n. single hair (of man or elf). >> finn
Sindarin
find
noun. tress; single hair, tress, [ON.] lock of hair; [ᴱN.] hair (in general); [S.] single hair
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- ᴺS. fidhren “having hair, -haired”
- S. Glorfinniel “Goldilocks”
- ᴺS. gwirfin “braid, pigtail, (lit.) woven-tress”
- ᴺS. merifind “Black-haired”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶spindē > find [spindē] > [spinde] > [sɸinde] > [ɸinde] > [finde] > [find] > [finn] ✧ PE17/017 ✶phindē > find [pʰindē] > [pʰinde] > [ɸinde] > [finde] > [find] > [finn] ✧ PM/362 Variations
- finn ✧ PE17/017
- finn- ✧ PM/362
find
noun. single hair
find
noun. a tress
fing
noun. lock of hair
A noun appearing in 1967 notes on the Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings as an element in Finglas “Leaflock” (RC/760). The form fineg appeared unglossed in notes from around 1965 as a derivative of ✶phinik (PE17/17). The word fing is more obscure than S. find of similar meaning.
Conceptual Development: The word G. fingl or finnil “a tress” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/35). In that period, the gl was probably the result of the sound change whereby ðl became gl, since this early form was likely derived from the root ᴱ√FIŘI [FIÐI] (QL/38). When it first appeared, the name N. Finglas (= find + las?) may also have had a similar sound change, but since Tolkien abandoned that phonetic rule in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s (compare S. edlenn vs. N. eglenn “exiled”), Tolkien needed to come up with a new etymology.
Cognates
- Q. finca “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/017
Derivations
Element in
- S. Finglas “Leaflock” ✧ RC/760
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶finik/fink > fineg [pʰinika] > [ɸinika] > [ɸineka] > [fineka] > [finek] > [fineg] ✧ PE17/017 Variations
- fineg ✧ PE17/017
finn
noun. single hair
n. single hair (of man or elf). >> find
finn
noun. tress; single hair, tress; single hair; [ᴱN.] hair; [G.] lock of hair
finn-
noun. a tress
fîn
noun. a tress
laws
noun. hair ringlet
raeda-
verb. to catch in a net
find
lock of hair
find (tress). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath
find
tress
find (lock of hair). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath.
hir-
verb. find
fing
lock of hair
fing (no distinct pl. form)
tov-
verb. to find
Cognates
- Q. tuv- “to find, discover”
fîn
hair
1) (a single hair) fîn (construct fin), no distinct pl. form. (PM:362), 2) (lock of hair, tress) find (construct fin), no distinct pl. form, coll. pl. finnath.
hir-
verb. to find, *light on, chance on
Cognates
- Q. hir- “to find”
Derivations
- √KHIR “light on, find”
This word had a quite lengthy history as an element in the name S. Glorfindel “Golden Hair”. It appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as G. finn “a lock of hair” (GL/35), simply as ᴱN. find or finn “hair” in Early Noldorin Word-lists (PE13/143), and as Old Noldorin sphinde “lock of hair” from The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SPIN (Ety/SPIN). In notes from the mid-1960s Tolkien said that find, finn meant a “single hair (of man or elf)” vs. S. †findel for a head of hair (PE17/17), but in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 Tolkien said it meant “tress” and was derived from primitive ✶phindē (PM/362 note #37).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use fîn for a single hair, find for hair in general or for a tress or lock of hair, and finnel for an entire head of hair.