wilin

bird

wilin noun "bird" (LT1:273; if this "Qenya" word is to be used in LotR-style Quenya, it must not be confused with the 1st pers. aorist of the verb wil-.)

aiwë

noun. (small) bird

A noun meaning “(small) bird” (SA/lin¹, Ety/AIWĒ), appearing in Radagast’s Quenya name Aiwendil “Lover of Birds” (UT/401). It was derived from primitive ᴹ✶aiwē like its Sindarin cognate aew (Ety/AIWĒ).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, ᴱQ. aiwe appeared as the cognate of G. aigli “bird” (GL/17), but in Early Noldorin notes from the 1920s, the cognate of ᴱN. aiw “bird” was given as ᴱQ. oive (PE13/136, 158) or oi(we) (PE13/132). A similar form oio (stem oiw-) appeared in notes on the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/12). In The Etymologies from the mid-1930s, the form ᴹQ. aiwe was restored (Ety/AIWĒ), and this is the source of the derivation given above.

aiwë

(small) bird

aiwë noun "(small) bird" (AIWĒ, SA:lin #1); Aiwendil "Lover of Birds" (UT:401)

ambalë

yellow bird, 'yellow hammer'

ambalë noun "yellow bird, 'yellow hammer' " (SMAL)

ammalë

yellow bird, 'yellow hammer'

ammalë noun "yellow bird, 'yellow hammer' " (SMAL)

cirincë

noun. scarlet-plumed species of bird

A species of Númenorean bird that Tolkien described as “no bigger than wrens, but all scarlet, with piping voices on the edge of human hearing”, appearing only in its plural form kirinki (UT/169; NM/337). It is not clear what, if any, terrestrial species it equated to. It might be a diminutive form based on √KIR “cut”, so perhaps literally “✱little cutter”.

filit

small bird

filit (filic- ("k"), as in pl. filici) noun "small bird" (PHILIK)

lindo

singer, singing bird

lindo noun "singer, singing bird" (LIN2)

Aiwenor

birdland

Aiwenor, Aiwenorë (read *Aiwenórë?) place-name "Birdland" = lower air (AIWĒ)

aiwestë

noun. bird’s nest

A neologism for “nest” coined by Tamas Ferencz, an elaboration of Q. aiwë “bird”.

falmafilit

noun. budgie, (lit.) wave-bird

A neologism for “budgie” coined by Luinyelle posted on 2025-06-03 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of falma “wave” and [ᴹQ.] filit (filic-) “small bird”.

filincë

noun. finch

A word for “finch” appearing in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936 and Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s, derived form the root √PHILIK (PE21/56, 72). See also ᴹQ. filit “sparrow, small bird”.

Conceptual Development: In the early 1930s document Declension of Nouns, Tolkien gave ᴹQ. liri for “finch”.

ailindo

noun. loon [bird], (lit.) lake-singer

A neologism coined by Valerie posted on 2024-08-14 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a combination of ailin “lake” and [ᴹQ.] lindo “singer”.

cinta

small

cinta adj. "small" (PE17:157)

cinta

adjective. small

A word for “small” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 derived from the root √KIT or √KIN (PE17/157).

Neo-Quenya: This word is fairly obscure, so I would used other words for “small” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, such as níca.

inya

small

inya (2) adj. "small" (LT1:256; this "Qenya" word may be obsoleted by # 1 above)

linda

proper name. Singer

The name that the Teleri used to refer to themselves, usually appearing in the plural form Lindar and glossed “The Singers” (SI/Teleri, UT/286). They were so called because in legend, they sang before they could speak with words (WJ/382). The name was derived from the root √LIN “sing” (SA/lin, WJ/382).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name was used for the first tribe, with the gloss “The Fair” (LR/168). It usually appeared as a collective noun, but sometimes appeared in the singular (PE22/51). In The Etymologies, it is given as ᴹQ. linda “fair, beautiful (of sound)” used as a name (Ety/LIND). In later writings, the name of the first tribe became the Vanyar, and Tolkien repurposed this name as another name of the third tribe with a slightly different derivation and meaning.

maiwë

gull

maiwë noun "gull" (MIW), pl. maiwi in _Markirya. Cf. also the "Qenya" pl. maiwin "gulls" (MC:213)_

maiwë

noun. gull

A noun for “gull” appearing in its plural form maiwi in the Q. Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/222). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. maiwe “gull” was derived from the root ᴹ√MIW “whine” (Ety/MIW).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s the word was ᴱQ. māwe (māwi-) “gull” under the early root ᴱ√MAWA “cry, bleat” (QL/60), also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/60). In Early Qenya Word-lists from the 1920s Tolkien instead had vaiya or {maiwe >>} waiwe “seamew” (PE16/138), but in the version of the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya poem from circa 1930, Tolkien used maiwe in its nominative plural form maiwin “gulls” (MC/213).

mintë

small

mintë adj. "small" (VT45:35)

mitsa

small

mitsa adj. "small" (VT45:35) Another synonym from the same source, mitra, looks unusual for a Quenya word (because of the medial cluster tr)

nincë

small

*nincë (ninci*-) ("k")adj. "small". The form is given as "ninki" with the last vowel marked as short; this is probably the etymological form that would underlie Quenya nincë. The word is said to mean "small" with "good senses"; contrast nípa**, *nimpë. (VT48:18)

nitya

small

#nitya adj. "small" (VT48:15, PM:365)

nyello

singer

nyello noun "singer" (NYEL). Compare the final element of Falanyel, #Solonyel, q.v

níca

small

níca ("k")adj. "small". The word is said to mean "small" with "good senses"; contrast nípa, *nimpë. (VT47:26, VT48:18)

níca

adjective. small

A word appearing in a note from 1968 along side a (primitive?) variant ✶ninkĭ, both derived from the root √NIK “small” and so probably of similar meaning (VT47/26; VT48/18).

pinilya

small

pinilya adj. "small" (MC:220; this is "Qenya")

pí

small insect, fly

pí noun "small insect, fly" (VT47:35)

tambaro

woodpecker

tambaro noun "woodpecker" (TAM)

tuilindo

swallow

tuilindo noun "swallow", etymologically "spring-singer" (TUY, LIN2, LT1:269, LT2:338)

cuen

noun. small gull, petrel, sea-bird

A noun appearing as cuen “small gull, petrel” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, a loan word from Ilk. cwên of the same meaning, derived from the primitive root ᴹ√KWǢ (EtyAC/KWǢ). Its Noldorin form N. poen had fallen out of use. It also appeared with the form cuén “a sea-bird” in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s, again as a loan word from Ilkorin (PE22/32).

Neo-Sindarin: Since Ilkorin was no longer a part of Tolkien’s system of Elvish languages in the 1950s and 60s, this word is somewhat questionable, but I think it is worth retaining, reimagined as a loan word from a different language (probably a dialect of Nandorin).

emlin

noun. yellow bird, yellow hammer

A word for a yellow bird in The Etymologies of the 1930s, apparently the species yellowhammer, appearing under the root ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). The initial element was derived from primitive ᴹ✶asmalē, which became ON. ammale in Old Noldorin, but at this stage the word was expanded to ON. ammalinde with the addition of ✱linde “song”, and whole word became emlin as a result of i-affection. Emlin replaced deleted variants ammalen and amalen, both apparently derived from ON. ammalinda, where a-affection trumped i-affection.

fileg

noun. small bird, small bird, [G.] *sparrow

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small bird” derived from the root ᴹ√PHILIK and cognate to ᴹQ. filit (filik-) of the same meaning (Ety/PHILIK). Tolkien said fileg was an “analogical singular” form (along with another singular form filigod) based on its plural form filig. That is because the final -k in ✱philik was lost in ancient times, as explained in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/72) so that its historical phonetic development would have produced singular N./S. ✱fil. This form was deemed unsuitable, and a new singular form fileg was constructed based on the plural. Something similar happened with S. thoron “eagle”.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. bilin or bilinc for “a small bird, especially sparrow”, a diminutive form of G. bil “bird” (GL/22, 23).

Neo-Sindarin: I think it is likely that fileg can also be used to refer to sparrows for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, since its Quenya cognate filit was in one place glossed “sparrow, small bird” (PE21/56).

aew

noun. (small) bird

aew

noun. (small) bird

emelin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"

emlin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"

emmelin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"

fileg

noun. small bird

filigod

noun. small bird

filigod

noun. small bird

heledir

noun. kingfisher (bird)

heledirn

noun. kingfisher (bird)

tafr

noun. woodpecker (bird)

tavor

noun. woodpecker (bird)

tavr

noun. woodpecker (bird)

tuilin

noun. swallow (bird)

tuilind

noun. swallow (bird)

tuilinn

noun. swallow (bird)

poen

noun. small gull, petrel

A noun for “small gull, petrel” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ᴹ✶kwǣnē under the root ᴹ√KWǢ, but it fell out of use and was replaced by N. cuen, a loan-word from Ilkorin (EtyAC/KWǢ).

maew

noun. gull

maew

noun. gull

mithren

adjective. small

mîw

adjective. small, tiny, frail

aew

noun. (small) bird

A noun meaning “(small) bird” (SA/lin¹, Ety/AIWĒ), appearing in the name Linaewen “Lake of Birds” (S/119, UT/401). It was derived from primitive ᴹ✶aiwē like its Quenta cognate aiwë (Ety/AIWĒ), with the primitive diphthong ai becoming the ae in Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, G. aigli “bird” was given as a derivative of the root ᴱ√aı̯, though in this early iteration Tolkien said it especially applied to larger instead of smaller birds (GL/17). In Early Noldorin notes from the 1920s, it became ᴱN. aiw “bird” (PE13/136, 158). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, the form became N. aew “(small) bird” (Ety/AIWĒ), and this is the source of the derivation given above.

craban

a bird of the crow-kind

pl1. crebain _ n. _a bird of the crow-kind. Not an ancient S. word, and probably a loan from some Mannish tongue of North-West or from some non-Eldarin elvish of the same region.

craban

noun. bird of crow-kind, *raven

A noun for a large crow-like bird, appearing in its plural form crebain in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/285). Its singular form craban was given in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, where Tolkien described it as “a bird of the crow-kind” and said it was “not an ancient Sindarin word, and probably a loan from some Mannish tongue of NW or from some non-Eldarin Elvish of the same region” (PE17/37). Jim Allen noted its similarity proto-Germanic ✱khrabanaz (An Introduction to Elvish, p. 75). The exact species isn’t clear, but it might be a kind of raven.

aew

noun. (small) bird

aewen

adjective. of birds

aew

bird

(small bird) 1) aew. No distinct pl. form. 2) fileg, pl. filig; the form filigod appears as an alternative singular. or

aew

bird

. No distinct pl. form.

fileg

bird

pl. filig; the form filigod appears as an alternative singular.

aew

small bird

aew. No distinct pl. form.

aew

small bird

. No distinct pl. form.

alfuil

noun. large white sea-bird, albatross, †swan

aewen

of birds

pl. aewin.

heledir

kingfisher

(bird) heledir (i cheledir, o cheledir), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i cheledir). Since the final element is derived from primitve -tirno, it may be that the otherwise lost final n would be preserved in the coll. pl. ?heledirnath. The literal meaning of the word is ”fish-watcher”.

lind

singer

(also used of rivers) lind (song, air, tune), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath. (WJ.309). As for "yellow singer", the name of a bird, see YELLOWHAMMER.

lind

singer

(song, air, tune), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath. (WJ.309). As for "yellow singer", the name of a bird, see

flinc

noun. finch

A word for a “finch” appearing in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s, derived from primitive ✶philinki (PE21/72, 81). N. flinc also appeared in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, but there the word was unglossed.

linnor

noun. singer

cidinn

adjective. small

_ adj. _small. Q. cinta.

cinnog

adjective. small

_ adj. _small. Q. cinta.

gwael

noun. gull

maew

noun. gull

A noun for “gull” first appearing as N. maew in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√MIW “whine” (Ety/MIW). It appeared in later notes as an archaic genitive plural maewion in the phrase S. †glim maewion “(the) voices of gulls” (PE17/97). Its class plural mewrim seems to have appeared in S. Ras Mewrim “✱Cape of the Gulls”, an alternate name for S. Bar-in-Mŷl “Home of the Gulls” (WJ/190). If so, the vowel e would be the result of the sound change whereby ae sometimes became e in polysyllables.

mŷl

noun. gull

mŷl

noun. gull

A word for “gull” in the name S. Bar-in-Mŷl “Home of the Gulls” (WJ/379); its singular and plural forms would be the same. It might be derived from ✱miulē < ᴹ√MIW “whine”, the basis for other “gull” words, since iu became ȳ in Sindarin. I’d recommend using the better attested S. maew “gull” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

niben

adjective. small, petty

niben

adjective. little finger (Elvish play-name used by and taught to children)

nimp

adjective. small and frail

cuen

small gull

(i guen, o chuen) (petrel), pl. ?cuin (?i chuin) (VT45:24)

cuen

small gull

cuen (i guen, o chuen) (petrel), pl. ?cuin (?i chuin) (VT45:24).

emlinn

yellowhammer

(= "yellow singer"); no distinct pl. form. Also emelin, no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. emelinnath. Adj.

glâd

small forest

(i ’lâd, construct glad) (wood), pl. glaid (in glaid).

gwael

gull

(i ’wael), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwael)

heledir

kingfisher

(i cheledir, o cheledir), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i cheledir). Since the final element is derived from primitve -tirno, it may be that the otherwise lost final n would be preserved in the coll. pl. ?heledirnath. The literal meaning of the word is ”fish-watcher”.

hûb

small landlocked bay

(i chûb, o chûb, construct hub) (harbour, haven), pl. huib (i chuib).

m

gull

ŷl (i vŷl, construct myl), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mŷl).

maew

gull

1. maew (i vaew), no distinct pl. except with article (i maew), coll. pl. maewrim; 2) gwael (i **wael), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwael), 3) mŷl (i vŷl, construct myl), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mŷl**).

maew

gull

(i vaew), no distinct pl. except with article (i maew), coll. pl. maewrim

mîw

small

1. mîw (tiny, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form, 2) niben (petty), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger. (VT48:6) 3) SMALL (and frail) nimp, no distinct pl. form (VT48:18)

mîw

small

(tiny, frail), lenited vîw, no distinct pl. form

niben

small

(petty), pl. nibin. Also used as a name for the the little finger. (VT48:6) 

nimp

small

no distinct pl. form (VT48:18)

paen

small gull

(i baen, o phaen) (petrel), no distinct pl. form except with article (i phaen). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” poen, VT45:24.

paen

small gull

1. *paen (i baen, o phaen) (petrel), no distinct pl. form except with article (i phaen). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” poen, VT45:24. 2) cuen (i guen, o chuen) (petrel), pl. ?cuin (?i chuin) (VT45:24)

pêg

small spot

(i** bêg, construct peg) (dot), pl. pîg (i** phîg) 

tinu

small star

(i** dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds) (spark), analogical pl. tiny (i** thiny). Archaic tinw, so the coll. pl. is likely  tinwath.

tuilinn

swallow

(etymologically ”spring-singer”) *tuilinn (i duilinn, o thuilinn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thuilinn). Form normalized from tuilind in source; the latter would be an archaic form.

tuilinn

swallow

(i duilinn, o thuilinn), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thuilinn). Form normalized from tuilind in source; the latter would be an archaic form.

philik

root. finch, finch, [ᴹ√] small bird

This root first appeared as ᴹ√PHILIK “small bird” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives ᴹQ. filit and N. fileg of the same meaning (Ety/PHILIK). The root also appeared in the contemporaneous Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants with an extra gloss “sparrow”, a deleted variant spilik-, and some additional (unglossed) derivatives ᴹQ. filinke and N. flinc (PE21/56). The root and these last two derivatives reappeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s, in this document with the gloss “finch” (PE21/71-72, 80-81). Note that a likely early precursor to all these words was G. bilinc “sparrow, bird (small)” (GL/23).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is best to assume the root √PHILIK = “small bird”, with ᴹQ. filit/N. fileg = “sparrow” and Q. filincë/S. flinc = “finch”.

philinki

noun. finch

nik

root. small

One of various roots for “small” Tolkien used in his later writings. The root √NIK “small” first appeared in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s (VT47/26; VT48/18), but was connected to the diminutive suffix ✶-i(n)ki which had a much longer conceptual history. One of the earliest known diminutive suffix was ᴱQ. -íne(a) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the root ᴱ√INI “small” (QL/42), which might be a precursor to √NIK; these suffixes reappeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 81). In the Gnomish Grammar of the 1910s, the word G. inc “small” was used as the basis for the “diminutive superlative” -inci (PE11/16).

In the Qenya Lexicon, Tolkien connected ᴱ√INI “small” to the root ᴱ√MINI of similar meaning (QL/42, 61). There are no signs of ᴱ√MINI “small” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but the word G. migin “little” (GL/57) hints at a (hypothetical) variant root ✱ᴱ√MIKI. Further support for ✱ᴱ√MIKI can be found in other diminutive forms in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s such as prefixal diminutive ᴱQ. mike- along adverbial ᴱQ. mike “little” (QL/48, 81), the latter appearing with the gloss “a bit” in the English-Qenya Dictionary from this period (PE15/70) along with other similar words in both the dictionary and the grammar. This ✱ᴱ√MIKI might be another precursor to √NIK. An early hint at √NIK itself might appear in the word ᴹQ. nikse “minnow, little fish” from the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s (PE21/27).

In Noldorin and Sindarin, the primary diminutive suffix became -eg, which was connected to the Common Eldarin suffix -iki elsewhere in notes on hands and fingers (VT47/14 note #21). In the notes where √NIK “small” appeared in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the primitive diminutive as -inkĭ along with variants ikki, -iksi, -si, -ensi, -ki.

One of the main competing roots for “small” was ᴹ√PIK [see the entry for √PI(N)], itself with a lengthy conceptual history. The shift of pitya >> nitya “little” in the father name of Amrod from the late 1960s may represent a replacement of √PIK by √NIK (PM/365), but I think it is likelier the two roots coexisted with slightly different meanings, as was the case for their earlier precursors. In the notes from the late 1960s, √NIK was also contrasted with √NIP “small (usually with connotation of weakness)” (VT48/18), from which the word S. niben “petty” was derived, as in S. Nogoth Niben (WJ/388).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume √NIK meant “small” in a neutral sense, √PIK “tiny” (along with variants √PĪ and √PIN) and √NIP “small and weak”. I would use these as the major Eldarin roots for “small” words, along with a number of other more specialized roots.

nimpĭ

adjective. small

ninkĭ

adjective. small