ilmen

chasm of ilmen

ilmen region above air where stars are (WIL, SA:ilm-); place-name Ilmen-assa "Chasm of Ilmen" (GAS)

ilmen

place name. *Place of Starlight

The region above the air where the stars are, through which the Sun and Moon travelled (S/99, SI/Ilmen). The name is probably a compound of Ilma “Starlight” and men “place”, meaning “Place of Starlight”.

Conceptual Development: This name first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s as ᴹQ. Silma >> Ilma >> Ilmen, translated as “Place of Light” (SM/240-1). It appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√GIL, described as the “region above air where stars are” (Ety/GIL). These earlier appearances are the source for the etymology given above.

Elements

Word	Gloss
Ilma	“Starlight”
men	“way, way; [ᴹQ.] place, spot”

Ilmarin

mansion of the high airs

Ilmarin noun "mansion of the high airs", the dwelling of Manwë and Varda upon Oiolossë (SA:ilm-)

ilm-

mansion of the high airs

ilm- stem appearing in Ilmen, the region above the air where the stars are, in Ilmarë, name of a Maia, and in Ilmarin "mansion of the high airs", the dwelling of Manwë and Varda upon Oiolossë (SA)

ilmarin

place name. Mansion of the High Airs

The mansion of Manwë and Varda on Taniquetil, translated as “mansion of the high airs” (LotR/235, RC/217). The etymology of this name is unclear, but it is probably derived from Ilma “Starlight”, and related to Ilmen “Place of (Star)light” (SA/ilm).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴹQ. Ilmarin first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (TI/92). It did not appear in The Silmarillion proper, though it was discussed by Christopher Tolkien in The Silmarillion index and appendix (SI/Taniquetil, SA/ilm).

Elements

Word	Gloss
Ilma	“Starlight”
?

ilmen

Ilmen

Christopher Tolkien has noted that Ilmen is related to such words as Ilmarë and Ilmarin.