The Valarin Names of the Valar
Hey everyone, welcome to my first meta! So I am obsessed with the Valar, and Iâve thought a lot about them and their structure and systems etc. One of the most interesting things to me is their language, the Valarin, of which we only know a small portion (given in Quendi and the Eldar). I have thought about the canon names for them, as well as those whose names are not given. Here is my list of the Valarin names for all of the Valar, and my reasoning behind each. Obviously, this is all shaky ground canonically, but itâs a fun exercise. Â
Extrapolated Names Known to Derive from the Valarin
6. Irmo = Because of its identical form phonologically to Ulmo (PQ root âIR, just like âUL; âOne Who Desiresâ as opposed to âOne Who Poursâ) we can extrapolate a tentative ?Ir( r )ubĆz.
7. NĂĄmo = In the Valarin we have the word mÄÏan, âauthorityâ, which is clearly related to NĂĄmo. Basing it off of the formula of the other Valarin names (suffix of long vowel and a z) we can extrapolate ?NÄÏamĆz or ?MÄÏanĆz.
8. Melkor = From PQ *mbelekĆro, we can extrapolate ?MbelekhĆrĆ«z or ?MbelekhĆrĆz
9. Varda = In PQ there exist the roots âBARAD, âBARAT both meaning âlofty, highâ which are said to be translations of Varda, along with âSublime.â From which PQ: BaradÄ. We have in Valarin mirubhĆzÄ > miruvĂłrĂ«, so bh > v at least sometimes. From all this we can extrapolate a possible V. ?BharadÄz.
10. Nessa = Although the loremasters posit that it might be from âNER, meaning âshe that has manlike valor or strengthâ, but I find this doubtful, since Nessa is not associated with this in any way. In addition, it is similar in structure to OssĂ«, which is said to be Valarin: OĆĄ(o)ĆĄai.) Because of OssĂ«, maybe ?NgeĆĄ(e)ĆĄai Or ?NgeĆĄ(e)ĆĄÄz to match the other Valar.
11. EstĂ« = The root âSED is given, meaning ârest, reposeâ from which CE *esdÄ > *ezdÄ. This suggests that the sound was morphing away from âsâ to âzâ, before going back to âsâ in Q, and continuing to âdhâ in Sindarin.) Perhaps ?EĆŸedÄz, or ?EĆĄedÄz.
Unknown if they derive from the Valarin
NiĂ«nna = We are told that this name comes from the root âNEY meaning âtearâ. If we assume this is derived from the V, then we could extrapolate an y > i change, like VairĂ«, and a medial e in the name after the initial n, so that there in no ñ involved. The ânna ending is identical to Yavanna, and of unknown meaning, but in Yavannaâs case it comes from anna which is âgift.â In the Lost Tales, NiĂ«nna is the giver of tears, so this meaning would be appropriate. Even in the later conception, this fits (cf. Gandalfâs ânot all tears are an evil.â He is said to be a Maia of NiĂ«nna in the Valaquenta.) The word anna for âgiftâ is used in the name for NĂșmenor: AndĂłrĂ« âthe land of gift.â This is a gift from the Valar, and special, so I think it is a reasonable assumption to think this word comes from the V. From all of this we can extrapolate: ?NeyanÄz, or ?Neyen(a)nÄz.
VĂĄna = This name is said to derive from the same root as Vanyar (âWAN) meaning âfairâ so either OromĂ« told the Elves about his wife and said she was super beautiful and her name was â___â and they made the root, or they named her after they saw her and knew the elvish for her. It is elsewhere said to derive from the root âBAN, or âVAN meaning âbeautiful because of lack of blemish, unblemished.â Assuming that these roots are related, and that the sense of âunblemishedâ is different enough from âfairâ that the roots are distinct, and the derivation of VĂĄna is therefore obscured, we can stick with âVAN or âBAN as an older root, since âBAN is said to be related to âMAN, which we know to be from the V. PQ did not have sounds in v, so the V in her name could be an original artifact restored after the arrival of the Elves in Aman where they met her, or at least Bh. PQ *banya is glossed as âbeautifulâ and is the root of the later words. Using this information, plus the ĂĄ in Quenya (usually coming from an Ä in PQ and V) we can extrapolate ?VÄnÄz, ?BhÄnÄz, ?VÄñÄz, or ?BhÄñÄz.
VairĂ« = This name is said to be related to the root âWIR âweave, thread together.â The PQ form of the name is derived to be WairÄ, WeirÄ. Knowing that Elvish has the tendency to soften the harsh consonants of Valarin, a y > i mutation is likely (as in ayanĆ«z > ainu). Thus we could have ?Wayar( r )Äz
Yavanna = This name is old. The word yĂĄvĂ« for âfruitâ seems to come from it, rather than the other way around. This makes me think that it comes from the Valarin. The V name for Telperion is IbrÄ«niĂ°ilpathÄnezel. Earlier in the V list of words we are given iniĂ°il âlarge single flowerâ and ezel âgreenâ. Thus it appears to be Ibri-iniĂ°il-pathÄn-ezel (__-flower-__-green). Assuming that Ibri-iniĂ°il and pathÄn-ezel are separate senses, with Ibri modifying iniĂ°il and ezel modifying pathÄn, this gives a possible reading of pathÄn as âleafâ (silver-flower-leaf-green?). This element is similar to Yavanna in structure, with the âpâ and âthâ sound differing from âyâ and âvâ. A risky association, since it isnât based on much, but if the word for âleafâ is pathÄn, might the word for âfruitâ be similar? In addition, the word for fruit is said to come from the root âYAB, of which almost all the derivatives are compounds with Yavannaâs name, including the months and times of harvest. Even in the Sindarin, the association of Yavanna with the month is intrinsic, and not related solely to fruit. Therefore it seems that the word for fruit comes from Yavanna, and thus likely from the V. Using pathÄn as a guide, it is likely yÄbhan. Perhaps we have ?YÄbhanÄz or ?YÄbhan(a)nÄz.
