istar

proper name. Wizard, (lit.) One Who Knows

A name for the five Wizards who travelled from the West to aid the free peoples against Sauron (LotR/1084, UT/388). It usually appeared in its plural form Istari, which meant “those who know” (Let/202, PM/360). Tolkien generally translated the name as “Wizard”, because the Old English sense of word was similar to the true meaning of this Quenya word (Let/207). The name Istar was most likely a combination of the verb ista- “to know” and the old agental suffix -r(o).

The title Istar was not used for ordinary mortal “wizards” or “magicians” (UT/388). For this purpose, perhaps the word [ᴹQ.] sairon was used instead.

Cognates

• S. ithron “Wizard” ✧ UT/388; UTI/Istari

Element in

• Q. Heren Istarion “Order of Wizards” ✧ UT/388

Elements

Word	Gloss
ista-	“to know”
-r(o)	“agental suffix”

Variations

• istar ✧ UT/388

sairon

wizard

sairon noun "wizard" (SAY); according to LT2:337 and GL:29, Sairon is also the Quenya (or Qenya) name of Dairon (Daeron).

Istar

wizard

Istar noun "Wizard", used of Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast etc. Pl. Istari is attested. Gen. pl. in the phrase Heren Istarion "Order of Wizards" (UT:388). "The istari are translated wizards because of the connexion of wizard with wise and so with witting and knowing" (Letters:207); by this translation Tolkien tries to reproduce the relationship between Quenya istar and ista- #1, 2.

curuvar

wizard

curuvar _("k")_noun "wizard" (LT1:269 but Gandalf, Saruman etc. were istari)

ithron

noun. wizard

ithron

noun. Wizard

Cognates

• Q. Istar “Wizard, (lit.) One Who Knows” ✧ UT/388; UTI/Istari

Element in

• S. Ithryn Luin “Blue Wizards” ✧ UT/390

curunír

noun. man of craft, wizard

curunír

noun. wizard, wizard, [N.] man of craft

@@@ a compound of curu “skill, craft” (SA/curu) and the agental suffix -n(d)ir

Element in

• S. Curunír “Man of Skill”

Elements

Word	Gloss
curu	“skill (of the hand), craft; power, ability, skill (of the hand), craft; power, ability; [N.] cunning; [ᴱN.] magic”
dîr	“man, man, [N.] adult male; agental suffix”

curunír

noun. wizard

ithron

wizard

1) ithron (= Quenya istar, one of the order Gandalf belonged to), pl. ithryn, coll. pl. ithronnath (UT:388), 2)

ithron

wizard

(= Quenya istar, one of the order Gandalf belonged to), pl. ithryn, coll. pl. ithronnath (UT:388)

curunír

wizard

curunír (i gurunír, o churunír) (man of craft), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. curuníriath.

curunír

wizard

(i gurunír, o churunír) (man of craft), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. curuníriath.

zigûr

noun. wizard

A noun translated “wizard” and given as an example of a noun with a long vowel in its final syllable that (archaically) uses the declension for a strong-noun (SD/437), the rare class of Strong-Ib nouns. By the time of Classical Adûnaic, it could be declined as an ordinary weak-noun instead. As the proper name Zigûr, it was the Adûnaic name for Sauron.

Element in

• Ad. Zigûr “Sauron”

Variations

• zigūr ✧ SD/437

curunir

noun. man of craft, wizard