Quenya 

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.)

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.

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).

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.

Sindarin 

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

Cognates

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

Derivations

Element in

Sindarin [PE17/050; VT42/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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.

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)

Nandorin 

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
Nandorin [NM/347; PE17/048] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

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

Adûnaic [LotR/1114; PE17/120; SD/426] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

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

Variations

  • mal- ✧ SA/mal
Primitive elvish [SA/mal] Group: Eldamo. Published by

malat

root. gold

Derivatives

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

Elements

WordGloss
MAL“gold, yellow, gold”
Primitive elvish [PM/366] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

côl

noun. gold (metal)

Noldorin [Ety/365] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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

DevelopmentStagesSources
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
Noldorin [Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR; Ety/MAK; EtyAC/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

Noldorin [Ety/386, VT/46:14, VT/42:27, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

Noldorin [Ety/386, RC/625, VT/46:14, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

Noldorin [Ety/386, RC/625, VT/46:14, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. 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 

laure

noun. gold

Cognates

  • N. glaur “gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR
  • Ilk. laur “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • Dan. laur “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Laurelin “Song of Gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R) (Laurelin); Ety/LÁWAR
  • ᴹQ. Makalaure “Gold-cleaver”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > laure[glaurē] > [ɣlaurē] > [laurē] > [laure]✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
ᴹ✶laurē > laure[laurē] > [laure]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Qenya [Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR; PE19/037; PE22/019; PE22/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

laur

noun. gold

A Doriathrin noun for “gold” developed from primitive ᴹ✶laurē, properly golden light rather than the metal (Ety/LÁWAR).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶laurē > laur[laurē] > [laure] > [laur]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Doriathrin [Ety/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Ossriandric

laur

noun. gold

A noun for “gold” developed from primitive ᴹ✶laurē, and one of the few words explicitly marked as Ossiriandic (Ety/LÁWAR). In this word the long final vowel was lost. Unlike the rules described in the Comparative Tables, this [[dan|[au] did not become [ō]]], so perhaps Tolkien changed his mind on the development of [au] in Ossiriandic.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶laurē > laur[laurē] > [laur]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Ossriandric [Ety/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

culu

noun. gold

Cognates

  • Eq. kulu “gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Element in

  • G. Culugorm “disc of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Culugrithnir “ring of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Culuvrad “wain of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. culwin “golden” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Glingol “Singing Gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KULU > culu[kulū] > [kulu]✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Variations

  • Culu ✧ GL/27 (Culu); LT2A/Glingol (Culu); PE15/22 (Culu)
  • Culon ✧ LT2A/Glingol (Culon); PE15/22 (Culon)
Gnomish [GG/14; GL/26; GL/27; GL/38; LT1A/Ilsaluntë; LT1A/Kulullin; LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glôr

noun. gold

Cognates

  • Eq. laure “(mystic name of) gold” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25; LT1A/Laurelin; QL/051

Derivations

  • ᴱ√LOURI “*gold” ✧ QL/051

Element in

  • G. Glorund ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc
  • G. Glorfindel “Gold-tress, Goldlocks” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25
  • G. glôriol “golden, like gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Laurelin
  • G. glôrin “golden, of gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Laurelin
  • G. glo(r)nethlin “meadowgold, buttercup” ✧ GL/40
  • G. Glorvent “Ship of Gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Glorvent
  • G. Glorfalc “Golden Cleft” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√LOU̯RI > glôr[louri] > [lōri] > [lōr] > [glōr]✧ QL/051

Variations

  • Glor- ✧ LT1A/Glorvent
  • Glor ✧ LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/22; PE15/25
Gnomish [GG/12; GL/40; LT1A/Glorvent; LT1A/Laurelin; LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/22; PE15/25; QL/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

glôr

noun. gold

Element in

Variations

  • glór ✧ PE13/144
Early Noldorin [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

kulu

root. gold

Derivatives

  • ᴱ✶kulū “gold”
  • Eq. kulu “gold” ✧ QL/049
  • G. cluim “warm, cosy”
  • G. culu “gold” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Element in

  • Eq. Kulullin “Gold-song” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin
Early Primitive Elvish [LT1A/Kulullin; QL/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kulū

noun. gold

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold”
Early Primitive Elvish [PE14/071] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

kulu

noun. gold

Cognates

  • G. culu “gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold” ✧ QL/049

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KULU > kulu[kulū] > [kulu]✧ QL/049

Variations

  • Kulu ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22
Early Quenya [LT1/100; LT1A/Laurelin; LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Parma Kuluinen; MC/220; PE14/046; PE14/050; PE14/071; PE14/083; PE14/084; PE14/110; PE15/22; PE15/72; PE15/73; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/077; PME/049; QL/049; QL/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by