neldë

cardinal. three

neldë cardinal "three" (SA:neldor, NÉL-ED, VT47:11, VT48:6). Eleni neldë "three stars", archaic elenion neldë = *"of stars three". Genitive "of 3 stars" = elenion neldë (for archaic elenion neldëo) (VT49:45; see 54 regarding neldion as the gen. pl.) Cf. also nelya, neldëa, Neldië.

neldë

cardinal. three, three; [ᴱQ.] four

Cognates

• S. neledh “three” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
• T. nelet “three” ✧ VT48/06

Derivations

• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/10
  • √NEL “three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle” ✧ VT47/10
• √NELED “3” ✧ VT47/11

Element in

• Q. eleni neldë “*3 stars” ✧ VT49/45
• Q. elenion neldë “of 3 stars” ✧ VT49/45; VT49/45
• Q. neldëa “third”
• Q. nel(d)esta “one third”
• Q. Neldië “*Trinity”
• ᴺQ. nellumë “thrice, three times”
• ᴺQ. nelquain “thirty”
• ᴺQ. nelequain “thirty”
• ᴺQ. nelequëan “thirty”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶nelede > nelde	[nelede] > [nelde]	✧ VT47/10
√(e)nel-ed > nelde	[nelede] > [nelde]	✧ VT47/11

Variations

• nel-de ✧ PE17/095
• nelde ✧ VT47/10; VT47/11; VT48/06; VT49/45

neldëa

third

neldëa ordinal "third" (VT42:25); also nelya. Cf. neldë.

neldëa

ordinal. third

Cognates

• S. nelui “third” ✧ VT42/25
• T. nelya “third” ✧ VT42/25

Elements

Word	Gloss
neldë	“three, three; [ᴱQ.] four”
-ëa	“ordinal suffix”

Variations

• neldea ✧ VT42/25

nel

thrice

nel adv. "thrice", also nel- (prefix) "tri-" (PE14:84, NEL). Compare neldë.

Neldion

day of the three [younger gods]

Neldion noun *"Day of the three [younger gods]", sc. Ossë, Orome and Tulkas (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK). Elsewhere neldion appears as as the genitive plural form of neldë "three" (VT49:54), but Tolkien emended the relevant text.

nelya

third

nelya adj. "third" (VT42:25; also neldëa). Pl. Nelyar "Thirds", the original name of the Teleri (or rather the direct Quenya descendant of the original Primitive Quendian name) (WJ:380).

nelya

ordinal. third

Element in

• Q. Nelyafinwë “Finwë third”
• Q. Nelyar “Thirds (original clan name of the Teleri)”

olë

cardinal. three

olë (2) cardinal "three" (LT1:258; in LotR-style Quenya Tolkien replaced this "Qenya" form with neldë)

neled

cardinal. three

neleg

ordinal. third

neledh

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

{ð}_ card. _three. Q. nelde. Fcan, canad, nel

neledh

cardinal. three

Cognates

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06

Derivations

• √NELED “3”

Element in

• S. nelui “third” ✧ VT42/25

Variations

• nel(eð ✧ PE17/095
• nêl ✧ VT42/25
• neleð ✧ VT48/06

neil

ordinal. third

nelui

ordinal. third

nelui

ordinal. third

Cognates

• Q. neldëa “third” ✧ VT42/25

nêl

cardinal. three

nêl

cardinal. three

nail

ordinal. third

nail

ordinal. third

Variations

• neleg ✧ VT42/10 (neleg)
• neil/nail ✧ VT42/25 (neil/nail)

nel

three, tri

;

nêl

cardinal. three

nêl (note: a homophone means ”tooth”), also neled, archaic neledh.

nêl

three

(note: a homophone means ”tooth”), also neled, archaic neledh.

nail

third

nail, nelui

nail

third

nail, nelui.

nail

third

nelui

nelet

cardinal. three

Cognates

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT48/06

Variations

• neled ✧ VT48/21

nelya

ordinal. third

Cognates

• Q. neldëa “third” ✧ VT42/25

nelede

cardinal. three

Derivations

• √NEL “three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle” ✧ VT47/10

Derivatives

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT47/10

Variations

• Nel-de ✧ NM/060
• nel-edē̆ ✧ VT47/24

neled

root. 3

Derivatives

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT47/11
• S. neledh “three”

Element in

• Q. lepenel “middle finger” ✧ VT47/11

Elements

Word	Gloss
NEL	“three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle”

Variations

• NEL-ED ✧ VT42/24
• (e)nel-ed ✧ VT47/11; VT47/16
• neled- ✧ VT47/11

nel

root. three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle

This root served as the basis for Elvish words for “three” for much of Tolkien’s life. However, in its earliest appearance in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱ√NELE was glossed “point” with derivatives like ᴱQ. neldor “beech”, ᴱQ. nele “tooth” and ᴱQ. nelt “corner”, while the derived numeral was ᴱQ. nelde “four” (QL/65). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also had G. nel “point, end, tip, jutting end” (GL/60), and G. deldron “beech” was almost certainly derived from a strengthened form of the root ndel- (PE11/8; GL/30). ᴱQ. nelde “three” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 82).

In the first layer of The Etymologies of the 1930s, this root was glossed “point, triangle” (EtyAC/NEL), but Tolkien changed the gloss of ᴹ√NEL to “three” and gave it two extended roots ᴹ√NELED (also “three”) and ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” (Ety/NEL, NELEK). In this revised paradigm, probably “tooth” was derived from the sense “triangle”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Ilk. neldor “beech” was still derived from this root, but was said to refer to the “three trunks” of Hirilorn.

In later writings from the 1950s and 60s, the gloss of √NEL was consistently “three” (WJ/421; VT42/24; VT47/10-11), and the extended form √NELED “three” appeared regularly as well (VT42/24; VT47/11). √NELEK “tooth” also appeared in several documents from the 1940s and 50s (PE19/58; PE21/56, 71).

Derivatives

• ✶neila “3rd”
• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/10
  • Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT47/10
• ᴺQ. nelma “needle”
• ᴺQ. nelqua “cornered, *angled”
• ᴺQ. neltë “corner”
• Q. Nelwë

Element in

• ✶Enel “Three” ✧ WJ/421
• ✶Enelye ✧ WJ/421
• √NELED “3”
• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/11; VT47/24
• ᴺQ. larnelta “mile; *(lit.) league third”
• ᴺS. nelphaen “thirty”
• ᴺS. paenel “thirteen”

Variations

• nel- ✧ VT47/10
• nel ✧ VT47/11; VT47/24; WJ/421
• enele ✧ VT47/16

enel

masculine name. Three

Element in

• Q. Enellië “*Company of Enel”

neled

cardinal. three

neled

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

Changes

• neleth → neled ✧ Ety/NEL

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nelde “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivations

• ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

• N. lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh “five foot high the door and three may walk abreast” ✧ TAI/150
• N. Neleduir “Three Kings” ✧ EtyAC/LEP

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NÉL-ED > neledh	[nelede] > [neleðe] > [neleð]	✧ Ety/NEL

Variations

• neled ✧ Ety/NEL
• neleth ✧ EtyAC/NEL (neleth)