-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.

-il

point

suff. point, ending. >> niphredil, til

il

adjective. *all

An untranslated word from the phrase sí il chem en i Naugrim en ir Ellath thor den ammen appearing on the Túrin Wrapper (VT50/5). Carl Hostetter suggested this phrase may mean something like “✱now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) to us”, and il likely means “all” based on the root √IL of similar meaning (VT50/22).

til

point

n. point, ending. >> -il, niphredil

till

noun. point, spike, (sharp) horn, tine, ending

A word meaning “tine, spike, point” (PE17/36) or “spike, sharp horn” (RC/775) as an element in names like S. Celebdil “Silvertine”. In a discussion of the word niphredil, Tolkien said til or -il meant “point, ending” (PE17/55).

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. till “horn” as the cognate of ᴹQ. tilde “point, horn” under the root ᴹ√TIL “point, horn” (Ety/TIL).

aeg

noun. point

The adjective oeg "sharp, pointed, piercing" from Ety/349 is perhaps rejected: Tolkien later decided that no cognate of Quenya aica "fell, terrible, dire" was used in Sindarin, "though aeg would have been its form if it had occurred" (PM/347). On the other hand, we have words such as aeglos and aeglir , so there must be a noun aeg "point"

al-

prefix. no, not

baw

interjection. no, don't!

ell Archaic

noun. Elf

pân

adjective. all, in totality

As no other word beginning in ph- is attested, it is assumed that a nasal mutation is triggered by the pronoun în.1 , hence the form observed in the "King's Letter"

pân

noun/adjective. all, all, *complete, entire, full, the whole

A word for “all” appearing only in its mutated plural form phain in the King’s Letter from the phrase ar e aníra ennas suilannad mhellyn în phain “and he desires to greet there all his friends” (SD/129). It is almost certainly based on the root √KWA “complete, full”.

Neo-Sindarin: In a conversation on Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) from 2022-03-10 involving Arael, Raccoon, Lokyt, and Röandil it was suggested that pân might also mean “✱complete, entire, full, the whole”. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word as both an adjective and a (pro)noun as in anno annin bân “give me [it] all”. As an adjective it would usually be in the plural: edhil bain “all elves” or i edhil bain “all [of] the elves”, except perhaps when modifying a mass noun: nen bân “all water” or i nen bân “all [of] the water”.

Also recall that Sindarin has a system of class plurals which are used to designate an entire class or all of a group in a given context, such as edhelrim meaning either “all of elvenkind” or “all the elves in this context”. Thus I would only use pân with an ordinary plural when it is necessary to emphasize the completeness or wholeness of the group in question. When used with a class plural I would give pân the sense “entire” or “the whole”. Compare Aran Edhelrim “King of Elvenkind” vs Aran Edhelrim Bân “King of the Whole of Elvenkind” (no elf excluded).

sí il chem en i naugrim en ir ellath thor den ammen

*now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) to us

ú

prefix. no, not (negative prefix or particle)

û

interjection. no

adv. or interj. no, not (of fact).

û

adverb/interjection. no, not, no, not, [G.] nor

aeg

point

1. aeg (peak, thorn). No distinct pl. form. Note: aeg is also used as adj. "sharp, pointed, piercing". 2) naith (spearhead, gore, wedge, promontory); no distinct pl. form. 3) nass (sharp end, angle, corner), construct nas, pl. nais. 4)

aeg

point

(peak, thorn). No distinct pl. form. Note: aeg is also used as adj. "sharp, pointed, piercing".

baw!

no

! (interjection expressing refusal or prohibition, not denying facts) baw! (dont!) Prefix

baw!

no

(don’t!) Prefix

ecthel

spear point

(pl. ecthil), literally "thorn point”

ganna

harp

(i nganna = i ñanna, in gannar = i ñgannar); also gannada (i ngannada = i ñannada, in gannadar = i ñgannadar).

gannel

harp

(i ngannel = i ñannel, o n’gannel = o ñgannel), pl. gennil (in gennil = i ñgennil), coll. pl. gannellath. Archaic †gandel.

gú

no, not

gú-, also ú-

gú

no, not

also ú

ment

point

(at the end of a thing) ment (i vent), pl. mint (i mint), coll. pl. mennath.

ment

point

(i vent), pl. mint (i mint), coll. pl. mennath**. **

naith

point

(spearhead, gore, wedge, promontory); no distinct pl. form.

narwain

january

nass

point

(sharp end, angle, corner), construct nas, pl. nais.

nasta

point

(verb) nasta- (i nasta, in nastar) (prick, stick, thrust)

nasta

point

(i nasta, in nastar) (prick, stick, thrust)

pân

all

(adj.) *pân, pl. pain (only attested in mutated pl. form phain, SD:128-31). Not to be confused with the noun pân ”plank”.

pân

all

pl. pain (only attested in mutated pl. form phain, SD:128-31). Not to be confused with the noun pân ”plank”.

rafn

extended point at the side

(wing, horn), pl. raifn (idh raifn).

thela

spear point

(-thel), pl. ?thili, 3) aith; no distinct pl. form.

till

point

till (i dill, o thill, construct til; also -dil, -thil at the end of compounds) (spike, tine, sharp horn, sharp-pointed peak), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thill). Archaic †tild. 5)

till

point

(i** dill, o thill, construct til; also -dil, -thil at the end of compounds) (spike, tine, sharp horn, sharp-pointed peak), no distinct pl. form except with article (i** thill). Archaic †tild. 5)

-il

suffix. feminine suffix

-(r)il

suffix. feminine agent

-dis

suffix. feminine agent

A feminine agental suffix appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a suffix in N. meldis “friend (f.)”, the feminine equivalent of N. meldir which had the masculine agental suffix dîr (Ety/MEL).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s the suffix G. -(n)ir seems to be a feminine agent, probably based on (archaic) G. †nîr “woman”. For example: G. bridh(n)ir “queen” vs. G. bridhon “king” (GL/24) or G. gwar(e)dhir “f. companion” vs. G. gwar(e)dhon “m. companion” (GL/44). Sometimes -ir seems to be gender-neutral, however, as with G. faithir “savior” (GL/33) and G. hilmir “heir (m. or f.)” (GL/49). There are remnants of this feminine -ir suffix in The Etymologies, where in the first iteration of the entry for the root ᴹ√MEL Tolkien had meldir “friend (f.)” (EtyAC/MEL) before deciding meldir was masculine.

al-

prefix. no, not

al-

prefix. no, not

@@@ the phrase “the only place in Noldorin where the primitive prefix is preserved” was deleted (EtyAC/AR²)

ecthel

noun. point (of spear)

egnas

noun. sharp point

egnas

noun. peak

egthel

noun. point (of spear)

gannel

noun. harp

ment

noun. point

ment

noun. point

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “point” under the root ᴹ√MET “end” (Ety/MET).

mû

interjection. no

nass

noun. point, (sharp) end

nass

noun. angle or corner

nerwinien

noun. January

thela

noun. point (of spear)

-il

suffix. old tool and weapon names

-iel

suffix. feminine suffix

il

root. all

A root meaning “all” in Tolkien’s writings from the 1930s through 1960s (VT48/25) with derivatives in both Quenya and Sindarin, the most notable being Q. Ilúvatar “All-father” (MR/39). Its earliest precursor is the root ᴱ√ILU “ether, the slender airs among the stars” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, whose derivatives include various sky-words as well as ᴱQ. Ilúvatar, since in this early period the name meant “Heavenly Father” (QL/42). The meaning of the root shifted to ᴹ√IL “all” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IL), and it retained this sense thereafter.

n(d)il

root. to love (as a friend or equal), be devoted to, to love (as a friend or equal), be devoted to; [ᴹ√] love, devotion; friend

This root for friendship and devotion first appeared as ᴹ√NIL or strengthened ᴹ√NDIL “friend” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a number of Quenya derivatives of similar meaning, the most significant being the suffixes ᴹQ. -nil or -dil, which Tolkien said was the equivalent of Old English “-wine” (“-friend”). In The Etymologies, ᴹ√DIL was an unrelated root meaning “stop up, fill up hole” (Ety/DIL). The strengthened root ᴹ√NDIL was mentioned again with the gloss “love, devotion” in The Notion Club Papers of the 1940s (SD/241, 305).

The unstrengthened form √NIL appeared in a letter to David Masson from 1955, where Tolkien said “√NIL means to love as a friend or equal”, as opposed to √(N)DUR which meant “to show special interest in things such as trees, astronomy, gems, medicine, sea, etc.” (PE17/152). Tolkien went on to say that, properly speaking, -(n)dil could apply only to persons and -(n)dur should be used of things, with names like Meneldil and Anardil being “Mannish” misuses of the suffix.

The root appeared again as √(N)DIL “to love, be devoted to” in the draft of a letter to Mr. Rang from 1967, where Tolkien clarified that it described “the attitude of one to a person, thing, course or occupation to which one is devoted for its own sake” (Let/386). This seems to be the only place where Tolkien clearly indicates the unstrengthened form is √DIL. Tolkien again clarified the distinction with √(N)DUR in a footnote:

> This provides the key to a large number of other Elvish Q. names, such as Elendil “Elf-friend” (eled+ndil), Valandil, Mardil the Good Steward (devoted to the House, sc. of the Kings) Meneldil “astronomer” etc. Of similar significance in names is -(n)dur, though properly this means “to serve”, 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. Compare among the variant names: Eärendur “(professional) mariner” (Let/386).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin I would leave the unstrengthened form of this root as √NIL to retain the use of ᴹ√DIL “stop up, fill up hole” from the 1930s. I would also assume that √N(D)IL mainly refers to “devotion”, as opposed to √(N)DUR which mainly refers to “service”. Hence Elendil = “Elf friend” but Valandur = “Servant of the Vala”.

-ye Reconstructed

suffix. feminine suffix

kyanat Reconstructed

root. harp

ilya

all

ilya adj. and noun "all" (LR:47, 56; SD:310), "all, the whole" (IL); "each, every, all of a particular group of things" (VT39:20); ilyë before a plural noun, "all" being inflected like an adjective (Nam, RGEO:67): ilyë tier "all paths" (Namárië, VT39:20), ilyë mahalmar "all thrones" (CO), ilya raxellor "from all dangers" (VT44:9; we might expect *ilyë raxellor here), ilyárëa (older ilyázëa) "daily, of every day" (evidently ilya "every" + árë, ázë "day" + -a adjectival ending) (VT43:18). Tolkien apparently abandoned ilyárëa in favour of ilaurëa, q.v.

-ldë

suffix. feminine agent

-llë

suffix. feminine agent

Some feminine agental suffixes were mentioned in Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s: -lle, -lde, and -nde, the first of which was an element in the name Tintallë (PE17/69). In NGS Tolkien said -lle was used less frequently as an agental suffix because -lle was also the 2nd person plural subject suffix “you (pl.)”. In fact, in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WP2) from this same period Tolkien considered changing Varda’s sobriquet to Tintalde (PE17/69).

However, in the late 1960s Tolkien decided the 2nd person plural suffix was actually -lde (VT49/16, 51), so presumably -lde would then be the less common agental suffix and -lle more common. Tolkien was considering -lde for 2nd plural as early as 1959, and in the 1959 page which specified -lde for 2nd plural, Tolkien also designated -lle for a feminine agent, the equivalent of masculine -ndo (PE17/190).

As for -nde, it was most notable as an element in Serindë “Broideress, Needlewoman” (S/63; MR/257; PM/333).

-ndë

suffix. feminine agent

am(il)ye

noun. *mummy

cendë

point

cendë noun "point" (PE16:96)

cendë

noun. point

A word for “point” in the glossary for the 1950s version of the Nieninquë poem, an element in pirucendëa “on the point of her toes” (PE16/96).

Conceptual Development: The word pirucendëa is a reinterpretation of the word ᴱQ. pirukendea “tripping lightly, whirling lightly” = “pirouetting” from the version of Nieninqe from around 1930 (MC/215; QL/74). The derivation of 1950s cende “point” isn’t clear since in Tolkien’s later writings the root √KEN means “see”, but it might be a later iteration of the word ᴱQ. kent “a sharp point” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√KENYE “prick” (QL/46).

il-

verb. no, *un-

il- (prefix) "no, *un-" (LA); cf. ilfirin "immortal" (vs. firin "dead"). This prefix "denotes the opposite, the reversal, i.e. more than the mere negation" (VT42:32). But il- can also mean "all, every"; see ilaurëa, ilqua, ilquen.

il-

prefix. every, *all

A prefixal form of √IL “all”, appearing as an element in words like ilquen “everybody” (WJ/372), illumë “always” (VT44/9), and ilaurëa “daily = (lit.) ✱of every day” (VT43/18).

Conceptual Development: In Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948, the prefix ᴹQ. il(u)- meant “all the, the whole, entire” (PE23/101), while ᴹQ. qa(qe)- meant “all, each, every”. However, in Tolkien’s later writings √KWA was glossed “whole, complete, all”, so it seems the meanings of the roots were reversed (VT47/7, 17).

illi

all

illi noun "all" (as independent noun, apparently treated as a plural form). Imb' illi "among all" (VT47:30)

illi

pronoun. all

A pronoun for “all” appearing in the phrase A ancalima imb’ illi “A [is] brightest among all” (PE17/91), presumably a plural variant of pronominal ilya “all”. I would use it when the referent is plural, as in Mana neri cennel? Cennen illi teo. “Which men did you see? I saw all of them.” Compare this to á anta ilya nin “give [it] all to me” referring to “all” as a collective, functionally singular.

ilyë

adjective. all

la

no, not

la negation "no, not" (see lá); also prefix la- as in lacarë, q.v. (VT45:25)

lá

no, not

lá (1) adv. "no, not" (LA, VT45:25) According to VT42:33, lá is the stressed form, alternating with la when the negation is unstressed. In another conceptual phase of Tolkien's, lá had the opposite meaning "yes" (VT42:32-33), but this idea is contradicted by both earlier and later material: usually lá is conceived as a negation. The negation can receive tense markers and be used as a negative verb "when [another] verb is not expressed" (VT49:13), apparently where the phrase "is not" is followed by a noun or an adjective as a predicate, or where some verb is understood, as in English "I do not" (i.e. "I do not do whatever the context indicates"). With pronominal endings la- in the aorist, e.g. lanyë "I do not, am not" (etc.) (Tolkien abandoned the form lamin.) Exemplified in the sentence melin sé apa lanyë hé *"I love him but I do not [love] him" (another person) (VT49:15). Present tense laia, past lánë, perfect alaië, future lauva.

lá

adverb. no, not

mamil

noun. *mummy

An affectionate address from 4-year old Ancalimë to her mother Erendis (UT/191). It appears nowhere else, and I recommend using Q. amya instead for as an affectionate word for “mother”.

mentë

point, end

mentë noun "point, end" (MET)

nanda-

verb. to harp

nanda- ("ñ")vb. "to harp" (ÑGAN/ÑGÁNAD)

tant(il)a

noun. harp

tilma

noun. point

ui

no

ui interjection "no" (originally an endingless negative verb in the 3rd person aorist: "it is not [so]"; see #u-). Apparently this is the word for "no" used to deny that something is true (compare vá, which is rather used to reject orders, or to issue negative orders). (VT49:28) Compare uito.

alaica

adjective. blunt

hessa

adjective. withered, dead

-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.

-î

suffix. feminine suffix

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

katha

adjective. all

A word translated “all” in the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/288, VT24/12). This word appeared in the form kâtha in the final typescript version of the Lament (SD/247), but in all other instances appeared as katha. If the final typescript is later than the final manuscript, kâtha may be its final form, but I believe that the manuscript was later, and katha better matches its appearance as an element in kathuphazgân “conqueror” (SD/429). This last example is interesting in that it is an example of an adjective declined into the objective case.

-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 th was one of the “favoured” feminine consonants (SD/427).

snǣs

noun. spear-head, point, gore, triangle

Original form not entirely clear; the stem is SNAS/SNAT (LR:387), not defined but evidently to be understood as a strengthened form of NAS "point, sharp end" (LR:374). A primitive plural form natsai is mentioned under SNAS/SNAT; snǣs may derive from something like snatsâ via snats, *snas. The shift of original a to long ǣ (presumably the same vowel as in English cat, but longer) is found in this word only, but there are several examples of e from a, see spenna, scella. Perhaps a became ǣ in stressed monosyllables where there was no following consonant cluster (as in nand).