conj. and. a/adh before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> a, ad, adh
Sindarin
ad
conjunction. and
ada
conjunction. and
adh
conjunction. and
ad-
prefix. back, again, re-
-ad
suffix. dual
The Sindarin dual was almost certainly derived from the same primitive form ✶ata as the Quenya dual ending -t, indicating this ending was ancient in form. The other Quenya dual, -u, would not have been active in Sindarin since final vowels were lost.
Tolkien stated (Let/427) that this ending was archaic and lost, but did not state when it disappeared. The ending may have still been active in the First Age. The ending appears in the day-name Orgaladhad “Day of the Two Trees”. Since the Sindar had no direct experience with the trees, this word was likely adopted from its Quenya cognate Aldúya when the Noldor and Sindar were reunited.
-ad
suffix. noun-suffix
canad
cardinal. four
-ad
suffix. gerund
canad
cardinal. four
tadeg
ordinal. second
tadui
ordinal. second
tadui
ordinal. second
ad
again
(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".
ad
back
(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "second, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".
ad
re-
(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, again, second"
ad
second
(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "Reunion", and also in the term for
ad
against
(prep.) 1) ad (probably followed by soft mutation), 2)
ad
again
also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".
ad
back
also meaning "second, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".
ad
second
also meaning "back, again, re-", e.g. aderthad "Reunion", and also in the term for
ad
re
also meaning "back, again, second"
ad
against
(probably followed by soft mutation)
aduial
second twilight
(evendim, the time of evening when the stars come out), pl. aduiail.
a
and
Ídh
and
a
conjunction. and
See ah for the form that this conjunction might take before a vowel
a
and
conj. and. About his mutation, see PE17:145.
a
conjunction. and
conj. and. Pedo mellon a minno! 'Say friend and enter'. Q. ar
ah
conjunction. and
ar
conjunction. and
See ah for the form that this conjunction might take before a vowel
ar
conjunction. and, and, [G.] too, besides
Ídh
and
{ð}_ conj. _and. It was not mutated before vowels. >> a
Ídh
and
{ð} conj. and. About his mutation, see PE17:145.
canad
cardinal. four
canad;
tadui
second
(adjective) 1) tadui (lenited dadui; no distinct pl. form), 2) edwen (pl. edwin).
tadui
second
(lenited dadui; no distinct pl. form)
canad
four
;
lathr(ad)a-
verb. to listen in, eavesdrop
a
conjunction. and; †by, near, beside
In The Lord of the Rings, the Sindarin conjuction for “and” was a, as seen in the famous phrase from the Moria Gate Inscription: pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter” (LotR/305).
Conceptual Development: In Tolkien’s earlier writings, the word for “and” was usually ar, consistent with the usual Quenya form of this word: Q. ar. The first appearance of this form of the word was in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, which had G. ar “and, too” (GL/20). This version of “and” appeared in numerous phrases from the 1920s-50s, that latest being the Sindarin version of the Lord’s Prayer: Ae Adar Nín from the mid-1950s (VT44/21).
In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s, however, Tolkien introduced a “and” in the initial versions of the gate inscription (TI/182). He gradually transitioned to the a version over the next few years.
Possible Etymologies: It is not obvious what Tolkien intended the etymology of S. a “and” to be when he first introduced it. He did revisit the question in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where he considered two primitive forms: ✶as(a) and ✶ad(a) (PE17/41). In both cases, the consonant of the primitive word would vanish if the following word began with a consonant, either as > ah > a or ad > að > a. However, there would be remnants of the primitive consonant before words beginning with a vowel, such as ah Edhel or að Edhel “and an Elf”. This is similar to how the English indefinite article “a” is “a” before a consonant but “an” before a vowel.
In the previously mentioned note Tolkien eventually settled on a(ð), and this was also the etymology of “and” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/145). In writings elsewhere Tolkien seems to have used a(h). For example, ah appeared in the phrase Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth “The Debate of Finrod and Andreth” written around 1959 (MR/329). In notes from 1968, Tolkien had Common Eldarin as “and” producing S. ah which became a before consonants (VT43/30).
Possible Mutations: In notes from 1969, Tolkien said that conjunctions like “and, or” induced mutation in Sindarin (PE23/142). The exact mutation would depend on the etymology of the word. The a(ð)-variant would induce stop mutation and the a(h)-variant would induce sibilant mutation, as described in Tolkien’s notes on the etymology of this word mentioned above (PE17/41).
One complication for the etymology of a was the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west” (LotR/953). Here the name Perhael “Samwise” clearly undergoes soft mutation. Tolkien noticed this in his notes on the phrase, saying: “a·Berhael. ‘And’ cannot therefore be [derived from] arĭ! aŋa. ā̆. {an >>} ŋ̃a [and later in the same context] ‘And’ ad(a). Q ar. N [sic., should be S] a(ð). a, að before vowel. with soft mutation” (PE17/102).
However, there are no signs of soft mutation after a in other phrases like pedo mellon a minno [rather than vinno] (LotR/305) or si loth a galadh lasto dîn [rather than ’aladh] (LB/354). The earlier ar-variant also seems not to have induced mutation in some documents, such as the King’s Letter [ar Hîr; ar Meril] (SD/128) or Ae Adar Nín [ar díheno] (VT44/21, 28-29).
In the previously mentioned notes on Daur a Berhael, Tolkien seems to have considered another explanation where Daur “Frodo” was also a mutation, with an unmutated form Taur (PE17/102). If so, it may be that the mutations in Daur a Berhael are the result of some other grammatical operation rather than the normal mutation of a “and”.
Other than Daur a Berhael, the only clear example of consonant mutation after the conjunction “and” is ar·phent Rían... “✱and Rían said” from the Túrin Wrapper from the early 1950s (VT50/5). This seems to be an example of liquid mutation for the ar-version of this word.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer the a(h)-variant for Sindarin “and”, with sibilant mutation before consonants and ah before vowels. This variant appears in notes from 1968 (VT43/30) and the sibilant mutation occurs only before words beginning with p, t, c, h (→ ph, th, ch, ch) and l, r (→ lh, rh). That means conflict with unmutated examples is minimized. In earlier versions of Eldamo I recommended ignoring mutation entirely for a(h), but since PE23 made it clear that conjunctions induce mutation I now recommend the “least disruptive” mutation: sibilant mutation.
This means a separate explanation is required for Daur a Berhael. For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I assume that soft mutation is used as a marker for Sindarin direct objects, even when those objects do not immediately follow the verb. Thus I assume Daur a Berhael are soft mutations of Taur “Frodo” and Perhael “Samwise” because they are the objects of the verb eglorio “glorify” in the phrase Daur a Berhael, Conin en Annûn, eglerio “Frodo and Sam, princes of the west, glorify (them)”.
Bear in mind that this system is based on a very small number of examples, and could be overturned by new publications.
a
and
a, or ah when the next word begins in a vowel: Finrod ah Andreth, Finrod and Andreth. In some sources, Tolkien uses ar as the conjunction "and", but a(h) would seem to be the proper Sindarin form.
a
and
or ah when the next word begins in a vowel: Finrod ah Andreth, Finrod and Andreth. In some sources, Tolkien uses ar as the conjunction "and", but a(h) would seem to be the proper Sindarin form.
taer
adjective. lofty
A Sindarin word for “lofty” mentioned as the equivalent of Q. tára “tall”, proof that the primitive form was ✶tagra < √TAƷ since aʒr > air and then aer in Sindarin, but aʒr > ār in Quenya (PE17/186).
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had ON. tōra “lofty” as the equivalent of ᴹQ. tára “lofty, high” under the root ᴹ√TĀ/TAƷ (Ety/TĀ; EtyAC/TĀ), but due to differences in the primitive form in ᴹ✶tārā in the 1930s, this produced N. taur which blended with primitive ᴹ✶taurā < ᴹ√TUR to gain the senses “vast, mighty, overwhelming, awful; high, sublime” (Ety/TUR).
Earlier still, the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. dara “lofty” (GL/29) equivalent to ᴱQ. tára “lofty” (QL/87). In this period the root likely began with D, as in ✱ᴱ√DAHA, since in Early Qenya of the 1910s, primitive initial voiced stops were unvoiced [ᴱ✶d- > ᴱQ. t-].
ah
preposition/conjunction. and, with
The title Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth is translated as "converse of Finrod and Andreth", but some scholars actually believe this word to be unrelated with the conjunction a.1 , ar "and", and they render it as "with". Other scholars consider that "and" and "with" (in the comitative sense) are not exclusive of each other, and regard ah as the form taken by this conjunction before a vowel. That a, ar and ah are etymologically related has finally been confirmed in VT/43:29-30. Compare also with Welsh, where the coordination "and" also takes different forms whether it occurs before a vowel or a consonant (respectively ac and a). In written Welsh, a often triggers the aspirate mutation: bara a chaws "bread and cheese". This usage is seldom applied in colloquial Welsh (Modern Welsh §510)
raud
lofty
taer
lofty
adj. lofty. Q. tāra.
-ed
suffix. gerund
an
to
(adverbial prefix) an-. 3)
cannui
fourth
. The reading in VT42:25 is "canthui", but the phonology presupposed in LotR would require ✱cannui. David Salo regards "canthui" as a dialectal form.
athrabeth finrod ah andreth
The Debate of Finrod and Andreth
edwen
ordinal. second
naur dan i ngaurhoth
*fire [be] against the wolf-horde
@@@ for gloss, compare to naur an edraith ammen “fire [be] for rescue/saving us” (PE17/38).
an
preposition. to, towards, for
With suffixed article and elision in aglar'ni Pheriannath
an
to
_ prep. _to, for. naur an edraith ammen! 'fire [be] for rescue/saving for us'. aglar an|i Pheriannath 'glory to all the Halflings'.
cened
ordinal. four
dan
preposition. against
dan
preposition. etym. back
edwen
ordinal. second
na
to
e _ prep. _to, towards (of spacetime). n' before vowels. >> nan 2
na
preposition. to
prep. to Na-chaered palan-díriel lit. "To-distance (remote) after-gazing" >> na-chaered, nan 2
taid
adjective. second (in the sense of supporting, second in command)
an
to
(prep.) an (+ nasal mutation), with article ni "to the" (+ nasal mutation in plural).
arth
lofty
- arth (noble, exalted), pl. erth, 2) brand (high, noble, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind, 3) orchall (superior, eminent), pl. erchail (for archaic örchail), 4) taur (also tor-, tar- in compounds) (high, sublime, noble; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”.
arth
lofty
(noble, exalted), pl. erth
brand
lofty
(high, noble, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind
canath
fourth part
(i ganath, o chanath) (farthing), pl. cenaith (i chenaith). As coin, the fourth part of the more valuable coin called mirian. (PM:45)
dan
back
(prep.) dan (lenited nan) (again, against);
dan
back
(lenited nan) (again, against);
dan
again, against
(lenited nan) (back). As prep. maybe followed by soft mutation.
eden
begun again
(new), pl. edin
edwen
second
(pl. edwin).
orchall
lofty
(superior, eminent), pl. erchail (for archaic örchail)
taur
lofty
(also tor-, tar- in compounds) (high, sublime, noble; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”.
conj. and. a/adh before vowel, with soft mutation. Q. ar. >> a, ada, adh