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)

ëar

noun. sea, great sea, sea, great sea, [ᴹQ.] open sea; water

The most common Quenya word for “sea”, derived from the root √GAYAR (or sometimes √AYAR), where the vowel combination was the result of the frequent Quenya sound change whereby aya > ëa.

Note that Quenya does not use the definite article before unique individual things like the Sun and the Moon. Likewise ëar “the sea” is almost never used with the definite article, only in the case where one is indicating a specific definite sea among a group of seas already under discussion, which is a rare occurrence.

Conceptual Development: As an element in the name ᴱQ. Earendel, this word first appeared as ᴱQ. ea or ᴱQ. earen “eagle” (QL/34). But by the 1940s Tolkien changed the form and meaning of this name to ᴹQ. Earendil “Friend of the Sea” (SD/237), and the word ᴹQ. ear “sea” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√AYAR (Ety/AY). In The Notion Club Papers of the 1940s it had the form eare and the gloss “open sea” (SD/241, 305). The first appearance of the “sea” meaning of this word seems to be in a word-list associated with the Ambarkanta “Shape of the World” from the early 1930s, where ear had the glosses “water, sea” (SM/241), though in later writings only “sea” remained.

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)

airë Archaic

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.

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.

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)

lasta-

verb. to listen, to listen; [ᴹQ.] to hear

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).

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)”

ëar amortala

the seas heaving

The twenty-sixth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is ëar “sea” followed by the active-participle (“-ing”) of the verb amorta- “to heave”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> ëar amorta-la = “✱sea heav-ing”

ëar falastala

the sea surging

The tenth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is ëar “sea” followed by the active-participle (“-ing”) of the verb falasta- “to surge”.

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> ëar falasta-la = “✱sea surg-ing”

airon Archaic

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.

ná-

verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist

The basic Quenya verb for “to be”, based on the root √NĀ (PE17/93). It was typically used as the copula equating a noun to another noun or an adjective:

> √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).

In many circumstances this verb was optional:

> As a copula “be, is” is not usually expressed in Quenya where the meaning is clear: sc. in such expressions as “A is good” where the adjective (contrary to the usual order in Quenya of a qualifying adjective) follows: the normal Quenya for this is A mára (PE17/93).

For further discussion see the entry on the Quenya copula.

Conceptual Development: This verb dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was given as the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This verb and its root appeared regularly throughout Tolkien’s writings thereafter, but at times Tolkien considered alternative verbs for “to be”; see the entry ëa- for further discussion.

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; PE23/49; VT49/17), but in his notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) 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).

In Tolkien’s earlier writings the word kas was also frequently translated “top”, such as the glosses “head, top” in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/79), “top, summit” in the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE15/78), and the early-1930s allative form kasta “up (to the top)” (PE21/22).

Neo-Quenya: I would assume this second meaning “top” survived in Tolkien’s later conception of the language, analogous to English “head of the stairs”. Unlike English, I would not assume cas could be used for “front”, as in “head of the line”.

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”.

lasta-

verb. listen

lasta- vb. "listen", also lasta adj. "listening, hearing" (LAS2, PE17:56); cf. adj. asalastë (*aþa-) adj. "easily heard" (PE17:148)

váva

blow

váva vb.? "blow" (the wording used in the source is unclear, but wā-ya is said to mean "blow", and after discussing Sindarin forms Tolkien instructs himself to "alter Quenya", introducing a new primitive form ¤wā-wā with váva- as the Quenya outcome. Possibly this still means "blow" as a verb referring to wind.) PE17:34

wáya-

blow

wáya- "blow" (PE17:34, cf. wanwa), perhaps altered to váva (q.v.; the wording of the source is unclear)

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)

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)

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)

cára

noun. head

taniquelassë

leaf

taniquelassë noun name of tree (UT:167), perhaps Tanique(til) + lassë "leaf"

vangwë

blow

vangwë noun "blow" (PE17:34), i.e. a blast of wind

waya

noun. ocean

ó

the sea

†Ó noun "the sea" (poetic word, hardly valid in Tolkien's later Quenya) (LT1:263, there spelt Ô)