lassë noun "leaf"; pl. lassi is attested (Nam, RGEO:66, Letters:283, LAS1, LT1:254, VT39:9, Narqelion); gen. lassëo "of a leaf", gen. pl. lassion "of leaves" (earlier lassio) (WJ:407). The word lassë was only applied to certain kinds of leaves, especially those of trees (PE17:62), perhaps particularly _ear-shaped _leaves (cf. the entry _LAS1 _in the Etymologies, where Tolkien comments on the pointed or leaf-shaped Elvish ears and suggests an etymological connection between words for "ear" and "leaf"); see also linquë #3. Compound lasselanta "leaf-fall", used (as was quellë) for the latter part of autumn and the beginning of winter (Appendix D, Letters:428); hence Lasselanta alternative name of October (PM:135). Cf. also lassemista "leaf-grey, grey-leaved" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in Letters:224, PE17:62), lassewinta a variant of lasselanta (PM:376). Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves" (PE17:56). See also lillassëa, lantalasselingëa.
Quenya
lassemista
proper name. Leaf-Grey
Elements
Word Gloss lassë “leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal” mista “grey” Variations
- lassemista ✧ Let/224
lassë
leaf
lassë
noun. leaf, leaf; [ᴱQ.] petal
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- Q. ai! laurië lantar lassi súrinen “ah! like gold fall the leaves in the wind” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
- Q. ai! lassi lantar laurië súrinen “ah! leaves fall golden in [by means of] the wind” ✧ RGEO/58
- Q. laicalassë “green-leaf, green as leaves”
- ᴺQ. lassëa “with leaves, leafy”
- Q. lasselanta “(late) autumn, (lit.) leaf-fall, (late) autumn, (lit.) leaf-fall; [ᴹQ.] October” ✧ LotR/1107
- Q. Lassemista “Leaf-Grey”
- Q. lassewinta “leaf fall, autumn, *(lit.) leaf blowing”
- Q. lillassëa “having many leaves”
- ᴺQ. nornolassëa “having oak-leaves”
- Q. olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves”
- ᴺQ. palalassë “sycamore, (lit.) flat leaf”
- ᴺQ. parmalas(së) “page, (lit.) leaf of book”
- Q. táli lantalasselingië “*with feet like the music of falling leaves” ✧ PE16/096; PE16/096
- Q. taniquelassë “*high-white-leaf”
- ᴺQ. tyávelassë “spice, (lit.) taste-leaf”
- ᴺQ. yullas “tea”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶lassē > lasse [lassē] > [lasse] ✧ Let/282 ✶lassḗi > lássei > lassī [lassei] > [lassī] > [lassi] ✧ PE19/106 ✶lasséinen > lassēnen > lassī́nen [lasseinen] > [lassīnen] ✧ PE19/106 ✶lassē > lasse [lassē] > [lasse] ✧ VT39/09 Variations
- lasse ✧ Let/282; LotR/1107; PE16/096; PE16/096; PE17/062; PE17/062; Plotz/11; VT39/09
mista
grey
mista adj. "grey"; see lassemista
mista
adjective. grey
Cognates
- S. mith “grey, light grey, pale grey”
Derivations
- √MITH “grey”
Element in
- Q. Lassemista “Leaf-Grey” ✧ PE17/083
taniquelassë
leaf
taniquelassë noun name of tree (UT:167), perhaps Tanique(til) + lassë "leaf"
hiswa
grey
hiswa (þ) adj. "grey" (KHIS/KHITH, Narqelion)
mísë
grey
mísë (þ, cf. Sindarin mith-) adj. "grey" (used as noun of grey clothes in the phrase mi mísë of someone clad "in grey"). The underlying stem refers a paler or whiter "grey" than sinda, making mísë "a luminous grey" (PE17:71-72)
sinda
grey
sinda (þ) adj. "grey" (PE17:72); nominal pl. Sindar used = "Grey-elves", lit. *"Grey ones"; see WJ:375. Gen. pl. Sindaron in WJ:369. With general meaning "grey" also in Sindacollo > Singollo "Grey-cloak, Thingol" (SA:thin(d), PE17:72; see also sindë, Sindicollo);†sindanórië "grey land", ablative sindanóriello "from/out of a grey country" (Nam); the reference is to a "mythical region of shadows lying at outer feet of the Mountains of Valinor" (PE17:72). However, other sources give sindë (q.v.) as the Quenya word for "grey"; perhaps sinda came to mean primarily "Grey-elf" as a noun. Derived adjective Sindarin "Grey-elven", normally used as a noun to refer to the Grey-elven language. (Appendix F)
sinda
adjective. grey
The best known Quenya word for “grey” and an element in a number of names. It is also used as a noun Sinda “Grey Elf”. Tolkien sometimes used a variant form sindë, but the form sinda is more recognizable.
Cognates
- S. thind “grey, grey, [N.] pale” ✧ PE17/072; SA/thin(d)
Derivations
Element in
- Q. Eldar Sindar “Grey Elves” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Eldar sindaron “Grey Elves’” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Sinda “Grey-elf” ✧ SA/thin(d)
- Q. Sindacollo “Grey-cloak, Greymantle” ✧ PE17/072; SA/thin(d)
- Q. Sinda Eldō “a Grey Elf’s” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Sindanórië “Grey Country, Land of Greyness” ✧ PE17/072
- Q. Sindar Eldar “Grey Elves” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Sindar Eldaron “Grey Elves’” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Sindar i Eldar Malariando “Grey are the Elves of Beleriand” ✧ PE21/77
- Q. Sindel “Grey-elf”
- Q. sindië “greyness” ✧ PE17/072
- Q. Singollo “Grey-cloak, Greymantle” ✧ SA/thin(d)
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ΘIN > sinda [tʰinda] > [θinda] > [sinda] ✧ PE17/072 ✶þindā > sinda [tʰindā] > [θindā] > [θinda] > [sinda] ✧ PE17/072 Variations
- Sinda ✧ PE21/77
sindë
grey, pale or silvery grey
sindë (þ) adj. "grey, pale or silvery grey" (the Vanyarin dialect preserves the older form þindë) (WJ:384, THIN; in SA:thin(d) the form given is sinda, cf. also sindanóriello "from a grey country" in Namárië. Sindë and sinda_ are apparently variants of the same word.) _Stem sindi-, given the primitive form ¤thindi; cf. Sindicollo (q.v.)
lassemista
Lassemista
The name of a tree in Fangorn beloved of the Ent Bregalad (LotR/483). It is a compound of lassë “leaf” and mista “grey” (PE17/83).