calwa

beautiful

calwa ("k") adj. "beautiful" (LT1:254)

mairëa

beautiful

mairëa adj. "beautiful" (of things made by art) (PE17:163). An alternative (and peculiar) form "mairia" is also implied in the source.

mírya

beautiful

mírya adj. "beautiful" (of work of art only) (PE17:165)

vanima

adjective. beautiful

vanima

adjective. beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair

A word for “beautiful, fair” derived from the root √BAN of similar meaning (PE17/55, 143, 150, 165). Tolkien specified that this word was used “only of living things, especially Elves or Men” (PE17/150). Tolkien further stated that this would did not mean only “fair (blond)”, because it was applicable to Arwen who had dark hair (PE17/165). Thus it applied to any physically beautiful living creature.

Conceptual Development: The first appearance of this word was the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. {vana >>} vanĭma was glossed “proper, right, as it should be, fair” under the early root ᴱ√VANA (QL/99). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹQ. vanima “fair” under the root ᴹ√BAN (Ety/BAN). In this document it was the basis for ᴹQ. Vanimo “the Beautiful”, indicating that by the 1930s its base meaning had shifted from “proper” to “beautiful”.

Neo-Sindarin: In the “Neologism of the Day” (NotD) series on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server as posted 2023-05-30, Delle pointed out that this word was not specifically feminine, so could also mean “✱handsome” when applied to males.

Vána

beautiful (one)

Vána fem. name, a Valië, the wife of Oromë (Silm, WJ:383); the Etymologies gives Vana with no long vowel (BAN). The apparent meaning is *"beautiful (one)", since she was "the most perfectly beautiful in form and feature…representing the natural unmarred perfection of form in living things" (PE17:150).

lelya

delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely

lelya (2) adj. "delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely" (PE17:139, 151)

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

vanima

beautiful, fair

vanima adj. "beautiful, fair" (BAN, VT39:14) (glossed "proper, right, fair" in early "Qenya", LT1:272, though a later source says the word is used "only of living things, especially Elves and Men", PE17:150); nominal pl. vanimar "beautiful ones", partitive pl. genitive vanimálion, translated "of beautiful children", but literally meaning *"of [some] beautiful ones") (LotR3:VI ch. 6, translated in Letters:308). Arwen vanimalda "Beautiful Arwen", literally "Arwen your beauty" (see -lda for reference; changed to Arwen vanimelda in the second edition of LotR; see vanimelda).

vanimalda

your beautiful

vanimalda adj. with suffix *"your beautiful"; Arwen vanimalda "Arwen your beauty = beautiful Arwen" (WJ:369, cf. PE17:55).The ending for sg. "your" normally appears as -lya rather than -lda (which according to late sources is rather the ending for plural "your", here inappropriate). Originally Tolkien seems to have intended vanimalda as an inflected form of vanima "beautiful", the ending -lda expressing comparative, superlative or simply "exceedingly" (PE17:56: vanimalda = "exceeding fair"). However, since this ending was later revised out of existence, Tolkien reinterpreted the word. The Second Edition of LotR changes one letter to arrive at the reading vanimelda, q.v. for Tolkiens new explanation.%

írima

lovely, beautiful, desirable

írima adj. "lovely, beautiful, desirable" (ID, FS, PE17:155), in FS also pl. írimar; in the "Qenya" of Fíriel's Song, adjectives in -a form their plurals in -ar instead of -ë as in LotR-style Quenya.

lelya

adjective. delicate, beautiful and fine, slender, lovely

mairëa

adjective. beautiful (of things made by art)

vanima

noun. beautiful one, fair one

vanimelda

adjective. beautiful and beloved, elven-fair

vanya

adjective. fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy

wenya

adjective. fair, beautiful

linda

adjective. beautiful (of sound), sweet, melodious; soft, gentle, light, beautiful (of sound), sweet, melodious; soft, gentle, light, [ᴱQ.] kind; [ᴹQ.] fair

mairia

adjective. beautiful (of things made by art)

mirya

adjective. beautiful, lovely (of works of art only)

míra

adjective. beautiful, lovely

Lindar

singers

Lindar noun "Singers" (sg. Linda), what the Teleri called themselves (WJ:380, MR:349, UT:253, 286). It seems that Lindar is also interpreted "the Beautiful" (cf. the common adj. linda "fair, beautiful"), but this interpretation apparently belongs primarily to Tolkien's earlier conception, when Lindar was the name of the First Clan, the name of which he revised to Vanyar (similarly meaning "the Fair"). Adj. Lindarin = Telerin (but Tolkien of course held it to be = Vanyarin when the First Clan, the later Vanyar, were still called Lindar before he decided to apply this name to the third clan, the Teleri) (TĀ/TA3)

vanimelda

the highest word of praise for beauty

vanimelda adj., said to be "the highest word of praise for beauty", with two interpretations that were apparently considered equally valid and simultaneously true: "beautiful and beloved" (vanima + melda, with haplology), i.e. "movingly lovely", but also "elven-fair" (fair as an Elf) (vanima + elda). The word was also used as the second name of Arwen. (PE17:56, Second Edition LotR1:II ch. 16).

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

wenya

green, yellow-green, fresh

wenya adj. "green, yellow-green, fresh" (GWEN), apparently "fair, beautiful" ("probably originally "fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth") in a later deleted note (PE17:191).

amya-

prefix. excellent, admirable

mai-

prefix. excellent, admirable, excellent, admirable; *well, happily

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

írë

noun. desire, desire, [ᴹQ.] longing

-ima

fair

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

céva

fresh, new

céva ("k")adj. "fresh, new" (VT48:7, 8)

ezel

green

ezel, ezella adj. "green" (in Vanyarin Quenya only). Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399)

ezel(la)

adjective. green

isca

pale

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

laica

green

laica (1) adj. "green" (in older sources laiqua) (Letters:282, PE17:159). Laicolassë (laica + #olassë) "green-foliage" (PE17:46), Quenya cognate of Sindarin Laegolas (dialectal form Legolas); compare olassië. Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves", literally "green-leaf" (PE17:56).

laica

adjective. green

laiqua

green

laiqua ("q")adj. "green" (LÁYAK, LT1:267, MC:214), "Qenya" pl. laiquali ("q")(MC:216). Occurs in the phrase laiqua'ondoisen ("q") "green-rocks-upon" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"), Laiqualassë ("q") masc. name "Legolas" (Greenleaf) (LT1:267). Used as noun in the phrase mi laiqua of somebody clad "in green" (PE17:71). In later material, the word for "green" appears as laica, and the cognate of Legolas is said to be Laicolassë, q.v. (PE17:56)

laiqua

adjective. green

luina

pale

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

maiya

noun. (angelic) spirit

marya

pale, fallow, fawn

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

melwa

lovely

melwa adj. "lovely" (LT1:262); compare melda in Tolkiens later Quenya.

milmë

desire, greed

milmë noun "desire, greed" (MIL-IK)

néca

pale, vague, faint, dim to see

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

nívë

pale

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

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

virya

fresh

virya (1) adj. "fresh" (VT46:22)

yesta-

desire

yesta- (1) vb. "desire" (YES, VT46:23; the latter source indicates that Tolkien did write yesta- with a final hyphen, indicating that this is "desire" as a verbal stem, not as a noun).

írissë

desire

Írissë fem. name (PM:345), evidently connected to írë "desire".

írë

desire

írë (1) noun "desire". (ID). In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, írë was also the name of a long carrier with an i-tehta above it, denoting long í. (VT45:17).

bain

beautiful

_ adj. _beautiful. Q. vanya.

bain

adjective. fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired

dail

adjective. beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely

bain

adjective. beautiful, fair

deil

adjective. beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely

bain

beautiful

bain (fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

beautiful

(fair). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

dail

adjective. delicate

adj. delicate, beautiful and fine, slender. Q. lelya.

dail

adjective. lovely

_ adj. _lovely, beautiful. Q. lelya. >> deil

deil

adjective. delicate

adj. delicate, beautiful and fine, slender. Q. lelya. >> dail

deil

lovely

_ adj. _lovely, beautiful. Q. lelya. >> dail

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

ein-

prefix. excellent, admirable

aníra-

verb. to desire

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

calen

adjective. green

calen

green

(galen) _ adj. _green (fresh, vigorous). galen after a sg. noun. Q. kălina (lit. illumined) sunny, light.

cîw

adjective. fresh, new

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

laeb

adjective. green

_ adj. _green. A theoretical equivalent to Q. laiqua but that did not exist in Sindarin.

laeb

adjective. fresh

laeg

green

_ adj. _green. >> Legolas

laeg

adjective. green

_ adj. _green (of leaves, herbage). Q. laika.

laeg

adjective. "viridis", fresh and green

Seldom used (replaced by calen )

laew

adjective. fresh

_ adj. _fresh.

laew

adjective. fresh

lind

adjective. fair

maer

adjective. excellent

_ adj. _excellent. Q. maira admirable, excellent, precious. >> maer-, maeron

melui

adjective. lovely, sweet

This word only occurs in the place name Imloth Melui, a vale where roses grew

nimp

adjective. pale

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

raud

excellent

_ adj. _excellent, noble, eminent.

írui

adjective. desirable

_ adj. _desirable, lovely (mostly applied to persons, esp. women).

aníra

desire

(vb.) aníra- (i aníra, in anírar);

aníra

desire

(i aníra, in anírar);

calen

green

1) (etymologically "bright") calen (lenited galen), pl. celin (attested in lenited form in the name Pinnath **Gelin, "Green Ridges"). 2) laeg (fresh), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas** ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386).

calen

green

(lenited galen), pl. celin (attested in lenited form in the name Pinnath Gelin, "Green Ridges").

cîw

fresh

1) cîw (lenited gîw; no distinct pl. form) (new), 2) laeb (no distinct pl. form). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” lhoeb (LR:368 s.v. LÁYAK) 3) laeg (green), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386).

elu

pale blue

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

gael

pale

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

gwind

pale blue

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

laeg

green

(fresh), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386). 

lasgalen

leaf-green

(pl. lesgelin).

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).

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”.

nimp

pale

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

thind

pale

(grey); no distinct pl. form

îr

sexual desire

(VT46:23)

banya

adjective. beautiful

ban

root. beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful

The root √BAN (or some variant) was connected to beauty for most of Tolkien’s life. One notable derivative was the name of the Valie Vána. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s Tolkien gave this root as ᴱ√VANA (unglossed) with derivatives like ᴱQ. vane “fair, lovely” and ᴱQ. vanesse “beauty”, but also ᴱQ. Vanar as another name for the Valar (QL/99). The Gnomish words had distinct forms like G. Ban “Vala” (GL/18) vs. G. gwant “beautiful” (GL/44). Thus it seems that ᴱ√VANA in the 1910s is actually a blending of two roots, ✱ᴱ√BANA (or ᴱ√ɃANA) “divine” vs. ✱ᴱ√WANA “beautiful”. This second variant reappeared much later in the 1959 root √(G)WAN “fair, pale” (PE17/154; WJ/383); see below.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this root as ᴹ√BAN and it seems at this stage it was associated exclusively with beauty, given derivatives like ᴹQ. vanya and N. bein “beautiful, fair” (Ety/BAN). These words survived into later iterations of the languages as Q. vanya and S. bain (PE17/150). The root √BAN reappeared with these derivatives in several etymological notes written around 1959 (PE17/149-150, 165).

In these 1959 notes, Tolkien first connected √BAN to “fair” as it was in the 1930s (PE17/149), but reversed himself, noting “VAN cannot only = fair (blonde), since vanima is applied in LR to Arwen who was like Lúthien dark” (PE17/165). This prompted Tolkien to reintroduce the root √(G)WAN “fair”, as noted above, limiting √BAN to “beauty” only. He then refined its meaning, saying “√BAN ... appears originally to have referred simply to ‘beauty’, but with implication that it was due to lack of fault or blemish” (PE17/150). The root applied to Vána because she was perfect and unmarred in her beauty.

gwen

root. fair, beautiful; (probably originally) fresh, fair, unblemished (especially of beauty of youth)

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives having to do with freshness and greenness, as in ᴹQ. wenya “green, yellow-green, fresh” and Ilk. gwên “greenness”. In that document it was also the basis for N. bein “fair, beautiful” by way of blending with ᴹ√BAN “beautiful”. In the entry for ᴹ√GWEN Tolkien said it needed to be distinguished from ᴹ√WEN(ED) “maiden”, but in the entry for ᴹ√WEN(ED) he said maiden words needed to be transferred to ᴹ√GWEN (Ety/WEN).

This connection between “fresh” and “maiden” reappeared in notes from 1959, where √GWEN was given with gloss “fair, beautiful (probably originally fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth)” as this basis for “maiden” words (PE17/191). But Tolkien soon rejected this notion and reverted back to √WEN(ED); this may be a reflection of Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation between Q. wende versus vende as the proper Quenya word for “maiden”; wende (which seems to be his preference) would be better supported by an ancient root beginning with gw-, but that would also invalidate the Sindarin form gwend “maiden” (not ✱✱bend).

Tolkien seems to have given up on √GWEN for maiden words, and the sense “fresh” seems to have been reassigned to the root √KEW in later notes (VT48/7), so √GWEN may have been abandoned completely.

may

root. excellent, admirable, beautiful; make [art]; suitable, useful, proper, serviceable; right

A root appearing in Tolkien’s later writings with a variety of glosses: √MAY “make (in artistic sense as ποιήτης [Greek: make, create])” in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/145, 163), {√MAGA >>} √(A)MAY “suitable, useful, proper, serviceable; right” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 but this note was crossed through (PE17/172), √MAY “excellent, admirable” elsewhere in DLN (PE17/172), again as √MAY “excellent, admirable” in notes contemporaneous to the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (PE17/150, 163) and finally as √MAY “beautiful” in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/18).

Two notable derivatives of √MAY were S. mae “well” (PE17/17, 163) and Q. Maia (PE17/163; VT47/18), but elsewhere these two words were derived from the root √MAG “good (useful)” (PE17/16, 162; PE19/46, 62, 75, 94). In the aforementioned notes from the late 1960s, however, Tolkien said “maga was distinct from maʒa and maya” (VT48/18). For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume the root √MAY was distinct from √MAG, having the meaning “excellent, admirable, beautiful” and by extension the creation of beautiful things such as art, to allow the retention of 1957 words like Q. maitar “artist” (PE17/163).

A possible precursor to this root is unglossed ᴱ√MAẎA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. mai “too much” and ᴱQ. maira “excessive, strong” (QL/60); perhaps a more extreme version of its later sense “excellent”. The entry also included ᴱQ. mairu “(horse ?); mane, flowing hair”, but Tolkien marked this word with a “?”, perhaps indicating he was unsure it was from this root (QL/60).

ir

root. desire, long for, desire, long for; [ᴹ√] desirable, beautiful

Tolkien experimented with a variety of roots for “desire, desirable”, some in connection to the name Idril. Perhaps the earliest iteration of this root is indicated by the Gnomish word G. irn “desired, wished for” (GL/52), but given its other related forms such as G. îr- “will, intend to”, G. irm “wish, intention, resolve” and ᴱQ irya “wish” (GL/52; PE13/116), the (unattested) early root ✱ᴱ√IRI probably meant “wish, intend”.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s there was a root ᴹ√ĪR “desirable, beautiful”, but it had no derivatives (EtyAC/ĪR). Elsewhere in the document ᴹQ. íre “desire” was derived from the root ᴹ√ID (Ety/ID), perhaps a new iteration of the (hypothetical) early root ✱ᴱ√ITI “precious”. This second root ᴹ√ID had various derivatives having to do with both thoughts and desires, such as ᴹQ. indo “heart, mood”, N. ind “inner thought, meaning, heart”, ᴹQ. írima “lovely, desirable”, and N. idhren “pondering, wise, thoughtful”. Among its derivatives Tolkien also gave N. Idhril, untranslated but probably meaning “✱Desirable One”.

The problem with this last derivation is that in the contemporaneous narratives, Tolkien generally gave her name as Idril (SM/36, LR/141), which was the form of her name dating all the way in The Lost Tales of the 1910s (LT2/164). When writing the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien again used Idril (LotR/1034).

This form of the name could not be derived from √ID, and Tolkien wrestled with this question in his Notes on Names (NN) written in 1957 (PE17/112). Acknowledging the problem, Tolkien first considered introducing a new root √IT “(great) enhancement” to serve as the basic of Idril, but he reversed himself, giving √ID “desire, long for” as a better basis for the name, saying: “Decision: [S.] íđril, Q Írilde”. But then he crossed all this through, and considered reintroducing √IT with a modified meaning “repeat, multiply” (PE17/112).

Based on The Shibboleth of Fëanor written 1968, it seems Tolkien stuck with the notion of basing Idril on a √IT, though he revised the meaning of the root again to “glitter” or “sparkle” (PM/363). As for √ID, the meaning “desire” seems to have been transferred back to √IR, which Tolkien gave with the gloss “desire” in notes on roots having to do with “beautiful” written in 1959-60 (PE17/155). Also, around 1957 Tolkien introduced a new root √IN-I-D to serve as the basis for Q. indo “mind” (PE17/155). The various words having to do with “thoughts” derived from 1930s ᴹ√ID may have been transferred to √IN-ID, a possibility suggested by Elaran in a Discord chat on January 26, 2018. If so, Tolkien may have abandon √ID, using only √IR and √INID going forward.

Assuming the above reasoning is correct, the conceptual development would be 1910s ✱ᴱ√IRI “wish, intend” >> 1930s ᴹ√ID “desire, thoughts” >> 1957 √ID “desire” >> 1959 √IR “desire”, with thought words transferred to √IN-ID (later √I-NID) and the name Idril transferred to √IT “glitter”.

delya

adjective. lovely, fine, beautiful

gwenyā

adjective. fair, beautiful

gwen

root. fresh, *green, fair, unblemished, beautiful

@@@ might still be valid for Quenya derivations in the Etymologies

bani

adjective. fair

id

root. desire, long for

laikā

adjective. green

wanyā

adjective. fair

bein

adjective. fair, beautiful

bein

adjective. beautiful, fair

calen

adjective. green

gael

adjective. pale, glimmering

lhaeb

adjective. fresh

lhoeb

adjective. fresh

lhoeb

adjective. fresh

maidh

adjective. pale, fallow, fawn

meidh

adjective. pale, fallow, fawn

nim-

adjective. pale, white

nimp

adjective. pale, white

nimp

adjective. pale

îr

noun. sexual desire

ezel(la)

adjective. green

lego

adjective. green

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?