fileg

noun. small bird, small bird, [G.] *sparrow

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “small bird” derived from the root ᴹ√PHILIK and cognate to ᴹQ. filit (filik-) of the same meaning (Ety/PHILIK). Tolkien said fileg was an “analogical singular” form (along with another singular form filigod) based on its plural form filig. That is because the final -k in ✱philik was lost in ancient times, as explained in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/72) so that its historical phonetic development would have produced singular N./S. ✱fil. This form was deemed unsuitable, and a new singular form fileg was constructed based on the plural. Something similar happened with S. thoron “eagle”.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. bilin or bilinc for “a small bird, especially sparrow”, a diminutive form of G. bil “bird” (GL/22, 23).

Neo-Sindarin: I think it is likely that fileg can also be used to refer to sparrows for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, since its Quenya cognate filit was in one place glossed “sparrow, small bird” (PE21/56).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. filit “small bird, sparrow” ✧ Ety/PHILIK; Ety/PHILIK

Derivations

• ᴹ√PHILIK “small bird” ✧ Ety/PHILIK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√PHILIK > filig	[pʰilike] > [ɸilike] > [filike] > [filik] > [filig]	✧ Ety/PHILIK

Variations

• filigod ✧ Ety/PHILIK

fileg

noun. small bird

filigod

noun. small bird

filigod

noun. small bird

aew

noun. (small) bird

emlin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"

emelin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"

emmelin

noun. yellow bird, "yellow hammer"