er

card

_ card. _one. Q. er. >> min, tad

er

adjective. one, alone

er

adjective. single

erchamion

masculine name. One-handed

Sobriquet of Beren after his hand was bitten off during his quest for a Silmaril (S/183). The two initial elements of this name are er “one” and a mutated form cham of cam “hand” (SA/er, cam). The second of these is especially interesting, in that it is a rare example of liquid mutation. The meaning of the final element is unclear, but it is probably a variant of the masculine suffix -on. As further evidence of this, Tolkien also wrote Erchamon without the i, and according to Patrick Wynne this was clearly deliberate and not a slip (VT47/7, PE21/86).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales from the 1910s, this name appeared as G. Ermabwed (LT2/34). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name was revised first to (Ilkorin?) Ermabuin (SM/310), then again to N. Erchamui (LR/146, LR/405). In one place it appeared as Erchamron (Ety/MAP).

As a variation on all these names, the forms N. Er(h)amion or Erchamion appeared as early as the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/119, 121) and also in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/146, 405). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name appeared as Erhamion (RS/183) and was firmly established in its final form Erchamion by the time of the Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (WJ/51, 231).

erui

adjective. single, alone

The proper word for first in Sindarin was minui

erui

adjective. first (incorrect use by the Gondorians)

The proper word for first in Sindarin was minui

ergammon

masculine name. One-Handed

er-

prefix. alone, one

i glinn hen agorer edain mi velerian, ach hí in ellath îr ed epholar

*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it

laer

noun. summer

neder

card

_ card. _nine. Q. nerte. >> cae, caen-

neder

cardinal. nine

neder

cardinal. nine

er

alone

(adjectival prefix) er- (one, lone)

er

single

1. er (pl. ir) (VT48:6), 2)

er

lone

(adjectival prefix) er- (alone, one)

er

alone

(one, lone)

er

single

(pl. ir) (VT48:6)

er

lone

(alone, one)

erchamion

one-handed

erchamion (pl. erchemyn), also *erchammui, no distinct pl. form. (The word is spelt erchamui in the source.)

erui

alone

erui (first, single). No distinct pl. form. Also eriol (pl. erioel); archaic *eriaul.

erui

alone

(first, single). No distinct pl. form. Also eriol (pl. erioel); archaic ✱eriaul.

erui

single

erui (first, alone). No distinct pl. form. 3) minai (distinct, unique), lenited vinai; pl. mini

eru

the one

isolated from

erui

single

(first, alone). No distinct pl. form. 3) minai (distinct, unique), lenited vinai; pl. mini**

laer

summer

laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”song”.

laer

summer

(no distinct pl. form). Note:  a homophone means ”song”.

neder

cardinal. nine

neder;

neder

nine

;

ennas

adverb. there

andaith

noun. long-mark, sign used in writing alphabetic tengwar over a vowel, to indicate that it is lengthened.

ennas

adverb. there, in that place

iaur

adjective. older, former

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

mîn

fraction. one (first of a series)

min

card

_ card. _one. Q. min. >> er, tad

tass

1,D adverb. then, there

A Quenya-influenced neologism meaning "there, then, in that (place/time)", from Q. tassë.

ennas

there

ennas (SD:128-31)

ennas

there

(SD:128-31)

cae

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cea. >> caen-, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

caen-

card

_ card. _ten. Q. cainen. >> cae, mimp. This gloss was rejected.

can

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> canad, leben

canad

card

_ card. _four. Q. canta. >> can, leben

edra-

verb. open

_ v. _open (out). >> edro

eneg

card

_ card. _six. Q. enque, enc-. >> odog

glân

adjective. bright, shining white

The word is deduced from its mutated form, but it is worth mentioning that a stem GALÁN "bright", with glan "daylight" (and later "clear") as derivative, is listed in the Etymologies (not included in the published text, but see VT/45:13). Most of the words meaning "white" in the Indo-Eureopean languages come from the original notion of "brightness", e.g. Greek leukós "white" is cognate with Latin lucere "to shine", lux "light". This association of sense is also found in Gnomish, PE/11:39 (glan "clean, pure", from "bright" originally) and in Early Noldorin (PE/13:144, glann "clean"). The similarity with Welsh glan (where the vowel, incidentally, is also long, though this is concealed by Welsh orthographic convention) is also striking

leben

card

_ card. _five. Q. lepen, lempe. >> eneg

odog

card

_ card. _seven. Q. otos. >> tolod

pen

pronoun. one, somebody, anybody

Usually enclitic and mutated as ben.2

tolod

card

_ card. _eight. Q. tolto. >> neder

min

cardinal. one

1. (number ”one” as the first in a series) min, mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”. 2) (number) êr, whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone); 3)

êr

one

whence the adjectival prefix er- (alone, lone)

edra

open

(verb) 1) *edra- (i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro. 2) panna- (i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

edra

open

(i edra, in edrar), only attested in imperative form edro.

gîl

bright spark

(i ngîl = i ñîl, construct gil) (star, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. *giliath** (RGEO, MR:388)*

he

she

he, hen, hene. (The distinctions between these forms are unclear. Possibly he is the nominative, whereas hen is the accusative ”her”. Hene could be an emphatic form. It may be that all of these pronouns as ”N” rather than Sindarin proper.)

he

she

hen, hene. *(The distinctions between these forms are unclear. Possibly he is the nominative, whereas hen is the accusative ”her”. Hene could be an emphatic form. It may be that all of these pronouns as ”N” rather than Sindarin proper.)*

iaur

ancient

iaur (in compounds ior-, iar-) (old, former), pl. ioer

iaur

ancient

(in compounds ior-, iar-) (old, former), pl. ioer

min

one

mîn (VT48:6), Note: homophones include the noun ”peak” and the adjective ”isolated, first, towering”.

pen

cardinal. one

(indefinite pronoun) (= somebody, anybody) pen (WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lords Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean *”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of *ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

pen

one

(WJ:376); lenited ben. According to one interpretation of the phrase caro den i innas lín from the Sindarin Lord’s Prayer (VT44:23), this could mean ✱”let one do your will”, with den (perhaps a lenited form of ✱ten) as the indefinite pronoun ”one”. However, others interpret den as the accusative form of the pronoun ”it”: ”Do it [, that is:] your will”.

min

cardinal. one, one, [G.] single

edra-

verb. to open

edro

verb. open!

glandagol

noun. boundary mark

iaur

adjective. ancient, old, original

laden

adjective. open, cleared

minai

adjective. single, distinct, unique

nel

card

_ card. _three. Q. nelde. Fcan, canad, neledh

tad

card

_ card. _two. Q. atta. Fnel, neledh

tad

card

card. two. . This gloss was rejected.

taith

noun. mark

dartha

remain

dartha- (i dhartha, i narthar) (stay, wait, last, endure) (VT45:8)

dartha

remain

(i dhartha, i narthar) (stay, wait, last, endure) (VT45:8)

gail

bright

gail (light), lenited ngail; no distinct pl. form (VT45:18). The adj. calen etymologically means "bright", but is used = "green" (q.v.).

gail

bright

(light), lenited ngail; no distinct pl. form (VT45:18). The adj. calen etymologically means "bright", but is used = "green" (q.v.).

laden

open

(adj.) laden (plain, flat, wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

laden

open

(plain, flat,  wide, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

nedrui

ninth

panna

open

(i banna, i phannar) (enlarge). Note: a homophone means ”fill”.

taith

mark

(noun) taith (i daith, o thaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaith). Archaic teith.

taith

mark

(i daith, o thaith), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thaith). Archaic teith.

er

one, alone

er cardinal "one, alone" (ERE, VT48:6, VT49:54), in an early source also adv. "only, but, still" (LT1:269); Eru er "one God" (VT44:17; er was here emended by Tolkien from erëa, which seems to be an adjectival form *"one, single".)

er

adverb/adjective. one, alone, one, alone; [ᴱQ.] only, a single

er-

remain

#er- "remain", verb (LT1:269; given in the form erin and glossed "remains"; erin would have to mean "I remain" in Tolkien's later Quenya, if this word is to be adapted. However, the later synonym lemya- may be preferred.)

erëa

cardinal. one

erëa adj.? "one" or *"single", apparently an adjectival form (see er) (VT44:17)

erinqua

single, alone

erinqua adj. "single, alone" (VT42:10)

erya

single, sole

erya adj. "single, sole" (ERE)

a aina neldië eru er órava (o)messë

Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us

The ninth line of Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Litany of Loreto prayer (VT44/12). The first word is the vocative a “O” followed by aina Neldië = “holy Trinity”. The fourth word Eru is Tolkien’s usual Quenya name for God. The fifth word is er “one”, emphasizing the one-ness of the Trinity. The phrase órava (o)messe “have mercy on us” was abbreviated o.o. in the original, but presumably was the same as in earlier lines of the prayer; see the entry for the first line for discussion.

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

> a Aina Neldië Eru Er órava (o)me-sse = “✱o Holy Trinity, God one have-mercy us-on”

Conceptual Development: Tolkien first wrote an adjectival form Erea before changing it to Er as a way of emphasizing the one-ness of the Trinity (VT44/17).

nertë

cardinal. nine

nertë cardinal "nine" (NÉTER, VT42:26, VT48:6); nertëa ordinal "ninth" (VT42:25)

nertë

cardinal. nine

mer-

verb. wish (for), want

Ellairë

summer

Ellairë alternative name of June (PM:135); evidently incorporating lairë "summer"; the el- part is probably an assimilated form of er-, an element meaning one or first, June being the first summer month.

sanomë

adverb. there

A word for “there” appearing in notes from mid-1960s in the phrase sanome tarne Olórin, Aracorno, Eomer, Imrahil “There stood Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer and Imrahil” (PE17/71). A similar form ᴹQ. sanome(s) appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from the late 1940s, where it was based on ᴹ√NOM “spot, place” (PE23/112).

The word can be contrasted with tanome “there” in different notes from the late 1960s (VT49/11, 19), and also in DRC from the 1940s. DRC made the distinction between these two words clear, in that tanome was “demonstrative there” pointing to a place not previously mentioned, while sanome was “anaphoric there” referring back to a place mentioned before. So “go there” would be á mene tanome, but “I went to the city and found Aragorn there” would be mennen i ostonna ar hirnen Aracorno sanome.

Lokyt originally suggested this distinction to me in a Discord conversation from 2022, and was eventually proven right by the publication of DRC in 2024.

tassë

adverb. there

The words tās and tasse “there” appeared in a list of demonstratives from 1968 (VT49/11), combinations of ta “that” and the locative suffix -ssë. Short form tas appeared in the phrase tas kennen nótime eldali “I saw a few elves there” in notes from 1969 (PE22/155). Similarly formed ᴹQ. tasse “there” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948, also with a short variant tas (PE23/97, 111).

en

there, look! yon (yonder)

en (1) interjection "there, look! yon (yonder)" (EN, VT45:12)

lairë

summer

lairë (1) noun "summer" (Letters:283, VT45:26), in the calendar of Imladris a precisely defined period of 72 days, but also used without any exact definition (Appendix D). Oiolairë "Eversummer", name of a tree (UT:167), see also Coron Oiolairë. Lairelossë noun *"Summer-snow", name of a tree (UT:167), perhaps with white flowers.

quén

one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman

quén (quen-, as in pl. queni; as final element in compounds -quen) noun "one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman", pl. queni = "persons", "(some) people", "they" with the most general meaning (as in "they [= people in general] say that..."). The element is combined with noun and adjective stems in old compounds to denote habitual occupations or functions, or to describe those having some notable (permanent) quality; examples include roquen, ciryaquen, arquen, q.v. Also in aiquen "whoever", ilquen "everybody" (WJ:361 cf. 360, 372).

sanomë

there

sanomë adv. "there" (PE17:71). Cf. sinomë, tanomë.

ta

there

ta (5) adv. "there" (VT49:33; this may be an Elvish root or "element" rather than a Quenya word; see tanomë; see however also tar, tara, tanna under ta #1).

tassë

there

tassë adv. "there" (VT49:11), short form tás. These seem to be properly locative forms of ta "that, it", hence "in that [place]". Compare allative tanna "thither" and ablative talo "thence".

tás

there

tás adv. "there" (VT49:11); also tassë, q.v.

yára

ancient, belonging to or descending from former times

yára adj. "ancient, belonging to or descending from former times" (YA); evidently it can also simply mean "old", since Tolkien used the intensive/superlative form #anyára to describe Elaine Griffiths as his "oldest" or "very old" friend in a book dedication (see an-).

lairë

noun. summer

min

cardinal. one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first

laire

noun. summer

tasse

there

tás

adverb. there

calima

bright

calima adj. "bright" (VT42:32); cf. ancalima; in PE17:56, arcalima appears as another superlative "brightest" (see ar- #2).

huë

cardinal. nine

huë "Qenya" cardinal "nine" (in Tolkiens later Quenya nertë) (VT49:54)

latin

open, free, cleared (of land)

latin, latina adj. "open, free, cleared (of land)" (LAT). According to VT41:5, the adjective latina "is used rather of freedom of movement, of things not encumbered with obstacles".

min

cardinal. one

min numeral "one", also minë (VT45:34, VT48:6)

minë

cardinal. one

minë numeral "one", also min (MINI, VT45:34)

mir

cardinal. one

mir (2) cardinal "one" (LT1:260; in LotR-style Quenya rather minë)

olma

cardinal. nine

olma cardinal "nine" (LT1:258; in Tolkien's later Quenya nertë)

rië

adverb. only

rëa

adjective. single

a

cardinal. one

lemya-

verb. remain, tarry

lemya- vb. "remain, tarry" (VT45:27)

lenu-

verb. stretch

lenu- vb. "stretch" (LT2:341)

láta

open

láta adj. "open" (VT39:23), "open, not closed" (PE17:159, VT41:5)

mo

one, someone, anyone

mo, indefinite pronoun "one, someone, anyone" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 20, 26)

panta

open

panta adj. "open" (PAT)

rea

adjective. single

rie

adverb. only

tehta

mark, sign

tehta noun "mark, sign" (TEK, VT39:17, Appendix E), especially diacritics denoting vowels in Fëanorian writing (pl. tehtar is attested); these diacritics are explicitly called ómatehtar "vowel-marks", q.v.

er

cardinal. one

neter

cardinal. nine

min

cardinal. one

erchamui

masculine name. One-handed

An earlier variant of S. Erchamion “One-handed” (LR/146, 405; Ety/KAB), ending instead with the adjective suffix -ui.

erchamion

masculine name. One-handed

er-

prefix. alone, one

loer

noun. summer

neder

cardinal. nine

neder

cardinal. nine

er Reconstructed

adjective. one, alone

andeith

noun. long-mark, sign used in writing alphabetic tengwar over a vowel, to indicate that it is lengthened.

iaur

adjective. older, former

min

fraction. one (first of a series)

he

pronoun. she

min

cardinal. one

he

pronoun. she

hen

pronoun. she

hene

pronoun. she

panna-

verb. to open, to enlarge

edra-

verb. to open

edro

verb. open!

hen(e)

pronoun. she

iaur

adjective. ancient, old, original

lhaden

adjective. open, cleared

minei

adjective. single, distinct, unique

teith

noun. mark

neter

root. nine

A root for “nine” introduced in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NÉTER), replacing earliest words for “nine” such as ᴱQ. olme(t) and ᴱQ. hue from the 1910s and 20s. The root continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings, and in his notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s he explored several possible origins for this root: connected to the finger name Q. nettë “little girl” derived from the root √NET “dainty” (VT47/33), based on the counting term Q. nete “one more” as in “nete, nete, nete, 10” (VT47/15-16), or simply as an independent invention of its own (VT47/12).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is easiest to assume √NETER its own root without any deeper etymology.

neter(e)

cardinal. nine

kalinā

adjective. bright

imin

masculine name. One

min

cardinal. one

siē

pronoun. she

hi

pronoun. she

A pronominal prefix, the feminine singular pronoun “she” (SD/247). It appears in the pseudo-phrase hi-Akallabêth “She-that-hath-fallen” in the sentence êphal êphalak îdô hi-Akallabêth and in the verb form hikalba “[she] fell” in the sentence Anadûnê zîrân hikalba “Númenor beloved fell (down)”. See the entry on pronominal-prefixes for more discussion.

ash

cardinal. one

ash

cardinal. one