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Q. nan(do) n. “(wide) valley, vale” (Category: Dale, Valley)

Q. nan(do), n. “(wide) valley, vale; ⚠️[ᴹQ.] water-mead, watered plain; [ᴱQ.] woodland” (Category: Dale, Valley)
ᴱQ. endl “plain, vale”

A common Quenya word for “vale” or “valley”, cognate of S. nan(d) and derivative of the root √NAD (Ety/NAD; NM/351). In one place, Tolkien indicated this word was used more specifically for wide valleys (PE17/80). A narrow valley might be better described with a word like Q. imbe “deep valley”, ᴹQ. cirisse “cleft” or ᴹQ. yáwe “ravine”.

This word appears as nan(d) in numerous compounds (Let/308, UT/253, RC/384). The independent form of this word is more difficult to determine. It variously appeared as nanda (Ety/NAD, PE17/80), nando (PE17/28, 80) and nandë within the compound Laurenandë (UT/253). This entry uses nando because it looks more noun-like than nanda while avoiding conflict with [ᴹQ.] nande (ñande) “harp”, but any of these forms could be correct.

Conceptual Development: The earliest appearance of this word was as ᴱQ. nan (nand-) “woodland” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the early root ᴱ√NAŘA [NAÐA] (QL/64), but its use in actual names in this period indicates the actual meaning was “land”, such as ᴱQ. Hisinan “Land of Twilight” (QL/40) and ᴱQ. Tasarinan “Land of Willows” (LT2/140). It appeared as ᴹQ. nanda “water-mead, watered plain” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√NAD (Ety/NAD), but this meaning also seems to be an aberration since it still appeared in ᴹQ. Tasarinan “Land of Willows” in this period (LR/261; TI/417). In later writings, the various nand- variants were regularly glossed “valley”, as reflected in the new gloss for Q. Tasarinan as “Willow-vale” (RC/384).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d limit this word to nando “valley”, ignoring its earlier meanings and alternate forms. For “water mead[ow]”, I’d restore the Early Qenya word ᴱQ. nendo instead.

References ✧ Let/308; NM/351; PE17/28, 80; RC/384; UT/166, 253

Glosses

Variations

Inflections

#Nand’ elided “valley” ✧ PE17/28
nan(d) stem “valley” ✧ UT/253
nand stem   ✧ RC/384
nand- stem   ✧ Let/308
-nan suffix   ✧ PE17/80
-nan suffix “valley” ✧ UT/166

Element In

Cognates

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

NAD > -nan [-nando] > [-nand] > [-nan] ✧ NM/351

ᴹQ. nanda n. “water-mead, watered plain” (Category: Plain, Field)

See Q. nan(do) for discussion.

Reference ✧ Ety/NAD ✧ “water-mead, watered plain”

Element In

Cognates

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

ᴹ√NAD > nanda [nanda] ✧ Ety/NAD

ᴱQ. nan (nand-) n. “woodland, *land” (Category: Woods, Forest)

See Q. nan(do) for discussion.

References ✧ LT1A/Nandini; QL/64

Glosses

Variations

Inflections

nand- stem ✧ QL/64

Element In

Cognates

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

ᴱ√NAŘA > nan [nanð] > [nand] > [nan] ✧ QL/64