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Q. nér (ner-) n. “man, male person” (Category: Man)

Q. nér (ner-), n. “man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; ⚠️[ᴱQ.] husband; warrior” (Category: Man)

The Quenya word for a “man”, or more specifically a person of male gender (WJ/393). This word is derived from the root √N(D)ER, and the é is long in Quenya as a remnant of the lengthened vowel in the primitive subjective form ndēr, but the stem form is ner- because the vowel was not long in ancient inflective forms (PE19/102). Thus the singular is nér but plural neri (MR/213), and likewise for other inflected forms. Nér can be used regardless of species and so is equally applicable to male Elves, Men, or Dwarves, but is unlikely to be used of male animals, for which the word [ᴹQ.] hanu is more applicable.

Conceptual Development: This word was very well established in Tolkien’s mind, appearing as ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), though in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “warrior, etc.” (PME/65). The long/short vowel variation had emerged by the time the Early Qenya Grammar was written in the 1920s, where Tolkien gave singular nēr but plural nĕri (PE14/43, 72).

The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s has this same long/short vowel split (PE21/20) as does The Etymologies from later in the 1930s which had ᴹQ. nér with plural neri as derivatives of the root ᴹ√(N)DER (Ety/DER). This remained the case in later writings as well, except that the unstrengthened form of the root changed from ᴹ√DER to √NER (WJ/393), though this only barely matters, since the actual derivatives were all from strengthened √NDER in pretty much all cases from the 1930s forward.

References ✧ MR/213, 226, 229, 471; UT/211, 229; VT49/17; WJ/393

Glosses

Variations

Related

Inflections

neri plural “men” ✧ MR/213
neri plural   ✧ MR/226; MR/229
néri plural   ✧ MR/471

Element In

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

nere/nēr > nēr [nēr] ✧ WJ/393

ᴹQ. nér (ner-) n. “man, adult male” (Category: Man)

See Q. nér for discussion.

References ✧ Ety/DER, NDER, NĒR, NĪ¹, WEG; EtyAC/NĒR; PE21/16-17, 19-21, 52, 60, 62, 65, 69; PE22/120, 124

Glosses

Variations

Related

Changes

Inflections

nello ablative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nello ablative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerello ablative   ✧ PE21/52
nerullo ablative   ✧ PE21/21
nerulo ablative   ✧ PE21/21
nellut ablative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nellut ablative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerullut ablative dual   ✧ PE21/21
nellon ablative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nerden ablative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerillon ablative plural   ✧ PE21/20
nera accusative   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nēra accusative “man” ✧ PE21/65
nerut accusative dual   ✧ PE21/20
neri accusative plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nerande allative   ✧ PE21/52
nerde allative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerta allative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nerunta allative   ✧ PE21/21
nerdet allative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nertau allative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
neruntau allative dual   ✧ PE21/21
nellon allative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerintan allative plural   ✧ PE21/20
nertan allative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
neralte comitative dual   ✧ PE21/52
neren dative   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
ner(a)tar dative dual   ✧ PE21/52
neru dative dual   ✧ PE21/20
[ner]íre dative plural   ✧ PE21/52
nerir dative plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nero genitive   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nero genitive; o-genitive “man’s” ✧ PE22/120
neru genitive   ✧ PE21/52
ner(a)tu genitive dual   ✧ PE21/52
neruhta genitive dual   ✧ PE21/20
nerion genitive plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52; PE21/60
neranen instrumental   ✧ PE21/21
nermen instrumental   ✧ PE21/20
nermen instrumental   ✧ PE21/52
nerunen instrumental   ✧ PE21/52
neranwen instrumental dual   ✧ PE21/52
nermet instrumental dual   ✧ PE21/20
nerínen instrumental plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
neresse locative   ✧ PE21/21; PE21/52
nerre locative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20: OQ
nerse locative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nesse locative; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
neresset locative dual   ✧ PE21/21
nerret locative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20: OQ
nerset locative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nerusset locative dual   ✧ PE21/21
nesset locative dual; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nerissen locative plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nerren locative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20: OQ
nersen locative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/20
nessen locative plural; assimilated   ✧ PE21/52
nêr nominative   ✧ PE21/52
nēr nominative   ✧ PE21/20
nerat nominative dual   ✧ PE21/52
nerunt nominative dual   ✧ PE21/20
nellin nominative plural   ✧ PE21/20: colloquially
nerin nominative plural   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nerulin nominative plural   ✧ PE21/21
neríka partitive-plural   ✧ PE21/20
neri plural   ✧ Ety/DER; PE21/52
neruva possessive   ✧ PE21/21; PE21/52
nerwa possessive   ✧ PE21/20
nerwa possessive   ✧ PE21/52
nerinwa possessive plural   ✧ PE21/20
neríva possessive plural   ✧ PE21/52
nerdon similative   ✧ PE21/20; PE21/52
nerindon similative   ✧ PE21/52
nerundon similative   ✧ PE21/21: rarely
nerindon similative plural   ✧ PE21/20
ner- stem “man” ✧ PE21/19

Element In

Cognates

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

ᴹ√DER > nér [ndēr] > [nēr] ✧ Ety/DER
ᴹ✶ndǣr > nér [ndǣr] > [ndēr] > [nēr] ✧ Ety/NDER
ᴹ√der > NĒ̆R [ndēr] > [nēr] ✧ Ety/NĒR
ᴹ✶dēr > nér [ndēr] > [nēr] ✧ Ety/NĪ¹
ᴹ✶nĕrĕ > nēr [nēr] ✧ PE21/69

ᴱQ. ner n. “man, husband; warrior” (Category: Man)

See Q. nér for discussion.

References ✧ GL/30; PE13/164; PE14/32, 42-43, 47-48, 50, 54-55, 71-72, 79, 81, 83-84; PE15/32, 74-75; PE16/111, 113-114, 135; PME/65; QL/40, 65, 101

Glosses

Variations

Inflections

nerullo ablative   ✧ PE16/113
nera accusative   ✧ PE16/111; PE16/135
nĕra accusative   ✧ PE16/113
neri accusative plural   ✧ PE16/111
nerya adjectival   ✧ PE16/113
neríte adjectival   ✧ PE16/113
nerta allative   ✧ PE16/113
nerilda augmentative “more of a man” ✧ PE14/48
nerilda augmentative “more of a man, more (or surpassingly) manly” ✧ PE14/81
nerildos augmentative adverbial “in more manly wise” ✧ PE14/48
nerildos augmentative adverbial “in more (or surpassingly) manly wise” ✧ PE14/81
neriko comitative   ✧ PE16/113
nerde dative   ✧ PE16/113
nere dative   ✧ PE16/111
neren dative   ✧ PE16/113
nerur dative dual   ✧ PE16/114
nerir dative plural   ✧ PE16/111
nerut dual   ✧ PE16/114
nero genitive   ✧ PE16/111
nĕro genitive   ✧ PE16/113
neru genitive dual   ✧ PE16/114
nerion genitive plural “men” ✧ PE14/84
nerion genitive plural   ✧ PE16/111
nerinen instrumental   ✧ PE16/113
neryen instrumental; short-instrumental   ✧ PE16/113
nerisse locative   ✧ PE16/113
nēr nominative   ✧ PE16/111; PE16/113
nerunt nominative dual   ✧ PE16/114
nerin nominative plural   ✧ PE16/111
neri plural   ✧ PE14/50
neri plural “men” ✧ PE14/83
nēri plural “men” ✧ PE14/32
nēri plural “*men” ✧ PE15/32
nĕri plural   ✧ PE14/43; PE14/72
neranon similative   ✧ PE16/113
nerdon similative “like a man, manfully” ✧ PE14/79
nerdon similative “manfully” ✧ PE15/75
nerdon similative   ✧ PE16/113
ner- stem   ✧ QL/65
nĕr- stem   ✧ PE13/164

Element In

Cognates

Derivations