Laurelin

g.sg. laurelinden

Laurelin ("g.sg. Laurelinden" or Laurelingen; in LotR-style Quenya this is dat.sg.) Name of the Golden Tree of Valinor, interpreted both *"singing-gold" (stem Laurelind-) and "hanging-gold" (stem Laureling-) (LIN2, VT45:27, LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, [GLAW(-R)], SA, Letters:308)

laurelin

proper name. Song of Gold, Singing Gold

Name of the Golden Tree of Valinor, the one of the Two Trees which shone with golden light (S/38). It is a compound of laurë “gold” and lin(dë) “singing, song” (SA/laurë, lin²), variously translated as “Song of Gold” (MR/155) or “Singing Gold (PE17/80)”.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, the tree was first named ᴱQ. Lindelokte “Singing Cluster” with numerous variations (LT1/22, LTA/Lindelos). Towards the end of Tolkien’s work on the Lost Tales, he introduced the name ᴱQ. {Lindelaure >>} Laurelin “Singing-gold” (LT2/216), and used this as the name thereafter.

The name ᴹQ. Laurelin was translated “Song of Gold” in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/210). This translation also appeared in The Etymologies (Laurelind-, Ety/LIN²), but there Tolkien considered a variant, co-existing translation “Hanging Flame” (Laureling-, EtyAC/LING). This variant was retained in the later Sindarin name of the tree: S. Glingal.

Cognates

• S. Glewellin “Song of Gold” ✧ MR/155; PE17/061

Element in

• Q. Laurelindórenan “(Land of the) Valley of Singing Gold” ✧ PE17/080; PE17/080

Elements

Word	Gloss
laurë	“gold (light or colour)”
lindë	“singing, song, musical sound, singing, song, musical sound; [ᴹQ.] air, tune”

Variations

• laurelindë ✧ PE17/080
• laurelin ✧ PE17/080

laurë

gold

†laurë noun "gold", but of golden light and colour, not of the metal: "golden light" (according to PE17:61 a poetic word). Nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto "may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading" (VT49:47). In Etym defined as "light of the golden Tree Laurelin, gold", not properly used of the metal gold (LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, GLAW(-R), VT27:20, 27, PE17:159). In early "Qenya", however, laurë was defined as "(the mystic name of) gold" (LT1:255, 258) or simply "gold" (LT1:248, 268). In Laurelin and Laurefindil, q.v., Laurenandë "Gold-valley" = Lórien (the land, not the Vala) (UT:253) and laurinquë name of a tree, possibly *"Gold-full one" (UT:168). Laurendon "like gold" or "in gold fashion" (but after citing this form, Tolkien decided to abandon the similative ending -ndon, PE17:58).

Tar-culu

gold

Tar-culu ("k"), name listed in the Etymologies but not elsewhere attested. The second element is apparently culu "gold" (a word Tolkien seems to have abandoned); Hostetter and Wynne suggest that this may be an alternative name of Tar-Calion (= Ar-Pharazôn "the Golden"); see VT45:24.

culo

gold

[culo, culu ("k")noun "gold" (substance)] (KUL, VT49:47; the word culu_ also occurred in early "Qenya" [LT1:258], but in the Etymologies it was struck out; the regular Quenya word for "gold" is apparently _malta. In another version, culo meant "flame" [VT45:24], but this is apparently also a word Tolkien abandoned.)

malta

gold

malta noun "gold", also name of tengwa #18 (Appendix E). The Etymologies (entry SMAL) instead has malda, q.v. for discussion, but according to VT46:14, the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well. Also compare the root MALAT listed in PM:366.

Laurelin

Laurelin

Laurelin is said to mean "Song of Gold". In the Etymologies, the element laure ("gold") in Laurelin derives from the root LÁWAR-. The name Laurelin appears to be Quenya.

glewellin

proper name. Song of Gold

Sindarin cognate of Q. Laurelin “Song of Gold” appearing in the Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s but not in the published version of The Silmarillion (MR/155). It is a combination of Old Sindarin †glawar “gold” (PE17/61) and lind “song”, with the vowels in the initial element shifted to e because of the i in the last syllable.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Glewellin first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/210). In The Etymologies, it already had the derivation given above (Ety/LÁWAR). @@@ Glorlin

Cognates

• Q. Laurelin “Song of Gold, Singing Gold” ✧ MR/155; PE17/061

Derivations

• Os. glawar-lin ✧ PE17/061

Elements

Word	Gloss
glawar	“gold (light or colour), gold (light or colour); [N.] sunlight, radiance (of Laurelin)”
lind	“song, chant, singing; singer, song, chant, singing, [N.] air, tune; [N. and S.] singer”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
Os. glawar-lin > Glewellin	[glawarlinde] > [glawallinde] > [glewellinde] > [glewellind] > [glewellinn] > [glewellin]	✧ PE17/061

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

Cognates

• Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material” ✧ PE17/050

Derivations

• √MALAT “gold”

Element in

• S. Araval
• S. Malbeth “*Golden Word”
• S. mallorn “gold tree, yellow tree”
• S. mallos “golden flower”
• ᴺS. malthos “butter cup”
• S. Malvegil “?Sword of Gold”
• Os. malthorn “gold tree” ✧ PE17/050; VT42/27

glawar

laurelin, radiance of

(i ’lawar) (sunlight, gold), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

mall

gold

(i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malt

gold

(i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

malad

gold

(as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malad

gold

(i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl.

lóri

noun. gold

Cognates

• Q. laurë “gold (light or colour)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048
• T. glavarë “golden light”

Element in

• Nan. Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048

Variations

• lōri ✧ NM/347
• lór- ✧ PE17/048

pharaz

noun. gold

A noun meaning “gold”, the only Adûnaic word defined in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1114).

Conceptual Development: This noun also appears in “Lowdham’s Report on the Adunaic Language” from the 1940s (SD/426).

Element in

• Ad. Pharazôn “Golden” ✧ LotR/1114

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

Derivatives

• ✶malnā “yellow, of golden colour”
  • Q. malina “yellow, of golden colour” ✧ PE17/051
• ✶malu “dust”
• ✶smalu “dust, grit, [ᴹ✶] pollen, yellow powder; [✶] dust, grit”
• S. mallen “golden, golden, [N.] of gold”

Element in

• ✶Malaphinde “Goldlocks”
• √MALAT “gold”
• Q. culumalda “laburnum, *(lit.) orange-tree” ✧ SA/mal
• ᴺQ. malicon “amber”
• Q. Malinalda “Tree of Gold” ✧ SA/mal
• ᴺQ. malma “lemon”
• S. Cormallen “Golden Circle” ✧ SA/mal
• S. Malduin “Yellow River” ✧ SA/mal
• S. Malgalad “?yellow radiance”
• S. Mallor
• S. mallorn “gold tree, yellow tree” ✧ SA/mal

Variations

• mal- ✧ SA/mal

malat

root. gold

Derivatives

• ✶mal(a)tā “gold (as metal)”
  • Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material”
• S. malt “gold, gold (as metal)”

Elements

Word	Gloss
MAL	“gold, yellow, gold”

glaur

noun. gold

Cognates

• ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

• ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Element in

• N. Glorfindel ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. gloriel “golden” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. Inglor “*Heart of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. Maglor “Gold-cleaver” ✧ Ety/MAK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > glaur	[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]	✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
ᴹ√GLÁWAR > glaur	[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]	✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Variations

• glor-/lor- ✧ EtyAC/LÁWAR

glewellin

proper name. Song of Gold

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Laurelin “Song of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR; LR/210

Elements

Word	Gloss
glawar	“sunlight, radiance of Laurelin”
lhinn	“air, tune”

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

côl

noun. gold (metal)