Quenya 

nelma

needle

nelma noun "needle" (QL:65)

nelma

noun. needle

Derivations

  • NEL “three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle”

Element in

Sindarin 

eglin

noun. needle

Derivations

  • EK “sharp point, (sharp) point, [ᴹ√] spear, thorn”

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!

Gnomish

egli(n)

noun. needle

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as G. eglin or egli “needle” based on G. eg “point” (GL/32).

Neo-Sindarin: The root √EK “sharp point” survived in Tolkien’s later writings (WJ/365), so I’d retain ᴺS. eglin “needle” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

Variations

  • eglin ✧ GL/31; GL/32
  • egli ✧ GL/32
Gnomish [GL/31; GL/32] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

nelma

noun. needle

A word appearing as ᴱQ. nelma “needle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but Tolkien vacillated on whether it was derived from the early root ᴱ√NELE “point” or ᴱ√NEME “✱sew” (QL/65). As a derivative of ᴱ√NEME, Tolkien considered an alternate form nemya. The word nelma “needle” also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/65).

Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. nelma “needle” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but as a derivative of √NEL since √NEM “sew” did not survive in Tolkien’s later writing. In Quenya of the 1930s and later, the root √NEL was generally glossed “three”, but was still associated with pointed things like in √NELEK “tooth” due to triangular shapes.

Derivations

  • ᴱ√NELE “point” ✧ QL/065
  • ᴱ√NEME “*sew” ✧ QL/065

Element in

  • Eq. horinel “pine-needle” ✧ QL/041

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√NELE > nelma[nelmā] > [nelma]✧ QL/065
ᴱ√NEME > nemya[nemjā] > [nemja]✧ QL/065

Variations

  • nemya ✧ QL/065 (nemya)
Early Quenya [PME/065; QL/041; QL/065] Group: Eldamo. Published by