1) fir- (i fîr, i firir) (fade), 2) gwanna- (i **wanna, in gwannar**) (depart)
Sindarin
fir-
verb. to fade, *die
Cognates
- Q. fir- “to die, fade, †expire, breathe forth”
Derivations
- √PHIR “exhale, expire, breathe out, exhale, expire, breathe out; [ᴹ√] die of natural causes”
Element in
fir
die
fir
die
(i fîr, i firir) (fade)
gwanna
die
(i ’wanna, in gwannar) (depart)
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.