ñ(g)al

root. gleam, sheen, shine (by reflection)

A root Tolkien introduced in a late note of unclear date to provide a new explanation for the name of Galadriel and Gil-Galad (PE17/59-60). The second element of N. Gil-galad was originally N. calad “light” (Ety/GIL, KAL), and the name of N. Galadriel was originally associated with trees (TI/246, 249); Galadriel was so spelled (rather than Galadhriel) because in Lord of the Rings drafts Tolkien often represented [ð] as d: compare N. Caradras with S. Caradhras. In notes on the words and phrases in The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien revisited Galadriel’s name, deciding that it, like Gil-Galad, was connected to light, from the root √KAL (PE17/50). But this was also unsuitable, since Galadriel began with a g and could not have undergone soft mutation like the name of Gil-Galad.

The introduction of the root ÑGAL “gleem, sheen” resolved this problem, as ✶Ñ(g)alatā-rigelle would become Galadriel in Sindarin, but the intermediate nasal would be lost in ✱Gil-(ñ)galatā (PE17/59-60). Tolkien mentioned this new etymology in a few other places, with slightly different glosses for the root such as √Ŋ(G)AL “shine clear” (PE17/169), √ÑAL “shine, glitter (applied to light reflected from water, metal, glass, gems, etc.)” (NM/353), and √ÑAL “shine by reflection” (PM/347), the last of these from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, one of the last detailed discussion of the etymologies of these names.

ñ(g)alatā

noun. (reflected) radiance, glitter (of reflected light), glory

ñ(g)alatā-rigelle

feminine name. maiden crowned with a garland of radiance