Sindarin 

ithil

noun. the (full) Moon, lit. 'The Sheen'

Sindarin [Ety/361, Ety/385, Ety/392, LotR/E, LB/354, RC/23] Group: SINDICT. Published by

ithil

noun. Moon

_n. Astron._Moon. Q. Isil. >> Anor, ithildin

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:30:39:121] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

ithil

noun. Moon

The usual name for the Moon in Sindarin, from an augmented form of the root √THIL (Let/425; Ety/THIL). This word is most likely the proper name of the Moon, analogous to English “Luna”: in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien indicated Ithil was a “poetic name”. Compare this to S. Raun “Wanderer”, which is more descriptive of the nature of the body and hence closer to “Moon” (and “moon”).

Conceptual Development: The first precursor to this name seems to be G. Thilim “Moon” in an early list of names (PE14/13). This became G. {Thil >>} Sil “Rose of Silpion, Moon” (GL/67, 72) and G. {Thilmos >>} Silma in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/33, 67), both derivatives of the early root ᴱ√SILI as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Sil). The name Ithil first appeared in early versions of the tales of Númenor from the 1930s (LR/41).

Cognates

  • Q. Isil “Moon, (lit.) Sheen” ✧ Let/425; LotR/1114; PE17/039; PE17/121; SA/sil

Derivations

  • THIL “shine silver; white light” ✧ Let/425; SA/sil

Element in

  • S. ir Ithil ammen Eruchín “*when the Moon, for us, the Children of God” ✧ LB/354
  • S. Ithilbor “*Moon-fist”
  • S. ithildin “magical alloy that glows in moonlight, (lit.) moon-star” ✧ PE17/039; PE17/039
  • S. Ithilien “Land of the Moon” ✧ SA/sil
  • S. Minas Ithil “Tower of the (Rising) Moon” ✧ SA/sil
  • S. Orithil “*Moon-day, Monday”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
THIL > Ithil[itʰil] > [iθil]✧ Let/425
thil- > Ithil[itʰil] > [iθil]✧ SA/sil
Sindarin [LB/354; LBI/Ithil; Let/425; LotR/1114; LotRI/Moon; MRI/Ithil; PE17/030; PE17/039; PE17/121; SA/sil; WJI/Ithil] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mithril

noun. Moria-silver, true-silver

Elements

WordGloss
mith“grey, light grey, pale grey”
RIL“brilliant (light), brilliance, brilliant (light), brilliance, [ᴹ√] glitter”

Variations

  • Mithril ✧ LotRI/Mithril; RSI/Mithril
Sindarin [LotR/0317; LotRI/Mithril; PE17/047; PMI/mithril; RSI/Mithril; SA/ril; UTI/mithril] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cýrawn

noun. new moon

Sindarin [VT/48:7] Group: SINDICT. Published by

cýron

noun. new moon

Sindarin [VT/48:7] Group: SINDICT. Published by

raun

noun. Moon

A word for “moon”, equivalent of Q. Rána, attested in later writings only as the element -rawn in the archaic form S. †cýrawn “new-moon”, in modern speech cýron (VT48/7). Based on its use in this word, as well as in N. cúran “crescent moon” [ᴺS. cúron], it seems this is the ordinary word for “Moon” (or “moon”) as a celestial body, as opposed to S. Ithil which is the proper name of the moon, equivalent to English “Luna”. Raun is derived from primitive ✶rānā from the root √RAN “wander”, and hence originally meant something like “Wanderer”, though its Quenya equivalent is usually translated “Wayward”.

Conceptual Development: A very similar form G. Rân “the moon” appeared in Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/64), as well as ᴱN. rán “moon” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/152), though in this period its etymology is unclear. It appeared as N. Rhân “Moon” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” (Ety/RAN), but in this period its Quenya equivalent was ᴹQ. Rana with short a. In later writings the Quenya form became Q. Rána, requiring a change to S. Raun since ancient ā became au in Sindarin.

Cognates

  • Q. Rána “Moon, (lit.) Wayward”

Derivations

  • rānā “moon” ✧ VT48/07
    • RAN “wander, stray, meander, go on an uncertain course, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen); err”

Element in

  • ᴺS. cúron “crescent moon”
  • S. cýron “new-moon” ✧ VT48/07

Variations

  • rawn ✧ VT48/07 (rawn)

raun

moon

(pl. roen, idh roen), coll. pl. ronath. Cf. the ending -ron at the end of month-names. Raun is basically the adj. ”straying, wandering” used as a noun, hence identifying the Moon as ”the Wanderer”. – The ”Noldorin” form rhân presupposes a different primitive form and may not correspond to S ✱rân as would normally be supposed.

ithil

moon

1) Ithil (= ”the sheen”); 2) (apparently also used = ”month”) raun (pl. roen, idh roen), coll. pl. ronath. Cf. the ending -ron at the end of month-names. Raun is basically the adj. ”straying, wandering” used as a noun, hence identifying the Moon as ”the Wanderer”. The ”Noldorin” form rhân presupposes a different primitive form and may not correspond to S *rân as would normally be supposed.

ithil

sheen

(The Sheen, name of the Moon) Ithil

ithil

sheen

ithil

moon

(= ”the sheen”)