dír-

prefix. tough

_ pref. _tough. >> dern, dirbedui

dîr

adjective. hard

_ adj. _hard, difficult. dērā << dīrā. >> dír-

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

dîr

adjective. hard, difficult

An adjective glossed “hard, difficult” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 derived from the root {√DIR >>} √DER of similar meaning (PE17/154). The primitive form was {✶dīrā >>} ✶dērā where [after the change to the root], the [[s|ancient long [ē] became [ī]]] as usual in Sindarin. This word clashes with dîr “man”, but can be distinguished because (a) it is an adjective rather than a noun and (b) its mutations are different, because dîr “man” is from ancient nd- while dîr “difficult” is from ancient d-, as in i nîr dhîr “the difficult man, (lit.) the man difficult”.

Tolkien gave one example of this prefix’s use in dirbedui “hard to utter, difficult to pronounce”. In its prefixal use, Tolkien glossed it as “tough (for lesser efforts)”, contrasting it with gor- “difficult (of things very painful and horrible to do)”; see that entry for discussion.

Neo-Sindarin: I believe that the adjective dîr has the connotation “difficult due to the complexity of the task”. It can be contrasted with rhanc, which I use to mean “difficult due to some resistance or obstacle” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin; compare Q. hranga- “thwart”.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had similar-seeming G. diriol “tedious”, but that was based G. dîr “long (of time)” so was unlikely to be related conceptually (GL/30). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document Tolkien considered the form duiriol “tedious” before reverting back to diriol (PE13/112), and there was no sign of this word thereafter except for its possible reemergence as dîr “difficult”.

dîr

man

1) (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

dern

tough

_ adj. _tough. >> dír-

gor-

prefix. hard, difficult

A prefix meaning “awkward, hard” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 derived from the root √GUR of similar meaning, used in words such as gornod “hard to count” (PE17/154). This example was given as gornodui [unglossed] in draft notes (PE17/172). Tolkien said:

> Sindarin owing to approach of √GUR- to other stems (as ÑGUR- “death”, NGOR- “terror, dread”) tends to use gor- in a very strong sense of things very painful and horrible to do; and uses dir- (tough) for lesser efforts (PE17/154).

As an example, Tolkien gave gorbedui “only to be said with horror or grief, lamentable to tell” as opposed to dirbedui “hard to utter, difficult to pronounce”.

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

adanath

noun. men

dern

hard

adj. hard, thrawn. Also used for Dwarves, esp. in pl2. dernlir. >> gorn

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

gorn

hard

adj. hard, thrawn. Also used for Dwarves, esp. in pl2. gornhoth (hostile implication). >> dern

gorn

hard

_ adj. _hard, stiff, thrawn. >> gornod, gordh

hûl

noun. secret

A noun for “secret” of unclear derivation, appearing in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969 (PE23/136).

thurin

masculine name. Secret

A name that Finduilas gave to Túrin translated “Secret” (UT/157), simply the adjective thurin “secret, hidden” used as a name.

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

dolen

secret

(hidden), lenited dholen, pl. dolin

dorn

tough

1) dorn (tough), lenited dhorn, pl. dyrn; 2) tara (also tar- as first element of compounds) (stiff), lenited dara. The historically correct pl. would be teiri; if analogy prevailed, it might be altered to terai.

dorn

tough

(tough), lenited dhorn, pl. dyrn

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

golu

secret lore

(i ngolu = i ñolu, o n’golu = o ñgolu) (secret lore), analogical pl. gely (in gely = i ñgely) if there is a pl. Archaic golw, hence golwath as the likely coll. pl. 

norn

hard

norn (twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted), pl. nyrn. Also used as noun = ”Dwarf”. (MR:93, WJ:205)

norn

hard

(twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted), pl. nyrn. Also used as noun = ”Dwarf”. (MR:93, WJ:205)

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

tara

tough

(also tar- as first element of compounds) (stiff), lenited dara. The historically correct pl. would be teiri; if analogy prevailed, it might be altered to terai.

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

thurin

secret

(adjective) 1) thurin (hidden); no distinct pl. form, 2) dolen (hidden), lenited dholen, pl. dolin;

thurin

secret

(hidden); no distinct pl. form

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

dîr

noun. man, adult male; agental suffix

benn

noun. man, male

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

muin

adjective. secret

tar-

adjective. tough, stiff

tara

adjective. tough, stiff

thurin

adjective. secret, hidden

der

root. hard, difficult

A root in linguistic notes from 1959 used for the sense “hard, difficult” in Sindarin because other roots like √GUR > S. gor- gained a very negative sense due to collision with the roots √ÑGOR “horror” and √ÑGUR “death” (PE17/154). Tolkien first gave this root as √DIR before switching it to √DER. There is no indication of its use in Quenya, so it is probably a Sindarin-only innovation.

dirnā

adjective. tough

dērā

adjective. hard, difficult

ndē̆r

noun. man

srak

root. hard, difficult

lomba

secret

lomba adj.or noun "secret" (LT1:255)

lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

nulda

secret

nulda adj. "secret" (DUL)

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

nér

noun. man

sarda

hard

sarda adj. "hard" (VT39:17); pl. sardë "hards" may be used in the same sense as sarda tengwi, q.v. (As an independent form we would rather expect a nominal pl. sardar.)

tarya

tough, stiff

tarya adj. "tough, stiff" (TÁRAG)

torna

hard

#torna adj. "hard", as in tornanga (q.v.), seemingly -storna after prefixes ending in a vowel, as in the comparative forms aristorna, anastorna (PE17:56; the forms are untranslated and may not necessarily be the same adjective "hard".)

torna

adjective. hard

ur(u)-

prefix. hard, difficult, difficult, hard

A prefix appearing in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, meaning “hard, difficult” based on the root √GUR of similar meaning (PE17/154). Tolkien gave as examples of its use: urucarin “made with difficulty” and urcarne or urucárima “hard to make / do”.

Conceptual Development: On a rejected draft page Tolkien also had an unglossed prefixal form ur- apparently derived from √GUR “hard, stiff, difficult, cumbrous, slow”, with an unglossed example urunóte or urnótima, likely “✱difficult to count” (PE17/172). On this same rejected page Tolkien had ur(u) based on √UTHU “unsuitable, bad, improper, useless, wrong”, but since this derivation doesn’t make sense this is probably a slip or misreading for the prefix us-; see that entry for discussion.

Neo-Quenya: I believe that ur(u)- has the connotation “difficult, arduous” due to the inherent complexity of the task, as opposed to hrai- meaning “difficult, hard” due to resistance from the thing or people being worked upon.

urda

hard, difficult, arduous

urda adj. "hard, difficult, arduous" (PE17:154)

vëo

man

†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final -ô becomes -â in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from -ê); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.