Quenya 

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.

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.)

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).

laurina

golden

laurina adj. "golden" (LT1:258). Compare laurëa in later material.

laurëa

golden, like gold

laurëa adj. "golden, like gold"; pl. laurië is attested (Nam, RGEO:66)

Sindarin 

mall

golden

adj. #golden. This word is not explicitly presented as S. >> malh, mallorn

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:51] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

mallen

adjective. golden, golden, [N.] of gold

Derivations

  • MAL “gold, yellow, gold”

Element in

malh

golden

adj. #golden. This word is not explicitly presented as S. >> mall, mallorn

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:51] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

Cognates

  • Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material” ✧ PE17/050

Derivations

Element in

Sindarin [PE17/050; VT42/27] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glóriel

adjective. golden

@@@ suggested by David Salo, GS/258).

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
glaur“gold [light or colour]”
-iel“adjective suffix”

mall

gold

(i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

mallen

golden

(lenited vallen; pl. mellin).

malt

gold

(i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

malad

gold

(as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malad

gold

(i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl.

malthen

golden

1) (of gold) malthen (melthin- in compounds; lenited valthen; pl. melthin), 2) (shining with golden light) glóren (glórin-), lenited lóren; pl. glórin, 3) mallen (lenited vallen; pl. mellin).

malthen

golden

(melthin- in compounds; lenited valthen; pl. melthin)

glóren

golden

(glórin-), lenited ’lóren; pl. glórin

Nandorin 

lóri

noun. gold

Cognates

  • Q. laurë “gold (light or colour)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048
  • T. glavarë “golden light”

Element in

  • Nan. Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048

Variations

  • lōri ✧ NM/347
  • lór- ✧ PE17/048
Nandorin [NM/347; PE17/048] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Adûnaic

pharaz

noun. gold

A noun meaning “gold”, the only Adûnaic word defined in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1114).

Conceptual Development: This noun also appears in “Lowdham’s Report on the Adunaic Language” from the 1940s (SD/426).

Element in

Adûnaic [LotR/1114; PE17/120; SD/426] Group: Eldamo. Published by

pharazôn

masculine name. Golden

The son of Gimilkhâd who usurped the throne to become the 25th and final ruler of Númenor, translated “Golden” (LotR/1114, S/270). His Quenya name was Tar-Calion. Since Calion appears to mean “✱Son of Light”, Ar-Pharazôn is an example of a Númenórean ruler whose Adûnaic and Quenya names had different meanings.

The first element in his name is the noun pharaz “gold”. Since Pharazôn is glossed “Golden”, the second element -ôn may be an adjectival suffix. Andreas Moehn instead suggested (EotAL/PHAR’Z) that the name means “✱Golden One”, closer to its Quenya equivalent, and that the suffix -ôn is a masculine variant of the agental suffix -ân. Either way, the name is also notable in that it does not undergo the Adûnaic syncope when its suffix is added.

Conceptual Development: The name also appeared in “The Notion Club Papers” from the 1940s (SD/311), in some examples inflected into the subjective case (SD/247, 428-9).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. Tar-Kalion ✧ SDI2/Tar-kalion; SDI2/Ar-Pharazôn
  • Q. Calion “*Son of Light” ✧ PMI/Ar-Pharazôn; UTI/Ar-Pharazôn

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
pharaz“gold”
-ôn“adjective or agental suffix”

Variations

  • arpharazōn ✧ SD/311
  • ar-pharazōn ✧ SD/312
  • Pharazōn ✧ SD/429; SD/435
Adûnaic [LotR/1114; LotRI/Ar-Pharazôn; MRI/Ar-Pharazôn; PMI/Ar-Pharazôn; S/270; SD/247; SD/311; SD/312; SD/428; SD/429; SD/435; SDI2/Ar-Pharazôn; SDI2/Tar-kalion; SI/Ar-Pharazôn; SI/Pharazôn; UTI/Ar-Pharazôn] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

Derivatives

  • malnā “yellow, of golden colour”
    • Q. malina “yellow, of golden colour” ✧ PE17/051
  • malu “dust”
  • smalu “dust, grit, [ᴹ✶] pollen, yellow powder; [✶] dust, grit”
  • S. mallen “golden, golden, [N.] of gold”

Element in

Variations

  • mal- ✧ SA/mal
Primitive elvish [SA/mal] Group: Eldamo. Published by

malat

root. gold

Derivatives

  • mal(a)tā “gold (as metal)”
    • Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material”
  • S. malt “gold, gold (as metal)”

Elements

WordGloss
MAL“gold, yellow, gold”
Primitive elvish [PM/366] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

Noldorin [Ety/386, RC/625, VT/46:14, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

Noldorin [Ety/386, VT/46:14, VT/42:27, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

Noldorin [Ety/386, RC/625, VT/46:14, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

côl

noun. gold (metal)

Noldorin [Ety/365] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gloriel

adjective. golden

Element in

  • N. Galadloriel “Golden Rain” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • N. Rathloriel “Golden-bed, Bed of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Elements

WordGloss
glaur“gold”
-iel“adjective suffix”
Noldorin [Ety/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glaur

noun. gold

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Element in

  • N. Glorfindel ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • N. gloriel “golden” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • N. Inglor “*Heart of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • N. Maglor “Gold-cleaver” ✧ Ety/MAK

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > glaur[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
ᴹ√GLÁWAR > glaur[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Variations

  • glor-/lor- ✧ EtyAC/LÁWAR
Noldorin [Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR; Ety/MAK; EtyAC/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

laure

noun. gold

Cognates

  • N. glaur “gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR
  • Ilk. laur “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
  • Dan. laur “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Laurelin “Song of Gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R) (Laurelin); Ety/LÁWAR
  • ᴹQ. Makalaure “Gold-cleaver”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > laure[glaurē] > [ɣlaurē] > [laurē] > [laure]✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
ᴹ✶laurē > laure[laurē] > [laure]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Qenya [Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR; PE19/037; PE22/019; PE22/046] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

laur

noun. gold

A Doriathrin noun for “gold” developed from primitive ᴹ✶laurē, properly golden light rather than the metal (Ety/LÁWAR).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶laurē > laur[laurē] > [laure] > [laur]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Doriathrin [Ety/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Ossriandric

laur

noun. gold

A noun for “gold” developed from primitive ᴹ✶laurē, and one of the few words explicitly marked as Ossiriandic (Ety/LÁWAR). In this word the long final vowel was lost. Unlike the rules described in the Comparative Tables, this [[dan|[au] did not become [ō]]], so perhaps Tolkien changed his mind on the development of [au] in Ossiriandic.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶laurē “light of the golden tree Laurelin” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
    • ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶laurē > laur[laurē] > [laur]✧ Ety/LÁWAR
Ossriandric [Ety/LÁWAR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

culu

noun. gold

Cognates

  • Eq. kulu “gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Element in

  • G. Culugorm “disc of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Culugrithnir “ring of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Culuvrad “wain of gold” ✧ GL/27
  • G. culwin “golden” ✧ GL/27
  • G. Glingol “Singing Gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KULU > culu[kulū] > [kulu]✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Variations

  • Culu ✧ GL/27 (Culu); LT2A/Glingol (Culu); PE15/22 (Culu)
  • Culon ✧ LT2A/Glingol (Culon); PE15/22 (Culon)
Gnomish [GG/14; GL/26; GL/27; GL/38; LT1A/Ilsaluntë; LT1A/Kulullin; LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22] Group: Eldamo. Published by

glôr

noun. gold

Cognates

  • Eq. laure “(mystic name of) gold” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25; LT1A/Laurelin; QL/051

Derivations

  • ᴱ√LOURI “*gold” ✧ QL/051

Element in

  • G. Glorund ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc
  • G. Glorfindel “Gold-tress, Goldlocks” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25
  • G. glôriol “golden, like gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Laurelin
  • G. glôrin “golden, of gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Laurelin
  • G. glo(r)nethlin “meadowgold, buttercup” ✧ GL/40
  • G. Glorvent “Ship of Gold” ✧ GL/40; LT1A/Glorvent
  • G. Glorfalc “Golden Cleft” ✧ GL/40; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/25

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√LOU̯RI > glôr[louri] > [lōri] > [lōr] > [glōr]✧ QL/051

Variations

  • Glor- ✧ LT1A/Glorvent
  • Glor ✧ LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/22; PE15/25
Gnomish [GG/12; GL/40; LT1A/Glorvent; LT1A/Laurelin; LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Glorfalc; PE15/22; PE15/25; QL/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cuilin

adjective. golden

culwin

adjective. golden

Variations

  • cuilin ✧ GL/27

Early Noldorin

glôr

noun. gold

Element in

Variations

  • glór ✧ PE13/144
Early Noldorin [PE13/144] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

kulu

root. gold

Derivatives

  • ᴱ✶kulū “gold”
  • Eq. kulu “gold” ✧ QL/049
  • G. cluim “warm, cosy”
  • G. culu “gold” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin

Element in

  • Eq. Kulullin “Gold-song” ✧ LT1A/Kulullin
Early Primitive Elvish [LT1A/Kulullin; QL/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kulū

noun. gold

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold”
Early Primitive Elvish [PE14/071] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

kulu

noun. gold

Cognates

  • G. culu “gold” ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KULU “gold” ✧ QL/049

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√KULU > kulu[kulū] > [kulu]✧ QL/049

Variations

  • Kulu ✧ LT2A/Glingol; PE15/22
Early Quenya [LT1/100; LT1A/Laurelin; LT2A/Glingol; LT2A/Parma Kuluinen; MC/220; PE14/046; PE14/050; PE14/071; PE14/083; PE14/084; PE14/110; PE15/22; PE15/72; PE15/73; PE16/057; PE16/060; PE16/062; PE16/072; PE16/074; PE16/077; PME/049; QL/049; QL/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kuluina

adjective. golden

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
kulu“gold”
-ina“adjectival suffix”
Early Quenya [PE13/104; PE14/046; PE15/73; PME/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kuluksa

adjective. golden

kuluvoite

adjective. golden

Variations

  • kuluksa ✧ QL/049
Early Quenya [PME/049; QL/049] Group: Eldamo. Published by

laurea

adjective. golden

Early Quenya [PE15/73] Group: Eldamo. Published by

laurina

adjective. golden

Cognates

  • G. glôriol “golden, like gold” ✧ LT1A/Laurelin
  • G. glôrin “golden, of gold” ✧ LT1A/Laurelin
Early Quenya [LT1A/Laurelin; QL/051] Group: Eldamo. Published by