fëanáro

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

The mother-name of Fëanor by which he was usually known, and from which his Sindarin name was derived (MR/217, PM/343). His name contains the elements fëa “spirit” and nár “fire”, but the name is actually an old compound, developed from ancient ✶Phayanāro (PE17/39, Ety/PHAY).

Conceptual Development: Curiously, in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, ᴱQ. Feanor was marked as Qenya (GL/35), corresponding to G. Fionor “Goblet Smith”, but it seems unlikely that this was a lasting idea. In the earliest Lost Tales, Feanor was probably so named in his own language, Gnomish (LT1/128). His later Quenya name ᴹQ. Feanáro first appeared in The Etymologies, where it is translated as “Radiant Sun” (Ety/PHAY). The interpretation as “Spirit of Fire” appears in texts from the 1950s and 1960s, as noted above (MR/217, PM/343).

Cognates

• S. Fëanor “Spirit of Fire” ✧ MR/257; MRI/Fëanor; PE17/039; PE17/118; PM/343; PMI/Fëanor; SA/nár; SI/Fëanor

Derivations

• ✶Phayanāro “Spirit of Fire” ✧ PE17/039

Derivatives

• S. Fëanor “Spirit of Fire” ✧ SI/Fëanor

Element in

• Q. Fëanoreva Tengwassë “Feanorian Alphabet” ✧ PE22/149

Elements

Word	Gloss
fëa	“(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul”
nár	“fire (as an element), fire (as an element); [ᴹQ.] flame”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶phaya-nāro > Fëanáro	[pʰajanāro] > [ɸajanāro] > [ɸeanāro] > [feanāro]	✧ PE17/039

Variations

• Feanáro ✧ PE17/118

Faenor

noun. Faenor

spirit of fire (pure S of half S - half Q Fëanor); faer (“spirit”) + naur (“fire”) S form of Q Fëanáro.

faenor

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

The proper form of Fëanor if it were a true Sindarin name (MR/217, PM/343). This name is a combination of fae “spirit” and the suffixal form -nor of naur “fire”.

Elements

Word	Gloss
fae	“incarnate spirit, incarnate spirit, *soul”
naur	“fire, fire, [N.] flame”

fëanor

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

Greatest of the Noldor and crafter of the Silmarils (LotR/657). His Sindarin name is a partial adaptation of his mother-name Q. Fëanáro “Spirit of Fire”, as opposed to a pure Sindarin translation, which would have been Faenor (MR/217, PM/343). As such, it is a combination of Q. fëa “spirit” and the suffixal form -nor of S. naur “fire”.

Conceptual Development: The earliest mention of this name is in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, where ᴱQ. Feanor is explicitly marked Qenya, with a cognate G. Fionor (< Fionaur) “Goblet Smith” in Gnomish (GL/35). The language of the name Feanor in earliest Lost Tales is not specified, but it is probable that Tolkien re-imagined the name as Gnomish at an early stage, since both Feanor and his father Bruithwir were of the Noldoli (LT1/128, 145).

In the Silmarillion drafts and The Etymologies from the 1930s, the name N. Feanor is explicitly marked as Noldorin, with a Qenya equivalent ᴹQ. Feanáro, both developed from primitive ᴹ✶Phayanāro “Radiant Sun” (Ety/PHAY). However, the phonetic developments leading from ᴹ✶Phaya- to N. Fea- are obscure, and the combination [ea] does not occur in any other Noldorin word. This is likely the reason Tolkien developed the mix-language derivation discussed above, which appears in notes associated with the Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s.

Cognates

• Q. Fëanáro “Spirit of Fire” ✧ MR/257; MRI/Fëanor; PE17/039; PE17/118; PM/343; PMI/Fëanor; SA/nár; SI/Fëanor

Derivations

• Q. Fëanáro “Spirit of Fire” ✧ SI/Fëanor
  • ✶Phayanāro “Spirit of Fire” ✧ PE17/039

Elements

Word	Gloss
fëa	“(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul”
naur	“fire, fire, [N.] flame”

Variations

• Feänor ✧ PE17/118

phayanāro

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

Derivatives

• Q. Fëanáro “Spirit of Fire” ✧ PE17/039
  • S. Fëanor “Spirit of Fire” ✧ SI/Fëanor

Variations

• phaya-nāro ✧ PE17/039
• Fayanáro ✧ PM/343; PMI/Fëanor