Quenya 

fëa

spirit

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

vilissë

spirit

vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)

þúlë

noun. spirit

ëala

being, spirit

ëala noun "being, spirit" (pl. ëalar is attested), spirits whose natural state it is to exist without a physical body, like Balrogs (MR:165). The word apparently originates from the participle of ëa, q.v.

spirit, shadow

noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)

súlë

spirit, breath

súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

ainu

noun. holy one, spirit, holy one, angelic spirit (m.); [ᴱQ.] (pagan) god

Cognates

  • ᴺS. Aenu “(male) angel”

Derivations

  • AYA(N) “blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere” ✧ PE17/146; PE17/149
  • Q. aina “holy, revered, numinous, holy, revered, numinous, *divine, [ᴱQ.] worshipful” ✧ PE17/149
    • AYA(N) “blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere” ✧ PE17/149; PE17/149; VT43/14
  • Val. ayanūz “Ainu” ✧ WJ/399

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
aina“holy, revered, numinous, holy, revered, numinous, *divine, [ᴱQ.] worshipful”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
AYA > ainu[ajnū] > [ainū] > [ainu]✧ PE17/146
AYA-N > ainur[ajnū] > [ainū] > [ainu]✧ PE17/149
Q. aina > ainu[ajnū] > [ainū] > [ainu]✧ PE17/149
Val. ayanūz > Ainu[ájanū] > [ajnū] > [ainū] > [ainu]✧ WJ/399

Variations

  • ainu ✧ PE17/146; PE17/149
Quenya [Let/284; MRI/Ainur; PE17/146; PE17/149; PMI/Ainur; S/015; SA/aina; SI/Ainur; WJ/399; WJI/Ainur] Group: Eldamo. Published by

maiya

noun. (angelic) spirit

Ainu

holy one, angelic spirit

Ainu noun "holy one, angelic spirit"; fem. Aini (AYAN, LT1:248); "one of the 'order' of the Valar and Maiar, made before Eä"; pl. Ainur is attested. Adopted and adapted from Valarin ayanūz(WJ:399). In the early "Qenya Lexicon", ainu was glossed "a pagan god", and aini was similarly "a pagan goddess", but as Christopher Tolkien notes, "Of course no one within the context of the mythology can call the Ainur 'pagan' " (LT1:248). Ainulindalë noun "Music of the Ainur" (SA:lin #2), the First History (WJ:406), the Song of Creation (AYAN)

ëala

noun. being, spirit (not incarnate)

Elements

WordGloss
ëa-“to be, exist, to be, exist, [ᴹQ.] have being, be found extant in the real world”
-(i)la“active participle”
Quenya [MR/165; MR/470] Group: Eldamo. Published by

návë

being

návë "being", *"to be", infinitive (or gerund) of ; see #1. (PE17:68)

návë

noun. being

Cognates

  • ᴺS. nast “being (abstract); being (creature)”

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
ná-“to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist”
-vë“abstract noun, adverb”

Variations

  • nāve ✧ PE17/068

foa

breath, puff of breath

foa (1) noun "breath, puff of breath" (VT47:35, 36)

Sindarin 

faer

noun. spirit

Sindarin [MR/349] Group: SINDICT. Published by

spirit

_ n. _spirit, shadow.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:86] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

noun. spirit, shadow

Derivations

  • hyōba “spirit, shadow” ✧ PE17/086

Element in

  • S. huorn “?spirit tree” ✧ PE17/086

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
> [kʰō] > [xō] > [xū] > [hū]✧ PE17/086

Variations

  • ✧ PE17/086
Sindarin [PE17/086] Group: Eldamo. Published by

fae

spirit

1) fae (soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form. 2) faer (radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

fae

spirit

(soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form.

faer

spirit

(radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

hûr

fiery spirit

(i chûr, o chûr, construct hur) (readiness for action, vigour), pl. huir (i chuir) if there is a pl.

hwest

breath

(i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breeze), pl. hwist (i chwist)

thûl

breath

1) thûl (pl. thuil), 2) hwest (i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breeze), pl. hwist (i chwist)

thûl

breath

(pl. thuil)

fae

soul

fae (spirit, radiance). No distinct pl. form.: No general word for ”sound” is attested, but there are the following terms:

fae

soul

(spirit, radiance). No distinct pl. form.

Adûnaic

manô

noun. spirit

A noun translated “spirit” and fully declined as an example of a Weak II noun (SD/438). It appeared with both a short a (SD/424) and long â (SD/438). Given its ending , it might be a masculine-noun, but it seems unlikely that spirits would only be male. This entry assumes it is a common-noun instead. It is probably related to ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit” as suggested by various authors (AAD/19, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/MAN).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit”

Derivations

  • ✶Ad. manaw “spirit” ✧ SD/424; SD/424

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶Ad. manaw- > manau > manō[manaw] > [manau] > [manō]✧ SD/424
✶Ad. manaw+yi > manau+yi > manōyi > manôi[manawji] > [manauji] > [manōji] > [manōi]✧ SD/424

Variations

  • manō ✧ SD/424
  • mānō ✧ SD/438
Adûnaic [SD/424; SD/438] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pûh

noun. breath

A noun translated “breath” and fully declined as an example of a Weak I noun (SD/431).

Variations

  • pūh ✧ SD/426; SD/431
Adûnaic [SD/426; SD/431; SD/432] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

Derivations

  • PHA “exhalations (as mists upon water or steams and the like)” ✧ NM/237

Derivatives

  • phaini “vapour” ✧ NM/237
    • S. faen “vapour; [disembodied] spirit” ✧ NM/237
  • phairi “spirit (general)” ✧ NM/237
    • Q. fairë “spirit (disembodied), phantom; †radiance” ✧ NM/237
    • S. faer “spirit (in general)”
  • phanā “veil, cloud” ✧ NM/237
    • Q. fana “raiment, veil; (bright) shape or figure; bodily form of an angelic spirit” ✧ PE17/173; PE17/174
    • S. fân “(white) cloud; veil, curtain; form or vision of a spiritual being; spirit [embodied]” ✧ PE17/173; PE17/174
  • phāy “flame, ray of light”
    • Q. “*ray of light, flame” ✧ PE19/104
  • phayā “soul, indwelling spirit” ✧ NM/237
    • Q. fëa “(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul” ✧ MR/349; MR/470; NM/237; PE17/124; PE19/104; VT41/14
    • S. fae “incarnate spirit, incarnate spirit, *soul”
  • Q. faila “fair-minded, just, generous” ✧ PM/352
  • Q. fëa “(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul” ✧ PM/352
  • S. fael “gleam of the sun; *gleaming”
  • S. fael “fair-minded, just, generous” ✧ PM/352

Variations

  • phay ✧ NM/237; NM/237
  • PHAYA ✧ PM/352
Primitive elvish [NM/237; PM/352] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hyōba

noun. spirit, shadow

Derivatives

  • S. “spirit, shadow” ✧ PE17/086

Variations

  • ✧ PE17/086
Primitive elvish [PE17/086] Group: Eldamo. Published by

phayā

noun. soul, indwelling spirit

Derivations

  • PHAY “spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light” ✧ NM/237
    • PHA “exhalations (as mists upon water or steams and the like)” ✧ NM/237

Derivatives

  • Q. fëa “(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul” ✧ MR/349; MR/470; NM/237; PE17/124; PE19/104; VT41/14
  • S. fae “incarnate spirit, incarnate spirit, *soul”

Element in

Variations

  • phăya ✧ MR/349; MR/470
  • phắyā ✧ NM/237
  • phaya ✧ PE17/039
  • fáyā ✧ PE17/124
Primitive elvish [MR/349; MR/470; NM/237; PE17/039; PE17/124; PE19/104; VT41/14] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

mân

noun. departed spirit

Noldorin [Ety/371] Group: SINDICT. Published by

thûl

noun. breath

Noldorin [Ety/393] Group: SINDICT. Published by

thûl

noun. breath

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “breath” derived from the root ᴹ√THŪ “puff, blow” (Ety/THŪ). As written in The Etymologies, the actual form was thūl (EtyAC/THŪ).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien gave G. fest “breath, breathing” (GL/35), likely derived from the early root ᴱ√ǶEHE “breathe” (QL/41) with ƕ becoming f.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. súle “breath; spirit” ✧ Ety/THŪ

Derivations

  • ᴹ√THŪ “puff, blow” ✧ Ety/THŪ

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√THŪ > thūl[tʰūle] > [θūle] > [θūl]✧ Ety/THŪ

Variations

  • thūl ✧ Ety/THŪ
Noldorin [Ety/THŪ; EtyAC/THŪ] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Primitive adûnaic

manaw

noun. spirit

The primitive form of manô “spirit” (SD/424). Its plural form manaw+yi is also attested.

Derivatives

  • Ad. manô “spirit” ✧ SD/424; SD/424

Variations

  • manaw- ✧ SD/424
Primitive adûnaic [SD/424] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

súle

noun. breath; spirit

Cognates

  • N. thûl “breath” ✧ Ety/THŪ

Derivations

  • ᴹ√THŪ “puff, blow” ✧ Ety/THŪ

Element in

  • ᴹQ. ksaráre psare súle “(proverbial) longing frets the spirit” ✧ PE22/119
  • ᴹQ. Súlimo “surname of Manwë (wind-god)” ✧ Ety/THŪ

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√THŪ > súle[tʰūle] > [θūle] > [sūle]✧ Ety/THŪ

Variations

  • thūle ✧ PE22/050 (thūle)
  • sūle ✧ PE22/050
Qenya [Ety/THŪ; PE22/050; PE22/119] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

blaith

noun. spirit

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴱ√VILI “*air”

Element in

  • G. gumlaith “weariness of spirit, depression, grief” ✧ GL/43; LT1A/Cûm a Gumlaith
Gnomish [GL/23; GL/43; LT1A/Cûm a Gumlaith] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

vilisse

noun. spirit

Cognates

  • G. blaith “spirit” ✧ GL/23

Derivations

  • ᴱ√VILI “*air”
Early Quenya [GL/23] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olme

noun. emanation; apparition, spirit

Cognates

  • G. olm “dream”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OLO “*dream” ✧ QL/069

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√OLO³ > olme²[olmi] > [olme]✧ QL/069
Early Quenya [QL/069] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nanwa

adjective. being

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “be, exist”

Element in

  • Eq. penanwa “present, standing by, supporting, backing” ✧ QL/073
Early Quenya [QL/073] Group: Eldamo. Published by