Nienna

nienna

Nienna noun (name of a Valië, related to nië = tear) (NEI)

nienna

feminine name. Lady of Pity and Mourning

One of the most powerful of the Valier, sister of Mandos and Lórien, whose name is glossed “Lady of Pity and Mourning” (S/28). The exact meaning of her name is unclear, but its initial element is probably be related to [ᴹQ.] nie “tear” (Ety/NEI).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, her true name is ᴱQ. Fui and the name ᴱQ. Nienna is given as a sobriquet (LT1/66). Starting with Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, her name is given only as ᴹQ. Nienna (SM/79, LR/206). This name also appears in The Etymologies as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NEY (NEI̯) “tear” (Ety/NEI).

Elements

Word	Gloss
nie	“tear”
?

Variations

• Niënna ✧ MRI/Niënna

Nyenna

nyenna

Nyenna noun alternative form of Nienna (LT1:262)

Valatári

vala-queen

Valatári noun "Vala-queen" (BAL; this entry of the Etymologies states that Vala has no feminine form except this compound, but Silm gives Valië as a feminine form). The word Valatári is apparently also the unchanged plural form, so used in this quote: "The Valatári were Varda, Yavanna, Nienna, Vana, Vaire, Este, Nessa, Uinen" (BAL; Tolkien later reclassified Uinen as a Maia, not a Valatári/Valië). Notice that the plural form of Valatar would apparently also be *Valatári.