Vala

power, god, angelic power

Vala (1) noun "Power, God, angelic power", pl. Valar or Vali (BAL, Appendix E, LT2:348), described as "angelic governors" or "angelic guardians" (Letters:354, 407). The Valar are a group of immensely powerful spirits guarding the world on behalf of its Creator; they are sometimes called Gods (as when Valacirca, q.v., is translated "Sickle of the Gods"), but this is strictly wrong according to Christian terminology: the Valar were created beings. The noun vala is also the name of tengwa #22 (Appendix E). Genitive plural Valion "of the Valar" (FS, MR:18); this form shows the pl. Vali, (irregular) alternative to Valar (the straightforward gen. pl. Valaron is also attested, PE17:175). Pl. allative valannar *"to/on the Valar" (LR:47, 56; SD:246). Feminine form Valië (Silm), in Tolkiens earlier material also Valdë; his early writings also list Valon or Valmo (q.v.) as specifically masc. forms. The gender-specific forms are not obligatory; thus in PE17:22 Varda is called a Vala (not a Valië), likewise Yavanna in PE17:93. Vala is properly or originally a verb "has power" (sc. over the matter of Eä, the universe), also used as a noun "a Power" _(WJ:403). The verb vala- "rule, order", exclusively used with reference to the Valar, is only attested in the sentences á vala Manwë! "may Manwë order it!" and Valar valuvar "the will of the Valar will be done" (WJ:404). However, Tolkien did not originally intend the word Valar to signify "powers"; in his early conception it apparently meant "the happy ones", cf. valto, vald- (LT2:348)_. For various compounds including the word Vala(r), see below.

vala

noun. (Angelic) Power, ‘God’, Authority, (Angelic) Power, Authority, God

valandur

masculine name. *Servant of the Vala

Eighth king of Gondor (LotR/1038). His name is a compound of Vala and the suffix -(n)dur “-servant”.

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts, the name ᴹQ. Valandur was used for a possible third son of Isildur, but this character was rejected (TI/120).

valaróma

proper name. Horn of Oromë, *(lit.) Vala-horn

The name of Oromë’s horn (S/29), a compound of Vala and róma “horn”.

Conceptual Development: The first name given to this horn was Rombaras (MR/7).

valacar

masculine name. *Vala Helm

20th king of Gondor (LotR/1038). His name is a compound of Vala the suffixal form -car of carma “helm” (PE17/114).

Valacar

vala-helmet

Valacar masc. name, *"Vala-helmet"??? (Appendix A)

Valandil

god-friend, *vala-friend

Valandil masc. name, "God-friend, *Vala-friend" (Appendix A, UT:210, translated in LR:60)

Valandur

vala-servant

Valandur masc. name, *"Vala-servant" (Appendix A)

Valaróma

vala-horn

Valaróma noun "Vala-horn", Oromë's horn (Silm, MR:7)

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.

valanya

noun. *Friday, Vala-day

Valatar

gen.sg. valatáren

Valatar (Valatár- as in "gen.sg. Valatáren", in Tolkien's later Quenya this is a dative singular instead) noun "Vala-king", applied to the nine chief (male) Valar: Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, Mandos, Lorien, Tulkas, Ossë, Orome, and Melko[r]. _Note: This list, set down in the _Etymologies, differs from the scenario of the published Silmarillion; Ossë is not a Vala in Tolkien's later conception.(BAL, VT46:17). Compare Valatári.

Valarauco

demon of might

Valarauco ("k") noun "Demon of Might" (here vala- assumes its basic meaning "power, might"), Sindarin balrog(WJ:415). Pl. Valaraucar (sic, not -or) "Balrogs", apparently containing rauca (q.v.) as an alternative form of rauco "demon" (SA:val-, SA:rauco). Earlier forms from the "Qenya Lexicon" are Valcaraucë, Malcaraucë (q.v.), apparently abandoned in LotR-style Quenya.

vala-

verb. to rule

vala- (2) vb. "to rule", only with reference to the Valar (see Vala). Future tense valuva is attested (WJ:404)

valassë

divinity

valassë noun "divinity" (or rather *"valahood"; the word should probably not be used with reference to the divinity of Eru). (BAL)

vala-

verb. to have [divine] power

vaia

envelope

vaia < waia (also vaiya < waiya) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY). Cf. váya.

á vala manwë

may Manwë order it!

Valdë

female vala

Valdë noun "female Vala" (also Valis) (LT1:272, in Tolkien's later Quenya Valië, Valatári)

Valis

female vala

Valis noun "female Vala" (also Valdë) (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya Valië)

Valmo

male vala

Valmo noun "male Vala" (also Valon) (LT1:272; these forms may or may not be valid in Tolkien's later Quenya)

Valon

male vala

Valon noun "male Vala" (also Valmo) (LT1:272; these forms may or may not be valid in Tolkien's later Quenya)

valië

noun. Female Vala

Manwë

blessed being

Manwë noun "Blessed Being" (Letters:283), the Elder King and Lord of the Valar, spouse of Varda. The name is adopted and adapted from Valarin Mānawenūz; names ending in -wë were already frequent in Quenya _(WJ:399). _In the Etymologies derived from MAN, WEG.Cf. Mánwen, Mánwë the oldest Quenya forms of Manwë, closer to the Valarin form (WJ:399). Lower-case manwë in LR:56. Ablative Manwello, VT49:24 (in this source Tolkien indicated that lo Manwë is the preferred way of saying "from Manwë", but this was apparently a short-lived idea; see lo). Masc. name Manwendil "Manwë-friend; one devoted to Manwë" (UT:210). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, Manwë was also the name of letter #22 (VT45:32), which tengwa Tolkien would later call vala instead changing its Quenya value from m to v.

cal-

verb. shine

#cal- vb. "shine", future tense caluva ("k") "shall shine" _(UT:22 cf. 51). Compare also early "Qenya" cala- ("k")"shine" (LT1:254)_. It is possible that the verbal stem should have a final -a in later Quenya as well, since this vowel would not appear in the future tense caluva (compare valuvar as the pl. future tense of vala-, WJ:404).

vaiya

envelope

vaiya < waiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY, capitalized Vaiya under GEY; the latter entry was struck out). In a "Qenya" text in MC:214, vaiya is simply translated "sky". In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, vaiya (/ waiya) was also the name of a tengwa letter that does not appear in Tolkien's later table, but which was apparently intended to have the value w > v, like the letter wilya > vilya in the later, canonical system (VT46:21). According to Arden R. Smith, the form of the pre-classical letter is a variant of #21, which letter Tolkien would later call vala (VT46:32).

á

immediate time reference

a (3), also á, imperative particle. An imperative with "immediate time reference" is expressed by á in front of the verb (or "occasionally after it, sometimes before and after for emphasis"), with the verb following in "the simplest form also used for the uninflected aorist without specific time reference past or present or future" (PE17:93). Cf. a laita te, laita te! "[o] bless them, bless them!", á vala Manwë! "may Manwë order it!", literally "o rule Manwë!" (see laita, vala for reference); cf. also á carë "do[!]", á ricë "try!", á lirë "sing[!]", á menë "proceed[!]", a norë "run[!]" (PE17:92-93, notice short a in this example), á tula "come!" (VT43:14). In the last example, the verb tul- "come" receives an ending -a that probably represents the _suffixed form of the imperative particle, this apparently being an example of the imperative element occurring both "before and after" the verbal stem "for emphasis" (PE17:93)_. This ending may also appear on its own with no preceding a/á, as in the command queta "speak!" (PE17:138). Other examples of imperatives with suffixed -a include cena and tira (VT47:31, see cen-, tir-); the imperatives of these same verbs are however also attested as á tirë, á cenë (PE17:94) with the imperative particle remaining independent and the following verb appearing as an uninflected aorist stem. This aorist can be plural to indicate a 3rd person pl. subject: á ricir! "let them try!" (PE17:93). Alyë (VT43:17, VT44:9) seems to be the imperative particle a with the pronominal suffix -lyë "you, thou" suffixed to indicate the subject who is to carry out the command; attested in the phrase alyë anta "give thou" (elided aly' in VT43:11, since the next word begins in e-: aly' eterúna me, *"do thou deliver us"); presumably other pronominal suffixes could likewise be added. The particle a is also present in the negative imperatives ala, #ála or áva, q.v.

rombaras

proper name. Horn of Oromë

The earliest name of the Horn of Oromë (MR/7). The exact meaning is unclear, but is most likely some derivation of the root √ROM “horn noise”. It was soon changed to Valaróma.

Aino

god

Aino noun "god", within Tolkien's mythos a synonym of Ainu (but since Aino is basically only a personalized form of aina "holy", hence "holy one", it could be used as a general word for "god") (PE15:72)

accal(a)-

verb. shine

shine (suddenly and) brilliantly, blaze

calta-

verb. shine

calta- ("k")vb. "shine" (KAL)

heren

fortune

heren (2) noun "fortune", etymologically "governance" ("and so what is in store for one and what one has in store") (KHER).Herendil masc. name *"Fortune-friend" = Eadwine, Edwin, _Audoin(LR:52, 56, cf. the Etymologies, stems KHER-, NIL/NDIL)_

heru-

verb. to rule

heru- vb. "to rule" (LT1:272; rather tur- in LotR-style Quenya)

marto

fortune, fate, lot

marto (2) noun "fortune, fate, lot" (LT2:348); cf. marta # 3 and see mart-.

sil-

verb. shine

sil- vb. "shine" (white), present tense síla "shines, is shining" (FG); aorist silë, pl. silir (RS:324), frequentative sisíla- (Markirya comments), future tense siluva (VT49:38), dual future siluvat (VT49:44, 45)

waia

envelope

waia > vaia noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY) (also vaiya, waiya)

waiya

envelope

waiya > vaiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY)

aino

noun. god

balan

noun. Vala, Vala, [N.] Power, God

The Sindarin equivalent of Q. Vala, derived from the root √BAL “powerful, mighty” and having a plural form Belain (PE17/48). This plural appears as an element in the day-name Orbelain “✱Day of the Valar [Friday]” (LotR/1110). However, in a 1972 Letter Tolkien said this was actually a phonetic adaptation of the Quenya day-name Q. Valanya, an adjective (“✱of the Vala”) not existing in Sindarin (Let/427), presumably because it conflicts with the plural of Balan.

Conceptual Development: N. Balan “Power, God” (both male and female) appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√BAL with a Noldorin-style plural Belein or Belen (Ety/BAL). The (nasal-mutated) Sindarin-style plural appeared in the name N. Cerch iMbelain “Sickle of the Gods” under the entry for ᴹ√KIRIK (Ety/KIRIK).

Earlier still, in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had both G. Ban “a god” (GL/21) and G. Gwala “one of the Gods, including their divine folk and Children, hence often used of one of the lesser folk as opposed to Ban” (GL/44). The first of these was derived from the early root ᴱ√VANA having to do with beauty (QL/99) and the second from the early root ᴱ√gwal “fortune, happiness” (GL/44). The entry for Ban was deleted from the Gnomish Lexicon itself, but presumably these two early words were blended into later N./S. Balan.

rodon

noun. Vala

A Sindarin term for the Vala (PE17/33), appearing in its plural form S. Rodyn as one of the days of the week (LotR/1110) and also in the Sindarin name for Valinor: Dor-Rodyn (MR/200). It is derived from the prefixal form rod- of raud “noble” (PE17/118, 186). Its final element might be the augmentative suffix -on, perhaps literally meaning “✱Most Noble”. It could also be the agental suffix -on, as suggested by David Salo (GS/283), but that suffix is usually masculine (WJ/400), whereas Rodon seems to apply to all Valar.

balan

Vala

pl1. Belain** ** n. Vala.

balan

noun. Vala, divine power, divinity

rodon

noun. Vala, divinity

balan

vala

(i Valan), pl. Belain (i Melain). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. form used with the article was "iMbelain" (LR:365 s.v. KIRIK).

rodon

vala

1) Rodon (pl. Rodyn, coll. pl. Rodonnath), 2) Balan (i Valan), pl. Belain (i Melain). In ”Noldorin”, the pl. form used with the article was "iMbelain" (LR:365 s.v. KIRIK).

rodon

vala

(pl. Rodyn, coll. pl. Rodonnath)

fân

manifested body of a vala

(veil, cloud), construct fan, pl. fain.

fân

manifested body of a vala

fân (veil, cloud), construct fan, pl. fain.

fân

manifested body of a vala

fân (veil, cloud), construct fan, pl. fain

fân

manifested body of a vala

fân (veil, cloud), construct fan, pl. fain.

fân

manifested body of a vala

(veil, cloud), construct fan, pl. fain

rhond

noun. body

n. body. >> rhonn, rhû

rhond

noun. body

A Sindarin word for “body”, cognate of Q. hrondo, appearing as rhonn in Quenya Notes from 1957 (QN: PE17/183) and as rhond or rhonn in notes concerning spirit, also probably from 1957 (NM/237). In the former document, it was derived from the root √SRON, a variant of √RON “solid, tangible, firm” (PE17/183).

Neo-Sindarin: Its Quenya cognate hrondo was replaced by Q. hröa < ✶srawā in notes from 1958-59 (MR/209, 350). However, the Sindarin equivalent of hroa was rhaw, a word that also meant “flesh” along with many other (Neo) Sindarin meanings such as “wild” and “lion”. As such, I would retain rhond as “body” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin; the continued viability of the root √RON is indicated by other words like S. Grond.

rhonn

noun. body

n. body. >> rhond, rhû

Eru

god

(the One) #Eru, isolated from Eruchín** **"children of the One" (= Elves and Men; sg. *Eruchen).

aenor

noun. god

A neologism for “a god” opposed to “God” (Eru), based on Gnomish ain. A direct adaptation of the Gnomish form would be aen, but that conflicts with aen “should be”; Fiona Jallings suggested the extended form aenor in a Discord chat in August 2019.

bellas

bodily strength

(i vellas), pl. bellais (i mellais) if there is a pl.

bâl

divine power

construct bal, pl. bail (divinity). Note: the word can also be used as an adj. "divine".

bâl

divinity

bâl (i vâl, construct bal), pl. bail (divine power). Note: the word can also be used as an adj. "divine".

bâl

divinity

(i vâl, construct bal),  pl. bail (divine power). Note: the word can also be used as an adj. "divine".

eru

noun. God

eru

god

isolated from Eruchín "children of the One" (= Elves and Men; sg. ✱Eruchen).

glóren

shining with golden light

(glórin-) (golden), lenited ’lóren; pl. glórin.

gwoe

noun. envelope

manadh

fortune

(usually = final bliss) manadh (i vanadh) (doom, final end, fate), pl. menaidh (i menaidh). Cf. .

manadh

fortune

(i vanadh) (doom, final end, fate), pl. menaidh (i menaidh). Cf.

rhaw

body

rhaw (?i thraw or ?i raw the lenition product of rh is uncertain) (flesh), pl. rhoe (?idh roe). Note: a homophone means ”wild, untamed”. (MR:350).

rhaw

body

(?i thraw or ?i raw – *the lenition product of rh is uncertain) (flesh), pl. rhoe (?idh roe). Note: a homophone means ”wild, untamed”. (MR:350)*.

silef

shining white

is listed in LR:385 s.v. SIL as the cognate of Quenya silma of this meaning, but silef is there asterisked, apparently to indicate that it only appears as part of the word Silevril ”Silmaril”. The word silef may also be used = Quenya silima (noun), the crystal substance of the Silmarils.

síla

shine white

(i híla, i sílar) Adj.

tûr

power

tûr (i dûr, o thûr, construct tur) (victory, mastery, control; master, victor, lord), pl. tuir (i thuir), coll. pl. túrath.

tûr

power

(i dûr, o thûr, construct tur) (victory, mastery, control; master, victor, lord), pl. t**uir (i th**uir), coll. pl. túrath.

baldor

proper name. *Vala-king

A rejected Noldorin equivalent of ᴹQ. Valatar “Vala-king” appearing alongside (masculine and feminine?) variants Baldron and Benenil in The Etymologies from the 1930s (EtyAC/TĀ). It seems to be a combination of the root ᴹ√BAL and the suffix -dor “king”.

balan

noun. Vala, divine power, divinity

balan

noun. Power, God

síla-

verb. to shine white

ui

noun. envelope (especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls)

ui

noun. envelope

A noun appearing as N. ui “envelope” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ON. uia < wōia [wǭia] < ᴹ✶wāyā under the root ᴹ√WAY of similar meaning (Ety/WAY). It was used “especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls”. In Noldorin of the 1930s, it seems the normal development of ancient āy was ui, with the initial w vanishing before u: wāyā > wǭia > uia > ui.

Neo-Sindarin: In Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s it seems ancient āy became oe, as with goe < ✶gāyā (PM/363). As such the initial w- from ✶wāya would survive to become gw-. Indeed, Tolkien had ancient ✱wāya become gwoe in notes from around 1957 attempting to derive an etymology for gwae “wind” (PE17/34). As such, I would adapt this Noldorin word as ᴺS. gwoe “envelope” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin. I would use it in the more general sense of “a thing enveloping something else”, and not just limited to envelopes used for letters.

balâ

noun. *Vala (draft)

An earlier version of the Adûnaic word for Q. Vala (SD/344), later replaced by Avalâi >> Avalôi. It is only attested in its plural form Balâi.

avalô

noun. Power, God

An Adûnaic noun translated as “God” or “Power” (SD/247, 305), the equivalent of (and possibly derived from) Q. Vala. It is probably pronounced [awalō], since the sound [w] in Adûnaic was sometime written “v” (SD/434). It frequently appeared in its plural or subjective plural forms Avalôi(m) “Powers, Gods”.

Conceptual Development: In early drafts of Adûnaic its plural was Avalâi with a long â instead of ô, perhaps indicating an earlier singular form Avalâ closer to Vala. Earlier still this word was given as plural Balāi, a more direct derivative of the Elvish root form ᴹ√BAL.

srawā

noun. body

¤kurwē

noun. power, ability