lenna-

go

lenna- vb. "go", pa.t. lendë "went" (LED; cf. lelya-). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word lenna- wrongly appears as **linna-; see VT45:27.

men-

go

#men- (4) vb. "go" (VT47:11, cf. VT42:30, VT49:23), attested in the aorist (menë) in the sentence imbi Menel Cemenyë menë Ráno tië "between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon". In the verb nanwen- "return" (or go/come back), -men- is changed to -wen- following nan- "back" (etymological form cited as nan-men-, PE17:166). In examples from VT49:23, 24, Tolkien used men- in the sense of "go as far as": 1st person sg. aorist menin (menin coaryanna "I arrive at [or come/get to] his house"), endingless aorist menë, present tense ména- "is on point of arrival, is just coming to an end", past tense mennë "arrived, reached", in this tense usually with locative rather than allative (mennen sís "I arrive[d] here"), perfect eménië "has just arrived", future menuva "will arrive". All of these examples were first written with the verb as ten- rather than men-, Tolkien then emending the initial consonant.

o

preposition. from

Derivations

• ✶ăwă “from” ✧ PE17/148
  • √WĀ/AWA “away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago, away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago; [ᴹ√] forth, out” ✧ PE17/148
• ✶hō “from, coming from, as described by a genitive” ✧ PE22/168
  • √HO “from, coming from” ✧ WJ/361

Variations

• ō ✧ PE22/168

lango

passage

lango (2) noun "passage", especially across or over an obstacle, also "neck" (PE17:92)

ho

from

ho prep. "from" (3O); cf. hó-

ména

region

ména noun "region" (MEN). Not to be confused with the present/continuative tense of #men- "go".

o-

prefix. together

Cognates

• S. go- “together, co-, com-” ✧ PE17/016; PE17/191; PE17/191; WJ/367
• T. vo- “together” ✧ WJ/367

Derivations

• √WO “together” ✧ PE17/191; WJ/367
• ✶wō “together” ✧ PE19/106
  • √WO “together” ✧ WJ/361

Element in

• ᴺQ. ocantië “pattern”
• ᴺQ. ocar- “to cooperate, work together, participate”
• ᴺQ. ocaraitië “program, a set of activities”
• ᴺQ. ofelmë “sympathy, compassion, pity, *(lit.) together-feeling”
• ᴺQ. ohérë “government”
• Q. ohlon “diphthong” ✧ VT48/29
• Q. oholima “confidential”
• Q. ólama “consonant”
• Q. olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves”
• Q. olië “company, people together”
• ᴺQ. ólië “society, (lit.) together-people”
• ᴺQ. ólëo “society, (lit.) together-people”
• ᴺQ. olindë “harmony”
• ᴺQ. olirië “concert”
• Q. olos “inflorescence, mass of flowers (on one plant), inflorescence, mass of flowers”
• Q. olótë “bloom, the flowers collectively of a single plant”
• Q. ombari “company, dwellers together”
• Q. omen- “to move to a common point, meet, to meet, move to a common point, *(lit.) move together” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. omentië “meeting (of pathways), (lit.) coming together of journey-path, meeting or junction of the directions of two people” ✧ PE17/013; PE17/013; WJ/367
• ᴺQ. omírë “jewelry (collectively)”
• ᴺQ. omolmë “company, business, enterprise, firm”
• Q. onóna “twin-born; one of a pair of twins” ✧ WJ/367
• Q. onot- “to count up, reckon, [ᴹQ.] to count up, reckon”
• Q. onótië “*reckoning”
• ᴺQ. orendë “(nuclear) family”
• ᴺQ. ori “grain, seed”
• ᴺQ. ósana- “to counsel, think together”
• Q. ósanwë “communication of thought, interchange of thought; (lit.) thinking together (dual)”
• ᴺQ. ósat- “to share”
• Q. ostimë “blend”
• ᴺQ. otarmië “colonnade”
• ᴺQ. otolmië “keyboard”
• ᴺQ. ovëa “(con)similar, alike”
• Q. ovéa “(con)similar, alike”
• ᴺQ. ovesta “contract, compact, treaty”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WO/WONO > ŏ-´	[wo-] > [o-]	✧ PE17/191
✶gwo > wa-	[gwo-] > [gwa-] > [ɣwa-] > [wa-]	✧ PE19/106
✶gwo > o-	[gwo-] > [ɣwo-] > [ɣo-] > [o-]	✧ PE19/106
√WO > ó-	[wo-] > [o-]	✧ WJ/367

Variations

• ŏ-´ ✧ PE17/191 (ŏ-´)
• wa- ✧ PE19/106
• ó ✧ PE22/168 (ó)
• ŏ ✧ VT48/29
• ó- ✧ WJ/367; WJ/367

uo

together

[uo adv. "together" (PE17:191)]

uo

adverb. together

Derivations

• ✶ówō “together” ✧ PE17/191
  • √WO “together” ✧ PE17/191

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶ówō > uo	[owō] > [uo]	✧ PE17/191

yón

noun. region

ló

from

ló, lo (2) prep. "from", also used = "by" introducing the agent after a passive construction: nahtana ló Turin *"slain by Túrin" (VT49:24). A similar and possibly identical form is mentioned in the Etymologies as being somehow related to the ablative ending -llo, but is not there clearly defined (VT45:28). At one point, Tolkien suggested that lo rather than the ending -llo was used with proper names (lo Manwë rather than Manwello for "from Manwë"), but this seems to have been a short-lived idea (VT49:24).

-va

from

-va possessive ending, presumably related to the preposition va "from". In Eldaliéva, Ingoldova, miruvóreva, Oroméva, rómeva, Valinóreva (q.v. for references), Follondiéva, Hyallondiéva (see under turmen for references). Following a consonant, the ending instead appears as -wa (andamacilwa "of the long sword", PE17:147, rómenwa *"of the East", PE17:59). Pl. -vë when governing a plural word (from archaic -vai) (WJ:407), but it seems that -va was used throughout in late Exilic Quenya (cf. miruvóreva governing the plural word yuldar in Namárië). Pl. -iva (-ivë*), dual -twa, partitive pl. -líva**.

Yón

region, any (fairly extensive) region between obstacles such as rivers or mountains

yón (2), variant of yondë, q.v. Defined as "a region, any (fairly extensive) region _between obstacles such as rivers or mountains" (PE17:43)_

va

from

va prep. "from" (VT43:20; prefixed in the form var- in var-úra "from evil", VT43:24). In VT49:24, va, au and o are quoted as variants of the stem awa "away from".

menta-

send, cause to go

menta- (1) vb. "send, cause to go" (in a desired direction) (VT41:6, VT43:15). A similar-sounding primitive verb mentioned in PE17:93 is said to have past and perfect forms that would produce Quenya *mennë*, eménië, but here Tolkien seems to be discussing a distinct intransitive verb "go" and its Sindarin descendants, and Quenya menta- rather belongs to the causative (transitive) verbs which according to the same source has "weak" past-tense forms (in -në, hence mentanë "sent", and likely ementië** as perfect "has sent").

wa-

prefix. together

vanya-

go, depart, disappear

vanya- (2) vb. "go, depart, disappear", pa.t. vannë (WAN). The verb auta- may have replaced this word in Tolkien's later conception.

mentië

passage, journey, direction of travel

mentië noun "passage, journey, direction of travel" (PE17:13); the elements are men- "go, proceed" + tië "path, road". Not to be confused with the gerund of menta- #1.

lelya-

go, proceed (in any direction), travel

lelya- (1) vb. "go, proceed (in any direction), travel", pa.t. lendë / elendë (WJ:363, VT14:5, PE17:139) At one point Tolkien assigned a more specific meaning to the underlying root LED: "go away from the speaker or the point in mind, depart" (PE17:52), which would make lelya- a near synonym of auta-. The same source denies that the derivatives of _LED _were used simply for "go, move, travel", but elsewhere Tolkien assigns precisely that meaning to lelya-.

lelya-

verb. to go, proceed (in any direction), travel

Cognates

• T. delia- “to go, proceed” ✧ WJ/363

Derivations

• ✶ledya-
  • √LED “go, proceed, go, proceed, [ᴹ√] fare, travel” ✧ WJ/363

Element in

• ᴺQ. analelya- “to approach”
• ᴺQ. etelelya- “to go out, go into exile”
• ᴺQ. lelelya- “to travel”

Variations

• lelya- ✧ WJ/363

men-

verb. to go, proceed, move (generally); to come, arrive

Changes

• men- → men- “go, come” ✧ PE17/013

Derivations

• √MEN “go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region” ✧ VT49/23

Element in

• Q. alamen “good omen on departure”
• Q. Haimenar “*Far-farer”
• Q. Ambarmenië “Way of the World”
• Q. á menë amménië “proceed with more determination” ✧ PE17/094; PE17/094
• Q. Ermenië “One Beginning”
• ᴺQ. etemen- “to go out, go forth”
• Q. imbi Menel Cemenyë menë Ráno tië “between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon” ✧ VT47/11
• ᴺQ. menemma “movie, motion picture”
• Q. mennen sís “I arrive[d] here” ✧ VT49/24
• Q. menta- “to send, cause to go (in a desired direction)”
• Q. menta- “have as object[ive], (in)tend, proceed, make for, go towards” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. mentië “passage, journey, direction of travel” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. nanwen- “to return, go/come back”
• Q. omen- “to move to a common point, meet, to meet, move to a common point, *(lit.) move together” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. omentië “meeting (of pathways), (lit.) coming together of journey-path, meeting or junction of the directions of two people” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. quiquië menin coaryanna, arsë “whenever I arrive at his house/come to/get to, he is out” ✧ VT49/24
• Q. vá ménanyë “I am not coming (I say)” ✧ PE22/162
• Q. vá meninyë ó le “I won’t come with you” ✧ PE22/162
• Q. yá hríve menë, ringa ná “when winter comes/arrives/is with us, it is cold” ✧ VT49/24
• Q. yomenië “meeting, gathering, meeting, gathering, *congress”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√men- > mēna-	[mēna-]	✧ VT49/23

av-

depart

#av- vb. "depart" (cited in the form avin "he departs", read "I depart" in LotR-style Quenya), pa.t. ambë (QL:33). The word may perhaps be used to translate "leave" with a direct object, since "depart" is at least vaguely transitive in English.

entulessë

return

entulessë noun "return" (UT:171)

entulessë

proper name. Return

The name of the Númerórean ship that was the first to return to Middle-earth, six centuries after Númenor was settled (UT/171). It is the noun entulessë “return” used as a name.

Elements

Word	Gloss
entulessë	“return”

entulessë

noun. return

Element in

• Q. Entulessë “Return” ✧ UT/171

Elements

Word	Gloss
entul-	“to come again, *return”
-ssë	“abstract noun”

Variations

• Entulessë ✧ UT/171

hyarya

left

hyarya adj. "left" (opposite of right). (KHYAR). Compare hyarma.

lelta-

send

#lelta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: leltanelyes "you sent him" (VT47:21)

lendë

left, went

lendë vb. "left, went" (pa.t. of lelya- "go") (FS, LR:47, SD:310, WJ:362), or, according to the Etymologies, the pa.t. of lenna- "go" and lesta- "leave" (LED, ELED. In the Etymologies as printed in LR, lenna- was misread as "linna-"; see VT45:27)

lenta-

send

[#lenta- vb. "send", attested in the past tense with pronominal suffixes: lentanelyes "you sent him". Changed by Tolkien to #lelta-, q.v. (VT47:22, 21)]

nanwen-

return

nanwen- vb. "return" (go/come back) (PE17:166). The etymological form nan-men- indicates that the second element is #men- "go", changed to -wen- following nan- "back"; hence the perfect should perhaps be *naneménië.

pata-

walk

pata- vb. "walk" (PE17:34)

vanta

walk

vanta (2) noun "walk" (BAT)

uo

adverb. together

Element in

• ᴺQ. uomë “community”

go'

go'

Q. ŏ-'. >> gwá. This gloss was rejected.

go-

prefix. *away

A hypothetical element in the name Gódhel, a late Sindarin replacement for Ódhel “Elf who left for Aman”, but Tolkien said “it seems most probable that it took g- from the old clan-name Golodh, pl. Goelydh, which it practically replaced” (WJ/364). Thus ✱go- “away” < ✶wā- is probably a false etymology.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use gwa- as the prefix for “away”, as in gwahae “✱far away”.

Derivations

• ✶wā- “*away” ✧ WJ/364

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶wā > gwǭ > go	[wā-] > [wǭ-] > [gwǭ-] > [gwau-] > [gwo-] > [go-]	✧ WJ/364

Variations

• go ✧ WJ/364

go-

together

_pref. _together. Q. o-.

go-

prefix. together, co-, com-

Cognates

• Q. o- “together” ✧ PE17/016; PE17/191; PE17/191; WJ/367

Derivations

• √WO “together” ✧ PE17/016; PE17/191; WJ/367
• ✶wō “together” ✧ WJ/368
  • √WO “together” ✧ WJ/361

Element in

• S. genedia- “to reckon”
• S. gobel “village, town (enclosure), (walled) village, town (enclosure); [N.] walled house, *manor”
• ᴺS. gobem “mouth”
• ᴺS. gobeth “dictionary”
• ᴺS. goianna- “to join with, add to”
• ᴺS. golain “connection, relation, context, (lit.) threadage”
• ᴺS. golof “consonant”
• S. goloth “inflorescence, *collection of flowers”
• ᴺS. gothiol “similar”
• S. govan- “to meet, come to same place” ✧ PE17/016
• ᴺS. gwachon “(sworn) brother, associate”
• ᴺS. gwalir “rhyme, rime (the two actual rhyming words), rhyming poem”
• ᴺS. gwanos “family, birth, heredity, *lineage”
• S. gwanunig “twin” ✧ WJ/367; WJ/367
• ᴺS. gwaren “[nuclear] family”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WĂ/WO > go	[wo-] > [gwo-] > [go-]	✧ PE17/016
√WO/WONO > go´	[wo-] > [gwo-] > [go-]	✧ PE17/191
√WO/WONO > gwa´	[wó-] > [wá-] > [gwá-]	✧ PE17/191
√WO > gwa-	[wó-] > [wá-] > [gwá-]	✧ WJ/367
✶wo > gwo > go-	[wo-] > [gwo-] > [go-]	✧ WJ/368

Variations

• go ✧ PE17/016
• go´ ✧ PE17/191 (go´)
• gwa´ ✧ PE17/191 (gwa´)
• gwa- ✧ WJ/367

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from, of. In older S. o had the form od before vowels. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'.

o

preposition. from

_ prep. _from. . This gloss was rejected.

men-

verb. to go

Derivations

• √MEN “go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region”

Element in

• S. dadwen- “to return, go back”
• S. nidhin mened “I have a mind to go, I intend to go” ✧ PE22/165

gardh

noun. region

Cognates

• Q. arda “region, realm, particular land or region, region, realm, particular land or region; [ᴱQ.] place, spot” ✧ WJ/402

Derivations

• ✶gardā “region” ✧ WJ/402
  • ᴹ√GAR “keep, hold, possess; maintain, defend”

Element in

• S. Ard-galen “Green Region”
• S. Ardhon “The World”
• S. Calenardhon “Green Province”
• S. gardhon “province”
• S. Garthúrian “Hidden Realm”
• S. Lisgardh “Land of Reeds” ✧ UT/034

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶gardā > gardh	[gardā] > [garda] > [garða] > [garð]	✧ WJ/402

govad-

verb. to meet

od

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

region

noun. holly-tree area

[HKF] reg (Dor. regorn “holly tree”) + ion (Dor. gen. pl. suffix) = Dor. Regornion [Etym. ERÉK-]

gwa-

prefix. together (only in old compounds, the living form is go-)

gwa-

prefix. together, co-, com-

Element in

• ᴺS. gwabeth “sentence, phrase”

ardhon

noun. world

gardh

noun. bounded or defined region

gardh

noun. world

gwae-

verb. to go, depart

This highly irregular verb appeared in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 as the Sindarin equivalent of Q. auta- “go (away), depart”, itself very irregular, both verbs derived from the invertible root √WĀ/AWA (PE17/148). The Sindarin verb has a present tense form gwaen “I go” and past forms 1st. sg. anwen “✱I went” and 3rd. sg. anu/awn “✱he/she went”, with these past forms apparently based on an ancient nasal-infixed strong past ✶anwē (from which the archaic Q. strong past †anwe “went” was derived). It has two more forms gwanu/gwawn. These seem to be the equivalent of Q. vanwa “lost” < ✶wanwā.

The present tense form gwaen “I go” is especially peculiar. Compare this to the more regular present tenses cewin “I taste” < kawin(e) (PE22/152) and galon “I grow” < galān(e) (PE17/131). I think the likeliest explanation is that gwaen is derived from an ancient aorist form wa-i-nĭ, with ai becoming ae as was usual of Sindarin’s phonetic developments. If so, the presents of this verb would be based on √WA and the pasts based on √AW.

A final twist is that in the note from DLN Tolkien mentions u-intrusion, a sound change parallel to the more common i-intrusion, whereby a final u moved before a preceding consonant. The forms awn and gwawn are thus the u-intruded results of anu and gwanu. This u-intrusion would not occur in forms with further suffixes, like anwen “I went”.

A probably related form gwanwen “departed” appears in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay from 1959-60 (WJ/378). This could be an independent adjective, but could also be a passive participle of gwae- (or some variant of it), possibly a strengthened or elaborated form of gwanu/gwawn. Note that Q&E also states that:

> The only normal derivative [of AWA] is the preposition o, the usual word for ‘from, of’. None of the forms of the element ✱awa are found as a prefix in S, probably because they became like or the same as the products of ✱wō, ✱wo (WJ/366).

Some people believe this indicates that Tolkien rejected other derivatives like gwae-, but since Q&E also contains gwanwen, I think this statement only applies to direct derivatives of AWA, as opposed to gwae- and gwanwen which are derived from the inverted root WĀ.

Neo-Sindarin: How to handle this verb in the context of Neo-Sindarin is unclear. Given the extreme irregularity of this verb, it is tempting to discard it. Unfortunately, we have no other attested Sindarin verbs for “to depart”. Furthermore, common verbs like “go” tend to be irregular in many languages (such as English as “go” vs. “went”), so it makes sense the same would be true of Sindarin. As such, I propose the following conjugation for this verb (hat tip to Gilruin for most of this paradigm; he suggested much better forms than my original ideas):

• Present tense ✱gwae “go” < primitive ✶gwa-ĭ, with inflections added to this form: gwaen “I go”, ✱gwael “you go”, etc.

• Past tense awn “went” < ✶anwē with u-intrusion. Inflected forms are based on non-intruded anw-: anwen “I went”, ✱anwel “you went”, etc.

• Past/passive participle gwanwen “departed”, an elaboration of the older (archaic?) perfective participle gwanu/gwawn.

• Future ✱gwatha “will go”, ✱gwathon “I will go”, < ✶wa-thā, wa-thā-nĭ.

• Gerund ✱gwaed (< ✶wa-itā) and active participle ✱gwaul (< ✶wa-ālā) “departing”.

• Imperative ✱gwaw “go!” < ✶wa-ā, as with baw “don’t!” < ✶bā (WJ/371-2).

Finally, this verb means “go” specifically in the sense “depart”, that is: “go away”. For “go (generally and in any direction)”, use the verb men-.

If you dislike this irregularity of gwae- or you believe that Tolkien’s note in Q&E (see above) indicates this verb was rejected along with (most) Sindarin derivatives of AWA, then the neologism haena- “to leave, depart” gives an alternative verb.

Cognates

• Q. auta- “to go (away), depart, leave; to disappear, be lost, pass away” ✧ PE17/148

Derivations

• √WĀ/AWA “away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago, away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago; [ᴹ√] forth, out” ✧ PE17/148

Element in

• S. gwanwen “departed, departed, *gone, lost [to time], past” ✧ WJ/378

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√AWA/WĀ > gwaen	[wain] > [gwain] > [gwaen]	✧ PE17/148
√AWA/WĀ > anwen	[anwen]	✧ PE17/148
√AWA/WĀ > anu	[anwe] > [anw] > [anu]	✧ PE17/148
√AWA/WĀ > awn	[anwe] > [anw] > [aun]	✧ PE17/148
√AWA/WĀ > gwanu	[wanwa] > [gwanwa] > [gwanw] > [gwanu]	✧ PE17/148
√AWA/WĀ > gwawn	[wanwa] > [gwanwa] > [gwanw] > [gwaun]	✧ PE17/148

harvo

noun. left hand

harvo

noun. left side

ardhon

noun. great region, province

pada-

verb. to walk

dadwen

verb. return

_v. _return, going/coming back. Q. nanwen-. >> damen

damen

verb. return

_ v. _return. Q. nanwen-. >> dan-

hair

noun/adjective. left (hand)

hair

left

(adj.) hair (lenited chair; no distinct pl. form); also used as noun

hair

left

HAND (*hair, o chair, i chair, no distinct pl. form even with article; cited in archaic form heir, LR:365 s.v. KHYAR). Adj. LEFT also crom (lenited grom, pl. crym), with corresponding noun

hair

left

(lenited chair; no distinct pl. form); also used as noun

hair

left hand

o chair, i chair, no distinct pl. form even with article; cited in archaic form heir, LR:365 s.v. KHYAR). Adj.

hâr

left

(noun, the direction) hâr (i châr) (south).

hâr

left

(i châr) (south).

pad-

walk

_ v. _walk, step. Q. pata-. >> Tharbad

pada

walk

(on a track or path) pada- (i bada, i phadar)

pada

walk

(on a track or path) pada- (i bada, i phadar)

padra-

walk

_ v. _walk. >> pad-

bad

go

#bad- (i vâd, i medir), pa.t. bant. Isolated from trevad- ”traverse”.

bad

go

(i vâd, i medir), pa.t. bant. Isolated from trevad- ”traverse”.

go

together

(prefix) go-, gwa- (+ lenition) (co-, com-).

go

together

gwa- (+ lenition) (co-, com-).

o

of

(od), followed by hard mutation. With article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by ”mixed” mutation according to David Salo’s reconstuctuons). (WJ:366). Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning”.

govad

meet

*govad- (i **ovad, i ngevedir = i ñevedir), pa.t. govant, past participle govannen** ”met”. (The latter is the only attested form.)

govad

meet

(i ’ovad, i ngevedir = i ñevedir), pa.t. govant, past participle govannen ”met”. (The latter is the only attested form.)

ardh

region

1) ardh (realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath. 2) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413), 3) gardh (i **ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh), 4) gwaith (i **waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

ardh

region

(realm), pl. erdh, also in augmented form ardhon (great region, great province, world), pl. erdhyn, coll. pl. ardhonnath.

dôr

region

(i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, land), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413)

gardh

region

(i ’ardh) (bounded or defined place), pl. gerdh (i ngerdh = i ñerdh)

godref

through together

(AI:92)

gwaith

region

(i ’waith) (manhood, manpower, troop of able-bodied men, host, regiment, people, wilderness), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaith).

crom

left

(lenited grom, pl. crym), with corresponding noun

gilwen

region of stars

(Quenya Ilmen), also Gilith. In the Etymologies, this word is derived from a root GIL (LR:358) and would then have the form ’Ilwen (’Ilwith) when lenited. But in a later source, Tolkien cited the relevant root as ÑGIL (MR:388), and the lenited form would then be Ngilwen (Ngilwith).

gwanna

depart

gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (die)

gwanna

depart

(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (die)

aran

king of a region

(pl. erain)

crumguru

having a cunning left hand

lenited grumguru, pl. crumgyry (or crymgyry if the entire word is umlauted, but this may be unlikely) (VT45:24)

ho

preposition. from

Derivations

• ✶ʒō “from” ✧ PE21/78

vo-

prefix. together

Cognates

• Q. o- “together” ✧ WJ/367

Derivations

• √WO “together” ✧ WJ/367

Variations

• vō/vo- ✧ WJ/367

delia-

verb. to go, proceed

Cognates

• Q. lelya- “to go, proceed (in any direction), travel” ✧ WJ/363

Derivations

• ✶delya- “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360
  • √DEL “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360

Variations

• delia ✧ WJ/364

auta-

verb. to go, depart, pass away

Cognates

• Q. auta- “to go (away), depart, leave; to disappear, be lost, pass away” ✧ WJ/366

Derivations

• √WĀ/AWA “away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago, away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago; [ᴹ√] forth, out” ✧ WJ/365

yad-

verb. to go

A verb appearing in the Lament of Akallabêth in the form ayadda “(it) went” (SD/247, VT24/12). Its initial element is the 3rd persons neuter plural suffix a- “it”. This leaves the basic verb form yadda, which is the past tense according to the theories used here.

Conceptual Development: It appeared in the form yadda in the first draft version of the Lament, and this form was also briefly considered as a replacement for unakkha “he-came” in the first sentence of the Lament (SD/312).

Element in

• Ad. adûn izindi batân tâidô ayadda “[the] road west once went straight, (lit.) west straight road once went” ✧ SD/247; SD/312

-ô

preposition. from

A prepositional suffix translated “from” (SD/429). In a few places, the suffix appears with the glide-consonant v (pronounced [w]) between it and a preceding u-vowel (SD/247, 249). It is likely related to the Quenya genitive inflection Q. -o.

Conceptual Development: At an earlier conceptual stage, this suffix was a grammatical inflection, the draft-genitive -ō (SD/438).

Cognates

• Q. -o “of; genitive ending”

Element in

• Ad. Bârim an-Adûn yurahtam dâira sâibêth-mâ Êruvô “Lords of [the] West, they rent [the] Earth with assent from Eru” ✧ SD/247; SD/249
• Ad. bārun an-adūn {urahhata >>} urahta dāira sāibēth-mā ēruvō ✧ SD/247
• Ad. Indilzar Azrabêlôhin “*Line of Elros [son] of Earendil” ✧ SD/365; SD/382

Variations

• -o ✧ SD/365
• ō ✧ SD/429

gō

preposition. from

gardā

noun. region

Derivations

• ᴹ√GAR “keep, hold, possess; maintain, defend”

Derivatives

• Q. arda “region, realm, particular land or region, region, realm, particular land or region; [ᴱQ.] place, spot” ✧ WJ/402
• S. gardh “region” ✧ WJ/402

wo

root. together

This root was the basis for the prefix Q. o- and S. go- “together”. In the 1910s Gnomish Lexicon, G. go- (unaccented) or gwa- “together” was derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a and the Qenya form was ᴱQ. ma- (GL/40-41). In the 1920s the Early Noldorin form was still ᴱN. go- or gwa- but the Qenya form was ᴱQ. va- (PE13/162), probably from primitive ✱wa-. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WŌ̆ “together” with derivatives ᴹQ. o- and N. go- or stressed gwa- (Ety/WŌ; EtyAC/WŌ).

In The Etymologies Tolkien explained the go-/gwa- variation in Noldorin as the result of the sound change whereby stressed wŏ became wa in Common Eldarin (Ety/WŌ); Tolkien gave a similar explanation for Sindarin in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/367). Despite stressed wŏ > wa being an ancient change, the wa variant did not survive in Quenya. Tolkien explained the sound change whereby wo became o in Quenya several times: in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) from the 1930s, in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, and in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (PE19/53, 106; WJ/367). The root √WO itself also appeared several times in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/16, 191; WJ/361), in one place with the variant √WONO (PE17/191).

Derivatives

• ✶ówō “together” ✧ PE17/191
  • Q. uo “together” ✧ PE17/191
• ✶wō “together” ✧ WJ/361
  • Q. o- “together” ✧ PE19/106
  • S. go- “together, co-, com-” ✧ WJ/368
  • ᴺS. gu “(together) with”
• Q. o- “together” ✧ PE17/191; WJ/367
• S. go- “together, co-, com-” ✧ PE17/016; PE17/191; WJ/367
• T. vo- “together” ✧ WJ/367

Element in

• ᴺ✶. womātē “*community, (lit.) eating-together”
• ᴺQ. ólav- “to compromise”
• ᴺQ. ómen “crossroads”
• ᴺS. goven “crossroads”

Variations

• WĂ/WO ✧ PE17/016
• WO/WONO ✧ PE17/191 (WO/WONO)

wō

prefix. together

Derivations

• √WO “together” ✧ WJ/361

Derivatives

• Q. o- “together” ✧ PE19/106
• S. go- “together, co-, com-” ✧ WJ/368
• ᴺS. gu “(together) with”

Variations

• gwo ✧ PE19/106
• wo- ✧ WJ/367
• wo ✧ WJ/368

ʒō

preposition. from

Derivatives

• T. ho “from” ✧ PE21/78

Variations

• ʒō̆ ✧ PE21/78

ówō

adverb. together

Derivations

• √WO “together” ✧ PE17/191

Derivatives

• Q. uo “together” ✧ PE17/191

ăwă

preposition. from

Derivations

• √WĀ/AWA “away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago, away (from); go (away), depart, pass away, move (from speaker); before (of time), ago; [ᴹ√] forth, out” ✧ PE17/148

Derivatives

• Q. o “from” ✧ PE17/148
• S. o “from, of” ✧ PE17/148

led

root. go, proceed, go, proceed, [ᴹ√] fare, travel

This root appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/LED) and in some later writings (PE17/51, 139) with the basic sense “go”. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien decided that √LED was a Quenya-only variant of the original root √DEL (WJ/360, 363). Elsewhere, Tolkien said that √LED was “not much used in Sindarin except in compounds with ✶et ‘out’ as edlen(n)” (PE17/51). Its Sindarin derivative S. lembas “way bread” was reassigned to √LEN (PE17/60). See √DEL and √LEN for further discussion.

Derivatives

• ✶etlendā “exiled” ✧ PE17/051
  • S. edlen(n) “exiled” ✧ PE17/051
• ✶ledmē “leaving, departure” ✧ PE17/051
  • Q. lenwë “leaving, departure” ✧ PE17/051
• ✶lednē ✧ PE17/051
• ✶ledya- ✧ WJ/363
  • Q. lelya- “to go, proceed (in any direction), travel”
• ᴺQ. etelenda “exiled”
• ᴺQ. etelerro “exile”
• Q. lenna- “to come, to come; [ᴹQ.] to go, depart” ✧ PE17/139
• Q. lenda- “to go free”
• ᴺQ. lendë “journey”
• S. glenna- “*to travel”
• ᴺS. lîdh “journey”

Element in

• ✶le(n)dembassē “bread taken on leaving home (for a long journey)” ✧ PE17/052
• S. lembas “waybread, journey-bread” ✧ PE17/051

Variations

• led- ✧ WJ/363

del

root. walk, go, proceed, travel

This root appears in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 with the sense “walk, go, proceed, travel” (WJ/360). Its derivatives were S. Edhel “Elf” and Q. †Eldo which blended with Elda “Elf”, both originally with the sense “one who goes” (✶edelō): those who left lake Cuiviénen to travel to Valinor. It is also the basis of several words meaning “to go”: T. delia- and Q. lelya-.

Many of Quenya derivatives of this root actually derive from an inversion √LED of the original √DEL. According to the Quendi and Eldar essay, this inversion only occurred in Quenya (WJ/363). In earlier writings like The Etymologies, however, ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” was the basic root in all languages. It seems that Tolkien revised ᴹ√LED >> √DEL, preserving √LED only as a Quenya variant. The strongest sign of this change was Tolkien’s consistent alteration of N. Eledh >> S. Edhel.

This leaves open the question of what happened to the other non-Quenya derivatives of ᴹ√LED, such as S. edlen(n) “exile”. It is possible that they were transferred to a new root √LEN, which was the basis for S. lembas “way bread” (PE17/60).

Derivatives

• ✶delya- “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360
  • T. delia- “to go, proceed” ✧ WJ/360
• ✶edelō “one who goes, traveller, migrant, marcher” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/363
  • Q. Elda “Elf, (lit.) one of the Star-folk” ✧ PE17/152
  • S. Ell “Elf” ✧ PE17/141
    • S. Elleth “Elf-maid” ✧ PE17/141
    • S. Ellon “Elf-man” ✧ PE17/141
  • Q. Eldo “one of the Marchers” ✧ WJ/363
  • S. Edhel “Elf” ✧ PE17/141; PE17/152; WJ/360
  • T. Ello “Elf” ✧ WJ/362; WJ/360
• Q. lelta- “to send, *(lit.) cause to go”

Variations

• DELE ✧ WJ/360
• DEL ✧ WJ/363
• del ✧ WJ/363
• Dele ✧ WJ/392

delya-

verb. walk, go, proceed, travel

Derivations

• √DEL “walk, go, proceed, travel” ✧ WJ/360

Derivatives

• T. delia- “to go, proceed” ✧ WJ/360

Variations

• del-ja ✧ WJ/360

ba(n)

root. meet, come up against; go (away), meet, come up against; go, [ᴹ√] proceed

A root meaning “go, proceed” appearing as one of the many etymologies of Q. vanwa “gone, departed”. It may have been a partial restoration of the (rejected) meaning of the root ᴹ√AB “go away, depart” from The Etymologies of the 1930s, a root that later was altered in that document to mean “refuse, deny, say no” (Ety/AB). It may also have been intended as a replacement for ᴹ√WAN “depart, go away, disappear, vanish”, also from The Etymologies and the basis for ᴹQ. vanwa in the 1930s.

In the published corpus, the first clear mention of this root is in a discussion of the Quenya future suffix -(u)va from the late 1940s where it was given as √BĀ, BANA “go, proceed” with Q. vanwa “gone, over” as one of its derivatives (PE22/97). It appeared again in a discussion of the Sindarin greeting mae govannen “well met” from the late 1950s, where Tolkien hypothesized that the verb “meet” might be go- “together” + ban- “go” or “meet”, which he again connected to Q. vanwa “gone” (PE17/16). Phonetic complications prompted Tolkien to coin a new verb covad- “assemble, gather together” from a root √KOB, but he was unwilling to commit at this time to the new verb because of the obvious similarity of govannen to √BAN “go” (PE17/16-17).

However, in 1959 when he was overhauling the Eldarin system of negation, it seems Tolkien finally rejected √BA(N) “go” because of the conflict with √BĀ/ABA “refuse”, and he transferred the sense “go” to the root √MEN (PE17/143). In etymological notes contemporaneous with the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien restored √KOB “gather” (PE17/150) though he seems to have eventually settled on the form √KOM for this root along with a restored verb S. covad- “bring together, make meet” (PE17/157-158). Q. vanwa “gone” was also transferred to √WĀ/AWA by the time of the Quendi and Eldar essay (WJ/366). Meanwhile, the Quenya future had been transferred from √BA to the root √UB in the early 1950s (PE22/132).

This left no remaining functions for √BA(N) “go”, and there is no further sign of it starting in the 1960s.

Changes

• BA(N) → MEN “go” ✧ PE17/143
• ba(n) → men “go” ✧ VT42/32

Derivatives

• Q. vanwa “gone, lost, departed, vanished, past, over, no longer to be had, passed away, dead, gone, lost, departed, vanished, past, over, no longer to be had, passed away, dead, [ᴹQ.] gone for good; [ᴱQ.] on the road” ✧ PE17/016
• S. ban- “?to go” ✧ PE17/016

Variations

• ABA/BA ✧ PE17/016 (ABA/BA)
• BAN ✧ PE17/016; PE17/150
• ba(n) ✧ VT42/32 (ba(n))

men

root. go, move, proceed (in any direction); make for, go towards; have as object, (in)tend; direction, object, point moved toward; region

This root first appeared as unglossed ᴹ√MEN in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but seemed to be stationary in nature given its derivatives ᴹQ. men “place, spot” and ᴹQ. ména “region” (Ety/MEN). It was an element in direction words like ᴹQ. formen/N. forven, apparently meaning “✱north place” at this conceptual stage. In the Quenya Verbal System of the 1940s, Tolkien first gave the root the gloss “aim at, intend, purpose” with the more specific sense “make for, proceed towards” when used with the allative, but then crossed this out and simply made the gloss “go, proceed” (PE22/103 and note #21). In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, Tolkien first gave √MEN the gloss as “place, situation, site”, then revised it to “direction, object, point moved toward” (PE21/79 and note #39).

Thereafter Tolkien mostly gave this root the basic sense “go” (PE17/93, 143, 165; VT39/11; VT42/32). Tolkien gave a somewhat lengthy description of the root in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959:

> √MEN go, move, proceed in any direction (irrespective of speaker’s position, or assumed point of thought). mēn- a way, a going, a mov[ement] (PE17/165).

Thus in the 1950s and 1960s, Q. formen likely meant “✱north way” rather than “✱north place”. However, in a footnote in The Road Goes Ever On, Tolkien did say that men had the meaning “direction, region” as part of an explanation of √MENEL “heavens” = men + el (“region of stars”), so it seems Tolkien did not entirely abandon the use of this element as a name for places.

For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I sometimes see √MEN use for movement in general (as in motion picture) rather than movement in a direction. I personally recommend using ᴱQ. lev- “(intr.) move” from Qenya Wordlists of the 1920s for that purpose (PE16/132) since I think it is important to distinguish “move” from “go”, but if you prefer to use only later words you might be more comfortable expanding the semantic scope of √MEN to movement in general.

Changes

• MEN → MEN “place, situation, site” ✧ PE21/79

Derivatives

• ✶meinā ✧ VT39/11
  • Q. mína “desiring to start, eager to go” ✧ VT39/11
  • Q. mína- “to desire to go in some direction, wish to go to a place, make for it; to have some end in view, to desire to go in some direction, wish to go to a place, make for it; to have some end in view, *intend” ✧ VT39/11
• ✶mēn- “a way, a going, a mov[ement]” ✧ PE17/165
• ✶omen- “to move to a common point, meet”
  • Q. omen- “to move to a common point, meet, to meet, move to a common point, *(lit.) move together” ✧ PE17/013
• Q. men “way, way; [ᴹQ.] place, spot”
• Q. men- “to go, proceed, move (generally); to come, arrive” ✧ VT49/23
• Q. mendë “*will”
• ᴺQ. menesta “intention, *goal”
• ᴺQ. menesta “motion, movement”
• Q. menta- “to send, cause to go (in a desired direction)” ✧ PE17/165; VT41/06
• ᴺQ. oment- “to meet”
• S. men- “to go”
• S. men “road, way, road, way; [N.] *place”
• ᴺS. menna- “to send, (lit.) make go”
• ᴺS. ment “message”
• ᴺS. mîn “motion”

Element in

• √MENEL “heavens, firmament, heavens, firmament, [ᴹ√] sky”
• ᴺQ. carmen “recipe”
• Q. coimen “life-year”
• ᴺQ. etementa- “to banish, send out, (lit.) out-send”
• ᴺQ. immenwa “automobile”
• ᴺQ. mendar “station, (lit.) way-stop”
• Q. menta- “have as object[ive], (in)tend, proceed, make for, go towards” ✧ PE17/093
• Q. olmen “growth-year”
• ᴺQ. ómen “crossroads”
• Q. turmen “realm”
• ᴺS. goven “crossroads”
• S. menel “the heavens, firmament, region of the stars” ✧ RGEO/64

Variations

• men ✧ RGEO/64; VT41/06; VT42/32
• men- ✧ VT49/23

nanmen-

verb. return

Derivatives

• Q. nanwen- “to return, go/come back” ✧ PE17/166
• S. dadwen- “to return, go back” ✧ PE17/166

Variations

• nan-men ✧ PE17/166

wā-

prefix. *away

Theoretical initial element in ancient wādelo “those who departed Middle-earth”, but according to Tolkien this was a false etymology (WJ/364).

Derivatives

• S. go- “*away” ✧ WJ/364

Element in

• ✶wādelo ✧ WJ/364

Variations

• wā ✧ WJ/364

go-

prefix. together

go-

prefix. together

Cognates

• ᴹQ. o- “together” ✧ Ety/WŌ

Derivations

• ᴹ√WO “together” ✧ Ety/KWET; Ety/NAT
• ᴹ✶wō̆- “together” ✧ Ety/WŌ
  • ᴹ√WO “together” ✧ Ety/WŌ

Element in

• N. gobel “walled house or village, town”
• N. gobennas “history” ✧ Ety/KWET
• N. godrebh “abreast; *together-through”
• N. gwaloth “blossom, collection of flowers”
• N. gonathra- “to entangle, enmesh” ✧ Ety/NAT
• N. gonod- “to count (up)” ✧ Ety/WŌ
• N. govad- “to meet”
• N. gowest “contract, compact, treaty” ✧ Ety/WŌ
• N. gwanod “tale, number, number, tale”
• N. gwanur “kinsman, kinswoman” ✧ Ety/WŌ
• N. gwastar “hummock” ✧ Ety/WŌ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√WŌ̆ > go-	[wo-] > [gwo-] > [go-]	✧ Ety/NAT
ᴹ✶wō/wŏ > gwa-	[wó-] > [wá-] > [gwá-]	✧ Ety/WŌ

Variations

• go ✧ Ety/KWET
• gwa- ✧ Ety/WŌ (gwa-)

o

preposition. from, of (preposition (as a proclitic) used in either direction, from or to the point of view of the speaker)

According to WJ/366, the preposition "is normally o in all positions, though od appears occasionally before vowels, especially before o-". With a suffixed article, see also uin

ledh-

verb. to go, to go, *travel, journey

@@@ extended meanings suggested by Fiona Jallings

Derivations

• On. led- “to fare”
  • ᴹ√LED “go, fare, travel” ✧ Ety/LED; EtyAC/LED

Element in

• N. neledh- “*to go in, enter” ✧ TAI/150

crom

noun. left

crom

adjective. left

Derivations

• ᴹ✶krumbā “*left” ✧ Ety/KURÚM
  • ᴹ√KURUM “*left” ✧ Ety/KURÚM

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶krumbā > crom	[kurúmbā] > [krumba] > [krumba] > [kromba] > [kromb] > [kromb] > [kromm] > [krom]	✧ Ety/KURÚM

gwa-

prefix. *away

Cognates

• ᴹQ. va “away”

Derivations

• ᴹ√AWA “away, forth; out”

Element in

• ᴺS. gwachae “far away”
• S. gwahae “*far away”
• N. gwahae “*far away” ✧ EtyAC/KHAYA

Variations

• gwa- ✧ EtyAC/KHAYA (gwa-)

gwa-

prefix. together (only in old compounds, the living form is go-)

gwa-

prefix. together

hargam

noun. left-handed

gwanna-

verb. to depart, die

pendrad

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

pendrath

noun. passage up or down slope, stairway

crum

noun. left hand

crumui

adjective. left-handed

heir

noun/adjective. left (hand)