-main

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -men

main

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

main

adjective. prime, chief, pre-eminent

A word for “prime, chief, pre-eminent” appearing in notes from the late 1960s derived originally from mein < ✶minya “first” but drifting in meaning (VT42/25). The word for “first” became minui.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had adjective G. thegin “leading, chief” related to the noun G. thegor “chief” (GL/72).

min

adjective. our

main

chief

(adj.) main (lenited vain; pl. mîn) (prime, prominent) (VT45:15)

main

prime

main (lenited vain; pl. mîn) (chief, prominent) (VT45:15)

main

prominent

main (lenited vain; pl. mîn) (prime, chief) (VT45:15)

main

chief

(lenited vain; pl. mîn) (prime, prominent) (VT45:15)

main

prime

(lenited vain; pl. mîn) (chief, prominent) (VT45:15)

main

prominent

(lenited vain; pl. mîn) (prime, chief) (VT45:15)

-men

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. our.Maybe the excl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -em_. >> -em, -main

-enc

suffix. our

_1st pl. poss. suff. _our.Maybe the incl. form of this suff. See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46.

mein

ordinal. first, (only in the sense of) prime, chief, pre-eminent

mein Archaic

ordinal. first

minui

ordinal. first

minui

ordinal. first

The ususal Sindarin word for “first” appearing in notes from the late 1960s, replacing more archaic †mein that was a direct cognate of Q. minya “first” (VT42/10, 25). It is a combination of min “one” and the adjectival suffix -ui.

Conceptual Development: The word N. ereg “first” appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s as the initial version of the river-name S. Erui (TI/312). The Etymologies of the 1930s had various rejected words for “first” tied to variations on Firstborn as a title of the Elves: N. edhen “first” under rejected entry ᴹ√EDE or ᴹ√EDEL “precede, come forward” (EtyAC/EDE) and N. seth “first” {>> “forth”} under rejected ᴹ√SET “precede forward” (EtyAC/SET). The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. thegra “first, foremost” related to G. thegor “chief” (GL/72).

mín

adjective. our

mín

pronoun. our

ned

noun. first, *one more; first; *during

This word replaced the preposition uin “of the” in the third version of the King’s Letter, appearing in the phrase nelchaenen ned Echuir “the thirty-first day of Stirring”. Both Carl Hostetter (VT31/30) and David Salo (SG/229) theorized that this replacement has a similar prepositional function, from either √NOT “count” or √NED “middle”. Fiona Jallings suggested it might be a temporal preposition, with sense “during” (FJNS/349).

On VT47/40, note 67, Patrick Wynne suggested that this word might be a cognate of the newly published Quenya word net(ë) “one more”. This theory is supported by the most likely interpretation of nelchaenen. This word seems to mean “thirtieth” rather than “thirty-first”, and Patrick Wynne suggested that nelchaenen ned means “thirtieth and one more” = “thirty-first”. I find this theory the most compelling, and use it here.

erui

first

(single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

mann

food

(i vann, construct man), pl. main (i main) (VT45:35).

minui

first

1. minui (lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form), 2) mîn (lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”; 3) erui (single, alone). No distinct pl. form. Some would argue that Tolkien abandoned erui as a word for ”first”.

minui

first

(lenited vinui; no distinct pl. form)

mân

departed spirit

(i vân, construct man), pl. main (i main)

mîn

first

(lenited vîn; no distinct pl. form) (isolated, towering). Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the number ”one”

vín

our

vín; see WE

vín

our

; see

-ma

suffix. instrumental (draft)

The suffix used for the draft-instrumental case, translated “with” (SD/438). In a later conceptual stage, it became the ordinary prepositional suffix -mâ. Carl Hostetter and Partick Wynne suggested (VSH/33, AAD/19) that the deleted form -men on SD/311 is a separate prepositional suffix “on” related to ᴹQ. men “place”, but I believe it is a variant of the plural instrumental form -main.

edhen

adjective. first

ereg

place name. First

Earlier name for the river S. Erui from Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, apparently a Noldorin word meaning ereg “first” (TI/312, WR/436).

ereg

adjective. first

minya

ordinal. first

tolya

adjective. prominent

minya

ordinal. first

#turco

chief

#turco (1) noun "chief" (isolated from Turcomund "chief bull", Letters:423). Turco, masc. name, see Turcafinwë.

-lma

our

-lma pronominal ending "our", 1st person pl. exclusive (VT49:16), also attested (with the genitive ending -o that displaces final -a) in the word omentielmo "of our meeting" (nominative omentielma, PE17:58). Tolkien emended omentielmo to omentielvo in the Second Edition of LotR, reflecting a revision of the Quenya pronominal system (cf. VT49:38, 49, Letters:447). The cluster -lm- in the endings for inclusive "we/our" was altered to -lv- (VT43:14). In the revised system, -lma should apparently signify exclusive "our".

-lwa

our

-lwa, possessive pronominal ending, 1st person pl. inclusive "our" (VT49:16), later (in exilic Quenya) used in the form #-lva, genitive -lvo in omentielvo (see -lv-).

-mma

our

-mma "our", 1st person dual exlusive possessive ending: *"my and one others" (VT49:16). At an earlier conceptual phase, Tolkien apparently intended the same ending to be plural inclusive "our" (VT49:55, RS:324), cf. Mélamarimma "Our Home" (q.v.) In the latter word, Tolkien slips in i as a connecting vowel before this ending; elsewhere he used e, as in Átaremma "our Father" (see atar).

-ngwa

our

-ngwa "our", 1st person dual inclusive possessive pronominal ending: *"thy and my", corresponding to the ending -ngwë for dual inclusive "we" (VT49:16)

Ingwë

chief

Ingwë masc. name, "chief", name of the "prince of Elves" _(PM:340, ING, WEG, VT45:18). Pl. Ingwer "Chieftains", what the Vanyar called themselves (so in PM:340, but in PM:332 the plural has the more regular form Ingwi). Ingwë Ingweron "chief of the chieftains", proper title of Ingwë as high king (PM:340)_. In the Etymologies, Ingwë is also said to be the name of a symbol used in writing: a short carrier with an i-tehta above it, denoting short i (VT45:18).

enna

first

[enna adj. "first" (VT45:12)]

esta

first

esta (2) adj. "first" (ESE/ESET); this entry was marked with a query. The word Yestarë (q.v.) "Beginning-day" in LotR suggests that Tolkien decided to change the stem in question to _YESE/YESET_. We could then read *yesta for esta (but later this became a noun "beginning" rather than an adj. "first", PE17:120) and also prefix a y to the other words derived from ESE/ESET (essë* > yessë, essëa > yessëa). Estanossë noun "the firstborn", read likewise Yestanossë** (*Yestanessi?) but in a later text, Tolkien used Minnónar (q.v.) for "the Firstborn" as a name of the Elves, and this form may be preferred. _(In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word _Estanossë is cited as "Estanesse", but according to VT45:12, the second-to-last vowel is actually o in Tolkien's manuscript.)

eteminya

prominent

eteminya adj. "prominent" (VT42:24)

eteminya

adjective. prominent, prominent, *eminent

A word for “prominent” in notes from the late 1960s, a combination of et(e)- “out” and minya “first” (VT42/24).

héra

chief, principal

héra adj. "chief, principal" (KHER)

inga

first

inga (2) adj. "first" (ING)

ingwë

masculine name. Chief

Lord of the first tribe of the Elves and the high king of Elvenkind (S/52, 62). His name is ancient and its original meaning is unclear, but it is sometimes translated as “Chief”, and is interpreted as a combination of the root √ING “first, foremost” and the suffix -wë common in ancient names (PM/340).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this character was first named ᴱQ. Ing, but this was soon changed to ᴱQ. Inwe (LT1/22). The form become ᴹQ. Ingwe in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/13, LR/214), and the derivation for Ingwë discussed above had already emerged in The Etymologies (Ety/ING, WEG).

mai-

verb. to have, possess

An irregular verb for “have, possessive” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/148). The section where it appeared was struck through (PE22/148 note #24). It may have been supplanted by öa- “possess, own, keep” from the same bundle of documents (PE22/151).

menya

our

menya (pl. menyë is attested) possessive pron. "our", 1st person pl. exclusive independent possessive pronoun (VT43:19, 35). Evidently derived from the dative form men "for us" by adding the adjectival ending -ya. Compare ninya, q.v.

minda

prominent, conspicuous

minda adj. "prominent, conspicuous" (MINI)

minya

first

minya adj. "first" (MINI) (cf. Minyatur, Minyon); "eminent, prominent" (VT42:24, 25). Minyar "Firsts", the original name of the Vanyar (or rather the direct Quenya descendant of the original Primitive Quendian name) (WJ:380)

má

noun. hand

The most common Quenya word for “hand”, which Tolkien usually derived from a root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield”. The weak consonant h or ʒ in the root was lost very early, so that primitive ✶mā was one of a rare set of ancient monosyllabic nouns ending in a vowel. Tolkien said that of the various hand words, má was “the oldest (probably) and the one that retained a general and unspecialized sense - referring to the entire hand (including wrist) in any attitude or function” (VT47/6).

As a part of the body, má “hand” was usually referred to in the singular (má) or dual (mát). This was true when referring to the hands of groups of people as well. For example, to say that “the Elves raised their hands”, you would say either i Eldar ortaner mánta (singular, one hand each) or i Eldar ortaner mántat (dual, both hands each), with the possessive suffix -nta “their”.

The plural form már “hands” (or archaic †mai) was almost never used, in part because it conflicted with Q. már “dwelling”. The singular form was also used in general statements and proverbs: “hand is cleverer than foot” má anfinya epe tál (ná). A collection of otherwise unrelated hands would likely use the partitive-plural form: máli “some hands”, which in this case could also serve as the general plural (VT47/12 Note 2). See the discussions on PE17/161 and VT47/6 for more information.

This word is also unusual in that it retains its long vowel before consonant clusters in inflected forms such as mánta “their hand” (PE17/161) or márya “his/her hand” (PE17/69). As Tolkien described it:

> Lá is usually shortened to la before 2 consonants, according to the usual Q. procedure, but the long vowel can be retained, especially for additional emphasis, as in other cases where pronominal affixes follow a long vowel, as in márya “his hand” (PE22/160).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to ᴱQ. mā “hand” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” (QL/57). ᴹQ. má “hand” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien mentioned this word with great frequency, usually derived from √MAH or √MAƷ (as noted above) though he sometimes considered deriving it from √MAG instead.

setta

first

[setta, setya adj. "first" (possibly also "primary", but Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible) (VT46:13)]

solma

noun. hall, chamber, [main or entry] hall, chamber

A word in 1965 notes on the Lives of the Númenóreans, glossed as “hall” (NM/326) and “chamber” (NM/337). Based on the context where it appeared, it may not simply be an arbitrary chamber, but rather the main or entry chamber to a house. As Tolkien described it: “they were often welcomed to the central solma or hall, where the chief fire burned” (NM/326). For purposes of Neo-Quenya, this is my preferred reading, to make this word more distinct from [ᴹQ.] sambe “room, chamber” (Ety/STAB).

turco

noun. chief

(cirya)talan

noun. deck (of a ship), main deck

A neologism coined by Parmandil posted on 2024-05-03 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of cirya “ship” and talan “platform”. The full form is ciryatalan, but it is possible to just use talan for “deck” if the context is clear.

héramat

noun. main course, (lit.) chief meal

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-01-14 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of [ᴹQ.] héra “chief” and [ᴹQ.] mat (matt-) “meal”.

tolya Reconstructed

adjective. prominent, prominent, *noticeable, standing out

A word for “prominent” in notes on numbers from the later 1960s, clearly based on √TOL “stand up, stick out” (VT47/16). I would use it for “prominent” in the sense “✱noticeable, standing out”, as opposed to eteminya for “prominent” = “eminent, superior”.