” (PE17:168)

hristil noun “snow [?peak]” (PE17:168)

[hriþya, hrisya vb. “it snows”, past tense hrinte or hrisinye (PE17:168), replaced by hríza, q.v.]

hríza vb. “it is snowing”, present tense, past tense is hrinsë which would develop into ?hrissë (PE17:168); stem form is probably *hríz-, Exilic Quenya *hrír-.

hrómen noun ”east” (PE17:18), variant of rómen.

hrón noun ”’flesh/substance of Arda’, ‘matter’” (PE17:183)

hróna adj. ”eastern” (PE17:18)

Hrónatani noun *“Eastern Men” (PE17:18)

hrondo noun “a corporeal form or body (especially of the Elves)” (PE17:183), replaced by hroa, q.v.

hróva adj. “dark, dark brown”, used to refer to hair (PE17:154)

hru, ru-, hrú- prefix implying wickedness or evil, only occasionally used, e.g. hrúcarë, q.v. (PE17:170)

hrúa, hrúya adj. “evil, wicked” (PE17:170)

hrúcarë, rúcarë noun “evil-doing” (PE17:170)

hruo noun ”troll” (PE17:115)

hú noun “hound” (PE17:86); cf. huan, huo

húna adj. “cursed, accursed” (PE17:149)

húta- vb. “to curse”, past tense hunte or huntane (PE17:149)

hwindë noun ”birch” (PE17:23)

Hyaralondië, Hyallondië noun old name for Gondor (PE17:28), in full Turmen Hyallondiéva “Realm of the South-harbourage”

hyarna adj. “southern” (PE17:18)

                                           

<I>

ilvanya, ilvana adj. “perfect” (PE17:150)

[Iltániel >> Ilthániel, ilsa noun deleted Quenya forms of Sindarin Gilthoniel (PE17:23)]

imnë emphatic independent 1st person sg. pronoun, “I, I myself” (PE17:41). Cf. inyë.

incánus(së) noun “mind mastership” (PE17:88, 155)

indemma noun “mind-picture”, a vision transferred from one mind to another and perceived as visual (and aural) images, usually produced by Elves, though Men were capable of receing them (mostly during sleep) (PE17:174, 179); also (ephemerally?) fanwos, q.v.

inkáno/inkánu noun “mind master” (PE17:155)

in-walmë noun ”mood of mind, especially one of aroused attention & enthusiasm” (PE17:154)

inwis noun “change of mind, mood”, bracketed inwissi is either plural, stem form or variant (PE17:191), cf. inwisti, q.v.

ipsin noun ”fine thread” (PE17:17)

ita, íta adv. ”very, extremely” (PE17:112)

†ixal noun “a cast shadow” (PE17:184)

 

<K>

këa, caire noun ?“fence” (PE17:101); or “ten”?

 

<L>

lahta- vb. “to pass over, cross, surpass, excell” (PE17:92)

laicalassë adj. “green as leaves”, lit. “green-leaf” (PE17:56)

laicolassë noun “green-foliage” (PE17:56). Cognate of Laegolas, i.e. Legolas. Cf. olassië, q.v.

laima noun “plant” (PE17:159). Cf. olvar, q.v.

laiquë noun “’herb’, anything green, but especially as used for food” (PE17:159)

lambina adj. “of tongue, spoken with tongue” (PE17:46)

[langa noun “a thing that crosses, ferry, ford, crossway, bridge, cross-bar” (PE17:65)]

langa- vb. “to cross” (PE17:65)

langë adv. “suprassingly, superlatively, extremely” (PE17:92)

lango noun “passage”, especially across or over an obstacle, also “neck” (PE17:92)

lanna prep. “athwart” (PE17:65)

[lanya- vb. ”to cross”, an ephemeral variant of langa-, q.v. (PE17:65)]

larmar pl. noun “raiment”, only attested in the plural, might be plurale tantum (PE17:175)

Laurefindil, masc. name, the Quenya form of Glorfindel (PE17:17)

laurië noun “goldenness”, also adverb “goldenly” (PE17:61)

lé prep. “with” (PE17:95)

lelya (2) adj. “delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely” (PE17:139,151)

lelya- (3) vb. "appear, of beautiful things, hence attract, enchant (with dative)", pa.t. léline (PE17:151)

lenda noun “journey” (PE17:60)

lenga- vb. “behave” (weak verb) (PE17:74)

lengë noun “gesture, characteristic look, gesture or trait etc.” (PE17:74)

lenwë noun “leaving, departure” (PE17:51)

lenweta- vb. “go away, migrate, leave one’s abode”, pa.t. lenwentë (PE17:51)

lepetta noun “lebethron, a hard-wood tree growing in Gondor (Ithilien)” (PE17:89)

lerembas noun “lembas” (PE17:52), probably rejected for coimas, q.v.

lilómëa adj. “very dark, full of darkness” (PE17:81)

limbë adj. (stem *limbi-, given the primitive form lĭmbĭ) “quick, swift” (PE17:18)

limpa adj. “frail, slender and drooping” (PE17:168)

lindimaitar noun “composer, musician” (PE17:163)

lís (“lîs”) noun “honey”, “oblique līr- but usually from stem liss-“ (PE17:154). Compare the reading in the Etymologies: lis (liss-, e.g. dat.sg. lissen) (LIS; Tolkien originally wrote lissë, VT45:28)

löar, lávar noun “(golden) blossom” (PE17:159)

lócë ("k") noun "’bight’, bend, curl of hair" (PE17:160)

locin (”k”) adj. ”bent” (PE17:160)

loi- prefix denoting mistaken doing (PE17:151)

loica (“k”) adj. “failing, short, inadequate, etc.” (PE17:151)

loicarë (“k”) noun “mistaken action” (PE17:151)

loiparë noun “a mistake in writing” (PE17:151)

loiquetë noun “a mistake in speech” (PE17:151)

loima noun “a mistake” (PE17:151)

loita- vb. ”miss, fail, fall short of (transitive)” (PE17:151)

#londië noun “harbourage”, isolated from Turmen Follondiéva “(Realm of the) North-harbourage” (PE17:28)    

lós noun “flower”, “inflorescence, mass of flower (on one plant)”, stem lós- (PE17:26, 160); also olos (3), q.v.

lottë noun “a flower”, usually smaller, pl. lotti (PE17:160); also lotsë, q.v.

[losca, loxa “brown of hair” (PE17:155)]

lumba (2) adj. “gloomy” (PE17:72)

lintië noun “swiftness, speed” (PE17:58), abstract noun of linta (q.v.). Also used as an adverb “quickly”.

Lúnaturco noun Quenya form of Sindarin Barad-dûr (PE17:22). Also Taras Lúna, q.v.

 

<M>

mahtië/mahtë noun “management” (PE17:161), verbal/abstract noun from mahta-, q.v.

mai- prefix evidently “well” (PE17:162, 163, 172)

†maië adv. evidently “well” (PE17:162)

maina noun “a thing of excellence, a treasure (máþum)” (PE17:163)

maira noun “admirable, excellent, precious”, “admirable, splendid, sublime. only of great, august or splendid things” (PE17:163, 172)

mairë noun “a work (or the process of producing a work) of high and beautiful art” (PE17:163)

mairëa/mairia adj. “beautiful” (of things made by art) (PE17:163)

Mairon, masc. name “the Admirable” (cf. adj. maira), said to be the original name of Sauron, changed when he was suborned by Melkor, “but he continued to call himself Mairon the Admirable, or Tar-mairon ‘King Excellent’, until after the downfall of Númenor” (PE17:183). Since Sauron had joined Melkor before the Elves came to Valinor and developed the Quenya language, we are perhaps to understand that Mairon is a translation by sense of Sauron’s original Valarin name, though Sauron himself may seem to have used the Elvish form in Middle-earth and on Númenor.

maita- vb. “to make with art, design, compose” (transitive) (PE17:163); verbal noun maitalë “the act (not result) of doing such work”

maitar noun “artist”, usually (but not necessarily) a poet except in compounds (PE17:163); used in compounds lindimaitar, nyarnamaitar and ondomaitar, q.v.

maldornë noun “mallorn” (PE17:51), variant of malinornë.

málë noun “good health” (PE17:162)

mána 1) adj. "blessed" (FS); also manna, q.v. 2) noun “any good thing or fortunate thing; a boon or ‘blessing’, a grace, being esp. used of some thing/person/event that helps or amends an evil or difficulty. (Cf. frequent ejculation on receiving aid in trouble: yé mána (ma) = ‘what a blessing, what a good thing!)“ (VT49:41)

[manyel noun “female” (PE17:190)]

marda noun “a dwelling”, a place dwelt in, not limited to buildings (PE17:107)

#mardë noun "hall"; only pl. #mardi is attested as part of oromardi “high halls” (Nam, RGEO:66). It may be that the singular is actually mar with stem mard-, making this word identical to mar (q.v.) meaning "home, dwelling" and also "world, earth".

márië (1) noun “goodness, good estate”, abstract formation from the adj. mára, also adv. “well” (PE17:58, 74, 162); cf. namárië, q.v.

márienna interjection “farewell” (PE17:58, 74, 162), lit. “towards/to what is good” (PE17:74); variant (either non-archaic or less frequent) form of namárië, q.v.

†marna adj. “good” (PE17:162), variant of mára, q.v.

marta- verb “to define, decree, destine”, variant umbarta- “in more lofty senses” (PE17:104); cf. martya-

martan noun “dwelling-house” (stem martam-), longer variant martaman (pl. martamni) (PE17:106)

marto noun “tower” (PE17:66)

massë noun “bread” (as a material) (PE17:52). Variant of massa, q.v.

mátima adj. “edible” (PE17:68)

#melu noun “honey” (PE17:68)

mélamar noun “home”, Exilic Quenya word of emotional sense: place of one’s birth or the familiar places from which one has been separated (PE17:109). Mélamarimma noun ”Our Home”, an expression used by Exilic Noldor for Aman.

melehta adj. “mighty” (PE17:115); cf. meletya

melehtë noun “might, power (inherent)” (PE17:115)

melumatya adj. “honey-eating” (PE17:68)

mentië noun "passage, journey, direction of travel" (PE17:13) < men- “go, proceed” + tië “path road”

[Mindi “First-clan” (PE17:155)]

[míra adj. “beautiful, lovely” (PE17:165)]

mírima adj. “very valuable” (PE17:37), “very precious, very lovely (of work of art only)” (PE17:165); there is also mimírima (PE17:165), which is evidently an intensive form

mirwa adj. “precious, valuable” (PE17:37)

mirya adj. “beautiful (of work of art only)” (PE17:165)

mísë noun “grey” (PE17:71); paler and whiter, “luminous grey”, compared to sinda, q.v. (PE17:72)

[molda adj. “big, large” (PE17:115)]

mulë noun “meal” (PE17:115); replaces polë (= porë, q.v.?)

 

<N>

náha adj. “narrow” (PE17:166)

nahta- (4) vb. “confine, oppress” (PE17:166)

nai- prefix “ill, grievously, abominably” (PE17:151)

naica adj. “bitterly painful or grievous” (PE17:151)

naiquet- vb. “to curse or blaspheme” (PE17:151)

naira adj. “dreadful, horrible, unendurable” (PE17:151)

naira noun “wast, wide, empty” (PE17:27)

[nancari- (“k”) vb. “to undo” (PE17:166)]

nando (2) noun “valley, wide valley” (PE17:80), variant of nandë (1), q.v.

nanwen- vb. “return, going/coming back” (PE17:166)

[nattire vb. “look back” (PE17:166)]

návë noun “being” (PE17:68)

Nand’ Ondolunkava, Ondolunkanan(do) noun “Stonewain Valley” (PE17:28)

ne ?noun/?root “scent” (PE17:100)

nec- prefix “without, -less” (PE17:167), cf. -enca, q.v.

neccë (“k”) noun “angle” (PE17:55). Variant of nehtë, q.v.

necel (“k”) noun “a thorn” (PE17:55)

nehta- (3) vb. “deprive” (PE17:167)

nehtanō noun “one deprived, exile whose rights and goods have been confiscated” (PE17:167)

néna adj. “wet” (PE17:167)

nén-talma noun Quenya cognate of Sindarin nindalf “wet flat” = “Wetwang” (PE17:52, 167)

nendë noun “lake” (PE17:52)

nenya adj. “wet” (PE17:52). Nenya noun or adj. name of a Ring of Power, apparently properly an adjective meaning something like "Watery [One]" (SA:nen)

nerca noun ”sharp, angular” (PE17:55). The reading of variant nexa is uncertain.

nes- ?verb/?root “sweet smelling” (PE17:100); cf. Nísimaldar

[nesë (stem nesi-) noun “(a person of) female (nature)” (PE17:190)]

nev- vb. “try” (PE17:167)

ní prep. “beneath, not toucing; under” (PE17:95)

nimpa adj. “drooping, ailing” (PE17:168)

ninquiraitë (”kw”) noun ?”pallor” (PE17:55), cognate of Sindarin niphred ”pallor, fear”

níquetil noun “snow peak” (PE17:168), stem probably *níquetild-, cf. Taniquetil, q.v.

†ñolda adj. “dark-haired” (PE17:125), associated with Noldor and hence not much used.

ñolya adj. “dark-haired” (PE17:125), i.e. very dark brown

nor- vb. “run (or leap: of animals, men etc.)”, pa.t. nornë (PE17:168); cf. nórima, nornoro-

[ñor ?noun/?prefix “fear” (PE17:172)]

nordo noun “oak” (PE17:25). Probably replaces norno, q.v.

norië, normë noun “race, running” (PE17:169)

norta- vb. “make run, specially used of riding horses or other animals”, onortanen rokko “I rode a horse”, nortanen “I rode” (with ellipsis of object) (PE17:168)

ñorthus, ñorsus (stem ñorsúr-) noun Quenya equivalent of Sindarin Gorthu “Mist of Fear”, a name of Sauron (PE17:183)

nótima adj. “countable” (PE17:68, 172)

[núla preposition/postposition “under; on the other side reached by passing under” (PE17:65)]

ñúla adj. “dark, occult, mysterious” (PE17:125)

ñúlë noun “black arts, sorcery” (PE17:31, 125)

numba adj. “bent, humped” (PE17:168)

núna adj. “western” (PE17:18)

nuxo noun “Petty dwarf” (PE17:45 )

-nwa a passive suffix (PE17:63); this might suggest that there is a passive conjugation in Quenya, of which we know nothing about, but it is possibly just an old variant of -ina (PE17:68,74)

nyarnamaitar noun “storyteller”, composer of nyarnar or long epic tales (PE17:163)

 

<O>

[#ócom- intr. vb. “gather, assemble” (PE17:157, 158)]

ocombë (“k”) noun “gathering, assembly, assemblage, collection”. Also combë (PE17:158)

oholima adj. “confidential” (PE17:129); used as a term describing the 1^st person dual inclusive

oiala adj. “unceasing, without end, forever” (PE17:69)

oialëa adj. “eternal” (PE17:59)

[olla ?preposition/postposition “’over’ = beyond, of things passed over (as rivers, hills)” (PE17:65)]

olos (3) noun “inflorescence, mass of flower (on one plant)”, stem olós- (PE17:160); also lós, q.v.

ondomaitar noun “sculptor in stone” (PE17:163)

ontamo noun “mason (sculptor)” (PE17:107-108)

onwë noun “child” (PE17:170)

ópa noun “mouth”, in the sense of mouth-opening with lips as the edges (PE17:126)

ongwë noun “crime” (PE17:170)

orna (2) adj. “tall; high, lofty” (PE17:112, 186), also orwa, q.v.

ornemalin adj. “bearing yellow flowers” (PE17:80); this is Entish-style Quenya

orrō, hrō- noun “uprising, sunrise, east” (PE17:18)

orróna adj. “eastern” (PE17:18)

orwa adj. “high, lofty” (PE17:186), also orna (2), q.v.

orya- vb. “rise”, pa.t. oronyë (PE17:64)

ovéa adj. “(con)similar, alike”, also vávëa, q.v. (PE17:189)

 

<P>

pahta noun “speech”, i.e. language (PE17:126); accompanied by intrans. vb. pakta- “speak, talk”, which would be *pahta- in Quenya, of which the transitive equivalent is quet-, q.v.

palantíra- vb. “watch, look afar” (PE17:86), cf. palantír, q.v.

[palla preposition “far beyond”, an ephemeral replacement for pella, q.v. (PE17:65)]

par- vb. “to learn, to acquire information”, not by experience but by instruction in words or writing; an idiom for reading a book was paranyë (apárien) parmanen “I am learning (have learnt) by means of a book” (PE17:180)

parca (“k”) adj. “naked”, of persons (PE17:86)

parna adj. “bare” (PE17:86); also attested as parnë (PE17:171)

passa adj. ”smooth, glabrous” (PE17:171)

pasta- vb. ”to smooth, iron” (PE17:171)

pata- vb. “walk” (PE17:34)

pelo noun ”a boundary (fence)” (PE17:92)

[pen prep. “without, not having” (PE17:171)]
pen- vb. negative of #sam- “to have” (q.v.), used as a negative answer to inquiries on ownership: penin “no / I haven’t” (PE17:173)

#pempë noun ”lip” (attested only in pl. pempi, PE17:126); cf. pé.

penda- vb. “slope, incline” (PE17:171, 173)

pia adj. “little” (PE17:115); variants pikina, pinke, pitya

pirindë, pirnë noun “a flower that opened and shut quickly with any change of light at [?some ?not] even a pansy closed” (PE17:146)

pol adj. “large, big (strong)” (PE17:115)

polda adj. “big” (PE17:115)

Poldor, Poldomo noun “breaker up of the hard / tough”, Poldor- “land-breaker?”, variant forms of Poldórëa, q.v. (PE17:181)

polë (stem poli-) adj. “meal, grist” (PE17:115, 181), apparently replaces porë (q.v.), while in turn replaced by mulë (q.v.)

 

<Q>

quanta- vb. “to fill” (PE17:68)

quanta emma, quantemma noun “’facsimile’, a complete detailed visual reproduction (by any means) of a visible thing” (PE17:179), literally *”full picture”, cf. emma, q.v.

quëa noun “vegetable” (PE17:159). Also apparently ceula.

[querma noun “a spinning wheel or turn-table” (PE17:65)]

[#queren noun “pivot” (PE17:65), isolated from stem querend-]

quín, quínë noun “crest, ridge” (PE17:24. 173)

quinna adj. “crested” (PE17:24, 173)

                     

<R>

raita- 3) vb. “smile”, pa.t. rëantë (PE17:182)

ráta- vb. “excell, surpass” (PE17:147)

rauca (“k”) noun “demon” (PE17:48). Variant of rauco, q.v.

rauco ("k") noun "a powerful, hostile, and terrible creature", "very terrible creature", especially in the compound Valarauco noun "Demon of Might" (WJ:415, VT39:10, cf. SA:raukor. In the Etymologies, stem RUK, the gloss is "demon".) Longer variant arauco. In the compound Valaraucar "Balrogs", the pl. of rauco is surprisingly #raucar instead of *raucor.

raxa noun “a drag or any large, flat vehicle on wheels or rollers for hauling stone or other weighty material” (PE17:28)

rehtië noun “rescue, saving” (PE17:38). The corresponding verb would be #rehta- “to rescue, to save”.

ric- vb. “try, put forth effort, strive, endeavour” (PE17:93, 94, 167), á rike “try!”, á rikir “let them try”, á rike am(a)ríkie “try harder!” (or more idiomatically á care (sí) añkárie, lit. *“do (now) with more doing”)

rië noun “garland”, also apparently riendë (PE17:182)

ronda adj. “solid, firm” (PE17:183)

ruimen noun “fireplace, hearth” (PE17:183)

ruina adj. “blazing, fiery” (PE17:183)

ruinë noun “a fire, a blaze” (PE17:183)

ruivë, aparuivë noun “wild fire – fire as conflagration” (PE17:183)

runda adj. “smooth, polished” (PE17:89)

rusca, ruxa adj. “wroth” (PE17:188)

rúsë (Þ) noun “wrath” (PE17:188)

rúsëa (Þ) noun “wrathful” (PE17:188)

 

<S>

#sam- vb. “have” (cited as samin, 1st person sg. aorist), pa.t. sámë (PE17:173)
sánë (Þ) noun “pine” (PE17:81), stem sáni- (?)

sanomë adv. “there” (PE17:71)

sarta adj. “steadfast, trusty, loyal” (PE17:183)

satar noun “trusty follower, loyal companion (member of ‘comitatus’ of a lord, or prince)”, often in form sarto (PE17:183)

sau- prefix denoting doing something very badly, as in saucarë, q.v. (PE17:183)

saucarë noun “doing or making a thing very badly” (PE17:183)

saucarya (“k”) adj. “evil-doing” (PE17:68)

senna, thenna adj. “short” (PE17:185), apparently replacing sinta, q.v.

sindië noun “greyness” (PE17:72)

sintamo noun “smith” (PE17:107-108); cf. more usual variant tamo, q.v.

sinwa, sína adj. “known, certain, ascertained” (PE17:68)

sívë noun “knowing, knowledge” (PE17:68)

soa (“söa”) noun “filth” (PE17:183)

sól, solma, solos noun variant words apparently for ”helmet”, cf. castol, q.v. (PE17:188)

songa noun “mouth”, in the sense of “interior cavity behind the teeth, containing tongue” (PE17:126)

sorna (þ) adj. ”steadfast” (PE17:113)

 

<T>

ta conj. “and”, used in lists: detailed info in PE17:70-71

taman noun “a thing made by handicraft” (PE17:107)

tamma noun “tool” (PE17:108)

tamna adj. ”artificial” or noun “artifact” (PE17:108)

tamo noun “smith” (PE17:108); more usual (esp. among the Noldor) than variant sintamo, q.v. Cf. tano.

tanwa noun "sign, token", apparently ephemeral alternative for tanna, q.v. (PE17:186)

#tar- vb. “to stand” (PE17:71)

tára adj. “wise” (PE17:102)

taran noun “king”, possibly ephemeral variant of aran, q.v. (PE17:186)

taras noun Quenya equivalent of Sindarin barad “a great towering building, (fort, city, castle) tower” (PE17:22). Also tarminas, q.v.

Taras Lúna noun alternative to Lúna Turco, q.v.

tarhildi noun “High-men, the Noble followers” (PE17:18), referring to the Dúnedain.

táris(së) noun “queenship” (PE17:155)

tarminas noun alternative to taras, q.v.

tauca (“k”) “stiff, wooden” (PE17:115)

taura, túrëa adj. “mighty, masterful” (PE17:115)

tautamo noun “carpenter (carver)” (PE17:106-107)

táva noun “great tree” (PE17:115)

tholon noun “helmet”, variant of castol (q.v.), though Tolkien might have mistakenly marked it as Quenya instead of Sindarin (PE17:186)

toa (1) ("töa") noun "wood as material" (VT39:6, PE17:115)

toina ?adj. “wood – of material” (PE17:115)

tomba, tompë noun “voice / vowel” (PE17:138), the stem TOM described as “briefer” than the corresponding OM (cf. óma, q.v.)

[tóquet- vb. ”answer” (PE17:166)]

#torna adj. “hard” (PE17:56-57), stem *storna: aristorna, anastornta (add comparison info)

tornanga adj. “iron hard”, lit. “hard-iron” (PE17:56). Composed of anga “iron” (q.v.) and probably #torna “hard”.

túra adj. “big, great” (evidently in power) (PE17:115)

turmen noun “realm” (PE17:28)

Turondo noun “lord of Stone”, Quenya form of Turgond (PE17:112)

turu- vb. “master, deafeat, have victory over” (PE17:113)

†þossë noun “fear” (PE17:87); this is Old Quenya

†þorya- vb. ”dread, feel fear” (PE17:87); this is Old Quenya

†þosta- vb. ”put to fright, terrify” (PE17:87); this is Old Quenya

 

<U>

úfantima adj. “not concealable” (PE17:176), also úfantuma (PE17:180), cf. fanta-, q.v.

úfanwa adj. “not veiled or obscure, perspicuous” (PE17:176)

úfanwëa adj. “not veiled, unveiled” (PE17:180), possibly a variant or replacement úfanwa, q.v.

úχarin adj. “unmarred” (PE17:150), this would be úharin in more standard spelling (and later pronunciation)

úlumë adv. “’ever’, at all times (in a series or period)” (PE17:156). Cf. ullumë, q.v.

úmaitë adj. ”clumsy(-handed), unskilled” (PE17:162)

[umba, umbacarin adj. unknown meaning relating badness (PE17:172)]

umbo(n) noun “hill, lump, clump, mass” (PE17:93)

undulav- vb. “swallow”, lit. “lick down” (PE17:72)

[uo adv. “together (of things in company but not physically actually joined)”, stressed adverb (PE17:191)]

úpa adj. “dumb”, as in unable to speak (PE17:126)

úpahtëa adj. “speechless” (PE17:126); synoym of úpa, q.v.

ur(u)- prefix denoting difficulty (PE17:154, 172)

urcarnë, urcárima adj. “hard to make / do” (PE17:154)

urda adj. “hard, difficult, arduous” (PE17:154)

urnótima adj. perhaps *“difficult to count” (PE17:172)

ursa noun “rage” (PE17:188)

ursa- vb. “to rage” (PE17:188)

urucarin adj. “made with difficulty” (PE17:154)

us- prefix denoting doing something bad (PE17:151)

uskarë, uxarë noun “doing wrong” (PE17:151)

úvana adj. “unmarred” (PE17:150), rejected meaning “monstrous” (PE17:149)

 

<V>

vailima adj. “windy” (PE17:189)

vairë adj. “wavy[?] not of fluid[?] but locks[?]” (PE17:34)

vailë noun “wind” (PE17:189)

vaiwë noun “wind” (PE17:189)

vangwë noun “blow” (PE17:34), i.e. a blast of wind

vanië noun “beauty” (PE17:56). Cf. synonym vanessë.

vanimelda adj. the highest word of praise for beauty, meaning simultaneously (1) “beautiful & beloved (movingly lovely)” and (2) “elven-fair (fair as an elf)” (PE17:56, Second Edition LotR1:II ch. 6). The first meaning is a compound of vanima “beautiful” and melda “dear, beloved”, while the second meaning combines vanima and elda “elf”. Also used as the second name of Arwen.

varanda adj. “sublime” (PE17:23). Cf. Varda.

vávëa adj. “(con)similar, alike”, also ovéa, q.v. (PE17:189)

váya noun “sea (as waters, motion)” (PE17:33)

vëa (3) noun “wind” (PE17:189)

vëa (4) adj. “seeming, apparent” (PE17:189)

[vecca adj. “active”, ancient form (PE17:190)]

vehtë noun “’life’ - not Life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity”, thus also “the place where a person, people &c. lived and had their business, i.e. habitat, haunt” (PE17:189)

vehtequentalë noun ”biography” (PE17:189)

vi pron. “we”, 1st person pl. inclusive (PE17:130), variant of ve (2), q.v. 

virya- vb. “change, alter(nate)” (intransitive), pa.t. virnë/virinyë, cf. transitive vista-, q.v. (PE17:189, 191)

vista- vb. “change” (transitive), pa.t. vistanë, cf. intransitive virya-, q.v. (PE17:189, 191)

<W>

waina, vaina adj. ”blonde, fair of hair” (PE17:154)

wailë noun “wind”, cf. vailë, q.v. (PE17:189)

walda adj. “excited, wild” (PE17:154)

walmë adj. “excitement”, “emotion” (PE17:154, 189)

walta- vb. “to excite, rouse, stir up” (PE17:154)

walwistë noun “change of mind” (PE17:189)

walya- vb. “be excited (moved)” (PE17:154)

wáya- vb. “blow” (PE17:34)

wëo noun “living creature”, variant of vëo, q.v. (PE17:189)

were- vb. “weave” (PE17:33) 

wirnë noun “change” (PE17:191)

 

<Y>

yána adj. “vast, huge; wide” (PE17:99,115); also yanda, q.v.

yanda adj. “wide” (PE17:115); variant of yána, q.v.

yo conj. “and”: add info from PE17:70-71

[yonda adj. “wide, roomy, extensive” (PE17:43)]

[yōn, yonde noun “a region, any (fairly extensive) region between obstacles such as rivers or mountains” (PE17:43)]

yondë noun “any fairly extensive region with well-marked natural bounds (as mountains or rivers)” (PE17:43). Used as a suffix –yondë, -yon/-iondë, -ion in regional names.

yonwa noun “fence, border, boundary”

yor- vb. “enclose, set bounds to/about” (PE17:43). Past tense yórë, †yondë, perfect oiórië. Past participle yonda, yonna.

yul- vb. “drink” (PE17:63)

yúyal noun “twilight” (PE17:169); cf. yualë, yúcale, q.v.

 

PREVIOUSLY UNATTESTED WORDS WITH NEW MEANINGS ETC.

 

<A>

aina adj "holy" (AYAN), “holy, revered, numinous” (PE17:149), derived from Ainu. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. According to VT43:32, the word is "obsolete, except in Ainur", apparently suggesting that airë or airëa (q.v.) was the normal term for "holy" in later Quenya. However, Tolkien repeatedly used aina in his translation of the Litany of Loreto: Aina Fairë "Holy Spirit", Aina Neldië "Holy Trinity", Aina Maria "Holy Mary", Aina Wendë "Holy Virgin". He also used Aina Eruontari for "holy Mother" in his rendering of the Sub Tuum Praesidium (WJ:399, FS, SA, VT43:32, VT44:5, 12, 17-18)

aira (2) adj. "holy, sanctified" (PM:363, PE17:27); see airë #1

aiya interjection "hail", as greeting (LotR2:IV ch. 9, see Letters:385 for translation), or a call for help or attention (PE17:89); “only addressed to great or holy persons as the Valar, or to Earendil” (PE17:149).  Variant aia (VT43:28)

alda noun "tree" […] Place-name Aldalómë *"Tree-night" or *"Tree-twilight" “Tree-shade-night” (LotR2:III ch. 4, PE17:82) [etc]

alta (2) noun "radiance" (VT42:32 – the author of the article does not make it clear if this word is taken from unpublished material or merely isolated from the name Altariel; in the latter case its true Quenya form would be ñalta, according to PM:347, PE17:50). Cf. variant ñalta.

aman adj. "blessed, free from evil". Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:399), though in other versions Tolkien cited an Elvish etymology (cf. VT49:26-27). Place-name Aman the Blessed Realm, from the stem mān- "good, blessed, unmarred" (SA:mān), translated “Unmarred State” (VT49:26, PE17:162). Allative Amanna (VT49:26). Adj. amanya "of Aman, *Amanian" (WJ:411), nominal pl. Amanyar "those of Aman", Elves dwelling there (with negations Úamanyar, Alamanyar "those not of Aman"). Also fuller Amaneldi noun *"Aman-elves" (WJ:373). Masc. name Amandil *"Aman-friend" (Appendix A, SA:mān), the father of Elendil; also name of the Númenorean king Tar-Amandil (UT:210).

amba adv. "up, upwards" (AM²  (UNU) ), adj. & noun “more” (PE17:91)
ambar (2) noun "fate, doom " (variant of umbar?) in Turambar (SA:amarth, PE17:66); instrumental ambartanen "by doom" (Silm ch. 21, UT:138). The early "Qenya" lexicon has ambar "Fate", also amarto (LT2:348)

Ambaróna place-name “Eastern (land)” (PE17:82); presumably a variant of an adjective form of Ambarónë "uprising, sunrise, Orient" (LotR2:III ch. 4; compare the Etymologies, entry AM²), “dawn” (PE17:82)

ambo noun "hill, rising ground, mount" (PE17:92, 157), allative pl. ambonnar "upon hills" in Markirya (ruxal' ambonnar "upon crumbling hills") According to VT45:5, ambo was added to the Etymologies as a marginal note.

an conj. and prep. translated "for" (Nam, RGEO:66), but properly “further, plus, in addition”: often used as an explanation of aforementioned, hence the first meaning (PE17:69, 90; VT49:18). Also used adverbially: an quetta “a word more; to add to what has been said” (PE17:91). - but the an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! "the Eagles of the Lords are at hand" (SD:290) seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana "to, towards" (NĀ¹). In the "Arctic" sentence, an is translated "until".

ana (1) prep. “to” (VT49:35), “purely dative formula” (PE17:147), also as prefix: ana- "to, towards" (NĀ¹); an, q.v., is used with this meaning in one source (PE17:127)

ancalima adj. "most bright, brightest", sc. calima "bright" with a superlative or intensive prefix (LotR2:IV ch. 9; see Letters:385 for translation). Ancalima imbi eleni "brightest among stars", also [ancalima] imb' illi "brightest among all" (VT47:30). Fem. name Ancalimë, *"Most Bright One", also masc. Ancalimon (Appendix A). Tar-Ancalimë, a Númenorean Queen (UT:210). Info from PE17:56-58.

anda adj. "long" (ÁNAD/ANDA), “far” (PE17:90). In Andafangar noun "Longbeards", one of the tribes of the Dwarves (= Khuzdul Sigin-tarâg and Sindarin Anfangrim) (PM:320). See also andamunda, andatehta. Apparently derived from the adj. anda is andavë "long" as adverb, suggesting that the ending -vë can be used to derive adverbs from adjectives (LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308)

andatehta noun "long-mark" (TEK), indicated to be an accent-like symbol ´ used to mark long vowels (VT46:17, PE17:123). Compare anda, tehta.

andavë adv. "long, at great length" (PE17:102); see anda

anta- (1) vb. "give" (ANA¹, MC:215, 221), pa.t. #antanë in VT49:14 (antanen “I gave”), though early material presents the pa.t. “gave” as ánë (QL:31; later Sindarin onen “I gave” could be the cognate of Quenya *ánen, suggesting that this pa.t. form remained conceptually valid). […] Usually the recipient is in the dative or allative, but there is also a construction similar to English “present someone with something” in which the recipient is the object and the gift is in the instrumental: antanenyes parmanen “I presented him with a book” (PE17:91).

anga noun "iron", also name of tengwa #7 (ANGĀ, Appendix E, SA, PM:347, LT1:249, 268). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, anga was the name of letter #19, which tengwa Tolkien would later call noldo instead (VT45:6). Masc. names Angamaitë "Iron-handed" (Letters:347; also used as a plain adj., PE17:162), Angaráto "Iron-champion", Sindarin Angrod (SA:ar(a) ). See also Angamando. Cf. also Angainor as the name of the chain with which Melkor was bound (Silm)amba 1) adv. "up, upwards" (AM², PE17:157). Apparently also ama (UNU).

anna noun "gift; a thing handed, brought or sent to a person" (ANA¹, SA, 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)

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). Often assimilated to al before l and as before s (PE17:41), evidently because consonant clusters rl and rs are not allowed in Quenya [etc…]. An alternative longer form 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). [..] At one stage this word was also used as prep. “beside, next” (PE17:145): cf. ara

ar (2) noun "day" (PE17:148), apparently short for árë, in the names of the Valinorean week listed below. Tolkien indicated that ar in these names could also be arë when the following element begins in a consonant (VT45:27). In LotR-style Quenya, the word for "day" is rather aurë (or ré), q.v.

aran noun "king"; pl. arani (WJ:369, VT45:16, PE17:186); gen.pl. aranion "of kings" in asëa aranion, q.v.; aranya *"my king" (aran + nya) (UT:193). Aran Meletyalda "king your mighty" = "your majesty" (WJ:369); aran Ondórëo, “a king of Gondor” (VT49:27). Also in arandil "king's friend, royalist", arandur "king's servant, minister" (Letters:386); Arantar masc. name, *"King-Lord" (Appendix A); Arandor "Kingsland" (UT:165). Other compounds ingaran, Noldóran, Núaran, q.v.

Aratar noun "the Supreme", the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya "her sublimity"; Varda Aratarya "Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity" (WJ:369). In one source translated as singular ”High One” (PE17:186).

árë noun "day" (PM:127) or, "sunlight" (SA:arien) or “warmth, especially of the sun” (PE17:126). Also name of tengwa #31; cf. also ar # 2. Originally pronounced ázë; when /z/ merged with /r/, the letter became superfluous and was given the new value ss, hence it was re-named essë (Appendix E). Also árë nuquerna *"árë reversed", name of tengwa #32, similar to normal árë but turned upside down (Appendix E). See also ilyázëa, ilyárëa under ilya. - In the Etymologies, this word has a short vowel: arë pl. ari (AR¹)

arquen noun "a noble" (WJ:372), “knight” (PE17:147)

arta (1) adj. "exalted, lofty; high; noble" (PM:354, PE17:118, 147), also translated “noble” in some names; see Artaher, Artanis.

asëa aranion (Þ) noun "kingsfoil, athelas"; lit. "asëa [foil?] of kings", see aran (LotR3:V ch. 8); also simply asëa (PE17:148)

ata adv. "again", also prefix ata-, at- "back, again, re-; second time, double" (AT(AT), PE17:166 ), also “ambi-“ as in ataformaitë, q.v.

atya (2) noun "daddy", supposedly a word in "actual 'family' use" (VT47:26, PE17:170), also used in children's play for "thumb" and "big toe" (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6); reduction of at(an)ya "my father" (or, as explained in VT48:19, reduction of at-nya of similar meaning). Compare atto.

Avamanyar noun Elves that refused to go to Aman (= Avari) (WJ:370). Sg. #Avamanya. Avamanya (PE17:143).

avanyárima adj. "not to be told or related; unspeakable, what one must not tell" (WJ:370, PE17:143)

 

<C>

caita- vb. "lie" (= lie down, not "tell something untrue"); present tense "lies" in the sentence sindanóriello caita mornië "out of a grey land darkness lies". (Nam, RGEO:67) According to VT48:12-13 and PE17:72 the pa.t. is cainë or cëantë rather than **caitanë (the form #cainë is attested with the ending -n "I": cainen "I lay"). The "Qenya" form kakainen, translated "were lying", may seem to be related (VT27:7, 21)

calina ("k") adj. "light" (KAL), "bright" (VT42:32), “(literally illumined) sunny, light” (PE17:153) - but apparently a noun "ligght" in coacalina, q.v.

calma noun "lamp, a light, device for shining light", also name of tengwa #3 (Appendix E, KAL, PE17:123. 180), which was also already its name in the mostly pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies (VT45:18, there spelt "kalma"). In early "Qenya", calma ("k") meant "daylight" (LT1:254; in MC:213, the word is translated "light"). Plural instrumental calmainen ("k") "lights-by", by lights (MC:216)

cáno ("k") noun "commander", usually as the title of a lesser chief, especially one acting as the deputy of one higher in rank (PM:345, SA:káno – PM:362 indicates that cáno originially meant "crier, herald"); "ruler, governor, chieftain" (UT:400); “leader” (PE17:113). Masc. name Cáno, see Canafinwë. The word cáno ("k") also occurred in the Etymologies with the gloss "chief", but Tolkien changed it to cánë "valour" (VT45:19).

*can- (2) vb. "command, order" (give an order) or (with things as object) "demand" (PM:361-362; where various derivatives of the stem KAN- are listed; the verb can- is not directly cited, but seems implied by the statement "in Quenya the sense command had become the usual one"); the form might also be canya- (PE17:113)

cár (cas-) ("k") noun "head" (KAS). The given stem-form appears doubtful within the phonological framework of LotR-style Quenya. Probably we should read *cás with stem car- (PE14:69 indeed reads “kas ‘head’, pl. kari”, and VT49:17 quotes the sg. “kas” from a post-LotR source). Compare olos “dream”, pl. olori, in a late source (UT:396)% In Tolkien’s early “Qenya”, post-vocalic -s became -r at the end of words but was preserved when another vowel followed. His later scheme either lets -r appear in both positions, or reverses the scenario altogether (hence olos, olor-). It would seem that the forms cár, cas- were distractedly carried over into the Etymologies from the Qenya Lexicon (kar, kas-, QL:45) even though they presuppose an earlier version of the phonology. Apparent variant forms are attested: káza/kára (PE17:188).

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). According to PE17:129, caris- is the form “used when pronominal suffixes followed” (PE17:129). […]

Carnimírië personalized adj.? noun "having reg gems, Red-jewelled", the rowan-tree in Quickbeam's song (LotR2:III ch. 4, SA:caran, PE17:83), also translated "with adornment of red jewels" (Letters:224; where the reading "carnemírie" occurs) < †carni-mírëa “red-jewelled” (PE17:83)

cenda- vb. "watch" (not "guard", but observe to gain information), also used = "read". Cenda = also noun "reading", as in sanwecenda "thought-inspection, thought-reading". (VT41:5, PE17:156)

coa ("köa") noun "house" (VT47:35, with etymology), “a (small) seperate building with a function such as bake-house, wood-house” (PE17:107-108); coarya "his house" (WJ:369), allative coaryanna (“k”) “to/at his house” (VT49:23, 35), quenderinwë coar (“koar”) “Elvish bodies” (PE17:175). Notice how coa “house” is here used metaphorically = “body”, as also in the compound coacalina "light of the house" (a metaphor for the soul [fëa] dwelling inside the body [hroa]) (MR:250)

cundo noun "guardian" (PM:260); “lord” (PE17:117)

†cundu (“k”) noun “prince” (KUNDŪ; the “†” indicating that this word is poetic or archaic was omitted in the Etymologies as printed in LR; see VT45:24); “prince, lord” (PE17:117)

 

<E>

emma noun *“picture” (compounded in indemmar “mind-pictures”) (PE17:179)

 

<F>

fairë (1) noun "phantom, disembodied spirit, when seen as a pale shape" (pl. fairi in Markirya); fairë was also used = "spirit (in general)", as a kind of being (MR:349, PE17:124). In VT43:37 and VT44:17, fairë refers to the Holy Spirit (fairë aista or Aina Fairë)

falas (falass-), falassë noun "shore, beach" (LT1:253, LT2:339); falassë "shore, line of surf" (SA:falas), "shore – especially one exposed to great waves and breakers" (VT42:15, PE17:135), "beach" (PHAL/PHÁLAS); Falassë Númëa place-name "Western Surf" (LT1:253), Andafalassë “Langstrand” (PE17:135)

falma noun "(crested/foaming) wave" (PHAL/PHÁLAS), "a wave-crest, wave" (VT42:15), “a breaker” (PE17:62); partitive pl. allative falmalinnar "on the foaming waves" in Namárië (Nam, RGEO:67). Compounded in Falmari, a name of the Teleri, and Mar-nu-Falmar, "Home/Land under Waves", a name of Númenor after the Downfall. (SA:falas) Falmari "wave-folk", a name of the Teleri (PM:386). - In earlier "Qenya", falma was glossed "foam" (LT1:253, cf. MC:213). Compare also the early "Qenya" words falmar "wave as it breaks" (LT1:253), pl. falmari "waves" (MC:216)

fána (2) noun "cloud" (SPAN, VT46:15). Cf. fana, a term denoting the "veils" or "raiment" in which the Valar presented themselves to physical eyes, the bodies in which they were self-incarnated, usually in the shape of the bodies of Elves (and Men) (RGEO:74, PE17:173-180)

fanta- vb. "to veil, cloak, mantle", mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or were brighter and more vivid (VT43:22, PE17:174); according to Tolkien usually strong past tense fánë and perfect afánië but later also fantanë (PE17:179-180). Cf halya- (q.v.), the stem of which Tolkien contrasted with the stem of this verb (PE17:184).

fanya noun "(white) cloud" (translated "sky" in FS); pl. fanyar in Namárië (Nam, RGEO:67). Used “only of white clouds, sunlit or moonlit, or clouds gilded or silvered at the edges by light behind them”, not “of storm clouds or cloud canopies shutting out the light” (PE17:174). Cf. lumbo, q.v. According to VT46:15, fanya was originally given as an adjective "white" in the Etymologies; the printed version in LR wrongly implies that fanya and fána both mean "cloud", whereas actually the first was at this stage meant to be an adjective "white" whereas fána is both noun "cloud" and adj. "white". However, Namárië and later emendations to the entry SPAN in Etym indicate that Tolkien would later think of fanya as a noun "cloud", perhaps giving it the same double meaning as fána: "cloud" as well as "white".

#farnë (2) noun "dwelling", in orofarnë; also translated “any growing thing or plant” (PE17:83)

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a “spirit indwelling a body”, i.e. “soul” (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

felya noun "cave" (PHÉLEG); “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]” (PE17:118)

finë (stem *fini-, given the primitive form phini) noun "a hair" (PM:340, PE17:17) or "larch" (SPIN)

 

<H>

halya- vb. "veil, conceal, screen from light" (SKAL¹, VT46:13); Tolkien said “√SKAL applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things” (PE17:184), contrasting it with √SPAN, the rejected stem of fanta-, q.v.

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).

hísië noun "mist, mistiness" (Þ) (Nam, SA:hîth, PE17:73); also hísë.

hlócë ("k") noun "snake, serpent, reptile, worm", later lócë ("k") (SA:lok-; PE17:160)

hlóna (1) noun "a noise" (VT48:29, PE17:138), general word. Also hlón (which form may be preferred to avoid confusion with #2 below).

hlóna (2) noun "a river, especially given to those at all seasons full of water from mountains" (VT48:27; the word is marked with a query, but not clearly rejected and the note containing it rejected; apparently replaced by lón, q.v., PE17:136)

#hlonítë adj. "phonetic", only attested in the pl. in the phrase hloníti tengwi "phonetic signs" (sg. #hlonítë tengwë) (WJ:395). The sg. form hlonitë with a short i occurs in VT48:29, PE17:138. The form #hlonítë was changed by Tolkien from hlonaitë, as in hlonaitë tengwesta "a tengwesta [q.v.] employing phonetic signs" (VT39:4), hlonaiti tengwi "phonetic signs" (VT39:4).

hosta- vb. "gather, collect, assemble" (Markirya), “gather hastily together, pile up” (PE17:39); hostainiéva "will be gathered", future tense of the stative verb *hostainië, derived from *hostaina "gathered", past participle of hosta- "gather". Such stative verbs are probably not conceptually valid in Tolkien's later Quenya; see -ië. (FS)

 

<I>

imbë (2) noun "dell, deep vale, wide ravine (between high mountain sides)" (VT45:18, PE17:92)

indo (1) noun “heart, mood” (ID), “state” (perhaps especially state of mind, given the other glosses) (VT39:23), “mind, region/range of thought, mood” (PE17:155, 179), “inner thought, in fea as exhibited in character or [?personality]” (PE17:189). In a post-LotR source, indo is translated “resolve” or “will”, the state of mind leading directly to action (VT41:13). Indo is thus “the mind in its purposing faculty, the will” (VT41:17). Indo-ninya a word occurring in Fíriel’s Song, translated “my heart”.

indómë noun "settled character", also used of the "will" of Eru (according to etymological notes written in 1957, referred to in VT43:16, presented in PE17:189). Indómelya "thy will" (ibid.)

inwisti noun "mind-mood" (changed by Tolkien from inwaldi) (MR:216, 471), cf. variant inwis, q.v.

írima adj. "lovely, beautiful, desirable" (ID, FS, PE17:155, 165), in FS also pl. írimar; in the "Qenya" of Fíriel's Song, adjectives in -a form their plurals in -ar instead of -ë as in LotR-style Quenya.

 

<L>

lá (2) prep. "beyond, athwart, over, across", also used in phrases of comparison, e.g. "A ná calima lá B", A is bright beyond (= brigther than) B (VT42:32, PE17:65); variant form la, with short vowel (PE17:65)

laica (1) adj. "green" (in older sources laiqua) (Letters:282, PE17:159)

lár (2) noun "ear" (?). Tolkien's wording is not clear, but lasū is given as an ancient dual form "(pair of) ears"; Quenya lár could represent the old singular las-. The Quenya dual "(pair of) ears" should possibly be *laru. (LAS²). Probably replaced by hlas, q.v.

lassë noun "leaf"; pl. lassi is attested (Nam, RGEO:66, Letters:283, LAS¹, LT1:254, VT39:9, Narqelion, PE17:159); gen. lassëo "of a leaf", gen. pl. lassion "of leaves" (earlier lassio) (WJ:407); lasselanta "leaf-fall", used (as was quellë) for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter (Appendix D, Letters:428); hence Lasselanta alternative name of October (PM:135). “Only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees”: possibly ear-shaped leaves (PE17:62; cf. linquë). Cf. also lassemista "leaf-grey, grey-leaved" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in Letters:224, PE17:83), lassewinta a variant of lasselanta (PM:376). See also lillassëa.

lasta- vb. "listen", also lasta adj. "listening, hearing" (LAS² ,PE17:46)

latya- (2) vb. "to open anything (so as to allow entry)” (PE17:159). Cf. the negated form avalatya *"un-open" = to "close"? (VT41:6, PE17:171). See ava- #3.

laurë noun "gold", but of golden light and colour, not of the metal. In Etym defined as "light of the golden Tree Laurelin, gold" - but not properly used of the metal gold (LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, GLAW(-R), VT27:20, 27, PE17:159). A poetic word according to PE17:61. In early "Qenya", however, laurë was defined as "(the mystic name of) gold" (LT1:255, 258) or simply "gold" (LT1:248, 268). In Laurelin, q.v., Laurenandë "Gold-valley" = Lórien (the land, not the Vala) (UT:253) and laurinquë name of a tree, possibly *"Gold-full one" (UT:168). Derived adjective laurëa "golden, like gold"; pl. laurië is attested (Nam, RGEO:66).

lelya- (1) vb. "go, proceed (in any direction), travel", pa.t. lendë / elendë (WJ:363, VT14:5, PE17:139). At one point the meaning was more specific: “go away – from the speaker or the point in mind, depart” (PE17:52) – similar to auta-, q.v.

Lembi noun "Elves remaining behind" = Telerin Ilkorins (LEB/LEM, PE17:143). Sg. #Lembë. Also called Úamanyar, q.v.

léra adj. noun "free", of persons (VT41:5, PE17:160)

lerina adj. "free" of things: not guarded, reserved, made fast, or "owned" (VT41:5, PE17:160)

lerta- vb.  "can" in the sense "be free to do", being under no restraint (physical or other). Lertan quetë "I can speak (because I am free to do so, there being no obstacle of promise, secrecy, or duty)". Where the absence of a physical restraint is considered, this verb can be used in much the same sense as pol- (VT41:6, PE17:160)

lerya- vb. "release, set free, let go"; negated avalerya- "bind, make fast, restrain, deprive of liberty" (VT41:5, 6, PE17:160)

leuca (1) noun "snake" (Appendix E, PE17:160)

linda adj. "fair, beautiful, sweet, melodious" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27, PE17:150), “soft, gentle, light” (PE16:96); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

linquë (2) noun  *"grass, reed" (J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator p. 199, note 34), leaf of such plants as hyacinth, not trees (PE17:62)

loa, noun literally "growth", used of a solar year (= coranar) when seasonal changes are considered (Appendix D, PE17:159; in PM:126 loa is translated "time of growth". Pl. loar, or "löar", in MR:426) The form loa is also mentioned as the hypothetical Quenya cognate of Sindarin lô ("swampy"), but precisely because it clashed with loa "year", this Quenya cognate was not in use (VT42:10)

lócë ("k") noun "dragon, snake, serpent, drake, reptile, worm", older hlócë ("k") (SA:lok-, LT2:340, LOK, PE17:160; in the Etymologies the word is followed by "-ī", whatever that is supposed to mean)

lómë noun "dusk, twilight", also "night"; according to SD:415, the stem is lómi- (contrast the "Qenya" genitive lómen rather than **lómin in VT45:28). According to PE17:152, lómë refers to ‘night’ “when viewed favourably, as a rule, but it became the general rule”. […]

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

lórë noun "slumber" (LOS), “dream” (PE17:80)

lossë (1) noun  "snow" or adj. "snow-white, snowy" (stem apparently lossi-, in contrast to the noun) (SA:los, MC:213, VT42:18, PE17:161); losselië noun "white people" (MC:216, PE16:96)

lossë (2) noun "blossom" ("usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom") (LOT(H), PE17:160-161); according to the later source it is derived from lossë (1) and means “laden inflorescence of white flowers on trees and shrubs, especially infoliate or pale”                  

lossëa adj. "snow-white, snowy" (so in VT42:18, PE17:161; this would be an adjective derived from lossë "snow", but elsewhere, Tolkien implies says that lossë itself can also be used as an adjective "snow-white"; see lossë #1 above)

lótë noun "flower", mostly applied to larger single flowers or plants that produce such (LOT(H), LT1:259, VT42:18, PE17:26, 160). (The shorter form -lot occurs in compounds, e.g. fúmellot, q.v., the stem of which is -lót- or -lott-, PE17:160) In the names Ninquelóte *"White-flower" (= Nimloth), Vingilótë "Foam-flower", the name of Eärendil's ship (SA:loth), also in Lótessë fifth month of the year, "May" (Appendix D). See also olótë, lotsë.

lotsë noun "small single flower", pl. lotser (VT42:18, PE17:160); also lottë, q.v.

lumbo noun "cloud", pl. lumbor in Markirya. “gloom; dark, shade” (PE17:72, 168). In early "Qenya", lumbo was glossed "dark lowering cloud" (LT1:259)

lumbulë noun "(heavy) shadow" (Nam, RGEO:67, PE17:168)

lúmë (1) noun "time" (LU, PE17:168) or "hour", locative lúmessë (VT43:34), pl. locative lúmissen “at the times” (VT49:47), allative lúmenna "upon the hour", elided lúmenn' in the greeting elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo "a star shines upon the hour of our meeting", because the next word begins with a similar vowel. The complete form lúmenna omentielvo is found in WJ:367 and Letters:424. Cf. also the compounds lumenyárë and lúmequenta, q.v.; see also #sillumë.

lunca noun "wain" (VT43:19), “heavy transport wain” (PE17:28)

lungumaitë adj. "heavyhanded" (VT47:19, VT49:32, PE17:162)

lúva noun "bow, bight; bend, bow, curve" (Appendix E, PE17:122, 168). The reference is to a "bow" as part of written characters and other uses, but “not for shooting”.

 

<M>

má noun "hand" (MA3, LT2:339, Narqelion, VT39:10, [VT45:30], VT47:6, 18, 19, PE17:161, 162); the dual "a pair of hands" is attested both by itself as mát (VT47:6) and with a pronominal suffix as máryat "his/her (pair of) hands" (see -rya, -t) (Nam, RGEO:67).. The nominative plural form was only máli, not **már (according to VT47:6), though plurals in -r may occur in some of the cases, as indicated by the pl. allative mannar "into hands" (FS). The genitive singular was máo (PE17:161). Mánta “their hand”, dual mántat “their hands” (two hands each) (PE17:161). A common expression was mainen “by hand” (plural in form but used generally, PE17:161). Cf. also the compounds mátengwië "language of the hands" (VT47:9) and Lungumá "Heavyhand" (VT47:19); also compare the adj. -maitë "-handed". See also málimë.

mahta- (1) vb. "wield a weapon”, “fight" (MAK), "to handle, wield, manage, treat, make us of, use, control" (VT39:11, VT47:18, PE17:161, 162), also "deal with" (VT47:6, 19, VT49:10). Past tense mahtanë is attested (VT49:10). Verbal/abstract noun mahtië/mahtë “management” (PE17:161). In an earlier version of the entry MAK in the Etymologies, Tolkien first glossed mahta- as "slay [or kill] with sword", then changed it to "fight with sword" (VT45:30-32)

Maia pl. Maiar noun "the Beautiful" (MR:49, PE17:163), the lesser (= non-Vala) Ainur that entered Eä. Variant Máya in VT42:13/VT47:18, pl. Máyar in PM:363, 364 and VT47:18 (possibly, Máya is to be understood as the older form of Maia). With negative prefix ú- also Úmaiar, Maiar who became evil and followed Melkor, such as Balrogs (MR:79, "Umaiar", MR:165).

maitë (stem *maiti-, given the primitive form ma3iti) adj. "having a hand, handed” or “handy, skilful” (VT49:32, 42, PE17:162) in Angamaitë, arimaitë, atamaitë, hyarmaitë, lungumaitë, morimaitë, Telemmaitë, úmaitë q.v. Etym gives maitë pl. maisi "handy, skilled" (MA3), but Tolkien later eliminated the variation t/s (compare ataformaitë “ambidextrous”, pl. ataformaiti).

malda adj. “yellow, of golden colour” (PE17:51), variant of malina, q.v. Probably obsoletes: malda noun "gold" (as metal - but LotR gives malta, q.v., and according to VT46:14 the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well) (SMAL)

malina adj. "yellow, of golden colour" (SMAL, Letters:308, PE17:51); Malinalda *"Yellow-tree", a name of Laurelin (SA:mal-; evidently malina + alda). The translation "Tree of Gold" in the Silmarillion Index is free; malina means "yellow", not "gold(en)". Cf. malinornélion "of yellow-trees"; see laurelindórenan lindelorendor... (LotR2:III ch. 4; cf. Letters:308). Malinornélion is partitive pl. genitive of malinornë "mallorn" (UT:167, normal pl. malinorni, UT:168).

malta noun "gold", also name of tengwa #18 (Appendix E, PE17:50). Does this obsolete the form malda in the Etymologies, stem SMAL? (According to VT46:14, the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well.) Compare the root MALAT listed in PM:366.

Manwë noun "Blessed Being" (Letters:283), the Elder King and Lord of the Valar, spouse of Varda. The name is adopted and adapted from Valarin Mānawenūz; names ending in -wë were already frequent in Quenya (WJ:399). In the Etymologies derived from MAN, WEG (cf. also PE17:162). Cf. Mánwen, Mánwë the oldest Quenya forms of Manwë, closer to the Valarin form (WJ:399). Lower-case manwë in LR:56. Ablative Manwello, VT49:24 (in this source Tolkien indicated that lo Manwë is the preferred way of saying “from Manwë”, but this was apparently a short-lived idea; see lo). Masc. name Manwendil "Manwë-friend; one devoted to Manwë" (UT:210). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, Manwë was also the name of letter #22 (VT45:32), which tengwa Tolkien would later call vala instead – changing its Quenya value from m to v.

manya- vb. “bless” – “sc. etiher to afford grace or help or to wish it” (VT49:41, PE17:162)

mar noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64, 106, 163), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS) and oromardi “high halls” (Nam, RGEO:66); the initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". (See also #mardë.) Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.

mára adj. "useful, fit, good" (of things) (MAG; see MA3; Arct, VT42:34, VT45:30), “opposite of bad not wicked” (PE17:74), “good, as it should be, in right or proper form or state, in health, well” (PE17:162); arya “excelling” (q.v.) is used as the comparative form, and for the superlative the article is added: i arya (PE17:57).

masta noun "bread" (MBAS, PM:404; later sources have massa). Mastamma "our bread" (VT43:18). In the Etymologies, Tolkien emended the gloss of masta from "dough" to "bread" (VT45:33). This meaning was later given to massë (q.v.) while masta became “a cake or loaf” (PE17:52).

melda adj. "beloved, dear, sweet" (MEL, VT45:34, PE17:109); meldielto "they are beloved" (sc. meld[a]-ië-lto "beloved-are-they" - both the stative verb ending -ië "is/are" and the ending -lto "they" may be obsolete in LotR-style Quenya) (FS). Comparative form is arimelda or ammelda and the superlative is eremelda, anamelda or ammelda (PE17:55)

#men- (4) vb. "go" (VT47:11, cf. VT42:30, VT49:23, PE17:165) [etc.]

menta- (1) vb. "send, cause to go" (in a desired direction) (VT41:6, VT43:15), past tense probably *mennë, perfect *eménië (cf. PE17:93)

mírë (stem míri-) noun "jewel" (MIR, SA:mîr), “treasure, precious thing“, especially a gem or jewel (PE17:37, 165), adj. “precious” (mimíre is evidently an intensive form of the adjective, PE17:165). Cf. Elemmírë; short form -mir in Tar-Atanamir. (SA:mîr)

morna adj. "dark, black" (Letters:282, LT1:261) or "gloomy, sombre" (MOR). Also used of black hair (PE17:154). In tumbalemorna (Letters:282), q.v. Pl. mornë in Markirya (the first version of this poem had "green rocks", MC:215, changed to ondolisse mornë "upon dark rocks" in the final version; see MC:220, note 8).

mornië noun "darkness, dark, blackness" (Nam, RGEO:67, PE17:73). Early "Qenya" also has Mornië "Black Grief", "the black ship that plies between Mandos and Erumáni" (LT1:261). This is probably a compound of mor- "black" and nië "tear".

 

<N>

namárië interjection "farewell" (Nam, RGEO:67, PE17:58, 74, 162), lit. “let it be well (sc. to you)” or “let all that is good be (to you)” (PE17:74)

nan- (prefix) "backwards" (NDAN) or “back”, as in nanwen- “return” (go/come back, PE17:166), cf. also nanquernë *”turned back”, the pl. form of *nanquerna (VT49:17-18)

nanda noun "water-mead, watered plain" (NAD), “vale (wide)” (PE17:80)

nár noun "flame", also nárë (NAR¹). Translated "fire" in some names, see Aicanár(o), Fëanáro (where nár apparently has the masculine ending -o added to it). Held to mean “fire as an element” at one point, but this might have been an ephemeral/rejected idea (PE17:183), cf. ruinë (q.v.).

narwa adj. “ruddy, red of hair” (PE17:154); cf. also "fiery red" (only the archaic form narwā is given) (NAR¹)

nassë (1) “a person, an individual” (VT49:30). Also translated “true-being” (pl. nasser is attested), the inner “true” being of a person. Also in the form nassentar “their true-being” (PE17:175, cf. -nta #2), in the source referring to the “true” spiritual nature of the Valar, as hidden within their visible shapes. – Not to be confused with the verb nassë/násë “he/she is”; see ná #1.

nauca ("k") adj. "stunted" (VT39:7), especially applied to things that though in themselves full-grown were smaller or shorter than their kind, and were hard, twisted or ill-shapen (WJ:413) In early "Qenya", nauca was the noun "dwarf" (LT1:261), but this noun is rather nauco in Tolkien's later Quenya. and this survived into Tolkien’s later Quenya in addition to Nauco, q.v. (PE17:45)

Nauco ("k") noun "Dwarf" (capitalized in WJ:388, but not in Etym, stem NAUK), pl. Naucor (PE17:45). Naucalië (not *Naucolië) the "Dwarf-people" as a whole. From nauca. Variant form Naucon, pl. Naucondi (PE17:45). See also Picinaucor.

nauro  ("ñ") noun "werewolf" (ÑGAW, PE17:39)

nehtë (1) noun “angle” (PE17:55), any formation or projection tapering to a point: a spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow promontory (UT:282). Cf. variant neccë.

nenda adj. “wet” (PE17:167, primitive form nendā in Etym, NEN, VT46:3, originally misprinted as nenda) *nenda (1) adj. "watery, wet" (NEN – in the Etymologies as printed in LR, this seemed to be a Quenya word, but according to VT46:3 Tolkien actually cited this as a primitive form nendā. While *nenda would still be the form in Quenya, it must be asterisked as unattested, and the attested synonym mixa is to be preferred.)

nenya adj. “wet” (PE17:52). Nenya noun or adj. name of a Ring of Power, apparently properly an adjective meaning something like "Watery [One]" (SA:nen)

nicu- ("k") vb. "be chill, cold (of weather); to snow, it is cold, it freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168): 3^rd sg. aorist niquë (q.v.) “it snows or freezes”, present níqua “it is freezing”, past nicunë “it snowed, froze” (PE17:168)

ninquë adj. "white, chill, cold, palid" (WJ:417, SA:nim, PE17:168, NIK-W - spelt "ninqe" in Etym and in LT1:266, MC:213, MC:220, GL:60), pl. ninqui in Markirya. Compounded in Ninquelótë noun *"White-Flower" (SA:nim), = Sindarin Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor; ninqueruvissë ("q") "white-horse-on" (MC:216; this is "Qenya", read *ninqueroccossë or *ninquiroccossë in LotR-style Quenya). Normally ninquë would be expected to have the stem-form ninqui-, given the primitive form ninkwi; Ninquelótë rather than *Ninquilótë must be seen as an analogical form.

niquë vb. "it is cold, it freezes; it snows or freezes" (WJ:417, PE17:168), 3^rd sg. of nicu-, q.v.; also niquë ("q") noun "snow" (NIK-W)

niquis noun "frost-patterns; ice-flake or snowflake – also petal (loose) of a white flower" (stem niquits- or niquiss-), also niquessë by association with quessë "feather" (WJ:417, PE17:168). In early "Qenya", the gloss was simply "snow" (LT1:266).

níra noun "will" (as a potential or faculty) (VT39:30, VT41:6, 17, PE17:168)

nirmë noun "an act of will, exercise of will" (VT39:30, VT41:6, PE17:168), "the act or action of níra" (VT41:17)

nixë noun "frost" (WJ:417); previously described as a synonym of niquis “ice-flake or snowflake”, q.v. (PE17:168)

nólë (ñ) noun "long study (of any subject), lore, knowledge; “(deep) knowledge, the deeper knowledge of the “wise” or skilled persons" (SA:gûl, also WJ:383 and MR:350, PE17:??, there spelt ñóle, the earlier pronunciation. In the Etymologies, stem ÑGOL, the gloss is "wisdom".) Compare Nólion. At one point Tolkien abandoned nóle for “wisdom” and replaced it with ñúle (q.v.) of slightly dissimilar meaning (PE17:125)

nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) (as opposed to water and sea; nor in Letters:308). Longer, more usual form nórë, q.v.

nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" has nórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)

norna adj. "stiff, tough; hard, firm, resistant" (WJ:413, PE17:106), “thrawn, tough, obdurate”, mainly applied to persons (PE17:181)

norno (1) noun "oak" (DÓRON), probably replaced by nordo, q.v.

nosta- vb. “be begotten” (PE17:170); "beget" (SD:73); in earlier "Qenya" the gloss was "give birth" (LT1:272)

númë noun "going down, occident" (Letters:361), númë “the West” (PE17:18), núme- "west" (VT45:38). Apparently meaning "west" also in númeheruen and numeheruvi; indeed númë was glossed "West" in early "Qenya" (LT1:263).

nyarna noun "tale, saga", a long epic tale (NAR², PE17:163)

 

<O>

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".) [etc..]

oialë noun "everlasting [?age]" (Reading of gloss uncertain) (OY) Used as an adverb "everlastingly, forever" in Namárië (Nam, RGEO:67, PE16:69)

oio noun "an endless period" (CO) or adv. "ever" (SA:los). Oiolairë "Ever-summer" (name of a tree, UT:167; also in the name Coron Oiolairë, "Mound of Ever-summer". Oiolossë "Everwhite, Ever-snowwhite, Ever-snow", a name of Taniquetil (OY, PE17:161), hence the translation "Mount Everwhite" in Tolkien's rendering of Namárië. See also SA:los. Explicit "mount" in Oron Oiolossë "Mount Everwhite" (WJ:403). Ablativic genitive Oiolossëo "from Mount Everwhite" in Namárië (Nam, RGEO:67, OY)

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

óma noun "voice" (OM), "voice, resonance of the vocal chords" (VT39:16), “voice / vowel” (PE17:138); […]

onna noun "creature" (ONO), “child” (PE17:170), translated "child" in the plural compound Aulëonnar "Children of Aulë", a name of the Dwarves (PM:391), and apparently also used = “child” in the untranslated sentence nai amanya onnalya ter coivierya (“k”) *”be it that your child [will be] blessed thoughout his/her life” (VT49:41). The form onya (q.v.), used as a vocative *"my child", is perhaps shortened from *onnanya.

onta- (pa.t. ónë or ontanë) vb. "beget, create" (ONO, PE17:170)

oro noun “mount, mountain” (PE17:64), Qenya "hill" (LT1:256; rather ambo in LotR-style Quenya, though #oro "mountain, hill" appears in Orocarni and orofarnë, q.v., PE17:83)

orofarnë noun "mountain-dwelling" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in Letters:224); translated “mountain ash” in PE17:83

orta- vb. "rise, raise, lift up", transitive pa.t. ortanë, intransitive pa.t. orontë (Nam, RGEO:67, ORO, PE17:64; misreading "ortani" in Letters:426); cf. orya-

orto noun "mountain-top" (ÓROT), “mount, mountain” (PE17:64)

ósanwë noun "interchange of thought", "communication of thought", i.e. telepathy (VT39:23, PE17:183, cf. MR:415); Ósanwë-centa ("k") noun "Enquiry into the Communication of Thought" (VT39:23 cf. MR:415)

 

<P>

pahta adj. "closed, shut, private" (VT39:23, VT41:6, PE17:171)

palan- root element (apparently not appearing alone ?): "far, distant, wide, to a great extent" (PAL), "wide, over a wide space, to a distance" (VT45:21), palan ”afar” (PE17:86), "far and wide" in palantír (pl. palantíri) *"Far-gazer", the magic far-seeing stones made by the Noldor in the First Age (SA:palan, PAL, PE17:25, 86). For etymology, see Letters:427. It was apparently stressed on the first syllable (PE17:86). Alternative form palantir “afar-gazer” (PE17:25). Also Palantir masc. name, "Far-sighted" (Appendix A, SA:palan, PAL, TIR); assimilated palar- in Palarran "Far-Wanderer", name of a ship (palan + ran) (UT:179). Verbal formation palantíra-  “watch, look afar” (PE17:86).

parma noun "book", also name of tengwa #2 (PAR, Appendix E, PE17:180). In early "Qenya", the gloss was "skin, bark, parchment, book, writings" (LT2:346), but it seems that in LotR-style Quenya, parma only means "book".  and also in Quenya: “peel”, applied to bark or skin” (PE17:86, 171), “’peel’, applied to bark or skin, hence “book”; ‘bark (literally skinning, peeling off), parchment, book’; ‘a book (or wirtten document of some size)’” (PE17:123) . Instrumental form parmanen “by means of a book” (PE17:180), parmastanna “on your book” (with the endings -sta dual “your”, -nna allative) (VT49:47), parmahentië “book reading” (PE17:77).

pé noun "lip", dual peu "the two lips, the mouth-opening" (VT39:9; VT47:12, 35). In an earlier source, the Etymologies, pé was glossed "mouth" (PEG), while in PE17:126 it is more specifically “the closed mouth”.

penda adj. "sloping down, inclined" (PEN/PÉNED), “steeply inclined, sloping down” (PE17:24)

pendë noun "slope, downslope, declivity" (PEN/PÉNED), “steep incline, hill side” (PE17:24)

pol- vb. "can" = have physical power and ability, as in polin quetë "I can speak (because mouth and tongue are free)". Cf. ista-, lerta- as verbs "can" with somewhat different shades of meaning. (VT41:6, PE17:181)

 

 

<Q>

Quenderin adj. "Quendian, belonging to the Elves as a whole" (a learned word) (WJ:407). The phrase quenderinwë coar “Elvish bodies” (PE17:175) presupposes a longer form *quenderinwa, here attested in the pl.

quenya noun (original adj.) "speech" […] The phrase quete Quenya “speak Quenya” was used idiomatically as “speak precisely or intelligibly, put into actual words (sc. not hands or looks)” (PE17:138).

                                           

<R>

raina (2) adj. "smiling, gracious, sweet-faced" (VT44:35, PE17:182). Cf. raita #3.

ráva (2) adj. "wild, untamed" (RAB); the form is hráva in PE17:78, while ráva means “free, unfettered, uncontrolled, lawless”

rína adj. "crowned" (RIG), also used as a suffix “garlanded, crowned” (PE17:182)

rista-, rista vb. and noun "to cut, to cleave; a cut" (RIS, PE17:87); the later source also lists unglossed rissë, probably a noun meaning “a cut”.

 

<S>

sáma noun "mind" (pl. sámar and dual samat [sic, read *sámat?] are given) (VT39:23, VT41:5, VT49:33, PE17:183)

sanwë noun "thought, an act of thinking" (VT39:23, 30; VT41:5, 13, PE17:183)

sanwecenda ("k") noun "thought-inspection, thought-reading" (VT41:5, PE17:183)

sanwë-menta noun "thought-sending, mental message" (VT41:5, PE17:183)

saura (Þ) adj. "foul, evil-smelling, putrid; foul vile" (THUS, PE17:183). This adjective apparently underlies the name Sauro, Sauron (q.v.). Alternatively explained to mean “cruel” (PE17:184), and a deleted gloss for this is “bad, unhealthy, ill, wretched” (PE17:172).

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). Tolkien later reverted back to the former meaning, “daughter”, but may have replaced it with anel, q.v.

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

silma adj. "silver, shining white" (SIL), “crystal (white)” (PE17:23)

sinda (Þ) adj. "grey"; nominal pl. Sindar used = "Grey-elves", lit. *"Grey ones"; see WJ:375. Gen. pl. Sindaron in WJ:369. With general meaning "grey" also in Sindacollo > Singollo "Grey-cloak, Thingol" (SA:thin(d); see also sindë, Sindicollo); sindanórië "grey land", a mythical region of shadows at the outer feet of the Pelóri, ablative sindanóriello "from/out of a grey country" (Nam, PE17:72). [etc]

súlë (Þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (Þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, “blowing forth”, was metaphorically used as “the emission of power (of will or desife) from a spirit” (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

 

<T>

talta- vb. "slip, slide down, collapse, slope" (TALÁT); reduplicated stem in the participle talta-taltala in Markirya, simply translated "falling" in MC:215. Strong intransitive conjugation: present talta, aorist talt-, past talantë, perfect ataltië. Weak transitive conjugation: present taltëa, aorist talta, past taltanë. This is said to be the conjugation type of a certain class of verbs, namely “√TALAT stems” (PE17:186).

Taniquetil (Taniquetild-), place-name: the highest of the mountains of Valinor, upon which were the mansions of Manwë and Varda. Properly, this name refers to the topmost peak only, the whole mountain being called Oiolossë (SA:til). The Etymologies has Taniquetil, Taniquetildë ("q") (Ta-niqe-til) ("g.sg." Taniquetilden, in LotR-style Quenya this is the dative singular) "High White Horn" (NIK-W, TIL, TA/TA3, OY). Variant Taníquetil ”high-snow-peak” (PE17:26, PE17:168).

tanna (1) noun "sign, token" (MR:385, PE17:186), cf. variant tanwa, q.v.

tára adj. "lofty". (SA:tar, LT1:264, TĀ/TA3 (AYAK, TÁWAR), VT45:6, PE17:186), "tall, high" (WJ:417). Compare antara. Adverb táro in an early "Qenya" text (VT27:20, 26). The adj. tára is not to be confused with the continuative form of the verb #tar- “stand”.

Tarcil ("k") (#Tarcild-, as in pl. Tarcildi) masc. name, "high-Man", also used to mean Númenórean (Appendix A, TUR, KHIL, VT46:17, PE17:101; the latter source provides the gloss "Great Man of Numenor"; tarcil(di) = "high-men = Elf-friends of Númenor")

Tauremorna place-name, *"Wood-black" “black forest” (LotR2:III ch. 4, PE17:82) Tauremornalómë place-name, *"Forest (of) Black Night" (LotR2:III ch. 4)

telepta adj.? "silver" (as adj.: silvery) (LT2:347, PE17:71 - rather telemna in Tolkien's later Quenya)

tenna prep. "until, up to, as far as" (CO), "unto" (VT44:35-36), “to the point”, “right up to a point” (of time/place), “until”, “to the object, up to, to (reach), as far as” (VT49:22, 23, 24, PE17:187), elided tenn' in the phrase tenn' Ambar-metta "unto the ending of the world" in EO, because the next word begins in a similar vowel; cf. tennoio "for ever" (tenna + oio, q.v.) The unelided form appears in PE17:105: Tenna Ambar-metta.

tin- vb. "glint, spark, glitter" (3rd pers. aorist tinë "it glints") (TIN, PE17:69)

Tinwerína adj. used as noun: place-name "Star-crowned", variant of Elerrína as a name of Taniquetil (RIG, PE17:182)

tumbo (stem *tumbu-, given the primitive form tumbu) noun "(deep) valley", under or among hills (TUB, SA:tum) and “depth” (PE17:81) - In early "Qenya", the gloss was "dark vale" (LT1:269). See tumba.

tur- vb. "wield, control, govern" (1st pers. aorist turin "I wield" etc.), pa.t. turnë (TUR); “master, conquer, win” (PE17:115), “dominate, master, conquer” (PE17:124)

turco n "chief" (isolated from Turcomund "chief bull", Letters:423; also PE17:22 with no gloss). Turco, masc. name, see Turcafinwë

tyellë noun "grade" (pl. tyeller is attested) (Appendix E); “grade, order; a step in a stairway, ladder” (PE17:122, 157)

 

<U>

ú- prefix "not-, un-, in-", denying presence or possession of thing or quality (VT39:14, UGU/UMU/VT46:20, GŪ, LT1:272), or simply suggesting something bad or immoral (see #úcar-, Úmaiar). […] According to one source, could be used as an uninflected verbal prefix mainly in verse, the usual form being ua-, q.v. (PE17:144) The stem Ú was acompmanied “pursed lips and shaking of head”, and evidently continues to be so in Quenya (PE17:145)

Úamanyar noun "those not of Aman" (sg. #Úamanya Úamanya), Elves who did not reach the Blessed Realm (but did leave Cuiviénen with the intention of going there) = Heceldi (WJ:371, PE17:143). Also Úmanyar and fuller Úmaneldi. (WJ:373) Also called Lembi, q.v.

umbar (umbart-, as in dat.sg. umbarten) noun "fate, doom" (MBARAT), also name of tengwa #6 (Appendix E).Cf. Umbarto. In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, umbar was the name of letter #18 (VT45:33), which tengwa Tolkien would later call malta instead – changing its Quenya value from mb to m. – In the word Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.), umbar appears to be a variant of Ambar (q.v.) instead. PE17:104-105, 123

úmë (2) "great collection or crowd of things of same sort" (a struck-out note gave the rejected gloss "largeness") (VT48:32); “throng, great concourse of things without order” (PE17:115). Compare úvë.

úmëa (1) adj. "abundant, swarming, teeming" (VT48:32); “large” (of throng) (PE17:115). Compare úvëa.

Úrin (Úrind-, as in "g.sg. Úrinden", in LotR-style Quenya this is dat.sg.) noun, a name of the Sun (UR, PE17:148; this stem was struck out in Etym, but several words that must be derived from it occur in LotR, so it seems that Tolkien restored it.)

urya- vb. “be hot” (PE17:148), "burn" (intransitive) (LT1:271)

úvanimo noun "monster (creature of Melko[r]) (BAN, LT1:272, PE17:150); pl. úvanimor "monsters" is attested (UGU/UMU, (GŪ). According to VT45:7, 16 Tolkien did not capitalize the word úvanimo, though it was so printed in the entries BAN and GŪ in the Etymologies as printed in LR. The (pl.) form húvanimor was abandoned along with hú rather than ú- as a negative prefix, VT45:17.

 

<V>

vá exclamation "I will not!" or "Do not!"; inflected only in 1^st person sing. ván, ványë "I won't!" and 1^st person pl. exclusive vammë "we won't"; used as an uninflected verbal suffix (mainly in verse) (WJ:371, PE17:143; read *valmë in Second Edition Quenya, after Tolkien revised the pronominal suffixes in the sixties); “accompanied with jerk back of head” (PE17:145)

Vairë fem. name "the Weaver", name of a Valië, spouse of Mandos (Silm, WEY). The name is translated "Ever-weaving" in VT39:10, and it is implied that the archaic form was *Wairē rather than Weirē, the reconstruction given in the Etymologies (LR:398). One source glosses the literal meaning as “weaving”, rather than “weaver” (PE17:191).

Valarauco ("k") noun "Demon of Might" (here vala- assumes its basic meaning "power, might"), Sindarin balrog (WJ:415). Variant form Valarauca, of which the plural is (I should think) Valaraucar (sic, not -or) "Balrogs" (SA:val-, SA:rauco). Earlier forms from the "Qenya Lexicon" are Valcaraucë, Malcaraucë (q.v.), apparently abandoned in LotR-style Quenya.

vanessë noun "beauty" (LT1:272, PE17:56). Cf. synonym vanië.

vanima adj. "beautiful, fair" (BAN, VT39:14) (glossed "proper, right, fair" in early "Qenya", LT1:272), “only of living things, especially Elves or Men” (PE17:150); nominal pl. vanimar "beautiful ones", [arta…]

vanwa adj. "gone, lost, no longer to be had, vanished, departed, dead, past, past and over, gone on the road, over" (WJ:366, Nam, RGEO:67, WAN, LT1:264, PE17:143); “not applied to dead persons except those who would not return, either because of a special doom (as Men) or because of a special will of their own (as Felagund or Míriel) or a special ban of Mandos (as Feanor)” (PE17:143)

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN); nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:380, 381). [Additional info in PE17:150, 165]

Varda fem. name "the Sublime", name of a Valië, spouse of Manwë, the Queen of the Valar, called Elbereth in Sindarin (BARATH, BARÁD, WJ:402; in Letters:282 Varda is translated the "Lofty"). Also used in verse as †varda adj. “sublime” (PE17:23). Genitive Vardo (for *Vardao). (Nam, RGEO:66). Vardamir masc. name, *"Varda-jewel" (Appendix A, UT:210); vardarianna ?"Varda-gift", name of a tree (but the ri element is obscure) (UT:167)

ve (1) prep. "as, like" (Nam, RGEO:66, Markirya, MC:213, 214, VT27:20, 27, VT9:22); in Narqelion ve may mean either "in" or "as". Ve fírimor quetir *”as mortals say” (VT49:10), ve senwa (or senya) “as usual” (VT49:10). Followed by genitive, ve apparently expresses “after the manner of”: ve quenderinwë coaron (“k”) “after the manner of bodies of Elven-kind” (PE17:174). Tolkien variously derived Quenya ve from older wē, bē or vai (VT49:10, 32, PE17:189)

*ve ve (2) pron. “we”, 1st person pl. inclusive (corresponding to exclusive me), derived from an original stem-form we (VT49:50, PE17:130). 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 Tolkien’s later ideas.

vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined this as “living creature” (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

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

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).%

 

<W>

wendë noun "maid" (GWEN), wendë > vendë "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16, VT47:17). 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", but this would probably be a plural in Tolkien's later Quenya (LT1:271); 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). PE17:191 displays the word as wendē, so the stem form is probably *wende-. 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)

wendelë noun "maidenhood" (LT1:271, PE17:191)

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

 

<Y>

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), except possibly anon (q.v.) which might have been ephemeral? In one source yondo is also defined as “boy” (PE17:190).

yulda noun "draught, something drunk, a drink", pl. yuldar (Nam, PE17:63, RGEO:66)

yulma (1) noun "cup" (Nam, RGEO:67), "drinking-vessel" (WJ:416, PE17:180). The plural form yulmar is attested (VT48:11). Yulmaya (“k”) colloquial Quenya for “his cup” (the formally correct form being *yulmarya) (VT49:17)

 

 

 

Men Eldalambínen index