An Adûnaic noun for “the heaven” or “sky”, cognate of Q. menel but not a direct loan word from Quenya (SD/241). It was borrowed from Primitive Elvish, probably from an Avari dialect, and therefore underwent different phonetic development (SD/414). In one place Tolkien changed it minil (SD/414), but the form minal appears in various compounds and is probably to be preferred.
Sindarin
Menel
noun. the heavens
_n. _the heavens, the apparent dome of the sky. Probably a Quenya word introduced into Sindarin. It was a 'pictorial' word, as the lore of the Eldar and the Númenoreans know much astronomy.