Quenya 

vingilótë

proper name. Foam-flower

Name of the ship of Eärendil, translated “Foam-flower” (S/246). It is a compound of vingë (vingi-) “foam” and lótë “flower”, and often appeared in the shorter form Vingilot.

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, always with essentially the same etymology and meaning. In the earliest stories it appeared as ᴱQ. Wingilot (LT1/21), and was ᴹQ. Wingelóte in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/LOT(H), WIG).

Although Tolkien was consistent on the meaning of this name and its elements, he could never quite make up his mind on its exact form. The name appeared in a wide variety of forms, from his earliest to his latest writings. The variations were:

  • The initial letter could be V- or W-.

  • The middle vowel could be i, e or a.

  • The final syllable be -lótë or -lot.

The first of these variation probably reflects Tolkien’s uncertainty on the development of the phoneme [w] in Quenya; in one place Tolkien said it “is in intention formed to resemble and ‘explain’ the name of Wade’s ship Guingelot” (PM/371). The second variation indicates different possible primitive forms of vingë “foam”. The third variation is simply the ordinary variation in the short and long forms of the name, also seen in names like Valinor/Valinórë and Silmaril/Silmarillë.

Vingilot/Vingilótë was the form adopted by Christopher Tolkien for the published Silmarillion, since it replaced earlier forms (sometimes but not always) in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (WJ/246).

Cognates

  • Ad. Rothinzil “Foam-flower” ✧ S/259; PM/163; PM/365; PM/370; PMI/Rothinzil; SI/Rothinzil; SI/Vingilot
  • S. Gwingloth “Foam-flower” ✧ PM/370; PMI/Vingilot

Elements

WordGloss
vingë“foam, spindrift, spray, foam, spindrift, spray, [ᴹQ.] wave crest, [ᴱQ.] froth, scud; wave”
lótë“flower, single blossom, flower, single blossom; [ᴱQ.] bloom”

Variations

  • Vingilot ✧ PM/163; PMI/Rothinzil; PMI/Vingilot; S/246; S/259; SI/Rothinzil; SI/Vingilot; WJI/Vingelot
  • Wingalótë ✧ PM/370; PMI/Vingilot
  • Wingelótë ✧ PM/371; PMI/Vingilot
  • Wingelot ✧ PMI/Vingilot
  • Vingelot ✧ SA/wing; WJI/Vingelot
Quenya [PM/163; PM/365; PM/370; PM/371; PM/392; PMI/Rothinzil; PMI/Vingilot; S/246; S/259; SA/loth; SA/wing; SI/Rothinzil; SI/Vingilot; WJI/Vingelot] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

gwingloth

proper name. Foam-flower

Sindarin name of Q. Vingilótë (PM/370), a combination of gwing “foam” and loth “flower” (Ety/LOT(H), WIG).

Conceptual Development: In Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, the elements of this name were inverted as Lothwing(a) “Foam Flower” (GL/46, 55) and also appeared as Gwingalos (GL/46). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, it became N. Gwingloth, and this is the source of the derivation given above (Ety/LOT(H), WIG; EtyAC/LOT(H)).

Cognates

  • Q. Vingilótë “Foam-flower” ✧ PM/370; PMI/Vingilot

Elements

WordGloss
gwing“foam, spindrift, foam, spindrift, [N.] flying spray; [G.] wave-crest”
loth“flower, single blossom; inflorescence, head of small flowers”
Sindarin [PM/370; PMI/Vingilot] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

rothinzil

proper name. Foam-flower

The Adûnaic name of Eärendil’s ship Vingilótë “Foam-flower”, of the same meaning (S/249). This name appears in earlier writings as Rôthinzil with a long ô (SD/360). Its later form is a violation of the phonetic rules laid out by Tolkien in Lowdham’s Report, which said that the vowels ] and ] could only be long in Adûnaic (SD/423). The later form could be an Anglicanized or a Westronized form (where a short [o] could appear), or it could indicate that Tolkien changed his mind about Adûnaic phonetic rules. Some linguistic notes from the 1930s suggest Tolkien at one point considered making the name Quenya (P19/49).

Cognates

  • Q. Vingilótë “Foam-flower” ✧ S/259; PM/163; PM/365; PM/370; PMI/Rothinzil; SI/Rothinzil; SI/Vingilot
  • ᴹQ. Wingelóte “Foam-flower” ✧ SDI2/Vingalótë; SD/360; SDI2/Rôthinzil

Elements

WordGloss
rôth“foam, white crest of waves”
inzil“flower, lily”

Variations

  • Rôthinzil ✧ SD/360; SDI2/Rôthinzil; SDI2/Vingalótë
Adûnaic [PE19/049; PM/163; PM/365; PM/369; PM/370; PM/376; PMI/Rothinzil; S/259; SD/360; SDI2/Rôthinzil; SDI2/Vingalótë; SI/Rothinzil; SI/Vingilot] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

gwingloth

proper name. Foam-flower

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. Wingelóte “Foam-flower” ✧ Ety/LOT(H); Ety/WIG

Elements

WordGloss
gwing“spindrift, flying spray”
lhoth“flower(s)”

Variations

  • Gwingeloth ✧ EtyAC/LOT(H)
Noldorin [Ety/LOT(H); Ety/WIG; EtyAC/LOT(H)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

wingelóte

proper name. Foam-flower

Changes

  • WingilóteWingelóte ✧ Ety/LOT(H)

Cognates

  • Ad. Rothinzil “Foam-flower” ✧ SDI2/Vingalótë; SD/360; SDI2/Rôthinzil
  • N. Gwingloth “Foam-flower” ✧ Ety/LOT(H); Ety/WIG

Elements

WordGloss
winge“foam, crest of wave, crest”
lóte“(large single) flower”

Variations

  • Wingilóte ✧ EtyAC/LOT(H) (Wingilóte)
  • Vingelot ✧ LRI/Vingelot
  • Wingelot ✧ LRI/Vingelot
  • Wingalōtē ✧ SD/342
  • Vingalôtë ✧ SD/360
  • Vingalótë ✧ SDI2/Rôthinzil; SDI2/Vingalótë
  • Wingalótë ✧ SDI2/Vingalótë
Qenya [Ety/LOT(H); Ety/WIG; EtyAC/LOT(H); LR/143; LRI/Vingelot; SD/342; SD/360; SDI2/Rôthinzil; SDI2/Vingalótë; SM/149; SM/155; SMI/Wingelot] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

wingilot

proper name. Foam-flower

Changes

  • WingelotWingilot ✧ LT1/021

Cognates

Elements

WordGloss
winge“(blowing) foam, spindrift, froth, scud, spray; wave”
lóte“flower, bloom, blossom”

Variations

  • Wingelot ✧ LBI/Wingelot; LT1/021 (Wingelot); LT1I/Wingilot; LT2I/Wingilot
  • Vingelot ✧ LT2I/Vingelot; LT2I/Wingilot
  • wingilot ✧ PME/104
  • ’Wingilot ✧ QL/104; QL/104
Early Quenya [LBI/Wingelot; LT1/021; LT1A/Lindelos; LT1A/Wingilot; LT1I/Wingilot; LT2I/Vingelot; LT2I/Wingilot; PE15/07; PE15/29; PME/104; QL/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by