isca

pale

isca ("k") adj."pale" (LT1:256)

luina

pale

[luina] adj. "pale" (VT45:30)

nívë

pale

nívë adj."pale" (MC:213; this is "Qenya" Tolkien's later Quenya has néca)

marya

pale, fallow, fawn

marya adj. "pale, fallow, fawn" (MAD)

néca

pale, vague, faint, dim to see

néca ("k") adj "pale, vague, faint, dim to see", pl. nécë ("k") in Markirya

gwân

adjective. pale, fair

Cognates

• Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/165

Derivations

• √(G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/165

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√GWAN > gwân	[gwana] > [gwan] > [gwān]	✧ PE17/165

nimp

adjective. pale

adj. pale, pallid. nimp << nim (PE17:168). >> niphred

gwind

pale blue

(lenited ’wind; no distinct pl. form).

gael

pale

(glittering), lenited ’ael; no distinct pl. form.

maidh

pale

1) maidh (lenited vaidh; no distinct pl. form) (fallow, fawn), 2) nimp (nim-) (white); no distinct pl. form, 3) thind (grey); no distinct pl. form; 4) gael (glittering), lenited ael; no distinct pl. form. 5) *malu (lenited valu; analogical pl. mely; lenited valu) (fallow). Cited in archaic form malw (LR:386 s.v. SMAL).

maidh

pale

(lenited vaidh; no distinct pl. form) (fallow, fawn)

malu

pale

(lenited valu; analogical pl. mely; lenited valu) (fallow). Cited in archaic form malw (LR:386 s.v. SMAL).

nimp

pale

(nim-) (white); no distinct pl. form

thind

pale

(grey); no distinct pl. form

elu

pale blue

(analogical pl. ely). Archaic elw (pl. ilw?).

mith

pale grey

(lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

lygn

adjective. pale

Primitive form given as lugni "blue", sc. the stem LUG1 (LR:370, not defined) with an ending -ni not otherwise attested, though -i is an ending found on many primitive colour-adjectives. The ending _-i _causes umlaut u > y; compare yrc as the plural of urc "Orc". That a short original final -i is capable of causing such an umlaut at the Common Eldarin stage is somewhat surprising, since Primitive Quendian lugni should have become *lugne at this stage, and final e would hardly cause umlaut. Perhaps we are to understand that the change of final i to Common Eldarin e happened relatively late, after the Eldar had crossed the Hihtaeglir and parted with the Nandor?

(g)wan

root. pale, fair

A root appearing several times in notes written on or shortly before 1960 with a general meaning “pale, fair” (PE17/150, 154, 165, 189; WJ/383), as opposed to √BAN which was simply “beautiful”. It seems Tolkien introduced this root when he realized that “VAN cannot only = fair (blonde), since vanima is applied in LR to Arwen who was like Lúthien dark” (PE17/165). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 he used this root for a new etymology for the tribal name of the Vanyar referring to their fair, blond hair.

This root appeared as √GWAN, √WAN and √GWAY, though the note where the last of these appeared was marked through (PE17/154). With √GWAN the root would merge with √BAN in both Quenya and Sindarin: Q. vanya and S. bain “fair and beautiful” (PE17/154). But with √WAN the two would remain distinct in Sindarin, as in bain “beautiful” vs. gwain “fair haired” (PE17/150). I find the second paradigm more interesting, and thus recommend assuming the ancient root was √WAN for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin.

This root might be a restoration of an earlier separation of ᴱ√ɃANA versus ᴱ√WANA in the Elvish languages as Tolkien conceived of them in the 1910s, though the semantic divisions in the earlier conception were not the same. See the entry on √BAN for further discussion.

Derivatives

• ✶wanya “fair-haired (yellow to golden)” ✧ PE17/150
  • Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/150; PE17/150
  • S. gwain “blond” ✧ PE17/150
• ✶wanyā “fair” ✧ WJ/383
  • Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
  • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383
• ᴺQ. vaina “blonde, fair of hair”
• Q. Vána “Ever-young, *(lit.) Beauty” ✧ WJ/383
• Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/154; PE17/165
• S. bain “fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired” ✧ PE17/154
• S. gwân “pale, fair” ✧ PE17/165

Variations

• WAN ✧ PE17/150; PE17/189; WJ/383
• GWAN ✧ PE17/154 (GWAN); PE17/154; PE17/165 (GWAN)

gael

adjective. pale, glimmering

nim-

adjective. pale, white

nimp

adjective. pale, white

nimp

adjective. pale

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ninqe “white” ✧ Ety/NIK-W

Derivations

• ᴹ√NIK(W) “*snow; white” ✧ Ety/NIK-W

Element in

• N. Ered Nimras “White Mountains”
• N. Ered Nimrath “White Mountains”
• N. Ephel Nimrais
• N. Nimbrethil
• N. Nimloth “Pale Blossom”
• N. nimmid(a)- “to whiten” ✧ Ety/NIK-W
• N. Nimdil “White Horn”
• N. nínim “snowdrop”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NIK-W > nimp	[niŋkwi] > [niŋkwe] > [nimpe] > [nimpʰe] > [nimɸe] > [nimfe] > [nimf] > [nimp] > [nimp]	✧ Ety/NIK-W

maidh

adjective. pale, fallow, fawn

meidh

adjective. pale, fallow, fawn