Quenya 

angal

noun. mirror, mirror, *reflective surface

A noun for “mirror” in notes from the late 1960s, derived from primitive ✶aññala based on the root √ñal- (NM/350, 353). Another derivative of this root was ✶ñalatā “a glitter (of reflected light)” (NM/349), so perhaps this word meant “mirror” in the sense “✱reflective surface”.

Derivations

  • aññala “mirror” ✧ NM/350; NM/353
    • Ñ(G)AL “gleam, sheen, shine (by reflection)” ✧ NM/350; NM/353

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
aññala > angal[aŋŋala] > [aŋŋal] > [aŋgal]✧ NM/350
aŋŋala > angal[aŋŋala] > [aŋŋal] > [aŋgal]✧ NM/353
Quenya [NM/350; NM/353] Group: Eldamo. Published by

cilintilla

noun. looking-glass, looking-glass, *mirror

A word for “looking-glass” in notes written in the late 1950s or early 1960s, the equivalent of but not a direct cognate to S. cenedril (PE17/37). Its initial element was Q. cilin “glass” and its final element was based on an ancient adjective ✶tirlā “looking” from √TIR “look at”.

Neo-Quenya: In notes written in the late 1960s Tolkien gave calca for “glass”, possibly rendering cilintilla obsolete. I feel that cilin and calca can coexist as words for different kinds of glass and so I retain cilintilla as “looking-glass, ✱mirror”, but if you are concerned about it you can use Q. angal for “mirror”, another word from the late 1960s.

Cognates

  • S. cenedril “mirror, looking-glass, (lit.) looking-crystal” ✧ PE17/037

Variations

  • cilintír ✧ PE17/037

maril

glass, crystal

maril noun "glass, crystal" (VT46:13; if this is to be the same word as the second element of Silmaril, the stem-form would be marill-, cf. pl. Silmarilli)

cilintír

noun. looking-glass

cilin

glass

cilin noun "glass" ("often used as in English ("often used as in English for any thing or implement made of glass") (PE17:37). Compare calca, hyellë.

cilin

noun. glass, glass [transluscent or reflective]

Element in

  • Q. cilintilla “looking-glass, looking-glass, *mirror” ✧ PE17/037
  • Q. cilinyul “drinking-vessel (made of glass)” ✧ PE17/037

cilintilla

looking-glass

cilintilla or cilintír noun "looking-glass" (i.e. mirror?) (PE17:37)

calca

glass

calca noun "glass" (VT47:35); compare hyellë, cilin.

calca

noun. glass

Cognates

  • T. calca “glass” ✧ VT47/35; VT47/35

Derivations

  • KALAK “glass” ✧ VT47/35

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
KALAK > calca[kalka]✧ VT47/35

hyellë

glass

hyellë noun "glass" (KHYEL(ES), VT45:23; the later source also provides the unglossed form hyelma, which may be a synonym of hyellë; alternatively hyellë could be "glass" as a substance, whereas hyelma_ rather refers to "a glass" as a drinking vessel). _In later sources, cilin or calca is given as the word for "glass".

ceniril(lë)

noun. mirror

A neologism for “mirror” appearing in ABNW (ABNW) from the early 2000’s as the cognate of S. cenedril “looking-glass” (RS/456), but in notes published in 2007 Tolkien said this word had no direct cognate in Quenya, and that its equivalent was Q. cilintilla (PE17/37).

Cognates

  • S. cenedril “mirror, looking-glass, (lit.) looking-crystal”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

nalma

noun. reflector, mirror

A neologism for “mirror” appearing in ABNW (ABNW) from the early 2000’s derived from the root √ÑAL “shine by reflection”, but Tolkien himself had his own “mirror” word derived from this root: Q. angal published in 2021 (NM/350).

Derivations

  • Ñ(G)AL “gleam, sheen, shine (by reflection)”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Sindarin 

singil

noun. mirror

cenedril

noun. mirror, looking-glass, (lit.) looking-crystal

A noun for “mirror” in Nen Cenedril “Mirrormere”, which Tolkien initially gave as Nen Singil (PE17/35). Tolkien said that this word meant “looking glass” or more literally “looking crystal” (PE17/37). The initial element cened clearly means “looking”, the gerund of cen- “to see”. Thus the second element -ril must be “crystal”, perhaps a reduction of bril as in Brilthor “Glittering Torrent” (S/123); in the 1930s this was an Ilkorin name whose initial element Ilk. bril meant “glass, crystal” (Ety/MBIRIL).

Changes

  • SingilCenedril “mirror” ✧ PE17/035

Cognates

Element in

  • S. Nen Cenedril “Mirrormere, (lit.) Lake Looking-glass” ✧ PE17/037

Elements

WordGloss
cened“looking, looking, *seeing”
bril“glass, crystal”

Variations

  • Cenedril ✧ PE17/035; PE17/037
  • Singil ✧ PE17/035 (Singil)
Sindarin [PE17/035; PE17/037] Group: Eldamo. Published by

heledh

noun. glass

Sindarin [S/433] Group: SINDICT. Published by

heledh

glass

heledh (i cheledh, o cheledh), pl. helidh (i chelidh) if there is a pl.

heledh

noun. glass

Cognates

  • Kh. kheled “glass” ✧ RS/466

Derivations

  • Kh. kheled “glass” ✧ PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek

Element in

  • ᴺS. heledhren “glassy, like glass, of glass”
  • S. Helevorn “Black Glass” ✧ PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
Kh. kheled > heleð[kʰeled] > [xeled] > [xeleð] > [heleð]✧ PE17/037

Variations

  • heleð ✧ PE17/037; RS/466
Sindarin [PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek] Group: Eldamo. Published by

heledh

glass

(i cheledh, o cheledh), pl. helidh (i chelidh) if there is a pl.

cenedril

mirror

cenedril (i genedril, o chenedril), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chenedril), coll. pl. cenedrillath. Literally "looking-glass" (cened + rill).

cenedril

mirror

(i genedril, o chenedril), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chenedril), coll. pl. cenedrillath. Literally "looking-glass" (cened + rill).

Telerin 

calca

noun. glass

Cognates

  • Q. calca “glass” ✧ VT47/35; VT47/35

Derivations

  • KALAK “glass” ✧ VT47/35

Khuzdûl

kheled

noun. glass

Cognates

  • S. heledh “glass” ✧ RS/466

Derivatives

  • S. heledh “glass” ✧ PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek
  • S. Helevorn “Black Glass” ✧ PE17/037

Element in

  • Kh. Kheled-zâram “Mirrormere” ✧ PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek
Khuzdûl [PE17/037; RS/466; SA/khelek] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

aññala

noun. mirror

Derivations

  • Ñ(G)AL “gleam, sheen, shine (by reflection)” ✧ NM/350; NM/353

Derivatives

  • Q. angal “mirror, mirror, *reflective surface” ✧ NM/350; NM/353

Variations

  • aŋŋala ✧ NM/353
Primitive elvish [NM/350; NM/353] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kalak

root. glass

A root appearing in etymological notes from 1968 glossed “glass” with Quenya and Telerin derivatives Q./T. calca of the same meaning (VT47/35). It seems to be a late restoration of the much earlier root ᴱ√kail(i)k or ᴱ√tail(i)k that was the basis of “glass” words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s; in this early period the Qenya derivatives began with t- and the Gnomish derivatives with c- [k-] (GL/25). It may also have replaced Q. cilin (< ✱√KILIN?) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/37). Given its Quenya/Telerin derivatives, √KALAK was probably coined in Aman as was also the case with earlier Q. cilin, since the Sindarin word for “glass” is the unrelated word S. heledh borrowed from Khuzdul (PE17/37).

Derivatives

  • Q. calca “glass” ✧ VT47/35
  • T. calca “glass” ✧ VT47/35
Primitive elvish [VT47/35] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

cenedril

noun. looking-glass, mirror

Noldorin [TI/184, RS/466] cened+rill. Group: SINDICT. Published by

hele

noun. glass

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. hyelle “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Derivations

  • On. kheleha “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • ᴹ✶khyelesē “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Element in

  • N. Helevorn “Black Glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. kheleha > hele[xeleha] > [xeleh] > [xele] > [hele]✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
Noldorin [Ety/KHYEL(ES)] 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 

hyelle

noun. glass

Cognates

  • On. kheleha “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
  • N. hele “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) > hyelle[kʰjelle] > [xjelle] > [j̊elle]✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
Qenya [Ety/KHYEL(ES)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

kheleha

noun. glass

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. hyelle “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶khyelesē “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Derivatives

  • N. hele “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶khyelesē > khelesa > kheleha[kʰjelesē] > [kʰelesē] > [kʰelese] > [kʰelesa] > [xelese] > [xeleha]✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Variations

  • khelelia ✧ EtyAC/KHYEL(ES)
Old Noldorin [Ety/KHYEL(ES); EtyAC/KHYEL(ES)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

khyel(es)

root. glass

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “glass” with derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin with the same meaning: ᴹQ. hyelle and N. hele (Ety/KHYEL(ES)). After Tolkien changed Noldorin to Sindarin, he decided that “There was no common Eldarin word for glass”, and that the Sindarin word S. heledh was derived from Khuzdul kheled (PE17/37). Thus the root ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) was abandoned.

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶khyelesē “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • On. kheleha “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • N. hele “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
  • ᴹQ. hyelle “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
  • ᴹQ. hyelma “[unglossed]” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Variations

  • KHEL-ES/-ET ✧ EtyAC/KHYEL(ES)
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KHYEL(ES); EtyAC/KHYEL(ES)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

khyelesē

noun. glass

Derivations

  • ᴹ√KHYEL(ES) “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)

Derivatives

  • On. kheleha “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
    • N. hele “glass” ✧ Ety/KHYEL(ES)
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/KHYEL(ES)] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

celeg

noun. glass

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KAILIK “*glass” ✧ GL/25

Element in

  • G. celegrin “glassy, like glass” ✧ GL/25

Variations

  • caileg ✧ GL/25

talp

noun. glass

Changes

  • talptalp “glass” ✧ GL/69

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶talqă > talp[talkʷa] > [talpa] > [talp]✧ GL/69

Variations

  • talp ✧ GL/69 (talp)

Early Noldorin

caileg

noun. glass

celch

noun. glass

Variations

  • caileg ✧ PE13/140
Early Noldorin [PE13/140] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

talqe

noun. glass

Cognates

  • G. celc “glass, a glass” ✧ GL/25

Derivations

Element in

  • Eq. talku- “to glaze” ✧ QL/088
  • Eq. talqea “glassy” ✧ QL/088
  • Eq. talqina “made of glass” ✧ QL/088

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶taı̯lkwē > talqe[tailkʷē] > [tailkʷe] > [talkʷe]✧ GL/25

Variations

  • Talqe ✧ QL/088
Early Quenya [GL/25; PME/088; QL/088] Group: Eldamo. Published by