Uinen (Uinend-, as in dative Uinenden) fem. name, used of a Maia, spouse of Ossë (UY, NEN). Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:404), though it is also said that it contains -nen "water" (SA:nen); the latter explanation may be folk etymology. In the Etymologies, the name is derived from the same stem (UY) as uilë "long trailing plant, especially seaweed".
Quenya
uinen
feminine name. Uinen
Uinen
water
uinendili
collective name. Lovers of Uinen
uinéniel
feminine name. Daughter of Uinen
tol uinen
place name. *Island of Uinen
Uinen
Uinen
Two explanations exist for the name Uinen. In The Etymologies, the first element came from a root UY-. Several other words under this lemma mean "seaweed", though the name Uinen itself is not explained. A later note pertaining to the name instead suggests it is a name of non-Elvish (Valarin) origin of unknown meaning. Christopher Tolkien has noted that Uinen contains the element nen ("water"). It is unknown if he had access to unpublished manuscripts by his father to corroborate this suggestion or if he speculated on the matter.
-iel
daughter
-iel patronymic/matronymic ending -"daughter" (YEL, VT46:22-23) In the Etymologies, Tolkien struck out this ending and the corresponding independent word yeldë "daughter", changing them to -ien, yendë. However, the ending -iel later turns up in later forms: Uinéniel "Daughter of Uinen" in UT:182 and Elerondiel "daughter of Elrond" (Elerondo) in PE17:56. Hence it would seem that Tolkien changed his mind again and restored this ending, and perhaps the noun yeldë along with it. The form Elerondiel (from Elerondo) demonstrates that a final vowel is omitted before -iel.
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.
nén
noun. water, water, [ᴱQ.] river
The word for “water”, a derivative of the root √NEN of the same meaning (PE17/52; Ety/NEN). Its stem form was nen- (Ety/NEN) and its primitive form was given as ✶nē̆n, the vowel length variation due to distinct subjective nēn versus objective/inflected nĕn- in ancient monosyllables (PE21/64).
Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with two senses: “river” and (archaic) “†water”. Tolkien indicated the two senses were based on distinct roots: ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] and ᴱ√NENE respectively, with two distinct stem forms nend- and nēn (QL/64-65). The Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa also mentions the forms nen (nēn-) “water” versus nen(d-) “river” (PME/64-65). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the mid-1920s Tolkien had both nēn “river” (PE15/76) and nēn “water” (PE15/78), but in the Early Qenya Grammar he had only nēn “water” (PE14/43, 72), also appearing as nen “water” in documents on The Valmaric Script from this period (PE14/110).
In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. nēn “water”, but in this document it had nēn- with long ē in its inflected forms as well (PE21/23). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, uninflected nén “water” had a stem form of nen- with short e (Ety/NEN), and the reasons for this variation was discussed in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, the nominative/objective distinction noted above (PE21/64). This seems to be the paradigm Tolkien stuck with thereafter, as evidenced by S. nen “water” rather than ✱✱nîn.
-ien
daughter
-ien fem. ending in certain names like Yávien, Silmarien (q.v.) At one point -ien implied "daughter", see -iel above.
Nénar
water
Nénar noun name of a star (or planet), evidently derived from nén "water" (Silm), tentatively identified with Uranus (MR:435)
Túna
hill, mound
Túna (also Tún) place-name, used of the hill on which Tirion was built (Silm, TUN, KOR), derived from a stem (TUN) apparently meaning simply *"hill, mound".
ambo
hill, rising ground
ambo noun "hill, rising ground" (Markirya, PE17:92), "mount" (PE17:157), allative pl. ambonnar "upon hills" in Markirya (ruxal' ambonnar "upon crumbling hills") According to VT45:5, ambo was added to the Etymologies as a marginal note.
ambona
noun. hill
amun
hill
amun (amund-) noun "hill" (LT2:335; in Tolkien's later Quenya ambo)
anel
daughter
anel noun "daughter" (PE17:170), possibly intended by Tolkien as a replacement for seldë (q.v.). Compare anon.
anel
noun. daughter
A transient word for “daughter” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, written of above the more common sel-de (PE17/170).
assa
hole, perforation, opening, mouth
assa "hole, perforation, opening, mouth" (GAS)
ecca
hole
ecca ("k")noun "hole", apparently associated with Sindarin torech "secret hole, lair" (PE17:188)
latta
hole, pit
latta (1) noun "hole, pit" (DAT/DANT, VT45:8)
lenda
journey
lenda (1) noun "journey" (PE17:60)
lenda
noun. journey, journey, *travel, trip
A word for “journey” appearing in Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, derived from √LEN or √LED and related to the derivation of S. lembas “waybread” (PE17/60).
Neo-Quenya: The NQW suggested this word may mean also be used for “✱travel, trip”.
Conceptual Development: The Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s had ᴹQ. lesto “journey” (PE21/12).
mesta
journey
mesta noun ?"journey" (Arct)
nén
water
nén (nen-) noun "water" (NEN).
seldë
noun. daughter, daughter; [ᴹQ.] child [f.], *girl
This seems to be the word that Tolkien favored for “daughter” in his later writings (PE17/170; VT47/10; PE19/73), though it had competition from other forms like Q. yeldë.
Conceptual Development: The earliest word resembling this form was ᴱQ. sui “daughter” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SUẈU (QL/87), a word also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/87). This became ᴱQ. silde “daughter” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/135).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien experimented with several different forms. He had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL, but this entry was deleted (Ety/YEL). Tolkien also had a root ᴹ√SEL(D) “daughter” with a derivative ᴹQ. selde, but the meaning of this root was changed to “child”, and masculine and neuter forms ᴹQ. seldo and ᴹQ. selda were added to the entry (Ety/SEL-D). Finally, under the entry for ᴹ√YŌ or YON “son”, Tolkien added a primitive feminine variant ᴹ✶yēn or yend “daughter”, producing ᴹQ. yende and (suffixal?) yen (Ety/YŌ).
These vacillations continued in later writings, where at one point Tolkien wrote “Q[uenya] Wanted: Son, Daughter” (PE17/170). In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 Tolkien wrote Q. sel-de for “daughter”, but above it he wrote a variant form anel. In rough notes from around 1959 Tolkien explored a large number of masculine and feminine suffixes, and on the page he had yeldë “daughter”, though at the end of the sentence he wrote “also yen” (PE17/190). In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien wrote selyë as a diminutive/affectionate word for “daughter”, with seltil as a play name for the fourth finger representing a daughter (VT47/10, 27).
Also of note is Tolkien’s Quenya name for S. Tinúviel “Daughter of Twilight”, which he generally represented as something like Q. Tindómerel < ✶Tindōmiselde. Tolkien was fairly consistent in this Quenya form starting in the 1930s (Ety/SEL-D; PE19/33), with examples in the 1950s (PE19/73) and 1960s (VT47/37) as well. Indeed, in a couple cases he used this name to illustrate how medial s generally became z and eventually r in Quenya (PE19/33, 73), so it seems that for this name Tolkien consistently imagined the primitive form for “daughter” as ✶selde.
Neo-Quenya: I’d assume selde is the main word for “daughter” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but I’d assume a variant form yeldë, especially since -iel was the most common suffix for “daughter of”. This variant probably arose very early under the influence of √YON “son”.
selyë
daughter
[selyë noun "daughter", used in children's play for "fourth finger" or "fourth toe" _(VT47:10, 15, VT48:4) _It is unclear whether it was the word selyë "daughter" itself that was rejected, or just its use as a play-name of a digit. Compare yeldë, yendë.]
tundo
hill, mound
tundo noun "hill, mound" (TUN)
umbo
hill, lump, clump, mass
umbo, umbon noun "hill, lump, clump, mass" (PE17:93)
unquë
hole, hollow
unquë noun "hole, hollow" (VT46:20, UNUK), also name of tengwa #16 _(Appendix E; there spelt unque, while the Etymologies has unqe)_
yeldë
daughter
yeldë noun "daughter" (YEL) This word was struck out in Etym, but it may have been restored together with the ending -iel, q.v.
yeldë
noun. daughter
A less common Quenya word for “daughter”, an analog of Q. yondo “son”.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL of the same meaning, but the meaning of the root was first changed to “friend”, and then the root was then deleted (Ety/YEL). Meanwhile, under the root ᴹ√YŌ or YON, Tolkien introduced a feminine variant ᴹQ. yende “daughter” along with (suffixal?) yen, derived from primitive ᴹ√yēn or yend (Ety/YŌ). Previously this yende/yendi form was a feminine agent, but Tolkien rejected that meaning (EtyAC/ƷAN).
In between yelde >> yende for “daughter” in The Etymologies, Tolkien considered using the form ᴹQ. selde, and in later writings this seems to be his preferred Quenya word for “daughter”. However, yeldë “daughter” was mentioned again briefly in rough notes from around 1959 (PE17/190), and -iel remained Tolkien’s preferred suffix for “daughter of”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I recommend seldë as the more common word for “daughter”, but assume yeldë also exists as variant due to the influence of yondo “son”; see the entries on seldë and the root √YE(L) for further discussion.
yen
daughter
yen, yendë noun "daughter" (YŌ/YON). This word replaced another form, but this form may have been restored; see yeldë. In VT45:16, yendë is said to refer to a female "agent", a word changed by Tolkien from yendi, but Tolkien deleted all of this.
lendë
noun. journey
A Maia, Lady of the Seas (S/30). The meaning of this name is unclear, and it is probably adapted from her Valarin title like the name of her spouse Ossë (WJ/404).
Conceptual Development: The earliest form of her name was ᴱQ. Ówen, from the “Poetical and Mythological Words of Eldarissa” (PME/70). A similar word ᴱQ. ówen “mermaid” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon as a derivative of the root ᴱ√’O’O “Sea” (QL/70). This name also appeared the earliest Lost Tales, but was quickly replaced ᴱQ. Ónen (LT1/58, 61). At this early stage, G. Uinen was the Gnomish equivalent of her name (GL/74), but Uinen gradually supplanted Ónen in the writing of the Lost Tales (LT1/121, 130 note #6).
In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, her name in Quenya was also ᴹQ. Uinen, and this name appeared in The Etymologies alongside N. Uinen as a combination of the roots ᴹ√UY “seaweed” and ᴹ√NEN “water” (Ety/UY, NEN). At this stage, the genitive form of her name was given as ᴹQ. Uinenden (Ety/UY) implying a stem form of Uinend-, but Tolkien may have abandoned this form, as evidenced by the later name Q. Uinéniel “Daughter of Uinen” (Uinen + -iel). The idea that her name was derived from Valarin did not emerge until the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/404).