ëa (3) "eagle" (LT1:251, LT2:338), a "Qenya" word apparently superseded by soron, sornë in Tolkien's later forms of Quenya.
Quenya
ëar
sea
ëa
eagle
ëaren
eagle
ëaren noun "eagle" or "eyrie" (LT1:251; this early "Qenya" word is evidently no more valid than ëa "eagle" in LotR-style Quenya.)
ëaron
ocean
ëaron noun "ocean" (PE17:27), also airon. Cf. ëar.
hlas
noun. ear
The Quenya word for “ear” is derived from primitive √S-LAS, an elaboration of √LAS “listen” (PE17/62, 77). It had a stem form of hlar- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the word for “ear” was derived directly from ᴹ√LAS “listen”, and had the form lár (Ety/LAS²). This seems to be a brief reversion to Early Qenya phonology of the 1910s, where medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26); compare to ᴹQ. kár (kas-) “head”, also from The Etymologies (Ety/KAS). In that document, the Noldorin word for “ear” was N. lhewig, a singular form based on the fossilized dual lhaw (Ety/LAS²). The voiceless lh- in this word was the result of the Noldorin sound-change of the 1930s whereby ancient initial r-, l- were unvoiced.
This Noldorin word made it into Lord of the Rings drafts as part of Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, (lit.) Hill of Ears” (TI/364), a form that Tolkien retained in the published version (LotR/393). Since the unvoicing of initial l was no longer a feature of Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, Tolkien needed to contrive a new derivation from primitive √S-LAS, which also necessitated a change in the Quenya cognate to voiceless initial hl-.
Early Qenya words for “ear” from the 1910s had a completely different basis. They include ᴱQ. ankar (ankas-) “ear (of men)”, ᴱQ. qan (qand-) “ear”, and ᴱQ. unk (unq-) “ear (of animals)” from the Qenya Lexicon, all based on the root ᴱ√ṆQṆ (QL/31, 76, 98). The last of these reappeared as unko “ear” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s and contemporaneous word lists (PE14/52, 76, 117; PE15/71), but seems to have been abandoned by the 1930s.
hlas
ear
hlas noun "ear", stem hlar- as in the dual form hlaru (PE17:62). Compare lár #2.
lár
ear
lár (2) noun "ear" (?). Tolkien's wording is not clear, but ¤lasū is given as an ancient dual form "(pair of) ears"; Quenya lár could represent the old singular las- (LAS2). In a post-LotR source, Tolkien derives hlas "ear" (dual hlaru) from a stem SLAS(PE17:62). Initial hl- rather than l- reflects the revised form of the stem (LAS becoming SLAS), and in the later version of the phonology, postvocalic -s does not become -r when final. Compare the noun "dream", given as olor in the Etymologies (LOS), but as olos pl. olori in a later source (UT:396)
Cemendur
earth-servant
Cemendur masc. name *"Earth-servant" (i.e. farmer?) (Appendix A, UT:210)
Kementári
earth-queen
Kementári noun "Earth-queen", title of Yavanna (SA:tar). The Kemen- of this name was at one stage intended as the genitive of kén, kem- "earth", so that Kementári meant "Earth's Queen", but Tolkien later changed the Quenya genitive ending from -(e)n to -o. Apparently so as to maintain the name Kementári, he turned kemen into the nominative form; see cemen.
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)
kemen
earth
kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.
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-.
martan
earth-smith
Martan (2), also Martano, noun "Earth-smith", "Earthbuilder", a surname of Aule (TAN, GAWA/GOWO the form _Martan_ō given under MBAR must be understood as a primitive form). LT1:266 refers to a "very late note" where a variant Quenya form "Martamo" is derived from ¤mbartanō**"world-artificer"; the stated primitive form (as well as the Sindarin cognate Barthan) would suggest that the Quenya form should be Martano; on the other hand, tamo (q.v.) does occur as a variant of tano** "smith".
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.
Eärnil
eärnil
Eärnil masc. name, contraction of Eärendil (Appendix A)
Eärnur
eärnur
Eärnur masc.name, contraction of Eärendur (Appendix A)
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.
már
noun. home, dwelling, habitation, home, dwelling, habitation; [ᴹQ.] house; earth
This is the basic Quenya word for a “home” or “dwelling”, derived from the root √MBAR “settle, dwell”.
Conceptual Development: This word dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where (archaic) ᴱQ. †mar (mas-) was glossed “dwelling of men, -land, the Earth” (QL/60). It appeared under the early root ᴱ√MBARA “dwell, live”, but that root was mingled with many others, and its stem form mas- indicates some unusual developments. The contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa instead has mař “dwelling, -land, †Earth” (PME/60), consistent with an earlier deleted form of the root, ᴱ√MAŘA [MAÐA] (QL/60).
In the Name-list to The Fall of Gondolin from the 1910s Tolkien had mar as a cognate to G. bar “dwelling” (PE15/21). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s it was glossed “house” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·mar tye “that house (of yours)” (PE14/55). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s mar was glossed “home”, where its plural form mari indicated a stem form of mar- (PE15/74).
In the Declension of Nouns of the 1930s, ᴹQ. mar “house” had a stem form of mard- (PE21/27), and on the title page of The Etymologies from 1937, Tolkien had mar(d)- “home, dwelling” from the root ᴹ√MBAR (EtyAC/MBAR). It appeared in the form Mardello “from Earth” in Fíriel’s Song from the mid-1930s, along with an uninflected form i-mar “the earth” (LR/72), but as mar- in the (1930s) genitive form hon-maren “heart of the house” (LR/63).
In Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from this 1930s, it appeared as már “habitation”, the first time that it had a long á (PE19/36). In Quenya Verbal System from 1948, már “house” appeared with long á in a couple phrases like már karnelya e·tulle “having built a house he came” (PE22/108). The word már “habitation” reappeared in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) of the 1950s (PE19/76).
Tolkien discussed the word már at length in notes from the 1960s on the root √MBAR, first writing:
> The usual word in Eldarin for a “home”, as the established residence of a family consisting of one or more associated buildings, was ✱mbā̆r (stem mbăr-), and ✱mbardā̆ (an adjectival formation). In Q mar (stem mard-), a blending of the two, was used like “residence” usually with a defining genitive, for the “great house” of a family. In place-names -mar (stem mār-) was used for a region settled by a community or group, as Eldamar “Elvenhome” the coastal region of Aman, settled by the Elves (PE17/164).
And then in a later version of the same notes:
> The simplest form of this base ✱mbără became a much used word or element in primitive Eldarin: which may be rendered “dwelling”. This application was probably a development during the period of the Great Journey to the Western Shores, during which many halls of varying duration were made by the Eldar at the choice of their leaders, as a whole, or for separate groups. This element survived in various forms in Quenya and Sindarin with sense changes due to the divergent history of the Eldar that passed over Sea and of those remaining in Beleriand. The principal forms were the primitive simple form PE ✱mbăr(a) > uninflected mbār, inflected mbar-; and the derivative form ✱mbardā ...
The former survived in Quenya in the archaic word már, which was used with a defining genitive or more often in genitival compound: as Ingwemar, Valimar, Eldamar ... This signified, when added to a personal name the “residence” of a family of which the head was the named person; it included not only the permanent buildings, developed by the Eldar in Aman, but also the surrounding attached land ... After the name of a people or “kindred” it referred to the whole area occupied or owned by them, in which their dwellings or “houses” were distributed (PE17/106).
These revised notes indicate that marda was a distinct word:
> The derivative form ✱mbardā became in Quenya marda “a dwelling”. This normally referred to the actual dwelling place, but was not limited to buildings, and could equally well be applied to dwellings of natural origin (such as caves or groves). It was nonetheless the nearest equivalent to “house” in most of its senses ... Not to the use of “house” as the name of a (small) separate building with a function such as bake-house, wood-house; nor to the use of “house” as a family especially of power or authority. The former in Quenya was usually koa. The latter was represented by words for “kindred” [nóre] (PE17/107).
Thus it seems in these notes, már = “residence”, marda = “dwelling” but coa = “house” as in a type of building.
In terms of its use in other words and phrases, mar or már is most notably an element in Eldamar “Elvenhome” (S/59), Val(i)mar “Dwelling of the Valar” (RGEO/62), and Mar Vanwa Tyaliéva “[ᴱQ.] Cottage of the Lost Play; House of Departed Mirth” (LT1/28; PE21/80). As for mard-, its most notable use was in oromardi “lofty halls” from the Namárië poem (LotR/377).
Although always meaning “home” or “dwelling” and always derived from √MBAR “dwell”, the various changes in the stem form between mar, mard- and már make the conceptual development difficult to trace. The rough timeline seems to be:
In the 1910s the stem was mař- >> mas-, becoming mar- in the 1920s.
In the 1930s the stem was mostly mard-, but in OP1 már (mar-) with long á was introduced and became more prevalent in the 1940s and 50s.
In the 1960s Tolkien decided that már (mar-) < ✱mbără and marda (mard-) < ✱mbardā were distinct words of similar meaning.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya I would use már mainly in the sense “home, a place dwelled in”, as opposed to marda for “a dwelling” whether inhabited or not. In place names -mar can refer to the dwelling place of an entire people, or of an individual family. The word már might be used as “house” in the sense of the dwelling place of a family, but when referring specifically to the building, the word coa is more appropriate.
amaurëa
dawn, early day
†amaurëa noun "dawn, early day" (Markirya)
artuilë
dayspring, early morn
artuilë noun "dayspring, early morn" (TUY)
cemna
of earth, earthen
cemna ("k")adj. "of earth, earthen" (In Etym as printed in LR:363 s.v. KEM, this word is cited as cemina, but according to VT45:19 Tolkien's manuscript actually reads cemna.)
cén
soil, earth
cén (cem-) ("k")noun "soil, earth"; see cemen (KEM)
airen
noun. sea
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)
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)
coirë
noun. stirring, early spring, stirring, early spring; [ᴱQ.] life
eärendil
masculine name. Lover of the Sea
The great mariner who took the Silmaril of Beren to Valinórë, thereby instigating the Valar’s liberation of Beleriand and the final defeat of Morgoth (S/246). His name was a compound of ëar “sea” and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend, -lover” (SA/ëar, (n)dil).
Conceptual Development: This was one of the oldest and most important names in Tolkien’s legendarium. Tolkien admitted that the name was inspired by the Anglo-Saxon word éarendel “ray of light” (Let/150, 385). In fact, the first form of this name in the Lost Tales was ᴱQ. Earendel (LT1/13), often spelt Earendl in Tolkien’s early linguistic notes (QL/34, PE13/99). At this stage the name seems to derive from ᴱQ. earen (earend-) “eagle, eyrie” (QL/34), though the “dialectical form” Yarendl was archaically used for “mariner” (QL/105).
The name remained ᴹQ. Earendel in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/326) and up through Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (RS/215, TI/99, WR/223 note #29). The name’s association with the Sea did not emerge until Tolkien wrote the (unfinished) “Notion Club Papers” story in the mid-1940s, at which point its form changed to ᴹQ. Earendil (SM/237, 241) and so remained thereafter.
cár
head
cár (cas-) ("k")noun "head" (KAS).The given stem-form appears doubtful within the phonological framework of LotR-style Quenya. Probably we should read cas with stem car- (PE14:69 indeed reads "kas head, pl. kari", and VT49:17 quotes the sg. "kas" from a post-LotR source). Compare other forms found in late sources: hlas "ear" with stem hlar- (PE17:62) and olos "dream", pl. olori (UT:396). In Tolkiens early "Qenya", post-vocalic -s became -r at the end of words but was preserved when another vowel followed. His later scheme either lets -r appear in both positions, or reverses the scenario altogether (hence olos, olor-). It would seem that the forms cár, cas- were distractedly carried over into the Etymologies from the Qenya Lexicon (kar, kas-, QL:45) even though they presuppose an earlier version of the phonology. An apparent variant form in late material, cára from earlier cáza ("k"), however fits the later phonology since intervocalic s would become z > r (PE17:188).
eärrámë
proper name. Sea-wing
The ship of Tuor and Idril on which they sailed West to Valinor (S/245). Its name is a compound of ëar “sea” and ráma “wing”.
Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, where it first appeared as ᴱQ. Alqaráme “Swanwing”, revised to ᴱQ. Earáme with one “r”, translated “Eaglepinion” (LT2/254). The latter name was derived from ᴱQ. ea(r) “eagle” (GL/51), much like the contemporaneous name ᴱQ. Earendel.
The name remained Earáme “Eagle’s Pinion” or “Eagle’s Wing” through Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/149, 308; LR/143), but was sometimes changed to ᴹQ. Earráme “Sea-wing” (SM/155). It also appeared as Earrámë “Sea-wing” in The Etymologies (Ety/AY, RAM), as well as in the versions of The Silmarillion after that point.
lassë
leaf
lassë noun "leaf"; pl. lassi is attested (Nam, RGEO:66, Letters:283, LAS1, LT1:254, VT39:9, Narqelion); gen. lassëo "of a leaf", gen. pl. lassion "of leaves" (earlier lassio) (WJ:407). The word lassë was only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees (PE17:62), perhaps particularly _ear-shaped _leaves (cf. the entry _LAS1 _in the Etymologies, where Tolkien comments on the pointed or leaf-shaped Elvish ears and suggests an etymological connection between words for "ear" and "leaf"); see also linquë #3. Compound lasselanta "leaf-fall", used (as was quellë) for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter (Appendix D, Letters:428); hence Lasselanta alternative name of October (PM:135). Cf. also lassemista "leaf-grey, grey-leaved" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in Letters:224, PE17:62), lassewinta a variant of lasselanta (PM:376). Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves" (PE17:56). See also lillassëa, lantalasselingëa.
ëar-celumessen
in the flowing sea
The eighth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is ëar “sea” followed by the locative plural of celumë “stream”, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya, QQ/celumë). This is more loosely translated as “flowing” in the poem itself, and fits the adjective/noun usage of the Early Qenya poem. A more literal translation would be “✱in sea-streams”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> ëar-celume-sse-n = “✱sea-stream-(locative)-(plural)”
cemenquasië
noun. earthquake
A neologism for created by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo, a compound of cemen “earth” and quasië “shaking”. I prefer this over Helge Fauskanger’s neologism cempalië which he coined for the NQNT (NQNT), because Fauskanger’s used the 1920s verb ᴱQ. pal- for “to shake”, but I find this verb problematic because in later writings the meaning of the root √PAL changed to “wide (open)” (Ety/PAL; PE17/65; VT47/8). I think the 1910s verb ᴱQ. qasa- is a better choice for “shake”, as it does not conflict with later words.
cempalië
noun. earthquake
Eärnur
Eärnur
eärwen
Eärwen
Her name means "Maiden of the Sea" in Quenya (from eär = "sea" and -wen = "maiden").
pampinë
noun. tremor, earthquake
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.
ráma
noun. wing, wing; [ᴱQ.] arm
The Quenya word for “wing”, derived from the root ᴹ√RAM (PE17/63; Ety/RAM).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. ráma “wing” was derived from the early root ᴱ√RAHA “stretch forward” (QL/78). The word appeared regularly in Tolkien’s writings with the gloss “wing”, though at one point in the 1920s it was glossed both “arm, wing” (PE16/137), and in the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s it was given as the Qenya word meaning “arm”, but this was revised to ᴱQ. ranko (PE15/79). The use of ráma for “arm” was a brief and rejected idea, and in The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ráma “wing” was transferred to a new root ᴹ√RAM, while ᴹQ. ranko “arm” remained under ᴹ√RAK “stretch out” (Ety/RAK, RAM).
-ndil
friend
-ndil (also -dil) ending occurring in many names, like Amandil, Eärendil; it implies devotion or disinterested love and may be translated "friend" (SA:(noun)dil); this ending is "describing the attitude of one to a person, thing, course or occupation to which one is devoted for its own sake" (Letters:386). Compare -ndur. It is unclear whether the names derived with the ending -ndil are necessarily masculine, though we have no certain example of a woman's name in -ndil; the name Vardilmë (q.v.) may suggest that the corresponding feminine ending is -(n)dilmë.
-nil
-wine
-nil, final element in compounds, similar in meaning to Old English "-wine", sc. "-friend" as an element in names (NIL/NDIL). Also long -nildo (VT46:4). Variant of -ndil. In Eärnil, contraction of Earendil.
-wen
maiden
-wen "maiden" as suffix, a frequent ending in feminine names like Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (SA:wen). Early "Qenya" also has -wen, feminine patronymic "daughter of" (LT1:271, 273), but the patronymic ending seems to be -iel "-daughter" in Tolkien's later Quenya.
Mardorunando
redeemer of the world
Mardorunando noun "Redeemer of the world" (VT44:17). Unless the initial element mardo- is a distinct and otherwise unattested word for "world", it may be the genitive form of mar (mard-) "earth", q.v.
ambar
a-mbar
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).
arda
realm
arda noun "realm" (GAR under 3AR). It is said that arda, when used as a common noun, "meant any more or less bounded or defined place, a region" (WJ:402), or "a particular land or region" (WJ:413). Capitalized Arda "the Realm", name of the Earth as the kingdom of Manwë (Silm), "the name given to our world or earth...within the immensity of Eä"(Letters:283, there again rendered "realm"), "our planet" (MR:39), once translated "Earth" (SD:246). In a wider sense, Arda can refer to the entire Solar System (MR:337). Also name of tengwa #26 (Appendix E). Masc. name Ardamírë "Jewel of the World" (PM:348), shorter form Ardamir (UT:210); Ardaranyë "the Kingdom of Arda" (PE17:105)
arinya
morning
arinya adj. "morning" in the adjectival sense (e.g. *arinya árë "morning sun") and hence "early" (AR1, VT45:6)
cas
noun. head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit
This is the Quenya word for “head”, with a stem form of car- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final. This word can refer to the head of people and animals, as well as the metaphorical “head” (or top) of other things, in much the same way that Q. tál “foot” can refer to their base.
Conceptual Development: This word was established very early in Tolkien’s writing, being derived from the root ᴱ√KASA “head” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45), but its exact form varied as Tolkien changed his mind on the phonetic development of s in Quenya. Its form in the Qenya Lexicon was in fact ᴱQ. kar (kas-), since in Early Qenya period medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26). This kar (kas-) was the usual word for head in the 1910s and 20s, but in the typescript version of the Early Qenya Grammar Tolkien instead revised it to ᴱQ. kas (kast-) “head” (PE14/72 and note #5).
In noun declensions from the late 1920s and early 1930s, Tolkien instead had cas (car-), reflecting a conceptual shift in the phonologic development of s (PE13/112-113; PE21/22). However, for reasons unclear, the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) was restored in The Etymologies written around 1937 under the root ᴹ√KAS “head” (Ety/KEM), despite s > z > r being the normal medial phonetic development in this period (PE19/33). This abnormal form slipped into The Lord of the Rings itself as part of the name Q. Eldacar “Elfhelm” (LotR/1038).
Tolkien generally used the form cas for “head” in his later writings (PE19/103; VT49/17), but in his notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien was forced to contrive another explanation for Eldacar:
> What is -kar in names. How could it stand for helm? E.g. as stem ✱kāsā (√KAS, head) would give kāra, but in compound forms -kāsă > -kas. Would not an ă be lost before voicing of s or at least before z > r (PE17/114).
In this note Tolkien considered having Q. carma “helm” < kas-mā, but discarded the idea since he felt karma “tool or weapon” < KAR “do, make” + mā was the more likely meaning. He then said “Eldă|kāzā in compounds to -kār(ă) > -kar” despite its phonological implausibility, and indeed kāza/kára appeared in a discussion of helms within 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD: PE17/188).
As for the sense “top”, there is better evidence for it among Tolkien’s earlier writings, such as the glosses “head, top” in Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/79) and the early-1930s allative form kasta “up (to the top)” (PE21/22). I see no reason to assume this alternate meaning did not survive in Tolkien’s later conception of the language.
cemen
kemen
cemen (cén) (spelt "kemen" in some sources, "cemen" in others)noun "earth" (VT44:34), Cemenyë ("k") "and Earth" (VT47:11). Cemen refers to the earth as a flat floor beneath menel, the heavens (SA:kemen); "soil, earth"_ (KEM,__LT1:257). At one stage, Tolkien intended cemen to be the genitive of cén; later cemen became the nominative, and the status of cén is uncertain. See Kementári. Locative cemessë, cemenzë (really spelt with c rather than k in one version, but also kemenze) in the Quenya Lord's Prayer; later changed to kemendë, cemendë (VT43:17)_
coirë
stirring
coirë noun "stirring", in the calendar of Imladris a precisely defined period of 54 days (Appendix D), but translated "the first day of Spring" in the Silmarillion Appendix (SA:cuivië). Early "Qenya" has coirë ("k")"life" (LT1:257; in Tolkien's later Quenya, the word for "life" is cuilë or coivië; however, cf. the adj. coirëa from a late source).
eärambar
proper name. Walls of Eä
A term for the boundaries of Creation, appearing in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/63), but omitted from the published version. It is a compound of Eä “Creation” and the plural of ramba “wall”.
Conceptual Development: In the Lost Tales these walls were called the “Wall of Things” (LT1/214). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s they were called the “Walls of Night” (LR/12) or ᴹQ. Ilurambar (SM/235; Ety/IL, RAMBĀ) “Walls of the World”.
These walls were important in earlier versions of Tolkien’s cosmology, but as discussed by Christopher Tolkien (MR/63), this concept no longer fit well with the idea that Eä was all of creation. Only hints of this concept remain in the published version of The Silmarillion, such as when Morgoth snuck back into the world over the “Wall of the Night” (S/36-7), and after his defeated he was “thrust through the Door of Night beyond the Walls of the World, into the Timeless Void” (S/254).
indo
house
indo (2) noun "house" (LT2:343), probably obsoleted by #1 above (in Tolkiens later Quenya, the word for "house" appears as coa).
lassë
noun. leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal
The basic Quenya word for “leaf”, derived from the root √LAS (PE17/62, 153; VT39/9). This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱQ. lasse “leaf” appeared as its own entry (QL/51). ᴹQ. lasse “leaf” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LAS (Ety/LAS¹). In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien said that lasse meant both “a leaf or petal” (GL/52). After that Tolkien translated it only as “leaf”. In one set of later notes Tolkien said it was even more restricted in meaning, and “only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees, and would not e.g. be used of leaf of a hyacinth (linque)” (PE17/62).
Neo-Quenya: Despite Tolkien late declaration, I would use lassë as the general “leaf” word for purposes of Neo-Quenya, though more specialized words may also exist such as linquë “(leaf of a) hyacinth”. I would also use it metaphorically in its Early Qenya sense as the “petal” of a flower where the context is very clear, such as lassi indilo “leaves of a lily” = “lily petals”. But where ambiguous, I would use the neologism ᴺQ. lótelas for “petal”, more literally “flower leaf”.
sorno
eagle
sorno (þ) noun "eagle" (archaic thorno) _(Letters:427). Also soron. Early "Qenya" has sor, sornë (LT1:266)_
soron
eagle
soron (or sornë) (þ) noun "eagle", before an ending sorn- as in pl. sorni, "gen.sg....sornen"; in LotR-style Quenya this would be the dative singular instead (THOR/THORON). SD:290 has the pl.soroni "eagles", changed to sorni as in the Etymologies. Early "Qenya" has the forms sor, sornë (LT1:266)
soron
noun. eagle
The Quenya word for “eagle”, appearing in a number of compounds, derived from primitive ✶thorono and the root ᴹ√THOR(ON) “come swooping down” (PE22/159; Let/427; Ety/THOR; PE21/33). It had couple variants such as sorno (Let/427) and sorne (Ety/THOR), but consistently appeared as soron- in compounds. Its stem form isn’t entirely clear: its most common plural form was sorni (Ety/THOR; SD/290), which is the expected result from the Quenya syncope, but in one place it had the plural soroni and the presence of the variant sorne muddies the waters.
Conceptual Development: This word appeared as ᴱQ. sorne or sor (sorn-) “eagle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s derived from the early root ᴱ√ŠORO [ÞORO] (QL/86). The form sorn- “eagle” also appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa where Tolkien indicated the primitive form was sorni- (PME/86). The form ᴱQ. soron appeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s as a cognate of ᴱN. thorn “eagle” (PE13/154), and Tolkien mostly stuck with that form thereafter, though he occasionally used variants like sorne and sorno as noted above.
In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien listed a large number of declined forms for ᴹQ. soron “eagle”, and those declensions used soron- (or sorun-) as their base. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, Tolkien gave plural sorni and genitive sornen indicating a stem form sorn-, but that document also gave sorne as an alternate form of soron “eagle”. Nevertheless, I think from the 1930s forward, it is more likely that Quenya syncope would have come into play in the declension of this word, so it would have plural sorni, dative sornen, ablative sornello, etc. The only noun case where the primitive stem would be preserved would be possessive soronwa.
tuilë
spring, spring-time
tuilë noun "spring, spring-time", also used = "dayspring, early morn" (VT39:7, TUY), in the calendar of Imladris a precisely defined period of 54 days, but also used without any exact definition. Cf. tuilérë, q.v. (Appendix D) - In early "Qenya", the word tuilë is glossed "Spring", but it is said that it literally refers to a "budding", also used collectively for "buds, new shoots, fresh green" (LT1:269). Cf. tuima in Tolkien's later Quenya.
-dil
-wine
-dil, -ndil, ending that Tolkien likened to Old English "-wine", sc. "-friend" as part of names, e.g. Elendil, Eärendil (NIL/NDIL); see the entry -ndil. Also long -dildo (VT46:4), and possibly -(n)dilmë as the corresponding feminine form (see Vardilmë).
-ndur
friend
-ndur (also -dur), ending in some names, like Eärendur; as noted by Christopher Tolkien in the Silmarillion Appendix it has much the same meaning as -ndil "friend"; yet -ndur properly means "servant of" (SA:(noun)dil), "as one serves a legitimate master: cf. Q. arandil king's friend, royalist, beside arandur 'king's servant, minister'. But these often coincide: e.g. Sam's relation to Frodo can be viewed either as in status -ndur, in spirit -ndil." (Letters:286)
Eärendil
son of eärendel
Eärendil, masc. name; see ëar. Eärendilyon noun "son of Eärendel" ("used of any mariner") (LT1:251)
Rása
the sea
Rása noun "the Sea" (LT2:347; rather ëar in Tolkien's later Quenya)
Vëandur
vigorous servant
Vëandur, masc. name (PM:191), either "Vigorous servant" or "Sea-servant" (= mariner; compare ëarendur, etymologically very similar if the Qenya form vëa "sea" was maintained in later Quenya). See vëa #1 and 2 and compare Vëantur.
airon
ocean
airon noun "ocean" (PE17:27). Also ëaron, q.v.
celumë
stream, flow
celumë ("k")noun "stream, flow" (KEL, LT1:257); locative pl. celumessen ("k") in Markirya (ëar-celumessen is translated "in the flowing sea", lit. *"in sea-streams").
oaris
mermaid
oaris (oarits-), also oarwen, noun "mermaid" (LT1:263; read perhaps ëar- for oar- in LotR-style Quenya)
ráma
wing
ráma noun "wing", pl. rámar (RAM, Nam, RGEO:66, LT2:335); Markirya has both nominative pl. rámar "wings" and instrumental pl. rámainen *"with wings" (translated "on wings" by Tolkien); rámali "wings" in MC:213 would be a partitive pl. in LotR-style Quenya. Variant rámë in the names Eärrámë, Alquarámë, q.v.
wingilot
foamflower, eärendel's boat
wingilot noun "foamflower, Eärendel's boat" (LT1:273; in Tolkien's later Quenya Wingelot, Wingelóte)
Eärendur (King of Arnor)
Eärendur (King of Arnor)
Eärendur is a Quenya name meaning "Servant of the Sea", and is a combination of the word ëar meaning "sea", and the suffix -ndur meaning "devotion to, friend of". It is unlikely that Eärendur himself was devoted to the sea: it is more likely that he was named after one of the two previous Eärendurs.
Eärendur (Lord of Andúnië)
Eärendur (Lord of Andúnië)
Eärendur (son of Tar-Amandil)
Eärendur (son of Tar-Amandil)
ëarendur
noun. (professional) mariner, *(lit.) servant of the sea
ná-
verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist
-ser
friend
-ser noun "friend" (SER)
Soronto
eagle
Soronto (þ?), masc. name, seems to incorporate soron "eagle"; the ending -to is rare (occurs in suhto, q.v.), here apparently used to derive a masculine name.
Soronúmë
eagle
Soronúmë (prob. þ) (name of a constellation, apparently incorporating soron "eagle") (SA:thoron)
ambarónë
noun. dawn, dawn; [ᴹQ.] uprising, sunrise, Orient
arin
morning
arin noun "morning" (AR1)
artaurë
realm
artaurë noun "realm" (PE17:28). Cf. turmen.
cas
head
cas ("k")"head" (VT49:17), cf. also deleted [cas] ("k")noun "top, summit" (VT45:19). This noun should evidently have the stem-form car-. See cár.
celu
stream
celu _("k")_noun "stream" (LT1:257; rather celumë in LotR-style Quenya)
ciryamo
mariner
ciryamo noun "mariner", nominative and genitive are identical since the noun already ends in -o, cf. Indis i-Ciryamo "the Mariner's Wife" (UT:8)
ciryamo
noun. mariner
cára
noun. head
farnë
dwelling
#farnë (2) noun "dwelling", in orofarnë (as translated in Letters:224, but in other notes of Tolkiens the word was interpreted "any growing thing or plant", PE17:83)
harda
realm, region
harda noun "realm, region" _(VT45:12, 16, 17; the word also occurs, unglossed, in the entry EN in the Etymologies)_. Changed to arda later?
heldo
friend
[heldo, also helmo, fem. heldë, noun "friend" (VT46:3)]
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)
marda
dwelling
marda noun "dwelling" (PE17:107)
meldo
friend, lover
meldo noun "friend, lover". _(VT45:34, quoting a deleted entry in the Etymologies, but cf. the pl. #_meldor in Eldameldor "Elf-lovers", WJ:412) **Meldonya *"my friend" (VT49:38, 40). It may be that meldo is the distinctly masculine form, corresponding to feminine #meldë** (q.v.)
meldë
friend
#meldë noun "friend", feminine (meldenya "my friend" in the Elaine inscription [VT49:40], Tolkien referring to Elaine Griffiths). Compare meldo.
málo
noun. friend
friend, comrade
málo
friend
málo noun "friend" (MEL, VT49:22)
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.
nildo
friend
nildo noun "friend" (apparently masc.; contrast nildë) (NIL/NDIL)
nildë
friend
nildë noun "friend" (fem.) (NIL/NDIL)
nilmo
friend
nilmo noun "friend" (apparently masc.) (NIL/NDIL)
os
house, cottage
os (ost-) noun "house, cottage" (LT2:336; hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya writers may use coa or már)
rato
soon
rato adv. "soon" (Arct)
ron(go)
adverb. soon
ron (rongo)
adverb. soon
sermo
friend
sermo noun "friend" (evidently masc., since sermë is stated to be fem.) (SER)
sermë
friend
sermë noun "friend" (fem.) (SER)
seron
friend
seron noun "friend" (SER)
sondo
friend
[sondo noun "friend" (VT46:15)]
sor
eagle
sor, sornë noun "eagle" (LT1:266); rather soron in LotR-style Quenya
sornion
eyrie
sornion noun "eyrie" (LT1:266)
sorno
noun. eagle
taniquelassë
leaf
taniquelassë noun name of tree (UT:167), perhaps Tanique(til) + lassë "leaf"
tuilë
noun. spring, spring, [ᴹQ.] spring-time, [ᴱQ.] (lit.) a budding; buds, new shoots, fresh green
turmen
realm
turmen noun "realm" (PE17:28). Turmen Follondiéva "Realm of the North-harbourage", old name for Arnor, TurmenHallondiéva "Realm of the South-harbourage", old name for Gondor (PE17:28)
turmen
noun. realm
vendë
maiden
vendë < wendë noun "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16), "virgin" (in Tolkien's translations of Catholic prayers where the reference is to Mary; see VT44:10, 18). The form Véndë in VT44:10 seems abnormal; normally Quenya does not have a long vowel in front of a consonant cluster.
waya
noun. ocean
wendë
noun. maiden
ára
dawn
ára noun "dawn" (AR1). According to VT45:6, ára is also the name of the long vowel carrier of the Tengwar system; it would be the first letter of the word ára if spelt in Tengwar.
ó
the sea
†Ó noun "the sea" (poetic word, hardly valid in Tolkien's later Quenya) (LT1:263, there spelt Ô)
hyano
adverb. rather
sornion
noun. eyrie
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)