felco

cave, mine, underground dwelling

felco noun "cave, mine, underground dwelling" (PE17:118); also felca, felehta

felco

noun. cave, mine, underground dwelling

A word for “cave, mine, underground dwelling” Tolkien considered in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, derived from the root √PHELEK as a possible replacement for felya “mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]” < ✶phelgā (PE17/118).

Neo-Quenya: I prefer the root form √PHELEG over √PHELEK (see that entry for details) and as a result prefer felya over felco.

Cognates

• S. feleg “cave, mine, underground dwelling” ✧ PE17/118

Derivations

• √PHELEG “excavation, excavation; [ᴹ√] cave” ✧ PE17/118

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PHELEK > felco	[pʰelko] > [ɸelko] > [felko]	✧ PE17/118

felca

felca

felca, see felco

felya

cave

felya noun "cave" (PHÉLEG), "mine, boring, tunnel, underground dwel[ling]" (PE17:118)

felehta

felehta

felehta, see felco

rotelë

cave

rotelë noun "cave" (LT2:347)

rotto

cave, tunnel

rotto noun "cave, tunnel" (VT46:12), "a small grot or tunnel" (PM:365)

feleg

noun. cave

n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.

feleg

noun. cave, mine, underground dwelling

A word for “cave, mine, underground dwelling” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, derived from the root √PHELEK, that Tolkien considered as an alternative to fela (< ✶phelgā) for the initial element of the name Felagund (PE17/118).

Conceptual Development: N. feleg “(animal’s) horn; steep mountain peak” appeared in a deleted entry in The Etymologies of the 1930s, but that seems unrelated.

Neo-Sindarin: In a note from 1959, Tolkien derived Felagund as a loan word from Khuzdul Felakgundu “Cave Hewer” (PM/352), and this was the etymology Christopher Tolkien gave in The Silmarillion index (SI/Felagund). I prefer this as the basis for Felagund’s name, and √PHELEG over √PHELEK as the ancient Elvish root. Nevertheless I think feleg “cave” may remain viable in Neo-Sindarin as a loan word from Khuzdul. The similarity of ancient Elvish PHELEG and Dwarvish radical ✱F-L-K may be a coincidence or the result of Avari influence on Ancient Dwarvish.

Cognates

• Q. felco “cave, mine, underground dwelling” ✧ PE17/118

Derivations

• √PHELEG “excavation, excavation; [ᴹ√] cave” ✧ PE17/118

Element in

• S. Felagund “Lord of Caves; Hewer of Caves; Den Dweller” ✧ PE17/118

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√PHELEK > feleg	[pʰeleke] > [ɸeleke] > [feleke] > [felek] > [feleg]	✧ PE17/118

rond

noun. cave roof

groth

noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation

rond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

roth

noun. cave

n. cave. Q. rondo.

groth

noun. delving, underground dwelling

fela

cave

(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.

groth

cave

(i ’roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12)

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.

grôd

cave

(i ’rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)

rond

cave

(construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath

roth

cave

(delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i ’athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd)

rhûd

artificial cave

(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365)*

othronn

fortress in a cave/caves

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).

fela

noun. cave

fela

noun. cave

Cognates

• ᴹQ. felya “cave” ✧ Ety/PHÉLEG

Derivations

• On. phelga “cave” ✧ Ety/PHÉLEG
  • ᴹ√PHELEG “cave” ✧ Ety/PHÉLEG

Element in

• N. Felagund “Lord of Caves” ✧ Ety/PHÉLEG

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. phelga > fela	[pʰelga] > [ɸelga] > [ɸelɣa] > [felɣa] > [felɣ] > [fela]	✧ Ety/PHÉLEG
On. phelga > fili	[pʰelgi] > [ɸelgi] > [ɸelɣi] > [felɣi] > [filɣi] > [filī] > [fili]	✧ Ety/PHÉLEG

rhond

noun. cave roof

rhonn

noun. cave roof

gathrod

noun. cave

gathrod

noun. cave

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “cave”, apparently a combination of N. gath “cavern” and ᴹ√ROT “tunnel” (Ety/GAT(H)). Its initial element also appeared in the name N. Doriath “Land of the Cave”, but in later writings S. Doriath was redefined as “Land of the Fence” with final element S. iath “fence” (WJ/370), so N. gathrod “cave” was probably abandoned.

Elements

Word	Gloss
gath	“cavern”
ROT	“bore, tunnel”

rond

noun. cave

rhond

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed

rhonn

noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed