“O beautiful ones” (LotR3:VI ch. 6, translated in Letters:308); also attested repeatedly in VT44:12 (cf. 15): A Hrísto *“o Christ”, A Eruion *“o God the son/son of God”, a Aina Faire *“o Holy Spirit”, a aina Maria *“o holy Mary”.
“, a variant of ar occurring in Fíriel's Song (that also has ar; a seems to be used before words in f-, but contrast ar formenna *”and northwards” in a late text, VT49:26). According to PE17:41, “Old Quenya” could have the conjunction a (as a variant of ar) before n, ñ, m, h, hy, hw (f is not mentioned), PE17:71 adding ty, ny, hr, hl, ñ, l, r, þ, s. See ar #1. It may be that the a or the sentence norne a lintieryanen “he ran with his speed” (i.e. as quickly as he could) is to be understood as this conjunction, if the literal meaning is *“he ran and [did so] with his speed” (PE17:58).
, 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 Manwe! “may Manwe order it!”, literally *”o rule Manwe!“ (see laita, vala for reference); cf. also á care *“do[!]”, á rice “try!”, á lire “sing[!]”, á mene “proceed<font size=“2” style=“font-size: 11pt”>[!]”, a nore “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 tire, á cene (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). Alye(VT43:17, VT44:9) seems to be the imperative particle a with the pronominal suffix -lye “you, thou” suffixed to indicate the subject who is to carry out the command; attested in the phrase alye 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.
-, then changed it). It may be prefixed to verbal stems following a noun that is the object of sense-verbs like “see” and “hear” when the verb it is prefixed to describes what happens to this noun, as in man cenuva lumbor ahosta[?] (changed from na-hosta), “who shall see the clouds gather?” (hosta = “gather”).
(“k”) noun “neck” (the bony part of the neck, not including throat), pl. axi(“ks”) (and so perhaps general stem-form ax-). Also sg. axe (said to be a “later” form apparently replacing qq:acas). The word is also used geographically of rock ridges. (PE17:92)
- vb. “do back; react; requite, avenge” (PE17:166). Also ahtar-. (The note containing this form was struck out, but the related Sindarin word acharn “vengeance” appears in the narratives.)
Acairis // fem. name, “bride” (LT1:252; in Tolkien's later Quenya, “bride” is rather indis)
; acúna : (“k”) see cúna
; Aenoun “day” (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK - ae was written over ar [# 2] in the names of the Valinorean week, but ar was not struck out.)
; aha : noun “rage”, also name of tengwa #11, earlier called harma(Appendix E)
; ahosta : see hosta
; ahtar : - “do back; react; requite, avenge” (PE17:166). Also accar-. (The note containing this form was struck out, but the related Sindarin word acharn “vengeance” appears in the narratives.)
; ahya : - vb. “change” (intransitive), only attested in the past tense: qq:ahyane(PM:395)
; ai! : interjection “Ah!”, “Alas!” (Nam, RGEO:66; also twice in Narqelion, untranslated.) In one (abandoned) version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien may seem to use ai as a vocative particle: ai Ataremma ?”o our Father“ (VT43:10, 13)
; aia : interjection “hail”, variant of aiya(VT43:28)
; aian : noun “a holy thing or object or place”, later form of áyan(PE17:149)
; aica (1) : (“k”) adj. “sharp” (AYAK) or “fell, terrible, dire” (PM:347; according to PM:363 seldom applied to evil things). In Aicanáro, q.v.
; aica (2) : (“k”) adj. “broad, vast” (LT2:338 - this early “Qenya” form is probably obsoleted by # 1 above)
; aicale : (“k”)noun “a peak” (AYAK)
; Aicanáro // masc. name “Sharp Flame, Fell Fire”; Sindarized as Aegnor. (So in SA:nár and PM:345; MR:323 has Aicanár. VT41:14, 19 instead gives Ecyanáro as the Q form of Aegnor.)
adj “holy” (AYAN), derived from Ainu. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. According to VT43:32, the word is “obsolete, except in Ainur”, apparently suggesting that aire or airea (q.v.) was the normal term for “holy” in later Quenya. However, Tolkien repeatedly used aina in his translation of the Litany of Loreto: Aina Faire “Holy Spirit”, Aina Neldie “Holy Trinity”, Aina Maria “Holy Mary”, Aina Wende “Holy Virgin”. He also used Aina Eruontari for “holy Mother” in his rendering of the Sub Tuum Praesidium(WJ:399, FS, SA, VT43:32, VT44:5, 12, 17-18)
noun “god”, within Tolkien's mythos a synonym of Ainu (but since qq: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)
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). Ainulindalenoun “Music of the Ainur” (SA:lin #2), the First History (WJ:406), the Song of Creation (AYAN)
(“q”)adj. “steep” (AYAK). Not to be confused with the pronoun *aiqua “if anything, whatever” that post-Tolkien writers have extrapolated from aiquen (q.v.) on the basis of such pairs as ilquen vs. ilqua (q.v.)
adj. “holy”, #Airefea “the Holy Spirit” (VT43:37, dative airefean on the previous page), airetári or Aire Tári “holy queen” (a title of Varda, PM:363), genitive aire-tário “holy-queen's” (Nam, RGEO:67). However, according to PM:363, aire is the noun “sanctity”, while aira is the adjective “holy”. VT43:14 refers to an etymological note of “Sept.-Oct. 1957” where aire is said to be a noun “sanctity, holiness”, and the adjective “holy” is given as airea. However, the verb #airita- “hallow” seems to be formed from an adjective aire, airi- “holy”. Evidently aire can function as both adjective (“holy”) and noun (“holiness”); if so aire as adj. could represent a primitive adjective *gaisi, whereas aire as noun may descend from *gaisē. The former but not the latter would have the stem airi- (as observed in the derived verb #airita-), and compounds like airetári (rather than *airitári) would seem to contain properly the noun “holiness”.
noun “sea” (the form airen is given, intended as a genitive singular when Tolkien wrote this; in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be a dative sg.) (AYAR/AIR; cf. airon)
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)
vb.“thrive” (GALA; the 'simply indicates that the original initial G has disappeared and needs not normally be included, PE17:100) Other sources hint at the meaning “grow” (cf. the root GAL meaning “grow, be healthy; to grow [like a plant]”, PE17:153). Compare ala- #4 and #alála- (and cf. ol-).
, #ála (1) imperative particle á, a combined with the negation lá, -la “not” to express a prohibition (VT43:22; see lá #1). Also with 1st person suffix -lye (qq:alalye and álalye, VT43:10, 22, VT44:8) and 1st person pl. object suffix -me (qq:alame and álame, “do not [do something to] us”, as in ála<u>me</u> tulya, “do not lead <u>us</u>”, VT43:12, 22). In the essay Quendi and Eldar, negative imperatives are rather indicated by áva, q.v., but this form can well coexist with qq:ala, #ála.
negative prefix “not”, “un-”, reduced to al- before a vowel (VT42:33, GALA, VT45:25), though the example Alcorin would suggest that al- can sometimes appear before a consonant as well. In a deleted entry in Etym, al(a)- was defined as “not” and said to be a “pure negative” (VT45:5). In alahasta, Alamanyar, alasaila, Alcorin.
, also al-, a prefix expressing “good” or “well” (PE17:146), as in alaquenta (q.v.) Whether Tolkien imagined this ending to coexist with the negative prefix of the same form (#2 above) is unclear and perhaps dubious.
vb. “plant, grow” (the first gloss would suggest that the following one is transitive: to “grow” plants) (PE17:100). Compare al- “thrive, *grow” (which however seems intransitive).
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).]
, untranslated word heading a section of the poem The Trees of Kortirion and also occurring in the poem itself (LT1:39, 41), perhaps *“land (nóre) [of] elms (alalmi)”.
alcantaméren //vb. “made it shine” (with a fem.pl. subject; the ending -ren probably means “they” of women, but the ending does not have to be translated here) (MC:216; this is “Qenya”)
; alcar : (so spelt in CO, VT43:37-38, and VT44:32/34; otherwise “alkar”)noun “glory, radiance, brilliance, splendour” (WJ:369, CO, VT43:37-38, VT47:13, AKLA-R; the latter source also lists an alternative longer form alcare, also occurring in VT44:7/10) – Compare Alcarin, Atanalcar.
; alcarin : adj. “glorious, brilliant” (shorter form of qq:alcarinqua, q.v.) (PE17:24), hence Alcarin masc. name (or title) “the Glorious”, title taken by Atanatar II of Gondor, also name of one of the Kings of Númenor (Appendix A).
; alcarinqua : adj. “radiant, glorious” (AKLA-R [there spelt “alkarinqa”], WJ:412, VT44:7/10), “glorious, brilliant” (PE17:24), noun Alcarinque, “The Glorious”, name of a star/planet (SA:aglar - there spelt “Alkarinque”, but the Silmarillion Index has “Alcarinque”. The celestial body in question seems to be Jupiter, MR:435). Cf. also Alcarin, q.v.
; alcarain : (“k”)adj.? “shining” (pl - sg *alcara?) (MC:221; this is “Qenya”)
; alcarissen //noun “in light-rays” (a “Qenya” form from MC:221; alcar means “glory” in Tolkien's later Quenya)
noun “tree” (GALAD, GÁLAD, SA, Nam, RGEO:66, LR:41, SD:302, LT1:249, LT2:340, VT39:7), also name of tengwa #28 (Appendix E). Pl. aldar in Narqelion; gen. pl. aldaron “of trees” in Namárie. Etymology of alda, see Letters:426 and UT:266-7. The latter source states that primitive ¤galadā, whence Quenya alda, originally applied to stouter and more spreading trees such as oaks or beeches, while straighter and more slender trees such as birches were called ¤ornē, Quenya orne - but this distinction was not always observed in Quenya, and it seems that alda became the general word. According to PE17:25, primitive galada (sic) referred to “a plant (large) and was a general term”. Place-name Aldalóme “”tree-night” or “tree-shade-night” (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in PE17:82); Aldarion masc. name, *”Son of (the) Trees“ (Appendix A), Tar-Aldarion a Númenorean King (UT:210). Aldaron a name of Orome (Silm); aldinga “tree-top” (VT47:28), aldarembina (pl. aldarembine attested) adj. “tree-tangled”, the cognate of Sindarin galadhremmin(PM:17:26).Aldúya fourth day of the Eldarin six-day week, dedicated to the Trees (Appendix D). The word seems to include *Aldu, a dual form referring to the Two Trees. The Númenóreans altered the name to Aldea (presumably < *aldajā), referring to one tree (the White) only. The dual Aldu seems to occur also in Aldudénie “Lament for the Two Trees” (a strange word, since Quenya does not permit intervocalic d as in this word – perhaps the Vanyarin dialect of Quenya did) (Silm)
noun,what the Númenóreans called the fourth day of the Eldarin six-day week, dedicated to Telperion, the White Tree (Appendix D). The day was originally called Aldúya, referring to both of the Two Trees, but Númenóreans altered the name to Aldea (presumably < *aldajā), referring to one tree (the White) only. (Appendix D) – Early “Qenya” also has an adjective aldea “tree-shadowed” (LT1:249).
alla! interjection “hail, blessed be (thou)”. (VT45:5, 14)] PE17:146 cites alla “hail, welcome” as a variant (occurring within the imaginary world) of aiya.
noun “good fortune, weal, wealth”. In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses were “riches, (good) fortune, blessedness”; in another deleted entry, Tolkien provided the glosses “growth” and maybe “increase” (reading uncertain), also “good fortune, riches” (GALA [ALAM], VT45:5, 13, 14)
“flower” (PE17:153), said to be the “usual Quenya word” or “general Quenya word” (i.e. for flower), but its coexistence with #1 is problematic. Compare lós, lóte, lotse, indil.
noun “blessedness, 'blessings', good fortune, bliss”. In deleted entries in Etym, the glosses provided were “blessedness, prosperity, bliss” (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
adj. “blessed”. In a deleted entry in Etym, the gloss provided was “bless”, but this would seem to be a mistake, since the word does not look like a verb. Another deleted entry agrees with the retained entry GALA that almárea means “blessed” (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
noun “swan” (ÁLAK [there spelt alqa, as in LT1:249/LT2:335], SA:alqua, UT:265, VT42:7). The alternative form alque(“q”) mentioned in early material (LT1:249) may or may not be valid in LotR-style Quenya.
fem. name “Galadriel”, “maiden crowned with a radiant garland” (SA:kal; the form Alatáriel is Telerin; see PM:347) Stem Altariell- seen in the genitive Altariello, occurring in the superscript of the Tengwar transcription of Namárie in RGEO.
adj. “fair, good” (PE17:146), “prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed” (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were “rich, blessed”; another deleted entry defined alya as “rich, prosperous, blessed”. (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)
“brightest of stars” (PE17:91). Originally identical with #1 above. The form am- as such is in late Quenya only used before p and (presumably) before vowels; the longer form ama- came to be preferred before r and l; before other consonants, the prefix assumes the form an- (pronounced, but not in Romanized Quenya orthography written, añ- before c) (PE17:90-92). Phonologically we would expect am- before y- (since my is an acceptable Quenya combination); however, Tolkien used an- in the word anyára (q.v.) See an- #2 and compare ar- #2.
adj. “blessed, free from evil”. Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:399), though in other versions Tolkien cited an Elvish etymology (cf. VT49:26-27). Place-name Aman the Blessed Realm, from the stem mān- “good, blessed, unmarred” (SA:mān), translated “Unmarred State” (VT49:26). Allative Amanna(VT49:26). Adj. amanya “of Aman, *Amanian” (WJ:411), nominal pl. Amanyar “those of Aman”, Elves dwelling there (with negations Úamanyar, Alamanyar “those not of Aman”). Also fuller Amaneldinoun *”Aman-elves“ (WJ:373).Masc. name Amandil *”Aman-friend“ (Appendix A, SA:mān), the father of Elendil; also name of the Númenorean king Tar-Amandil(UT:210).
noun “uprising-flower”, referring to “the flower or floreate device used as a crest fixed to point of a tall [illegible word: ?archaic] helmet”. Curiously, the word is asterisked as unattested (WJ:319)
(“a-mbar”) noun “oikumenē [Greek: the earth as the human habitation], Earth, world” (MBAR), stem ambar- (PE17:66), related to and associated with mar “home, dwelling” (VT45:33); in VT46:13 the latter glosses are possibly also ascribed to the word ambar itself (the wording is not clear). The form ambaren also listed in the Etymologies was presumably intended as the genitive singular at the time of writing (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular); in the printed version in LR, the misreading “ambaron” appears (see VT45:33). Ambar-mettanoun “the end of the world” (EO); spelt ambarmetta in VT44:36. The element #umbar in Tarumbar “King of the World” (q.v.) would seem to be a variant of ambar, just like ambar #2 “doom” also alternates with umbar (see below).
noun “fate, doom” (variant of umbar?) in Turambar(SA:amarth); stem ambart- (PE17:66), instrumental ambartanen “by doom” (Silm ch. 21, UT:138, PE17:66). The early “Qenya” lexicon has ambar “Fate”, also amarto(LT2:348)
noun “”breast” (chest), with stem in -s- or -r- (QL:30). The form ambar, translated “in bosom”, occurs in MC:213 (this is “Qenya”). Note: if this word were to be adapted to LotR-style Quenya, we should probably have to read *ambas with stem ambar-; compare olos, olor- “dream” from a late source. However, the form ambos (q.v.) is less ambiguous and may be preferred.
, older [MET] Ambarendya place-name “Middle-earth” (but the more usual word is Endor, Endóre) (MBAR)
ambaronnoun “uprising, sunrise, Orient” (AM2). - In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the form ambaron also appears in the entry MBAR, but according to VT45:33 this is an error for ambaren, apparently intended as the genitive singular of ambar (in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the dative singular).
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.
noun “mother” (AM1), also emil (q.v.) Longer variant amille(VT44:18-19), compounded Eruamille “Mother of God” in Tolkien's translation of the Hail Mary (VT43:32). If amil is a shortened form of amille, it should probably have the stem-form amill-. Also compare amilye, amya, emya. Compounded amil- in amilessenoun “mothername” (cf. esse “name”), name given to a child by its mother, sometimes with prophetic implications (amilessi tercenye “mother-names of insight”). (MR:217).
or milye (cited as (a)milye), noun “mummy”, also used as a play-name of the index finger, but Tolkien emended it to emme, emya. (VT48:4) In its basic sense, (a)milye would be a variant of amil, amille “mother”, q.v.
noun “building” (especially of wood), “wooden hall” (PAN; alternative form umpano, VT45:36, which Tolkien in one case altered to ampano, VT46:8). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, ampano was also the name of tengwa #6 (VT46:8), which letter Tolkien would later call umbar instead (changing its value from mp to mb).
conj. and prep. “for” (Nam, RGEO:66), an cé mo querne… “for if one turned…” (VT49:8), also used adverbially in the formula an + a noun to express “one more” (of the thing concerned: an quetta “a word more”, PE17:91). The an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! “the Eagles of the Lords are at hand” (SD:290) however seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana “to, towards” (NĀ1). The phrase an i falmalī (PE17:127) is not clearly translated but seems to be a paraphrase of the word falmalinnar “upon the foaming waves” (Nam), suggesting that an can be used as a paraphrase of the allative ending (and if falmalī is seen as a Book Quenya accusative form because of the long final vowel, this is evidence that an governs the accusative case). In the “Arctic” sentence, an is translated “until”. Regarding an as used in Namárie, various sources indicate that it means an “moreover, further(more), to proceed” (VT49:18-19) or (“properly”) “further, plus, in addition” (PE17:69, 90). According to one late source (ca. 1966 or later), an “is very frequently used after a ‘full stop’, when an account or description is confirmed after a pause. So in Galadriel’s Elvish lament […]: An sí Tintalle, etc. [= For now the Kindler, etc…] This is translated by me ‘for’, side an is (as here) often in fact used when the additional matter provides an explanation of or reason for what has already been said”. Related is the use of an + noun to express “one more”; here an is presumably accented, something the word would not normally be when used as a conjunction or preposition.
“most bright” (cf. calima “bright”), antara “very high, very lofty” and #anyára *”very old“ or *”oldest“ (the latter form occurring in the so-called Elaine inscription [VT49:40], there with the dative ending -n). Assimilated to am- before p-, as in amparca(“k”) “very dry”, and to al-, ar-, as- before words in l-, r-, s- (though Tolkien seems to indicate that before words in l- derived from earlier d, the original quality of the consonant would be preserved so that forms in and- rather than all- would result). See also un-. (Letters:279, VT45:5, 36) Regarding the form of the superlative prefix before certain consonants, another, partially discrepant system was also set down in the Etymologies and first published in VT45:36. The prefix was to appear as um- or un- before labialized consonants like p-, qu-, v- (the consonant v preserving its ancient pronunciation b- following the prefix, thus producing a word in umb-), as in- (technically iñ-) before c- and g- (the latter presumably referring to words that originally had initial g-, later lost in Quenya but evidently preserved following this prefix), and as an- otherwise. However, this system would contradict the canonical example ancalima, which would have been *incalima if Tolkien had maintained this idea. – In a post-LotR source, the basic form of the prefix is given as am- instead (see am- #2). In this late conception, the prefix still appears as an- before most consonants, but as ama- before r, l, and the form an- is used even before s- (whether original or from þ), not the assimilated variant as- described above. General principles would suggest that the form am- should also appear before y- (so the form #anyára probably presupposes an- rather than am- as the basic form of the prefix, Tolkien revisiting the earlier concept in the Elaine inscription). (PE17:92)
prep. “to” (VT49:35), “as preposition ana is used when purely dative formula is required” (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that the preposition ana can be used instead of the dative ending -n (#1, q.v.) Also as prefix: ana- “to, towards” (NĀ1); an (q.v.) is used with this meaning in one source (PE17:127)
noun in genitive “of doom” in Rithil-Anamo “Ring of Doom” (q.v.) Since the reference is to a place (a circle) where judgement was passed, this seems to be “doom” in the sense of “juridical decision” or ”(legal) justice“. The nominative “doom” may be *anan, with stem anam- (since the root would be NAM as in nam- “to judge”, námo noun “judge”). Alternatively, but less probably, the nominative may be *anama.
noun “Sun” (ANÁR, NAR1, SA:nár; UT:22 cf. 51); anar “a sun” (Markirya); Anarinya “my Sun” (FS). See also ceuranar, Úr-anar. (According to VT45:6, Tolkien in the Etymologies mentioned anar “sun” as the name of the short vowel carrier of the Tengwar writing system; it would be the first letter if anar is written in Quenya mode Tengwar.) Compounded in the masc. name Anárion *”Sun-son“ (Isildur's brother, also the Númenorean king Tar-Anárion, UT:210); also in Anardil *”Sun-friend“ (Appendix A), a name also occurring in the form Anardilya with a suffix of endearment (UT:174, 418). Anaryanoun second day of the Eldarin six-day week, dedicated to the Sun (Appendix D). Anarríma name of a constellation: *”Sun-border“??? (Silm; cf. ríma)
noun “petition” (isolated from qq:anarcandemman, “our petitions”, possibly an error for *qq:anarcandemmar) (VT44:8); Tolkien seems to have abandoned this word in favour of #arcande, q.v.
noun “jaws, row of teeth” (ÁNAK [there spelt anca in Etym as printed in LR, but according to VT45:5, Tolkien's own spelling in the Etym manuscript was anka], NAK [there spelt anka], Appendix E, SA - despite what Christopher Tolkien says in the entry anca in SA, the Quenya word anca as such does NOT appear in the Sindarin dragon-name Ancalagon, but its Sindarin cognate anc does. See ÁNAK in the Etymologies.) Also name of tengwa #15 (Appendix E). Despite its English gloss, anca is a singular word (in Etym the gloss is indeed “jaw”, not “jaws”).
noun(“k”) “radiant one” or “radiance” = Sun (KAL, VT45:5, 18). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, Ancale was the name of letter #7 (VT45:18), which tengwa Tolkien would later call anga instead – changing its Quenya value from nc to ng. - Another source (VT45:36) cites the word for “radiance, Sun” as incale(“k”), but the form Ancale is probably to be preferred.
adj. “most bright, brightest”, sc. calima “bright” with a superlative or intensive prefix (LotR2:IV ch. 9; see Letters:385 for translation). Ancalima imbi eleni “brightest among stars”, also [ancalima] imb' illi “brightest among all” (VT47:30). Fem. name Ancalime, *”Most Bright One“, also masc. Ancalimon(Appendix A). Tar-Ancalime, a Númenorean Queen (UT:210)
adj. “long” (ÁNAD/ANDA), “far” (PE17:90).In Andafangarnoun “Longbeards”, one of the tribes of the Dwarves (= Khuzdul Sigin-tarâg and Sindarin Anfangrim) (PM:320). Compare Andafalasse, #qq:andamacil, qq:andamunda, qq:andanéya, qq:andatehta, Anduine. – Apparently derived from the adj. qq:anda is qq:andave “long” as adverb (“at great length”, PE17:102), suggesting that the ending -ve can be used to derive adverbs from adjectives (LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308)
noun “gate”, also name of tengwa #5 (AD, Appendix E). A deleted entry in the Etymologies gave Ando Lómen, evidently “Door of Night” (VT45:28; notice “Qenya” genitive in -n rather than -o as in LotR-style Quenya)
noun “sunset, west, evening” (NDŪ, Markirya, SA), also in Namárie: Andúne “West” (but the standard Quenya translation of “west” is Númen) (Nam, RGEO:66) Cf. andu- in Andúnie, Andúril.
noun “iron”, also name of tengwa #7 (ANGĀ, Appendix E, SA, PM:347, LT1:249, 268). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, anga was the name of letter #19, which tengwa Tolkien would later call noldo instead (VT45:6). Masc. names Angamaite “Iron-handed” (Letters:347), Angaráto “Iron-champion”, Sindarin Angrod(SA:ar(a) ). See also Angamando, tornanga and cf. Angainor as the name of the chain with which Melkor was bound (Silm)
place-name “Iron-gaol”, Sindarin Angband(MR:350). The Etymologies gives Angamanda “Angband, Hell”, lit. “Iron-prison” (MBAD, VT45:33). In deleted material in the Etymologies, the Quenya name of Angband was Angavanda(VT45:6); cf. vanda #2. Older “Qenya” has Angamandu “Hells of Iron” (or pl. Angamandi) (LT1:249).
noun “gift” (ANA1, SA), “a thing handed, brought or sent to a person” (PE17:125), also name of tengwa #23 (Appendix E); pl. annar “gifts” in Fíriel's Song. Masc. name Annatar “Lord of Gifts, *Gift-lord”, name assumed by Sauron when he tried to seduce the Eldar in the Second Age (SA:tar). Eruannanoun “God-gift”, gift of God, i.e. “grace” (VT43:38)
vb. “give” (ANA1, MC:215, 221), pa.t. antane (antanen “I gave”, VT49:14) or †áne, perfect ánie(PE17:147, cf. QL:31). According to VT49:14, Tolkien noted that anta- was sometimes often with an “ironic tone” to refer to missiles, so that antanen hatal sena “I gave him a spear (as a present)” was often used with the real sense of “I cast a spear at him”. Usually the recipient of the thing given is mentioned in the dative or allative case (like sena in this example), but there is also a construction similar to English “present someone with something” in which the recipient is the object and the gift appears in the instrumental case: antanenyes parmanen, “I presented him with a book” (PE17:91). – The verb occurs several times in FS: antalto“they gave”; strangely, no past tense marker seems to be present (see -lto for the ending); antar a pl. verb translated “they gave”, though in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be the present tense “give” (pl.); antaróta “he gave it” (anta-ró-ta “gave-he-it”), another verb occurring in Fíriel's Song, once again with no past tense marker. Also antáva “will give”, future tense of anta- “give”; read perhaps *antuva in LotR-style Quenya; similarly antaváro “he will give” (LR:63) might later have appeared as *antuvas (with the ending -s rather than “Qenya” -ro for “he”). Antale imperative “give thou” (VT43:17), sc. anta “give” + the element le “thou”, but this was a form Tolkien abandoned. Apparently ana was at one point considered as another imperative “give”, but Tolkien rewrote the text in question (VT44:13), and the normal patterns would suggest *á anta with an independent imperative particle.
adj. “very high, very lofty”, the adjective tára “lofty” with the superlative prefix an- (q.v.) We might have expected *antára. Also place-name Antaro(VT45:5, 36), said to be the “name of a mountain in Valinor south of Taniq[u]etil” (VT46:17)
noun “strengthening”, used of various manipulations of a stem, such as lengthening vowels or consonants or turning a consonant or a vowel into a “blend” (see ostime) (VT39:9)
vb. “hath returned” in the phrase I.cal' antúlien(“k”)“Light hath returned” (LT1:270); note the “Qenya” third person ending -n. In LotR-style Quenya this would perhaps read *i cál' enutúlie or *i cala enutúlie.
prep. “after” (VT44:36), attested as a prefix in apacenye and Apanónar, q.v. Variant ep- in epesse, q.v.; see epe for futher discussion. (According to VT44:36, apa was glossed “after” and also “before” in one late manuscript, but both meanings were rejected.) See also apa # 2 below. For Neo-Quenya purposes, apa should probably be ascribed the meaning “after”, as in our most widely-published sources (compare Apanónar, “the After-born”, as a name of Men in the Silmarillion). Variants pa, pá(VT44:36), but like apa these are also ascribed other meanings elsewhere; see separate entry. Apo(VT44:36) may be yet another variant of the word for “after”.
prep. denoting “on” with reference to contact of surfaces, especially vertical surface (in the sense in which a picture hangs on a wall). Apa is said to have this meaning in various Tolkien manuscripts (VT44:26), but apa is also used for “after” (see apa #1 above), and the two were probably never meant to coexist in a single variant of Quenya. The clash may be avoided by consistently using the variants pá, pa (q.v.) mentioned by Tolkien in the sense of apa #2. Another variant gives apa, pá “on (above but touching)” (VT49:18).
is translated “foresight” in MR:216; yet the context and the form of the word itself clearly indicates that it is not a noun but actually the pl. form of an adjective *apacenya “of foresight”. The noun “foresight” is almost certainly *apacen; cf. tercen “insight”. (MR:216) The literal meaning of *apacen is *”aftersight“, sc. knowledge of that which comes after. [Essi] apacenye ”[names] of foresight“, prophetic names given to a child by its mother (MR:216)
- vb. “remit, release, forgive” (VT43:18, 20; it is unclear whether the final -e is somehow part of the verbal stem or is just the final form of the ending -i associated with the aorist, so that “I forgive” would be *apsenin). Where Tolkien used qq:apsene-, he cited the person(s) forgiven in the dative (á<u>men</u> qq:apsene “forgive us”, literally ”<u>for us</u>“), whereas the matter that is forgiven appears as a direct object (VT43:12). Compare avatyar-.
conj. “and” (AR2, SA, FS, Nam, RGEO:67, CO, LR:47, 56, MC:216, VT43:31, VT44:10, 34; see VT47:31 for etymology, cf. also VT49:25, 40). The older form of the conjunction was az(PE17:41). Ar is often assimilated to al, as before l, s (PE17:41, 71), but “in written Quenya ar was usually written in all cases” (PE17:71). In one case, Tolkien altered the phrase ar larmar “and raiments” to al larmar; the former may then be seen as representing the spelling, whereas the latter represents the pronunciation(PE17:175). More complex schemes of assimilation are suggested to have existed in “Old Quenya”, the conjunction varying between ar, a and as depending on the following consonant (PE17:41, 71). An alternative longer form of the conjunction, are, is said to occur “occasionally in Tolkien's later writings” (VT43:31, cf. VT48:14). In the Etymologies, the word for “and” was first written as ar(a) (VT45:6). – In one source, Tolkien notes that Quenya used ar “as preposition beside, next, or as adverb = and” (PE17:145); compare ara.
, occurring in the names of the Valinorean week listed below. Tolkien indicated that ar in these names could also be are when the following element begins in a consonant (VT45:27). Usually the word for “day” in LotR-style Quenya is rather aure (or ré), q.v.
-, prefix for superlative (compare arya #1, 2), hence arcalima “brightest”, arimelda *”dearest” (PE17:56-57). In the grammar described in the source, this prefix was to express superlative as the highest degree (in actual comparison), whereas the alternative prefix an- rather expressed “very” or “exceedingly” with a more purely augmentative or adverbial force, but these distinctions do not seem to have been clearly present at all stages of Tolkien’s work. See an- #2, am- #2.
noun “dawn” (AR1). According to VT45:6, ára is also the name of the long vowel carrier of the Tengwar system; it would be the first letter of the word ára if spelt in Tengwar.
prep.(and adv.?) “outside, beside, besides” (AR2, VT49:57). According to VT45:6, the original glosses were “without, outside, beside”, but Tolkien emended this. Arse “he is out”, VT49:23, 35, 36. As for ar(a), see ar #1. – VT49:25 lists what seems to be ar(a) combined with various pronominal suffixes: Singular anni > arni *”beside me”, astye *“beside you” (informal), alle *“besides you” (formal), arse *”beside him/her”, plural anwe > arme *“beside us” (exclusive), arwe *“beside us” (inclusive), aste > arde *“beside you” (plural), aste > arte *“beside them”; dual anwet > armet *“beside us (two)”. (Here Tolkien presupposes that ara represents original ada-.) The same source lists the unglossed forms ari, arin that may combine the preposition with the article, hence *“beside the” (VT49:24-25)
-, ar- a prefixed form of the stem Ara- “noble” (PM:344). In the masc. names Aracáno “high chieftain”, mothername (amilesse, q.v.) of Fingolfin (PM:360, cf. 344), Arafinwe “Finarfin” (MR:230)
noun “king”; pl. arani (WJ:369, VT45:16, PE17:186); gen.pl. aranion “of kings” in asea aranion, q.v.; aranya *”my king“ (aran + nya) (UT:193). Aran Meletyalda “king your mighty” = “your majesty” (WJ:369); aran Ondóreo, “a king of Gondor” (VT49:27). Also in arandil “king's friend, royalist”, arandur “king's servant, minister” (Letters:386); Arantar masc. name, *”King-Lord“ (Appendix A); Arandor “Kingsland” region in Númenor (UT:165); the long form Arandóre appears as a name of Arnor in PE17:28 (elsewhere Arnanóre, q.v.) Othercompounds ingaran, Noldóran, Núaran, q.v.
adj. “high, lofty, noble” (PE17:49, 186). Also used as a a noun with nominal pl. form Aratar “the Supreme”, the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya “her sublimity”; Varda Aratarya “Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity” (WJ:369). In one source, Aratar is translated as a singular: “High One” (PE17:186)
noun “a noble” (PE17:147), in PE17:118 given as aratō and there glossed “lord” (often = “king”). Cf. aráto. The form cited in the latter source, aratō with a long final vowel, is evidently very archaic (compare Enderō under Ender); later the vowel would become short. (PE17:118)
noun “realm” (GAR under 3AR). It is said that arda, when used as a common noun, “meant any more or less bounded or defined place, a region” (WJ:402), or “a particular land or region” (WJ:413). Capitalized Arda “the Realm”, name of the Earth as the kingdom of Manwe (Silm), “the name given to our world or earth…within the immensity of Eä”(Letters:283, there again rendered “realm”), “our planet” (MR:39), once translated “Earth” (SD:246). In a wider sense, Arda can refer to the entire Solar System (MR:337). Also name of tengwa #26 (Appendix E). Masc. name Ardamíre “Jewel of the World” (PM:348), shorter form Ardamir(UT:210); Ardaranye “the Kingdom of Arda” (PE17:105)
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 áze; when /z/ merged with /r/, the letter became superfluous and was given the new value ss, hence it was re-named esse(Appendix E). Also áre nuquerna *”áre reversed“, name of tengwa #32, similar to normal áre but turned upside down (Appendix E). See also ilyázea, ilyárea under ilya. – In the Etymologies, this word has a short initial vowel: are pl. ari (AR1)
adj. “in control of, possessing” (followed by genitive, e.g. *arwa collo, “having a cloak [colla]”). Also suffix -arwa“having”, as in aldarwa “having trees, tree-grown” (3AR). In a deleted entry in the Etymologies, -arwa was glossed “having, possessing, holding, controlling” (VT45:14)
adj. “excelling”, used as the comparative form of mára “good”, hence *“better” (PE17:57). The superlative (*“best”) is i arya with the article, with genitive to express *“the best of…” Cf. mára.
noun “twelve hours, day” (AR1; compare aure). In deleted notes this word was also used as an adjective: “of the day, light” (VT45:6). Still according to VT45:6, arya is also the name of Tengwa #26 in the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, but Tolkien would later call #26 arda instead (indeed arya was changed from arda in the source; Tolkien would later change his mind back again). The abandoned name arya suggests that the letter was to have the value ry (rather than rd as in the classical system outlined in LotR Appendix E). – Since the word for “day” (daylight period) is given as aure in later sources, and arya is assigned other meanings in late material (see #1, 2 above), the conceptual validity of arya “day” is questionable.<font size=“1” style=“font-size: 1pt”>%
noun “heir” (GAR under 3AR). In a deleted entry in the Etymologies, the word was given as aryo, aryon and defined as “son of property = heir” (VT45:14), whereas in VT45:16 (reproducing deleted material from the Etymologies), the word is defined as “heir, prince”. Alternative form haryon.
, qq:asambaronoun “neighbour”; also armaro (VT48:20). Since the ending -o is associated with the masculine gender, the form qq:asambar may be gender-neutral whereas the other forms are gender-marked as masculine.
asea 1) adj. “beneficial, helpful, kindly” (so according to a late note where the word is derived from *ATHAYA); hence also: 2) asea (þ) noun,name of the healing plant called in Sindarin athelas(PE17:148), in English (representing Westron) called “kingsfoil”, cf. longer Quenya name qq:aseaaranion (þ) ”asea of kings” (LotR3:V ch. 8). Cf. aran.
noun “month”, a division of the year (VT42:20). Pl. astar is attested (Appendix D). According to VT48:11, the basic meaning of asta is “division, a part”, especially one of other equal parts: “of the year, a month or period”. According to VT48:19, asta is also used in Quenya as a group suffix (see quentasta).
noun “dust” (ÁS-AT). According to VT45:6, asto was the name of tengwa #13 in the pre-classical system presupposed in the Etymologies, but Tolkien would later change the name of this letter to anto (its Quenya value changing from st to nt).
adv. “again”, also prefix ata-, at- “back, again, re-; second time, double” (AT(AT), PE17:166, cf. ataquanta-, ataquetie) or “two” (PE17:166), also “ambi-“ as in ataformaite, q.v.
noun “downfall, overthrow, especially as name [Atalante] of the [downfallen] land of Númenor” (DAT/DANT, TALÁT, Akallabêth, SD:247, 310; also LR:47, VT45:26). Variant atalantie “Downfall”, said to be a normal noun-formation in Quenya (Letters:347, footnote). From the common noun atalante “collapse, downfall” is derived the adj. atalantea “ruinous, downfallen”, pl. atalantie in Markirya (changed to sg. atalantea – this change does not make immediate sense, since the adjective undoubtedly modifies a plural noun, but Tolkien does not always let adjectives agree in number).
pl. Ataninoun “the Second Folk”, an Elvish name of Mortal Men, the Second-born of Ilúvatar. Cf. also Núnatani(WJ:386), Hróatani(PE17:18), q.v. Atanalcar masc. name, *“Man-glory” (UT:210, cf. alcar). Atanamir masc.name, *“Edain-jewel”? (Appendix A). Atanatar masc. name, “Father of Men” (Appendix A), also common noun atanatar, pl. Atanatári, “Fathers of Men”, a title that “properly belonged only to the leaders and chieftains of the peoples at the time of their entry into Beleriand” (PM:324, SA:atar)
- vb. “refall, fall second time, double fall” (sic in PE17:166). The correct gloss must be “refill, fill second time, double fill”, which would connect with the verb quanta- “fill” and also make rather better sense.
noun “father” (SA; WJ:402, UT:193, LT1:255, VT43:37, VT44:12). According to the Etymologies (ATA) the pl. is atari, but contrast #atári in Atanatári “Fathers of Men” (q.v.); possibly the word behaves differently when compounded. Atarinya “my father” (LR:70), atar(inya) the form a child would use addressing his or her father, also reduced to atya(VT47:26). Diminutive masc. name Atarince (“k”) “Little father”, amilesse (never used in narrative) of Curufinwe = Curufin (PM:353). Átaremma, Ataremma “our Father” as the first word of the Quenya translation of the Lord's Prayer, written before Tolkien changed -mm- as the marker of 1st person pl. exclusive to -lm-; notice -e- as a connecting vowel before the ending -mma “our”. In some versions of the Lord's Prayer, including the final version, the initial a of atar “father” is lengthened, producing #átar. This may be a contraction of *a atar “o Father”, or the vowel may be lengthened to give special emphasis to #Átar “Father” as a religious title (VT43:13). However, in VT44:12 Atar is also a vocative form referring to God, and yet the initial vowel remains short.
dative (?) pron. “for us” (VT44:18; Tolkien apparently considered dropping this curious form, which in another text was replaced by rá men, rámen; see rá #1)
, also taryo (cited as (a)taryo), noun “daddy”, also used as a name for the thumb in children's play, but Tolkien emended it to atto/atya(VT48:4). Compare atar “father”.
noun “double-middle”, name of the two enderi or middle-days that occurred in leap-years according to the calendar of Imladris (Appendix D, first edition of LotR)
cardinal “two” (AT(AT), Letters:427, VT42:26, 27, VT48:6, 19). Elen atta “two stars” (VT49:44); notice how a noun is indeclinable before this numeral, and any case endings are “singular” and added to the numeral rather than the noun, e.g. genitive elen atto “of two stars” (VT49:45). Attalyar “Bipeds” (sg. *Attalya) = Petty-dwarves (from Sindarin Tad-dail) (WJ:389). – A word atta “again” was struck out; see the entry TAT in Etym and cf. ata in this list.
noun “father, daddy” (hypocoristic)(ATA, LR:49), supposedly a word in “actual 'family' use” (VT47:26), also used in children's play for “thumb” and “big toe” (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6). The dual form attat listed in VT48:19 seems to be formed from the alternative form atta, though attat was changed by Tolkien from attot. - Compare atya.
noun “daddy”, supposedly a word in “actual 'family' use” (VT47:26, PE17:170), also used in children's play for “thumb” and “big toe” (VT47:10, 26, VT48:4, 6); reduction of at(an)ya “my father” (or, as explained in VT48:19, reduction of at-nya of similar meaning). Compare atto.
a verbal prefix “off, *away”, as in auciri(“k”) “cut off” (so as to get rid of or lose a portion); contrast hóciri (WJ:366, 368). Compare au as a variant of the stem awa “away from” (VT49:24) and the adverb au (see #2 below).
noun “invention” (GAWA/GOWO); evidently connected to or associated with Aule, name of the Vala of craft (GAWA/GOWO, TAN), spouse of Yavanna; the name is adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:399)
masc. name “Servant of Aule”, applied especially to those persons, or families, among the Noldor who actually entered Aule's service and in return received instruction from him (PM:366)
Auleonnarnoun “Children of Aule”, a name of the Dwarves (PM:391). See onna.
noun “sunlight, day” (SA:ur), “day (of light), a day of special meaning or festival” (VT49:45). locative auresse “in (the) morning” in Markirya, allative aurenna *”on the day” (VT49:43-45). Also compare amaurea.
Aurelnoun “Elf who departed from Beleriand to Aman” (while the Sindar stayed there) (WJ:363). Also Oarel, q.v. Earlier Auzel.
ausanoun “a dim shape, spectral or vague apparition” (VT42:10, cf. 9). Compare faire.
vb. “go away, leave” (leave the point of the speaker's thought); old “strong” past tense anwe, usually replaced by váne, perfect avánie – but when the meaning is purely physical “went away (to another place)” rather than “disappear”, the past tense oante, perfect oantie was used. Past participle vanwa “gone, lost, no longer to be had, vanished, departed, dead, past and over” (WJ:366)
vb. “invent, originate, devise” (GAWA/GOWO) This could be obsoleted by # 1 above; on the other hand, the verbs would be quite distinct in the past tense, where auta- #2 would likely have the straightforward form *autane.
“he departs”, read “I depart” in LotR-style Quenya), pa.t. ambe(QL:33). The word may perhaps be used to translate “leave” with a direct object, since “depart” is at least vaguely transitive in English.
, avá (the latter stressed on the final syllable) “Don't!”, negative imperative particle (compare ala, #ála). Cf. ávan “I won't” (also ván, ványe); áva care!(“k”) “don't do it!” (WJ:371)
prefix “without” (AR2, AWA). In some cases apparently used as a mere negation prefix: The form avalerya in VT41:6 is seemingly a negated form of the verb lerya- “release, set free”; the verb avalerya- is suggested to have the same meaning as the root KHAP = “bind, make fast, restrain, deprive of liberty”. Likewise, the verb avalatya- from the same source seems to mean “to close, shut”, this being a negated form of a verb *latya- “open” (q.v.)
vb with pa.t.avane. This verb is not clearly glossed; apparently meaning refuse or prohibit(WJ:370). Cf. áva, Avamanyar. What is seems to be more or less the same verb has its principal tenses listed (with the ending -n “I”) in VT49:13: aorist avan, present ávan (ávean), future auvan for older avuvan, past avanen or auvan, perfect avávien. In one version of the paradigm, the present tense ávean and past avanen are marked as archaic/poetic forms. One text seemingly uses the pa.t. aune in the sense “was not”, as a negative verb, but this may have been a short-lived idea of Tolkien’s (the text was revised).
place-name; haven and city on Tol Eressea. In the Akallabêth the city is said to be so named because it is “of all cities the nearest to Valinor”, but the etymology is not further explained. The Etymologies gives Avalóna “the outer isle” = Tol Eressea (LONO, (AWA), VT45:28)
noun “recusant, one who refuses to act as advised or commanded”; pl. Avari Elves that refused to join in the westward march to Aman (WJ:371, singular Avar in WJ:377 and VT47:13, 24).The Etymologies gives Avar or Avaro, pl. Avari “Elves who never left Middle-earth or began the march” (AB/ABAR)
place-name denoting the land between the southern Pelóri and the Sea, where Ungoliant dwelt; said to be “not Elvish” in WJ:404 and must be thought of as an adaptation from Valarin; on the other hand, MR:284 states that it is “ancient Quenya” and offers the interpretation “The Shadows”. Whatever the case, it must have become *Avasar in Exilic Quenya.
- vb. “forgive” (VT43:18); the form ávatyara(VT43:10) seems to include the imperative particle á (the two-word phrase *á qq:avatyara “forgive!” merging into ávatyara). Plural aorist qq:avatyarir(VT43:20). Where Tolkien used qq:avatyar-, he cited the person(s) forgiven in the ablative (ávatyara me<u>llo</u> “forgive us”, literally “<u>from</u> us”), whereas the matter that is forgiven appears as a direct object (VT43:11). Compare apsene.
noun “law, rule, commandment”. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399) Pl. axani is attested (VT39:23, defined as “laws, rules, as primarily proceeding from Eru” in VT39:30). Apparently compounded in the name Axantur *“Commandment-lord” (= lord who respects and/or rules in accordance with God-given commandments?) (UT:210)
(“ks”)noun “neck” (the bony part of the neck, not including throat), pl. axi given. Also sg. acas (the alternative form qq:axe is said to be “later” and seems to be an analogical back-formation from the pl. axi). The word is also used geographically of rock ridges. (PE17:92)