cirya
ship
man tiruva fána cirya?
Who shall heed a white ship?
The sixth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed by the future of tir- “to heed”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective fána “white”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man tir-uva fána cirya? = “✱who heed-(future) white ship”
man tiruva rácina cirya?
Who shall heed a broken ship?
The thirty-second line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb tir- “to heed”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective rácina “broken”, itself the passive-particle of the verb rac- “to break”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man tir-uva rácina cirya = “✱who heed-(future) broken ship”
ciryaquen
noun. shipman, sailor
A word for a “shipman, sailor” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, a combination of cirya “ship” with quén “person” (WJ/372). Tolkien specified that “these compounds being old were accented as unitary words and the main stress came on the syllable preceding -quen” (WJ/407), so stressed cirYAquen and (plural) cirYAqueni.
Conceptual Development: The Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s had ᴹQ. veaner “sailor” as a combination of ᴹQ. vea “sea” and ᴹQ. nér “man”, along with an archaic variant ᴹQ. vainar (PE21/17), the latter with some phonetic modifications particular to this document and not seen in Tolkien’s later writings.
cirya tyulma
a ship-mast, ship’s mast, mast of an unspecified ship or any ship
man cenuva fána cirya?
Who shall see a white ship?
The first line of the Markirya poem (MC/221). The first word is man “who” (men [sic] in the published version, likely a mistake) followed by the future tense of the verb cen- “to see”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective fána “white”. In the published version, the adjective is given in the plural form fáne, but this may be a mistake, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya).
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man cen-uva fána cirya = “✱who see-(future) white ship”
ciryahto
noun. shipwright
shipwright
ciryaquen
shipman, sailor
ciryaquen ("k") "shipman, sailor" (WJ:372)
kiryaktō
noun. shipwright
kiryā kyulmā
a ship’s mast
cair
noun. ship
The Sindarin word for “ship”, most notably appearing as an element in the name Cair Andros “Ship of Long Foam” (LotR/812; PM/371). It is derived from primitive ✶kiryā, with the ancient i becoming e via a-affection [kery(a)], then the y intruding into the main syllable to form the diphthong ei [keir], and ultimately ei becoming ai as usual in final syllables in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s [kair]. This word has a somewhat unusual plural, since ī replaced final ā in its ancient plural [kiryā-ī > kirī], so that a-affection did not occur resulting in a modern plural form cîr “ships” (PE17/147). Its class plural is likewise the somewhat unusual ciriath “[all the] ships” for similar reasons.
Conceptual Development: The Etymologies from around 1937 had N. ceir “ship” under the root ᴹ√KIR “cleave” (Ety/KIR), since in Noldorin of the 1930s ei did not (usually) become ai in final syllables. In Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, Tolkien gave cīr “ship”, first marked “N.”, then “Ilk.”, then “N. & Ilk.” (PE21/57 and note #28). It had the class plurals círiath or ciriath but it is not clear which of these was the intended final form (PE21/57 note #28). I think ciriath is more phonologically plausible; compare class plural S. Firiath “Mortals” vs. ordinary plural Fîr (WJ/387).
Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had the word ᴱN. cair followed by ᴱN. braithgair, but neither word was translated (PE13/139-140).
cirion
noun. shipman, sailor
cair
noun. ship
círdan
masculine name. Shipwright
An Elf-lord who was a famous ship builder, whose name was translated “Shipwright” (LotR/240). His name is simply círdan “shipbuilder” used as a name (Ety/KIR).
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, his name was first given as N. Cirdan with a short i (WR/76). His name appeared in The Etymologies as C(e)irdan (Ety/TAN), where the (e) probably indicates its development from N. ceir “ship” (later S. cair).
cair
ship
cair (in compounds cír-) (i gair, o chair), pl. cîr, i chîr; coll. pl. ciriath.
cair
ship
(in compounds cír-) (i gair, o chair), pl. cîr, i chîr; coll. pl. ciriath.
cirion
shipman
(i girion) (sailor), pl. ciryn (i chiryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.
cirion
shipman
cirion (i girion) (sailor), pl. ciryn (i chiryn), coll. pl. cirionnath.
círdan
shipbuilder, shipwright
(i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain).
círdan
shipwright
círdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipbuilder), pl. círdain (i chírdain). Compare Círdan as a proper name.
ceir
noun. ship
ciriaeth
noun. shipwright
ceir
noun. ship
ciriaeth
noun. shipwright
shipwright
cîr
noun. ship
balak
noun. ship
The noun for “ship”, attested only in the plural (balîk) and objective (balku) forms (SD/247, PM/151). Its plural form indicates that it is a strong-noun (Strong I), so its final vowel must be short. In theory its final vowel could be any of a, i or u, each of which would be replaced by long î in plural nouns. However, its attested objective form uses the variant objective-with-syncope form balku instead of ordinary ✱baluk. Since the Adûnaic syncope seems only to occur for nouns with two identical short vowels, this indicates the singular form of this word is balak.
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
kiryā
noun. kiryā
kiryā
noun. ship
kiryaktō
noun. shipwright
kirya kyulma
a ship’s mast
kirya kalliére
the ship shone
The seventh phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). The first word is kirya “ship” followed by the past 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kala- “to shine”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> kirya kall-ié-re = “✱ship shine-(past)-she”
Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the second draft of the poem, though Tolkien first wrote (and then deleted) the definite article i, and he put kirya into its nominative form kiryan (OM1b: PE16/57-8). For unclear reasons, he abandoned the nominative form in fourth and all later drafts (OM1d: PE16/62). This change was not reflected in the English translation; Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter speculated on its possible revised meaning in the Early Qenya Poetry article (PE16/62, notes on line #7).
ar tanda kirya lúte
ar tanda kirya lúte
kildo kirya noiko
kildo kirya noiko
kaire laiqa’ondoisen kirya
the white ship lay upon the rocks
The seventeenth phrase (line 19 and the first part of line 20) of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/221). The first word is the present 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kaya- “to lie” followed by the adjective laiqa “green”, not reflected in the English translation but modifying the following word “rocks”. The last two words are the locative plural of ondo “rock” followed by kirya “ship”. The English adjective “white” modifying “ship” does not appear in the Qenya phrase, and a more accurate translation would be “a ship lay upon the green rocks” (PE16/62).
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> kai-re laiqa ondo-i-sen kirya = “✱lay-she green rock-(plural)-on ship”
Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the fourth draft of this poem, where Tolkien first considered an alternate arrangement of the words ondoise laiqa kainer before settling on some close to the final phrase, albeit with an elided form of the adjective laiq’ without its final vowel (OM1d: PE16/62). The phrase remained the same thereafter, with Tolkien restoring the full form of laiqa’ only in the final draft of the poem.
kildo kirya ninqe
a white ship one saw
The first phrase of the first version of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/220). The first word kildo “one saw, he saw” is the aorist 3rd-singular masculine inflect of the verb kili- “to see”, as suggested by Gilson, Welden, and Hostetter (PE16/56). It is followed by the object of the phrase: kirya ninqe “a white ship”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> kil-do kirya ninqe = “✱see-he ship white”
Conceptual Development: This phrase appeared in the very first draft of the poem (OM1a: PE16/56), where Tolkien first considered using a past-tense formation killer >> kílier before settling on the aorist kildo. The phrase remained the same thereafter in all later drafts, ignoring the aberrant Finnish-like spelling of the fifth draft (OM1e), though in the third draft it was the second line rather than the first (OM1c: PE16/60).
ma kaire laiqen ondolissen kirya maita?
*does a ship lie maimed on green rocks?
The tenth phrase (lines 19-20) of the intermediate version of the Oilima Markirya poem (PE16/77). The first word is the interrogative particle ma followed by the present 3rd-singular feminine form of the verb kaya- “to lie”. The subject of the phrase is kirya “ship”, followed by the modifying adjective maita “maimed” and preceded by the clause laiqen ondolissen, the locative plural of the adjective laiqa “green” and the noun ondo “rock”.
This phrase corresponds to the lines of the English translations of the poem LA2a-LA2b (PE16/68-9): “who shall heed a dead ship/drowned boat lying on the green rocks”. It also resembles the seventeenth line in the first English translation LA1a (PE16/67): “a ship lay upon the green rocks”.
Alternate Interpretations: In their original article, Gilson, Welden and Hostetter suggested this phrase might be “What maimed ship lies upon the green rocks?” where the initial element ma was “what”. In a Discord conversation from 2023-04-23, Christopher Gilson also suggested the possibility “what lies on green rocks, a maimed ship?”, pointing out that since kirya maita falls on the next line, there could be an omitted comma.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> ma kai-re laikve-n ondo-li-ssen kirya maita = “✱does lie-she green-(plural) rock-(plural)-on ship maimed”
Alternate Interpretations: In their original article, Gilson, Welden and Hostetter suggested this phrase might be “What maimed ship lies upon the green rocks?” where the initial element ma is “what”. In a Discord conversation from 2023-04-23, Christopher Gilson also suggested the possible interpretation “what lies on green rocks, a maimed ship?”. Since kirya maita falls on the next line, there could be an omitted comma: ma kaire laikven ondolissen, kirya maita? I find Gilson’s 2023 suggestion to be quite plausible.
man tiruva rusta kirya?
Who shall heed a broken ship?
The twenty ninth line of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/214). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb tiri- “to watch”, translated “heed” in the English. The object of the phrase is kirya “ship” preceded by the adjective rusta “broken”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man tir-uva rusta kirya = “✱who watch-(future) broken ship”
máno kiluvando ninqe lutya kirya wilwarindon
*who shall see a white ship sailing like a butterfly
The first phrase (lines 1-2) of the intermediate version of the Oilima Markirya poem (PE16/77). The first word is a variant (masculine?) form máno of the interrogative pronoun man “who” followed by future 3rd-singular masculine inflection of the verb kili- “to see”.
The object of the phrase is the noun kirya “ship” preceded by the adjective ninqe “white” and the active-participle lutya “sailing” of the verb lutu- “to sail”, also functioning as an adjective. The phrase ends with the adverbial form of the noun wilwarin “butterfly”: wilwarindon = “like a butterfly”.
The sense of the phrase seems to be identical to the first two lines in the English translations of the poem LA2a-LA2b (PE16/68-9): “who shall see a white ship sailing like a butterfly”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> máno kil-uva-ndo ninqe lut-ya kirya wilwarin-don = “✱who see-(future)-he white sail-ing ship butterfly-like”
man kiluva kirya ninqe?
Who shall see a white ship?
The first and fifth lines of the Oilima Markirya poem (MC/213). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb kili- “to see”, translated “heed” in the fifth line. The object of the phrase is the noun kirya “ship”, followed by the adjective ninqe “white”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man kil-uva kirya ninqe = “✱who see-(future) ship white”
man kiluva kirya ninqe?
Who shall heed a white ship?
kiryahto
noun. shipwright, shipwright, *[subordinate] ship-crafter
kirya karie
ship-making, making a ship/ships, nautical construction
(i) kirya sorasta
(the) ship(’s)-equipment
i nero karie kirya
the man’s making of a ship
karie kirya
making a certain ship
qe e·kárie i kirya aldaryas, ni kauva kiryasta menelyas
if he finishes the boat by Monday, I shall be able to sail on Wednesday
tyén ni·akára i kiryā
I am making the ship for yóu
cîr
noun. ship
A noun for “ship” used to in some linguistic notes in the mid-1930s to illustrate the class plural: círiath. Tolkien first wrote these forms with a short vowel (cir, ciriath), and he vacillated on whether these were Noldorin or Ilkorin words, eventually deciding they were from both languages (PE21/57 noted #28). The proper etymology of the Ilkorin form is unclear; based on the example of gwene < ✱gwenyā we might expect Ilk. ✱✱cere instead.
lunta
noun. ship
cirya _("k")_noun "ship" (MC:213, 214, 220, 221), "(sharp-prowed) ship" (SA:kir-, where the word is misspelt círya with a long í; Christopher Tolkien probably confused it with the first element of the Sindarin name Círdan. It seems that Círyon, the name of Isildur's son, is likewise misspelt; read Ciryon as in the index and the main text of the Silmarillion. Cf. also kirya_ in Etym, stem KIR.) _Also in Markirya. In the Plotz letter, cirya is inflected for all cases except plural possessive (*ciryaiva). The curious dual form ciriat occurs in Letters:427, whereas Plotz gives the expected form ciryat. Locative ciryasse "upon a ship" (MC:216). Compounded in ciryaquen "shipman, sailor" (WJ:372), also ciryando (PE17:58), cf. also ciryamo "mariner" (UT:8). Masc. names Ciryaher* "Ship-lord" (Appendix A), Ciryandil "Ship-friend" (Appendix A), Ciryatan "Ship-builder" (Appendix A), also Tar-Ciryatan**, name of a Númenórean king, "King Shipbuilder" (SA:kir-)