glawar

noun. sunlight, radiance of Laurelin

glawar

noun. sunlight, radiance (of the golden tree Laurelin)

glaur

noun. gold

glaur

noun. golden light (of the golden tree Laurelin)

gal-

prefix. light

calad

gerund noun. light

calad

noun. light

côl

noun. gold (metal)

gail

noun. bright light

galad

noun. light

glor-

noun. golden light (of the golden tree Laurelin)

gwaloth

noun. blossom, collection of flowers

This form replaced deleted goloth in the manuscript of The Etymologies, see VT/45:29. The deleted form is however also later attested in VT/42:18

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

glawar

noun. gold (light or colour), gold (light or colour); [N.] sunlight, radiance (of Laurelin)

glawar

blossom

n. (golden) blossom. Q. loar, lávar.

glawar

laure

1a n. Q. laure, Nand. lór. >> Lothlórien, Lothlúrien, Lothlýrian

glaur

noun/adjective. gold [light or colour]

A noun for “gold (light or colour)”, appearing as either glaur or glawar, derivatives of the root √(G)LAWAR of the same meaning (NM/351; PE17/17, 159; VT41/10). As Tolkien described it:

> The application to gold of this stem was poetic and referred to colour primarily (as especially of laburnum) not to material ([which was instead Q.] malta) (PE17/159).

The distinction between the two forms glaur and glawar is not entirely clear. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had N. glaur “gold” and N. glawar “sunlight, radiance of Laurelin” as derivatives of distinct forms of the root: ᴹ√GLAW(-R) and ᴹ√(G)LAWAR, with the first of these being rejected (Ety/GLAW(-R); LÁWAR). In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien said:

> [Q.] Makalaure was converted simply phonetically to S. maglaur > maglor. Its pure Sindarin [development] would have been {maka-glawar >>} maka-glaur-. [In] S. glaware > glawar = Q. laure but as second element in compound glaware > glaur (VT41/10).

This note seems to imply that glawar is the normal form, and glaur is just a reduced form in compounds. However, glaur does appear as independent word in Tolkien’s later writings, for example in its mutated form ’laur in Nan Laur “Valley of Gold(en Light)” (UT/253). Conversely, longer glawar appears in a few compounds, such as Glewellin “Song of Gold” (MR/155) and Lothlewerian(d), the “pure Sindarin” form of Lothlórien (PE17/48). These glawar forms in compounds seem to have resisted reduction because they first underwent i-affection to glewer.

The vast majority of compounds with this word show a further reduction to either glór or glor, where au became o in polysyllables as was usually the case in Sindarin. The reduced form is always -glor as the second element of a compound (Maglor), but is glór- as an initial element if followed by a vowel (Glóredhel), or glor- if followed by a consonant cluster (Glorfindel).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would treat glaur and glawar as variants of the same word, both functioning as a noun meaning “gold (light or colour)”. However when “golden light, sunlight” is the intended meaning, I would tend to use glawar. Furthermore, I think glaur can also be used adjectivally = “golden [colour]”, as in Nan Laur where the mutation of the second element indicates an adjective rather than a noun.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. glôr “gold” as a cognate to ᴱQ. laure (GL/40), and hence probably derived from the early root ᴱ√LOU̯RI (QL/51) since ou became ō in Gnomish of the 1910s. ᴱN. glór “gold” appeared Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/144). Its most notable use in the early period was in the name G. Glorfindel which meant “Golden Hair” throughout Tolkien’s life.

The Etymologies of the 1930s had {ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > N. glaur “gold”} revised to ᴹ√(G)LAWAR > N. glawar “sunlight, radiance of Laurelin” as noted above (Ety/GLAW(-R); LÁWAR). Possible precursors to N. glawar “sunlight, radiance” include G. galwen “brilliance” from the 1910s (PE13/114) and ᴱN. gladwen “radiance, sunshine” (PE13/123, 144). From the 1930s forward Tolkien had both glaur and glawar, as discussed above.

glawar

sunlight

glawar (i **lawar) (gold, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) if there is a pl. (VT41:10)

glawar

laurelin, radiance of

glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, gold), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10)

glawar

sunlight

(i ’lawar) (gold, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) if there is a pl. (VT41:10)

glawar

laurelin, radiance of

(i ’lawar) (sunlight, gold), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

glaur

golden light

(i ’laur), pl. gloer (in gloer).

fae

radiance of laurelin

(soul, spirit). No distinct pl. form, 4) faer (spirit). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349). RADIANCE OF LAURELIN glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, gold), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

galad

sunlight

1. galad (i ngalad = i ñalad), (bright light, brilliance, radiance, glittering reflection), pl. gelaid (in gelaid = i ñgelaid). 2) glawar (i **lawar) (gold; radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10)

malad

gold

(as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malt

gold

(i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

calad

gerund noun. light

calad

noun. light

_ n. _light, fire, brightness, shining. >> galad

edlothia-

verb. to blossom, flower

The sentence from WR/293 is hardly legible and is not translated, but this word is however a plausible form

galad

noun. light, radiance, glittering, reflection (from jewels, glass or polished metal, or water)

galad

light

_ n. _light, fire, brightness, shining. >> calad, Caras Galadon

lúth

noun. blossom

_ n. Bot. _blossom, inflorescence. >> Lúthien

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

A noun for “gold” based on the root √MALAT. The Etymologies of the 1930s specified that N. malt was “gold (as metal)” derived from the root ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). This is consistent with Tolkien’s later notes in which Q. malta was “gold (metal)”, as opposed to Q. laurë/S. glaur which was “gold (colour or light)” (PE17/51, 159). Note that in The Etymologies the form was revised to (h)malt indicating an archaic voiceless hm that was the result of ancient sm (EtyAC/SMAL), but this would no longer be the case after the root became √MALAT.

calad

light

_(noun) _1) calad (i galad, o chalad), pl. celaid (i chelaid), 2) gaul (i **aul), pl. goel (i ngoel = i ñoel), coll. pl. golath. Note: A homophone means "wolf-howl", but has different mutations. 3) (bright light) galad (i ngalad = i ñalad), (sunlight, brilliance, radiance, glittering reflection), pl. gelaid (in gelaid = i ñgelaid). 4) gâl (gal-, -al in compounds, with article i **âl), pl. gail (i ngail = i ñail).

calad

light

(i galad, o chalad), pl. celaid (i chelaid), 2) gaul (i ’aul), pl. goel (i ngoel = i ñoel), coll. pl. golath. Note: A homophone means "wolf-howl", but has different mutations. 3) (bright light) galad (i ngalad = i ñalad), (sunlight, brilliance, radiance, glittering reflection), pl. gelaid (in gelaid = i ñgelaid). 4) gâl (gal-, -al in compounds, with article i ’âl), pl. gail (i ngail = i ñail).

edlothia

blossom

(verb) #edlothia- (i edlothia, in edlothiar) (flower);

edlothia

blossom

(i edlothia, in edlothiar) (flower);

edlothiad

blossoming

(flowering), pl. edlothiaid if there is a pl.

gail

light

(adjective) 1) gail (bright), lenited ngail, no distinct pl. form (VT45:18), 2) lim (clear, sparkling), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

gail

light

(bright), lenited ngail, no distinct pl. form (VT45:18)

galad

sunlight

(i ngalad = i ñalad), (bright light, brilliance, radiance, glittering reflection), pl. gelaid (in gelaid = i ñgelaid).

glóren

shining with golden light

(glórin-) (golden), lenited ’lóren; pl. glórin

goloth

flower

(i ’oloth) (collection of flowers), pl. gelyth (i ngelyth = i ñelyth). Archaic pl. gölyth. Also in the form gwaloth (i ’waloth), pl. gwelyth (in gwelyth). Also goloth.

lim

light

(clear, sparkling), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

loth

blossom

loth (see

loth

blossom

(see

malad

gold

(i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl.

mall

gold

(i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

glaware

noun. sheen of gold

maka-glawar

masculine name. maka-glawar

kalat

noun. light

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

malat

root. gold

áse

noun. sunlight

laurë

noun. gold (light or colour)

A very well-attested noun for “gold (light or colour)”, an element in many names, derived from √(G)LAWAR of the same meaning. This word only refers to “those things which we often call ‘golden’ though they do not much resemble metallic gold: golden light, especially sunlight” (RGEO/62), as opposed to gold as a metal which is malta (PE17/51, 159).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where ᴱQ. laure was the “(magic name of) gold”, derived from the early root ᴱ√LOURI (LT1/100; QL/42, 51), as opposed to ᴱQ. kulu which was ordinary gold (QL/49). The shift towards laure being only light or color seems to have begun in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where ᴹQ. malda was “gold (as metal)” (Ety/SMAL), later Q. malta (as noted above). This use of laurë only for color and light was reaffirmed frequently in Tolkien’s later writings (RGEO/62; Let/308; PE17/159).

Tar-culu

gold

Tar-culu ("k"), name listed in the Etymologies but not elsewhere attested. The second element is apparently culu "gold" (a word Tolkien seems to have abandoned); Hostetter and Wynne suggest that this may be an alternative name of Tar-Calion (= Ar-Pharazôn "the Golden"); see VT45:24.

alaurē†

noun. sheen of gold

PQ. sheen of gold

aurë

sunlight, day

aurë noun "sunlight, day" (SA:ur), "day (of light), a day of special meaning or festival" (VT49:45). locative auressë "in (the) morning" in Markirya, allative aurenna *"on the day" (VT49:43-45). Also compare amaurëa.

cala

light

cala ("k")noun "light" (KAL). Concerning the "Qenya" verb cala-, see #cal- above.

cala

noun. light, light; [ᴱQ.] daytime (sunlight), 12 hours

This is the most common Quenya word for “light”, derived from the root √KAL of similar meaning (RGEO/62; PE17/84). It appears in numerous compounds, either in its full form or in a reduced form cal-.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. kala appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “daytime (sunlight), 12 hours” and derived from the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), but it had the sense “light” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·kal’antúlien “Light hath returned” (LT1/184), and it was given as the cognate of G. gala “light, daylight” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/37).

ᴹQ. kala “light” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine” (Ety/KAL). Somewhat curiously in that document its primitive form was given as ᴹ✶k’lā́ (EtyAC/KAL), a form that also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/38). Tolkien may have used this variant form to explain N. glaw “radiance” (< ᴹ✶g’lā́), but in later writings S. glaw “sunshine” was derived from √LAW.

calina

light

calina ("k")adj. "light" (KAL), "bright" (VT42:32) "(literally illumined) sunny, light" (PE17:153) but apparently a noun "light" in coacalina, q.v.

culo

gold

[culo, culu ("k")noun "gold" (substance)] (KUL, VT49:47; the word culu_ also occurred in early "Qenya" [LT1:258], but in the Etymologies it was struck out; the regular Quenya word for "gold" is apparently _malta. In another version, culo meant "flame" [VT45:24], but this is apparently also a word Tolkien abandoned.)

cálë

light

cálë ("k")noun "light" (Markirya; in early "Qenya", cálë meant "morning", LT1:254)

cálë

noun. light

A noun for “light” appearing in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s (MC/222-223).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. kále “morning” was a derivative of the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), and kāle was mentioned again Gnomish Lexicon Slips as a cognate of G. gaul “a light” (PE13/114). The form ᴱQ. kale “day” appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, but was deleted (PE14/43). It might also be an element in ᴹQ. yúkale “twilight” (= “both lights”) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAL).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the better attested Q. cala “light”.

laurë

gold

†laurë noun "gold", but of golden light and colour, not of the metal: "golden light" (according to PE17:61 a poetic word). Nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto "may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading" (VT49:47). In Etym defined as "light of the golden Tree Laurelin, gold", not properly used of the metal gold (LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, GLAW(-R), VT27:20, 27, PE17:159). In early "Qenya", however, laurë was defined as "(the mystic name of) gold" (LT1:255, 258) or simply "gold" (LT1:248, 268). In Laurelin and Laurefindil, q.v., Laurenandë "Gold-valley" = Lórien (the land, not the Vala) (UT:253) and laurinquë name of a tree, possibly *"Gold-full one" (UT:168). Laurendon "like gold" or "in gold fashion" (but after citing this form, Tolkien decided to abandon the similative ending -ndon, PE17:58).

laurē

noun. sheen of gold

PQ. sheen of gold

lossë

blossom

lossë (2) noun "blossom" ("usually, owing to association with olosse snow, only used of white blossom") (LOT(H) )

malta

gold

malta noun "gold", also name of tengwa #18 (Appendix E). The Etymologies (entry SMAL) instead has malda, q.v. for discussion, but according to VT46:14, the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well. Also compare the root MALAT listed in PM:366.

lóri

noun. gold

pharaz

noun. gold

A noun meaning “gold”, the only Adûnaic word defined in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1114).

Conceptual Development: This noun also appears in “Lowdham’s Report on the Adunaic Language” from the 1940s (SD/426).

cala

noun. light