aranya

adjective. *royal

Element in

• Q. atar aranya “*royal father” ✧ UT/193

Elements

Word	Gloss
aran	“king”

Ara-

noble

Ara-, ar- a prefixed form of the stem Ara- "noble" (PM:344). In the masc. names Aracáno "high chieftain", mothername (amilessë, q.v.) of Fingolfin (PM:360, cf. 344), Arafinwë "Finarfin" (MR:230)

arato

noble

arato noun "a noble" (PE17:147), in PE17:118 given as aratō and there glossed "lord" (often = "king"). Cf. aráto. The form cited in the latter source, aratō with a long final vowel, is evidently very archaic (compare Enderō under Ender); later the vowel would become short. (PE17:118)

arquen

noble

arquen noun "a noble" (WJ:372), "knight" (PE17:147)

halda

adjective. high, tall

tá

high

tá 2) adj. "high" (LT1:264; there spelt tâ. This is hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, but cf. tára "lofty".)

tar-

affix. high, high; [ᴹQ.] king or queen (in compounds)

Cognates

• S. -dor “*king, lord”

Derivations

• √TĀ/TAƷ “high, high, [ᴹ√] lofty; noble”

Element in

• Q. Alatar
• Q. Annatar “Lord of Gifts” ✧ SA/tar
• Q. Arantar “*High King”
• Q. Tar Calimos “*Royal Bright City”
• Q. Hyarantar “?Southern Height”
• Q. Sorontar “King of Eagles”
• Q. Taniquetil “High White Peak”
• Q. tára “lofty, tall, high” ✧ SA/tar
• Q. Tarannon
• Q. Tarcil “High Man, Númenórean”
• Q. Tarciryan
• Q. Tareldar “High-elves”
• Q. tarhanwa “throne, (lit.) high seat” ✧ PE22/148
• Q. tári “queen, queen, [ᴱQ.] mistress, lady” ✧ SA/tar
• Q. Tarindor “*High minded one”
• Q. tarma “pillar” ✧ SA/tar
• Q. Tarmenel “High Heaven”
• Q. tarminas “great towering building (fort/city/castle), tower”
• ᴺQ. tarolwen “sceptre, (lit.) royal branch”
• Q. Tarondor “?King of Stones”
• Q. Tarostar “?King of the Lands”
• Q. Tarquesta “High Speech, High Language”
• Q. Tarumbar “King of the World”
• S. Tarmund “Noble Bull”

Variations

• tar- ✧ PE22/148; SA/tar

Arnanórë

arnor

Arnanórë, Arnanor place-name "Arnor", Royal Land (so #arna = "royal"?) (Letters:428). Cf. Arandórë.

arata

high, lofty, noble

arata adj. "high, lofty, noble" (PE17:49, 186). Also used as a a noun with nominal pl. form Aratar "the Supreme", the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya "her sublimity"; Varda Aratarya "Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity" (WJ:369). In one source, Aratar is translated as a singular: "High One" (PE17:186)

tána

high, lofty, noble

tána (meaning unclear, probably adj. "high, lofty, noble") (TĀ/TA3). Compare tára.

arata

high, lofty, noble

arata adj. "high, lofty, noble" (PE17:49, 186). Also used as a a noun with nominal pl. form Aratar "the Supreme", the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya "her sublimity"; Varda Aratarya "Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity" (WJ:369). In one source, Aratar is translated as a singular: "High One" (PE17:186)

arn

adjective. royal

arnen

adjective. (?) royal

Originally, Lonnath-Ernin might have been intended to mean 'royal havens', assuming the second element to be a regular adjective. However, the second element in Emyn Arnen 'hills of Arnen' is singular, and Tolkien later decided that it should mean 'Hill beside the water', see VT/42:17 and HL/119-124. Nevertheless, this meaning cannot apply to Lonnath-Ernin (havens are near water by definition), so unless we entirely reject this earlier form, we may assume that an adjective 'royal' is still possible.

arod

adjective. noble

arod

noble

1b _adj._noble. >> raud

arod

adjective. noble

adj. #noble.

arod

adjective. noble

d adj. noble. Q. arata. >> raud

arod

adjective. noble

Cognates

• Q. arata “high, noble, exalted, lofty” ✧ PE17/049; PE17/186
• T. aráta “noble” ✧ PM/363

Derivations

• ✶arātā “high, lofty, noble” ✧ PE17/039; PE17/186; PM/363; VT41/09
  • √RĀ/ARA “noble, high, royal” ✧ PE17/118; PM/363
  • √RAT “tower up” ✧ PE17/186
• ✶rāta “lofty, high, noble” ✧ PE17/049
  • √RĀ/ARA “noble, high, royal” ✧ PE17/118
  • √RAT “tower up” ✧ PE17/186
• √ARAT “good, excellent, noble” ✧ PE17/147

Element in

• S. Arodreth “Noble Endurance” ✧ PE17/182
• S. Arothir “Noble Lord”
• S. Finrod ✧ VT41/09
• S. Thinrod “noble member of the Thindrim” ✧ VT41/09

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶arātā > arod	[arātā] > [arāta] > [arǭta] > [arauta] > [araut] > [araud] > [arod]	✧ PM/363

Ara-

prefix. high, noble, royal

ar(a)-

prefix. noble, royal, high

Derivations

• √RĀ/ARA “noble, high, royal”
• S. aran “king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person, king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person; [N.] lord (of a specific region)” ✧ Let/426
  • √ARAN “good, excellent, noble” ✧ PE17/147

Element in

• S. Aradan “*Noble-man”
• S. Arador “*Noble-lord”
• S. Araglas “*Royal-joy”
• S. Aragorn “Revered King, Kingly Valour” ✧ Let/426; PE17/113
• S. Aragost
• S. Arahad
• S. Arahael
• S. Aramund “Kingly Bull”
• S. Arassuil
• S. Arathorn “Steadfast King” ✧ Let/426
• S. Araval
• S. Aravir
• S. Aravorn
• S. arahadhw “throne, (lit.) high seat” ✧ PE22/148
• S. Aredhel “Noble Elf”
• S. Aredhel “Noble Elf” ✧ PE17/139
• S. Ar-Feiniel “White Lady”
• S. Argeleb
• S. Argon
• S. Argonath “Pillars of the Kings, (lit.) Royal Stones” ✧ RC/347
• S. Argonui
• S. Arminas “?Noble Tower”
• S. Arnor “Royal Land”
• S. arphen “noble, knight”
• S. Arroch “*Noble-horse”
• S. Arvedui “Last-king”
• S. Arvegil
• S. Arveleg
• S. Arwen “Noble Maiden”
• ᴺS. arwen “noble lady”
• S. Finarfin
• S. Gil-Orrain “Star of High Hope”
• S. Pelargir “Garth of Royal Ships”
• S. Ras-Arphain
• Os. Ára-ngorn “Revered King”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
S. aran > ara	[aran-] > [ara-]	✧ Let/426

Variations

• ara ✧ Let/426; PE22/148
• ar(a) ✧ LotR/1038
• ara- ✧ PE17/113
• ar- ✧ PE17/139
• aran/ar(a) ✧ PM/193
• Ar(a)- ✧ RC/347

ar-

prefix. high, noble, royal

arphen

noun. a noble

arth

adjective. (unknown meaning, perhaps (?) noble, lofty, exalted)

Arnor

noun. Arnor

royal land; ar (prefix “high, noble, royal”) + (n-)dor (“land, dwelling”) Arnor was retained to avoid Ardor and was later explained as the blending of Quenya Arnanóre with S arn(a)dor > ardor

duinen

high tide

(i dhuinen), pl. duinin (i nuinin). (VT48:26).

ar

royal

(adj. prefix) ar- (noble, high). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.

ar

royal

(noble, high). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.

arn

royal

arn (noble), pl. ern

arn

royal

(noble), pl. ern

brand

tall

(lofty, noble, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind.

hall

tall

(exalted); lenited chall; pl. hail. Note: a homophone means ”veiled, hidden, shadowed, shady”.

raud

noble

(eminent, high), in compounds -rod,  pl. roed.  4) taur (also tor-, tar- in compounds) (lofty, high, sublime; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”. Also used as noun ”a noble”; see below.

raud

tall

(eminent, noble), in compounds -rod,  pl. roed. Also used as noun ”champion, eminent man, [a] noble”.

taur

tall

(also tor-, tar- in compounds) (lofty, high, sublime, noble; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”.

ar

noble

(adjectival prefix) ar- (high, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.

ar

noble

(high, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.

arn

noble

(adjective) 1) arn (royal), pl. ern, also arth (lofty, exalted), pl. erth, or arod (archaic *araud), pl. aroed. 2) brand (high, lofty, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind; 3) raud (eminent, high), in compounds -rod, pl. roed. 4) taur (also tor-, tar- in compounds) (lofty, high, sublime; vast, masterful, mighty, overwhelming, huge, awful), lenited daur, pl. toer. Note: homophones mean ”king (of a people)” and also ”great wood, forest”. Also used as noun ”a noble”; see below.

arn

noble

(royal), pl. ern, also arth (lofty, exalted), pl. erth, or arod (archaic ✱araud), pl. aroed.

arphen

noble

(noun, "a noble") 1) arphen, pl. erphin; 2) raud (eminent man, champion), pl.roed (idh roed), coll. pl. rodath.

arphen

noble

pl. erphin

brand

noble

(high, lofty, fine), lenited vrand, pl. braind

gondrath

highway

(i ’ondrath) (street of stone, causeway), pl. gendraith (i ngendraith = i ñendraith). Archaic pl. göndreith. (WJ:340). Possibly the pl. can also be gondraith, without umlaut of the first element.

or

high

(adjectival pref.) or- (above, over), also ar- (noble, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain. Nouns:

or

high

(above, over), also ar- (noble, royal). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain. Nouns:

telu

high roof

(i delu, o thelu) (dome), pl. tely (i thely).

arwen

noble woman

(pl. erwin).****

Arnor

Land of the King

Arnor was the colloquial name for the North Kingdom. The North Kingdom, as the land was called at its conception, was also known as Turmen Follondiéva in Quenya and Arthor na Forlonnas in Sindarin. These names quickly fell out of use, in favor of Arnor: the Land of the King, so called for the kingship of Elendil, and to seal its precedence over the southern realm. In full, poetic Sindarin, it was called Arannor, which mirrored its Quenya name, Arandórë. Though technically Arandórë would have a Sindarin form Ardor, Tolkien chose Arnor because it sounded better. This linguistic change was ascribed to a later, Mannish development of Sindarin. The form Arnanórë is also seen.

andrath

high pass

(literally "long climb"), pl. endraith.

aráta

adjective. noble

Cognates

• S. arod “noble” ✧ PM/363

Derivations

• ✶arātā “high, lofty, noble” ✧ PM/363
  • √RĀ/ARA “noble, high, royal” ✧ PE17/118; PM/363
  • √RAT “tower up” ✧ PE17/186

Element in

• T. aráto “*noble”

Variations

• arāta ✧ PM/363

arn(a)-

prefix. noble, royal

Derivations

• √ARAN “good, excellent, noble”

Element in

• Q. Aranórë “Kingsland” ✧ Let/428
• S. Argonath “Pillars of the Kings, (lit.) Royal Stones” ✧ Let/427

Variations

• arn(a) ✧ Let/427; Let/428

rā/ara

root. noble, high, royal

An invertible root meaning “noble”, itself an extension of √AR (PE17/147). Given its widespread use, Tolkien did not define this root until quite late. Its first clear mention was in Notes on Names (NN) and Quenya Notes (QN), both from 1957. In NN, Tolkien introduced invertible √ARA/RĀ to give an explanation of the element rod in names like S. Rodon “Vala” and S. Finrod, where Tolkien said:

> S raud “tall, high, lofty, eminent”. √ARA, RĀ. Cf. Q aran “king”. Q arta “high” < árată. S raud < form (a)rā́tă (PE17/118).

Earlier in The Etymologies of the 1930s, the second element of N. Finrod was N. rhaud “metal” (Ety/RAUTĀ), whereas ᴹQ. haran/N. aran “king” was derived from ᴹ√ƷAR “have, hold” (Ety/ƷAR). As for the later root √ARA/RĀ, Tolkien gave a lengthier explanation in QN:

> √AR. ARI-, ARA/RĀ, ARAT/ARAN. Original sense probably seen in adverb/preposition ✱ara/ar/ra, beyond, further than. The stems ARI/ARAN/ARAT mean “good, excellent, noble” — differing from √MAN in stating that any one specimen is “good of its kind”, excels, without necessarily implying that others are bad or marred. Hence ari-, good as prefix, ar/ara/aran as prefixes of excellence especially in royal names, aran king. Q arta noble, arato a “noble”, ráta- excel, surpass. S aran, arod (arāta); or raud excellent, noble, eminent (PE17/147).

Thus all these roots, including the extensions √ARAN and √ARAT, were elaborations on the sense “beyond” from base root √AR. The simple root √AR itself had a lengthy conceptual history; see that entry for details. As for ARA/RĀ, the connection between these forms and nobility seems to be firmly established by the late 1950s and afterwards, with primitive element Ara- “noble” mentioned in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/344, 363 note #43), and numerous other mentions of derived forms in documents from this period.

Derivatives

• Ad. Ar- “king or queen” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• ✶arātā “high, lofty, noble” ✧ PE17/118; PM/363
  • Q. arata “high, noble, exalted, lofty” ✧ PE17/118; PE17/186; PE17/186
  • S. arod “noble” ✧ PE17/039; PE17/186; PM/363; VT41/09
  • T. aráta “noble” ✧ PM/363
• ✶árātō “lord” ✧ PE17/118
  • Q. aráto “champion, eminent man, noble, lord, king” ✧ PE17/118
• ✶rāta “lofty, high, noble” ✧ PE17/118
  • Q. arata “high, noble, exalted, lofty” ✧ PE17/049
  • S. arod “noble” ✧ PE17/049
  • S. raud “noble, eminent; lofty, high, tall; excellent” ✧ PE17/049; PE17/118; PE17/186
• Q. ar(a)- “noble, high” ✧ PE17/147; PM/344
• Q. aran “king” ✧ PE17/118
• Q. arya “excelling, *better” ✧ PE17/147
• S. ar(a)- “noble, royal, high”
• S. ro- “*superlative” ✧ PE17/147

Element in

• ✶artaurē “Realm”
• √RAT “tower up”
• √ARAT “good, excellent, noble” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• Q. Aranórë “Kingsland” ✧ PE17/118
• ᴺQ. artanwa “award”
• S. Aradan “*Noble-man” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• S. aran “king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person, king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person; [N.] lord (of a specific region)” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• S. Aredhel “Noble Elf” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• S. Argonath “Pillars of the Kings, (lit.) Royal Stones” ✧ SA/ar(a)
• S. Arnor “Royal Land” ✧ SA/ar(a)

Variations

• ARA ✧ PE17/118; PE17/145; PE17/147; PE17/148
• RĀ ✧ PE17/118; PE17/147; PE17/148; PE17/182
• Ara- ✧ PM/344
• ara- ✧ PM/363
• ar(a)- ✧ SA/ar(a)

tāra

adjective. high

Derivations

• √TĀ/TAƷ “high, high, [ᴹ√] lofty; noble”

Element in

• ✶tār(a)-ninqui-tilte “High White Peak” ✧ PE17/186
• ✶tārī “queen, (lit.) she that is high” ✧ PE17/067

Variations

• tār(a) ✧ PE17/186

tā/taʒ

root. high, high, [ᴹ√] lofty; noble

This root and ones like it were used for “high” things for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√TAHA in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tā “high; high above, high up”, ᴱQ. tahōra or tayóra “lofty”, and ᴱQ. tāri “queen”; it had a variant form ᴱ√TAʕA where the ʕ might be a malformed Y (QL/87). The corresponding forms in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon were G. dâ “high” and G. dara “lofty” (GL/29), indicating the true form of the root was ᴱ√DAHA, since initial voiced stops were unvoiced (d- > t-) in Early Qenya (PE12/17). Primitive forms like ᴱ✶dagá > ᴱN. dâ/ᴱQ. tá “high” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s indicates the root continued to begin with D for the following decade (PE13/141, 161).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this root as ᴹ√TĀ/TAƷ “high, lofty; noble” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tára “lofty, high”, ᴹQ. tári “queen” and N. taen “height, summit of high mountain” (Ety/TĀ). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 Tolkien gave the root as √TAG or Tā- “high”, and in notes from around 1967 Tolkien gave √TAƷ as the explanation of the initial element of Q. Taniquetil and contrasted it with √TĂR “stand” (PE17/186). In 1970 green-ink revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), Tolkien wrote a marginal note giving √TAƷ > TĀ “high”, but this note was rejected with a statement “transfer to Gen. Structure. No [ʒ] existed in Eldarin” (PE19/72-73 note #22).

This last rejection seems to be part of Tolkien’s general vacillation on the nature and phonetic evolution of velar spirants in Primitive Elvish in 1968-70. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume the root form was √TAH or √TAƷ > √TĀ as the basis for “high” words, much like √MAH or √MAƷ > ✶mā was the basis for “hand” words.

Derivatives

• ✶tagra ✧ PE17/186
  • Q. tára “lofty, tall, high” ✧ PE17/186
  • S. taer “lofty, lofty, *high” ✧ PE17/186
• ✶tāra “high”
• Q. -tar “honorific”
• Q. tar “honorific, sir, madam”
• Q. tar- “high, high; [ᴹQ.] king or queen (in compounds)”
• Q. tára “lofty, tall, high” ✧ PE17/186
• S. taer “lofty, lofty, *high” ✧ PE17/186

Variations

• TAG/Tā- ✧ PE17/186
• TAƷ ✧ PE17/186; PE17/186; PE19/073 (TAƷ)
• TĀ ✧ PE19/073 (TĀ)

arnen

noun. ?royal

Element in

• N. Emyn Arnen ✧ WR/363
• N. Lonnath-Ernin ✧ WR/370

Variations

• Arnen ✧ WR/363

ar(a)-

prefix. noble, royal

Element in

• N. Pelargir