1) fir- (i fîr, i firir) (fade), 2) gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (depart)
Sindarin
fir-
verb. to fade, *die
fir
die
fir
die
(i fîr, i firir) (fade)
ecthelorn
noun. spruce, fir-tree
gwanna
die
(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (depart)
Quenya
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).
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)
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.
fifíru-
verb. slowly fade away
fifíru- vb.; this is evidently the frequentative (see sisíla-) form of fir-; according to MC:223 it means "slowly fade away"; participle fifírula in Markirya (translated "fading")
firië
dying, death
firië noun "dying, death" (gerund of fir-) (VT43:34)
qual-
verb. die
quel-
verb. to fade, to fade; [ᴹQ.] †to fail; [ᴱQ.] to perish
A verb for “to fade” indicated by the season and month names quellë “fading” and Narquelië “Sun-fading” in The Lord of the Rings appendices (LotR/1110). It was clearly derived from the root √KWEL “fade, die away, grow faint” (PE18/103).
Conceptual Development: This verb dates back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. qele- “perish, etc.” appeared under the early root ᴱ√QELE “perish, die, decay, fail” (QL/76). In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, qel- was glossed “fade” (PE16/134). In ᴹQ. Fíriel’s Song from the 1930s it appeared in its future form ᴹQ. qeluva “faileth” (LR/63, 72).
Noldorin
gwinna-
verb. to fade
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!
Qenya
fir- Reconstructed
verb. *to fade
vinda-
verb. to fade
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”.
Gnomish
gor-
verb. to die
Early Primitive Elvish
gwṛðṛ
root. die
qala
root. die
Early Quenya
hista-
verb. to fade
qal-
verb. to die
Old Noldorin
thintha-
verb. to fade
A verb for “to fade” implied by the noun firith “fading”, a period of the year in late autumn (LotR/1107). It also appears to mean “die” given related words fíreb “mortal” (WJ/387) and firin or firen “mortal, dying” (PE17/101). Its ancient root √PHIR had nothing to do with death, so these meanings were probably borrowed from Quenya; see Q. fir- “to die” and Q. fírië “death” for discussion. As such, the Sindarin verb fir- probably applied only to the natural death of mortals, also used metaphorically when applied to inanimate things to mean “fade”. The pre-Quenya verb for “to die” seems to be [N.] gwanna- “to die, (lit.) depart”; see that entry for discussion.