lér

man

**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)

man

who

man pron. "who" (Nam, RGEO:67, FS, LR:59, Markirya, MC:213, 214); cf. PM:357 note 18, where a reference is made to the Eldarin interrogative element ma, man). However, man is translated "what" in LR:59: man-ië? "what is it?" (LR:59; the stative-verb suffix -ië_ is hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya) _Either Tolkien later adjusted the meaning of the word, or man covers both "who" and "what". Cf. also mana, manen.

man

pronoun. who, who; [ᴹQ.] what

Element in

• Q. man cenuva fána cirya? “Who shall see a white ship?” ✧ MC/221
• Q. man cenuva lumbor ahosta? “Who shall see the clouds gather?” ✧ MC/222; MC/222
• Q. man cenuva métim’ andúnë? “Who shall see the last evening?” ✧ MC/222; MC/222
• Q. man hlaruva rávëa súrë? “Who shall hear the wind roaring?” ✧ MC/222
• Q. man tiruva fána cirya? “Who shall heed a white ship?” ✧ MC/222
• Q. man tiruva rácina cirya? “Who shall heed a broken ship?” ✧ MC/222
• ᴺQ. manwa “whose”
• Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “who now shall refill the cup for me?” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “now who the cup for me will refill?” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. sí man i yulmar men enquantuva? “*who now shall refill the cups for us?” ✧ Minor-Doc/2013-05-13
• Q. sí man i yulmar n(g)wen enquantuva “*who now will refill the cups for us (dual)” ✧ VT21/06

Elements

Word	Gloss
ma	“interrogative particle”

Variations

• Men ✧ MC/221
• Man ✧ MC/222; MC/222; MC/222; MC/222; MC/222
• man- ✧ PE17/068
• mán ✧ RGEO/58

nér

man

nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)

nér

noun. man

vëo

man

†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.

mana

pronoun. what, what; [ᴹQ.] who

Cognates

• S. man “*what, who”

Element in

• Q. mana i coimas Eldaron? “What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?” ✧ PM/395
• Q. mana i·coimas in·Eldaron? “What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?” ✧ PM/403
• ᴺQ. manan “why”

Elements

Word	Gloss
ma	“interrogative particle”

Variations

• Mana ✧ PM/395; PM/403

manu

departed spirit

manu noun "departed spirit" (MAN)

men

who

men (3) pron. "who", evidently a misreading or miswriting for man (MC:221, in Markirya)

má

noun. hand

hand

má

hand

má noun "hand" (MA3, LT2:339, Narqelion, VT39:10, [VT45:30], VT47:6, 18, 19); the dual "a pair of hands" is attested both by itself as mát (VT47:6) and with a pronominal suffix as máryat "his/her (pair of) hands" (see -rya, -t) (Nam, RGEO:67). The nominative plural form was only máli, not **már (VT47:6), though plurals in -r may occur in some of the cases, as indicated by the pl. allative mannar "into hands" (FS). Mánta "their hand", dual mántat "their hands" (two hands each) (PE17:161). Cf. also the compounds mátengwië "language of the hands" (VT47:9) and Lungumá "Heavyhand" (VT47:19); also compare the adj. -maitë "-handed". See also málimë.

má

noun. hand

má

noun. hand

The most common Quenya word for “hand”, which Tolkien usually derived from a root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield”. The weak consonant h or ʒ in the root was lost very early, so that primitive ✶mā was one of a rare set of ancient monosyllabic nouns ending in a vowel. Tolkien said that of the various hand words, má was “the oldest (probably) and the one that retained a general and unspecialized sense — referring to the entire hand (including wrist) in any attitude or function” (VT47/6).

As a part of the body, má “hand” was usually referred to in the singular (má) or dual (mát). This was true when referring to the hands of groups of people as well. For example, to say that “the Elves raised their hands”, you would say either i Eldar ortaner mánta (singular, one hand each) or i Eldar ortaner mántat (dual, both hands each), with the possessive suffix -nta “their”.

The plural form már “hands” (or archaic †mai) was almost never used, in part because it conflicted with Q. már “dwelling”. The singular form was also used in general statements and proverbs: “hand is cleverer than foot” má anfinya epe tál (ná). A collection of otherwise unrelated hands would likely use the partitive-plural form: máli “some hands”, which in this case could also serve as the general plural (VT47/12 Note 2). See the discussions on PE17/161 and VT47/6 for more information.

This word is also unusual in that it retains its long vowel before consonant clusters in inflected forms such as mánta “their hand” (PE17/161) or márya “his/her hand” (PE17/69). As Tolkien described it:

> Lá is usually shortened to la before 2 consonants, according to the usual Q. procedure, but the long vowel can be retained, especially for additional emphasis, as in other cases where pronominal affixes follow a long vowel, as in márya “his hand” (PE22/160).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to ᴱQ. mā “hand” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” (QL/57). ᴹQ. má “hand” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien mentioned this word with great frequency, usually derived from √MAH or √MAƷ (as noted above) though he sometimes considered deriving it from √MAG instead.

Cognates

• S. maw “hand” ✧ PE17/162; VT47/06
• T. má “hand” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/06

Derivations

• √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE17/069; PE17/162; PE19/100; VT39/11; VT47/19
• √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ PE17/161; VT47/18
• ✶mā “hand” ✧ PE19/102; VT47/06
  • ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
• ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/106; VT47/18
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18

Element in

• Q. an sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë “for now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. an sí Varda, Tintallë, Elentári ortanë máryat Oiolossëo ve fanyar “for now Varda, Star-kindler, Star-queen [has] lifted up her (two) hands from Mount Everwhite like (white) clouds” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. forma “right-hand” ✧ VT47/06
• Q. hyarma “left hand” ✧ VT47/06
• Q. Lungumá “Heavyhand” ✧ VT47/19
• ᴺQ. máfastië “hand-pleasure, writing for pleasure of hand and eye”
• Q. mahtanë yúyo má véla “*wield both hands alike” ✧ VT49/10
• Q. maitë “handy, skillful; having a hand, handed; shapely, handy, skillful, [ᴹQ.] skilled; [Q.] shapely, well-shaped; (as suffix) having a hand, handed” ✧ PE17/161; VT47/06
• Q. málimë “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06
• ᴺQ. mapalin “plane tree [Platinus], sycamore, (lit.) hand-flat”
• Q. mátengwië “language of the hands”
• ᴺQ. mavaina “maple, (lit.) hand-clad”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MAƷ > mā	[maɣa] > [mā]	✧ PE17/069
√MAG > mā	[maga] > [maɣa] > [mā]	✧ PE17/161
√MAƷ > má	[mā]	✧ PE17/162
√MAƷ > má	[maɣa] > [mā]	✧ PE19/100
✶māh > mâ	[māh] > [mā]	✧ PE19/102
✶māʒ > mã	[māɣ] > [mā]	✧ PE19/106
√maha > mā	[maha] > [mā]	✧ VT39/11
✶mā > má	[mā]	✧ VT47/06
✶māʒ(ă) > mā	[māɣa] > [mā]	✧ VT47/18
√mag > mā	[māga] > [māɣa] > [mā]	✧ VT47/18
√MAƷA > má	[maɣa] > [mā]	✧ VT47/19

Variations

• mā ✧ PE17/069; PE17/161; VT39/09; VT39/11; VT47/18; VT47/18
• mâ ✧ PE19/102
• mã ✧ PE19/106

-ndor

land

-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)

atan

noun. Man, (lit.) the Second (People)

This is the most common Quenya word for “Man” as a species, most frequently appearing in its plural form Atani (LotR/1034). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien wrote:

> The name Atan, pl. atani was already given in Quenya in Valinor to the “Second Kindred” whom the Eldar learned were to appear (or had appeared) in Endor. It meant “the Second”. The Sindar had no name for Men, until they arrived in Beleriand and were first found by Finrod. They borrowed the Q atan and gave it Sindarin form adan. For a long time this word therefore referred only to the three “houses” or kindreds of the “Elf-friends” or Elendili; and always tended to refer primarily to them. But when the Eldar became aware of other kinds of Men (more or less parallel to their own division into Eldar and Avari) they distinguished the Elendili as Núnatani, Dúnedain (pl. of Dún·adan) “western men” ... Other men were called Hrónatani, Rhúnedain [Easterlings] (PE17/18).

Thus while Atan applied to all humans, there was a bias towards considering the Elf-friends as the “true Men”, and Atan was sometimes used only to refer to them. Tolkien typically translated this word as “Man”, but the Elvish word has no particular association with the male gender, and actually means “the Second” (S/103; WJ/403; PE17/18) being related to the word atta “two”, referring to the fact that Men were the second-born race of the children of Eru.

Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. Atan seems to have been coined in the 1940s, for example appearing in the phrase ᴹQ. atani koitar endoresse “men live in Middle-earth” in the Quenya Verbal System document from this period (PE22/125).

The last description of this word’s origin appeared in notes from the late 1960s, where Tolkien said it was instead borrowed from the language of Men: “The name is said to have been derived from atan ‘man, human being as distinct from creatures’, a word used by that kindred which the Eldar first encountered in Beleriand” (PM/324 note #38).

However, as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien: “The statement here that Atani was derived from a word in the Bëorian language, atan ‘man’, contradicts what was said in the chapter Of the Coming of Men into the West that was added to the Quenta Silmarillion”, referring to the footnote on WJ/219 in Silmarillion drafts from the 1950s. This footnote was the same scenario as described above where Atan meant “the Second”, which is also how the origin of the word was described in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/386). It is this scenario that Christopher Tolkien used in the published version of the Silmarillion (S/103, 143; SI/Atani).

Cognates

• S. Adan “Man (as a species)” ✧ LotR/1034; LotR/1128; LotRI/Atani; LotRI/Edain; PE17/018; PM/324; SI/Atani; SI/Atani; UTI/Atani; UTI/Edain; WJ/219; LRI/Atani; MR/007; WJI/Atani

Derivatives

• S. Adan “Man (as a species)” ✧ WJ/387

Element in

• Q. Aratan “*Noble Man”
• Q. Atanalcar “*Man Glory”
• Q. Atanamir “*Man Jewel”
• Q. Atanatar “Father of Men” ✧ SA/atar
• Q. Atandil “Friend of Men”
• ᴺQ. atannahtar “man-slayer”
• Q. Elatan “*Star Man”
• Q. Hallatan “*Tall Man”
• Q. Hrónatani “*Easterlings” ✧ PE17/018
• Q. Núnatani “Western Men” ✧ PE17/018; WJ/386
• Q. Rúatan “Wose, (lit.) Wose-man”

Elements

Word	Gloss
atta	“two”

Variations

• atan ✧ PM/324

cambë

noun. hand, (hollow of) hand

Derivations

• √KAB “hold, contain, retain, possess, have in hand, hold, contain, retain, possess, have in hand; [ᴹ√] hollow”

hanu

male (of men or elves), male animal, man

hanu noun "a male (of Men or Elves), male animal, man" (3AN, VT45:16)

nór

land

nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) this is land as opposed to water and sea (nor in Letters:308). Cf. nórë.

nór

noun. land

A term for “land” as in “(dry) land as opposed to the sea”, mentioned in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/413) and again in notes from around 1968 (PE17/106-107).

Possible Etymology: In the Quendi and Eldar essay this term was derived from primitive ✶ndōro, but in the aforementioned 1968 notes Tolkien clarified that its stem form was nŏr-. This means it was probably derived from ancient ✱ndŏr-, where the long vowel in the uninflected form was inherited from the Common Eldarin subjective form ✱ndōr, a phenomenon also seen in words like nér (ner-) “man”. I prefer this second derivation, as it makes the independent word more distinct from the suffixal form -ndor or -nóre used in the names of countries.

Derivations

• ✶ndorē “land” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
  • √NDOR “land; hard, firm; [ᴹ√] dwell, stay, rest, abide” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding”
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413
• ✶ndōro “land” ✧ WJ/413
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413

Element in

• Q. nortil “cape (of land)”
• ᴺQ. salquenor “grassland, meadow”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶ndōr > nōr	[ndōr] > [nōr]	✧ PE17/106
✶NDŌR/NDŎR- > nôr	[ndōr] > [nōr]	✧ PE17/107
✶ndōro > nór	[ndōro] > [ndōr] > [nōr]	✧ WJ/413

Variations

• nōr ✧ PE17/106
• nôr ✧ PE17/107

nóre

noun. land

nórë

land

nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" hasnórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)

firë

mortal man

firë noun "mortal man" (PHIR), pl. firi given (the latter is not clearly glossed and may also be the archaic form from which firë is derived, since word-final short i became e in Quenya but since we would rather expect the spelling phiri if it were an archaic form, it is best taken as the pl. of firë.)

mahtar

warrior

mahtar noun "warrior" (MAK; original gloss "swordsman", VT45:32)

mehtar

noun. warrior

Element in

• Q. Calimehtar “*Bright Warrior”
• Q. Telumehtar “Orion, (lit.) Warrior of the Sky” ✧ WJ/411

-ya

his

-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤-jā being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.

nér

noun. man, male person, man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; [ᴱQ.] husband; warrior

The Quenya word for a “man”, or more specifically a person of male gender (WJ/393). This word is derived from the root √N(D)ER, and the é is long in Quenya as a remnant of the lengthened vowel in the primitive subjective form ndēr, but the stem form is ner- because the vowel was not long in ancient inflective forms (PE19/102). Thus the singular is nér but plural neri (MR/213), and likewise for other inflected forms. Nér can be used regardless of species and so is equally applicable to male Elves, Men, or Dwarves, but is unlikely to be used of male animals, for which the word [ᴹQ.] hanu is more applicable.

Conceptual Development: This word was very well established in Tolkien’s mind, appearing as ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), though in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “warrior, etc.” (PME/65). The long/short vowel variation had emerged by the time the Early Qenya Grammar was written in the 1920s, where Tolkien gave singular nēr but plural nĕri (PE14/43, 72).

The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s has this same long/short vowel split (PE21/20) as does The Etymologies from later in the 1930s which had ᴹQ. nér with plural neri as derivatives of the root ᴹ√(N)DER (Ety/DER). This remained the case in later writings as well, except that the unstrengthened form of the root changed from ᴹ√DER to √NER (WJ/393), though this only barely matters, since the actual derivatives were all from strengthened √NDER in pretty much all cases from the 1930s forward.

Derivations

• ✶nēr “man, a male person” ✧ WJ/393
  • √N(D)ER “male (person), man” ✧ WJ/393

Element in

• Q. Nerdanel
• Q. nernehta “man-spearhead”
• Q. Nerwen “Man-maiden” ✧ UT/229
• Q. Úner “Noman” ✧ UT/211

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶nere/nēr > nēr	[nēr]	✧ WJ/393

Variations

• ner ✧ UT/211
• Ner ✧ UT/229
• nēr ✧ VT49/17; WJ/393

-rya

his, her

-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.

-zya

his, her, its

-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)

mordo

warrior, hero

mordo (2) noun "warrior, hero" (LT1:268 - probably obsoleted by # 1 above)

neuro

follower, successor

neuro noun "follower, successor" (NDEW)

nonda

hand, especially in [?clutching]

nonda noun "hand, especially in [?clutching]" (VT47:23; Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible)

ohtar

warrior, soldier

ohtar noun "warrior, soldier" (UT:282)

ohtar

masculine name. Warrior

The squire of Isildur (LotR/243, UT/272). This name is simply the word ohtar “warrior” used as a name. Since it is a name out of legend, this name might have originally been the man’s title instead of his name, with his true name now lost (UT/282, note #17).

Elements

Word	Gloss
ohtar	“warrior”

ohtar

noun. warrior

Element in

• Q. Minohtar “*First Warrior”
• Q. Ohtar “Warrior”
• ᴺQ. ohtarië “martial ardour”

Elements

Word	Gloss
ohta	“war”
-r(o)	“agental suffix”

Variations

• Ohtar ✧ UT/282

airefëa

proper name. Holy Spirit

A Quenya name for the Holy Spirit in Alcar i Ataren, Tolkien’s unfinished Quenya version of the Gloria Patri prayer (VT43/36). It is a compound of airë “holy, holiness” and fëa “spirit”.

Element in

• Q. alcar i Ataren ar i Yondon ar i Airefëan “glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit” ✧ VT43/37

Elements

Word	Gloss
airë	“holy; sanctity, holiness”
fëa	“(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul”

ohtacáro

warrior

[ohtacáro] ("k")noun "warrior" (KAR). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the accent of the word ohtacáro was omitted (VT45:19).

ye

who

ye (1) singular personal relative pronoun "who", maybe also object "whom" (plural form i). Compare the impersonal form ya. Also attested in the genitive and the ablative cases: yëo and yello, both translated "from whom" (though the former would also mean *"whose, of whom"). (VT47:21)

ye

pronoun. who

Derivations

• √YA “*there, over there; (of time) back, ago, [ᴹ√] there, over there; (of time) back, ago”

Element in

• Q. yello camnelyes “from whom you received him” ✧ VT47/21
• Q. yenna leltanelyes “to whom you sent him” ✧ VT47/21

dîr

noun. man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix

A word for “man” as a male person, attested only as an element in compounds or as (archaic?) ndir (PE17/60). This word likely refers to male individuals of all races including Elves, Men, Dwarves and so forth, much like its Quenya cognate Q. nér. This word must have been derived from the primitive subjective form ✶ndēr of the root √N(D)ER “male person”, where the ancient long ē became ī, and the initial cluster nd- became d-, though the ancient cluster would still be reflected in mutated forms, such as in i nîr “the man” rather than ✱✱i dhîr.

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word is (archaic) G. †drio “hero, warrior” with variants driw, driodweg and driothweg, a cognate of ᴱQ. nēr (GL/22). This Gnomish word was derived from primitive ᴱ✶n’reu̯, where the initial nr- became dr-. At this early stage, the root was unstrengthened ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), as reflected in (archaic) ᴱN. nîr “hero, prince, warrior-elf” in the Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s the root became ᴹ√DER “adult male, man” of any speaking race and the derived form was N. dîr (Ety/DER). However, in this document Tolkien said:

> EN †dîr surviving chiefly in proper names (as Diriel older Dirghel [GYEL], Haldir, Brandir) and as agental ending (as ceredir “doer, maker”) ... In ordinary use EN has benn [for “man”] (properly = “husband”).

Thus in the scenario described in The Etymologies, dîr “man” was archaic and used only as an element in names or as a suffix. In ordinary speech it was replaced by N. benn, which used to mean “husband” but now meant “man”, while the word for “husband” became N. hervenn (Ety/BES). It is unlikely Tolkien imagined this exact scenario in later Sindarin, however, since the 1930s root for benn was ᴹ√BES “wed”, but by the 1960s the root for husband/wife/marry words had become √BER.

Neo-Sindarin: Since the status of N. benn is questionable given ᴹ√BES >> √BER, many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. ✱dîr as the Sindarin word for man. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable for “man, male person”. This is because I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES as the root for “marry, wed”, since it is the best basis for attested husband/wife words in (Neo) Sindarin.

Derivations

• ✶ndē̆r “man”
  • √N(D)ER “male (person), man”

Element in

• S. Borondir “?Steadfast-man”
• S. Brandir “*Noble Man”
• S. condir “mayor, *(lit.) chief-man”
• S. curunír “wizard, wizard, [N.] man of craft”
• S. dagnir “slayer, bane”
• S. Dírhael “*Wise Man”
• S. dírnaith “wedge-shaped battle-formation, (lit.) man-spearhead”
• S. Emeldir “Manhearted, *Manly-mother”
• S. Haldir
• S. Handir
• S. Hathaldir
• S. Hatholdir “*Axe-man”
• S. herdir “master”
• S. Lindir
• S. Othrondir “?Stronghold Man”
• S. randir “wanderer, wandering man, pilgrim” ✧ PE17/060
• S. Thorondir “*Eagle-man”

Variations

• ndir ✧ PE17/060

man

pronoun. (?) what?

man

pronoun. *what, who

Cognates

• Q. mana “what, what; [ᴹQ.] who”

Derivations

• √MA “interrogative base, interrogative base; [ᴱ√] root of indef[inite]”

Element in

• ᴺS. amman “why, (lit.) for what”
• S. man agorech? “*and said Rían to Tuor: what have we done?” ✧ VT50/21
• ᴺS. mallú “when, (orig.) what time”
• ᴺS. neman “when, (lit.) during what”
• ᴺS. mivan “where, (lit.) in/at what”
• ᴺS. movan “how, (lit.) by means of what”
• ᴺS. naman “how, (lit.) with what”
• ᴺS. navan “where, whither, to where, (lit.) at/to what”
• ᴺS. oman “whence, from where, (lit.) from what”
• N. uvan “*noone, nobody”

adanath

noun. men

maw

noun. hand

maw

noun. hand

The Sindarin equivalent of Q. má, likewise derived from the root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield” (PE17/162; VT47/6). However, in Sindarin this word was archaic, used only in poetry, having been replaced in ordinary speech by other words like S. mâb and (less often) cam. Other remnants of this word can be seen in compounds like molif “wrist, (orig.) hand link” and directional words like forvo and harvo for left and right hand side.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, G. mô from the early root ᴱ√MAHA was the normal word for “hand”, replacing mab “hand” (< ᴱ√MAHA) which in this document Tolkien decided was instead an irregular dual form of mô (GL/55). It had also had an irregular plural mabin based on this dual, replacing an older plural †maith. In the Gnomish Grammar, its archaic form was †mâ, with the usual Gnomish sound change of ā to ō (GG/14), as opposed to later Sindarin/Noldorin ā to au, spelt -aw when final. Tolkien seems to have abandoned mô as a non-archaic word for “hand” early on, preferring ᴱN. mab “hand” by the 1920s and introducing N. cam “hand” in the 1930s.

Cognates

• Q. má “hand” ✧ PE17/162; VT47/06
• T. má “hand” ✧ VT47/18

Derivations

• √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE17/162
• ✶mā “hand” ✧ VT47/06
  • ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
• √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18

Element in

• S. forvo “right hand, right side” ✧ VT47/06
• S. harvo “left hand, left side” ✧ VT47/06
• S. maed “handy, skillful, handy, skillful, [N.] skilled” ✧ VT47/06
• ᴺS. mawedh “glove”
• S. molif “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MAƷ > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ PE17/162
✶mā > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ VT47/06
√mag > maw	[mā] > [mǭ] > [mau]	✧ VT47/18

adan

noun. man, one of the Second People (elvish name for men)

cam

noun. hand

camm

noun. hand

dôr

noun. land, land, [N.] region where certain people live, [ᴱN.] country; [G.] people of the land

Cognates

• Q. -ndor “land, country” ✧ SA/dôr

Derivations

• ✶ndorē “land” ✧ PE17/164; SA/dôr; WJ/413
  • √NDOR “land; hard, firm; [ᴹ√] dwell, stay, rest, abide” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding”
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413

Element in

• S. Arnor “Royal Land”
• S. Balannor “Land of the Valar”
• S. bardor “home land, native land” ✧ PE17/164
• S. Berennyr “Brown Lands”
• S. Dor Caranthir “Land of Caranthir”
• S. Dor-Cúarthol “Land of Bow and Helm”
• S. Dor Daedeloth “Land of Great Dread; Land of Shadow of Horror”
• S. Dor Dínen “Silent Land” ✧ S/121
• S. Dor-en-Ernil “Land of the Prince” ✧ UT/245
• S. Dor Firn-i-Guinar “Land of the Dead that Live” ✧ S/188
• S. dorgannas “shapes of the lands, *geography” ✧ WJ/192
• ᴺS. dorgant “landscape, scene, *(lit.) land-shape”
• S. Dor Gyrth i Chuinar “Land of the Dead that Live” ✧ Let/417
• S. Dor Haeron
• S. Doriath “Land of the Fence” ✧ SA/dôr; SI/Doriath; UTI/Doriath; WJ/370
• S. Dor-i-Ndainn “*Land of the Nandor”
• S. Dor i Thuin
• north S. Dor-lómin “*Echoing-land”
• S. Dorloven “*Echoing Land” ✧ PE17/133
• S. Dor-na-Daerachas “Land of Great Dread”
• S. Dor-nu-Fauglith “Land under Choking Ash”
• S. Dor-Rodyn “*Land of the Valar” ✧ MR/200
• S. Dorthonion “Land of Pines” ✧ RC/384; SA/dôr
• S. Dorwinion “Young-land country, land of Gwinion”
• S. Eglador “Land of the Eglir (Forsaken)”
• S. Elennor “*Elf-land”
• S. Eriador “Lonely Land” ✧ SA/dôr
• S. Gondor “Stone-land” ✧ SA/dôr
• S. Mildor “Wine-land”
• S. Mordor “Black Land” ✧ Let/427; SA/dôr
• S. Pelennor “Fenced Land”
• S. Thonador

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶ndor > -dor	[-ndorē] > [-ndore] > [-ndor] > [-dor]	✧ PE17/164
✶ndor > dôr	[ndorē] > [ndore] > [dore] > [dor] > [dōr]	✧ SA/dôr
✶ndorē > dôr	[ndorē] > [ndore] > [dore] > [dor] > [dōr]	✧ WJ/413
✶ndorē > -ndor > -nor/-nnor	[-ndorē] > [-ndore] > [-ndor] > [-nnor]	✧ WJ/413

Variations

• Dor ✧ Let/417; MR/200; PE17/133; S/121; S/188; SI/Doriath; UT/245; UTI/Doriath; WJ/192
• dor ✧ Let/427; RC/384
• -dor ✧ PE17/164
• Dôr ✧ WJ/370

mab-

noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)

mâb

noun. hand, hand, [N.] grasp

The typical Sindarin word for “hand” (VT47/7, 20), usable in almost any context. It is most notable as an element in the name Mablung “Heavy Hand” (VT47/8). See below for a discussion of its etymology.

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where G. mab “hand” appeared as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√MAPA “seize” (GL/55). Tolkien then revised the gloss to “hands”, saying instead it was an irregular dual of G. mô “hand”. The word reverted to singular ᴱN. mab “hand” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/149). These early versions of the word were already an element of Mablung “Heavy Hand(ed)” (LT2/38; LB/311), but also of Ermabwed “One-handed” (LT2/34; LB/119).

In the 1930s it seems Tolkien decided Ilk. mâb “hand” was primarily an Ilkorin word, and the usual word for “hand” in Noldorin was N. cam. Compare Ilkorin Ermabuin “One-handed” and Mablosgen “Empty-handed” with Noldorin Erchamion and Camlost of the same meaning. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien had N. mab “grasp” under the root ᴹ√MAPA “seize”, but the version of the entry with that word was overwritten (EtyAC/MAP), leaving only the Ilkorin form mâb. In this period, Mablung may also have been an Ilkorin name.

After Tolkien abandoned Ilkorin in the 1950s, he kept S. Erchamion and Camlost based on cam, but also kept Mablung “Heavy Hand” which must have become Sindarin. In his later writings Tolkien again revisited the etymology of S. mâb “hand”. In a note from Jan-Feb 1968, he wrote:

> It [Q. má = “hand”] did not survive in Telerin and Sindarin as an independent word, but was replaced by the similar-sounding but unconnected C.E. makwā, Q. maqua, T. mapa, S. mab, of uncertain origin, but probably originally an adjectival formation from MAK “strike” ... (VT47/19).

This sentence was struck through, however. In drafts of notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals written in or after 1968, Tolkien again derived mâb from √MAP (VT47/20 note #13), but in the final version of these notes he made the remarkable decision to discard this root despite it being a stable part of Elvish for nearly 50 years, declaring it was used only in Telerin and not Quenya or Sindarin (VT47/7). He coined a new etymology for S. mâb “hand” based on ✶makwā “handful” = ✶mā + ✶kwā (VT47/6-7), a variation on the above etymology from √MAK.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer to ignore Tolkien’s 1968 removal of √MAP “seize”, and so would continue to derive S. mâb “hand” from that root. However, its ancient meaning may have been “✱grasp”, and its eventual use as “hand” might have been influenced by ancient ✶makwā “handful”.

Cognates

• Q. maqua “hand-full, group of five (similar) things; hand (colloquial); closing or closed [hand] (facing down) for taking” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/19; VT47/20

Derivations

• ✶makwā “a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • √MAK “cut, hew with a sharp edge; kill, slay; forge metal, cut, hew with a sharp edge, [ᴹ√] cleave; sword, fight (with a sword); ️[√] forge metal; kill, slay” ✧ VT47/19
• √MAP “take away, take hold of, grasp, take away, take hold of, grasp, [ᴹ√] lay hold of with hand, seize” ✧ VT47/20

Element in

• ᴺS. mablanthos “sycamore”
• S. Mablung “Heavy Hand” ✧ VT47/07
• ᴺS. mabren “handed, having hands, dextrous”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/06
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/07
✶makwā > mâb	[makwā] > [mapā] > [mapa] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/19
√MAP > măpo > mâb	[mapo] > [map] > [mab] > [māb]	✧ VT47/20

mâb

noun. a hand-full, complete hand (with all five fingers)

echil

noun. human being

abonnen

noun/adjective. born later, born after

abonnen

noun/adjective. man, one born later than the Elves, a human being (elvish name for men)

ai

pronoun. for those who

aphadon

noun. follower

aphadon

noun. man (elvish name for men)

aphadon

noun. follower

Element in

• S. Aphadon “Men, (lit.) Followers” ✧ WJ/387

Elements

Word	Gloss
aphad-	“to follow”
-on	“masculine suffix”

Variations

• Aphadon ✧ WJ/387

gwanwen

proper name. Departed

A term the Sindar used for the Elves who left Beleriand for Aman, derived from the same root as Q. vanwa: √WĀ/AWA (WJ/366, 378). Another variation was Gwanwel (WJ/378), perhaps incorporating †Ell “Elf”.

Variations

• Gwanwel ✧ WJ/378; WJI/Gwanwen

gwanwen

adjective. departed, departed, *gone, lost [to time], past

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”

Element in

• S. Gwanwen “Departed” ✧ WJ/378
• S. Gwenedhel

Variations

• Gwanwen ✧ WJ/378

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

-dyn

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deid, -deith, -ed, [[]]

în

adjective. his (referring to the subject)

hador

masculine name. Warrior

Leader of the House of Hador, one of the three tribes of the Edain (S/147). In a geneology from 1959, the name seems to be translated “Warrior” in Hador Lorindol “the Warrior Goldenhead”, appearing beneath S. Magor “the Sword” and S. Hathol “the Axe” (WJ/234).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name appeared as N. Hádor and Hador with both long and short a (LR/146). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. hador was translated as “thrower” (Ety/KHAT).

Element in

• S. Narn e·mbar Hador “*Tale of the House of Hador” ✧ MR/373

tîn

adjective. his

tîn

pronoun. his

Non-lenited form suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT31/21).

Element in

• S. ar Iorhael, Gelir, Cordof, ar Baravorn, ionnath dîn “and Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Hamfast his sons” ✧ AotM/062; SD/129
• S. ar Meril bess dîn, ar Elanor, Meril, Glorfinniel, ar Eirien sellath dîn “and Rose his wife; and Elanor, Rose, Goldilocks and Daisy his daughters” ✧ AotM/062; AotM/062; SD/129; SD/129

drû

noun. wild man, Wose, Púkel-Man

In PE/11:31, an older Gnomish word drû, drui meant "wood, forest", and in PE/13:142, the early Noldorin word drú was assigned the meaning "dark". Drû pl. Drúin later came to be used for the name of the Woses, with other derivatives (Drúadan, etc.). "Wose" is actually the modernization of an Anglo-Saxon word wasa only found in the compound wudu-wasa "wild man of the woods", cf. UT/385 sq. In the drafts of the "Ride of the Rohirrim" in WR/343-346, the Woses first appeared as "the dark men of Eilenach". Though internally said to derive from drughu in their own tongue, Tolkien's choice for the Sindarin name of the Woses was apparently influenced by earlier meanings assigned to this word

aphadrim

noun. followers, men (elvish name for men)

bŷr

noun. follower, vassal

dor

noun. land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live

The form dor in the Etymologies is a misreading, see VT/45. In composition and in toponyms, the word is nevertheless reduced to Dor

dôr

noun. land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live

The form dor in the Etymologies is a misreading, see VT/45. In composition and in toponyms, the word is nevertheless reduced to Dor

-deid

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deith, -dyn, -ed, [[]]

-deith

suffix. his

_3rd sg. poss. suff. his, her.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ed_. >> -deid, -dyn, -ed, [[]]

bŷr

follower

*bŷr (vassal; construct byr). No distinct pl. form except with article (i mŷr). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” bior, beor. FOLLOWER (used as a term for Mortal Man, the "follower" of the Elves): Aphadon (pl. Ephedyn, coll. pl. Aphadrim) (WJ:387). Also echil (no distinct pl. form); coll. pl. ?echillath

echil

noun. follower

echil

noun. follower

Derivations

• √KHIL “follow (behind)”

Element in

• S. Echil “Followers” ✧ WJ/219

adan

man

(pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

1) (adult male of any speaking race) dîr (dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”. 2) (mortal human as opposed to Elf) Adan (pl. Edain; the coll. pl. Adanath is attested). The word Adan came to be used primarily of a member of the Three Houses of the Edain, not of the mortal race of Men in general.

dîr

man

(dír-, also agentive ending -dir or -nir; with article, i nîr, hard mutation as in o ndîr), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndîr); coll. pl. díriath. Also benn (i venn, construct ben), pl. binn (i minn). The latter is in archaic language used = "husband" (the etymological meaning). The ending -we in names may also express ”being, man, person”.

mân

departed spirit

(i vân, construct man), pl. main (i main)

mân

departed spirit

mân (i vân, construct man), pl. main (i main)

maw

hand

(i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6) 

camlann

of the hand

(i gamlann, o chamlann), pl. cemlain (i chemlain).

bâr

land

(dwelling, house, home, family; earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

cam

hand

1) cam (i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath; 2) mâb (i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib). 3) Archaic †maw (i vaw), pl. moe (i moe). A homophone means ”soil, stain”. (VT47:6) 4) (fist) dond (i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).

cam

hand

(i gam, o cham), pl. caim (i chaim), coll. pl. cammath

dond

hand

(i dhond; construct don), pl. dynd (i nynd), coll. pl. donnath (VT47:23).

dôr

land

1) dôr (i nôr, construct dor) (dwelling place, region), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr), coll. pl. dorath (WJ:413), 2) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.

dôr

land

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

mâb

hand

(i vâb; construct mab), pl. maib (i maib).

nand

wide grassland

(construct nan) (valley), pl. naind, coll. pl. **nannath **(VT45:36);

gwann

departed

(dead), lenited ’wann; pl. gwain

rhavan

wild man

(?i thravan or ?i ravan – the lenition product of rh is uncertain), pl. rhevain (?idh revain) (WJ:219). – The following terms apparently apply to ”men” of any speaking race:

bôr

trusty man

(boron-) (i vôr, construct bor) (steadfast man, faithful vassal), pl. *b**ŷr* for older beryn, i meryn (archaic böryn, i möryn). In ”Noldorin”, the older pl. forms were berein, beren.

fair

mortal man

(human) fair (fír-), pl. fîr, coll. pl. firiath. Archaic sg. feir (WJ:387). Wheareas the above-mentioned terms are apparently gender-neutral, the following are gender-specific:

firion

mortal man

firion (pl. firyn).

firion

mortal man

firion (pl. firyn) and

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

hadron

warrior

(i chadron, o chadron), pl. hedryn (i chedryn), coll. pl. hadronnath.

curunír

man of craft

(i gurunír, o churunír) (wizard), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. ?curuníriath.

gwanwen

departed

1) (past participle) gwanwen (lenited wanwen; pl. gwenwin), also as noun: a ”departed” one, one of the Elves of Aman: Gwanwen (i **Wanwen), pl. Gwenwin (in Gwenwin) (WJ:378), 2) gwann (dead), lenited wann; pl. gwain**;

gwanwen

departed

(lenited ’wanwen; pl. gwenwin), also as noun: a ”departed” one, one of the Elves of Aman: Gwanwen (i ’Wanwen), pl. Gwenwin (in Gwenwin) (WJ:378)

maethor

warrior

1) maethor (i vaethor), analogical pl. maethyr (i maethyr), 2) (”thrower” or ”hurler”, i.e. of spears or darts) hadron (i chadron, o chadron), pl. hedryn (i chedryn), coll. pl. hadronnath. 3) (primarily Orkish warrior) daug (i naug, o ndaug) (soldier), pl. doeg (i ndoeg), coll. pl. dogath. Compounded as -dog in the name Boldog (= baul-daug, *”torment-warrior”)

maethor

warrior

(i vaethor), analogical pl. maethyr (i maethyr)

thalion

dauntless man

(hero), pl. thelyn. Also used as an adj. ”dauntless, steadfast, strong”. 

dúnadan

man of the west

(i Núnadan), pl. Dúnedain (i Ndúnedain) (WJ:378, 386).

crûm

left hand

(i grûm, o chrûm, construct crum), pl. cruim (i chruim), coll. pl. crummath. Also ✱hair (i chair), no distinct pl. form (not even with article). Note: hair is also used = ”left” as adjective. Cited in archaic form heir (LR:365 s.v. KHYAR).

ín

his

(pronoun referring to the subject, e.g. ✱i venn sunc i haw ín ”the man drank his [own] juice”, as opposed to ✱i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his [= another’s] juice”)

fuir

right hand

pl. fŷr. Also used as adj. "right, north" (VT42:20). In ”Noldorin” the word appeared as (”foeir” =) föir, feir (LR:382 s.v. PHOR).

daug

warrior

(i naug, o ndaug) (soldier), pl. doeg (i ndoeg), coll. pl. dogath. Compounded as -dog in the name Boldog (= baul-daug, ✱”torment-warrior”)

tín

his

*tín (only attested in lenited form dín, following a noun with article). Possibly, the word also covers ”her(s)” and ”its” as a general 3rd person form. If ”his” refers to the same person as the subject, the form ín* is used instead (e.g. i venn sunc i haw ín** ”the man drank his (own) juice”, but *i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his (somebody elses) juice”.

tín

his

(only attested in lenited form dín, following a noun with article). Possibly, the word also covers ”her(s)” and ”its” as a general 3rd person form. If ”his” refers to the same person as the subject, the form ín is used instead (e.g. ✱i venn sunc i haw ín ”the man drank his (own) juice”, but ✱i venn sunc i haw dín ”the man drank his (somebody else’s) juice”.

forgam

right-handed

(pl. fergaim, for archaic förgeim)

parth

enclosed grassland

(i barth, o pharth) (field, sward), pl. perth (i pherth);

má

noun. hand

Cognates

• Q. má “hand” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/06
• S. maw “hand” ✧ VT47/18

Derivations

• ✶mā “hand” ✧ VT47/06
  • ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
• √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18

Element in

• T. forma “right-hand” ✧ VT47/06
• T. málimë “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06
• T. þarma “left-hand” ✧ VT47/06

Variations

• mā ✧ VT47/06 (mā)
• māga ✧ VT47/18

camba

noun. hand

Cognates

• S. cam “(cupped) hand, holding hand; handful” ✧ VT47/22

mapa

noun. hand

Cognates

• Q. maqua “hand-full, group of five (similar) things; hand (colloquial); closing or closed [hand] (facing down) for taking” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/19; VT47/20

Derivations

• ✶makwā “a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers” ✧ VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/19
  • √MAK “cut, hew with a sharp edge; kill, slay; forge metal, cut, hew with a sharp edge, [ᴹ√] cleave; sword, fight (with a sword); ️[√] forge metal; kill, slay” ✧ VT47/19
• √MAP “take away, take hold of, grasp, take away, take hold of, grasp, [ᴹ√] lay hold of with hand, seize” ✧ VT47/20

Derivatives

• T. mapa- “to take hold of, grasp” ✧ VT47/07

Variations

• mapo ✧ VT47/20

pen

noun. man, *somebody, *someone

Cognates

• Q. quén “person, individual, man or woman; one, somebody” ✧ WJ/361

Derivations

• ✶kwēn “person, one, (some)body” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/375
  • √KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/392
  • √KWE “vocal speech” ✧ WJ/392

Element in

• T. arpen “noble (man)” ✧ WJ/375

beorn

noun. man

The shift of e to eo is strange and has no direct parallels, but compare eo from i in meord "fine rain" (< primitive mizdê). Normally final -ô becomes -â in Nandorin (see golda), but here it is simply lost instead of producing *beorna. C.f. meord the other word where we might have expected to see a final -a (in that case from -ê); it may be that final vowels are lost in words that would otherwise come to have more than two syllables. - The shift of primitive s to r in besnô > beorn may be ascribed primarily to the blending with ber(n)ô, but r from z is seen in meord < mizdê; perhaps the s of besnô first became z and then r. Such developments are common in Quenya.

dóri-

noun. land

Isolated from Lindórinan. The independent form of the word may differ; it is unclear where the i of the compound Lindórinan comes from. In the Etymologies, the Eldarin words for "land" are derived from a stem NDOR "dwell, stay, rest, abide" (LR:376).

No Nandorin word is there listed, but Sindarin dor is derived from primitive ndorê. Notice, however, that Tolkien many years later derived the Eldarin words for "land" from a stem DORO "dried up, hard, unyielding" (WJ:413). However, this later source does confirm that the Primitive Quendian form was ndorê, now thought to be formed by initial enrichment d > nd. This is defined as "the hard, dry land as opposed to water or bog", later developing the meaning "land in general as opposed to sea", and finally also "a land" as a particular region, "with more or less defined bounds".

Whether dóri- actually comes from ndorê is highly doubtful (this would rather yield *dora in Nandorin), but it must be derived from the same set of stems.

pâ

noun. hand

A noun translated “hand”, given as an example of an apparent Adûnaic uniconsonantal noun, which had a biconsonantal-root but lost one of its consonants from its ancient form ✶Ad. paʒa (SD/416, 426).

Derivations

• √Ad. PAƷ “hand” ✧ SD/416
• ✶Ad. paʒa “hand” ✧ SD/426
  • √Ad. PAƷ “hand”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶Ad. pa3a > pā	[paɣa] > [paa] > [pā]	✧ SD/426

Variations

• pā ✧ SD/426

thâni

noun. land

A noun translated “land” (SD/435) appearing in the Adûnaic names for the Blessed Realm: Amatthâni and thâni’nAmân. Its Primitive Adûnaic form was also ✶thāni, though its primitive was glossed “realm" (SD/420).

Derivations

• ✶Ad. thāni “realm”

Element in

• Ad. Amatthâni “Blessed Realm, (lit.) Land of Manwë” ✧ SD/435
• Ad. thâni’nAmân “Land of Aman” ✧ SD/435

Variations

• thāni ✧ SD/435

zâyan

noun. land

An Adûnaic word for “land” (SD/423). It has an irregular plural form zâin which is the result of the phonetic change (SD/423): [[pad|medial [w] and [j] vanished before [u] and [i]]]. Thus, the archaic plural changed from †zâyîn > zâîn > zâin.

Conceptual Development: In earlier names this word appeared as zen (SD/378, 385).

Element in

• Ad. azra-zâin “sea-lands, maritime regions” ✧ SD/429; SD/435
• Ad. Yôzâyan “Land of Gift”
• Ad. Abarzâyan “Land of Gift”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
Ad. zāyīn > *zāīn > zâin	[zājīn] > [zāīn] > [zāin]	✧ SD/423

Variations

• zāyan ✧ SD/423

anâ

noun. human being

A noun translated “human being” (SD/426) given as an example of a noun ending in a long vowel that (archaically) uses the declension for a strong-noun (SD/437), an example of the extremely rare class of Strong-IIb nouns. By the time of Classical Adûnaic, it could be declined as an ordinary weak-noun instead. It also had masculine and feminine variants anû “(human) man” and anî “(human) woman” (SD/434) but in ordinary speech it seems likely that more specific words would be used: narû “man, male”, zinî “female”, kali “woman”.

Variations

• anā ✧ SD/426; SD/434; SD/437; SD/438

narû

noun. man, male

A noun translated “soldier” and fully declined as an example of an (archaic) masculine Strong II noun (SD/437). The archaic form of this word is †naru which is a Strong II noun since it ends in a single short vowel. Its non-archaic form is narû, which is presumably declined as a Weak II noun; most masculine and feminine nouns became weak in Classical Adûnaic (SD/436). It may be related to the Primitive Elvish root √N(D)ER, as suggested by several authors (AAD/20, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/NERE).

Derivations

• √N(D)ER “male (person), man”

Variations

• naru ✧ SD/434; SD/437 (naru)
• narū ✧ SD/437

man

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil, good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil; [ᴹ√] holy spirit

This root for “(morally) good” and “holy” things dates back to Tolkien’s earliest versions of Elvish, probably due to its long-standing connection to the name Q. Manwë, one of the most stable names in Tolkien’s Legendarium. The unglossed root ᴱ√MANA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mane “good (moral)” and ᴱQ. manimo “holy soul” (QL/58). Derivatives like G. mani “good (of men and character only), holy” and G. manos “spirit that has gone to the Valar” also appear in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit” appeared with derivatives like ᴹQ. manu/N. mân “departed spirit” (Ety/MAN). Earlier versions of the entry had the gloss “holy” (EtyAC/MAN), and an earlier version of the entry for ᴹ√MBAD has MAN- “blessed” (EtyAC/MBAD).

The senses “good, blessed, holy” were retained in Tolkien’s later writings, though sometimes the root was given in its augmented form √AMAN. In Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, √MAN was contrasted with √ARA which also meant “good”, but with the nuance of one specimen that is “good of its kind” and hence “excels, without necessarily implying that others are bad or marred” (PE17/147). Elsewhere in QN Tolkien elaborated on the meaning of √MAN in more detail:

> √MAN “good”. This implies that a person/thing is (relatively or absolutely) “unmarred”: that is in Elvish thought unaffected by the disorders introduced into Arda by Morgoth: and therefore is true to its nature & function. If applied to mind/spirit it is more or less equivalent to morally good; but applied to bodies it naturally refers to health and to absence of distortions, damages, blemishes, &c (PE17/162).

In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, √AMAN “good (morally), holy, blessed, free from evil” was contrasted with √AYA(N) “treat with awe/reverence” and √MAGA “good (physically)” (PE17/149). In The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, Tolkien said the root meant “blessed, holy” and was adapted from Valarin (PM/357 note #18), which is consistent with the fact that its derivatives were almost entirely limited to Quenya and not Sindarin; where derivatives do appear in Sindarin, such as S. Avon the equivalent of Q. Aman (PE17/162), they were probably loan words from Quenya.

Derivatives

• ✶Ámān “Unmarred State” ✧ PE17/162
  • Q. Aman “Blessed Realm” ✧ PE17/162
  • S. Avon “Unmarred State” ✧ PE17/162
• ✶manrā “good” ✧ PE17/162
  • Q. mára “good, proper, good, proper; [ᴹQ.] useful, fit, good (of things), [ᴱQ.] excellent; mighty, power, doughty” ✧ PE17/162
• Q. manna “*blessed”
• Q. ama- “*well, happily” ✧ PE17/172
• Q. Aman “Blessed Realm” ✧ SA/mān
• Q. amanya “*blessed”
• Q. mána “blessing, good thing, blessing, good thing; [ᴹQ.] blessed” ✧ PE17/162
• ᴺQ. manë “good (moral, not evil)”
• Q. manta- “to bless”
• Q. Manwë “Blessed Being” ✧ PE17/162; SA/mān
• Q. manya- “to bless”
• ᴺQ. márë “(moral) good, goodness”

Element in

• Q. Eruman “Heaven”
• Q. manaquenta “*blessed”
• Q. Manwë “Blessed Being” ✧ PM/357
• Q. Manyel
• S. Meiniel

Variations

• AMAN ✧ PE17/146; PE17/149
• AMA(N) ✧ PE17/172 (AMA(N))
• aman ✧ PM/357
• man ✧ PM/357
• mān- ✧ SA/mān

ndē̆r

noun. man

Derivations

• √N(D)ER “male (person), man”

Derivatives

• S. dîr “man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix”

aman

root. good (morally), blessed, holy, unmarred, free from evil

mā

noun. hand

Derivations

• ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
  • √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
  • √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
• √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
• √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18

Derivatives

• Q. má “hand” ✧ PE19/102; VT47/06
• S. maw “hand” ✧ VT47/06
• T. má “hand” ✧ VT47/06

Element in

• ✶makwā “a hand-full, complete hand with all five fingers” ✧ VT47/07
• ✶mā-limi “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶maʒa > mā	[maɣa] > [mā]	✧ VT47/06

Variations

• māh ✧ PE19/102
• mâ ✧ VT47/18; VT47/34 (mâ)

ndorē

noun. land

Derivations

• √NDOR “land; hard, firm; [ᴹ√] dwell, stay, rest, abide” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
  • √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding”
• √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413

Derivatives

• Q. -ndor “land, country” ✧ SA/dôr
• Q. nór “land” ✧ PE17/106; PE17/107
• Q. nórë “land, country; †people, race, tribe, land, country, [ᴹQ.] region where certain people live, [ᴱQ.] nation; [Q.] †people, race, tribe, [ᴹQ.] folk, [ᴱQ.] family” ✧ PE19/076
• S. dôr “land, land, [N.] region where certain people live, [ᴱN.] country; [G.] people of the land” ✧ PE17/164; SA/dôr; WJ/413

Element in

• ✶etlā-ndŏrē “Eglador” ✧ VT42/04; VT42/04
• ✶mbar-ndor “home land, native land” ✧ PE17/164
• Q. Endórë “Middle-earth, (lit.) Middle Land” ✧ Let/384
• Q. Valandor “Land of the Valar” ✧ WJ/413
• S. Ennor “Middle-earth” ✧ Let/384
• S. Eriador “Lonely Land” ✧ VT42/04
• S. Thonador ✧ VT42/04

Variations

• (n)dor ✧ Let/384
• ndōr ✧ PE17/106
• NDŌR/NDŎR- ✧ PE17/107
• ndor ✧ PE17/164; SA/dôr
• ndōrē ✧ PE19/076; VT42/04

ndōro

noun. land

Derivations

• √DOR “hard, tough, dried up, unyielding” ✧ WJ/413

Derivatives

• Q. nór “land” ✧ WJ/413

nēr

noun. man, a male person

Derivations

• √N(D)ER “male (person), man” ✧ WJ/393

Derivatives

• Q. nér “man, male person, man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; [ᴱQ.] husband; warrior” ✧ WJ/393

Variations

• ner ✧ PE21/75
• nĕr ✧ PE21/76
• nere/nēr ✧ WJ/393

n(d)er

root. male (person), man

This root and ones like it were the basis for Elvish “man” words for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√NERE with derivatives like ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” and ᴱQ. nertu “strength” (QL/65). The latter had a cognate G. nert in contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, along with a set of related “strength” words (GL/60). But Gnomish also had a set of derivatives based on the elided primitive form ᴱ✶n’reu̯ such as G. †drio “hero” and driog “valiant” (GL/30). Derivatives with an initial n- continued to appear in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s, such as ᴱN. †nîr “hero, prince” and ᴱN. ne(i)rion “hero” (PE13/164).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, the base root was ᴹ√DER “adult male, man (of any race)” with strengthened variant ᴹ√NDER “bridegroom”, but with the Quenya root becoming ᴹ√NĒR “man” under the influence of ᴹ√NĪ “woman” (Ety/DER, NDER, NĒR, NĪ); from this point forward Noldorin/Sindarin derivatives began with d-, such as S./N. dîr “man”. However, in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from this same period, the primitive root is given as ᴹ√NER “man” (TQ1: PE18/35). On the other hand in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure, also from the late 1930s, the root was given as ᴹ√(N)DER “man, male”, again as a strengthening of ᴹ√DER (EVS1: PE22/98).

Starting in the 1950s, Tolkien was more consistent in making the base root √NER with strengthened form √NDER. Tolkien gave √NDER/NER “male person” in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2: PE22/133) and Common Eldarin: Noun Structure (PE21/70), both from the early 1950s. In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 the base root was √NERE, though Tolkien clarified that the base root as referred more specifically to “physical strength and valour” (WJ/393). The root is given as √NER “man, male” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/33).

Derivatives

• Ad. narû “man, male”
• ✶ndē̆r “man”
  • S. dîr “man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix”
• ✶nēr “man, a male person” ✧ WJ/393
  • Q. nér “man, male person, man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; [ᴱQ.] husband; warrior” ✧ WJ/393
• ✶Neresā “she that has manlike valour or strength” ✧ WJ/416
  • Q. Nessa “she that has manlike valour or strength” ✧ WJ/416
• Q. nercë “little man” ✧ VT47/33
• Q. nerdo “large, strong man” ✧ VT47/33

Variations

• ner ✧ PE21/70
• nder ✧ PE21/70
• NDER ✧ PE22/133
• NER ✧ PE22/133; VT47/33; WJ/416
• NERE ✧ WJ/393

mân

noun. departed spirit

Cognates

• ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit” ✧ Ety/MAN; EtyAC/MAN

Derivations

• ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit” ✧ Ety/MAN
• ᴹ✶manō “departed spirit” ✧ EtyAC/MAN
  • ᴹ√MAN “holy spirit” ✧ EtyAC/MAN

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MAN > mân	[manū] > [manu] > [mānu] > [mān]	✧ Ety/MAN
ᴹ✶manō > mân	[manō] > [mano] > [man] > [mān]	✧ EtyAC/MAN

Variations

• mān ✧ EtyAC/MAN

cam

noun. hand

cam

noun. hand

Cognates

• ᴹQ. kambe “hollow (of hand)” ✧ Ety/KAB; EtyAC/KAB

Derivations

• ᴹ√KAB “hollow” ✧ Ety/KAB; EtyAC/KAB
• On. kamba “hand” ✧ Ety/MAƷ
  • ᴹ√KAB “hollow” ✧ Ety/MAƷ; EtyAC/MAƷ
  • ᴹ✶kambā ✧ PE21/59; PE21/59
  • ᴹ√KAB “hollow”

Element in

• N. Cambant “Full Hand” ✧ Ety/KAB
• N. camland “palm of hand” ✧ Ety/LAD
• N. Camlost “Empty-hand(ed)” ✧ Ety/KAB
• N. Erchamui “One-handed” ✧ Ety/KAB
• N. forgam “righthanded”
• N. hargam “left-handed”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KAB > camb > cam	[kamba] > [kamb] > [kamb] > [kamm] > [kam]	✧ Ety/KAB
On. kamba > camm	[kamba] > [kamb] > [kamb] > [kamm]	✧ Ety/MAƷ

Variations

• camm ✧ Ety/MAƷ

camb

noun. hand

camm

noun. hand

camm

noun. hand

mō

noun. hand

ON. hand

benn

noun. man, male

gwann

adjective. departed, dead

gwe

noun. man, warrior

Changes

• gweg → gwe “man, warrior” ✧ PE21/01

Derivations

• ᴹ✶wegō “man; warrior” ✧ PE21/01
  • ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour” ✧ Ety/ING; Ety/WEG

Variations

• gweg ✧ PE21/01 (gweg)

maethor

noun. warrior

maethor

noun. warrior

Cognates

• ᴹQ. mahtar “warrior, warrior, [ᴱQ.] soldier” ✧ Ety/MAK

benn

noun. man, male, †husband

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “man” or “male” but originally with the sense “†husband”, derived from primitive ᴹ✶besnō under the root ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/BES, DER). The scenario in The Etymologies was that word for “husband” became N. herven while the original word for “man”, N. dîr, fell out of use except as an element in names and as an agental suffix.

Conceptual Development: G. {bend >>} †benn was a word for “husband” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, but it was marked archaic and was replaced by bedhron; these Gnomish words were derived from the early root ᴱ√Bedh- [VEÐE] (GL/22).

Neo-Sindarin: The root for “marry” words was altered in Tolkien’s later writings to √BER, so many Neo-Sindarin writers prefer to use S. dîr as the normal word for “man”; see that entry for discussion. I am of the opinion that both dîr and benn are acceptable, since I prefer to retain ᴹ√BES for “marry, wed”.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. venno “husband” ✧ Ety/BES

Derivations

• On. benno “man” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ✶besnō “husband” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√BES “wed” ✧ Ety/BER; Ety/BES
• ᴹ√BES “wed” ✧ Ety/DER

Element in

• N. herven “husband” ✧ Ety/BES

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. benno > benn	[benno] > [benn]	✧ Ety/BES

daug

noun. warrior, soldier (chiefly used of Orcs)

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. Northmen

dîr

noun. man, adult male; agental suffix

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nér “man, adult male” ✧ Ety/DER

Derivations

• ᴹ√(N)DER “adult male, man; bridegroom” ✧ Ety/BARÁD; Ety/BES
• On. dîr “adult male, man (elf/mortal/other speaking race)” ✧ Ety/DER
  • ᴹ√(N)DER “adult male, man; bridegroom” ✧ Ety/DER; Ety/NĪ¹

Element in

• N. Díriel ✧ Ety/DER
• N. bauglir “tyrant, oppressor” ✧ Ety/MBAW
• N. Brandir “*Noble-man” ✧ Ety/BARÁD; Ety/DER
• N. ceredir “doer, maker, doer, maker, *crafter (m.)” ✧ Ety/DER
• N. curunir “a man of craft, wizard” ✧ Ety/KUR
• N. feredir “hunter”
• N. Haldir “Hidden Hero” ✧ Ety/DER
• N. haldir “fur-hunter” ✧ EtyAC/SKEL (haldir)
• N. Handir
• N. Hathaldir
• N. meldir “friend [m.]”
• N. rhandir “wanderer, pilgrim”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. dîr > dîr	[dīr]	✧ Ety/DER

Variations

• dīr ✧ Ety/BARÁD
• dír ✧ Ety/BES

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

beor

noun. follower, vassal

bior

noun. follower, vassal

dîr

noun. man, referring to an adult male (elf, mortal, or of any other speaking race)

dor

noun. land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live

The form dor in the Etymologies is a misreading, see VT/45. In composition and in toponyms, the word is nevertheless reduced to Dor