Fëanáro

spirit of fire

Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire", in Sindarized form Fëanor(SA:nár, PHAY, MR:206). The word apparently includes the masculine ending -o. Compare fëa, nár.

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

Fayanáro

fayanáro

Fayanáro archaic form of Fëanáro, q.v. (PM:343)

nár

flame

nár noun "flame", also nárë (NAR1).Translated "fire" in some names, see Aicanár(o), Fëanáro (where nár apparently has the masculine ending -o added to it). According to PE17:183, nár- is "fire as an element" (a concrete fire or blaze is rather called a ruinë).

nárë

flame

nárë, also short nár, noun "flame" (NAR1, Narqelion). Translated "fire" in some names, see Aicanáro, Fëanáro (where nár apparently has the masculine ending -o, though in the latter name it may also be the genitive ending since Fëa-náro** is translated "Spirit of Fire"). At one point, Tolkien mentioned "nār-" as the word for "fire (as an element)" (PE17:183). Cf. ruinë** as the word for "a fire" (a concrete instance of fire) in the same source.

fëa

spirit

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

velca

flame

velca ("k") noun "flame" (LT1:260; nár, nárë would be the normal word in Tolkien's later Quenya)

hó

spirit, shadow

hó noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)

súlë

spirit, breath

súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

vilissë

spirit

vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)

þúlë

noun. spirit

Feanor

Feanáro

prop. n. -. Q. Feanáro.

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

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”

faer

noun. spirit

naur

noun. flame

naur

noun. fire

lach

noun. (leaping) flame

lacho

verb. flame!

lacha-

verb. to flame

hû

spirit

_ n. _spirit, shadow.

faer

spirit

(radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

fae

spirit

1) fae (soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form. 2) faer (radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

fae

spirit

(soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form.

lach

flame

(noun) 1) lach (leaping flame), pl. laich; 2) naur (in compounds nar-, -nor) (fire, sun), pl. noer, coll. pl. norath, 3) rill (construct ril) (brilliance, glittering reflected light), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rill).

lach

flame

(leaping flame), pl. laich;  2) naur (in compounds nar-, -nor) (fire, sun), pl. noer, coll. pl. norath, 3) rill (construct ril) (brilliance, glittering reflected light), no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rill).

lacha

flame

(verb) *lacha- (i lacha, i lachar). Only the imperative form lacho is attested.

lacha

flame

(i lacha, i lachar). Only the imperative form lacho is attested.

hûr

fiery spirit

(i chûr, o chûr, construct hur) (readiness for action, vigour), pl. huir (i chuir) if there is a pl.

lachenn

flame-eyed

pl. lachinn *(WJ:384, there cited in archaic form lachend)*.

ruin

red flame

(no distinct pl. form except with article: idh ruin) (blazing fire). Also used as an adj. ”fiery red, burning”. (Silm app, entry ruin; PM:366)

manô

noun. spirit

A noun translated “spirit” and fully declined as an example of a Weak II noun (SD/438). It appeared with both a short a (SD/424) and long â (SD/438). Given its ending -ô, it might be a masculine-noun, but it seems unlikely that spirits would only be male. This entry assumes it is a common-noun instead. It is probably related to ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit” as suggested by various authors (AAD/19, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/MAN).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit”

Derivations

• ✶Ad. manaw “spirit” ✧ SD/424; SD/424

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶Ad. manaw- > manau > manō	[manaw] > [manau] > [manō]	✧ SD/424
✶Ad. manaw+yi > manau+yi > manōyi > manôi	[manawji] > [manauji] > [manōji] > [manōi]	✧ SD/424

Variations

• manō ✧ SD/424
• mānō ✧ SD/438

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

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

Derivations

• √PHA “exhalations (as mists upon water or steams and the like)” ✧ NM/237

Derivatives

• ✶phaini “vapour” ✧ NM/237
  • S. faen “vapour; [disembodied] spirit” ✧ NM/237
• ✶phairi “spirit (general)” ✧ NM/237
  • Q. fairë “spirit (disembodied), phantom; †radiance” ✧ NM/237
  • S. faer “spirit (in general)”
• ✶phanā “veil, cloud” ✧ NM/237
  • Q. fana “raiment, veil; (bright) shape or figure; bodily form of an angelic spirit” ✧ PE17/173; PE17/174
  • S. fân “(white) cloud; veil, curtain; form or vision of a spiritual being; spirit [embodied]” ✧ PE17/173; PE17/174
• ✶phāy “flame, ray of light”
  • Q. fá “*ray of light, flame” ✧ PE19/104
• ✶phayā “soul, indwelling spirit” ✧ NM/237
  • Q. fëa “(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul” ✧ MR/349; MR/470; NM/237; PE17/124; PE19/104; VT41/14
  • S. fae “incarnate spirit, incarnate spirit, *soul”
• Q. faila “fair-minded, just, generous” ✧ PM/352
• Q. fëa “(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul” ✧ PM/352
• S. fael “gleam of the sun; *gleaming”
• S. fael “fair-minded, just, generous” ✧ PM/352

Variations

• phay ✧ NM/237; NM/237
• PHAYA ✧ PM/352

feanor

masculine name. Radiant Sun

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Feanáro “Radiant Sun” ✧ Ety/PHAY

Derivations

• On. Phayanṓr “Radiant Sun” ✧ Ety/PHAY
  • ᴹ✶Phayanāro “Radiant Sun” ✧ Ety/PHAY

Element in

• N. Nos Feanor “*House of Feanor” ✧ EtyAC/NŌ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. Phayanṓr > Feanoúr > Féanor	[ɸajanǭr] > [ɸaianǭr] > [ɸaianour] > [ɸaeanour] > [ɸeanour] > [feanour] > [feanaur] > [feanor]	✧ Ety/PHAY

Variations

• Féanor ✧ Ety/PHAY
• Fëanor ✧ LRI/Fëanor; RSI/Fëanor; SMI/Fëanor; TII/Fëanor; WRI/Fëanor

naur

noun. flame

naur

noun. fire

naur

noun. flame

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nár(e) “flame” ✧ Ety/NAR¹

Derivations

• ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire” ✧ Ety/NAR¹

Element in

• N. Egnor ✧ Ety/EK
• N. Baranor
• N. Nardol
• N. naur ad i gaurhoth “*fire against the wolf-horde” ✧ TI/187
• N. Narothal “Firefoot”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NAR¹ > naur	[nār] > [nǭr] > [nour] > [naur]	✧ Ety/NAR¹

lhach

noun. (leaping) flame

cûl

noun. flame

A word for “flame” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KUL “golden-red”, but this word was deleted (EtyAC/KUL).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. kulo “flame” ✧ EtyAC/KUL

Derivations

• ᴹ√KUL “golden-red” ✧ EtyAC/KUL

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KUL > cûl	[kūl]	✧ EtyAC/KUL

mân

noun. departed spirit