air

adjective. lonely

i mbair en ndengin

the houses of the Slain

thos

noun. puff (of air)

A noun in notes from around 1957, glossed “puff (of air)” and derived from √THU(S) “blow, cause an air movement” (NM/237).

lind

noun. song, chant, singing; singer, song, chant, singing, [N.] air, tune; [N. and S.] singer

gwelu

noun. air (as substance)

lind

noun. air, tune

gwelu

air

2) (as substance) gwelu (i **welu), analogical pl. gwely (in gwely) if there is a pl. The attested form is archaic gwelw** (LR:398 s.v. WIL). Hence the coll. pl. is likely *gwelwath, if there is a coll. pl..

gwelwen

air

1) (as a region) gwelwen (i **welwen), pl. gwelwin (in gwelwin), also gwilith (i **wilith), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwilith)

lind

air

3) (of music) lind (song, tune; singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath (WJ.309)

gwelu

air

(i ’welu), analogical pl. gwely (in gwely) if there is a pl. The attested form is archaic gwelw (LR:398 s.v. WIL). Hence the coll. pl. is likely ✱gwelwath, if there is a coll. pl..

gwelwen

air

(i ’welwen), pl. gwelwin (in gwelwin), also gwilith (i ’wilith), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwilith)

lind

air

(song, tune; singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath (WJ.309)

gwiltha-

verb. to air, expose to air

gwelu

noun. air (as a substance)

bâr

noun. house, dwelling, home, house, dwelling, home; [N.] earth

The basic Sindarin word for “house, dwelling” derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell” (PE17/109; PE17/164). This Sindarin word (unlike its Quenya counterpart már) can also be used to refer to the “house” of a clan or family, as in Bar Bëora “House of Bëor” (WJ/230) and Narn e·mbar Hador “✱Tale of the House of Hador” (MR/373). It could also mean “-home (for a people)” in compound names for regions as in Eglamar “Home of the Eglain” and Brithombar (WJ/379; S/120), but it seems this use was archaic and in more recent names the trend was to use dôr “land” (PE17/164).

This word appears as both bâr with long â and bar with short a. As a general rule, it has a long â when used as an independent word, following the general Sindarin principle whereby short vowels (usually) lengthened in monosyllables. It has a short vowel when appearing in compounds or as a “pseudo-prefix” in names like Bar-en-Danwedh “House of Ransom” (S/203).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where (adverbial?) G. bar appeared as a variant of G. barthi or barai “at home, home” (GL/21). In the Gnomish Lexicon its noun form seems to be G. bara “home” (GL/21), but in the contemporaneous Gnomish Grammar it was bar “home” (GG/8). These Gnomish words were all derived from the early root ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live” (QL/63).

In Gnomish Lexicon slips, Tolkien modified the word to G. bawr “house” derived from primitive ᴱ✶mbāră (PE13/116). In the Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin Tolkien had G. bar “dwelling” (PE15/21). In the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s it was ᴱN. bâr “house”, though a change in its mutated form {i·bhar >>} i·mâr indicates some vacillation on its primitive form (PE13/120 and note #2). In Early Noldorin word-lists of this period it was bar “house” (PE13/138).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was N. bár “home” written in the margin next to the root ᴹ√MBAR “dwell, inhabit” (EtyAC/MBAR), but it also meant “Earth” in the name N. Barthan “Earth-smith” (Ety/TAN). In later notes (date unknown) this name was S. Barthan “World-artificer” (LT1A/Talka Marda). In notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s it was †băr “home”, which became bār after vowels lengthened in monosyllables (PE22/36).

In notes from the 1960s, Tolkien described this word in some detail, first saying:

> In Sindarin bar [< ✱mbăr-] (pl. bair) was used for a single house or dwelling, especially of the larger and more permanent sort; barð [< ✱mbardā̆] was much as English “home”, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in (PE17/164).

Here it seems bar = “house, dwelling” but bardh = “home”. However, in a later iteration of these notes Tolkien said:

> There were thus tendencies both (a) for Noldorin terms for things peculiar to their culture to be translated into Sindarin forms or imitated ... Examples ... were (a) the use of Sindarin bâr (< ✱mbăr(a)) for “house” a settled built dwelling of a family, larger or smaller: in true Sindarin use it only denoted a small area in which some group had at last settled more or less permanently (PE17/164).

This was revised slightly to read:

> There was thus a tendency: (a) for Noldorin words and terms for things peculiar to their culture to be translated into Sindarin, or imitated ... Examples of these processes are: (a) the use of Sindarin bâr (< ✱mbăr(a)) for “house”: the permanent building serving as the home of a family, larger or smaller, though in genuine older Sindarin use this word referred to a (small) area, in which some group had at last settled, more or less permanently (PE17/164).

Both these later paragraph imply that the original sense of Sindarin bâr was something like “✱settlement (of a group or community)” but came to mean “house, dwelling” under the influence of Quenya már.

Of its uses in compounds Tolkien said:

> This was also in old compounds used (like Q -mar) for a region, but not in ordinary language ... Only in old names was -bar used like Q -mar for a region inhabited by a people. For this Sindarin used usually -dor (< ndor) “land” (PE17/165).

aearon

ocean

_n. _ocean. Augmentative form of _aear _Sea. Q. earon, airon. nef aear, sí nef aearon lit. 'beyond the Sea, here beyond the Great Sea'. >> aear

bardh

noun. home

A word for “home” appearing in draft notes from the 1960s discussing the root √MBAR, where it was contrasted with bâr “house, dwelling”:

> In Sindarin bar [< ✱mbăr-] (pl. bair) was used for a single house or dwelling, especially of the larger and more permanent sort; barð [< ✱mbardā̆] was much as English “home”, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in (PE17/164).

It was also contrasted with milbar “dear home” which was used for the “emotional senses ‘home’ as the place of one’s birth, or desire, or one’s home returned to after journey or exile” (PE17/164). In later versions of these notes on √MBAR, Tolkien mentioned bâr and milbar but not bardh (PE17/109).

Neo-Sindarin: Given its absence from the final version of the √MBAR notes, it is possible Tolkien abandoned bardh “home”. However, I prefer to retain it for purposes of Neo-Sindarin for the ordinary sense of “home”, and reserve milbar for one’s “emotional home” or “✱true home” from which one is currently separated, as opposed to the home that you are living now = bardh. I would use bâr primarily in the sense “house, dwelling”.

gaearon

ocean

_n. _ocean. Augmentative form of _gaear _Sea. Q. earon, airon. >> gaear

gaer

Sea

_n._Sea, especially the Great (Western) Sea. Shorter form of gaear.Q. aire (obsolete). >> aear, gaear

gwilwist

noun. weather

A neologism for “weather” coined by Elaran inspired by ᴺQ. vilwis(të) of the same meaning. The Sindarin form is a combination of ᴹ√WIL the root of “air” words and ᴺS. gwist (†wistë) “change”, literally “✱air-change” or “✱atmosphere-change”.

glîr

song

1) glîr (i **lîr, construct glir) (poem, lay), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath. 2) laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”summer”. 3) lind (air, tune; also = singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form (WJ.309). See also HYMN regarding the word aerlinn**.

glîr

song

(i ’lîr, construct glir) (poem, lay), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath. 2)  laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”summer”. 3) lind (air, tune; also = singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form (WJ.309). See also

gaear

noun. sea

A word for “sea” variously attested as gaear (PE17/027; PM/363; WJ/400), gaer (PE17/27; PE17/149), and aear (Let/386; RGEO/65) in later writings. Of these, I prefer gaear for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, reduced to gaer in compounds.

Possible Etymology: The presence or absence of the initial g- depends on whether the word’s root is √AY(AR) (as it appears in The Etymologies and some later writings) or √GAY(AR) (as it appears in other later writings). See the entry of the root √GAY(AR) for a discussion of this vacillation. Similarly, the form gaer appears primarily as an element in compounds, and can be explained as a reduced form of gaear in that context. For these reasons, this entry uses gaear as the ordinary Sindarin word for “sea”. This has the additional advantage of disambiguating it from the adjective gaer “dreadful”.

Conceptual Development: This word appeared as N. oer or oear “sea” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, reflecting the Noldorin sound change of ai to oe (Ety/AY). However name for the “Great Sea” was N. {Belegar >>} Belegaer in the narratives of this period (LR/19), and the name N. Rhûnaer “Eastern Sea” appeared in draft Lord of the Rings maps from 1943 (TI/307). The element N. oer did appear in the day-of-the-week name N. Aroeren “✱Sea-day” in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices, but this was revised to S. Oraeron (PM/130, 138).

aear

sea

aear (ocean); pl. aeair. The shorter form aer (for N oer) is maybe best avoided since it can be confused with aer "holy", unless the latter is actually a lenited form of gaer. Forms with g-, representing an alternative concept of the word for ”sea”: gaear (i **aear) (ocean), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair = i ñaeair) (PM:363), also gaer (i **aer, no distinct pl. form except with article: i ngaer = i ñaer), but homophones of the latter mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "dreadful, awful, fearful; holy".

aear

ocean

aear (sea), pl. aeair.

bâr

home

bâr (dwelling, house, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

gaear

ocean

gaear (i **aear) (sea), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair** = i ñaeair).

aear

sea

(ocean); pl. aeair. The shorter form aer (for N oer) is maybe best avoided since it can be confused with aer "holy", unless the latter is actually a lenited form of gaer. Forms with g-, representing an alternative concept of the word for ”sea”: gaear (i ’aear) (ocean), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair = i ñaeair) (PM:363), also gaer (i ’aer, no distinct pl. form except with article: i ngaer = i ñaer), but homophones of the latter mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "dreadful, awful, fearful; holy".

aear

ocean

(sea), pl. aeair.

bâr

home

(dwelling, house, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

gaear

ocean

(i ’aear) (sea), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair = i ñaeair).

ereb

lonely

ereb (isolated), pl. erib

gaer

holy

gaer (awful, fearful); lenited aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".

had

hurl

had- (i châd, i chedir), pa.t. hant, with endings hanni- as in hennin *”I hurled”.

hethu

vague

*hethu (foggy, obscure), analogical pl. hethy; lenited chethu. Cited in archaic form hethw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH)

hwest

breeze

hwest (i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breath), pl. hwist (i chwist)

renia

fly

1) renia- (sail, wander, stray) (i renia, idh reniar), 2)

rib

fly

rib- (i rîb, idh ribir) (rush, fling)

Menel

noun. sky, high heaven, firmament, the region of the stars

aear

noun. sea

Tolkien changed this word several times, see gaear

aear

Sea

_n. _Sea, especially the Great (Western) Sea. Q. ear. nef aear, sí nef aearon lit. 'beyond the Sea, here beyond the Great Sea'. >> gaear, gaer

aear

noun. sea

aearon

noun. great sea, ocean

Tolkien changed this word several times, see gaearon

aer

adjective. holy

aer

noun. sea

Tolkien changed this word several times, see aear , gaear

aerlinn

noun. (unknown meaning, perhaps a song about the sea, or possibly holy song)

bar

noun. house, dwelling, home

bardh

home

{ð}_ n. _home, the (proper) place for one (or a community) to dwell in.

belegaer

noun. ocean

_ n. _ocean.

gaear

noun. sea

gaear

Sea

_n. _Sea, especially the Great (Western) Sea. Shorter form gaer. Q. ear. >> aear, gaer

gaearon

noun. great sea, ocean

gaer

noun. sea

gaer

noun. sea

gaer

ocean

_ n. _ocean.

gaeron

noun. great sea, ocean

gaeron

noun. ocean

_ n. _ocean.

hwa

breeze

n. #breeze. >> hwá

hwá

breeze

n. #breeze. >> hwa

laer

noun. song, long lay

laer

noun. song

lîr

noun. song, poem, lay

revia-

verb. to fly, sail

revia-

verb. to wander

ereb

lonely

(isolated), pl. erib

gaearon

great ocean

(i ‘Aearon), pl. Gaearyn (i Ngaearyn = i Ñaearyn) if there is a pl.

gaer

holy

(awful, fearful); lenited ’aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".

gwoe

noun. envelope

had

hurl

(i châd, i chedir), pa.t. hant, with endings hanni- as in hennin ✱”

hethu

vague

(foggy, obscure), analogical pl. hethy; lenited chethu. Cited in archaic form hethw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH)

hwest

breeze

(i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breath), pl. hwist (i chwist)

iaun

holy place

(fane, sanctuary), pl. ioen, coll. pl. ionath

renia

fly

(sail, wander, stray) (i renia, idh reniar)

rib

fly

(i rîb, idh ribir) (rush, fling)

tehar

noun. brick

airon

noun. ocean

An (archaic) word for “ocean”, an augmentative form of airë mentioned in a couple of later notes (PE17/27, 149). A more modern form is ëaron.

Conceptual Development: The form ᴹQ. airen appeared in parenthesis beside ᴹQ. aire “sea” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/AY). Helge Fauskanger suggested that it might be a genitive form (QQ/airë), but in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s, aire “sea” >> airen (PE22/23 note #70), suggesting it is an alternate (augmentative?) form. If so, it is probably a precursor to airon.

airë

noun. sea

An archaic word for “sea” which fell out of use to due conflict with “holy” words like aira or airë; it was a noun form of primitive ✶gaı̯ră (PE17/27). The more common modern word for “sea” is ëar.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. aire “sea” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√AYAR (Ety/AY); it appeared beside a form ᴹQ. airen that might be a genitive form, or might be a longer form; see the entry on ᴹQ. airon for discussion.

aira

holy

aira (2) adj. "holy"; see airë #1

airë

holy

airë (1) adj. "holy", #Airefëa "the Holy Spirit" (VT43:37, dative airefëan on the previous page), airetári or Airë Tári "holy queen" (a title of Varda, PM:363), genitive aire-tário "holy-queen's" (Nam, RGEO:67). However, according to PM:363, airë is the noun "sanctity", while aira is the adjective "holy". VT43:14 refers to an etymological note of "Sept.-Oct. 1957" where airë is said to be a noun "sanctity, holiness", and the adjective "holy" is given as airëa. However, the verb #airita- "hallow" seems to be formed from an adjective airë, airi- "holy". Evidently airë can function as both adjective ("holy") and noun ("holiness"); if so airë as adj. could represent a primitive adjective gaisi, whereas airë as noun may descend from gaisē. The former but not the latter would have the stem airi- (as observed in the derived verb #airita-), and compounds like airetári (rather than *airitári) would seem to contain properly the noun "holiness".

airë

sea

airë (2) noun "sea" (the form airen is given, intended as a genitive singular when Tolkien wrote this; in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be a dative sg.) (AYAR/AIR; cf. airon)

airëa

holy

airëa adj. "holy"; see airë.

airon

ocean

airon noun "ocean" (PE17:27). Also ëaron, q.v.

airen

noun. sea

nefítë

adjective. air-breathing

A word for “air-breathing” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, appearing in its plural for nefíti and as an element in yulunefítë “amphibious”, illustrating the use of the verbal suffix -itë for creating adjectives indicating one is capable of doing something (PE22/155). As such, it implies the existence of a verb ✱nef- “to breathe (air)”.

sussë

noun. puff (of air)

A noun in notes from around 1957, glossed “puff (of air)” and derived from √THU(S) “blow, cause an air movement” (NM/237).

Conceptual Development: The noun ᴱQ. pusse “a puff” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√PUSU of similar meaning, followed by a more elaborate form ᴱQ. pusilla “puff, whiff, breeze”, perhaps a diminutive (QL/76).

vilya

noun. air, sky

A word for “air” or “sky” appearing Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings from older †wilya, serving as the name of tengwa #24 [n] (LotR/1123). It is clearly a derivative of the root ᴹ√WIL (Ety/WIL). It has an abnormal plural form wilyar with initial w- in the 1950s version of the Nieninquë poem in the phrase yan i wilyar antar miquelis “✱to whom the air gives kisses” (PE16/96).

Conceptual Development: The notion of the “lower air” as a region dates all the way back to the earliest Lost Tales, where the innermost layer of air was called ᴱQ. Vilna (LT1/65). However, in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the term was ᴱQ. Vilya “air (lower)” as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√VILI (QL/101). The word vilya “lower air” appeared English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s but was deleted (PE15/68), and this term appeared as both the singular “air” and plural “airs” in version of Nieninqe and its drafts circa 1930: yan/yar i vilya(r) anta miqilis “to whom the air(s) give kisses” (MC/215; PE16/90, 92).

In the Ambarkanta of the early 1930s, the lower air was {Wilwa >>} Vista (SM/236, 240 note #1), but it was Wilwa again in the earliest tales of Númenor from the 1930s (LR/12) and was ᴹQ. {vilwa >>} wilma in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√WIL “fly, float in air” (Ety/WIL). Q. vilya “air, sky” in Appendix E seems to be the last iteration in this chain.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think vilya refers mainly to air as the region above the ground, as opposed to ᴹQ. vista “air (as a substance)”. You breath vista, but birds fly through vilya, and breezes flow through vilya like ripples in a lake.

vilya

proper name. (Ring) of Air

One of the three Elvish rings of power, the Ring of Air (S/288). It might simply be vilya “air” used as a name. However, given the pattern of names for the other Elvish rings, I think it is more likely to be an adjectival formation combining the root ᴹ√WIL and the adjectival suffix -ya.

Fanyamar

upper air

Fanyamar place-name referring to the "upper air" (SPAN), literally *"Cloudland"

hwesta

breeze, breath, puff of air

hwesta (1) noun "breeze, breath, puff of air" (SWES), also name of tengwa #12 (Appendix E, VT46:17); hwesta sindarinwa "Grey-elven hw", name of tengwa #34 (Appendix E).

hwesta

noun. breeze, breeze; [ᴹQ.] breath, puff of air

A noun in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings glossed “breeze”, the name of tengwa #12 [c] (LotR/1123).

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. hwesta “breath, breeze, puff of air” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√SWES “noise of blowing or breathing” (Ety/SWES).

lindë

air, tune, singing, song

lindë noun "air, tune, singing, song" (SA:gond, (LIN2, [GLIN]); lindelorendor "music-dream-land"; see laurelindórenan lindelorendor... _(LotR2:III ch. 4, cf. Letters:308). _Also compare lindi- in lindimaitar, q.v. (but the other compounds here cited do not give a lindë a stem-form lindi-).

vilwa

air, lower air

[vilwa < wilwa] noun "air, lower air" (distinct from the 'upper' air of the stars, or the 'outer') (WIL; in one place vilwa was not struck out, VT46:21) According to VT46:21, Tolkien considered vilda < wilda as a replacement form, but rejected it.

vilya

air, sky

vilya noun "air, sky", also name of tengwa #24. Older wilya. (Appendix E). Early "Qenya" has Vilya (changed from Vilna) "lower air" (LT1:273); also vilya "air" (MC:215)

vista

air as substance

vista (1) noun "air as substance" (WIS (WIL) )

wilma

air, lower air

wilma noun "air, lower air" (distinct from the 'upper' air of the stars, or the 'outer') (WIL)

lindë

noun. singing, song, musical sound, singing, song, musical sound; [ᴹQ.] air, tune

nefíte

adjective. air-breathing

nefíti kuimar

air-breathing animals

wilya

noun. air, sky

yan i wilyar antar miquelis

*to whom the air gives kisses

vilwis(të)

noun. weather, (lit.) turn of air

A neologism for “weather” coined by Tamas Ferencz, more literally “✱air-change” or “✱atmosphere-change”, a combination of vilya “air, sky”, and vistë (†wistë) “change”. It is properly vilwiste, but may be reduced to vilwis (vilwist-) in some circumstances.

sustar(o)

noun. bellows, device for blowing or pushing air in a forge, (lit.) blower

A neologism for “bellows” as in a “device for blowing or pushing air in a forge”, coined by Valerie and posted on 2025-03-01 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) as an agental form of susta- [þ] “blow”.

nef- Reconstructed

verb. to breathe (air)

quasil

noun. fan, a device used to stir air

A neologism coined by Orondil posted on 2025-04-10 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), an instrumental form based on the Neo-Root ᴺ√KWATH “shake”.

Aiwenor

birdland

Aiwenor, Aiwenorë (read *Aiwenórë?) place-name "Birdland" = lower air (AIWĒ)

Elenarda

star-kingdom

Elenarda place-name "Star-kingdom", upper sky (3AR). Deleted material in the Etymologies defined elenarda as "star-realm", "upper air or sky" (VT45:16). Compare elen, (h)arda.

aina

holy

aina (2) adj "holy" (AYAN), 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)

ilwë

sky, heavens

ilwë noun "sky, heavens" (LT1:255), "the middle air among the stars" (LT1:273). VT49:51, 53 also mentions an obscure prononominal element ilwë.

vaia

envelope

vaia < waia (also vaiya < waiya) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY). Cf. váya.

vaiya

envelope

vaiya < waiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY, capitalized Vaiya under GEY; the latter entry was struck out). In a "Qenya" text in MC:214, vaiya is simply translated "sky". In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, vaiya (/ waiya) was also the name of a tengwa letter that does not appear in Tolkien's later table, but which was apparently intended to have the value w > v, like the letter wilya > vilya in the later, canonical system (VT46:21). According to Arden R. Smith, the form of the pre-classical letter is a variant of #21, which letter Tolkien would later call vala (VT46:32).

waia

envelope

waia > vaia noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY) (also vaiya, waiya)

waiya

envelope

waiya > vaiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY)

wilwa

vague, fluttering to and fro

wilwa adj. "vague, fluttering to and fro" (_Markirya). _A similar word in the Etymologies was struck out: [wilwa > vilwa] "air, lower air" (distinct from the 'upper' air of the stars, or the 'outer') (WIL) According to VT46:21, Tolkien considered wilda > vilda as a replacement form, but rejected it.

ëar

sea

ëar noun "sea" (AYAR/AIR [gives also dat. sg. ëaren],WJ:413; see Letters:386 for etymology). Not to be confused with the pl. form of the verb ëa "be, exist". Pl. ëari "seas" (FS, LR:47); Eär "the Great Sea" (cf. ëaron "ocean"), ablative Eärello "from the Great Sea", et Eärello "out of the Great Sea" (EO). Eärë noun "the open sea" (SD:305). Compound ëaruilë noun "seaweed" (UY). Found in proper names like Eärendil "Sea-friend", Eärendur masc. name, *"Sea-servant"; in effect a variant of Eärendil(Appendix A). Eärendur was also used ="(professional) mariner" (Letters:386).Fem. name Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (Silm); Eärrámë "Sea-wing", "Wings of the Sea", name of Tuor's ship (RAM, AYAR/AIR, SA)

ëaron

ocean

ëaron noun "ocean" (PE17:27), also airon. Cf. ëar.

lírë

noun. song

aista

holy

aista (1) adj. "holy" (VT43:37)

eressëa

lonely

eressëa adj. "lonely" (ERE, LT1:269), "solitary" (cf. Letters:386). Eressëa place-name "Lonely (One)", often used by itself for Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle (Silm) or Solitary Isle (Letters:386, footnote)

eressëa

adjective. lonely

hellë

sky

hellë noun "sky" (3EL; a distinct word hellë "frost" was struck out, see KHEL.)

lírë

song

lírë noun "song", stem #líri- in the instrumental form lírinen "in [the] song" or *"by [the] song" (Nam, RGEO:67)

már

home, house, dwelling

már (mar-) (2) noun "home, house, dwelling" (also "house" in the sense of family as in Mardil, q.v.). See mar above for references. In Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil, and as final element in Eldamar, Fanyamar, Valimar, Vinyamar..

mélamar

home

mélamar noun "home", Exilic Quenya word of emotional sense: place of ones 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.

telar

brick

telar noun "brick" (PE13:153, PE16:138)

tsette

noun. fly

valcanë

vague

valcanë ("k") adj. "vague" (MC:213; this is "Qenya")

váya

sea

váya noun "sea" (considered as "waters, motion"). The wording of the source indicates that Tolkien only tentatively considered such a word (PE17:33)

vëa

sea

vëa (3) noun "sea" (MC:213, 214, 216; possibly obsoleted by #1 and #2 above, though some argue that the initial element of the late names Vëantur and Vëandur [q.v.] could be vëa #3 rather than #2 (it can hardly be #1) . In any case, the normal word for "sea" in LotR-style Quenya seems to be ëar.) Inflected vëan "sea" (MC:220), vëar "in sea" (a "Qenya" locative in -r, MC:213), vëassë "on sea" (MC:220). Cf. also vëaciryo.

waya

noun. ocean

wil-

verb. fly

wil- vb. "fly" (1st pers. aorist wilin "I fly"; changed from vilin pa.t. villë, which would be the forms used in later Exilic Quenya. The older pa.t. would be willë.) (WIL). The early "Qenya" lexicon haswili- "sail, float, fly" (LT1:273)

itsë

noun. fly

airō

noun. ocean

thū

root. blow, cause an air movement, blow, cause an air movement, [ᴹ√] puff

Tolkien used a variety of related roots for “wind” and “breath”, intermingled with the name Q. Súlimo, surname of Manwë. The earliest of these roots was ᴱ√SUHYU “air, breath, exhale, puff” with variants ᴱ√SUHU and ᴱ√SUFU from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, having derivatives like ᴱQ. sú “noise of wind”, ᴱQ. súma “nostril”, and ᴱQ. †súye “air, breezes, winds” (QL/86). Related forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon confirm that the root began with S-, such as: G. saul “a great wind”, G. sû, G. and sûtha- “blow (of wind)” (GL/67-68). In Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s Tolkien twice mentioned ᴱ√suru “(to) blow” as the basis for ᴱN. huiriaith “gale” (PE13/148, 163).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien instead had ᴹ√THŪ “puff, blow” with derivatives like ᴹQ. súle/N. thûl “breath” and ᴹQ. súya-/N. thuia- “breathe” (Ety/THŪ). A document grouped with Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 had an extensive discussion of Q. súlë “spirit; breath” where he gave the root as √THŪ with variant √SŪ (PE17/124). In notes on spirit from 1957, however, Tolkien indicated that √THŪ and √SŪ were similar but distinct roots, the former being “blow, cause an air movement” and the latter “blow, move with audible sound (of air)” (NM/237), that is the distinction being the absence or presense of sound. This document also noted various extensions to these base roots such as √THUS and √SUR of similar meaning (NM/237).

The root √SŪ was mentioned in Notes on Galdriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, along with extended form √SUR(U) serving as the basis for Q. súrë “wind” (PE17/62). In notes from the late 1960s, ✶sū was mentioned a couple times as an example of an ancient monosyllabic noun with the meaning “(noise of) wind” (VT47/12, 35). In one of these documents Tolkien clarified that base form ✶sū was “used only of the sound of wind; as noun [for actual ‘wind’] + r/l: suli, sur(i)” (VT47/12). Compare Q. súrë above as well as S. sûl “wind” (PE17/15; RC/778).

Thus it seems clear that Tolkien’s later writings, he had two distinct but related roots having to do with the movement of air: √THŪ “blow without sound, breath” and √SŪ “blow with sound, (noise of) wind”.

thus

root. evil mist, fog, darkness; blow, cause an air movement, blow, cause an air movement; [ᴹ√] *smell, stench; [√] evil mist, fog, darkness

thusta-

verb. to send on [a gust of air]

thūta-

verb. to send on [a gust of air]

sū

root. blow, move with audible sound (of air)

ay(ar)

root. sea

gwelw

noun. air (as a substance)

A noun appearing in The Etymologies of the 1930s as N. gwelw “air (as a substance)” derived from primitive ᴹ✶wilwā under the root ᴹ√WIL “fly, float in air” (Ety/WIL).

Conceptual Development: An earlier precursor is G. gwail “air” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√gu̯il (GL/45).

Neo-Sindarin: If adapted to Neo-Sindarin, this word would be ᴺS. gwelu as suggested in HSD (HSD).

gwilith

noun. air (as a region), air (as a region), *lower sky; [G.] breeze

An abstract noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “air as a region” under the root ᴹ√WIL (Ety/WIL). In other words, you breath N. gwelw (ᴺS. gwelu) “air as a substance”, but birds fly through gwilith, basically making it the lower sky below the clouds.

Conceptual Development: In Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, G. gwilith was “a breeze” (GL/45).

gwelwen

noun. air, lower air

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s given as the equivalent of ᴹQ. vilwa “lower air” under the root ᴹ√WIL (Ety/WIL). Since ᴹQ. vilwa was changed to wilma, I’d abandon this word and use N. gwilith instead.

lhinn

noun. air, tune

gwelw

noun. air (as substance)

gwelwen

noun. air, lower air (distinct from the upper air of the stars, or the outer)

gwilith

noun. air (as a region)

lhind

noun. air, tune

lhinn

noun. air, tune

ui

noun. envelope (especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls)

gilith

noun. region above air where stars are

cf. Q ilmen

ui

noun. envelope

A noun appearing as N. ui “envelope” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ON. uia < wōia [wǭia] < ᴹ✶wāyā under the root ᴹ√WAY of similar meaning (Ety/WAY). It was used “especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls”. In Noldorin of the 1930s, it seems the normal development of ancient āy was ui, with the initial w vanishing before u: wāyā > wǭia > uia > ui.

Neo-Sindarin: In Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s it seems ancient āy became oe, as with goe < ✶gāyā (PM/363). As such the initial w- from ✶wāya would survive to become gw-. Indeed, Tolkien had ancient ✱wāya become gwoe in notes from around 1957 attempting to derive an etymology for gwae “wind” (PE17/34). As such, I would adapt this Noldorin word as ᴺS. gwoe “envelope” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin. I would use it in the more general sense of “a thing enveloping something else”, and not just limited to envelopes used for letters.

oer

noun. sea

aer

noun. sea

ell

noun. sky

An element meaning “sky” in several names from The Etymologies of the 1930s: N. Elfaron “Sky-hunter” (Ety/SPAR) and N. Elthoron “Eagle of the Sky” (Ety/THOR). It was derived from the root ᴹ√ƷEL “sky” which had an Old Noldorin form: ON. elle (Ety/ƷEL). However, Tolkien said “In Noldorin and Telerin this is confused with EL star”, implying that the word was not used in modern language; an earlier but rejected version of this entry had archaic N. †ell, el “sky” (EtyAC/ƷEL).

Neo-Sindarin: Despite the above statements, ell is probably the best attested option for “sky” in Neo-Sindarin, and I would use it as such, since it is in fact distinct from S. êl “star”, a word that is itself archaic/poetic versus more common S. gil.

glîr

noun. song, poem, lay

had-

verb. to hurl

lhaer

noun. song, long lay

lhîr

noun. song, poem, lay

oear

noun. sea

oear

noun. sea

oer

noun. sea

rhevia-

verb. to fly, sail

rhevia-

verb. to wander

azra

noun. sea

The Adûnaic word for “sea” (SD/429), appearing as azar in some early texts (SD/305). It is fully declined on SD/431.

pharaz

noun. sea

A draft word for “sea”, deleted and replaced with azar (SD/305), which later become azra. This word reappeared later with a different meaning: pharaz “gold”.