Laurelin

g.sg. laurelinden

Laurelin ("g.sg. Laurelinden" or Laurelingen; in LotR-style Quenya this is dat.sg.) Name of the Golden Tree of Valinor, interpreted both *"singing-gold" (stem Laurelind-) and "hanging-gold" (stem Laureling-) (LIN2, VT45:27, LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, [GLAW(-R)], SA, Letters:308)

laurelin

proper name. Song of Gold, Singing Gold

Name of the Golden Tree of Valinor, the one of the Two Trees which shone with golden light (S/38). It is a compound of laurë “gold” and lin(dë) “singing, song” (SA/laurë, lin²), variously translated as “Song of Gold” (MR/155) or “Singing Gold (PE17/80)”.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, the tree was first named ᴱQ. Lindelokte “Singing Cluster” with numerous variations (LT1/22, LTA/Lindelos). Towards the end of Tolkien’s work on the Lost Tales, he introduced the name ᴱQ. {Lindelaure >>} Laurelin “Singing-gold” (LT2/216), and used this as the name thereafter.

The name ᴹQ. Laurelin was translated “Song of Gold” in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/210). This translation also appeared in The Etymologies (Laurelind-, Ety/LIN²), but there Tolkien considered a variant, co-existing translation “Hanging Flame” (Laureling-, EtyAC/LING). This variant was retained in the later Sindarin name of the tree: S. Glingal.

laurelindórenan

place name. (Land of the) Valley of Singing Gold

The full Quenya name of S. Lórien (UT/253), appearing in the even longer Entish description of that land: Laurelindórenan lindelorendor malinornélion ornemalin (LotR/467). The name is a combination of the elements laurë “gold”, lin(dë) “singing”, -ndor “land” and the suffix -nan “valley” (Let/448, UT/253). This name was crafted by Galadriel, and was an allusion to the Golden Tree of Valinor, Laurelin (UT/253).

Conceptual Development: This name appeared as Laurelindórinan in the first edition of The Lord of the Rings, revised to Laurelindórenan in the second (SD/73). It also appeared in a shorter variant Laurelindórë “Land of Singing Gold” (PE17/80). It seems that when Tolkien first conceived of this name, it was merely an extended, Enticized version of Lórien (PE17/80). The idea that it was the full name coined by Galadriel came later, as Tolkien further developed the etymological history of S. Lórien (UT/253).

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).

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).

Laurelin

Laurelin

Laurelin is said to mean "Song of Gold". In the Etymologies, the element laure ("gold") in Laurelin derives from the root LÁWAR-. The name Laurelin appears to be Quenya.

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.

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”.

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.