Select Elvish Words: 12.45 East

12.45 East

Q. (h)róna adj. “eastern, east”

An adjective for “east(ern)” appearing as hróna (PE17/18) and róna (RC/385; Ety/RŌ) derived from √(S)RŌ “east”.

Q. orróna adj. “eastern”

A longer variant of (h)róna “eastern” (PE17/18).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. órea “of the dawn, Eastern” based on ᴱQ. óre “dawn, East” under the early root ᴱ√OŘO (QL/70).

Q. ro- pref. “uprising, sunrise, east”

A prefix having to do with rising, sunrise and the east, appearing as ro-, hró-, and orró- and derived from √(S)RŌ (UT/165; PE17/18). Compare with the prefix oro- “up, aloft” of similar derivation (PE17/64).

Q. rómen n. “east, ⚠️uprising, sunrise”

The Quenya word for “east”, cognate of S. rhûn (LotR/1123). In inflected or compounds forms, the final n was usually dropped as was generally the case with Quenya direction words, for example in the ablative from Rómello “from the East” (LotR/377). It was ultimately derived from the root √RŌ/ORO “rise” (PE17/63, Ety/RŌ). It originally meant “rising direction”, that is ro- + men, and was thus connected to the rising sun.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales the word for “East” was ᴱQ. oronto (LT1/85), a word that also appeared in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s, with the gloss “rising (of the sun)” (QL/70). On the same page Tolkien gave the word ᴱQ. óre “the dawn, Sunrise, East” (QL/70), so the connection between “East” and “sunrise” was a very early idea.

The word ᴹQ. rómen “east” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s along with N. rhûn, both derived from ᴹ√RŌ (Ety/RŌ). At the time, there were no problems with this equivalence, since initial [r] was unvoiced in Noldorin. Tolkien went on to use both these forms in The Lord of the Rings.

Unfortunately, Tolkien later abandoned the unvoicing of initial r in Sindarin, making these two forms problematic. Tolkien considered modifying the Sindarin form to rûn (PE17/88) or the Quenya form to hrómen (PE17/18). The latter was probably derived from an s-strengthened form of the root ᴹ√SRŌ (PE22/127), where the initial sr- would become voiceless [r] in both Quenya and Sindarin. Ultimately, though, he left both forms alone. Perhaps he decided the s-strengthening of the root was a Sindarin-only variant.

ᴹQ. rómenya adj. “eastern”

An adjectival form of ᴹQ. rómen “east” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/RŌ). It appeared as Róminya in the first diagram for the Descent of Tongues (PE18/28).

S. rhûn n. “east, [N.] †rising; ⚠️eastern”

The Sindarin word for “east”, cognate of Q. rómen (LotR/1116, 1123). It was ultimately derived from the root √RŌ/ORO “rise” (Ety/RŌ), and so likely originally meant “rising” as in “rising sun” (PE22/35).

Conceptual Development: The word N. rhûn “east” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s along with ᴹQ. rómen, both derived from ᴹ√RŌ (Ety/RŌ). At the time, there were no problems with this equivalence, since initial [r] was unvoiced in Noldorin. Tolkien went on to use both these forms in The Lord of the Rings.

Unfortunately, Tolkien later abandoned the unvoicing of initial r in Sindarin, making these two forms problematic. Tolkien considered modifying the Sindarin form to rûn (PE17/88) or the Quenya form to hrómen (PE17/18). The latter was probably derived from an s-strengthened form of the root ᴹ√SRŌ (PE22/127), where the initial sr- would become voiceless [r] in both Quenya and Sindarin. Ultimately, though, he left both forms alone. Perhaps he decided the s-strengthening of the root was a Sindarin-only variant.

S. rhúnen adj. “east[ern]”

An adjective for “east[ern]” in the name Talath Rhúnen “East Vale” (S/124) based on rhûn “east” (SA/rómen). Prior to the publication of PE23, this name was one of the best pieces of evidence that rh did not undergo soft mutation in modern Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: The Etymologies of the 1930s had N. †rhufen [rhuven] as the adjectival form of rhûn “east” (Ety/RŌ).