n. flood.
Sindarin
lô
blue
lô
flood
lô
noun. shallow lake, fenland
lô
lô
lô
noun. flood, fenland
hlô
noun. flood
n. flood.
l(h)ô
noun. flood, fenland, flood, fenland; [G.] pool, lake
A noun that served as the final element in various river names. Tolkien was uncertain whether the primitive form of this word began with simple l- or s-prefixed sl-, hence the variation between lô and lhô. In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien said the non-suffixal form of this word was hlô “flood” (PE17/96). In notes from 1966-67 he gave a bewildering variety of derivations for this word, but mostly represented it as lhô or hlô in various attempts to connect it to the river name S. Lhûn (PE17/136-137; VT48/27-28).
In notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, while discussing the river name S. Gwathló Tolkien said:
> The element -ló was also of Common Eldarin origin, derived from a base (s)log: in Common Eldarin sloga had been a word used for streams of a kind that were variable and liable to overflow their banks at seasons and cause floods when swollen by rains or melting snow; especially such as the Glanduin (described above) that had their sources in mountains and fell at first swiftly, but were halted in the lower lands and flats. ✱sloga became in Sindarin lhô; but was not in later times much used except in river or marsh names. The Quenya form would have been hloä (VT42/9).
Tolkien rejected this etymology, however, replacing it with the following:
> Lô was derived from Common Eldarin base LOG “wet (and soft), soaked, swampy, etc.” The form ✱loga produced S. lô and T. loga; and also, from ✱logna, S. loen, T. logna “soaking wet, swamped”. But the stem in Quenya, owing to sound-changes which caused its derivatives to clash with other words, was little represented ... the Quenya form of S. lô would have been ✱✱loa, identical with Q. loa < ✱lawa “year”; the form of S. loen, T. logna would have been ✱✱lóna identical with [Q.] lóna “pool, mere” (VT42/10).
This final etymology appears to be the last one Tolkien wrote on the topic; later in the same document he used the form lô in discussions of the river name S. Ringló (VT42/13-14). As for the meaning of the word, it seems it applied both to wide rivers with a tendency to flood their banks, as well as fenlands or wetlands in general.
Conceptual Development: As an element in river names, -lo first appeared in the river names N. Gwathlo and N. Ringlo in Lord of the Rings drafts (TI/304; WR/287). G. lô “pool, lake” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s is possible precursor (GL/54).
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer the pre-1968 form of the word lhô, as this is both more distinctive and also allows us to salvage Q. hloä of similar meaning.
Changes
lhô→ lô ✧ VT42/09Cognates
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶slowā > slŏw̯ > slaw > hlaw [slowā] > [slowa] > [l̥owa] > [l̥ou] > [l̥aw] ✧ PE17/137 √LOWO > lawa > law [lowā] > [lowa] > [lou] > [law] ✧ PE17/137 ✶sloga > lhô [sloga] > [l̥oga] > [l̥oɣa] > [l̥oɣ] > [l̥ōɣ] > [l̥ō] ✧ VT42/09 ✶loga > lô [loga] > [loɣa] > [loɣ] > [lōɣ] > [lō] ✧ VT42/10 Variations
- hlô ✧ PE17/096; PE17/137; VT48/28
- -lō ✧ PE17/096
- slō-/(s)lō ✧ PE17/136 (slō-/(s)lō); VT48/27 (slō-/(s)lō)
- slô ✧ PE17/136 (slô); VT48/27 (slô)
- hlaw ✧ PE17/137; VT48/28
- law ✧ PE17/137; PE17/137; VT48/28
- lô ✧ UT/263; VT42/09; VT42/10
- lhô ✧ VT42/09 (lhô); VT42/09 (
lhô)- -ló ✧ VT42/13
- Lô ✧ VT42/14 (Lô)
(h)law
noun. flood
ael
noun. lake, pool, mere
duinen
noun. flood, high tide
elu
adjective. (pale) blue
luin
adjective. blue
luin
blue
adj. blue. . This gloss was rejected.
luin
jhJ5 adjective. blue
Examples: Ered luin, Helluin, Luinil, Mindolluin
luin
adjective. blue
Cognates
- Q. luinë “blue” ✧ SA/luin; VT48/23; VT48/28
Derivations
Element in
- S. Aeluin “*Blue Lake” ✧ S/162
- S.
caralluin“*red-blue”- S. Draugluin “*Blue (Were)wolf”
- S. Ered Luin “Blue Mountains” ✧ SA/luin; VT48/23; VT48/24; VT48/28
- S. Hirluin
- S. Ithryn Luin “Blue Wizards” ✧ UT/390
- S. Mindolluin “Towering Blue-head” ✧ SA/luin
- ᴺS. nelluin “bluebell”
- S. Sîr Luin ✧ VT48/23; VT48/28 (
Sîr Luin)Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √LUY > Luin [luini] > [luine] > [luin] ✧ VT48/23 ✶luini > luin [luini] > [luine] > [luin] ✧ VT48/24 Variations
- Luin ✧ Let/448; VT48/23
lô
shallow lake
(fenland), pl. lŷ.
lô
fenland
lô (shallow lake), pl. lŷ
lô
fenland
lô (shallow lake), pl. lŷ;
lô
fenland
(shallow lake), pl. lŷ
lô
shallow lake
lô (fenland), pl. lŷ.
lô
shallow lake
lô (fenland), pl. lŷ
rim
cold pool or lake
; no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rim), coll. pl. rimmath. Note: a homophone means ”crowd, great number, host”.
lâd
lowland
(valley, plain), construct lad, pl. laid
ael
lake
(aelin-, pl. aelin) (pool, mere). In ”Noldorin” oel, pl. oelin.
luin
blue
luin (no distinct pl. form, as demonstrated by the name Ered Luin ”Blue Mountains”) (VT48:24)
lîn
lake
1) lîn (pool), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. #liniath (isolated from Hithliniath, WJ:194). 2) ael (aelin-, pl. aelin) (pool, mere). In ”Noldorin” oel, pl. oelin. 3) nên (water, pool, stream, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn**. **
lîn
lake
(pool), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. #*liniath*** (isolated from Hithliniath**, WJ:194).
nên
lake
(water, pool, stream, waterland), construct nen, pl. nîn.
nên
waterland
(water, lake, pool, stream), construct nen, pl. nîn;
adj. blue. . This gloss was rejected.