A rejected name apparently meaning something like “First-elf” (EtyAC/ESE), a combination of (rejected) esse “beginning” and Elda “Elf”.
Quenya
Esselda
first-elf
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Qenya
esselda
collective name. *First-elf
Elements
Word Gloss esse “beginning” Elda “Elf”
[Esselda], noun?adj.?, deleted form which Tolkien never clearly glossed: *"first-elf"? Or an old comparative (in -lda) denoting something like "elder"? The word occurs in a context where Tolkien is considering terms for the Elves as the "Firstborn", aka "Elder Kindred" (VT45:12, cf. ESE-, ESET-)