Hi! :)

Yes: nolwë wisdom, secret lore + -ndil would be Nolwendil “Lover of Wisdom” according to standard rules.

-ndil : basic ending translated as -friend , -lover , Friend of… or Lover of… and indicating disinterested devotion towards something or someone.



: basic ending translated as , , or and indicating disinterested devotion towards something or someone. -dil : variant of -ndil , presumably used to facilitate the combination of the suffix with the word it’s attached to. In Amandil ( Aman + -dil ), for instance, it allows to not end up with the non-permitted construction Amanndil . The example Eärendil ( ëar sea + -e- + -ndil ) shows a connecting vowel may also be added between the noun and the suffix so as not to break rules of Quenya phonology. Eärendil , in my understanding, could just as well have been Eärdil ( ëar + -dil ), so it seems like Tolkien explored different ways of solving impossible consonant combinations. I’m not sure whether systematic rules exist in that regard.

: variant of , presumably used to facilitate the combination of the suffix with the word it’s attached to. In ( + ), for instance, it allows to not end up with the non-permitted construction . The example ( + + ) shows a connecting vowel may also be added between the noun and the suffix so as not to break rules of Quenya phonology. , in my understanding, could just as well have been ( + ), so it seems like Tolkien explored different ways of solving impossible consonant combinations. I’m not sure whether systematic rules exist in that regard. -(n)dilmë: the distinctively feminine version of the suffix. It’s unclear whether it makes -(n)dil specifically masculine, or simply gender neutral.

In light of that information, perhaps Nolwedil would also be correct, though I’d go with Nolwendil since it’s probably the most standard alternative. If you want the word to be clearly feminine, then it would be Nolwendilmë.

Nolondil follows the rules I previously mentioned. The initial element, as noted by Helge Fauskanger, is a variant of nólë lore, knowledge, or “nolo- reflecting the root ÑGOL having to do with knowledge.” The ending -ndil is added directly to that.

Here are further examples which respect the rules:

Elendil : elen star + -dil = Star-friend

: + = Star-friend Vardilmë : contraction Var(da) + -dilmë = Friend of Varda



: contraction + = Friend of Varda Mámandil: máma sheep + -ndil = Sheep-friend

In Nolwendil (which I’d divide as nol-wen-dil), the stress would be on the second syllable, so around the e. The rule with Quenya words that have three syllables is that the stress falls on the second-to-last syllable if the latter is long (which it is, since e is followed by the consonant cluster nd).

I hope this answers all your questions! :) Please feel free to ask if something is still unclear for you.