- fir- (i fîr, i firir) (fade), 2) gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (depart)
Sindarin
fir
die
fir
die
(i fîr, i firir) (fade)
gwanna
die
(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (depart)
Quenya
fir-
verb. die, fade
fir- vb. "die, fade" (cf. fifíru-); aorist (?) fírë "expire"; augmentless perfect fírië, translated "she has breathed forth"(but no explicit element meaning "she" seems to be present) (MR:250, 470, VT43:34)
fir-
verb. to die, fade, †expire, breathe forth
A verb for “to die”, originally meaning “breathe forth, expire” (MR/250). Tolkien also translated it as “die, fade” in notes for the Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/223). The use of this verb for death was connected to the passing of Míriel and was thus used only for a natural or peaceful death (MR/250); for discussion see the noun form fírië “death”. More unpleasant forms of death would instead use the verb Q. qual-. Based on the glosses from the Markirya poem, it seems this verb may also be applied metaphorically to non-living things that “fade (away)”, as in its more elaborate form fifíru- “to slowly fade away” (MC/222-223).
qual-
verb. die
qual-
verb. to die
A verb for “to die” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/152), clearly based on the root √KWAL having to do with pain and death (PE18/91, 103; Ety/KWAL). As such, I would use this verb for undesirable or painful death, as opposed to fir- “to die (a natural or peaceful death)”.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. qal- meant “die” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/134), and the root √KWAL had a long history of connection to death and pain in Tolkien’s writings.
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
Gnomish
gor-
verb. to die
Early Noldorin
gurdh-
verb. to die
A verb for “die” in Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s with present form gwardh indicating vowel gradation (PE13/132), so that it was likely based on the early root ᴱ√GWṚÐṚ (QL/104) with a/u variations due to the different developments of long syllabic ṝ vs short ṛ.
Conceptual Development: The verb G. gor-“die” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s related to gurthu “death” (GL/41, 43), thus also based on the early root ᴱ√GWṚÐṚ (QL/104).
Neo-Sindarin: S. gurth “death” survived in Tolkien’s later writings, so in theory the Gnomish verb gor- could be salvaged as a derivative of the later root √ÑGUR “die”. However, gor- already serves various functions in Sindarin, so I’d stick with the later verbs fir- and [N.] gwanna- for “to die”.
Early Primitive Elvish
gwṛðṛ
root. die
qala
root. die
Early Quenya
qal-
verb. to die