n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.
Sindarin
fela
noun. mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling; minor excavations, den, mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwelling; minor excavations, den; [N.] cave
Derivations
Cognates
- Q. felya “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling], mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]; [ᴹQ.] cave” ✧ PE17/118
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶phelga > fela [pʰelga] > [ɸelga] > [ɸelɣa] > [felɣa] > [felɣ] > [fela] ✧ NM/304 ✶phelgai > felʒi > fili [pʰelgai] > [pʰelgī] > [pʰelgi] > [ɸelgi] > [ɸelɣi] > [felɣi] > [filɣi] > [filī] > [fili] ✧ NM/304 ✶phelgā > fela [pʰelgā] > [pʰelga] > [ɸelga] > [ɸelɣa] > [felɣa] > [felɣ] > [fela] ✧ PE17/118 Inflections
Word Form Gloss Source fili plural - ✧ NM/304
fela
noun. felya
feleg
noun. cave
sabar
noun. delved mine
The unmutated form is reconstructed from the place name Nornhabar, assuming that the second word is mutated in composition. Though habar as the regular form might be possible as well, in the Qenyaqetsa we find the root SAPA "dig, excavate" (PE/12:82), so it seems most likely that Tolkien re-used this old base, and that the underlying form in those names would indeed be sabar
roth
noun. cave
n. cave. Q. rondo.
groth
noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation
rond
noun. cave roof
groth
noun. delving, underground dwelling
rond
noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed
grôd
cave
1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12), 3) rond (construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath, 4) roth (delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i **athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd), 5) fela (pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela** as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.
rhûd
mine
*rhûd (construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, artificial cave, rockhewn hall), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365).
sabar
mine
1) (delved mine) #sabar (i habar, o sabar), pl. sebair (i sebair). Isolated from the name Anghabar, ”iron mine”. The root _
n. Q. felya. phelgā (the added vowel might be ō) << phelg-.