Esgalduin

noun. veiled river

esgal (“veil, screen, cover”) + duin (“river”)

Esgalduin

noun. 'the river under shadow'

n. lit. 'the river under shadow'.

esgalduin

place name. River under Veil, River under Shade

A river flowing through Doriath (S/121), translated “River under Shade” (PE17/15, 184) or “River under Veil” (Ety/SKAL¹). This name is a combination of esgal “shadow, screen” and duin “river” (SA/esgal, duin; PE17/184).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱN. Esgalduin first appeared in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s where it was described as the “Elf-river” (LB/76), perhaps related to G. Egla “Elf” (GL/32). This name reappeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/103, LR/260), and in The Etymologies, Ilk. Esgalduin was designated an Ilkorin name, already with essentially the same derivation as given above (Ety/DUI, SKAL¹).

Elements

Word	Gloss
esgal	“cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding, veil, cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding; veil”
duin	“(large) river, (large) river; [N.] water”