Lesson 7: Plurals Part 2
Advanced Sindarin plural patterns: monosyllables, diphthong shifts, vowel intrusion, class plurals (-ath, -rim, -hoth), and the definite article with plurals.
Review of Lesson 6 Patterns
Before advancing, confirm these three core patterns:
| Pattern | Shift | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Final a → ai; non-final a → e | adan → edain |
| 2 | Final e → i; all es shift | edhel → edhil |
| 3 | Final o → y; non-final o → e | orod → eryd |
Everything in Lesson 7 builds on these foundations.
Monosyllabic Plurals
Monosyllables — words of a single syllable — undergo i-affection just like polysyllabic words, but since there is only one vowel, only one shift occurs. The results can feel surprising at first.
Monosyllables with short vowels
| Singular | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| orch | yrch | Orc / Orcs | o→y; attested in LotR |
| bess | biss | woman / women | e→i |
| peth | pith | word / words | e→i |
| orn | yrn | (tall) tree / trees | o→y |
| gorn | gyrn | revered (ones) | o→y |
| dorn | dyrn | stiff / stiff ones | o→y |
| fell | fill | cliff / cliffs | e→i |
| bell | bill | strong (one) | e→i |
| ann | ein | gift / gifts | a→ai → in monosyllable... a→ei? |
A note on monosyllables with a: In monosyllables where the only vowel is a, the plural form depends on whether the syllable is open (ending in a vowel, very rare in monosyllables) or closed (ending in a consonant). For most closed monosyllables with a, the plural produces ei rather than ai:
- alph → eilph (swan / swans) — a → ei before l cluster
- ann → ein (gift / gifts) — a → ei
- am → aim (hill, poetic form) — a → ai or ei
The a → ei shift in monosyllables is a specific sub-pattern reflecting how Old Sindarin a behaved before the plural suffix in short, closed syllables.
Monosyllables with long vowels
Long vowels in monosyllables also shift:
| Singular | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| dôr | dŷr | land / lands | ô→ŷ |
| bôr | bŷr | vassal / vassals | ô→ŷ |
| tîr | tîr (unchanged) | — | Long î typically does not shift further |
| hên | hîn | child / children | ê→î; attested (Eruhîn = "Children of God") |
| lhaw | lhui | — | au diphthong shifts: see below |
Diphthong Shifts in Plurals
Diphthongs also undergo i-affection. The patterns:
| Diphthong (singular) | Plural form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| au / aw | oe / ui | naur pl. noer (fire/fires — ᴺS.); gaur pl. goer (werewolf/werewolves) |
| ae | ai | raen → rain ... (context-dependent) |
| ai | unchanged or î | rain (wanderer) → rîn — ᴺS. |
| oe | ui | rare; oew (nest) → uiw — ᴺS. |
The au/aw → oe shift is the most attested diphthong plural pattern:
- gaur (werewolf) → goer (werewolves) — ᴺS. but based on regular pattern
- naur (fire) → noer (fires) — ᴺS.
- caul (burden) → coel (burdens) — ᴺS.
Vowel Intrusion / Vowel-Intrusion Plurals
Some Sindarin words show a different plural pattern: instead of (or in addition to) shifting vowels, they restore a vowel that was lost in the singular. This happens when a word's historical singular form dropped a vowel that the plural preserves.
The most important examples are nouns derived from roots ending in -on where the o is historically significant:
amon → emyn
- Singular amon (hill) — the o in the second syllable is part of the root
- Plural: both vowels shift AND a restored form appears: em-yn
- a (non-final) → e: emon-
- o (final) → y: emyn
- Wait: amon has a + on: a→e, o→y → emyn ✓
- This is actually a regular Pattern 3 + Pattern 1 combination working on a bisyllabic word
- Result: amon → emyn (hill / hills) ✓ attested
annon → ennyn
- Singular annon (great gate)
- a → e (non-final), o → y (final): ennyн? But attested plural is ennyn
- a→e gives ennon, then o→y should give ennyn ✓
- Result: annon → ennyn (great gate / great gates) ✓ attested (Ennyn Durin = Gates of Durin)
eithel → eithil
- Singular eithel (spring, well)
- Diphthong ei in first syllable: typically unchanged in non-final position
- Final e → i: eithil
- Result: eithel → eithil (spring / springs)
These "vowel intrusion" forms look irregular at first, but they follow the same i-affection rules — the unusual appearance comes from the specific vowels involved and the historical structure of the words.
Class Plurals (Collective Plurals)
In addition to the i-affection system for ordinary plurals, Sindarin has a separate system of collective plurals (also called "class plurals") formed by adding suffixes. These are used not to simply say "more than one X" but to refer to a class, group, or totality of things.
The distinction is:
- Ordinary plural: edhil = "Elves" (some Elves, multiple individual Elves)
- Class plural: edhellath or Eledhrim = "the Elves as a people, Elvenkind, the whole group"
Suffix -ath: Complete collective
-ath denotes the totality of a class — "all the Xs", "every X considered together":
| Base | Class plural | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| êl (star) | elenath | all the stars (as a whole), the star-host |
| gond (stone) | gondath | all the stones, the stony host |
| per (halfling element) | Periannath | the Halflings as a people (attested in LotR!) |
| lend (way) | lennath | all ways, the whole road network |
| norn (dwarf element) | Nornath | ᴺS. all Dwarves |
| gwath (shadow) | gwathath | all shadows, the totality of shadow |
| rem (mesh) | remath | the whole net/mesh |
Periannath is one of the most important attested class plurals in Sindarin — used in the Cormallen scene (Cuio i Pheriannath anann!), confirming this suffix is productive and attested.
Suffix -rim: People, folk
-rim forms collectives for peoples and races, often with a sense of "the people of" or "the folk known as":
| Base | -rim form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| galadh (tree) | Galadhrim | Tree-people (Elves of Lothlórien) — attested! |
| roch (horse) → roh- | Rohirrim | Horse-lords (people of Rohan) — attested! |
| nogoth (dwarf) | Nogothrim | the Dwarves as a people |
| Ithron (wizard) | Ithryn (ordinary pl.) vs. Ithronrim | wizards as a class — ᴺS. |
| dúnedain element | Dúnedain | West-men (= dún + edain pl.) — different construction |
Both Galadhrim and Rohirrim are directly attested in LotR, making -rim one of the best-confirmed suffixes in all of Sindarin.
Note on Rohirrim: The Rohirrim called themselves Éorlingas in Old English (their actual language in the story). Rohirrim is the Sindarin name for them. It comes from roch (horse) → stem rohi- (with vowel change) + -rim (folk). The double rr is the result of r + suffix -rim combining.
Suffix -hoth: Host, horde (usually negative)
-hoth forms collectives for hostile groups or enemy hosts:
| Base | -hoth form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| glam (clamour, uproar) | Glamhoth | the Orc-host, "din-horde" — attested! |
| gaur (werewolf) | Gaurhoth | the werewolf-host, Sauron's wolf-army — attested! |
| drû | Drúedain... | different construction |
| balrog element | Balroghoth | ᴺS. the host of Balrogs |
Glamhoth ("the uproar-host" = orcs) appears in Tolkien's linguistic notes as a Sindarin collective for the Orcs. Gaurhoth appears in poems and notes related to Lúthien's adventures. Both confirm -hoth as attested.
Suffix -gwaith: Company, people
-gwaith forms collectives for companies or fellowships:
| Base | -gwaith form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| mîrdain (jewel-smiths) | Gwaith-i-Mírdain | People of the Jewel-Smiths — attested! |
| echad (camp) | Gwaith-i-Echad | ᴺS. people of the encampment |
Gwaith-i-Mírdain is the name for the Elvish craftsmen of Eregion who forged the Rings of Power under Celebrimbor. It is directly attested in Unfinished Tales.
Irregular Plurals
A small set of Sindarin nouns have plurals that look unusual due to historical sound changes beyond standard i-affection:
| Singular | Plural | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| êl | elin | star / stars | Historical -n restored in plural |
| hên | hîn | child / children | ê→î, attested (Eruhîn = Children of Ilúvatar) |
| seler | selair | sister / sisters | e→ai in the final syllable |
| muindor | muindyr | brother / brothers | o→y |
| gwaen | gwîn | stained / stained ones | ae→î special |
Article + Plural: The Plural Definite Article in
The singular definite article in Sindarin is i (= "the"), and it triggers soft mutation on the following word:
- i orch = "the Orc" (orch after i)
The plural definite article is in (= "the" for plurals), and it triggers nasal mutation (covered fully in Lesson 15) on the following word:
| Singular | Plural (bare) | Plural with in | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| i orch (the Orc) | yrch (Orcs) | in Yrch → in yrch | Nasal mutation changes initial y — complex |
| i galadh (the tree) | gelaidh (trees) | in Gelaidh → in Elaidh | G disappears after in (nasal mutation) |
| i edhel (the Elf) | edhil (Elves) | in edhil | Vowel initial: no mutation visible |
| i aran (the king) | erain (kings) | in erain | Vowel initial |
Preview of nasal mutation: After in, consonants change as follows (full table in Lesson 15):
- b- → m- (in beraid → in meraid)
- d- → n- (in daur → in naur)
- g- → disappears (in gelaidh → in elaidh)
- p- → b- (in perianath → in berianath)... wait the attested form is i Pheriannath with ph- (soft mutation after singular i)
For now: remember that in = plural "the" and that it causes changes to following consonants. Full detail in Lesson 15.
Summary: Choosing the Right Plural Form
Use this decision process when you need to pluralise a Sindarin noun:
Is it a proper collective (the race/people as a whole)?
→ Yes: Use -rim, -hoth, -gwaith, or -ath depending on sense
→ No: Continue
Does the noun end in a consonant whose last vowel is...
a or â → Pattern 1: a→ai (final), a→e (non-final)
e or ê → Pattern 2: e→i
o or ô → Pattern 3: o→y (final), o→e (non-final)
u or û → u→y or û→ŷ
Diphthong au/aw → Plural: oe
Long vowel î or ŷ → Often unchanged or special form
Is the word monosyllabic?
→ Apply the same shift to the single vowel
→ Note: a → ei (not ai) in some closed monosyllables
Is it an irregular noun (êl, hên, etc.)?
→ Learn individual irregular forms
Practice: 10 Nouns to Pluralise
Form the plural of each noun:
- aran (king)
- edhel (Elf)
- orch (Orc)
- amon (hill)
- galadh (tree)
- bess (woman)
- ithron (wizard, from ithron)
- onod (Ent)
- orn (tree, tall)
- hên (child) — irregular
Answer Key:
| # | Singular | Plural | Pattern |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | aran | erain | a→e, a→ai |
| 2 | edhel | edhil | e→i |
| 3 | orch | yrch | o→y |
| 4 | amon | emyn | a→e, o→y |
| 5 | galadh | gelaidh | a→e, a→ai |
| 6 | bess | biss | e→i |
| 7 | ithron | ithryn | o→y |
| 8 | onod | enyd | o→e, o→y |
| 9 | orn | yrn | o→y |
| 10 | hên | hîn | irregular ê→î |
Summary Table: Class Plurals
| Suffix | Meaning | Attested example |
|---|---|---|
| -ath | totality, all the Xs | Periannath (all Halflings) |
| -rim | a people, a folk | Galadhrim, Rohirrim |
| -hoth | enemy host, horde | Glamhoth, Gaurhoth |
| -gwaith | company, fellowship | Gwaith-i-Mírdain |
Lesson 8 moves from nouns to pronouns, beginning with the subject (nominative) pronoun system — how Sindarin marks "I," "you," "he/she," and "we" both as independent words and as verb suffixes.