enedh

noun. centre, middle, centre, middle; [N.] core

@@@ Tolkien vacillated between enedh (< √ENED) and ened (perhaps < √ENET) in his later writings. In HSD/ened, it is suggested that ened is the likely “final” form based on Enedwaith as it appears in The Lord of the Rings and as discussed on Let/224. I prefer enedh for better compatibility with its Quenya cognate endë as in Q. enderi “middle-days” (LotR/1108, endë + ré “day”). If the Sindarin form were ened < √ENET, the corresponding Quenya form would instead be entë. Furthermore, in a general discussion of the uses of dh on VT42/20, Tolkien states that “Enedhwaith is misspelt”, possibly meaning that the normal spelling (Enedwaith) is not strictly correct.

ened

noun. core, centre, middle

While the word is written enedh in the Etymologies, it seems that Tolkien considered and reconsidered its form throughout his life. Late rough jottings (c. 1968), as well as the text of letter no. 168 and the fact that the toponym Enedwaith was never changed on the LotR map, seem to imply that ened is the (most) definitive form. See also the possibly related preposition ned , which has sometimes been suggested to mean "in" (while again a prefix nedh- is seen in the Etymologies)

ened

noun. centre

lond daer enedh

place name. Great Middle Haven

A longer name for Lond Daer, translated “Great Middle Haven” (UT/264), a combination of lond “haven”, daer “great” and enedh “middle”.

enedh

middle

enedh (core, center), pl. enidh

enedh

center

1) enedh (core, middle), pl. enidh, 2) nest (heart, core), pl. nist

enedh

core

1) enedh (middle, center), pl. enidh, 2) nest (heart, center), pl. nist

enedh

middle

(core, center), pl. enidh

enedh

center

(core, middle), pl. enidh

enedh

core

(middle, center), pl. enidh

nest

center

(heart, core), pl. nist

nest

core

(heart, center), pl. nist

enedh

noun. core, centre, middle

While the word is written enedh in the Etymologies, it seems that Tolkien considered and reconsidered its form throughout his life. Late rough jottings (c. 1968), as well as the text of letter no. 168 and the fact that the toponym Enedwaith was never changed on the LotR map, seem to imply that ened is the (most) definitive form. See also the possibly related preposition ned , which has sometimes been suggested to mean "in" (while again a prefix nedh- is seen in the Etymologies)

enedh

noun. centre, middle, core

ened

adjective. middle

henet

root. middle

endë

noun. centre, middle, centre, middle; [ᴹQ.] core

endya

middle

endya > enya adj. "middle" (ÉNED)

endë

core, centre, middle

endë noun "core, centre, middle" (NÉD, EN, VT48:25)

endëa

middle

#endëa adj. "middle" in atendëa, q.v. Compare enya.

endëa

adjective. middle, middle, *average

An adjectival form of endë “middle” implied by Q. atendëa “double-middle” from the first edition of The Lord of the Rings (RC/728).

Neo-Quenya: In a Discord post from 2025-04-24, Delle suggested this adjective might mean “✱average” as well.

entë

center

entë (2) noun "center" (VT41:16; endë is perhaps to be preferred, see entya)

entë

noun. centre

enya

middle

enya < endya adj. "middle" (EN). Compare #endëa.

tólë

centre

tólë noun "centre" (LT1:269; the word endë is to be preferred in Tolkien's later Quenya)