Eldamo : Quenya : rómen

Q. rómen n. “east, uprising, sunrise” (Category: East)

Q. rómen, n. “east, uprising, sunrise” (Category: East)

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.

References ✧ LotR/377, 1044, 1123; PE17/18, 59, 63, 74, 88, 125, 135; PM/385; RGEO/58-59; SA/men, rómen

Glosses

“east” ✧ LotR/1044; LotR/1123; LotR/1123; PE17/63 (Rōme(n)); PE17/74 (Róme(n)); PE17/125 (Róme(n)); PM/385 (Róme-)
“the East” ✧ PE17/18 (hróme(n))
“uprising, sunrise, east” ✧ SA/rómen

Variations

Rómen ✧ LotR/1044; LotR/1123; LotR/1123; PE17/59; PE17/88; SA/men; SA/rómen
hróme(n) ✧ PE17/18
Róme ✧ PE17/59; PM/385
Rōme(n) ✧ PE17/63
Róme(n) ✧ PE17/74; PE17/125

Changes

romendo >> rómeno ✧ PE17/59

Inflections

Róme-llo	ablative	“from the East”	✧ PE17/135
Rómello	ablative	“(to those) from the East”	✧ LotR/377
Rómello	ablative		✧ PE17/59
Rómello	ablative	“from the East”	✧ PE17/63; PE17/74
Rōmello	ablative	“(to one) from the East”	✧ RGEO/59
Rṑméllo	ablative	“(to those) from the East”	✧ RGEO/58
rómen	dative		✧ PE17/59
rómena	dative; long-dative		✧ PE17/59
romendo	genitive		✧ PE17/59
rómeno	genitive		✧ PE17/59
rómeo	genitive		✧ PE17/59
romeva	possessive		✧ PE17/59
rómenwa	possessive		✧ PE17/59

Elements

ro-	“uprising, sunrise, east”	✧ PE17/18 (hrō-)
men	“way”	✧ SA/men

√RŌ/ORO	“up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount”	✧ PE17/63 (RŌ)

Element In

ᴺQ. !forrómen “northeast”
ᴺQ. !hyarrómen “southeast”
Q. Rómendacil “East-victor, East-slayer” ✧ LotR/1044
Q. Rómenna “Eastwards” ✧ SA/rómen
Q. sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar! “now lost, lost to those from the east is Valimar!” ✧ LotR/377; RGEO/58
Q. Rómestámo “East-helper” ✧ PM/385
Q. sí vanwa ná, Rómello vanwa, Valimar!² “now lost is, [to one] from the East lost, Valimar!” ✧ RGEO/59

Cognates

S. amrûn “sunrise, east, (lit.) of the uprising” ✧ LotR/1123; PE17/18; SA/rómen
S. rhûn “east” ✧ LotR/1123; PE17/18; PE17/74; PE17/88 (rûn); SA/rómen

ᴹQ. rómen n. “east” (Category: East)

See Q. rómen for discussion.

References ✧ Ety/MEN, RŌ; LR/47, 56; PE22/23, 50; SD/310; SMI/Rómen