noldorin

proper name. of the Noldo; the Noldor language

Term for the Quenya dialect of the Noldor, as well as a general adjective for that tribe (WJ/373), a combination of their tribal name with the language/adjective suffix -rin.

Conceptual Development: In earlier writings from the 1920s-40s, ᴹQ. Noldorin referred to a completely different language, the Welsh-like language of the second tribe (LR/177, 193), but Tolkien later changed that language to Sindarin and decided that the Noldor spoke a dialect of Quenya.

Element in

• Q. Etya-noldorin “Exile-Noldorin” ✧ PE18/076
• Q. Quenta Noldorinwa “the History of the Noldor” ✧ VT39/16; WJ/027
• Q. Yáranoldorin “Ancient Noldorin” ✧ PE18/076

Elements

Word	Gloss
Noldo	“one of the wise folk, Gnome”
-rin	“-ian, racial-adjective, language”

Variations

• Ñoldorin ✧ PE17/125

Noldorinwa

gnomish

Noldorinwa (ñ) adj. *"Gnomish", "Noldorin", "of the Noldor" (LT1:262, VT39:16); lower-case noldorinwa in Narqelion.

noldo

noun. Noldo

Noldo, Gnome

móri

dark

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

morĭ

adjective. dark

PQ. dark

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.

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)

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).

culina

flame-coloured, golden-red

culina ("k")adj. "flame-coloured, golden-red" (KUL; cullina ("k") in VT45:24 would seem to be a variant)

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).

ulca

adjective. dark

dark, gloomy, sinister

culda

flame-coloured, golden-red

culda ("k")adj. "flame-coloured, golden-red" (KUL); maybe it can also be translated "scarlet", since this gloss was listed for the possible "Noldorin"/Sindarin cognate coll(VT45:24), though it was struck out

nulla

dark, dusky, obscure

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

núla

dark, occult, mysterious

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

lúrëa

dark, overcast

lúrëa adj. "dark, overcast" (LT1:259)

nyarro

rat

nyarro noun "rat", the most likely reading of Tolkien's manuscript. Christopher Tolkien originally read the word as "nyano" (so in the published Etymologies, entry NYAD), but the "Noldorin"/Sindarin cognates nadhr, nadhor (VT46:7) indicate that the primitive form is meant to be *nyadrō, which form could hardly yield "nyano" in Quenya.

hróva

dark, dark brown

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

caimassë

lying in bed, sickness

caimassë ("k")noun "lying in bed, sickness" (KAY)

caila

lying in bed, bedridden, sickness

caila ("k")adj.(and noun???) "lying in bed, bedridden, sickness" (KAY, VT45:19). It may be that the gloss "sickness" applies only to the "Noldorin"/Sindarin form cael listed before Quenya caila, since cael could be both an adjective and a noun (the ancient adjective kailā "bedridden" merging with the noun kailē "sickness"). In Quenya the form caila < *_kailā _would probably be an adjective only.

quesset

pillow

quesset ("q")noun "pillow"; probably *quessec*- since the Sindarin (or "Noldorin") cognate pesseg points to a primitive form kwessek- (compare filit, filic**-) (KWES)

noll

noun. Noldo

Changes

• nŏl → noll ✧ PE17/141

Derivations

• Q. Noldo “one of the wise folk, Gnome” ✧ PE17/141
  • ✶ñgolodō “lore-master, sage” ✧ MR/350; MR/470; PE17/141; PE17/153; PE19/076; PM/360; WJ/364; WJ/380; WJ/383
  • √ÑGOLOD “*one of the wise folk, Gnome, [ᴹ√] one of the wise folk, Gnome”
  • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ PM/360; WJ/383
  • Aq. ñolda “dark-haired” ✧ PE17/125
  • √ÑGOL “dark-hued, dark-brown” ✧ PE17/125
  • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ SA/gûl

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
Q. ñoldo > nold > noll	[noldo] > [nolðo] > [nolð] > [noll]	✧ PE17/141

Variations

• noll ✧ PE17/141
• golt ✧ PE17/141
• nolt ✧ PE17/141
• nŏl ✧ PE17/141 (nŏl)

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

dúath

adjective. dark

_ adj. _dark, black shadow.

dûr

dark

_ adj. _dark, gloomy, 'hellish'.

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

golodhren

of the noldor, noldorin

*(WJ:318; Christopher Tolkien found the ”last letters illigible”, but the context might suggest Golodhrin as a pl. adj. ”Noldorin (ones)”. Lenited Ngolodhren = Ñolodhren*.

golodh

noldo

(one of the Noldor) Golodh (i **Ngolodh = i Ñolodh, o N**golodh = o Ñgolodh), pl. Gelydh (in Gelydh = i Ñgelydh), coll. pl. Golodhrim. While Golodh is the actual Sindarin cognate of Quenya Noldo, the Noldor themselves apparently found this form unpleasing (WJ:379) and preferred the word Gódhel (i **Ódhel), pl. Gódhil (i Ngódhil = i Ñódhil), coll. pl. Gódhellim. Also Ódhel, pl. Ódhil, coll. pl. Ódhelllim** (WJ:364, 378-9). Adj.

golodh

noldo

(i Ngolodh = i Ñolodh, o N’golodh = o Ñgolodh), pl. *Gelydh* (*in Gelydh* = i Ñgelydh), coll. pl. Golodhrim. While Golodh is the actual Sindarin cognate of Quenya Noldo, the Noldor themselves apparently found this form unpleasing (WJ:379) and preferred the word Gódhel (i ’Ódhel), pl. *Gódhil*** (i Ngódhil = i Ñódhil), coll. pl. **Gódhellim. Also Ódhel, pl. Ódhil, coll. pl. Ódhelllim (WJ:364, 378-9). Adj.

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)

môr

dark

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

môr

dark

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

guldur

dark sorcery

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

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.

dûr

dark

dûr (sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

dûr

dark

(sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

graw

dark

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

graw

dark

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

nedhu

pillow

1) *nedhu (bolster), analogical pl. nedhy. Cited in archaic form nedhw (LR:378 s.v. NID), so the coll. pl. is likely nedhwath. 2) pesseg (i besseg, o phesseg), pl. pessig (i phessig)

nedhu

pillow

(bolster), analogical pl. nedhy. Cited in archaic form nedhw (LR:378 s.v. NID), so the coll. pl. is likely nedhwath.

nâr

rat

nâr (construct nar, pl. nair)

nâr

rat

(construct nar, pl. nair)

cael

lying in bed

(noun) cael (sickness) (i gael, o chael). Same form in the pl. except with article (i chael).

cael

lying in bed

(noun) cael (sickness) (i gael, o chael). Same form in the pl. except with article (i chael).

cael

lying in bed

(sickness) (i gael, o chael). Same form in the pl. except with article (i chael).

graurim

dark people

(VT45:16);

dúath

dark shadow

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

pesseg

pillow

(i besseg, o phesseg), pl. pessig (i phessig)

goldo

noun. Noldo

Cognates

• Q. Noldo “one of the wise folk, Gnome” ✧ PM/360; WJI/Goldo; WJ/383; WJI/Noldor

Derivations

• ✶ñgolodō “lore-master, sage” ✧ PM/360; WJ/383
  • √ÑGOLOD “*one of the wise folk, Gnome, [ᴹ√] one of the wise folk, Gnome”
  • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ PM/360; WJ/383

Element in

• T. Goldolambë “Quenya”
• T. Goldórin “Quenya”

Variations

• golodo ✧ PM/360

golda

adjective. noldo

The primitive form of Quenya Noldo (and hence also Nandorin golda) is given in WJ:364, 380 as ñgolodô. This example demonstrates that in Nandorin, like in Quenya, the second of two identical vowels in adjacent syllables is lost in words that had another syllable following the lost vowel. This word alone provides a clear example of the change of primitive final _-ô to -a_. The form golda also suggests that in Nandorin as in Sindarin, the original initial nasalized stops ñg, nd, mb were simplified to g, d, b, though examples for d and b are lacking in our very small corpus. The stems involved are found in LR:377: ÑGOL "wise" and the extended form ÑGOLOD "one of the wise folk". Ñgolodô is thus either formed from ÑGOL by ómataina (suffixed base-vowel), suffixed D and the nominal (often masculine or agental) ending -ô, alternatively simply the longer ending -dô (of similar meaning) suffixed to the ómataina-form of the stem ÑGOL (sc. ñgolo-).

edel

noun. Elda, High-elf

Stated in the Etymologies to be derived from a stem ÉLED (LR:356), defined as "Star-folk"; Tolkien points out that Doriathrin and Danian used a "transposed" form, clearly referring to the sounds L and D changing place. In Etym the development is apparently meant to be eledâ (this primitive form is explicitly given in Letters:281) > edela > edel. Later Tolkien reconstructed the primitive form of Quenya Elda as eldâ (WJ:360); whether this could regularly yield Nandorin edel is doubtful, unless final -ld metathesized to -dl and a vowel developed to break up this final cluster.

In Etym, Tolkien first gave the Nandorin form as elda, then changed it. *Eledâ could not yield elda, since final -â is regularly lost in Nandorin. Since in this word we do not see loss of the second of two identical vowels (compare golda), we must conclude that final -a was lost before this could happen.

búrz

adjective. dark

Element in

• Bs. burzum “darkness” ✧ PE17/011; PE17/012
• Bs. Lugbúrz “Dark Tower” ✧ PE17/012; PE17/079

Variations

• burz ✧ PE17/012

búrz

adjective. dark

mornā

adjective. dark

Derivations

• √MOR “black, dark, darkness” ✧ Let/382

Derivatives

• Q. morna “black, dark; black of hair, black, dark; black of hair; [ᴹQ.] sombre, gloomy” ✧ Let/382
• S. morn “black, dark; night” ✧ Let/382; WJ/362

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).

Derivatives

• ✶dōmē “night, twilight” ✧ PE17/152
  • Q. lómë “night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud” ✧ PE17/152; SA/dú
  • S. dû “night, dimness; dim, dark, night, dimness; [N.] night-fall, late evening; [S.] dim, dark” ✧ PE17/152; SA/dú
• ᴺQ. lomba “blind”
• Q. lomba “blind” ✧ PE22/153
• Q. lómë “night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud” ✧ PE22/153
• ᴺS. dom “blind”
• S. dom “blind” ✧ PE22/153

du Reconstructed

root. dark

Derivatives

• ✶durnu “dark of hue”
  • ᴺQ. nurno “dark, deep (of hue)”
• Q. lúmë “darkness”
• Q. lúna “*dark”

orch

noun. goblin

Cognates

• ᴹQ. orko “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK; LR/406

Derivations

• On. orko “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK; Ety/ÓROK
  • ᴹ✶orku “goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK
  • ᴹ√OROK “*goblin” ✧ Ety/ÓROK

Element in

• N. Annerchi(o)n “Goblin Gate”
• N. Orchrist

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. orko > orch	[orko] > [orkʰo] > [orxo] > [orx]	✧ Ety/ÓROK
On. orkui > yrchy	[orkui] > [orkʰui] > [orxui] > [urxui] > [yrxui] > [yrxy]	✧ Ety/ÓROK

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

doll

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dolt

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dûr

adjective. dark

Cognates

• ᴹQ. lóna “dark” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Derivations

• ᴹ√DOƷ “night” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Element in

• N. Barad-dûr “Dark Tower”
• N. Dureledh “Dark-elf” ✧ Ety/DOƷ
• N. Durion “Dark-elf” ✧ Ety/DOƷ
• N. Durthang
• N. durgul “sorcery”
• N. Magladhûr “Black-sword”
• N. Ennyn Dûr “Gates of Mordor” ✧ WR/113 (Ennyn Dûr)

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√DOƷ/DÔ > dûr	[dōr] > [dūr]	✧ Ety/DOƷ

Variations

• Dûr ✧ WR/113

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

nâr

noun. rat

nâr

noun. rat

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “rat” derived from primitive ᴹ✶nyadrō under the root ᴹ√NYAD “gnaw” (Ety/NYAD). Tolkien gave the intermediate form naðr, but it is not clear why the ð vanished; compare N. nadhor “pasture” < ᴹ√NAD (< ✱nadrō?), and indeed Tolkien had a variant archaic form naðor “rat” which shows the normal phonetic developments (EtyAC/NYAD).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nyarro “rat” ✧ Ety/NYAD

Derivations

• On. nadhr “rat” ✧ Ety/NYAD
  • ᴹ✶nyadrō “rat” ✧ Ety/NYAD
  • ᴹ√NYAD “gnaw” ✧ Ety/NYAD

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. naðr > nâr	[naðr] > [nâr]	✧ Ety/NYAD

pesseg

noun. pillow

pesseg

noun. pillow

A noun for “pillow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KWES having to do with feathers (Ety/KWES).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. qesset “pillow” ✧ Ety/KWES

Derivations

• ᴹ√KWES “*feather” ✧ Ety/KWES

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KWES > pesseg	[kwesseke] > [pesseke] > [pessek] > [pesseg]	✧ Ety/KWES