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-.
Quenya
kemen
earth
mar
earth
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.
cén
soil, earth
cén (cem-) ("k")noun "soil, earth"; see cemen (KEM)
artaurë
realm
artaurë noun "realm" (PE17:28). Cf. turmen.
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.
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)
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)
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..
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.
Cognates
- S. bâr “house, dwelling, home, house, dwelling, home; [N.] earth” ✧ PE17/164; SA/bar
Derivations
Element in
- Q. Atyamar “*Second Home”
- ᴺQ. avamarwa “homeless”
- Q. Eämbar “Sea-dwelling”
- Q. Eldamar “Elvenhome” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/106; PE17/164; SA/bar
- Q. Hecelmar “*Home of the Hecel”
- Q. Ingwemar “*Ingwë Home” ✧ PE17/106
- Q. Lumbar “?Shadow Home”
- Q. Mardil “Devoted to the House” ✧ SA/bar
- Q. Mar-nu-Falmar “Land under the Waves” ✧ SA/bar
- Q. mélamar “(emotional) home”
- Q. Mittalmar “Inlands”
- Q. Valimar “Dwelling of the Valar” ✧ PE17/106; SA/bar
- Q. Vinyamar “New Dwelling” ✧ SA/bar
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶mbăr(a) > mbār > már [mbara] > [mbār] > [mār] ✧ PE17/106 ✶mbar- > már [mbār] > [mār] ✧ PE19/076 Variations
- mār- ✧ PE17/164
cemen
noun. the earth; earth, the earth; earth, [ᴹQ.] soil
Tolkien often used this Quenya word for “the Earth”, but in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, he clarified that “kemen ‘the Earth’ [was] an apparent flat floor under menel [the Heavens]” (PE17/24). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. kemen was glossed “soil, earth” (Ety/KEM), and ᴱQ. kemen had these same glosses in Early Qenya words lists from the 1910s and 20s (PE16/139; PME/46; QL/46). Thus it seems this term can be used of both “earth” in the ordinary sense of “soil” as well as “the earth”, but in the latter usage it referred more specifically to the habitable surface of the world rather than the entire planet, serving as its “floor” as opposed to the “roof” which was menel. More common terms for the entire world were Ambar and Arda.
Conceptual Development: As indicated above, Tolkien introduced this term in the 1910s, already as a derivative for the root ᴱ√KEME, and it retained this form and meaning thereafter.
Cognates
- S. ceven “Earth, earth; Earth”
Derivations
Element in
- Q. ar mi cemen rainë i hínin “and on earth peace, good will toward men” ✧ VT44/34; VT44/34; VT44/34
- Q. cemendë tambe Erumandë “on Earth as [it is] in Heaven” ✧ VT43/17; VT43/17
- Q. Cemendur “*Servant of the Earth”
- ᴺQ. cemendur “farmer”
- ᴺQ. cemenquasië “earthquake”
- ᴺQ. cempalië “earthquake”
- Q. imbi Menel Cemenyë menë Ráno tië “between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon” ✧ VT47/11
- Q. Kementári “Queen of the Earth” ✧ SA/kemen
Variations
- kemen ✧ MR/387; MR/471; PE17/024; SA/kemen; VT44/34
- Kemen ✧ SDI2/Kemen; VT47/11
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).
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-)
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?
marda
dwelling
marda noun "dwelling" (PE17:107)
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
Cognates
- S. arthor “realm” ✧ PE17/028; PE17/028
Element in
- Q. Turmen Follondiéva “Realm of the North-harbourage” ✧ PE17/028
- Q. Turmen Hyallondiéva “Realm of the South-harbourage” ✧ PE17/028
Elements
Word Gloss TUR “dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power, dominate, master, conquer; power [over others], mastery (legitimate or illegitimate), control (of other wills); strong, mighty in power; [ᴹ√] victory; [ᴱ√] am strong” MEN “go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region” Variations
- Turmen ✧ PE17/028; PE17/028
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.
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)_
indo
house
indo (2) noun "house" (LT2:343), probably obsoleted by #1 above (in Tolkiens later Quenya, the word for "house" appears as coa).
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)
os
house, cottage
os (ost-) noun "house, cottage" (LT2:336; hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya writers may use coa or már)
kemen noun "earth"; see cemen.