am

up, up, [G.] upwards, towards head of, above

The basic Sindarin adverb and prefix for “up”, very well attested and derived from the root √AM of the same meaning. Since the m survives in this adverb, it must have been derived from amb- (PE22/35); compare its Quenya equivalent Q. amba.

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where G. am appeared as an adverb with the glosses “up, upwards, towards head of” (GL/19). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document, G. am was first glossed “above”, but was quickly revised to “above, up” (PE13/109). Starting with Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s and into The Etymologies of the 1930s, the gloss was only “up” (PE13/137, 159; Ety/AM²).

a pherhael ar am meril suilad uin aran o minas tirith nelchaenen ned echuir

to Samwise and Rose the King’s greeting from Minas Tirith, the thirty-first day of Stirring

am

upon

(prep.) am (probably followed by soft mutation)

am

going up

(adjectival prefix) am-

am

up, upward

(adv.) am (also used as prep. "upon"). GOING UP (or uprising) am- (adjectival prefix), as in:

am

adverb/adjective. more

am

upon

(probably followed by soft mutation)

am

going up

am

up, upward

(also used as prep. "upon").

amarthan

fated

amarthan (pl. emerthain)

ambenn

uphill

(adj.) ambenn (sloping upward), pl. embinn,

amrûn

uprising

(noun) amrûn (sunrise, orient, east), pl. emrŷn

amarth

fate

(doom), pl. emerth; also manadh (i vanadh) (doom, final end, fortune [usually = final bliss]), pl. menaidh (i menaidh);

amarthan

fated

(pl. emerthain)

ambenn

uphill

(sloping upward), pl. embinn, 

amdir

up-looking

amrûn

uprising

(sunrise, orient, east), pl. emrŷn

tolen

I am coming, drawing near to

tolen cared

I am coming, drawing near to eating [doing], I am going to eat/shall eat [do]

emig

noun. index finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

emel

noun. mother

A word for “mother” in notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, along with a diminutive form emelig (VT48/17 note #13). These forms were struck through and replaced by emig as the proper diminutive form from the root √EM (VT48/6), but that doesn’t necessarily invalidate emel = “mother”, which appeared elsewhere as (probably primitive) emel, emer in rough versions of these notes (VT48/19 note #16). These Sindarin forms are unusual in that the medial m did not become v, which means the primitive form was likely based on ✱emm- as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT48/17 note #14).

Conceptual Development: G. amil “mother” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along with rejected forms {anwin, amril} and an archaic variant †amaith (GL/19). The forms {emaith >>} amaith appeared unglossed in Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising that document (PE13/109). In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a form N. †emil for “mother” under the root ᴹ√AM of the same meaning, but Tolkien said this word was archaic, apparently replaced by N. naneth (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹). With N. emil, the a became e via i-affection, but the medial m failing to become v requires an explanation similar to that of 1960s S. emel.

Neo-Sindarin: I generally prefer derivatives of the earlier root √AM for “mother” words in Quenya, but in the case of Sindarin, I find emel and emig from √EM to be better and more widely accepted.

car-

verb. to do, make

Car- is the Sindarin verb for “do, make”, derived from the root √KAR of the same meaning. Tolkien often used it for examples of verb inflections in his writings.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this verb was G. {car- >>} cartha- “make, finish” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with past tense côri (GL/25), reappearing as cartha- “to finish” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document with past tense cair- or cawr- (PE13/111). A set of rough verb forms caron, {cur}, côr, {carn}, crantha, cor and cranthi appear in the margin of a page of the Early Noldorin Grammar, which the editors suggested might be related to the (unglossed and rejected) sentence ᴱN. on gós i·bhelon ar cranthi gwaist ’worin o nomad othra, perhaps meaning “✱he made everyone aware of your sinking” (PE13/128 and note #76).

In the Early Noldorin Dictionary, also from the 1920s, Tolkien had ᴱN. cara- “to make, do, perform, act (trans. and absolute)” with a new past form agor (PE13/161). Hints of the verb N. car- can be found in The Etymologies of the 1930s in words like N. ceredir “doer, maker” and N. osgar “cut round, amputate” (Ety/DER, OS). The verb appeared regularly in conjugation charts and sentences Tolkien’s later writings of the 1950s and 60s (VT50/22; PE17/132).

tol-

verb. to come

The basic Sindarin verb for “to come”, well attested from the 1930s-1960s and derived from the root √TUL of similar meaning (Ety/TUL; PE17/166; PE22/168; VT44/25). The Sindarin o was the result of the usual sound change whereby [[s|short [u] became [o]]] in Sindarin’s phonetic development.

Conceptual Development: A verb G. tul- appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but there its meaning was “(1) bring; (2) come to” (GL/71), and in one place Tolkien said its original meaning was “to support” (GL/69). This is in keeping with the broader meaning of the early root ᴱ√TULU, which was glossed “fetch, bear, bring; move, come; (originally) uphold, support, bear, carry” (QL/95).

cuia-

verb. to live

A verb for “to live” appearing only in the imperative form cuio in the phrase cuio i Pheriain anann “long live the Halflings” or “may the Halflings live long” (LotR/953; Let/448; PE17/102). It already had this form when it appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (SD/46).

dag-

verb. to slay, to slay, [ᴱN.] kill

A verb meaning “to slay” derived from the root √NDAK, best known from its passive participle dangen as in Haudh-en-Ndengin “Hill of Slain” (S/197). Tolkien wrote a set of possible past forms aðag, aðanc, aðarch in notes from 1962 (PE17/131), and the verb appeared in its Noldorin-style infinitive form degi “to slay” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√NDAK “slay” (Ety/NDAK), along with another couple of (Noldorin) past forms: danc, degant (EtyAC/NDAK). The verb form ᴱN. (n)dag- “to slay” appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/141), but its present form dág was glossed “kills” and in the contemporaneous Early Noldorin Grammar the form dagion was likewise glossed “I kill” (PE13/130). Thus “slay” and “kill” are both viable translations.

Possible Etymology: In notes from around 1962, Tolkien gave ✶dankĭnā as the primitive form of its passive participle dangen, indicating a root √DAK rather than √NDAK, which is also consistent with its nasal mutated plural form on that page: {i dengin >>} i nengin (PE17/133). The 1964 past forms aðag and aðanc also seem to indicate derivation from √DAK (PE17/131). In notes from around 1967, however, Tolkien had the mixed mutated form n(d)engin in the phrase i·m(b)air en N(d)engin, indicating √NDAK, and he consistently gave nac- for the equivalent Quenya forms, so the early 1960s flirtation with √DAK seems to have been a transient idea.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume the root is √NDAK, and hence I’d give it the past form ✱annanc “slayed” rather than aðanc.

dev-

verb. to try, to try, *seek opportunity, experiment

A verb for “to try” based on the root √NDEB in notes from the 1960s (PE17/167). As suggested by Christopher Gilson, this appears to be a draft of Tolkien’s attempt to define the phrase “try harder” in Quenya. Of the root √NDEB, Tolkien said it “too obviously = endeavor”, and he wrote another root √RIK below it, with a Sindarin verb form ritha- or raitha. It seems Tolkien here changed √NDEB >> √RIK, but in later notes from 1969 Tolkien had the root √NDAB “endeavor, try, seek opportunity” (PE22/151), indicating that the concept of √NDEB was not entirely abandoned.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would mainly use ritha- for “to try (put forth effort)”, but I think dev- is worth retaining with a different connotation: “to try, ✱seek opportunity, experiment”. In other words, you use ritha- “try” when you are uncertain whether you are capable of performing the action, and dev- “try” when you know you are capable, but are uncertain what the result of the action will be.

lŷg

noun. snake

The best known Sindarin word for “snake”, appearing in Appendix E of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1115). In 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD), Tolkien said it was derived from the root √LEWEK “worm” (PE17/160), likely from ✱leukā where the ancient eu became ȳ as was usual in Sindarin (LotR/1115).

mad-

verb. to eat

The Sindarin verb for “to eat” derived from the root √MAT of the same meaning (PE17/131; Ety/MAT). In Tolkien’s later writing it appears only in inflected forms, but the verb itself is well established, dating back all the way to G. mad- in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/56). This verb was one Tolkien often used in examples of verb conjugations and as such its inflected forms changed considerably over time, but that is more a topic of the evolution of the Sindarin verb system.

men-

verb. to go

The basic Sindarin verb for “go”, derived from the root √MEN (PE17/143). Its archaic past form emēnē was discussed in notes from around 1965 (PE17/93); its modern past would be ✱evín. It also appeared in its gerund form in the sentence niðin mened “I have a mind to go, I intend to go” in notes from 1969 (PE22/165).

na-

verb. to be

A verb for “to be” based on the root √NĀ of the same meaning. This verb is barely attested in the Sindarin language, and the general consensus is that [for purposes of Neo-Sindarin at least] Sindarin omits the verb “to be” in most phrases, such as in naur an edraith ammen “fire [be] for saving us” (LotR/299) or ✱orchal i adan “tall [is] the man”; see the entry on the copula for further discussion.

The clearest attestation of the verb na- is its imperative form no “be!” in the phrase no aer i eneth lín “hallowed be thy name, (lit.) ✱be holy the name your”, from the Sindarin translation of the Lord’s Prayer from the 1950s (VT44/21). This imperative form was preceded by some hard-to-read deleted forms, perhaps {dôd >> dád >> hae >>} no (VT44/22). The d-forms might be eroded/mutated variants of na-. Compare đa in the phrase inn đa v’im “a mind there is in me = I have a good mind (to do so)” in notes from the late 1960s (PE22/165), where đa could be another eroded form of na-. This phrase was first written as inn no v’im (PE22/165 note #108); see the entry for đa for further discussion.

Another clear attestation of na “be” is an apparent future form natho in the untranslated phrase Sí il chem {na} en i naugrim en ir Ellath {natho} thor den ammen in the so-called “Túrin Wrapper” from the late 1950s (VT50/5). This future[?] form natho was deleted and replaced by thor, and a deleted {na} also appears earlier in the phrase, possibly a false start. Carl Hostetter suggested this phrase might mean something like “✱now all (?hands) of the Dwarves and Elves will be (?against) us” (VT50/22-25). If so, it seems the future of na- “be” was constructed from the bare future suffix (a)tha-, manifesting as tho “✱will be”.

Neo-Sindarin: As noted above, for purposes of Neo-Sindarin the general consensus is that this verb is barely used, and is omitted from most “to be” phrases as in the example orchal i adan given above. The verb’s one widely accepted use is as an imperative, such as in no mae “be well”. Based the Túrin Wrapper, I posit that tho can also be used for a future form “will be”, as in i adan tho orchal “the man will be tall”. I likewise posit a (purely hypothetical) past form [ᴺS.] nî “was”, based on the primitive past-tense element ✶-nē with [[os|long [ē] becoming [ī]]], as in i adan nî orchal “the man was tall”. Neither tho or nî are widely accepted Neo-Sindarin, however.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had the verb G. na- “is” (GL/58), clearly based on the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This irregular Gnomish verb had some inflected forms: plural nain, participle ol· and past form {ni >>} thi, the last of these being another inspiration for Neo-Sindarin nî “was”.

rhûn

noun. east, east, [N.] †rising; eastern

The Sindarin word for “east”, cognate of Q. rómen (LotR/1116, 1123). It was ultimately derived from the root √RŌ/ORO “rise” (Ety/RŌ), and so likely originally meant “rising” as in “rising sun” (PE22/35).

Conceptual Development: The word N. rhûn “east” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s along with ᴹQ. rómen, both derived from ᴹ√RŌ (Ety/RŌ). At the time, there were no problems with this equivalence, since [[n|initial [r] was unvoiced]] in Noldorin. Tolkien went on to use both these forms in The Lord of the Rings.

Unfortunately, Tolkien later abandoned the unvoicing of initial r in Sindarin, making these two forms problematic. Tolkien considered modifying the Sindarin form to rûn (PE17/88) or the Quenya form to hrómen (PE17/18). The latter was probably derived from an s-strengthened form of the root ᴹ√SRŌ (PE22/127), where the initial sr- would become voiceless [r] in both Quenya and Sindarin. Ultimately, though, he left both forms alone. Perhaps he decided the s-strengthening of the root was a Sindarin-only variant.

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'.

rhûn

place name. East

Name of the region in the east and also part of the title of the Sea of Rhûn (LotR/1045), it is simply rhûn “east” used as a name.

Conceptual Development: On draft maps for the Lord of the Rings from the 1940s, the name of the sea was N. Rhûnaer “Eastern Sea” (TI/307), also appearing as Rúnaer >> Rhúnaer in drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/198). A similar form N. Rúnaeluin appears in the drafts of the final chapters of the Lord of the Rings, and might be a variation of this name (SD/65, 71 note #9).

an

preposition. to, for, to, for; [N. and G.] of

emig

little mother

(no distinct pl. form except with article: in emig). Also used (in children’s play) as a name for the index finger (VT48:6, 17)

rhu

east

*(as in Rhudaur ”Eastwood”, name of a realm: rhu- + taur ”wood”)*.

rhûn

east

(?na Thrûn) (maybe primarily ”the East” as a region), also amrûn (sunrise, orient, uprising). The term ✱Rhúven (?na Thrúven) is maybe primarily ”east” as a direction; the final element means ”way”. This word is spelt ”rhufen” in the source (LR:384 s.v. RŌ), but it would seem that f here represents v. –

an-

prefix. intensive prefix

glaer

noun. tale, [N.] long lay, narrative poem, [S.] tale, song

narn

noun. tale, tale, [N.] saga

dae

adverb. very

ened

adverb. moreover

lae-

verb. to not be

ni

pronoun. I

an

preposition. to, towards, for

With suffixed article and elision in aglar'ni Pheriannath

anha-

verb. to give

baw

interjection. no, don't!

car-

verb. to do

caro

verb. do! make!

emel

noun. mother

emig

noun. "litte mother"

emmel

noun. mother

im

pronoun. I

In late writings (see esp. VT/47:37-38), Tolkien reinterpreted this form as a reflexive pronoun (= "self").

innas

noun. will

leweg

noun. snake

_ n. _snake.

lhûg

noun. snake, serpent

lýg

noun. snake

_ n. Zoo. _snake. Q. leuka.

lŷg

noun. snake

minuial

noun. "morrowdim", the time near dawn, when the star fade

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

narn

noun. a tale or a saga, that is told in verse to be spoken and not sung

nidh-

verb. will, mean to, have a mind to

nídha-

verb. to be determined to

rûn

noun. east

tolo

verb. come!

ú

prefix. no, not (negative prefix or particle)

û

interjection. no

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

ach

conjunction. but

[it] appears that ach is the contrastive coordinating conjunction 'but'.

ach

conjunction. but

[it] appears that ach is the contrastive coordinating conjunction 'but'.

an

to

(prep.) an (+ nasal mutation), with article ni "to the" (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

to

(adverbial prefix) an-. 3)

an-

very

(as adverbial prefix) an-, as in:

an-

very

as in:

baw!

no

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

baw!

no

(don’t!) Prefix

car

do

car- (i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (make, build) (WJ:415),

car

do

(i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (make, build) (WJ:415)

dadbenn

do

(downhill, sloping down, inclined), lenited dhadbenn, pl. dedbinn. Verb

dae

very

dae (exceedingly). Lenited dhae.

dae

very

(exceedingly). Lenited dhae.

gelia-

verb. learn

The root ÑGOL causes i ngelia (who learns)

gelia-

verb. to learn

gwaedh

bond

1. (a ”bond” of loyalty) gwaedh (i **waedh) (troth, compact, oath), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaedh**), 2) _(apparently referring to physical ”bonds”, cf.

gwaedh

bond

(i ’waedh)  (troth, compact, oath), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaedh)

gwêdh

chain

(i ’wêdh, construct gwedh), pl. gwîdh (in gwîdh), 3) (ditto) nûd (construct nud, pl. nuid). 4) (the ”bond” of friendship) gwend (i ’wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”maiden”.

gú

no, not

also ú

heria

set vigorously out to do

(i cheria, i cheriar) (have an impulse, be compelled to do something, begin suddenly and vigorously) (VT45:22)

im

i

but as subject usually simply the ending -n, as in ónen ”

innas

will

(noun) innas, pl. innais (VT44:23)

innas

will

pl. innais (VT44:23)

lŷg

snake

1. lŷg (constuct lyg), no distinct pl. form. 2) lhûg (construct lhug, with article ?i thlûg or ?i lûg the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (dragon, serpent), pl. lhuig (?i luig). See SERPENT.

minuial

dawn

minuial (i vinuial) (morrowdim, twilight), pl. minuiail (i minuiail)

minuial

dawn

(i vinuial) (morrowdim, twilight), pl. minuiail (i minuiail)

naneth

mother

naneth (pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

naneth

mother

(pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

narn

tale

1. narn (saga; versified tale to be spoken rather than sung), pl. nern**; 2) pent (i bent, o phent) (story), pl. pint (i phint), coll. pl. pennath; 3) trenarn (i drenarn, o threnarn) (account), pl. trenern (i threnern); 4) gwanod (i **wanod) (number), pl. gwenyd (in gwenyd).

narn

tale

(saga; versified tale to be spoken rather than sung), pl. *nern***; 2) pent (i** bent, o phent) (story), pl. pint (i** phint), coll. pl. pennath; 3) trenarn (i** drenarn, o threnarn) (account), pl. trenern (i** threnern); 4) gwanod (i ’wanod) (number), pl. gwenyd (in gwenyd**).

nin

i

”me”, genitive nín ”my”, dative anim or enni ”to me, for me”.

or

above

(adj. pref.) or- (over, high)

or

above

(prep.) or (om), with article erin ”above the” (followed by ”mixed mutation” according to David Salos reconstructions). Erin represents archaic örin.

or

above

(over, high)

pol-

verb. can

thel

will

(vb.) ?thel- (intend, mean, purpose, resolve)

thel

will

(intend, mean, purpose, resolve)

tol

come

tol- (i dôl, i thelir). The present tense tôl is attested (WJ:254). MAKE COME, see FETCH

tol

come

(i dôl, i thelir). The present tense tôl is attested (WJ:254).

úmarth

evil fate

(pl. úmerth)