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.
Quenya
valimar
place name. Dwelling of the Valar
Vala
power, god, angelic power
Valarindi
offspring of the valar, their children begotten in arda
Valarindi pl. noun "offspring of the Valar, their children begotten in Arda" (sg. #Valarindë). (MR:49). Compare indi.
vala
noun. (Angelic) Power, ‘God’, Authority, (Angelic) Power, Authority, God
alar!
hail, blessed be (thou)
[alar! (also ala and alla!) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5,14, 26)]
valar ar maiar fantaner nassentar fanainen ve quenderinwe coar ar larmar
Valar and Maiar cloaked their true-being in veils, like to Elvish bodies and raiment
valar valuvar
the will of the Valar will be done
Vanar
vanar
Vanar or Vani pl. noun, = Valar (LT1:272)
Valandor
the land of the valar
Valandor place-name "the land of the Valar", confused with and replaced by Valinórë "the people of the Valar", short form Valinor (SA:dôr, Silm)
Valimar
vali-home
Valimar place-name "Vali-home" (Vali = Valar), the city of the Valar in Valinor, also in shorter form Valmar. Cf. the Silmarillion: "the city of Valimar where all is glad" (Valaquenta); "in the midst of the plain beyond the mountains they [the Valar] built their city, Valmar of many bells" (chapter 1). In Namárië, the word Valimar is used = Valinor, since Valimar was its chief city (Nam, RGEO:67)
valandor
place name. Land of the Valar
valya
having (divine) authority or power
valya adj. "having (divine) authority or power" (BAL; this word is of course etymologically connected to the Valar and should not be used with reference to the divinity of Eru.)
vala-
verb. to have [divine] power
valacirca
proper name. Sickle of the Valar
A constellation of seven stars (S/48), the Elvish version of the constellation of the Great Bear (SI/Valacirca), known as the Big Dipper by Americans or the Plough in Britain. It is a compound of Vala and the noun circa “sickle”.
Conceptual Development: A constellation of Seven Stars is mentioned in the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/114). In the Qenya Lexicon, the name ᴱQ. Telpea Kalka “✱Silvern Sickle” is given to the Great Bear (QL/47). The name “Sickle of the Gods" for this constellation emerged in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/212), and its Quenya name ᴹQ. Valakirka appears in The Etymologies from the same period (Ety/KIRIK). The Quenya name Valacirca did not appear in the tales themselves until Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/71).
ala
day
[ala (7) noun "day", also alan "daytime". The forms allen, alanen listed after these words could be inflected forms of them, genitive "of daytime", constracted (allen = al'nen) and uncontracted. However, Tolkien struck out all of this (VT45:13).]
ala
hail, blessed be (thou)
[ala (6) (also alar! or alla!) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5,14)]
lambë valarinwa
Language of the Valar
lan i valaron arcanwar tauvar
*while the thrones of the Valar endure
nasser ar cenime cantar valaron ar maiaron
The Natures and Visible Shapes of the Valar and Maiar
oromë valaron minya omennë ye eldar
Orome first of (the) Valar met the Elves
valinórë
place name. Land of the Valar
Land of the Valar within Aman (S/37), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and nórë “land” (SA/val, dôr). It usually appeared in the shorter form Valinor. In older Quenya, this name would have meant “Valian folk”, but it was blended with archaic Valandor to get its current meaning (PE17/20, SA/dôr).
Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valinor appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/70), and its long form Valinōre appeared in the Qenya Lexicon (QL/66). The name ᴹQ. Valinor appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/110, 205), and in The Etymologies it already had the same derivation as given above (Ety/BAL, NDOR).
In the earlier stages, the name Aman had not yet been invented, so Valinor referred to the entire land of the West, not just the land of the Valar within it.
See ✶Bali(a)nōrē for a discussion of its complex etymology.
Oromë
the eldar now take the name to singify 'horn-blowing' or 'horn-blower', but to the valar it had no such meaning
Oromë noun name of a Vala, adopted and adapted from Valarin. Observes Pengolodh, "the Eldar now take the name to singify 'horn-blowing' or 'horn-blower', but to the Valar it had no such meaning" (WJ:400-401, cf. SA:rom and ROM, TÁWAR in Etym, VT14:5). Genitive Oromëo and possessive Oroméva in WJ:368. _._Loose compound Oromë róma "an Oromë horn", sc. "one of Orome's horns (if he had more than one)" (WJ:368). A deleted entry in the Etymologies cited the name as Orómë with a long middle vowel (VT45:15). Oromendil, masc. name *"Friend of Oromë" (UT:210)
Valaquenta
account of the valar
Valaquenta noun "Account of the Valar" (SA:val-). See quenta.
Valinor
the land (or people) of the valar
Valinor place-name "the land (or people) of the Valar", *"Vali-land" (Vali = Valar), land of the Gods in the West (BAL, NDOR); cf. Valandor. Full form Valinórë (BAL; Vali-nórëunder NDOR).Said to be "the true Eldarin name of Aman", the latter name being explained as a borrowing from Valarin in some versions of the linguistic scenario (VT49:26). In the early "Qenya Lexicon", Valinor, Valinórë is glossed "Asgard", the name of the city of the gods in Norse mythology (LT1:272). It seems that in such more restricted use, Valinor is not the entire Blessed Realm but rather the specific region beyond the Pelóri where (most of) the Valar dwelt, with Val(i)mar as the chief city. Thus it is said of Eärendil that he "went into Valinor and to the halls of Valimar" only after he had already left his ship and ventured as far as Tirion (Silmarillion, chapter 24). Possessive Valinóreva in Nurtalë Valinóreva, the "Hiding of Valinor", the possessive case here assuming the function of object genitive (Silm); genitive Valinórëo in Yénië Valinórëo "Annals of Valinor" (MR:200; the last word was changed from Valinóren, Tolkien revising the genitive ending from -n to -o)
indi
offspring of the valar
indi pl. noun, apparently a name of Men, hardly valid in Tolkien's later Quenya (LT2:343). Compare, however, the final element of Valarindi "Offspring of the Valar", suggesting that #indi can be used for "offspring" (the Quenya word is apparently plural). It may be that in Valarindi, a h has dropped out following r, and that the independent word would be *hindi (as a variant of -hín, -híni "children").
limpë
(wine), drink of the valar
limpë noun "(wine), drink of the Valar" (LIP), cf. the early "Qenya" gloss"drink of the fairies" (LT1:258)
máhan
proper name. one of the eight chiefs of the Valar
mánë
spirit that has gone to the valar or to erumáni
mánë noun "a spirit that has gone to the Valar or to Erumáni" (LT1:260)
númenyaron
of the lords [valar] of the west
númenyaron inflected adj. used as noun?, a word occurring in a phrase from an earlier version of Fíriel's Song, Valion númenyaron, "of the Lords [Valar] of the West". But númenyaron cannot simply mean "of the West"; it seems to be the plural genitive of númenya "western", hence literally *"of the western (things, persons, realms)" or "of the Westerners".
valaina
of or belonging to the valar, divine
valaina adj. "of or belonging to the Valar, divine" (BAL)
valandil
masculine name. Lover of the Valar
The first lord of Andúnië (LotR/1035) and the third king of Arnor (LotR/1038). This name is a compound of Vala and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend” (Let/386).
Conceptual Development: In the early stories of the Fall of Númenor, the name ᴹQ. Valandil was given to the brother or father of Elendil (LR/33, 60) and in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s it was sometimes used as the name of Elendil himself (RS/169, 270-1). In these early writings, this name was glossed “God-friend” (LR/60), and it also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√N(D)IL with the gloss “Godwine” (EtyAC/NIL).
valaquenta
proper name. Account of the Valar
-a
it is said
-r nominative plural ending regularly used on nouns ending in -a, -i, -ië, -o, -u, e.g. Ainur, Valar, tier. Occasionally it is added also to nouns ending in -ë (that normally take the ending -I in the pl.). This seems to regularly happen in the case of nouns in -lë (see #fintalë, mallë, tyellë), sometimes also otherwise (see Ingwë, wendë, essë #1). This plural ending was ("it is said") first used by the Noldor (PM:402).
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)
aiya
hail
aiya interjection "hail", as greeting (LotR2:IV ch. 9, see Letters:385 for translation), or a call "for help and attention" (PE17:89), "only addressed to great or holy persons as the Valar, or to Earendil" (PE17:149). Variant aia (VT43:28)
miruvor
mead
miruvor, full form miruvórë noun "mead", "a special wine or cordial"; possessive miruvóreva "of mead" (Nam, RGEO:66; WJ:399).In the "Qenya Lexicon", miruvórë was defined "nectar, drink of the Valar" (LT1:261).
quenta
tale
quenta ("q")noun "tale" (KWET), "narrative, story" (VT39:16); Quenta Silmarillion "the Story/Tale of the Silmarils", also Quenta Eldalien "History of the Elves" (SD:303), notice "Qenya" genitive in -n in the latter title. Quenta is also translated "account", as in Valaquenta "Account of the Valar".
randa
cycle, age
randa noun "cycle, age" (100 Valian Years) (RAD, cf. LR:171: "an age, which is 100 years of the Valar"). A Valian year is equated with ten of "our" years (LR:171), making a randa the equivalent of 1,000 solar years (but possibly the word can also be used for "age" in general).
Ae
day
Ae (Quenya?) noun "day" (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK - ae was written over ar [# 2] in the names of the Valinorean week, but ar was not struck out.)
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)
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)
aia
hail
aia interjection "hail", variant of aiya (VT43:28)
aia
interjection. hail
alassë
hail
[alassë (2) interjection "hail" or "bless", evidently a synonym of the greeting alar!, q.v. (VT45:26)]
alla!
hail, blessed be (thou)
[alla! (also alar! or ala) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5, 14)] PE17:146 cites alla "hail, welcome" as a variant (occurring within the imaginary world) of aiya.
ar
day
ar (2) noun "day" (PE17:148), apparently short for árë, occurring in the names of the Valinorean week listed below. Tolkien indicated that ar in these names could also be arë when the following element begins in a consonant (VT45:27). Usually the word for "day" in LotR-style Quenya is rather aurë (or ré), q.v.
hyero
noun. wine
A word for “wine” appearing in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969, derived from primitive ✶syeru (PE23/139).
nyarna
tale, saga
nyarna noun "tale, saga" (NAR2), compounded in nyarmamaitar noun "storyteller" (PE17:163), literally *"tale-artist" (see maitar).
nyárë
tale, saga, history
nyárë noun "tale, saga, history". Compounded in Eldanyárë "History of the Elves", lumenyárë "history, chronological account" (NAR2, LR:199). Compare nyarië, nyarna.
ré
day
ré noun "day" (of the sun), a full 24-hour cycle (Appendix D) composed of aurë (day, daylight) and lómë "night" (VT49:45). Short -rë in compounds like Ringarë (q.v.). Allative rénna (VT49:45).
árë
day
árë noun "day" (PM:127) or "sunlight" (SA:arien). Stem ári- _(PE17:126, where the word is further defined as "warmth, especially of the sun, sunlight"). Also name of tengwa #31; cf. also ar # 2. Originally pronounced ázë; when /z/ merged with /r/, the letter became superfluous and was given the new value ss, hence it was re-named essë (Appendix E)_. Also árë nuquerna *"árë reversed", name of tengwa #32, similar to normal árë but turned upside down (Appendix E). See also ilyázëa, ilyárëa under ilya. In the Etymologies, this word has a short initial vowel: arë pl. ari (AR1)
aino
noun. god
helexë
noun. hail
miru
noun. wine
City of the Valar within Aman (S/38), a compound of Vali, an archaic plural of Vala, and már “home” (SA/val, bar). It also appeared in the shorter form Valmar, which was used more frequently in The Silmarillion. The long form Valimar was used in Galadriel’s Namárië poem (LotR/377), where it was equated to the whole of the land of Valinórë.
Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Valmar appears in the earliest Lost Tales with essentially the same form and meaning (LT1/74), and ᴹQ. Valmar appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/12, 80; LR/111, 209). The form ᴹQ. Valimar first appeared in drafts of the Namárië poem from the 1940s (TI/285).