findelë

tress, lock

findelë noun "tress, lock" (PE17:119); apparently a synonym of findë #1, q.v.

findelë

noun. tress, lock [of hair]

A word for “a head of hair, a person’s hair as a whole” appearing in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/345). In notes from 1965 Tolkien instead gave Q. findilë (with an i) for “head of hair” (PE17/17).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had ᴱQ. findl “lock of hair” under the early root ᴱ√FIŘI [FIÐI] (QL/38). In the contemporaneous Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin he had ᴱQ. findil “lock” (PE15/24).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use findelë for a lock or tress of hair, and 1968 findessë for a full head of hair (PM/345); see the entry for findë for more suggestions on the application (Neo) Quenya hair words.

Cognates

• S. finnel “head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair, head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair; [N.] (braided) hair; [G.] tress” ✧ PE17/017

Derivations

• ✶spindilā “head of hair” ✧ PE17/017

Element in

• Q. Laurefindele “Golden Haired” ✧ PE17/119

Elements

Word	Gloss
findë	“hair (especially of the head), tress or plait of hair, hair (especially of the head); tress or plait of hair, [ᴹQ.] braid of hair”
-lë	“abstract noun, adverb”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶espin-delē > phindele	[spindelē] > [ɸindelē] > [ɸindele] > [findele]	✧ PE17/017

Variations

• phindele ✧ PE17/017 (phindele)

phindelë

mass of long hair

phindelë noun "mass of long hair" (PE17:17; the normal Quenya spelling should be findelë, cf. findilë