nan

but

nan conj. "but" (FS); the Etymologies also gives ná, nán (NDAN), but these words may be confused with forms of the verb "to be", so nan should perhaps be preferred, unless for "but" one uses the wholly distinct word mal. In Tolkien's later Quenya, it may be that he introduced new words for "but" to free up nan for another meaning (perhaps the adverb "back", compare the prefix nan-).

nan

woodland

nan (nand-) noun "woodland" (LT1:261)

nan

adverb. again

nan

noun. valley, vale

nan-tasarion

place name. Vale of Willow[s]

A Quenya name of S. Nan-tathren used by the Ents (LotR/469, SA/tathar), translated “Vale of Willow” (PE17/80). It is a compound of nan(do) “valley” and the genitive plural of tasar(ë) “willow”. Thus, a more accurate translation would be “Vale of Willows”.

nan(do)

noun. (wide) valley, vale, (wide) valley, vale; [ᴹQ.] water-mead, watered plain; [ᴱQ.] woodland

A common Quenya word for “vale” or “valley”, cognate of S. nan(d) and derivative of the root √NAD (Ety/NAD; NM/351). In one place, Tolkien indicated this word was used more specifically for wide valleys (PE17/80). A narrow valley might be better described with a word like Q. imbe “deep valley”, ᴹQ. cirisse “cleft” or ᴹQ. yáwe “ravine”.

This word appears as nan(d) in numerous compounds (Let/308, UT/253, RC/384). The independent form of this word is more difficult to determine. It variously appeared as nanda (Ety/NAD, PE17/80), nando (PE17/28, 80) and nandë within the compound Laurenandë (UT/253). This entry uses nando because it looks more noun-like than nanda while avoiding conflict with [ᴹQ.] nande (ñande) “harp”, but any of these forms could be correct.

Conceptual Development: The earliest appearance of this word was as ᴱQ. nan (nand-) “woodland” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the early root ᴱ√NAŘA [NAÐA] (QL/64), but its use in actual names in this period indicates the actual meaning was “land”, such as ᴱQ. Hisinan “Land of Twilight” (QL/40) and ᴱQ. Tasarinan “Land of Willows” (LT2/140). It appeared as ᴹQ. nanda “water-mead, watered plain” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NAD (Ety/NAD), but this meaning also seems to be an aberration since it still appeared in ᴹQ. Tasarinan “Land of Willows” in this period (LR/261; TI/417). In later writings, the various nand- variants were regularly glossed “valley”, as reflected in the new gloss for Q. Tasarinan as “Willow-vale” (RC/384).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d limit this word to nando “valley”, ignoring its earlier meanings and alternate forms. For “water mead[ow]”, I’d restore the Early Qenya word ᴱQ. nendo instead.

nand’ ondoluncava

place name. Stonewain Valley

A Quenya name of the hidden Stonewain Valley in the Druadan Forest (LotR/833, PE17/28). It is a compound of the elided form nand’ of nan(do) “valley” and the possessive form of ondolunca “stonewain”.

nan-

backwards

nan- (prefix) "backwards" (NDAN) or "back", as in nanwen- "return" (go/come back, PE17:166), cf. also nanquernë *"turned back", the pl. form of nanquerna _(VT49:17-18). _Apparently assimilated nal- in nalláma "echo" (if this represents nan-láma "back-sound", sound coming back).

nandë

valley

nandë (1) noun "valley" in Laurenandë (UT:253), elided nand in the name Nand Ondoluncava (k") "Stonewain Valley" (PE17:28). Possibly the complete word is here meant to be the variant nando (PE17:80), as suggested by the alternative form Ondoluncanan(do) ("k") "Stonewain Valley". Also nan, nand- noun "valley" (Letters:308); Nan-Tasarion "Vale of Willows" (LotR2:III ch. 4) (Note that this and the next nandë would be spelt differently in Tengwar writing, and originally they were also pronounced differently, since nandë "harp" was ñandë in First Age Quenya.)

nanwen-

verb. return

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

Nando

valley, wide valley

nando (2) "valley, wide valley", variant of nandë #1, q.v. (PE17:80)

nan-

prefix. back (again), back (again); [ᴹQ.] backwards

nandë

noun. valley

laurelindórenan

place name. (Land of the) Valley of Singing Gold

The full Quenya name of S. Lórien (UT/253), appearing in the even longer Entish description of that land: Laurelindórenan lindelorendor malinornélion ornemalin (LotR/467). The name is a combination of the elements laurë “gold”, lin(dë) “singing”, -ndor “land” and the suffix -nan “valley” (Let/448, UT/253). This name was crafted by Galadriel, and was an allusion to the Golden Tree of Valinor, Laurelin (UT/253).

Conceptual Development: This name appeared as Laurelindórinan in the first edition of The Lord of the Rings, revised to Laurelindórenan in the second (SD/73). It also appeared in a shorter variant Laurelindórë “Land of Singing Gold” (PE17/80). It seems that when Tolkien first conceived of this name, it was merely an extended, Enticized version of Lórien (PE17/80). The idea that it was the full name coined by Galadriel came later, as Tolkien further developed the etymological history of S. Lórien (UT/253).

ondoluncanan(do)

place name. Stonewain Valley

A Quenya name of the hidden Stonewain Valley in the Druadan Forest appearing in Tolkien’s Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/28). It is a compound of ondolunca “stonewain” and nan(do) “valley”. A “qu” was placed above this form, indicating a variant form Ondolunquanan(do), as suggested by Christopher Gilson (PE17/28), though I think Ondoluquanan(do) is more likely given the variant for luqua of lunca.

Noirinan

valley of the tombs

Noirinan noun the "Valley of the Tombs" in Númenor (evidently *noirë*, noiri- "tomb" + nan** "valley") (UT:166)

Tasarinan

willow-vale

Tasarinan(þ) place-name *"Willow-vale", also Nan-Tasarion (LotR2:III ch. 4)

-on

name

-on gen.pl. ending (3O), in aldaron, aranion, elenion, Eldaron, #esseron, Ingweron, Istarion, Númevalion, Quendion, Silmarillion, Sindaron, tasarion (see Nan-Tasarion), Valion, wenderon, yénion. Normally the ending -on is added to the nominative plural, whether it ends in -i or -r, but some nouns in -ë that would have nominative plurals in -i seem to prefer the ending -ron in the genitive (hence #esseron as the gen. pl. of essë "name", though the nominative pl. is attested as essi and we might have expected the gen. pl. *ession; similarly wenderon, Ingweron).

men-

verb. go

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

nalláma

echo

nalláma, nallama noun "echo" (LAM). The initial element may be nan- "back", hence "back-sound", sound that comes back (cf. láma).

ná

but, on the contrary, on the other hand

ná (2), also nán, conj. "but, on the contrary, on the other hand" (NDAN; the form nan, q.v., is probably to be preferred to avoid confusion with ná "is", *nán "I am").

tasar

willow-tree

tasar, tasarë (þ) noun "willow-tree" (TATHAR). In Tasarinan "Willow-valley", Nan-tasarion "Valley of willows" (SA:tathar)

amal

mother

amal noun "mother"; also emel (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

amil

mother

amil noun "mother" (AM1), also emil (q.v.) Longer variant amillë (VT44:18-19), compounded Eruamillë "Mother of God" in Tolkien's translation of the Hail Mary (VT43:32). If amil is a shortened form of amillë, it should probably have the stem-form amill-. Also compare amilyë, amya, emya. Compounded amil- in amilessë noun "mothername" (cf. essë "name"), name given to a child by its mother, sometimes with prophetic implications (amilessi tercenyë "mother-names of insight"). (MR:217).

amil(lë)

noun. mother

Tolkien used a number of similar forms for “mother” for most of his life. The earliest of these are ᴱQ. amis (amits-) “mother” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s along with variants ᴱQ. ambi, âmi, amaimi under the root ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). An additional variant ammi appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/30). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱQ. ambe or mambe “mother” (PE16/135). This became ᴹQ. amil “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√AM “mother” (Ety/AM¹).

This 1930s form amil appears to have survived for some time. It appeared in a longer form Amille in Quenya Prayers of the 1950s (VT43/26; VT44/12, 18), and as an element in the term amilessi “mother-names” in a late essay on Elvish naming (MR/217). In the initial drafts of Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s Tolkien used the form amilye or amye as an affectionate word for “mother”, and amaltil as the finger name for the second finger (VT47/26-27 note #34 and #35).

However, in those documents Tolkien seems to have revised the root for “mother” from √AM to √EM and the affectionate forms from amye to emya or emme (VT47/10; VT48/6, 19). The revised word for “mother” appears to be emil based on the 1st person possessive form emil(inya) (VT47/26).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain the root √AM for “mother”, since that is what Tolkien used for 50 years, and ignore the very late change to √EM. As such, I would recommend amil(le) for “mother” and affectionate forms amme “mommy” and amya. However, if you prefer to use Tolkien’s “final” forms, then emil(le), emme and emya seem to be what Tolkien adopted in the late 1960s.

ammë

mother

ammë noun "mother" (AM1)

anat

but

anat conj. "but" (VT43:23; possibly an ephemeral form)

apa

but

apa (3) conj. "but": melinyes apa la hé "I love him but not him" (another) (VT49:15)

apa

conjunction. but

as

with

as prep. "with" (together with), also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with thee" (VT47:31, VT43:29). The conjunction ar "and" may also appear in assimilated form as before s; see ar #1.

as

with

o (2) prep. "with" (MC:216; this is "Qenya"; WJ:367 states that no independent preposition o was used in Quenya. Writers may rather use as.) See ó- below.

as

preposition. with

ata

again

ata adv. "again", also prefix ata-, at- "back, again, re-; second time, double" (AT(AT), PE17:166, cf. ataquanta-, ataquetië) or "two" (PE17:166), also "ambi-" as in ataformaitë, q.v.

car-

with

#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)

emel

mother

emel noun "mother"; also amal (VT48:22, 49:22); the form amil (emil) seems more usual.

emil

mother

emil noun "mother", emilinya "my mother" (also reduced to emya) the terms a child would use in addressing his or her mother (VT47:26). Emil would seem to be a variant of amil. Also compare emel.

emil

noun. mother

entulessë

return

entulessë noun "return" (UT:171)

entulessë

proper name. Return

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

entulessë

noun. return

A noun for “return” attested as the name of a ship: Entulessë (UT/171). It seems to be an abstract noun based on the verb entul- “return, come again”.

esse

noun. name

essë

name

essë (1) noun "name", also later name of Tengwa #31, originally (MET) called árë (ázë). (Appendix E). With a pronominal ending esselya "thy name" (VT43:14). Pl. #essi in PM:339 and MR:470, gen.pl. #esseron "of names" in the compound Nómesseron (q.v.); we would rather have expected *ession, given the nom.pl. essi; perhaps #esser is a valid alternative plural form. Essecarmë noun "name-making" (MR:214, 470), Eldarin ceremony where the father announces the name of his child. Essecenta *("k") noun "Name-essay" (see centa) (MR:415); Essecilmë noun "name-choosing", an Eldarin ceremony where a child named him- or herself according to personal lámatyávë (q.v.) (MR:214, 471). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essë** in the Etymologies was "place" rather than "name" (VT45:12).

essë

noun. name

esta-

verb. name

lelya-

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

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

lenna-

verb. go

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

lé

with

lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)

lé

preposition. with

The preposition lé “with” was mentioned in a (rejected) etymology of S. di “with” in Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/94), from the phrase le nallon sí di’nguruthos (LotR/729), usually translated “here overwhelmed in dread of Death, I cry”. In this note, Tolkien eventually decided that S. (n)di actually meant “beneath”, and its Quenya equivalent was Q. nî.

Conceptual Development: Prepositional ᴹQ. le also appeared in the Lament of Atalante from the 1940s, in the phrase ᴹQ. Númeheruvi arda sakkante lenéme Ilúvatáren “the Lords of the West broke the world by [or with] leave of Ilúvatar” (SD/246, 310). Here “with” seems to be used in the instrumental sense “by means of”. The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. le “with (accompaniment)” under the early root ᴱ√LĒ (QL/52). Le was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as the equivalent of G. li “with (of accompaniment only)”, but also used to mean “and” between nouns GL/54().

Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. lé for purposes of Neo-Quenya as a rarely-used instrumental preposition meaning “with, by (means of)”, reconceived as a derivative of √LEÑ “✱way, method, manner” (PE17/74).

lú

time, occasion

lú noun "a time, occasion" (LU)

lúmë

time

lúmë (1) noun "time" (LU, PE17:168) or "hour", locative lúmessë (VT43:34), pl. locative lúmissen "at the times" (VT49:47), allative lúmenna "upon the hour", elided lúmenn' in the greeting elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo "a star shines upon the hour of our meeting", because the next word begins with a similar vowel. The complete form lúmenna omentielvo is found in WJ:367 and Letters:425 (footnote). Cf. also the compounds lumenyárë and lúmequenta, q.v.; see also #sillumë.

mal

but

mal conj. "but" (VT43:23)

mal

conjunction. but

mamil

mother, mummy

mamil noun *"mother, mummy" (UT:191)

nalda

valley

nalda adj. "valley" (used as an adjective), also "lowly" (LT1:261, QL:66)$

nó

but

nó (2) conj. "but" (VT41:13)

nó

conjunction. but

ono

but

ono conj. "but" (VT43:23, VT44:5/9)

ono

conjunction. but

ontari

mother

ontari noun "mother" or etymologically "begetter, parent" (fem.); clashing with the plural ontari "parents", this was apparently an emphemeral form (see ontarë, ontaril, ontarië for other feminine forms of "begetter, parent") (VT44:7)

ontaril

mother

ontaril noun "mother", female *"begetter" (cf. onta-). Variant of ontarë. (VT43:32)

onë

but

onë conj. "but" (VT43:23)

onë

conjunction. but

sanda

name

[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)

sanya

name

[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)

tavas

woodland

tavas noun "woodland" (LT1:267)

vanya-

verb. go, depart, disappear

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

ó

with, accompanying

tavas

noun. woodland

nan

vale

_ n. _vale. >> nand, Nanduhirion

nan

noun. wide grassland, land at foot of hills with many streams

nan

noun. valley

nan

preposition. of

nan

'with'

prep. 'with', possessing, provided with, esp. of characteristic feature. Form of na before vowels. >> na 2b/c/d/e

nan(d)

noun. vale, valley, vale, valley, [ᴱN.] dale; [N.] wide grassland; [G.] field acre

A word for “valley” or “vale” appearing as an element in many names, mostly referring to wide valleys as opposed to imlad for narrow valleys. As an element in compounds or before another word in names it generally took the form nan as in Mornan “Dark Valley” and Nan Dungortheb “Valley of Dreadful Death”. As an independent word it had the form nand: “In Sindarin this gave nand which as other words ending in nd remained in stressed monosyllables but > nann > nan in compounds” (NM/351). It was a derivative of the root √NAD (NM/351; Ety/NAD).

Conceptual Development: The first appearance of this word was as G. nand or nann “a field acre” where it was probably a derivative of the early root ᴱ√NAŘA [NAÐA] as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (GL/59; LT1A/Nandini). Its use in early names like G. Nan Dumgorthin “Land of the Dark Idols” (LT2/35) and G. Nan Tathrin “Land of Willows” (GL/67; LT2A/Nantathrin) indicates the actual meaning was closer to “land”. The word reappeared as ᴱN. nann or nand “dale” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/150), consistent with the new gloss “Valley of Willows” for ᴱN. Nan Tathrin in Silmarillion drafts from the late 1920s (SM/35).

The word N. nand or nann “wide grassland” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NAD (Ety/NAD), and the word nan(d) “valley” or “vale” was mentioned a number of times in Tolkien’s later notes (PE17/37, 83; RC/269). In notes from the late 1960s it was derived from primitived ✶nandē based on the root √NAD meaning “hollow of structures or natural features more or less concave with rising sides”. In these notes Tolkien said this word was:

> ... originally used only of not very large areas the sides of which were part of their own configuration. Vales or valleys of great extent, plains at the feet of mountains, etc. had other names. As also had the very steep-sided valleys in the mountains such as Rivendell (NM/351).

This note confirms that imlad was the proper word for a steep and narrow valley, but the notion that nand was not used for “valleys of great extent” contradicts its 1930s gloss “wide grassland” (Ety/NAD), as well as its use in names like Nan Dungortheb which were the extensive plains south of Ered Gorgoroth, or in the name Nan-tathren which had no particular boundaries.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would ignore Tolkien’s late 1960s notion that this word was not used for large valleys, and apply it to wide valleys and even extensive grasslands between or below mountains, using imlad for narrow valleys and tum for deep (and round) valleys surrounded on all sides.

nan-tathren

place name. Land of Willows, (lit.) Willow-vale

Land where the river Narog met the river Sirion, translated “Land of Willows” (S/120). It is a combination of nan(d) “valley” and the adjective tathren “of willow” (SA/nan(d), tathar).

Conceptual Development: This name appears as G. Nantathrin with an i in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, and as G. Nan Tathrin in Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/61). It also appeared as N. Nan-Tathrin in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, at one place translated “Valley of Willows” (SM/35) but generally translated “Land of Willows” (SM/141, LR/126). Later in the 1930s Tolkien revised the name to N. Nan-tathren with an e (LR/145), a form that also appeared in The Etymologies with the same derivation as given above (Ety/NAD, TATHAR).

nan curunír

place name. Valley of Saruman

Sindarin name of the Valley of Saruman (LotR/487), also translated “Wizard’s Vale” (LotR/552). It is a combination of nan(d) “valley” and Curunír “Saruman”.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Nan Gurunír (TI/420, WR/8), since at this stage both nouns and adjectives were lenited in this position.

nanduhirion

place name. Dimrill Dale, (lit.) Vale of (the Region of) Dim Streams

A valley in the Misty Mountains translated “Dimrill Dale” (LotR/283) or more literally “Vale of (the Region of) Dim Streams” (RC/269, PE17/37). It is itself a translation of Kh. Azanulbizar of similar meaning (LotR/283, TI/166, PE17/35). This name is a combination of nan(d) “valley”, dû “night, dimness”, the lenited form hir of sîr “river, stream”, and the suffix -ion “-region, -land” (PE17/37).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this valley was first named N. Tum Dincelon “Dimrill Dale” (RS/434), later revised to N. Nanduhiriath (TI/174) and finally N. Nanduhirion (TI/166).

nan dungortheb

place name. Valley of Dreadful Death

The valley in Beleriand where the spider-children of Ungoliant dwelled, translated “Valley of Dreadful Death” (S/81). The initial word of the name is nan(d) “valley” (SA/nan(d)), but the second word is difficult to analyze. Its second element gortheb could be a variant of gorthob “horrible” or it could contain a variant of gurth “death”. The first element Dun- is hard to reconcile, however, as there are no attested Sindarin words of this form meaning anything like “dread” or “death”. Based on its earlier definitions, it might be a variant of [N.] donn “shadowy”; see below.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name was G. Nan Dumgorthin “Land of the Dark Idols” (LT2/35). In the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, the form Dungorthin emerged (LB/148), and in the Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this valled was named Ilk. Nan Dungorthin (LR/261), which was designated an Ilkorin name in The Etymologies and translated “Vale of Black Horror” (Ety/DUN, NAD, ÑGOROTH). At this stage its initial element was dunn “black” (Ety/DUN), whose Noldorin form was N. donn “shady, shadowy” (EtyAC/DUN).

In Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, the name was revised to Nan Dungortheb (MR/127) and given its new translation “Valley of Dreadful Death” (MR/297, footnote), but none of the published material explains how the new name and translation correspond. Absent further evidence, N. donn is my best guess for the element Dun- in this name.

nan elmoth

place name. *Valley of Starry Dusk

The forest where Thingol and Melian met (S/55), a combination of nan(d) “valley”, êl “star” and moth “dusk” (SA/nan(d), moth).

Conceptual Development: In “The Lay of Leithian Recommenced” from the 1950s, Tolkien considered some variant names for this forest: S. Glad-uial >> Glath-uail >> Gilammoth (LB/349). The first of these also appeared on the Silmarillion map from the 1950s (WJ/183, 188 note #48).

nan gondresgion

place name. Stonewain Valley

Another Sindarin name for the Stonewain Valley (PE17/28), apparently a combination of nan(d) “valley”, gond “stone”, the plural of rasg “wagon” and the suffix -ion “-land”.

nan laur

place name. Valley of Gold(en Light)

Sindarin equivalent of the original Nandorin name of Lórien: Lórinand (UT/253), a combination of nan(d) “valley” and the lenited form of glaur “gold”.

Nan Dongoroth

noun. valley of dreadful death

nan (“vally, grassland”), don (“swart, swarthy”) + goroth (“death”); Dor. Dungorthin - dunn (Dor. “black”) + (n-)gorthin (Dor. “horrible”); Dor. Dungortheb - dunn (Dor. “black”) + ngorth (Dor. “horror”) + eb (adjective suffix); the suffix -in in Dungorthin Ardalambion interprets as Dor. plural ending.

Nan Tathren

noun. willow-vale

nan (“vally, grassland”), tathar (“willow”) + en (adjective suffix) #The lack of lenition could probably be explained by dialectal differences.

na

'with'

d prep. 'with', possessing, provided with, esp. of characteristic feature. nan before vowels. Orod na Thôn 'Mount of the Pines Tree(s)'. >> nan 2

nand

vale

_ n. _vale. >> nan, Nanduhirion

Nan Gondresgion

'Stonewain Valley'

topon. 'Stonewain Valley', so named because of the great road for heavy drags (plateforms on wheels) and wains, used in the quarries of Min-Rimmon that ran through it. Q. Nand' Ondoluncava, Ondoluncavand(do), Ondolunquanan(do), O.E. Stānwægna Dæl.

na

preposition. with, by (also used as a genitive sign)

na

preposition. to, towards, at

na

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with; [N.] by

nand

noun. wide grassland, land at foot of hills with many streams

nand

noun. valley

na(n)

preposition. of; with, along with, accompanied by, provided with or by, associated with, marked with, of; provided with or by, associated with, marked with, with, along with, accompanied by; [N.] by

Haudh nan ellas

Haudh nan ellas

{ð} topon. >> Haudh en ellas

glornan

place name. Valley of Gold(en Light)

Sindarin equivalent of the original Nandorin name of Lórien: Lórinand (UT/253), a combination of glaur “gold” and nan(d) “valley”.

Nan-tathren

Nan-tathren

Nan-tathren is a Sindarin name, meaning "vale of willows" or "land of willows".

Nan Curunír

Nan Curunír

Nan Curunír is Sindarin for "Saruman's Vale", consisting of nan and Curunír. An early form of this name was Nan Gurunír.

Nan Dungortheb

Nan Dungortheb

The name Nan Dungortheb is translated as "Valley of Dreadful Death", containing the word nan ("valley").

Nan Elmoth

Nan Elmoth

Nan means "valley" in Sindarin. Robert Foster translates the whole name as "Valley of star-dusk" (el + moth "stardusk").

dan-

prefix. nan-

_ pref. _Q. nan-. >> damen, dangar

na

with

(in instrumental sense?) na (followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salos reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

na

with

(followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salo’s reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

nand

valley

1) nand (construct nan) (wide grassland, land at the foot of hills with many streams), pl. naind, coll. pl. nannath (VT45:36), 2) lâd (lowland, plain), construct lad, pl. laid, 3) (long narrow valley with a road or watercourse running through it lengthwise) imrath (pl. imraith).

nand

valley

(construct nan) (wide grassland, land at the foot of hills with many streams), pl. naind, coll. pl. **nannath **(VT45:36)

nand

grassland

(construct nan) (valley, land at the foot of hills with many streams), pl. naind, coll. pl. **nannath** (VT45:36)

naneth

mother

naneth (pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

naneth

mother

(pl. nenith). Hypocoristic form (”mom”) nana, pl. nenai (but this word is probably rarely pluralized). In a higher style also †emil. No distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emillath. Variant form emel (pl. emil), also spelt emmel (pl. emmil). (VT48:17)

anann

for a long time

.

imrath gondraich

place name. Stonewain Valley

A Sindarin name for the Stonewain Valley, written as Imrath Gondraich by Christoper Tolkien in the index of the Unfinished Tales (UTI/Stonewain Valley), and as Imrath Gondraith by Hammond and Scull based on Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/558). The first word is imrath “valley with a road” (RC/558), and the initial element of the second word is clearly gond “stone”, so the final element raich/raith may be a plural of “wain”. This is perhaps from a variant (✱rach/rath) of the other attested Sindarin word for “wagon” rasg, which appeared as a plural in the other name for the Stonewain Valley: Nan Gondresgion (PE17/28).

dadwen

verb. return

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

damen

verb. return

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

emel

noun. mother

A word for “mother” in notes on Elvish Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, along with a diminutive form emelig (VT48/17 note #13). These forms were struck through and replaced by emig as the proper diminutive form from the root √EM (VT48/6), but that doesn’t necessarily invalidate emel = “mother”, which appeared elsewhere as (probably primitive) emel, emer in rough versions of these notes (VT48/19 note #16). These Sindarin forms are unusual in that the medial m did not become v, which means the primitive form was likely based on ✱emm- as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT48/17 note #14).

Conceptual Development: G. amil “mother” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along with rejected forms {anwin, amril} and an archaic variant †amaith (GL/19). The forms {emaith >>} amaith appeared unglossed in Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising that document (PE13/109). In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a form N. †emil for “mother” under the root ᴹ√AM of the same meaning, but Tolkien said this word was archaic, apparently replaced by N. naneth (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹). With N. emil, the a became e via i-affection, but the medial m failing to become v requires an explanation similar to that of 1960s S. emel.

Neo-Sindarin: I generally prefer derivatives of the earlier root √AM for “mother” words in Quenya, but in the case of Sindarin, I find emel and emig from √EM to be better and more widely accepted.

o

from

(od), followed by hard mutation; with article uin ”from the, of the” (followed by mixed mutation according to David Salo’s reconstuctuons). (WJ:366) Not to be confused with o ”about, concerning” (q.v. for this meaning of ”of”). 2) na (followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salo’s reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of” 3)

parth

grassland

: 1) (enclosed grassland) parth (i barth, o pharth) (field, sward), pl. perth (i pherth), 2) (wide grassland) nand (construct nan) (valley, land at the foot of hills with many streams), pl. naind, coll. pl. nannath (VT45:36)

haudh-en-ellas

place name. Haudh-en-Ellas

di

preposition. with

_ prep. _with. Q. lé.

di

preposition. with

emel

noun. mother

emig

noun. "litte mother"

emig

noun. index finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

emmel

noun. mother

eneth

noun. name

esta-

verb. to name

im

noun. valley, valley; [N.] dell, deep vale

An archaic element meaning “valley” that survived only in compounds, a derivation of ✶imbi “between” (VT47/14). The basic sense “valley” was transferred to its more elaborate form imlad as in Imladris “Rivendell”, and †im “valley” fell out of use due to its conflicted with other words like the reflexive pronoun im.

Conceptual Development: N. imm “dell, deep vale” was mentioned in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√IMBE, alongside its elaboration N. imlad of the same meaning (Ety/IMBE).

imlad

noun. deep valley, narrow valley with steep sides (but a flat habitable bottom)

imloth

noun. flower-valley, flowery vale

This word only occurs in the place name Imloth Melui, a vale where roses grew

imrad

noun. a path or pass (between mountains, hills or trackless forest)

imrath

noun. long narrow valley with a road or watercourse running through it lengthwise

lam

noun. echo

lû

noun. a time, occasion

parth

noun. field, enclosed grassland, sward

talf

noun. flat field, flat land

tum

noun. deep valley, under or among hills

tum

noun. valley, vale, (deep) valley, vale; [ᴱN.] flat vale

A word for a valley or vale derived from primitive ✶tumbu, specifically meaning a deep valley surrounded on all sides as described by Tolkien in notes from the late 1960s: “Those [valleys] such as the valley of Gondolin which were more or less circular, but deeply concave, and had high mountains at the rim were called ✱tumbu (NM/351)”. Its most notable use was in the name Tumladen for the hidden valley where Nargothrond lay (S/115).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien had {tum >>} G. tûm “valley” (GL/71), probably a derivative of the early root ᴱ√TUM(B)U as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Tombo; QL/95). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. tumb or tum “flat vale” (PE13/154), and in The Etymologies of the 1930s there was N. tum “deep valley under or among hills” from the root ᴹ√TUB (Ety/TUB). The most complete description of this word in Tolkien’s later writings was in notes on Galadriel and Celeborn from the late 1960s, with the meaning given above (NM/351). In this late 1960s note the primitive form was given as ✶tumbu, which is the same primitive form Tolkien gave in The Etymologies (Ety/TUB).

tum gondregain

place name. Stonewain Valley

uin

preposition. of the

ach

conjunction. but

[it] appears that ach is the contrastive coordinating conjunction 'but'.

ach

conjunction. but

[it] appears that ach is the contrastive coordinating conjunction 'but'.

ad

again

(as prefix) ad-, also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

ad

again

also meaning "back, second, re-", e.g. aderthad "reunion".

bad

go

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

bad

go

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

eden

begun again

(new), pl. edin

emig

little mother

(no distinct pl. form except with article: in emig). Also used (in children’s play) as a name for the index finger (VT48:6, 17)

en

of the

e- (sg. genitival article)

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

ess

noun. name

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

glamor

echo

(noun) glamor (i **lamor), banalogical pl. glemyr (in glemyr**). Archaic *glamr, glambr. ECHO (or, sound of voices) lammad, pl. lemmad. May also be spelt with a single m.

glamor

echo

(i ’lamor), banalogical pl. glemyr (in glemyr). Archaic ✱glamr, glambr.

im

vale

(deep vale) im (dell), no distinct pl. form (though the pl. article in will mark the word as pl. when definite). The word typically occurs, not by itself, but in compounds like imlad, imloth, imrath, imrad (VT45:18, VT47:19)

im

vale

(dell), no distinct pl. form (though the pl. article in will mark the word as pl. when definite). The word typically occurs, not by itself, but in compounds like imlad, imloth, imrath, imrad *(VT45:18, VT47:19)***

imloth

flowering valley

(pl. imlyth) (VT42:18).

imrath

valley

(long narrow valley with a road or watercourse running through it lengthwise) imrath (pl. imraith)

lam

echoing voice

pl. laim, coll. pl. lammath.

lammad

echo

pl. lemmad. May also be spelt with a single m.

lâd

valley

(lowland, plain), construct lad, pl. laid

lû

time

_(a time) _1) lû (occasion), pl. lui, coll. pl. lúath.

lû

time

(occasion), pl. lui, coll. pl. lúath.

parth

grassland

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

parth

field

1) parth (i barth, o pharth) (sward, enclosed grassland), pl. perth (i pherth), 2) (low, flat field, or wetland) talf (i dalf, o thalf), pl. telf (i thelf), coll. pl. talvath. _(Names:195). Note: a homophone means ”palm”. 3) sant (i hant, o sant) (garden, yard, or other privately owned place), pl. saint (i saint) (VT42:20)_

parth

field

(i barth, o pharth) (sward, enclosed grassland), pl. perth (i pherth)

rîdh

sown field

(acre);  no distinct pl. form except possibly with article (idh rîdh)

sant

field

(i hant, o sant) (garden, yard, or other privately owned place), pl. saint (i saint) (VT42:20) 

talath

wide valley

(i** dalath, o thalath) (flat surface, plane, flatlands, plain), pl. telaith (i** thelaith). *Tolkien changed this word from ”Noldorin” dalath, LR:353 s.v.*

talath

dal

Dirnen or ”Guarded Plain” mentioned in the Silmarillion.

talf

field

(i dalf, o thalf), pl. telf (i thelf), coll. pl. talvath. (Names:195). Note: a homophone means ”palm”.

nan

preposition. of

naneth

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the (Noldorin-only?) root ᴹ√NAN (Ety/NAN). It apparently replaced archaic/poetic N. †emil (Ety/AM¹; EtyAC/AM¹).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon had a similar set of words for “mother”: G. maba, mabir, baba, and mavwin from the early root ᴱ√maƀ “something nice” (GL/57). The last of these appeared as G. mavwen “ancestress” in the Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document, with an archaic meaning of “mother” and variant forms mafwyn and mavuin (PE13/115). In these slips, it seems the normal “mother” word was G. nân (originally glossed “father”) with variant nanwin (PE13/115). This last word is likely the direct precursor of N. naneth.

Neo-Sindarin: I would use S. emel from the late 1960s as the normal word for “mother” in Neo-Sindarin, but would retain N. naneth as a dialectical or more formal variant.

nan dongoroth

place name. Vale of Black Horror

The Noldorin equivalent of Ilk. Nan Dungorthin in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/DUN, ÑGOROTH), a combination of nann “vale”, donn “black” and goroth “horror”.

nann orothvor

place name. Vale of Black Horror

The Noldorin variant of Ilk. Nan Dungorthin in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/DUN, ÑGOROTH), a combination of nann “vale”, the lenited form of goroth “horror” and the lenited form of morn “black”.

nan-eregdos

place name. Hollin

Earliest Elvish name for “Hollin” (S. Eregion) appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (TI/166), apparently a combination of nann “grassland” and eregdos “holly”.

nan-tathren

place name. Land of Willows

nan-tathrin

place name. Land of Willows

nan gurunír

place name. Valley of Saruman

na

preposition. with, by; of

na

preposition. with, by (also used as a genitive sign)

na

preposition. to, towards, at

nana

noun. mother, mummy

nand

noun. wide grassland, land at foot of hills with many streams

nand

noun. valley

naneth

noun. mother

nann

noun. wide grassland, land at foot of hills with many streams

nann

noun. valley

taur-nan-erig

place name. Forest of Region

A name appearing only in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/ERÉK), a combination of taur “forest”, nan “of” and ereg “holly”.

cûm-nan-arasaith

place name. Mound of Avarice

A remnant of earlier G. Cûm an-Idrisaith appearing in Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s (SM/133, 323), though its elements resemble early Gnomish more than later Noldorin.

pennas-na-ngoelaidh

proper name. History of the Noldoli

a(n)

preposition. of

an-

prefix. with, by

an-

prefix. with, by

emil

noun. mother

emil

noun. mother

eregion

place name. Hollin

glambr

noun. echo

glamor

noun. echo

glamor

noun. echo

imlad

noun. deep valley, narrow valley with steep sides (but a flat habitable bottom)

lhû

noun. a time, occasion

pel

noun. fenced field (= Old English tún)

rîdh

noun. sown field, acre

tathor

noun. willow-tree

tum

noun. deep valley, under or among hills

nanmen-

verb. return

am

root. mother

For most of Tolkien’s life, the Primitive Elvish root for “mother” was √AM. This began with the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√AMA (QL/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹ√AM with derivatives ᴹQ. amil and (archaic) N. emil “mother” (Ety/AM¹). In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, the word for mother was Q. Amille. In the last few years of his life, however, Tolkien toyed with the notion of changing this root to √EM. In notes associated with Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi written in the late 1960s, Tolkien first gave the root as am, but then wrote em next to it with a question mark, along with several new em-derivatives (VT48/19 note #16). The Q. affectionate word emme for “mommy” appeared in the main article, indicating Tolkien did, in fact, adopt this new root, at least for some period of time.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Quenya writing, I personally prefer to ignore this late change to the root for “mother” and stick with the √AM-forms Tolkien used for most of his life. However, the √AM-forms were less stable in the Sindarin branch of the languages, so I’d use √EM-forms like S. emel and emig, and would assume √AM and √EM were variants of the root, as they were on VT48/19 (see above).

amal

noun. mother

amas

noun. mother

amma

noun. mother

amme

noun. mother

dē

preposition. with

em

root. mother

emel

noun. mother

emer

noun. mother

en

root. name

lórinand

place name. Valley of Gold(en Light)

nand

noun. valley

Isolated from Lindórinand, Lórinand (q.v. for reference). While this word is not given in the Etymologies, it is clearly derived from the stem NAD (LR:374) and hence a close cognate of the similar Doriathrin word nand "field, valley". The Quenya cognate nanda (meaning "water-mead, watered plain") indicates a primitive form *nandâ; as in most cases, the final -â is lost in Nandorin.

sha

preposition. with

-mâ

preposition. with

A prepositional suffix translated “with” (SD/247, 429).

Conceptual Development: At an earlier conceptual stage, it was the grammatical inflection -ma used for the draft-instrumental (SD/438).

ammê

noun. mother

A noun for “mother” (SD/434). Tolkien gave two forms of this word, ammî and ammê, with no indication as to which would be preferred. However, ammî resembles a plural word, and Tolkien elsewhere stated that such forms tended to change their final vowel to -ê (SD/438), so my guess is that ammî is an archaic form. This word is probably related to the Elvish root √AM “mother”. Some authors have suggested it is directly related to ᴹQ. amme (AAD/10, AL/Adûnaic), but as Andreas Moehn points out (EotAL/MAM) such basic words are rarely borrowed from other languages, so the relationship is more likely from the Primitive Elvish root.

-ul

suffix. of

duban

noun. valley

lóm

noun. echo

-o

suffix. of

emmë

noun. mother