Quenya 

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 , 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

Cognates

  • S. Balan “Vala, Vala, [N.] Power, God” ✧ PE17/048; SA/val

Derivations

  • BAL “power; powerful, mighty; have power” ✧ PE17/048; PE17/048; SA/val

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
BAL > Valar[balar] > [βalar] > [valar]✧ PE17/048
BAL > Vala[bala] > [βala] > [vala]✧ PE17/048
bal- > val-[bala] > [βala] > [vala]✧ SA/val

Variations

  • vala ✧ LotR/1123
Quenya [Let/146; Let/193; Let/198; Let/284; Let/354; Let/386; Let/387; LotR/1110; LotR/1123; LotRI/Valar; MR/018; MR/350; MRI/Valar; PE17/048; PE17/074; PE17/088; PE17/114; PE17/125; PE17/174; PE17/175; PE22/147; PMI/Valar; S/025; S/048; SA/val; SI/Valar; UTI/Valar; WJ/403; WJ/404; WJI/Valar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vala-

to rule

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

vala-

verb. to have [divine] power

Cognates

  • S. bal- “*to have power”

Derivations

  • BAL “power; powerful, mighty; have power”

Element in

Variations

  • vala ✧ WJ/404
Quenya [WJ/403; WJ/404] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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.

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.

Quenya [Quettaparma Quenyallo] Group: Quettaparma Quenyallo. Published by

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.

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.

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

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)

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 - 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.

marto

fortune, fate, lot

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

heru-

to rule

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

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)_

aino

noun. god

Cognates

Derivations

  • AYA(N) “blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere”

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
aina“holy, revered, numinous, holy, revered, numinous, *divine, [ᴱQ.] worshipful”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by