Quenya 

máma

sheep

máma noun "sheep" (WJ:395)

máma

noun. sheep

A word for “sheep” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 as a derivative of ✶māmā (WJ/395). It appeared again in notes from 1968 as a derivative of ✶mbāba (VT47/35), apparently with some amount of assimilation since the second primitive b > m as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT47/36).

Conceptual Development: A similar word ᴱQ. moa “sheep” appeared in both the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s, in the former under the entry for the early root ᴱ√MAWA “cry, bleat” (QL/060). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, the word for “sheep” was instead ᴱQ. sauve (PE16/132).

Cognates

  • ᴺS. maf “sheep”

Derivations

  • ✶māmā “sheep” ✧ VT47/35; WJ/395

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶mbāba > māma[māmā] > [mbāmā] > [māmā] > [māma]✧ VT47/35
✶māmā > máma[māmā] > [māma]✧ WJ/395

Variations

  • māma ✧ VT47/35
Quenya [VT47/35; WJ/395] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mámandil

sheep-friend

mámandil noun *"sheep-friend" (máma + -ndil), i.e. "shepherd"? (UT:209)

Sindarin 

bam

noun. sheep

Derivations

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

maf

noun. sheep

A neologism for “sheep” coined by Elaran in 2022 on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), derived from a variant form ✱mămā of primitive ✶māmā “sheep”, the basis of Q. máma “sheep”. This is only one of various possibilities for neologisms for “sheep”: in VQP (VQP) Gábor Lőrinczi suggested ᴺS. maw “sheep” as a direct cognate of Q. máma, and Fiona Jallings suggested ᴺS. ✱baw as a derivative of ✶mbāba, a primitive form that appeared on VT47/35. Both maw and baw have other meanings in Sindarin, however. I used to recommend a word of my own, bam from a reduplicated primitive form ✱mbambā, but I now prefer Elaran’s suggestion of maf.

Cognates

Derivations

Element in

  • ᴺS. gwimmaf “whale, (lit.) sheep of the waves”
  • ᴺS. mavron “shepherd, herdsman”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

maw

noun. sheep

Derivations

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Primitive elvish

māmā

noun. sheep

Derivatives

  • Q. máma “sheep” ✧ VT47/35; WJ/395
  • ᴺS. maf “sheep”
  • ᴺS. maw “sheep”

Variations

  • māmā̆ ✧ PE21/82
  • mbāba ✧ VT47/35
Primitive elvish [PE21/82; VT47/35; WJ/395] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mbā

noun. sheep

Derivatives

  • ᴺS. bam “sheep”

Element in

  • ✶māmā “sheep” ✧ VT47/35
Primitive elvish [VT47/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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!

Gnomish

moth

noun. sheep

A noun for “sheep” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s given as {mô >>} moth (GL/58), likely derived from the early root ᴱ√MAWA “cry, bleat” that was the basis for “sheep” words in Early Qenya (QL/060).

Changes

  • mô → moth “sheep” ✧ GL/58
  • mô → moth “sheep” ✧ LT1/247

Cognates

  • Eq. moa “sheep”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MAWA “‽cry, bleat”

Element in

  • G. uimoth “whale, (lit.) sheep of the waves” ✧ LT1/247; LT1A/Uin
  • G. mathron “herd, herdsman, shepherd”
  • G. mothweg “shepherd” ✧ GL/58; LT1A/Uin
  • G. moth(in) “1000; †flock” ✧ GL/58

Variations

  • mô ✧ GL/58 (mô); LT1/247 (mô)
Gnomish [GL/58; LT1/247; LT1A/Uin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

moa

noun. sheep

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MAWA “‽cry, bleat” ✧ QL/060

Element in

  • Eq. moalin “sheepfold” ✧ QL/060
  • Eq. moar(do) “shepherd” ✧ QL/060

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√MAWA > mawa > moa[mawā] > [mawa] > [maua] > [moa]✧ QL/060
Early Quenya [PME/060; QL/060] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sauve

noun. sheep

Early Quenya [PE16/132] Group: Eldamo. Published by