Quenya 

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)”

nelya-

verb. to thicken, congeal

Derivations

  • delya- “?thick, thicken & congeal” ✧ PE17/017
    • DEL “thick, dense” ✧ PE17/017

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
delta/delya > lelya[delja-] > [lelja-]✧ PE17/017
delta/delya > nelya[ndelja-] > [nelja-]✧ PE17/017

Variations

  • lelya ✧ PE17/017 (lelya)
  • nelya ✧ PE17/017 (nelya)

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

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

Variations

  • neldea ✧ VT42/25

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

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
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
Quenya [PE17/095; SA/neldor; VT47/10; VT47/11; VT48/06; VT49/45] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olë

cardinal. three

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

nelya-

verb. to thicken, congeal

Derivations

  • ᴺ✶. NDEL “thick, dense”

Sindarin 

neil

ordinal. third

Sindarin [VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neled

cardinal. three

Sindarin [Ety/376, TAI150, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neleg

ordinal. third

Sindarin [VT/42:10] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nelui

ordinal. third

Sindarin [VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nelui

ordinal. third

Cognates

nêl

cardinal. three

Sindarin [VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nêl

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

Sindarin [Ety/376, TAI150, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neledh

cardinal. three

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

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:95] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

neledh

cardinal. three

Cognates

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

Derivations

Element in

  • S. nelui “third” ✧ VT42/25

Variations

  • nel(eð ✧ PE17/095
  • nêl ✧ VT42/25
  • neleð ✧ VT48/06
Sindarin [PE17/095; VT42/25; VT48/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nail

ordinal. third

Sindarin [VT/42:25] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nail

ordinal. third

Variations

  • neleg ✧ VT42/10 (neleg)
  • neil/nail ✧ VT42/25 (neil/nail)
Sindarin [VT42/10; VT42/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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

Telerin 

nelya

ordinal. third

Cognates

nelet

cardinal. three

Cognates

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

Variations

  • neled ✧ VT48/21
Telerin [VT48/06; VT48/21] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

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

Variations

  • nel- ✧ VT47/10
  • nel ✧ VT47/11; VT47/24; WJ/421
  • enele ✧ VT47/16
Primitive elvish [VT42/24; VT42/26; VT47/10; VT47/11; VT47/16; VT47/24; WJ/421] Group: Eldamo. Published by

enel

masculine name. Three

Element in

Primitive elvish [NM/055; NM/060; WJ/380; WJ/421; WJI/Enel] Group: Eldamo. Published by

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
Primitive elvish [NM/060; VT47/10; VT47/11; VT47/24] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

neled

cardinal. three

Noldorin [Ety/376, TAI150, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neled

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

Noldorin [Ety/376, TAI150, VT/48:6] Group: SINDICT. Published by

neledh

cardinal. three

Changes

  • nelethneled ✧ Ety/NEL

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nelde “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

Phonetic Developments

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

Variations

  • neled ✧ Ety/NEL
  • neleth ✧ EtyAC/NEL (neleth)
Noldorin [Ety/NEL; EtyAC/LEP; EtyAC/NEL; TAI/150] 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 

nelde

cardinal. three

Cognates

  • N. neledh “three” ✧ Ety/NEL
  • Ilk. neld “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

  • ᴹQ. Neldion “Day of the Three, fifth day of the Valian week”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√NÉL-ED > nelde[nelede] > [nelde]✧ Ety/NEL

Doriathrin

neld Reconstructed

cardinal. three

The Doriathrin number “three” attested only as an element in the word neldor “beech” = “three trunks” (Ety/NEL). Its cognates ᴹQ. nelde and N. neledh indicates a primitive form ✱✶neledē, which would have become Ilk. neld due to the Ilkorin syncope, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/neldor).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nelde “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

  • Ilk. neldor “beech” ✧ Ety/NEL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√NÉL-ED > neld[neledē] > [nelede] > [nelde] > [neld]✧ Ety/NEL
Doriathrin [Ety/NEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

nel

root. three

Changes

  • NELNEL “point, triangle” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. nel- “tri-” ✧ Ety/NEL
  • N. nel- “tri-” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

  • ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL
  • ᴹ√NELEK “tooth”
  • ᴹQ. Neldion “Day of the Three, fifth day of the Valian week” ✧ Ety/LEP
  • ᴹQ. neltil “triangle” ✧ Ety/TIL
  • Ilk. neldor “beech” ✧ Ety/BERÉTH
  • N. nelthil “triangle” ✧ Ety/TIL
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/BERÉTH; Ety/LEP; Ety/NEL; Ety/TIL; EtyAC/NEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

neled

root. three

Derivatives

  • Ilk. neld “three” ✧ Ety/NEL
  • ᴹQ. nelde “three” ✧ Ety/NEL
  • N. neledh “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Elements

WordGloss
NEL“three”

Variations

  • NÉL-ED ✧ Ety/NEL
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/NEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

nelya

ordinal. third

Early Quenya [PE14/051; PE14/082] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ole

cardinal. three

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OLO “tip” ✧ LT1A/Lindelos; QL/069

Element in

  • Eq. olwen “thirty six” ✧ QL/069

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√OLO¹ > ole[olē] > [ole]✧ QL/069

Variations

  • olë ✧ LT1A/Lindelos
  • ole ✧ QL/069
Early Quenya [LT1A/Lindelos; QL/069] Group: Eldamo. Published by