nixë

frost

nixë noun "frost" (WJ:417); previously described as a synonym of niquis "ice-flake or snowflake", q.v. (PE17:168)

nixë

noun. frost; ice-flake or snow-flake

A noun in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 glossed “frost” (WJ/417). It also appeared in some etymological notes from around 1959 as a variant of niquis “ice-flake or snowflake” under the root √NIK(W) (PE17/168).

Conceptual Development: The word for “frost” was ᴹQ. helor in the Declension of Nouns of the early 1930s and ᴹQ. helle in The Etymologies of the mid-to-late 1930s, both based on the short root ᴹ√KHEL “freeze” (Ety/KHEL). In The Etymologies Tolkien deleted this short root and its derivatives, retaining only longer ᴹ√KHELEK, and in later writings Tolkien seems to have decided “frost” was based on √NIK(W) instead.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d limit nixë to “frost” and use niquis for “snowflake” to help differentiate the two words.

Cognates

• ᴺS. nich “frost”

Derivations

• √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

• Q. niquessë “frost-patterns; snowflake, ice-flake; (lit.) chill feather” ✧ WJ/417

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NIK > nixe	[nikse]	✧ PE17/168

Variations

• nixe ✧ PE17/168; WJ/417

nich

noun. frost

A neologism for “frost”, cognate of Q. nixë of the same meaning (WJ/417), that assumes a phonetic development similar to that of S. ach vs. Q. akse (axë) “neck” (PE17/92); see the entry on how [[os|[p], [t], [k] spirantalized before [s]]] in (Old) Sindarin.

Cognates

• Q. nixë “frost; ice-flake or snow-flake”

Derivations

• √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white”

hell

9j¸$ noun. frost

hell

noun. frost

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “frost” derived from the root ᴹ√KHEL “freeze”, but Tolkien deleted this short root and its derivatives, keeping only the longer form ᴹ√KHELEK (Ety/KHEL).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had a number of similar “frost” related words: G. heloth “frost”, G. hîl {“ice-cold, icy” >>} “frost” as well as G. helfileg “frost on panes, etc.” (GL/48-49), all based on the early root ᴱ√HELE “freeze”, the last with the added element G. fileg “fern”.

Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien probably deleted N. hell “frost” because he abandoned the short root ᴹ√KHEL, but short √KHEL did reappear in later writings (PE17/116), so it is tempting to restore hell “frost” as well. However, this conflicts with other attested words like N. hell “naked”, so I think it is better to use a neologism like ᴺS. nich for “frost”; see that entry for discussion.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. helle “frost” ✧ Ety/KHEL

Derivations

• ᴹ√KHEL “freeze” ✧ Ety/KHEL

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√KHEL > hell	[kʰelle] > [xelle] > [xell] > [hell]	✧ Ety/KHEL

Variations

• hell ✧ Ety/KHEL (hell)