cír (pl. of cair “ship”) + tan (“maker, smith”)
Sindarin
círdan
noun. shipbuilder, shipwright
círdan
masculine name. Shipwright
círdan
noun. shipbuilder, shipwright
círdan
noun. ship-maker
círdan
'the Shipbuilder'prop. n. 'the Shipbuilder'.
cair
noun. ship
cair
noun. ship
ciriaeth
noun. shipwright
* círdan
shipbuildercírdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain)
* círdan
shipwrightcírdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipbuilder), pl. círdain (i chírdain). Compare Círdan as a proper name.
* círdan
shipbuilder, shipwrightcírdan (i gírdan, o chírdan) (shipwright), pl. círdain (i chírdain).
* cair
shipcair (in compounds cír-) (i gair, o chair), pl. cîr, i chîr; coll. pl. ciriath.
An Elf-lord who was a famous ship builder, whose name was translated “Shipwright” (LotR/240). His name is simply círdan “shipbuilder” used as a name (Ety/KIR).
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, his name was first given as N. Cirdan with a short i (WR/76). His name appeared in The Etymologies as C(e)irdan (Ety/TAN), where the (e) probably indicates its development from N. ceir “ship” (later S. cair).