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.

Cognates

• S. Glewellin “Song of Gold” ✧ MR/155; PE17/061

Element in

• Q. Laurelindórenan “(Land of the) Valley of Singing Gold” ✧ PE17/080; PE17/080

Elements

Word	Gloss
laurë	“gold (light or colour)”
lindë	“singing, song, musical sound, singing, song, musical sound; [ᴹQ.] air, tune”

Variations

• laurelindë ✧ PE17/080
• laurelin ✧ PE17/080

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).

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.

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.)

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.

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.