morë

noun/adjective. dark, black; darkness, night, dark, black; darkness, [ᴹQ.] blackness, [Q.] night

A word meaning both “dark” and “black” in various compounds, sometimes also functioning as a noun “darkness”. It was derived from primitive ✶mori based on the root √MOR (Let/382).

Conceptual Development: This word has a long history in Tolkien’s languages. It first appeared as ᴱQ. {mōre >>} mōri “night” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the early root ᴱ√MORO (QL/62), also appearing as mōre “night” in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/63). The word mōre was used as “darkness” in the Oilima Markirya poem written around 1930 (MC/214).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s there were two distinct forms: noun ᴹQ. móre “blackness, dark, night” from primitive ᴹ✶mǭri and adjective ᴹQ. more “blackness, dark, night” from primitive from primitive ᴹ✶mori (Ety/MOR; EtyAC/MOR), though the adjective prefix mori- was frequently translated “dark” in contemporaneous compounds: ᴹQ. Morimando “Dark Mando”, ᴹQ. Moriqendi “Dark Elves”, etc. In later writings, the forms with long ó were no longer used, though whether this was intentional or a coincidence is unclear.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly use more as an adjective with the sense “dark”, reserving for the colour “black” the word morna instead. For the noun form, I’d use mornië, but I sometimes use mori- or móri- for “night” in compounds as the time of darkness.

morë

black

morë adj. "black" (MOR), "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). In compounds the stem-form mori- (q.v.) appears, since the primitive form was ¤mori.

mórë

blackness, dark, night, darkness

mórë noun "blackness, dark, night, darkness" (MOR, MC:214), also given with a short vowel:morë "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). If this is the initial element of Morinehtar "Darkness-slayer" (PM:384, 385), it would seem to have the stem-form mori-, though mori- is normally the adjective "dark, black" (see below).

mori

night

mori noun "night" (LT1:261, in Tolkien's later Quenya mórë, morë)

morĭ

adjective. dark

PQ. dark

amba

more

amba 2) adj. and noun "more", "used of any kind of measurement spatial, temporal, or quantitative" (PE:17:91). Cf. adverb ambë.

ambë

more

ambë adv. "more", "used of any kind of measurement spatial, temporal, or quantitative" (PE17:91). As noun or adjective, amba.

lil

more

lil adverbial particle "more" (PE14:80)

amba

more

ambë

adverb. more

entë

moreover, further, furthermore, what is more

entë (1) conj. "moreover, further, furthermore, what is more" (VT47:15, VT48:14). Compare yunquentë as a variant of yunquenta, q.v.

morendë

noun. midnight

@@@ Discord 2023-01-11

entë

adverb. moreover, further(more), what is more, moreover, further(more), what is more; *next (of time or in a sequence)

á cenë ancénië

look sharper, closer, more attentively, better, more closely

an

adverb/conjunction. for, but, then, or; moreover, furthermore

enetya

adjective. spare, extra, more than needed

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-05-14 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), an adjectival form of √ENET “✱one more”.

enet-

adjective. spare, extra, more than needed

A neologism coined by Luinyelle posted on 2024-05-14 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a prefixal form of [ᴺQ.] enetya of the same meaning.

an

for

an (1) _conj. and prep. _"for" (Nam, RGEO:66), an cé mo quernë… "for if one turned…" (VT49:8), also used adverbially in the formula an + a noun to express "one more" (of the thing concerned: an quetta "a word more", PE17:91). The an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! "the Eagles of the Lords are at hand" (SD:290) however seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana "to, towards" (NĀ1). The phrase an i falmalī _(PE17:127) is not clearly translated but seems to be a paraphrase of the word falmalinnar "upon the foaming waves" (Nam)_, suggesting that an can be used as a paraphrase of the allative ending (and if falmalī is seen as a Book Quenya accusative form because of the long final vowel, this is evidence that an governs the accusative case). In the "Arctic" sentence, an is translated "until". Regarding an as used in Namárië, various sources indicate that it means an "moreover, further(more), to proceed" (VT49:18-19) or ("properly") "further, plus, in addition" (PE17:69, 90). According to one late source (ca. 1966 or later), an "is very frequently used after a full stop, when an account or description is confirmed after a pause. So in Galadriels Elvish lament […]: An sí Tintallë, etc. [= For now the Kindler, etc…] This is translated by me for, side an is (as here) often in fact used when the additional matter provides an explanation of or reason for what has already been said". Related is the use of an + noun to express "one more"; here an is presumably accented, something the word would not normally be when used as a conjunction or preposition.

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.

mori-

dark, black

mori- "dark, black" in a number of compounds (independent form morë, q.v.):Morimando "Dark Mando" = Mandos (MBAD, VT45:33), morimaitë "black-handed" (LotR3:VI ch. 6, VT49:42). Moriquendi "Dark Elves" (SA:mor, WJ:361, 373), Moringotto "Black Foe", Sindarin Morgoth, later name of Melkor. The oldest form is said to have been Moriñgotho (MR:194). In late material, Tolkien is seen to consider both Moringotto and Moricotto _("k") _as the Quenya form of the name Morgoth (VT49:24-25; Moricotto also appears in the ablative, Moricottollo). Morion "the dark one", a title of Morgoth (FS). Morifinwë "dark Finwë", masc. name; he was called Caranthir in Sindarin (short Quenya name Moryo). (PM:353) In the name Morinehtar, translated "Darkness-slayer", the initial element is defined would thus seem to signify "darkness" rather than "dark" as an adjective (see mórë). (PM:384, 385)

morion

son of the dark

morion noun "son of the dark" (LT1:261). In Fíriel's Song, Morion is translated "dark one", referring to Melko(r); this may be a distinct formation not including the patronymic ending -ion "son", but rather the masculine ending -on added to the adjective morë, mori- "dark".

móri

dark

móri adj. "dark" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"; in Tolkien's later Quenya mórë, morë)

Fui

night

Fui noun "Night" (PHUY) - variant Hui, which form is probably to be preferred in light of Tolkien's later insight that the related word fuinë (see below) is actually Telerin, the proper Quenya form being huinë.

Hui

night

Hui noun "Night" (PHUY), in earlier "Qenya" defined as "evening" _(MC:214) or"fog, dark, murk, night" (LT1:253)._

an-

very

an- (2) intensive or superlative prefix carrying the idea of "very" or "most", seen in ancalima "most bright" (cf. calima "bright"), antara "very high, very lofty" and #anyára "very old" or "oldest" (the latter form occurring in the so-called Elaine inscription [VT49:40], there with the dative ending -n). Assimilated to am- before p-, as in amparca ("k") "very dry", and to al-, ar-, as- before words in l-, r-, s- (though Tolkien seems to indicate that before words in l- derived from earlier d, the original quality of the consonant would be preserved so that forms in and- rather than all- would result). See also un-. (Letters:279, VT45:5, 36) Regarding the form of the superlative prefix before certain consonants, another, partially discrepant system was also set down in the Etymologies and first published in VT45:36. The prefix was to appear as um- or un- before labialized consonants like p-, qu-, v- (the consonant v preserving its ancient pronunciation b- following the prefix, thus producing a word in umb-), as in- (technically iñ-) before c- and g- (the latter presumably referring to words that originally had initial g-, later lost in Quenya but evidently preserved following this prefix), and as an- otherwise. However, this system would contradict the canonical example ancalima, which would have been *incalima if Tolkien had maintained this idea. In a post-LotR source, the basic form of the prefix is given as am- instead (see am- #2). In this late conception, the prefix still appears as an- before most consonants, but as ama- before r, l, and the form an- is used even before s- (whether original or from þ), not the assimilated variant as- described above. General principles would suggest that the form am- should also appear before y- (so the form #anyára probably presupposes an- rather than am- as the basic form of the prefix, Tolkien revisiting the earlier concept in the _Elaine inscription). (PE17:92)_

fána

white

fána, fánë (1) adj. "white" (Markirya - fánë as a sg. form in may be a misreading). Compare fanya.

fána

adjective. white, white; [ᴹQ.] cloud

@@@ as suggested by Helge Fauskanger, the form fánë “white” in the Markirya poem may be a slip or misreading

fánë

adjective. white

hróva

dark, dark brown

hróva adj. "dark, dark brown", used to refer to hair (PE17:154)

ita

very, extremely

ita, íta adv. 2) "very, extremely" (PE17:112). Like #1 above, this element emerged as part of Tolkiens efforts to explain the initial element of the name Idril (Q Itaril), so it is questionable if #1 and #2 were ever meant to coexist in the "same" version of Quenya.

lai

very

[lai adverbial particle "very" (VT45:8)]

lér

man

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

ló

night, a night

ló (1) noun "night, a night" (DO3/DŌ, VT45:28)

lóna

dark

?lóna (4) adj. "dark" (DO3/DŌ). If this is to be the cognate of "Noldorin"/Sindarin dûr, as the context seems to indicate, lóna is likely a misreading for *lóra in Tolkien's manuscript.

lúna

dark

lúna adj. *"dark" in Lúnaturco and Taras Lúna, Quenya names of Barad-dûr (Dark Tower). (PE17:22). In the Etymologies, lúnë "blue" was changed by Tolkien from lúna (VT45:29).

lúrëa

dark, overcast

lúrëa adj. "dark, overcast" (LT1:259)

morna

dark, black

morna adj. "dark, black" (Letters:282, LT1:261; also used of black hair, PE17:154), or "gloomy, sombre" (MOR). Used as noun in the phrase mi…morna of someone clad "in…black" (PE17:71). In tumbalemorna (Letters:282), q.v. Pl. mornë in Markirya**(the first version of this poem had "green rocks", MC:215, changed to ondolisse mornë** "upon dark rocks" in the final version; see MC:220, note 8).

morqua

black

morqua adj. "black" (LT1:261; rather morna in LotR-style Quenya)

ninquë

white, chill, cold, palid

ninquë adj. "white, chill, cold, palid" (WJ:417, SA:nim, PE17:168, NIK-W - spelt "ninqe" in Etym and in LT1:266, MC:213, MC:220, GL:60), pl. ninqui in Markirya. Compounded in Ninquelótë noun "White-Flower" (SA:nim), = Sindarin Nimloth, the White Tree of Númenor; ninqueruvissë ("q") "white-horse-on" _(MC:216; this is "Qenya", read _ninqueroccossë or *ninquiroccossë in LotR-style Quenya). Normally ninquë would be expected to have the stem-form ninqui-, given the primitive form ¤ninkwi; Ninquelótë rather than *Ninquilótë must be seen as an analogical form.

nulla

dark, dusky, obscure

nulla adj. "dark, dusky, obscure" (NDUL), "secret" (DUL). See also VT45:11.

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

núla

dark, occult, mysterious

núla ("ñ")adj. "dark, occult, mysterious" (PE17:125)

olo

night

?olo (reading uncertain), possibly a synonym of ló #1, hence noun "night" (VT45:28)

ten

for

ten (2) conj. "for", in Fíriel's Song; apparently replaced by an in LotR-style Quenya.

ulca

adjective. dark

dark, gloomy, sinister

lai

adverb. very

moredhel

proper name. Moredhel

mor

black

_adj. _black.

Moredhel

'Dark-Elf'

pl1. Moredhil {ð} n. 'Dark-Elf', distinguished from the Sindar (and usually also the Nandor). Q. Avar.

morben

'Dark-elf'

pl1. mœrbin, pl2. morbennath n. 'Dark-elf', excluding the Sindar.

mor-

black

_ pref. _black. >> Moria, morn-

morn

adjective. black, dark

morn

adjective. black

adj. black. >> mor, Morgai

morn

dark

morn (black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

morn

dark

(black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

morn

night

(i vorn) (darkness), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word is also used as an adjective ”dark, black” (Letters:386).

am

adverb/adjective. more

gant

adverb. larger, greater, more, (lit.) increased

ened

adverb. moreover

mornedhel

proper name. Dark-elf

A Sindarin term for the Avari, a combination of morn “dark” and Edhel “Elf” (WJ/377), also appearing as Moredhel (PE17/140-141).

adanadar

noun. man, one of the Fathers of Men

adanath

noun. men

drúadan

noun. wild man, one of the Woses

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

glân

adjective. white, [bright shining] white; [N.] clear; [G.] pure, †bright; [ᴱN.] clean

Dúnadan

noun. Man of the west, Númenórean

adan

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

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.

dúath

adjective. dark

_ adj. _dark, black shadow.

dû

night

_ n. _night (when viewed favourably). Q. lóme.

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

dûr

dark

_ adj. _dark, gloomy, 'hellish'.

fain

noun/adjective. white

fain

noun/adjective. cloud

fuin

noun. night, dead of night, gloom, darkness

moravar

noun. 'Dark-Elf'

n. #'Dark-Elf'.

morbenedh

'Dark-Elf'

pl1. morbenidh {ð} n. #'Dark-Elf'. >> penedh

morn-

black

_pref. _black. >> Moria, mor-

nim

white

_adj. _white. >> Nimbrethil

nim

white

_adj. _white (usual word). >> nimp, nimras

nim

adjective. white

silivren

adjective. (white) glittering

tíra-

verb. to see

uilos

noun/adjective. always white, ever white as snow

uilos

noun/adjective. a small white everlasting flower also called simbelmynë or "evermind"

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.

ammen

for us

(to us).

an

for

(prep.) an (+ nasal mutation), with article ni ”for the” (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

for

(adverbial prefix) an-

an

for

(+ nasal mutation), with article ’ni ”for the” (+ nasal mutation in plural).

an

for the

(for) + i (the).

an-

very

(as adverbial prefix) an-, as in:

an-

very

as in:

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.

curunír

man of craft

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

dae

very

dae (exceedingly). Lenited dhae.

dae

adverb. very

dae

very

(exceedingly). Lenited dhae.

daw

nighttime

(i dhaw) (gloom), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath.

doll

dark

doll (dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

doll

dark

(dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

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”.

dúath

dark shadow

(i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith);

dúath

nightshade

(i dhúath) (dark shadow), pl. dúaith (i núaith).

dúnadan

man of the west

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

dû

night

1) dû (i dhû) (nightfall, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) morn (i vorn) (darkness), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word is also used as an adjective ”dark, black” (Letters:386).

dû

night

(i dhû) (nightfall, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

dûr

dark

dûr (sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

dûr

dark

(sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

faen

white

(radiant). No distinct pl. form.

fain

white

; no distinct pl. form.

firion

mortal man

(pl. firyn).

fuin

night, nightshade, dead of night

(gloom, darkness). No distinct pl. form.

galvorn

black metal

(i ’alvorn), pl. gelvyrn (i ngelvyrn = i ñelvyrn) if there is a pl. (WJ:322). 2) donn (swart, swarty, shady, shadowy) (lenited dhonn, pl. dynn). (VT45:11). Also dunn- in compounds.

gloss

white as snow, dazzling white

(in compounds -los), lenited ’loss; pl. glyss.

glân

white

1) glân (clear), lenited lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”. 2) nimp (nim-) (pale); no distinct pl. form. 3) faen (radiant). No distinct pl. form. 4) fain; no distinct pl. form.

glân

white

(clear), lenited ’lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”.

graurim

dark people

(VT45:16);

graw

dark

graw (swart), lenited raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

graw

dark

(swart), lenited ’raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

guldur

dark sorcery

(i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr)

môr

dark

môr (black), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also

môr

dark

(black), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr* (Letters:382)*, also

môr

black

1) môr (dark), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

môr

black

(dark), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. **myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

nimp

white

(nim-) (pale); no distinct pl. form.

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:

silivren

glittering white

(lenited hilivren; pl. *silivrin**). *Verb

thalion

dauntless man

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

tinnu

early night without a moon

(i dinnu, o thinnu) (dusk, twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

mori

adjective. black

amba

?. more

and(ă)

adverb/conjunction. moreover, to go on further, to say more

am(a)

adverb/conjunction. moreover, furthermore, to proceed

na/ana

root. to, towards; at side of, alongside, besides; moreover, in addition, plus

The root √ANA was connected to “giving” and “movement toward” for much of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√ANA “give, send towards” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, and in this period was the basis for words like ᴱQ. anta-/G. antha- “give” and ᴱQ. ana “to(wards)” (QL/31; GL/19). The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√ANA with an inverted variant ᴹ√NĀ¹ “to, towards”; the most notable derivative of this inverted form was N. na “with, by” (Ety/ANA¹, NĀ¹). In the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1), √AN was given as one of the primary examples of the inversion of roots, where √AN(A) was originally a “biconsontal root” (²√) with a vocalic beginning, and the inverted form √NA was an abnormal vocalization of the basic root (PE18/38).

This same example of inversion was used in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from around 1950 (TQ2: PE18/88), and this invertible root appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings almost always with glosses like “to, towards, motion to”. There were a few instances in which Tolkien explored some alternate meanings for the root, however. In Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s Tolkien said that:

> It is true that in Q. na appears with sense “to”, but this at nearest means “towards, to a position near, alongside” ... The original sense of Eldarin ana was plainly “at side of, alongside, besides”, hence also “moreover, in addition, plus” (seen in use of an- as an intensive prefix), and so an or na in some languages has the sense “along with, with, accompanied by, provided with, associated with” and the like (PE21/79).

Likewise in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN) Tolkien said:

> √ANA/NĀ, to, towards - added to, plu-. Quenya verbal prefix ana, na-, as in napan-, add. an­ “plu-”, intensive prefix, arcalima, preeminently bright, ancalima, very bright ... S an, dative chiefly with pronouns or persons. < ana, hence vocalic mutation, but takes form m before m, b. ✱ to, for (PE17/146-7).

In this note Tolkien went on to explore various non-allative meanings associated with the root such as the conjugation/adverb Q. an “for, then, or, but” and prepositions S. na(n) “with” vs. S. na “to, towards”, differing mainly in the mutations they cause (nasal versus soft). It seems the association of this root with both the intensive an- and words like Q. an “for; moreover” and S. na(n) “with” motivated Tolkien to find a more nuanced meaning for the root. This likewise probably motivated Tolkien to explore an alternate basis for the intensive prefix in the mid-1960s, deriving it from √AMA rather than √AN (PE17/90-94).

Neo-Eldarin: For Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain an- as the basis for intensives in both Quenya and Sindarin, and thus I think it is best to retain the extended meanings of √AN from the 1950s to include senses like “add to, more” and “up to the side of”, hence by extension “alongside” becoming (in S.) “with, accompanying, possessing, having the trait of” as in S. na(n) “of, with”.

dom

root. dark, dark, [ᴹ√] faint, dim

This root was the basis for the main Elvish words for “dusk, night”, which was established as Q. lómë in Quenya for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√LOMO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with various derivatives having to do with “dusk” and “shadow” (QL/55). One notable derivative was ᴱQ. lóme “dusk, gloom, darkness”, which survived in Tolkien’s later writings as “night” and in the 1910s was the basis for ᴱQ. Hisilóme/G. Hithlum “Shadowy Twilights”. Another notable derivative was G. lómin “shady, shadowy, gloomy; gloom(iness)” (GL/45) used in the name G. Dor Lómin, which in the 1910s was translated as “Land of Shadow” (LT1/112).

The “shadow” meaning of this early root seems to have transferred to ᴹ√LUM from The Etymologies of the 1930s, which served as the new basis for N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM), as opposed contemporaneous N. Dor-lómen which was redefined as “Land of Echoes (< ᴹ√LAM via Ilkorin or in later writings, via North Sindarin). The “dusk” sense was transferred to a new root ᴹ√DOM “faint, dim”, which (along with ᴹ√DOƷ) was the basis for the pair words ᴹQ. lóme/N. dû “night” (Ety/DOMO).

These two words for “night” survived in Tolkien’s later writing in both Quenya and Sindarin (Let/308; SA/dú). In notes from the 1940s Tolkien clarified that it “has no evil connotations; it is a word of peace and beauty and has none of the associations of fear or groping that, say, ‘dark’ has for us” (SD/306). The Elves were quite comfortable being under the night sky, dating back to the time when the Elves lived under the stars before the rising of the Sun and the Moon. The root √DOM reappeared in etymologies for star-words from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152). It appeared again in some very late notes from 1969 where it was glossed “dark” and served as the basis for words meaning “blind” as well as “night”, though this paragraph was rejected (PE22/153, note #50).

mornā

adjective. dark

ndē̆r

noun. man

du Reconstructed

root. dark

morn

adjective. black, dark

morn

adjective. black

mornennyn

proper name. Gates of Mordor

Earlier name for S. Morannon (WR/112-3), a combination of morn “black” and the plural of annon “gate”, also appearing as (rejected) Morennyn (WR/113).

môr

adjective. black

ennyn dûr

proper name. Gates of Mordor

Earliest name (rejected) for S. Morannon (WR/113), a combination of the plural of annon “gate” and dûr “dark”.

benn

noun. man, male

brassen

adjective. white-hot

dae

adverb. very

daw

noun. night-time, gloom

doll

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dolt

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dureledh

proper name. Dark-elf

A Noldorin name for the Dark Elves appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/DOƷ), also appearing as Duveledh in the entry for the root ᴹ√MOR (Ety/MOR). The latter may be a mistake since a miswritten “r” might appear as a “v”; another word Durion appears beside Duveledh, which supports it being a misreading for “r”. It is a combination of dûr “dark” and Eledh “Elf”.

durion

proper name. Dark-elf

A Noldorin name for the Dark Elves appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/DOƷ, MOR), a combination of dûr “dark” and a variant of the agental suffix -(r)on. According to Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne, in one entry this form replaced an element duil- which was part of some kind of etymological definition, but the writing is obscured (EtyAC/MOR).

dîr

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

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

dûr

adjective. dark

fein

noun/adjective. white

fein

noun/adjective. cloud

forodrim

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. Northmen

forodwaith

noun. the lands of the North

forodweith

noun. Northmen

forodweith

noun. the lands of the North

fuin

noun. night, dead of night, gloom, darkness

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.

dunna

adjective. black

This might seem to be derived from dunnâ, sc. the stem DUN "dark (of colour)" (LR:355) either with the adjectival ending -nâ or with medial fortification n > nn and the simpler adjectival ending -â. However, other Nandorin words seem to have lost their final -â's, e.g. ealc "swan" from alk-wâ, and (to quote a wholly parallel example) cogn "bow" from ku3nâ. The descendant form is not cogna with the final vowel intact as the case would seem to be in dunna. However, primitive -ô does come out as -a in Nandorin, cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô, so a form dunnô might be capable of yielding dunna, but this primitive form would rather be a noun "dark person/thing", since primitive -ô, -nô are nominal rather than adjectival endings. Of course, Nandorin may have turned an original noun into an adjective, or developed an adjectival ending -a afresh. But all things considered *dunnâ still appears to be the best reconstruction of the primitive form.

The words dunna and scella raise the question of whether original final -â is actually preserved as -a following double consonants (as opposed to clusters of different consonants) in Nandorin.

búrz

adjective. dark

búrz

adjective. dark

dulgu

adjective. black, dark

An adjective translated “black” (SD/247). It appears in its plural form dulgî “black” in the final version of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247) and in its singular form dulgu in the second draft of this text (SD/312). It may be related to S. dûr “dark” and N. doll “obscure, hidden, dusky”, as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynn (AAD/14). It is likely related to or a variant of dolgu “black, dark”.

narâg

adjective. black

moripendi

collective name. Dark-elves

nimbi

adjective. white

nimbi

adjective. white

About Nimrodel: "Nim is evidently the Telerin word nimbi 'white'." >> Nimrais >> Nimrodel