wé

noun. man, warrior

wenda

adjective. female

wende

noun. maiden, maid

wenya

adjective. green, yellow-green, fresh

nwe

pronoun. *we (inclusive)

engwe

pronoun. we (emphatic inclusive)

eñgwet

pronoun. we (emphatic inclusive dual)

me

pronoun. we, us

mekarneltu

we made the pair

me telir karilte

we mean to make it

me telir tule

we mean to come

emme

pronoun. we (emphatic exclusive)

emmet

pronoun. we (emphatic exclusive dual)

mekarnenthu

we made the other pair

melalti kára/melar káralti

we are not making them

me·le·lávanelti kare

we were not going to make them for you

me·láner fasta sa yára túro

we were not pleased [that old Túro...]

me·merilte karithe

we wish him to do it

me·merilte tule

we wish him to come

me·merilti karilthi

we wish them to make them (other things)

me·merner i túro kárathe

we wished that Turo was making it

me·merner i túro tule

we wished that Turo come

me·mittanelme i·mbarenna yo sasse né túro

we got into the house and there was Túro

me·nakilti

we hate them

me·ndakilti

we hate them

qáqi me·vár tasse

we shall all be there

aldalemnar

proper name. Week of the Trees

Name of a holiday week in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/LEP), a compound of alda “tree” and lemnar “week” (Ety/GALAD, LEP).

lanat

noun. weft, weft, *woof

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “weft” derived from the root ᴹ√LAN “weave” (Ety/LAN).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed had ᴱQ. ’winda “woof” and ᴱQ. ’wiste “weft” under the early root ᴱ√GWIÐI (QL/103).

lumba

adjective. weary

An adjective for “weary” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√LUB of the same meaning (EtyAC/LUB).

Conceptual Development: Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱQ. tarwa or tarva “tired” based on the primitive form ᴱ✶dar’wa- (PE13/161), where the initial d unvoiced to t as was usual of Early Qenya in this period.

natse

noun. web, net, web, net[work]

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “web, net” under the root ᴹ√NAT “lace, weave, tie” (Ety/NAT).

Neo-Quenya: There are later words for “[spider’s] web” (ungwë) and “[physical] net” (raima or rembë), but I would retain natse for a more general sense “web, net[work]” applying to any interlacing of connected things (physical or metaphorical). This allows the retention of several early neologisms having to do with the internet.

tarkilmar

place name. Westermanton

Earlier name for Annúminas appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s with the gloss “Westermanton” (TI/144, 304). It is a combination of Tarkil “High-man” and mar “home”, as noted by Roman Rausch (EE/2.19).

arat

noun. weed

A word for “weed” in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s with a stem form of arak- (PE21/33, 35).

herenya

adjective. wealthy, rich, blessed, fortunate

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fortunate, wealthy, blessed, rich”, an adjectival form of ᴹQ. heren “fortune” under the root ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess” (Ety/KHER). Tolkien indicated the literal meaning of the noun was “governance”, and its actual sense is “what is in store for one and what one has in store”. As such I think its adjective form has a meaning closer to “wealthy, rich = imbued with fortune (earned or expected)” rather than “fortunate = lucky”.

vaire

feminine name. Weaver

vestale

noun. wedding

linqe

adjective. wet, wet, [ᴱQ.] flowing; water, stream

miksa

adjective. wet, wet, *damp

nauro

noun. werewolf

númen

noun. west

númenya

adjective. western

númenóre

place name. Westernesse

alwa

adjective. well-grown

núme

noun. west

númen endorello isse sí vaia síra

westward of Middle-earth where now Ocean flows

vesta-

verb. to wed, to wed, *marry

Tolkien used a variety of similar verbs for “to marry” throughout his life. The earliest of these was ᴱQ. vesta- “to wed” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√VEŘE [VEÐE] (QL/101). This verb reappeared in the English-Qenya Dictionary with the gloss “join (others) in marriage”, where Tolkien said it could be used reflexively to mean “get married”, and reflexively with the ᴱQ. va preposition to mean “get married with ...” (PE15/75). The verb ᴹQ. vesta- “to wed” reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root {ᴹ√BED >>} ᴹ√BES of the same meaning (Ety/BES).

Up until this stage, all the primitive “marry” roots produce vesta- in combination with the verbal suffix -ta: all of VEÐ+tā, BED+tā, BES+tā > vesta-. At some point in the late 1960s, Tolkien decided the root for “marriage” words was √BER, and he coined a new pair of “marry” verbs based on this root: transitive Q. verta- “to give in marriage (a) to (b), or to take as husband or wife to oneself” and intransitive Q. verya- “to marry (of husband and wife), be joined to” (VT49/45). The form verta- rather than ᴱQ./ᴹQ. vesta- is a consequence of this new version of the root.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer to retain the 1930s form of the root ᴹ√BES in order to keep attested Sindarin/Noldorin forms. As such I would use the 1930s verb form ᴹQ. vesta- for “to wed, marry”. Note that while late 1960s intransitive Q. verya- is compatible with ᴹ√BES, it clashes with 1930s ᴹQ. verya- “to dare” (< ᴹ√BER “valiant”). Therefore I would use vesta- both transitively and intransitively for “to marry”, though in the intransitive past I’d treat it as a half-strong verb: verenten “I got married” vs. vestanen verunya “I married my husband”.

ehtelu-

verb. to well, bubble up

A verb in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, a combination of primitive ᴹ✶et “out” and ᴹ✶kelu- “flow, well up” (PE22/103), whose phonological developments mirror ehtelë. See ᴹQ. kelu- “to flow forth” for a discussion of similar verbs.

Conceptual Development: It seems to be a later iteration of (archaic) ᴱQ. †kektelu- “bubble up” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, a verb form of ᴱQ. †kektele “fountain” (QL/46).

lanya-

verb. to weave

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “weave” under the root ᴹ√LAN of the same meaning (Ety/LAN).

vesse

noun. wife

lemnar

noun. (Valarin five-day) week

menelya

noun. *Wednesday, Heavens-day

milya

adjective. soft, gentle, weak

nendesse

noun. February, *Wet-ness

nuaran

proper name. *West-king

Part of a hypothetical title for the king of Númenor in Tolkien’s unfinished story “The Lost Road”. It is apparently a combination of the root NDŪ “down” with aran “king” (LR/60, 71).

númekundo

proper name. *West Prince

vala

noun. Power, God

alma

noun. good fortune, weal, wealth, *well-being

nwara-

verb. to gnaw, erode, wear away

yerya-

verb. to wear (out), get old

@@@ possibly lyerya- if you accepted gy- > dy- > ly-

vie

noun. manhood, vigour, manhood, vigour; [ᴱQ.] teors, *penis

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “manhood, vigour” derived from primitive ᴹ✶weʒē under the root ᴹ√WEG “(manly) vigour” (Ety/WEG). Here the vowel development was egē > eʒē > eı̯e > ie; compare tie < ✶tegē (PE19/70).

Conceptual Development: The word ᴱQ. vie was glossed “teors” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/135, 143), and it also appeared with the same gloss in the Early Noldorin Dictionary from the same period (PE13/162). The word “teors” is Old English for “penis”. It is possible that it could still have this same meaning euphemistically in The Etymologies of the 1930s, in much the same way that “manhood” is a euphemism for “penis” in English.

venesse

noun. virginity

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “virginity”, an abstract noun form of ᴹQ. véne which seems to mean “girl” or “maiden”, both appearing under the root ᴹ√WEN-ED “maiden” (Ety/WEN).

vesta

noun. matrimony, matrimony, [ᴱQ.] state of marriage

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “matrimony” derived from the root ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/BES). The same word ᴱQ. vesta appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with the gloss “state of marriage”, but there it was based on the early root ᴱ√VEŘE [VEÐE] (QL/101). It was also mentioned as a cognate of ᴱN. gwedhw “matrimony” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, but there it was a derivative of ᴱ√wed- (PE13/146).

heren

noun. fortune, (lit.) governance

A word in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fortune” derived from the root ᴹ√KHER “rule, govern, possess” (Ety/KHER). Tolkien indicated the literal meaning of this noun was “governance”, and its actual sense is “what is in store for one and what one has in store”. Thus I believe it is “fortune” in this sense of what is due to you, both by dint of your own efforts and was it owed to you by your position in society, as opposed to mere luck. In the first draft of this entry heren had the additional glosses “goods, wealth”, but these were deleted (EtyAC/KHER).

liante

noun. spider, spider, [ᴱQ.] tendril, vine

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “spider” derived from the root ᴹ√SLIG with various other derivatives having to do with webs and fine threads (Ety/SLIG). Most notably it was the second element in the name ᴹQ. Ungoliante “Gloomweaver” (LR/230). In the paradigm of The Etymologies, ᴹQ. ungo was “cloud, dark shadow” (Ety/UÑG), not “spider”.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon and Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s, ᴱQ. liante was glossed “tendril” and was derived from the early root ᴱ√LI+ya “unite many in one” (QL/53, PME/53). In this period it was an element in the name ᴱQ. Ungweliante or Ungwe Lianti “the great spider who enmeshes” (LT1/152), where the intial element ᴱQ. ungwe meant “spider” (QL/98). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, ᴱQ. liante was translated “vine” (PE14/55), as opposed to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱQ. liantasse was “vine” (QL/53).

Neo-Quenya: Tolkien gave no other Quenya words for “spider” in his later writings, but S. ungol was glossed “spider” (Let/180; RC/490, 767) and √ungu- was described as the basis for “spider words” (PE22/160), making it very likely that ✱ungol was “spider” in his later conception of the name Q. Ungoliantë. However, I think [ᴹQ.] liante might be reconceived of as a (feminine?) agental form originally meaning “weaver” or “webspinner”. Furthermore, I think [ᴺQ.] ungol might have come to be associated only with monstrous spiders, the descendants of Ungoliantë, so that [ᴹQ.] liante came to be used of ordinary spiders.

sir-

verb. to flow

A verb for “flow” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SIR of the same meaning (Ety/SIR). It may have appeared later in its present-tense form síra in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 as part of the sentence [ᴹQ.] númen Endorello isse sí Vaia síra “westward of Middle-earth where now Ocean flows” (PE22/126). However, it is possible that síra was intended to be present of the verb [ᴹQ.] sirya- “flow” from elsewhere in QVS; see that entry for discussion.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. siri- “flow” under the early root ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] (QL/84). See also the later verb Q. sirya-.

inya

adjective. female

An adjective for “female” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√INI “female” (Ety/INI).

Conceptual Development: In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, Tolkien gave a similar form ᴱQ. qinya “female”, an adjectival form of ᴱQ. qin “woman” (PE16/135).

In drafts for the first version of Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s, Tolkien had various adjectival forms based on the root ᴹ√(G)ERE/(G)RÉ “bear, produce” such as ᴹQ. rea “female”, réna, or ᴹQ. ríte “female [of any kind]” (PE23/87), but the relevant sections were rejected and there are no signs of the root ᴹ√RÉ in the revised text.

narmo

noun. wolf

A noun for “wolf” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√ÑGARAM (Ety/ÑGAR(A)M), apparently a variant of ᴹ√ÑGAW “howl”. It seems narmo is a word for an ordinary wolf, as opposed to nauro “werewolf”.

Conceptual Development: A similar (but rejected) form ᴹQ. harma “wolf” appeared under the deleted root ᴹ√ƷARAM (Ety/ƷARAM).

veo

noun. man

lá-

verb. to not be

ye-

verb. to be

vende

noun. maiden, maid

venya

adjective. green, yellow-green, fresh

vesta

noun. contract

vestale

noun. oath

vén

noun. greenness, freshness; youth

véne

noun. girl

esse

noun. name

naina-

verb. to lament, to lament, *mourn

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s appearing as (nai)naina- “lament” derived from the root ᴹ√NAY of the same meaning (Ety/NAY). In The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road Christopher Tolkien gave the form as naina- (LR/375), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne corrected this to (nai)naina- in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT45/37). The ongoing validity of this verb is indicated by the noun form nainië “lament” in the title of Galadriel’s poem: Altariello nainië Lóriendesse (RGEO/58).

Conceptual Development: A likely precursor is ᴱQ. nyéna- “lament” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√NYE(NE) “bleat” (QL/68).

Neo-Quenya: In a 2024-11-03 post on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Luinyelle suggested this verb might also mean “✱mourn”.

nan-

verb. to go back, to go back, [ᴺQ.] *retreat, give way, revert, ebb, (lit.) move backwards

nie

noun. tear

se

pronoun. they

(nai)naina-

verb. to lament

-llume

suffix. time, time, [ᴱQ.] times

-n(an)

suffix. time

-nie

suffix. female

A feminizing suffix for pronominal forms in Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s (PE23/102), so that for example mane “who (neutral)” could become manie “who (female)” and ane “someone” could become anie “someone (female)”. It is probably based on the contemporaneous feminine primitive suffix ✶-eye. The suffix -nie replaced a rejected variant -re (PE23/102 note #37).

ala-

verb. to grow

aman

noun. bond

A noun glossed “bond” in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, of unclear origin (PE21/33-34).

andúne

noun. sunset

andúnie

place name. Sunset(land)

armar

collective noun. goods

A plural noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “goods” derived from the root ᴹ√GAR (Ety/GAR). It was initially given as singular arma meaning {“possessions, goods, property” >>} “a piece of good or property” (EtyAC/GAR, ƷAR).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. vakt- “wares” under the early root ᴱ√VAKA (QL/99).

atan

noun. Man

he

pronoun. they

indon

conjunction. as

The correlative ᴹQ. indon “as” appeared in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/111), a combination of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i and the similative suffix ᴹQ. -ndon.

kantea

adjective. shapely

kelulinde

noun. spring

A word for “spring” in the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s, a combination of ᴹQ. kelu- “flow” and ᴹQ. linde “pool” (PE21/10). ᴱQ. kelusindi “river (near its source)” = ᴱQ. kelu- + sindi from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s is similar in structure (QL/46).

laiqa

adjective. green

lis

noun. honey

mat-

verb. to eat

morko

noun. bear

A noun for “bear” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶morókō under the root ᴹ√MOROK (Ety/MORÓK).

nelle

noun. brook, brook, *stream

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “brook” derived from primitive ᴹ✶nenle (Ety/NEN), where the ancient nl became ll (PE19/47).

nisse

noun. woman

nui

noun. lament

ná-

verb. to be

nén

noun. water

rea

noun/adjective. female

ráka

noun. wolf

A noun for “wolf” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶d’rāk under the root ᴹ√DARAK (Ety/DARÁK), where the ancient initial dr became r as usual for Quenya (PE19/37).

Conceptual Development: Earlier words for “wolf” of similar form include ᴱQ. ulku and feminine ᴱQ. ulqi “she-wolf” appearing in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√ULUKU (QL/97).

sen

pronoun. them

tama

pronoun. thing

ti

pronoun. they

to

preposition. in

toi

pronoun. they

tí

pronoun. them

vaiwa

noun. wind

vanima

adjective. fair

wén

noun. greenness, freshness; youth