The Encyclopedia of Arda - an interactive guide to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien
Dates
Founded II 32, destroyed II 3319 (endured 3,287 years)
Location
In the Great Sea, between Middle-earth and Aman
Origins
Created by the Valar as a reward for the Edain who had fought against Morgoth during the First Age
Race
Division
Culture
Pronunciation
'yo'zayan'
Meaning
Other names

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 2 December 2021
  • This entry is complete

Yôzâyan

The Land of Gift

Map of Númenor
General map of the Yôzâyan (slightly conjectural)
General map of the Yôzâyan (slightly conjectural)
"Do you not love the Yôzâyan?"
Words of Erendis
from Unfinished Tales Part Two II
Aldarion and Erendis

A name from Adûnaic, the native tongue of the Men of Númenor. It translates as 'Land of Gift', in reference to their homeland, which was given as a reward by the Valar. Adûnaic Yôzâyan is therefore exactly equivalent to Andor, an Elvish name for the island that also translates as 'Land of Gift'.


We have only a single instance of the name Yôzâyan in any remotely canonical source, and that is Erendis' question to Aldarion quoted above. The text of Aldarion and Erendis offers no explanation of the name, but fortunately we have some fuller background in the Notion Club Papers (in volume IX of The History of Middle-earth). That story includes a section comparing words from the Elvish and Adûnaic languages, and among those words is Yôzâyan, given as direct equivalent to Andor, 'Land of Gift' (actually the Notion Club Papers uses the Quenya form Andórë, but the intended meaning is not in doubt). Further, we're told in the same volume that zâyan means 'land', so we can infer that yô- derives from the Númenórean word for 'gift'.


See also...

Anadûnê

Indexes:

About this entry:

  • Updated 2 December 2021
  • This entry is complete

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