Sindarin 

-el

suffix. your

_2nd sg./pl. poss. suff. _your. Maybe the polite form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Later -lein. >> -eg, -lein

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

-el

suffix. 2nd person singular polite possessive suffix

Sindarin [PE17/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-iel

suffix. daughter; feminine suffix

A widely used feminine suffix in Sindarin (PE17/23, 190). It sometimes more specifically meant “-daughter” in names such as Elrenniel “Arwen; ✱(lit.) Elrond-daughter” (PE17/56) or Tinúviel “Daughter of Twilight” (S/165), but in other cases it simply meant female as in names like Gilthoniel “Star-kindler [female]” (PE17/23). It was also sometimes reduced to -il or -el. See the entry on the root √YE(L) for a discussion of various conceptual vacillations in its connection to “daughter”.

Conceptual Development: The use of N. -iel dates back to Noldorin, where its connection to “daughter” was more explicit, though Tolkien vacillated on whether the suffix was based on ᴹ√YEL or ᴹ√SEL (Ety/SEL, YEL). The suffix does not appear to be specifically feminine in Gnomish of the 1910s, however, appearing in both female names like G. Níniel (LT2/100) and male names like G. Inwithiel (LT1/22).

Sindarin [PE17/023; PE17/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-elir

suffix. 2nd person plural polite possessive suffix

Sindarin [PE17/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

eledh

noun. Elf

Sindarin [Let/281; PE17/139; PE17/140; PE17/141; PE17/142; SA/êl; UTI/Edhelrim; UTI/Haudh-en-Elleth; WJ/363; WJ/377; WJI/Elen] Group: Eldamo. Published by

edhel

noun. Elf

Sindarin [LRI/Edhil; PE17/045; PE17/097; PE17/139; PE17/141; PE17/151; PE17/152; PM/346; RC/780; RGEO/62; SA/edhel; SA/êl; SI/Sindar; UT/255; UT/318; UTI/Edhelrim; WJ/364; WJ/377; WJ/378; WJI/Edhel] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ell

noun. Elf

Sindarin [Let/281; PE17/141; PE17/142; PE17/152; VT50/15; VT50/19; VT50/23; WJ/363; WJ/364; WJ/377; WJ/412] Group: Eldamo. Published by

penedh

noun. Elf

Sindarin [PE17/140; PE17/141] Group: Eldamo. Published by

elen

noun. Elf

laegel

green-elf

pl. laegil; coll. pl. laegrim or laegeldrim (WJ:385). These forms from a late source would seem to supersede the ”N” forms listed in LR:368 s.v. LÁYAK: *Lhoebenidh* or *Lhoebelidh*. The Green-elves of Beleriand were also called Lindel (pl. Lindil), also Lindedhel (pl. Lindedhil)  *(WJ:385)*.

edhel

elf

(pl. edhil). Coll. pl. Edhelrim (or Edhellim) (UT:318). Also †eledh, pl. elidh, coll. pl. eledhrim (Letters:281), also elen, pl. elin, also with coll. pl. eledhrim (elen + rim with the regular change nr > dhr). (WJ:363, 377-78; the shorter coll. pl. Eldrim > *Elrim*** may also occur). But since elin** also means "stars", other terms for "Elf" may be preferred.

avar

non-eldarin elf

pl. Evair, also called

peredhel

half-elf

(pl. peredhil) (PM:256, 348).

send

grey-elf

(i hend, o send, construct sen) (probably a term only used by the Noldor, borrowed from Quenya Sinda), pl. sind (i sind), coll. pl. Sendrim (the only attested form).

-eg

suffix. your

_2nd sg./pl. poss. suff. your.Maybe the familiar form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Later -gen_. >> -el, -gen

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

-lein

suffix. your

_2nd sg. poss. suff. your.Maybe the polite form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -el_. >> -el

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

Sindarin [PE17/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-gen

suffix. your

_2nd sg. poss. suff. your.Maybe the familiar form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -eg_. >> -eg

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:46] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

-il

suffix. feminine suffix

A fairly common feminine suffix appearing as -il in Sindarin, either formed on its own or as a variant of the feminine suffix -iel. This suffix was also common Noldorin words in The Etymologies of the 1930s, along with an alternate form -ril that seems to be a feminine agental suffix, the equivalent of masculine -(r)on, seen in pairs like N. melethril/melethron “lover” and N. odhril/odhron “parent” (Ety/MEL, ONO). The -il suffix and its -ril variant are seen all the way back in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s in pairs like G. gwadhril/gwadhron “inhabitant” (GL/47) and G. ainil/ainos “god”, female and male respectively (GL/18). So it seems this feminine suffix was well established in Tolkien’s mind.

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

Sindarin [LotR/I:XII, WJ/378, S/390] dûn+adan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

Sindarin [LotR/A(v), S/427, PM/324, WJ/387, Letters/282] Q. atan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

Sindarin [MR/373] adan+adar. Group: SINDICT. Published by

adanath

noun. men

Sindarin [MR/373] Group: SINDICT. Published by

adaneth

noun. (mortal) woman

Sindarin [MR/349] adan+-eth. Group: SINDICT. Published by

arwen

noun. noble woman

Sindarin [Arwen (name) LotR] ar-+gwend. Group: SINDICT. Published by

bess

noun. (young) woman

Sindarin [Ety/352, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bess

noun. wife

Sindarin [Ety/352, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

Sindarin [UT/385] drû+adan. Group: SINDICT. Published by

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

Sindarin [UT/385] MS *druγ, Dr druγu. Group: SINDICT. Published by

mellon

noun. friend

Sindarin [Ety/372, LotR/II:IV, SD/129-31, Letters/424] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mellon

noun. friend

_ n. _friend. Pedo mellon a minno! 'Say friend and enter'. 

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

mellon

noun. friend

Sindarin [AotM/062; Let/424; LotR/0305; LotR/0308; LotRI/Mellon; PE17/041; PE17/097; SA/mel; SD/129; VT44/26; WJ/412] Group: Eldamo. Published by

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

adaneth

mortal woman

(pl. edenith), also firieth (pl. firith).

bess

woman

bess (i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

bess

woman

(i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

calben

elf of the great journey

(i galben, o chalben), pl. celbin (i chelbin).

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

dess

young woman

(i ness, o ndess, constuct des), pl. diss (i ndiss).

dîr

man

1) (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

dúnedhel

elf of beleriand

(i Núnedhel), pl. *Dúnedhil*** (i Ndúnedhil*). (WJ:378, 386)*

edhelharn

elf-stone

(pl. edhelhern) (SD:128-31).

elleth

elf-woman

(pl. ellith) (WJ:363-64, 377)

ellon

elf-man

(pl. ellyn)

elvellon

elf-friend

(pl. elvellyn, coll. pl. elvellonnath (WJ:412);

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

gwanur

kinsman

(i ’wanur) (brother), pl. gwenyr (in gwenyr). Note: a homophone of the sg. means ”pair of twins”.

gwanwel

elf of aman

(”departed” Elf), pl. gwenwil (in gwenwil), coll. pl. gwanwellath. (WJ:378) Also gwanwen; see

lefn

elf left behind

pl. lifn.

me

pronoun. we (exclusive)

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

meldis

friend

(i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.

mellon

friend

1) (masc.) mellon (i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath. 2) (fem.) meldis (i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.

mellon

friend

(i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath.

miniel

first elf

(i Viniel), pl. Mínil (i Mínil), coll. pl. Miniellath. (WJ:383)

mornedhel

dark elf

(i Vornedhel), pl. Mornedhil (i Mornedhil). Conceivably the entire word could be umlauted in the pl.: ?Mernedhil. **(WJ:409) Another term for ”Dark Elf” is Dúredhel (i Dhúredhel), pl. Dúredhil (i Núredhil**).

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravanthe lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

Quenya 

-ello

-ello

-ello ablative ending (VT45:28); see -llo

-iel

suffix. -daughter; feminine suffix

The most common Quenya suffix for “daughter of” such as in Elerondiel “✱Daughter of Elrond” (PE17/56) or Uinéniel “Daughter of Uinen” (UT/182).

Conceptual Development: The earliest hint of this suffix was ᴱQ. -il mentioned by Tolkien in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as the equivalent of feminine patronymic ᴱQ. -wen (QL/103), but its only use in this period was in the masculine name ᴱQ. Indorildo, a variant of ᴱQ. Indorion and hence probably meaning “son of” (LT2/217). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien mentioned ᴹQ. -iel as a feminine patronymic under the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter” (Ety/YEL¹), but this root was rejected and in that document Tolkien seems to have replaced it with ᴹQ. -ien (EtyAC/YŌ).

In later writings Tolkien considered a bewildering variety of suffixes for the feminine patronymic, including -iel(d), -well, -wend and -ien (PE17/170, 190). In practice, though, only -iel appeared in actual names for “daughter of” (see above), perhaps because it is was the cleanest equivalent of the well-established masculine patronymic -ion “son of”.

Quenya [PE17/023; PE17/170; PE17/190] Group: Eldamo. Published by

elda

noun. Elf, (lit.) one of the Star-folk

The most common Quenya word for “Elf”. Its literal meaning is “one of the Star-folk” (WJ/374), a name given to them by Oromë (S/49) and derived from the same primitive root √EL as Q. elen “star”. Strictly speaking, this term excludes the Avari who chose not to journey to Valinor, so that the proper term for all of Elvenkind is Q. Quendë “one of the Elven race”. The Elves of the West rarely encountered the Avari, however, so that term Elda was ordinarily broad enough to describe all Elves.

Conceptual Development: This word dates back to the earliest stages of Tolkien’s languages. At its first appearance, ᴱQ. Elda was glossed “a beach-fay” (QL/35), but was soon extended to describe all Elves (LT1/113). In Tolkien’s earliest writings the word was not given a clear etymology. In the Lhammas “Account of Tongues” from the 1930s (LR/168-180), Tolkien gave ᴹQ. Elda the sense of “one who departed” (LR/169), as opposed to the ᴹQ. Lembi “Lingerers” who remained behind (precursors of the Avari). With this sense, Elda was derived from ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” (Ety/LED).

Tolkien soon revised the etymology of Elda so that it was derived instead from ᴹ√ELED “star-folk” (Ety/ELED). In some later writings, he considered both etymologies of this word to be valid, so that Elda was blending of both “star-folk” (from √EL) and Q. Eldo “marcher” (from √LED or √DEL), as discussed in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 and elsewhere (WJ/362-3, PE17/139). However, the sense “star-folk” is probably better known.

In some notes from 1957, Tolkien considered deriving this word from a variant root √DEL “fair” so that its meaning would be “the fair” (PE17/151), but this seems to have been a transient idea.

Quenya [Let/198; Let/281; LotR/1127; LotR/1137; LotRI/Eldar; LRI/Edhil; MRI/Eldar; NM/239; PE17/045; PE17/056; PE17/057; PE17/114; PE17/135; PE17/139; PE17/141; PE17/151; PE17/152; PE17/189; PE21/73; PE21/77; PE22/155; PM/029; PM/346; PM/395; PM/403; PMI/Eldar; RC/217; RC/780; S/049; SA/êl; SI/Eldar; SI/High Elves; TII/Eldar; UTI/Eldanna; UTI/Eldar; VT49/08; WJ/362; WJ/364; WJ/368; WJ/369; WJ/373; WJ/374; WJ/375; WJ/407; WJI/Eldar; WRI/Eldar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-cca

your

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

-lca

your

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

-lda

your

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

-llo

ablative adverbial suffix

-llo (1) "ablative adverbial suffix" (PE17:72) implying "from" or "out of", as in sindanóriello "out of a grey land", Rómello "from the East" (Nam), Mardello "from Earth" (FS), ulcullo "from evil" (VT43:12), sillumello "from this hour" (VT44:35), yello "from whom" (VT47:21), Manwello *"from Manwë" (VT49:24), Melcorello / Melkorello "from Melkor" (VT49:7, 24). Pl. -llon (so in Plotz) or -llor (in illon, elenillor, raxellor, elendellor, q.v.); dual -lto (Plotz). A shorter form of the ablative ending, -lo, apparently occurs in the words silo "hence" and talo "from there", q.v. In the Etymologies, Tolkien cited the Quenya ablative ending as -ello, evidently including the connecting vowel -e- that may be inserted when the ending is added to a word ending in a consonant (VT45:28), compare Melcorello. See also , lo #2.

-lmë

suffix. we (exclusive)

Quenya [PE17/013; PE17/014; PE17/075; PE17/129; PE17/130; VT49/16; VT49/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-mmë

suffix. we (exclusive)

Quenya [PE17/057; PE17/075; PE17/190; VT49/38; VT49/48] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ndil

friend

-ndil (also -dil) ending occurring in many names, like Amandil, Eärendil; it implies devotion or disinterested love and may be translated "friend" (SA:(noun)dil); this ending is "describing the attitude of one to a person, thing, course or occupation to which one is devoted for its own sake" (Letters:386). Compare -ndur. It is unclear whether the names derived with the ending -ndil are necessarily masculine, though we have no certain example of a woman's name in -ndil; the name Vardilmë (q.v.) may suggest that the corresponding feminine ending is -(n)dilmë.

-ndur

friend

-ndur (also -dur), ending in some names, like Eärendur; as noted by Christopher Tolkien in the Silmarillion Appendix it has much the same meaning as -ndil "friend"; yet -ndur properly means "servant of" (SA:(noun)dil), "as one serves a legitimate master: cf. Q. arandil king's friend, royalist, beside arandur 'king's servant, minister'. But these often coincide: e.g. Sam's relation to Frodo can be viewed either as in status -ndur, in spirit -ndil." (Letters:286)

-ser

friend

-ser noun "friend" (SER)

-sta

your

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

-tya,

your, thy

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

Lindissë

woman

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

ailin

g.sg. ailinen

ailin ("g.sg. ailinen", in Tolkien's later Quenya dat.sg.) "pool, lake" (AY, LIN1, LT2:339). Fem. name Ailinel (likely Ailinell-), perhaps ailin + the feminine ending -el (as in aranel "princess"), hence "Lake-woman" or similar (UT:210).

alamanyar

collective name. (Elves) Not of Aman

An earlier version of Úmanyar, differing only in its use of the prefix al(a)- for negation instead of ú- (MR/170). In some late notes from the end of the 1960s, Tolkien considered restoring this form (PE21/72; PE22/156).

Quenya [MR/163; MR/170; MR/223; MRI/Alamanyar; MRI/Úmanyar; PE18/077; PE21/72; PE22/156] Group: Eldamo. Published by

heldo

friend

[heldo, also helmo, fem. heldë, noun "friend" (VT46:3)]

lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

meldo

friend, lover

meldo noun "friend, lover". _(VT45:34, quoting a deleted entry in the Etymologies, but cf. the pl. #_meldor in Eldameldor "Elf-lovers", WJ:412) **Meldonya *"my friend" (VT49:38, 40). It may be that meldo is the distinctly masculine form, corresponding to feminine #meldë** (q.v.)

meldë

friend

#meldë noun "friend", feminine (meldenya "my friend" in the Elaine inscription [VT49:40], Tolkien referring to Elaine Griffiths). Compare meldo.

málo

noun. friend

friend, comrade

Quenya [PE 18:46 PE 18:96] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

málo

friend

málo noun "friend" (MEL, VT49:22)

nildo

friend

nildo noun "friend" (apparently masc.; contrast nildë) (NIL/NDIL)

nildë

friend

nildë noun "friend" (fem.) (NIL/NDIL)

nilmo

friend

nilmo noun "friend" (apparently masc.) (NIL/NDIL)

nissë

woman

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

nissë

noun. woman

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

nér

noun. man

Quenya [PE 22:124] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

woman, female

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

nína

woman

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

nís

woman

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

nís

noun. woman

The usual Quenya word for “woman” or more exactly a “female person” of any race, in later writings appearing as both nís (MR/213, 226, 229) and nisse (VT47/18, 33). Even in the cases where its singular was nís, its plural form was given as nissi, indicating a stem form of niss-. In rough notes from 1968 Tolkien said “The monosyllabic nouns (especially those with only one stem-consonant) were a small dwindling class often replaced by strengthened forms (as nis- was [by] nisse)” (VT47/18).

Thus it seems the ancient form was ✱nis- from the root √NIS, which like its male counterpart Q. nér “man” inherited a long vowel from the ancient subjective form ✱nīs. But the voiceless s was felt to be intrinsic to word, and it was thus strengthened to niss- in inflected forms to avoid the sound changes associated with an isolated s. From this a longer form nisse was generalized. In practice I think either form can be used, with singular nís being preserved by analogy with nér. However, I think inflected forms are probably all based on nisse, such as genitive nisseo “of a woman” rather than ✱✱nisso.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had both ᴹQ. nis and nisse “woman” derived the root ᴹ√NIS, with plural nissi in both cases (Ety/NIS, NDIS). He explained this variation as follows: “nis was a blend of old nīs (nisen) and the elab[orated] form ✱nis-sē” (EtyAC/Nι). Hence it is was essentially the same as the scenario described above, but in the 1930s the long vowel in ancient nīs did not survive in the later short form nis.

In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, Tolkien experimented with some alternate plural forms nínaron [genitive plural] >> nísi [ordinary plural] (VT43/26-29, 31), the former apparently representing a variant singular form ✱nína, but in later writings plural nissi was restored.

Quenya [MR/213; MR/226; MR/229; MR/471; VT43/31; VT47/18; VT47/33] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sermo

friend

sermo noun "friend" (evidently masc., since sermë is stated to be fem.) (SER)

sermë

friend

sermë noun "friend" (fem.) (SER)

seron

friend

seron noun "friend" (SER)

sondo

friend

[sondo noun "friend" (VT46:15)]

vëo

man

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 the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

wenci

woman, maiden

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

Primitive elvish

-iel

suffix. feminine suffix

Primitive elvish [MR/388; NM/349; NM/353; PE17/190] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ndē̆r

noun. man

Primitive elvish [PE19/102] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

Primitive elvish [VT47/18; VT47/33] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

-iel

suffix. daughter; feminine suffix

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

penedh

noun. Elf

Noldorin [Ety/KWEN(ED); EtyAC/SET] Group: Eldamo. Published by

penn

noun. Elf

Noldorin [EtyAC/MOR; PE22/067] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-(r)il

suffix. feminine suffix

Noldorin [Ety/BARÁD; Ety/BERÉTH; Ety/MEL; Ety/SLIG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-il

suffix. feminine suffix

benn

noun. man, male

Noldorin [Ety/352, VT/45:9] "husband". Group: SINDICT. Published by

bess

noun. (young) woman

Noldorin [Ety/352, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

bess

noun. wife

Noldorin [Ety/352, SD/129-31] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dess

noun. young woman

Noldorin [Ety/375] Group: SINDICT. Published by

noun. woman, lady

Noldorin [Ety/352, Ety/354] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

Noldorin [Ety/354, Ety/352] Group: SINDICT. Published by

elf

noun. friend

Noldorin [EtyAC/ÑEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

forodrim

noun. Northmen

Noldorin [Ety/392] forod+rim. Group: SINDICT. Published by

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

Noldorin [Ety/382, Ety/398, X/EI] forod+gwaith. Group: SINDICT. Published by

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

Noldorin [Ety/382, Ety/398, X/EI] forod+gwaith. Group: SINDICT. Published by

forodweith

noun. Northmen

Noldorin [Ety/382, Ety/398, X/EI] forod+gwaith. Group: SINDICT. Published by

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

Noldorin [Ety/382, Ety/398, X/EI] forod+gwaith. Group: SINDICT. Published by

meldir

noun. friend

Noldorin [Ety/372] mell+dîr. Group: SINDICT. Published by

meldis

noun. friend

Noldorin [Ety/372] mell+dîs. Group: SINDICT. Published by

mellon

noun. friend

Noldorin [Ety/372, LotR/II:IV, SD/129-31, Letters/424] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mellon

noun. friend

Noldorin [Ety/MEL; EtyAC/MEL; RS/452; RSI/Mellyn; TI/181; TI/182] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thond

noun. friend

Noldorin [EtyAC/SON] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Telerin 

ella

noun/adjective. Elf

Telerin [WJ/362; WJ/364; WJ/375; WJI/Eldar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ello

noun. Elf

Telerin [WJ/362; WJ/364; WJ/373; WJ/375; WJ/376; WJI/Eldar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

-êth

suffix. feminine suffix

A feminine suffix appearing in several names, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/11). On SD/427, Tolkien said that the affix -th was often found in feminine forms.

suffix. feminine suffix

A suffix used to form feminine nouns from common or masculine nouns (SD/435). Another common variant was (SD/438).

kali

noun. woman

A noun translated “woman” (SD/434).

Nandorin 

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final becomes in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from ); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.

Nandorin [H. Fauskanger (LR:352)] besnô "blend with" ber(n)ô "valiant man, warrior". Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

-el

suffix. friend

-ello

suffix. ablative element

elda

noun. Elf

Qenya [Ety/ELED; EtyAC/EDE; LR/072; LR/169; LR/181; LR/197; LR/212; LR/218; LRI/Eldar; PE18/024; PE21/57; PE22/124; PE22/125; SD/401; SDI2/Eldar; SDI2/Eledâi; SDI2/Nimrî; SMI/Eldar; VT27/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

qende

noun. Elf

Qenya [Ety/KWEN(ED); LR/119; LR/168; LR/212; LRI/Qendi; MRI/Quendi; PE18/023; PE21/69; SM/085; SM/086; SMI/Quendi; TII/Qendi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

qen

noun. Elf

Qenya [PE21/19; PE21/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-llo Reconstructed

suffix. ablative element

nilmo

noun. friend

-ser

suffix. friend

atan

noun. Man

helde

noun. friend

heldo

noun. friend

helmo

noun. friend

preposition. ablative element

málo

noun. friend

Qenya [Ety/MEL; PE18/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nis

noun. woman

Qenya [Ety/NDIS; Ety/Nι; Ety/NIS; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/Nι; EtyAC/NIS; PE21/08] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nisse

noun. woman

sermo

noun. friend

seron

noun. friend

sondo

noun. friend

veo

noun. man

Qenya [Ety/WEG; EtyAC/WEG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

-elka

suffix. able to

qen

noun. Elf

Early Quenya [GL/32; LRI/Qendi; LT1/235; LT1I/Qendi; PE13/099; PE13/146; PE14/009; QL/092; SM/013; SM/168] Group: Eldamo. Published by

qende

noun. Elf

-alka

suffix. able to

Early Quenya [PE14/033] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-ni

suffix. feminine suffix

A common feminine suffix in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s in words like varyani “foreigner (fem.)”, probably a suffixal form of ᴱQ. “woman” (GL/60) and often paired with its masculine equivalent ᴱQ. -nu.

Early Quenya [QL/036; QL/039; QL/040; QL/049; QL/095; QL/100; QL/101] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-olka

suffix. able to

-si

suffix. feminine suffix

A feminine suffix in several words from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s such as ᴱQ. felusi “witch” (QL/38) and ᴱQ. varitsi “foreigner (fem.)” (QL/100).

Early Quenya [QL/038; QL/100; QL/105] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-sse

suffix. feminine suffix

Early Quenya [QL/040; QL/055] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-tsi

suffix. feminine suffix

anai

noun. woman

A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s form “woman” with variants anai and anî, a feminine form ᴱQ. anu “a male” (QL/31).

Early Quenya [QL/031] Group: Eldamo. Published by

anî

noun. woman

kainella

noun. fortnight

kainendan

noun. fortnight

Early Quenya [PE14/016; PE14/022] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nyél

noun. woman

A word for “woman” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s with stem form nyel-, as indicated by its accusative nyela (PE16/135). Its etymology is unclear; Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson suggested it might be connected to the early root ᴱ√NYEHE “weep” or later root ᴹ√NYEL “ring, sing”, but these both feel like stretches to me.

Early Quenya [PE16/135] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. woman

Early Quenya [GL/60] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

kwenedē

noun. Elf

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KWEN(ED); PE19/057; PE19/059; PE21/25; PE21/69] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kwen(ed)

root. Elf

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KWEN(ED); PE18/034; PE18/061] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mālō

noun. friend

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

yel

root. friend

A new gloss for the root ᴹ√YEL “daughter”, with a new set of derivatives like ᴹQ. -iel “-friend” and ᴹQ. yelda “friendly” (Ety/YEL), but it was rejected in turn and probably replaced by ᴹ√MEL.

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

dēr

noun. man

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/NDER; Ety/Nι; EtyAC/NDER; PE18/035; PE21/55; PE21/58; PE21/60; PE21/64; PE21/65; PE21/69] Group: Eldamo. Published by

root. ablative element

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/LŌ; EtyAC/LONO] Group: Eldamo. Published by

me

pronoun. we (exclusive)

Middle Primitive Elvish [PE17/014; PE22/094] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nis

root. woman

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/DER; Ety/NDIS; Ety/Nι; Ety/NIS; EtyAC/NDIS; PE21/55] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. woman

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/NĒR; EtyAC/NDIS; PE21/55] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nī̆s

noun. woman

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/NĒR; PE21/55; PE21/64] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

cwenn

noun. Elf

Gnomish [GL/28; GL/32; PE13/099; PE14/009] Group: Eldamo. Published by

caineglad

noun. fortnight

Gnomish [PE14/016; PE14/022] Group: Eldamo. Published by

man

masculine name. Man

Gnomish [GL/18; GL/20; GL/43; GL/56; GL/68; LT1A/Manwë; PE13/104; PE15/26] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nîr

noun. woman

ogra

preposition. able to

Early Noldorin

egol

noun. elf

gwenn

noun. Elf

Early Noldorin [PE13/146] Group: Eldamo. Published by

idhel

noun. elf

ileth

noun. elf

uidhol

noun. elf

uigol

noun. elf

nain

noun. woman

Early Noldorin [PE13/123] Group: Eldamo. Published by

uin

noun. woman

Early Noldorin [PE13/123; PE13/146; PE13/155] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

cwend

noun. Elf

A Doriathrin noun meaning “Elf” derived from primitive ᴹ✶kwenedē (EtyAC/KWEN(ED)), an example of the Ilkorin syncope.

Conceptual Development: This word is nearly identical to earlier Gnomish Cwenn “Elf” before Tolkien revised the phonological history of the Noldorin language so that [[on|[kw] became [p]]].

Doriathrin [EtyAC/KWEN(ED)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-il Reconstructed

suffix. feminine suffix

Apparently a feminine suffix attested in the name Thuringwethil “(Woman of) Secret Shadow” (Ety/THUR) and the noun tóril “queen” (Ety/TĀ).

Doriathrin [Ety/TĀ; Ety/THUR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Ossriandric

cwenda

noun. Elf

A noun for “Elf” developed from primitive ᴹ✶kwenedē (Ety/KWEN(ED)). It is an example of the Danian syncope, with second unstressed [e] vanishing after the identical vowel. It is also one of the Danian words for which a long final vowel developed into short final [a].

Ossriandric [Ety/KWEN(ED)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

edel

noun. Elf

A noun for “Elf” derived from primitive ᴹ✶edel-, an inversion of the primitive root ᴹ√ELED (Ety/ELED). Unlike most similar Danian nouns, it did not undergo the Danian syncope and retained its second vowel. One possible explanation is that the primitive form of this noun ended in a short vowel, ✱✶edelă, and this short final vowel vanished before the period of the syncope, preventing it from occurring in this word. Helge Fauskanger originally suggested a theory much like this one (AL-Nandorin/edel).

Conceptual Development: In an earlier version of this entry, the Danian word for Elf was given as Elda (Ety/ELED).

Ossriandric [Ety/ELED] Group: Eldamo. Published by

beorn

noun. man

A noun for “man” that developed from the blending of primitive ᴹ✶besnō “man” and ᴹ✶berō “valiant man, warrior” > ber(n)ō (Ety/BER, BES). The simplest explanation is that ᴹ✶besnō > beznō > bernō, where first the [[dan|[s] voiced to [z] before the nasal [n]]] and then the resulting [[dan|[z] becoming [r]]]. The similarity of this word to ᴹ✶berō could have led it to develop into ber(n)ō as well. From there, the [[dan|[e] broke into the diphthong [eo] before the liquid [r]]] and then the final vowel vanished.

Ossriandric [Ety/BER; Ety/BES] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

benno

noun. man

Old Noldorin [Ety/BES] Group: Eldamo. Published by

noun. woman

Old Noldorin [Ety/Nι; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/Nι; EtyAC/NIS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Edain

bar

noun. man

Primitive adûnaic

-th

suffix. feminine suffix

A (primitive?) feminine suffix used in the formation of mîth “baby girl” from the root ✶Ad. √MIYI (SD/427). Tolkien stated that that th was one of the “favoured” feminine consonants (SD/427).

Primitive adûnaic [SD/427] Group: Eldamo. Published by