fínëa

dexterous

fínëa adj. "dexterous" (PE17:119), also finwa, q.v.

fínëa

adjective. dexterous

Elements

Word	Gloss
fínë	“dexterity”
-a	“adjectival suffix”

finca

clever

finca adj. "clever" (in petty ways) (PE17:119). A distinct form finca is also mentioned as the cognate of Sindarin fineg, but neither form is clearly glossed. The word-group under consideration has to do with hair(PE17:17).

lelya

delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely

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

lelya

adjective. delicate, beautiful and fine, slender, lovely

Cognates

• S. dail “beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely” ✧ PE17/139; PE17/151; PE17/151

Derivations

• ✶delya “lovely, fine, beautiful” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151
  • √DEL “*fair” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶delya > lelya	[delja] > [lelja]	✧ PE17/151
✶delya > lelya	[delja] > [lelja]	✧ PE17/151

tereva

fine, acute

tereva adj. "fine, acute" (TER/TERES), "piercing"_ (LT1:255; though glossed "fine, acute" in the Etymologies, the stem _TER is defined as "pierce")

finwa

dexterous; clever, fine, delicate

finwa adj. "dexterous; clever, fine, delicate" (PE17:119, 181), a similar word is glossed "sagacious" in very early material (LT1:253)

finwa

adjective. clever, fine, delicate; dexterous, ️dexterous, clever; fine, delicate; [ᴱQ.] acute, sagacious

Derivations

• √PHIN “clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, [ᴹ√] nimbleness” ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PHINĪ > finwa	[pʰinwa] > [ɸinwa] > [finwa]	✧ PE17/119
√PHĬN > finwa	[pʰinwa] > [ɸinwa] > [finwa]	✧ PE17/181

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

finya

adjective. clever

Derivations

• √PHIN “clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, [ᴹ√] nimbleness” ✧ PE17/017

Element in

• ᴺQ. finyalë “cleverness”
• Q. leptafinya “clever-fingered” ✧ PE17/017

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PHIN- > finya	[pʰinja] > [ɸinja] > [finja]	✧ PE17/017

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).

curu

noun. skill, skill; [ᴱQ.] magic, wizardry

@@@ more accurately what men would might “magic”, but to the Elves including what is to them ordinary skills such as mental communication and powers of foresight

Cognates

• S. curu “skill (of the hand), craft; power, ability, skill (of the hand), craft; power, ability; [N.] cunning; [ᴱN.] magic” ✧ SA/curu

Derivations

• √KUR “have power, strength, ability inherent physically or mentally; skill, have power, strength, ability inherent physically or mentally; skill, [ᴹ√] craft”

Element in

• Q. Curufinwë “*Skilled-Finwë” ✧ SA/curu; SI/Fëanor
• Q. Curumo “*Skilled-one”
• ᴺQ. curuni “witch, *sorceress, female magician (not necessarily evil)”

curu

skill

curu noun "skill" in names like Curufinwë (q.v.) and Sindarin Curufin, Curunir. (SA; possibly the same as curo, curu- above but there was a word curu ["k"] in Tolkien's early "Qenya", glossed "magic, wizardry" [LT1:269]).

dail

adjective. delicate

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

deil

adjective. delicate

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

deil

adjective. beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely

dail

adjective. beautiful, fine, delicate, lovely

Cognates

• Q. lelya “delicate, beautiful and fine, slender, lovely” ✧ PE17/139; PE17/151; PE17/151

Derivations

• ✶delya “lovely, fine, beautiful” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151
  • √DEL “*fair” ✧ PE17/151; PE17/151

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶delya > deil > dail	[delja] > [delia] > [deli] > [deil] > [dail]	✧ PE17/151
✶delya > deil	[delja] > [delia] > [deli] > [deil] > [dail]	✧ PE17/151

Variations

• deil ✧ PE17/139; PE17/151

bain

beautiful

_ adj. _beautiful. Q. vanya.

lhind

adjective. fine, slender

bain

adjective. beautiful, fair

bain

beautiful

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

bain

beautiful

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

brand

fine

1) brand (high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind, 2) trîw (lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender) , 3) *lhind (slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

brand

fine

(high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind

lhind

fine

(slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

maen

clever

maen (lenited vaen; no distinct pl. form) (skilled) (noun):

maen

clever

(lenited vaen; no distinct pl. form) (skilled)

tess

fine pierced hole

(i dess, construct tes), pl. tiss (i thiss). Older ters (VT46:18).

trîw

fine

(lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender)

lhê

fine thread

(?i thlê or ?i lê – the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (spider filament), pl. lhî (?i lî). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlê.

curu

skill

curu (i guru, o churu) (cunning, cunning device, craft), pl. cyry (i chyry). Archaic *curw, hence the coll. pl. is likely curwath. (VT45:24)

curu

skill

(i guru, o churu) (cunning, cunning device, craft), pl. cyry (i chyry). Archaic ✱curw, hence the coll. pl. is likely curwath. (VT45:24)

banya

adjective. beautiful

Derivations

• √BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/165

Derivatives

• Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ PM/402
  • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383
• Q. vanya “fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden), fair, beautiful, unmarred; fair-haired (yellow to golden); [ᴱQ.] good (not evil), holy” ✧ PE17/165
• S. bain “fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired” ✧ PE17/165

phin

root. clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, [ᴹ√] nimbleness

This root has a long history in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, always having to do with clever and skillful things in association with the name Q. Finwë. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√FINI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. finie “cunning” and ᴱQ. finwa “acute, sagacious” (QL/38). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. fim “clever; right hand”, G. fimlios “skillfulness”, and G. finthi “idea, notion” (GL/35). It reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “nimbleness, skill” and derivatives like ON. phinde “skill” and ON. phinya “skillful” (Ety/PHIN).

The root appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings, as √PHIN- “skilful, neat, clever (especially applied to hands and fingers)” (PE17/17), √PHĪ/PHINI “skill, dexterity” (PE17/119), and √PHĬN “clever, fine, delicate” (PE17/119). In both The Etymologies and in later writings Tolkien made a point that this root was distinct from √SPIN from which various “hair” words were derived (Ety/PHIN; PE17/17), though in one place Tolkien gave that root also as √PHIN- (PM/340).

Derivatives

• Q. finca “clever (in petty ways), clever (in petty ways), *tricky” ✧ PE17/119
• Q. finda “fine and delicately made” ✧ PE17/181
• Q. fínë “dexterity” ✧ PE17/119
• ᴺQ. finië “cunning”
• Q. finta- “to make, finish off, decorate a thing with delicate work; to show skill” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/119
• Q. fintalë “trick” ✧ PE17/119
• Q. finwa “clever, fine, delicate; dexterous, ️dexterous, clever; fine, delicate; [ᴱQ.] acute, sagacious” ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
• Q. finya “clever” ✧ PE17/017
• Q. finya- “to do/make a thing (with fine work)” ✧ PE17/181
• ᴺS. finc “trick”
• ᴺS. finna- “to trick, deceive, cheat, take in”

Element in

• Q. Findis ✧ PE17/119
• Q. Finwë ✧ PE17/017

Variations

• PHIN- ✧ PE17/017
• PHĪ ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
• PHINĪ ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
• PHIN ✧ PE17/151; PE17/181
• PHĬN ✧ PE17/181

bein

adjective. beautiful, fair

thlind

adjective. fine, slender

thlinn

adjective. fine, slender

trîw

adjective. fine, slender