ambar (1) ("a-mbar") noun "oikumenē [Greek: the earth as the human habitation], Earth, world" (MBAR), stem ambar- (PE17:66), related to and associated with mar "home, dwelling" (VT45:33); in VT46:13 the latter glosses are possibly also ascribed to the word ambar itself (the wording is not clear). The form ambaren also listed in the Etymologies was presumably intended as the genitive singular at the time of writing (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular); in the printed version in LR, the misreading "ambaron" appears (see VT45:33). Ambar-metta noun "the end of the world" (EO); spelt ambarmetta in VT44:36. The element #umbar in Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.) would seem to be a variant of ambar, just like ambar #2 "doom" also alternates with umbar (see below).
Quenya
ambar
fate, doom
ambar
a-mbar
ambar
breast
ambar (3) noun ""breast" (chest), with stem in -s- or -r- (QL:30). The form ambar, translated "in bosom", occurs in MC:213 (this is "Qenya"). Note: if this word were to be adapted to LotR-style Quenya, we should probably have to read *ambas with stem ambar-; compare olos, olor- "dream" from a late source. However, the form ambos (q.v.) is less ambiguous and may be preferred.
ambar
noun. fate, doom, fate, doom, [ᴱQ.] lot
ambar
noun. The World, Earth, (lit.) Habitation, Settlement
The word Ambar is probably the most common Quenya word for the “World”. Its more literal meaning is “Habitation” (MR/337; NM/226) or “Settlement” (PE17/163) in the sense that it is the realm in which the children of Eru (Elves and Men) live. A clear description of this notion can be found in notes from late 1960s:
> Ambar was thus “the great settlement”. This may be translated “world” — meaning this Earth as the place (by destiny) inhabited by Elves and Men, the Children of Eru. It thus resembles ἡ οἰκουμένη [Greek = “the inhabited world”], but was not limited either to the parts of Earth actually inhabited, or to those inhabited by any special peoples such as the Elves, or among Men the Numenóreans. The decision, the fixing of the dwelling place, was thought of as proceeding from Eru and was so part of his Umbar [Destiny]. Umbar, so used, might be said to be “the history of Ambar”, so far as already accomplished, and its future so far as already arranged and defined (PE17/163).
This specific note was rejected, but similar descriptions appear elsewhere (NM/226-227). As noted by Tolkien here and elsewhere, the term Ambar was also intertwined with the notion of Destiny (Umbar) as willed by Eru.
Another common term for “world” was Q. Arda, more literally “Realm”, but strictly speaking this referred to the regions under the dominion of Manwë, and so included areas outside of the world such as Aman (after its removal from the world) and the remainder of the Solar System (PE17/105; MR/337; NM/227). Tolkien also sometimes used Q. cemen “earth” for “the Earth” (VT44/34; MR/387), particularly in Q. Kementári “Queen of the Earth” as a name for Yavanna (S/28). But that seems to refer more to livable surface of the world rather than the entire world itself.
Etymology: This word was derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell”, with a vocalic augment: ✶a-mbar (PE17/105, 124). It is not the result of a syllabic nasal ✶ṃbar, as that would produce Q. umbar, the Elvish word for fate or destiny (PE17/104).
Conceptual Development: The word ᴹQ. Ambar first appeared in a document labeled ᴹQ. Ambarkanta “The Shape of the World” from the early 1930s (SM/235-240). It appeared as ᴹQ. Ambar “Earth” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the same basic meaning and derivation as given above. A possible precursor is the word ᴱQ. irmin “the inhabited world” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, which was similar in form and meaning but derived from a different root ᴱ√IŘI [IÐI] “dwell” (QL/43). There was a variant Imbar of Ambar in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth from around 1959 (MR/337) which might be a callback to this earlier word.
Cognates
Derivations
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/226; PE17/064; PE17/066; PE17/078; PE17/090; PE17/163
- ✶ambar(a) “the settlement, establishment, the world” ✧ NM/228; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/228; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124
Element in
- Q. Ambarmenië “Way of the World” ✧ NM/226
- ᴺQ. ambarya “worldwide, world-wide, international, global”
- Q. Eämbar “Creation as a Whole”
- Q. et sillumello ter yénion yéni tenn’ ambarmetta “*from this hour, through years of years until the ending of the world” ✧ VT44/36
- Q. merin sa haryalyë alassë nó vanyalyë Ambarello “I hope that you have happiness before you pass from the world” ✧ MS/01
- Q. sinomë maruvan ar Hildinyar tenn’ Ambar-metta “In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world” ✧ LotR/0967; PE17/103; PE17/105; PE22/147
- Q. Tarumbar “King of the World”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √MBAR > ambar [ambar] ✧ NM/226 √MBAR > ambar [ambar] ✧ PE17/064 √MBAR > ambar [ambar] ✧ PE17/066 √MBAR > Ambar [ambar] ✧ PE17/078 √MBAR > ambar [ambar] ✧ PE17/090 ✶ambar- > ambar [ambar] ✧ PE17/104 ✶ambar(ă) > ambar [ambara] > [ambar] ✧ PE17/105 ✶a-mbar- > ambar [ambara] ✧ PE17/124 √MBAR > ambar- [ambara] ✧ PE17/163 Variations
- Imbar ✧ MR/337; MRI/Imbar; WJI/Imbar
- ambar ✧ NM/226; NM/228; PE17/064; PE17/066; PE17/074; PE17/090; PE17/103; PE17/104; PE17/104; PE17/105; PE17/124; PE22/147; VT44/36
- ambar- ✧ PE17/163 (ambar-)
amba
up, upwards
amba 1) adv. "up, upwards" (AM2, PE17:157). Apparently also ama (UNU).
amba
adverb. up
ambaron
g.sg. ambarónen
ambaron (ambarón- as in "g.sg. ambarónen", in LotR-style Quenya this would be a dative singular) noun "uprising, sunrise, Orient" (AM2). - In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the form ambaron also appears in the entry MBAR, but according to VT45:33 this is an error for ambaren, apparently intended as the genitive singular of ambar (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular).
ambas
ambas
*ambas, see ambar # 3
umbar
fate, doom
umbar (umbart-, as in dat.sg. umbarten) noun "fate, doom" (MBARAT), also name of tengwa #6 (Appendix E).Cf. Umbarto. In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, umbar was the name of letter #18 (VT45:33), which tengwa Tolkien would later call malta instead changing its Quenya value from mb to m. In the word Tarumbar "King of the World" (q.v.), umbar appears to be a variant of Ambar (q.v.) instead.
umbar
noun. doom
doom
umbar
noun. fate, doom, curse
Cognates
- S. amarth “fate, doom” ✧ PE17/066; PE17/104; PE17/104; PE17/123; PE17/124; PE18/092; NM/228
Derivations
- ✶ṃbart(ă) “fate, doom; (orig.) permanent establishment” ✧ NM/228; PE17/123; PE17/124; PE18/092; PE19/077
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ NM/228; PE17/124
- √M(B)ARAT “doom, fate” ✧ PE17/066
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live” ✧ PE17/104; PE17/105
- ✶ṃbar ✧ PE17/104; PE17/104
- √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”
Element in
- Q. a Túrin Turambar turún’ ambartanen “[O] master of doom by doom mastered” ✧ S/223; UT/138
- Q. calambar “*light-fated”
- ᴺQ. morumbar “dark-fated”
- Q. Umbarto “Fated”
- ᴺQ. umbarwa “fateful”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ṃbart- > umbar [ṃbart] > [umbart] > [umbar] ✧ PE19/077 Variations
- ambar ✧ PE17/066
- Umbar ✧ PE17/163 (Umbar)
Tarumbar
king of the world
Tarumbar noun; apparently "King of the World" (possibly an ephemeral form): this would be tár "king" (q.v.) + umbar as a variant of Ambar "world".
ama
up
ama adv.? element not glossed, evidently meaning "up" like the prefix am-, or an alternative form of amba (UNU)
mar
earth
mar (1) noun "earth" (world), also "home, dwelling, mansion". Stem mard- (VT46:13, PE17:64), also seen in the ablative Mardello "from earth" (FS); the word is used with a more limited sense in oromardi "high halls" (sg. oromar, PM17:64), referring to the dwellings of Manwë and Varda on Mt. Taniquetil (Nam, RGEO:66). The initial element of Mardorunando (q.v.) may be the genitive mardo (distinguish mardo "dweller"). May be more or less identical to már "home, house, dwelling" (of persons or peoples; in names like Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar, Mardil) (SA:bar, VT45:33, VT47:6). Már is however unlikely to have the stem-form mard-; a "Qenya" genitive maren appears in the phrase hon-maren, q.v., suggesting that its stem is mar-. A possible convention could therefore be to use már (mar-) for "home, house" (also when = household, family as in Mardil, q.v.), whereas mar (mard-) is used for for "earth, world". Early "Qenya" has mar (mas-) "dwelling of men, the Earth, -land" (LT1:251); notice that in LotR-style Quenya, a word in -r cannot have a stem-form in -s-.
amarto
fate
amarto noun "Fate" (also ambar) (LT2:348; in LotR-style Quenya rather umbar, umbart-)
ambos
breast
ambos (ambost-) noun "breast" (chest). PE16:82
manar
doom, final end, fate, fortune
manar noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD (under MAN), VT45:32)
marta
fate
marta (3) noun "fate" (VT45:33, VT46:13) Cf. marto.
am-
up
am- (1) prefix "up" (AM2)
am-
prefix. up, up, [ᴱQ.] upwards
Derivations
- √AM “go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up”
Element in
amu
up, upwards
amu adv. "up, upwards" (LT2:335; in Tolkien's later Quenya amba)
kemen
earth
kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.
mandë
doom, final end, fate, fortune
mandë (1) noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD, under MAN)
cemi
earth, soil, land
cemi noun "earth, soil, land"; Cémi ("k")"Mother Earth" (LT1:257; the "Qenya" word cemi would correspond to cemen in LotR-style Quenya)
irmin
the world, all the regions inhabited by men
irmin noun "the world, all the regions inhabited by Men" (LT2:343; hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya)
-nen
most nouns have an instrumental in -nen
-nen instrumental ending (pl. -inen, dual -nten, partitive pl. -línen). Attested in ambartanen, lírinen, lintieryanen, súrinen, parmanen; see ambar (#2), lírë, lintië, súrë, parma. Tolkien noted that "most nouns have an instrumental in -nen" (PE17:62), a wording suggesting that the form of the ending may vary; given the normal development ln > ld, it is possible that it would appear as *-den when added to a noun in -l (*macilden "with a sword").
ambar (2) noun "fate, doom" (variant of umbar?) in Turambar (SA:amarth); stem ambart- (PE17:66), instrumental ambartanen "by doom" (Silm ch. 21, UT:138, PE17:66). The early "Qenya" lexicon has ambar "Fate", also amarto (LT2:348)