mírë

jewel

mírë noun "jewel" (MIR, SA:mîr), "a treasure, a precious thing" (PE17:37).Cf. Elemmírë; short form -mir in Tar-Atanamir (SA:mîr); see also Artamir.

mírë

noun/adjective. jewel, gem, precious thing, treasure; precious

A word first appearing with the gloss “jewel, precious thing, treasure” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MIR (Ety/MIR). It appeared regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with the same etymology and glosses like “gem”, “jewel” and “precious thing”, and it was a common element in names. In one place Tolkien said it could also be used as an adjective “precious” (PE17/165).

Cognates

• S. mîr “jewel, precious thing, treasure” ✧ PE17/024; PE17/037; PE17/073; PE17/165; SA/mîr

Derivations

• √MIR “precious; esteem, value” ✧ PE17/037; PE17/165
• ✶mīrĭ “precious, precious thing” ✧ PE17/165
  • √MIR “precious; esteem, value” ✧ PE17/165

Element in

• Q. Aldamir “*Tree Jewel”
• Q. Ardamir “*World-jewel”
• Q. Ardamírë “Jewel of the World”
• Q. ar hísië untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë “and mist covers the jewels of Calacirya forever” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
• Q. ar hísië untúpa Calaciryo míri oialë “and mist covers (lit. down-roofs) Calacirya’s jewels forever” ✧ RGEO/59
• Q. Artamir “*Noble Jewel”
• Q. atamir “heirloom” ✧ PE17/165
• Q. Atanamir “*Man Jewel” ✧ PE17/024; SA/mîr
• Q. Castamir
• ᴺQ. culmírë “sardius, carneol [carnelian], (lit.) orange-jewel”
• Q. Elemmírë “Elven-gem, Star-gem” ✧ PE19/096; SA/mîr
• Q. Elendilmir “Star of Elendil”
• ᴺQ. mirumírë “amethyst, (lit.) wine-jewel”
• Q. Hostamir “*Many Jewels”
• ᴺQ. laicelumir “malachite (lit.) green-flowing-jewel”
• ᴺQ. lairemírë “daisy, (lit.) meadow-jewel *(or summer-jewel)”
• ᴺQ. linquemir “hyacinth [jewel]”
• Q. mimírima “very beautiful” ✧ PE17/165
• Q. mírëa “jewelled, jewelled, *gemmed”
• Q. Míriel “*Jewel-daughter” ✧ PE17/024; SA/mîr
• Q. mírima “very valuable, very precious, very lovely” ✧ PE17/165
• ᴺQ. nambírë “jasper”
• ᴺQ. omírë “jewelry (collectively)”
• ᴺQ. orvamir “chrysoprase, (lit.) apple-jewel”
• ᴺQ. ostimmir “agate, (lit.) blend-jewel”
• ᴺQ. tinwírë “diamond, (lit.) sparkling gem”
• Q. Vardamir “*Varda-jewel”
• Q. yavannamírë “Jewel of Yavanna”
• S. Boromir “?Steadfast-jewel”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MIR > mírë	[mīre]	✧ PE17/037
✶mīrĭ > míre	[mīri] > [mīre]	✧ PE17/165
√MIR > mīre	[mīre]	✧ PE17/165

Variations

• míre ✧ PE17/024; PE17/073; PE17/165; PE19/096
• mīre ✧ PE17/165

Elemmírë

star-jewel

Elemmírë noun *"Star-jewel" (elen + míre, notice assimilation nm > mm), name of a star/planet (possibly Mercury, MR:435, where the spelling used is Elemmirë); also name of an Elf. (SA:mîr)

Artamir

noble jewel

Artamir masc. name *"Noble jewel" (Appendix A); cf. mírë.

mîr

noun. jewel, precious thing, treasure

mîr

noun. jewel

_ n. _jewel, precious thing. Q. míre, pl1. míri. >> advir

mîr

noun. jewel, precious thing, treasure

The noun N. mîr “jewel, precious thing, treasure” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MIR (Ety/MIR), and continued to appear regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with similar derivations and glosses (LotR/1115; PE17/37, 165; PM/348; RGEO/65). It is a frequent element in names.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s instead had G. idri “a treasure, a thing of great worth, a jewel” below a more archaic form of the same word G. †îd, both related to the name Idril (GL/50). Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱN. himp “jewel” (PE13/147), probably related to ᴱQ. sinqe “jewel” from this same period (PE14/42, 71), where initial s usually became h in Noldorin of the 1920s and labialized velars became labials (nq > mp).

Cognates

• Q. mírë “jewel, gem, precious thing, treasure; precious” ✧ PE17/024; PE17/037; PE17/073; PE17/165; SA/mîr

Derivations

• ✶mīrĭ “precious, precious thing” ✧ PE17/165
  • √MIR “precious; esteem, value” ✧ PE17/165

Element in

• S. advir “heirloom” ✧ PE17/165
• S. Aravir
• S. Gelmir
• S. Gwaith-i-Mírdain “People of the Jewel Smiths” ✧ SA/mîr
• S. menel-vîr síla díriel “*heaven-jewel shines having watched [for us]” ✧ LB/354
• ᴺS. mírad “treasury, hoard”
• S. mírdan “jewel smith”
• S. míria- “to sparkle like jewels” ✧ PE17/024; PE17/024
• S. mirian “Gondorian coin”
• S. Mîr n’Ardhon “Jewel of the World” ✧ PM/348
• S. Nauglamír “Necklace of the Dwarves” ✧ SA/mîr
• S. Remmirath “Netted Jewels” ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/024

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mīrĭ > mîr	[mīri] > [mīre] > [mīr]	✧ PE17/165

Variations

• mír ✧ PM/348

mírdan

noun. jewel-smith

míriel

jewel-like

(lenited víriel, pl. míril) (sparkling like a jewel)

mîr

jewel

mîr (i vîr, construct mir) (precious thing, treasure), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mîr), coll. pl. míriath. GREAT JEWEL (Silmaril) Mirion (i Virion), pl. Míryn (i Míryn). (LR:373 s.v. MIR lists the archaic ”Noldorin” plural Miruin.)

mîr

jewel

(i vîr, construct mir) (precious thing, treasure), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mîr), coll. pl. míriath.

mírdan

jewel-smith

(i vírdan), pl. mírdain (i mírdain)

mirion

great jewel

(i Virion), pl. Míryn (i Míryn). (LR:373 s.v. MIR lists the archaic ”Noldorin” plural Miruin.)

golovir

noldo-jewel

(i Ngolovir = i Ñolovir, o N’golovir = o Ñgolovir), no distinct pl. form except with article (in Golovir = i Ñgolovir). Adj.

zimra Reconstructed

noun. jewel

An element appearing in the names Zimraphel (UT/224) and Zimrathôn (UT/222) and also the Hadorian name Zimrahin (WJ/234). The corresponding Quenya names Q. Míriel and Q. Hostamir both seem to contain mírë “jewel”, so this is the likely meaning of the Adûnaic word as well, as suggested by most authors (AAD/25, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/ZIM’R).

Element in

• Ad. Zimraphel “*Jewel Daughter”
• Ad. Zimrathôn “?Many-jewels”
• Ed. Zimrahin “*Jewel-child”

mîr

noun. jewel, precious thing, treasure

mîr

noun. jewel, precious thing, treasure

Cognates

• Ilk. mîr “jewel”
• ᴹQ. míre “jewel, precious thing, treasure” ✧ Ety/MIR

Derivations

• On. mīre “jewel, precious thing, treasure” ✧ Ety/MIR
  • ᴹ√MIR “*precious” ✧ Ety/MIR

Element in

• N. Aramir
• N. Golovir “Silmaril, *(lit.) Noldo-jewel” ✧ Ety/MIR
• N. Mîr in Geleidh “*Jewel of the Gnomes” ✧ Ety/MIR
• N. Mirion “Silmaril” ✧ Ety/MIR
• N. Nauglavir ✧ Ety/NAUK
• N. mîr na Nauglin ✧ Ety/NAUK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. mîre > mîr	[mīre] > [mīr]	✧ Ety/MIR

mirion

noun. great jewel, Silmaril