A name for the Dwarvish people (WJ/388). This name is a compound of norna “stiff, tough”, from which the word Norno “Dwarf” is derived (WJ/413), and lië “people”.
Quenya
lië
people
lie
noun. people
nornalië
proper name. People of the Dwarves
Númen(n)órë
people of the west
Númen(n)órë noun "people of the west", confused with Númendor "land of the west" (SA:dôr); hence Númenor as the name of the great isle given to the Edain by the Valar (FS, LR:56); full form Númenórë (LR:47, SD:247, NDŪ); allative númenórenna "to Númenor" (LR:56)
ingwi
collective name. People of Ingwë, Chieftains
A name for the People of Ingwë, the first tribe of Elves, more commonly known as the Vanyar (PM/332, PE17/154-5). It is simply the plural form of the name for their leader: Ingwë.
Alternate Forms: In a few places in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, this name appeared instead as Ingar (MR/230, 265). It also appeared in an alternate plural form Ingwer and genitive plural Ingweron (PM/340). This last example seems to be an irregular plural, since the plural of nouns ending in -e are usually formed by changing this vowel to an -i (WJ/361). See the entry for the Quenya plural nouns for further discussion.
Conceptual Development: This name first appeared as ᴱQ. Inwir (LT1/50) derived from the older name of their leader: ᴱQ. Inwe. At this stage the name referred only the royal house of the first tribe (QL/42). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the form changed to ᴹQ. Ingwi, but still referred only to the royal house (LR/171). In Tolkien’s writing from the 1950s and later, the term expanded to include all Elves of the first tribe (MR/230; PM/332, 340).
naucalië
collective name. People of the Dwarves
eldalië
noun. People of the Elves, Elven-folk, People of the Eldar, Elven-folk, [ᴹQ.] Elf-folk
lië
noun. people, folk
nos(së)
noun. kindred, family, kindred, family, [ᴹQ.] clan, ‘house’, [ᴱQ.] folk, kin, people
nórë
noun. land, country; †people, race, tribe, land, country, [ᴹQ.] region where certain people live, [ᴱQ.] nation; [Q.] †people, race, tribe, [ᴹQ.] folk, [ᴱQ.] family
olië
noun. company, people together
aiya eldalië ar atanatári, utúlie’n aurë
Behold, people of the Eldar and Fathers of Men, the day has come!
Númendor
land of the west
Númendor noun "land of the west", confused with and replaced by Númen(n)órë "people of the west" (SA:dôr)
nossë
clan, family, 'house'
nossë noun "clan, family, 'house' " (NŌ), "kindred, family" (PM:320), "kin, people" (LT1:250, LT1:272, LT2:338)
nórë
land
nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" hasnórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)
ornë
tree
ornë noun "tree" _(Letters:308, SD:302: "when smaller and more slender like a birch or rowan", Etym stem ÓR-NI: "tree, high isolated tree"). For the etymology, see Letters:426; for (original) difference in meaning between ornë and alda, see alda. In ornemalin "tree-yellow"; see laurelindórenan lindelorendor... (LotR2:III ch. 4; cf. Letters:308), also as final element in malinornë "yellow-tree, mallorn" (q.v.) Masc. name Ornendil *"Tree-friend" (Appendix A)_, compound Ornelië "tree-folk" (Quenya name of the Galadhrim, the tree-people of Lórien) (TI:239).
vehtë
life - not life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity
vehtë noun "life - not Life in general or as a principle, but (a period of) individual activity", thus also "the place where a person, people &c. lived and had their business, i.e. habitat, haunt" (PE17:189)
valinórë
place name. Land of the Valar
Land of the Valar within Aman (S/37), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and nórë “land” (SA/val, dôr). It usually appeared in the shorter form Valinor. In older Quenya, this name would have meant “Valian folk”, but it was blended with archaic Valandor to get its current meaning (PE17/20, SA/dôr).
Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valinor appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/70), and its long form Valinōre appeared in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/66). The name ᴹQ. Valinor appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/110, 205), and in The Etymologies it already had the same derivation as given above (Ety/BAL, NDOR).
In the earlier stages, the name Aman had not yet been invented, so Valinor referred to the entire land of the West, not just the land of the Valar within it.
See ✶Bali(a)nōrē for a discussion of its complex etymology.
alda
noun. tree
-ndor
land
-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)
-o
person, somebody
-o (2), also -ó, "a person, somebody", pronominal suffix (PM:340)
-wë
person
-wë a suffix occurring in many personal names, generally but not exclusively masculine (Elenwë is the sole certain example of a fem. name with this ending); it is derived from a stem simply meaning "person" (PM:340, WJ:399). In Etym, -wë is simply defined as an element that is frequent in masculine names, and it is there derived from a stem (WEG) having to do with "(manly) vigour".
Námo
person, somebody
námo (2) noun "a person, somebody" (PM:340 writers may prefer the synonym quén to avoid confusion with # 1)
alda
tree
alda noun "tree" (GALAD, GÁLAD, SA, Nam, RGEO:66, LR:41, SD:302, LT1:249, LT2:340, VT39:7), also name of tengwa #28 (Appendix E). Pl. aldar in Narqelion; gen. pl. aldaron "of trees" in Namárië. Etymology of alda, see Letters:426 and UT:266-7. The latter source states that primitive ¤galadā, whence Quenya alda, originally applied to stouter and more spreading trees such as oaks or beeches, while straighter and more slender trees such as birches were called ¤ornē, Quenya ornë - but this distinction was not always observed in Quenya, and it seems that alda became the general word. According to PE17:25, primitive galada (sic) referred to "a plant (large) and was a general term". Place-name Aldalómë ""tree-night" or "tree-shade-night" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in PE17:82); Aldarion masc. name, *"Son of (the) Trees" (Appendix A), Tar-Aldarion a Númenorean King (UT:210). Aldaron a name of Oromë (Silm); aldinga "tree-top" (VT47:28), aldarembina (pl. aldarembinë attested) adj. "tree-tangled", the cognate of Sindarin galadhremmin**(PM:17:26).Aldúya fourth day of the Eldarin six-day week, dedicated to the Trees (Appendix D). The word seems to include Aldu, a dual form referring to the Two Trees. The Númenóreans altered the name to Aldëa (presumably < aldajā), referring to one tree (the White) only. The dual Aldu seems to occur also in Aldudénië** "Lament for the Two Trees" (a strange word, since Quenya does not permit intervocalic d as in this word perhaps the Vanyarin dialect of Quenya did) (Silm)
alda
noun. tree, tree, [ᴱQ.] branch
The basic Quenya word for “tree” (LotR/1113), derived from primitive ✶galadā and very well attested. This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱQ. alda “tree” appeared under the early root ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29). Tolkien seems to have switched its derivation to ✱galadā in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where ᴹQ. alda “tree” appeared under the root ᴹ√GALAD of the same meaning (Ety/GALAD). See also ornë “(tall) tree” for a discussion of another similar word.
Conceptual Development: There were a few instances where the word alda had a different meaning. In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, alda was glossed “branch” (PE16/139). In notes from 1959 Tolkien said “✱galadā, originally only large flourishing plant, as tree, and especially one that flowered, Q alda, S galað; the general word for ‘tree’ was Q orne ‘upstanding plant’ (PE17/153)”. But in its numerous appearance elsewhere, alda was simply a general word for “tree”.
hos
folk
hos noun "folk" (LT2:340)
lie#
noun. race
race
liyúmë
host
liyúmë noun "host" (VT48:32)
liyúmë
noun. host
nassë
person, an individual
nassë (1) "a person, an individual" (VT49:30). Also translated "true-being" (pl. nasser is attested), the inner "true" being of a person. With a pronominal suffix in the form nassentar "their true-being" (PE17:175, cf. -nta #2), in the source referring to the "true" spiritual nature of the Valar, as hidden within their visible shapes. The word nassentar would seem to be plural, *"their true-beings". Not to be confused with the verb nassë/násë "he/she is"; see ná #1.
norië
race, running
norië, also normë, noun "race, running" (PE17:169)
nór
land
nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) this is land as opposed to water and sea (nor in Letters:308). Cf. nórë.
nór
noun. land
A term for “land” as in “(dry) land as opposed to the sea”, mentioned in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/413) and again in notes from around 1968 (PE17/106-107).
Possible Etymology: In the Quendi and Eldar essay this term was derived from primitive ✶ndōro, but in the aforementioned 1968 notes Tolkien clarified that its stem form was nŏr-. This means it was probably derived from ancient ✱ndŏr-, where the long vowel in the uninflected form was inherited from the Common Eldarin subjective form ✱ndōr, a phenomenon also seen in words like nér (ner-) “man”. I prefer this second derivation, as it makes the independent word more distinct from the suffixal form -ndor or -nóre used in the names of countries.
nóre
noun. land
quentaro
noun. speaker
speaker, reciter, minstrel
valandor
place name. Land of the Valar
vië
manhood, vigour
vië noun "manhood, vigour" (WEG)
lië noun "people" (LI, Narqelion, VT39:6), in Eldalië, losselië, Ornelië (q.v.); possessive #liéva in Mindon Eldaliéva (q.v.); maybe also compounded in #rohtalië, #ruhtalië (q.v.)