Quenya 

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.

calina

adjective. light, bright, sunny, (lit.) illumined

Cognates

  • S. calen “green; fresh, vigorous; †bright, green; †bright, [N.] bright-coloured; [S.] fresh, vigorous” ✧ PE17/153; VT42/19

Derivations

  • kalinā “bright”
  • KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden” ✧ PE17/153

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
cal-“to shine”
-ina“adjective suffix; passive participle”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
KAL > kălina[kalina]✧ PE17/153

Variations

  • kălina ✧ PE17/153
  • kalina ✧ VT42/19
Quenya [PE17/153; VT42/19] Group: Eldamo. Published by

calima

bright

calima adj. "bright" (VT42:32); cf. ancalima; in PE17:56, arcalima appears as another superlative "brightest" (see ar- #2).

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.

Derivations

  • KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden” ✧ PE17/084

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
CAL > Cala[kala]✧ PE17/084

Variations

  • Cala ✧ PE17/084; RGEO/62
Quenya [PE17/084; PE17/143; RGEO/62; VT39/14] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cal-

verb. to shine

Cognates

  • S. cal- “to shine”

Derivations

  • KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden”

Element in

  • Q. Anar caluva tielyanna “The sun shall shine upon your path” ✧ UT/022
  • Q. calima “bright, luminous”
  • Q. calina “light, bright, sunny, (lit.) illumined”
  • ᴺQ. nancal- “to reflect, (lit.) shine back”

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”.

Element in

Variations

  • kále ✧ MC/222; MC/223
Quenya [MC/222; MC/223] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Sindarin 

calad

gerund noun. light

Sindarin [Ety/362, UT/65] Group: SINDICT. Published by

calad

noun. light

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

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:84] < GAL. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

galad

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

Sindarin [VT/45:13, PM/347, Letters/425] Group: SINDICT. Published by

galad

light

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

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:84] < GAL. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

cal-

verb. to shine

Cognates

  • Q. cal- “to shine”

Derivations

  • KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden”
Sindarin [PE17/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glân

adjective. bright, shining white

The word is deduced from its mutated form, but it is worth mentioning that a stem GALÁN "bright", with glan "daylight" (and later "clear") as derivative, is listed in the Etymologies (not included in the published text, but see VT/45:13). Most of the words meaning "white" in the Indo-Eureopean languages come from the original notion of "brightness", e.g. Greek leukós "white" is cognate with Latin lucere "to shine", lux "light". This association of sense is also found in Gnomish, PE/11:39 (glan "clean, pure", from "bright" originally) and in Early Noldorin (PE/13:144, glann "clean"). The similarity with Welsh glan (where the vowel, incidentally, is also long, though this is concealed by Welsh orthographic convention) is also striking

Sindarin [Curunír 'Lân UT/390] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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).

lim

light

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

gail

bright

gail (light), lenited ngail; no distinct pl. form (VT45:18). The adj. calen etymologically means "bright", but is used = "green" (q.v.).

gail

bright

(light), lenited ngail; no distinct pl. form (VT45:18). The adj. calen etymologically means "bright", but is used = "green" (q.v.).

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)

glaur

golden light

(i ’laur), pl. gloer (in gloer).

glawar

sunlight

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

glóren

shining with golden light

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

gîl

bright spark

(i ngîl = i ñîl, construct gil) (star, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. *giliath** (RGEO, MR:388)*

Telerin 

cala

noun. light

sil-

verb. to shine

Cognates

  • Q. sil- “to shine (white)” ✧ WJ/367

Element in

Primitive elvish

kalinā

adjective. bright

Derivatives

  • Q. calina “light, bright, sunny, (lit.) illumined”

Elements

WordGloss
kal-“to shine, be bright”
-nā“adjective suffix; passive participle”
Primitive elvish [PE22/136] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kalat

noun. light

Derivatives

Variations

  • kalā́t- ✧ PE18/087
Primitive elvish [PE18/087; PE21/71] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kal-

verb. to shine, be bright

Derivations

  • KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden”

Element in

Primitive elvish [PE22/136] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

calad

gerund noun. light

Noldorin [Ety/362, UT/65] Group: SINDICT. Published by

calad

noun. light

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KAL > calad[kalata] > [kalat] > [kalad]✧ Ety/KAL
Noldorin [Ety/KAL; Ety/KIL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

galad

noun. light

Derivations

  • ᴹ√GAL “shine” ✧ Ety/GAL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GAL > galad[galata] > [galat] > [galad]✧ Ety/GAL
Noldorin [EtyAC/GAL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gail

noun. bright light

Noldorin [Ety/362] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gal-

prefix. light

Noldorin [galvorn, etc.] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glaur

noun. golden light (of the golden tree Laurelin)

Noldorin [Ety/358, Ety/368] Group: SINDICT. Published by

glor-

noun. golden light (of the golden tree Laurelin)

Noldorin [Ety/358, Ety/368] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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!

Valarin 

ithīr

noun. light

Qenya 

kalina

adjective. light

Cognates

  • N. calen “green, (orig.) bright-coloured” ✧ Ety/KAL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KAL > kalina[kalina]✧ Ety/KAL

kala

noun. light

Cognates

  • N. glaw “radiance” ✧ Ety/KAL

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶k’lā “light” ✧ Ety/KAL
    • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL; PE18/038

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶k’lā́ > kala[kala]✧ Ety/KAL

sil-

verb. to shine

Element in

Qenya [PE17/014; PE22/100; PE22/107; PE22/113; RS/324] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

gelion

adjective. bright

An adjective meaning “bright” derived from the root ᴹ√GAL, the basis of the river name Gelion (Ety/GYEL). There isn’t enough information to deduce its primitive form, but Helge Fauskanger suggested ✱✶galjānā (AL-Ilkorin/gelion), which seems reasonably plausible.

Derivations

  • ᴹ√GAL “shine” ✧ Ety/GYEL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GAL > gelion[galjānā] > [galjāna] > [galjōna] > [galiōna] > [geliōna] > [geliōn] > [gelion]✧ Ety/GYEL
Doriathrin [Ety/GYEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gôl

noun. light

A (rejected?) Doriathrin noun for “light” derived from primitive ᴹ✶gālæ appearing in The Etymologies (Ety/KAL, EtyAC/KAL). According to Christopher Tolkien’s notes, it was part of a rejected etymology for the name Thingol, but it isn’t clear whether this noun was rejected or if it was just the etymology. Its long primitive vowel [[ilk|[ā] became [ō]]] as was the norm in Ilkorin.

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶gālæ “light” ✧ Ety/KAL
    • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL

Element in

  • Ilk. ThingolGrey-wise” ✧ Ety/KAL (Thingol*)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶gālæ > gôl[gālæ] > [gāla] > [gōla] > [gōl]✧ Ety/KAL

Variations

  • gôl ✧ Ety/KAL (Dor. gôl); EtyAC/KAL (N. gôl)
Doriathrin [Ety/KAL; EtyAC/KAL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

kalat

noun. light

Variations

  • kalat- ✧ PE21/56
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE21/56] Group: Eldamo. Published by

k’lā

noun. light

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL; PE18/038

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. kala “light” ✧ Ety/KAL

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Kalion “Son of Light, Valinorian Elda” ✧ PE21/37 (kalion)

Variations

  • k’lā́ ✧ Ety/KAL
  • klā́ ✧ PE18/038
  • kalĭ ✧ PE21/37 (kalĭ)
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KAL; EtyAC/KAL; PE18/038; PE21/37] Group: Eldamo. Published by

galan

root. bright

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. ala “day” ✧ EtyAC/GAL¹
  • ᴹQ. alan “daytime” ✧ EtyAC/GAL¹
  • ᴺS. glaen “serene, clear, fair (espec. of weather)”
  • S. glân “white, [bright shining] white; [N.] clear; [G.] pure, †bright; [ᴱN.] clean”
  • N. glan “clear” ✧ EtyAC/GAL¹
  • ᴺS. glanna- “to cleanse, purify, purge, *to clear, make clear”

Variations

  • GALÁN ✧ EtyAC/GAL¹
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/GAL¹] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gālæ

noun. light

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KAL “shine” ✧ Ety/KAL

Derivatives

  • Ilk. gôl “light” ✧ Ety/KAL
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KAL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

gaul

noun. light

Early Noldorin

glaiw

noun. light

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KALA “shine golden”
Early Noldorin [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

kala-

verb. to shine

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” ✧ LT1A/Galmir; QL/044

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KALA > kala-[gala-] > [kala-]✧ QL/044

Variations

  • kal- ✧ PE16/143
Early Quenya [LT1A/Galmir; MC/220; PE14/046; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/075; PE16/077; PE16/143; QL/044] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kal-

verb. to shine

selka

adjective. bright

Derivations

  • ᴱ√SELE “*bright” ✧ QL/083

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√SELE > selka[selkā] > [selka]✧ QL/083
Early Quenya [PME/083; QL/083] Group: Eldamo. Published by