Primitive elvish

phin

root. hair

phin

root. clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, clever, skillful; neat, fine, delicate; skill, dexterity, [ᴹ√] nimbleness

This root has a long history in Tolkien’s Elvish languages, always having to do with clever and skillful things in association with the name Q. Finwë. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√FINI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. finie “cunning” and ᴱQ. finwa “acute, sagacious” (QL/38). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. fim “clever; right hand”, G. fimlios “skillfulness”, and G. finthi “idea, notion” (GL/35). It reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the gloss “nimbleness, skill” and derivatives like ON. phinde “skill” and ON. phinya “skillful” (Ety/PHIN).

The root appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings, as √PHIN- “skilful, neat, clever (especially applied to hands and fingers)” (PE17/17), √PHĪ/PHINI “skill, dexterity” (PE17/119), and √PHĬN “clever, fine, delicate” (PE17/119). In both The Etymologies and in later writings Tolkien made a point that this root was distinct from √SPIN from which various “hair” words were derived (Ety/PHIN; PE17/17), though in one place Tolkien gave that root also as √PHIN- (PM/340).

Derivatives

  • Q. finca “clever (in petty ways), clever (in petty ways), *tricky” ✧ PE17/119
  • Q. finda “fine and delicately made” ✧ PE17/181
  • Q. fínë “dexterity” ✧ PE17/119
  • ᴺQ. finië “cunning”
  • Q. finta- “to make, finish off, decorate a thing with delicate work; to show skill” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/119
  • Q. fintalë “trick” ✧ PE17/119
  • Q. finwa “clever, fine, delicate; dexterous, ️dexterous, clever; fine, delicate; [ᴱQ.] acute, sagacious” ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
  • Q. finya “clever” ✧ PE17/017
  • Q. finya- “to do/make a thing (with fine work)” ✧ PE17/181
  • ᴺS. finc “trick”
  • ᴺS. finna- “to trick, deceive, cheat, take in”

Element in

Variations

  • PHIN- ✧ PE17/017
  • PHĪ ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
  • PHINĪ ✧ PE17/119; PE17/181
  • PHIN ✧ PE17/151; PE17/181
  • PHĬN ✧ PE17/181
Primitive elvish [PE17/017; PE17/119; PE17/151; PE17/181] Group: Eldamo. Published by

spin(id)

root. fine thread, filament; hair

Tolkien had Elvish “hair” words that began with fin- for most of his life, but the details of their derivation evolved. The earliest form of this root was unglossed ᴱ√FIÐI [FIÐI] in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. findl “lock of hair” and ᴱQ. firin “ray of sun” (QL/38). It also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. fiðra “collective hair” and {findel >>} G. finn “a lock of hair” (GL/35), the latter an element in the name G. Glorfindel “Golden Hair”, a name that retained this form and meaning for all of Tolkien’s life.

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had unglossed ᴹ√SPIN with derivatives like ᴹQ. finde “tress, braid of hair” and N. finnel “(braided) hair” (Ety/SPIN). He made a point that this root was distinct from ᴹ√PHIN “nimbleness, skill” (Ety/PHIN), a distinction he reemphasized in later writings as well (PE17/17, 119). The additional form ᴹQ. fine “larch” (a species of tree with needle-like leaves) indicates the 1930s root was not limited exclusively to “hair” (Ety/SPIN). The root √SPIN appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings, variously glossed “single hair, filament” >> “fine thread, filament” (PE17/17), “lock, tress of human/elvish hair” as extended √SPIN-ID (PE17/119), or “single hair” (PE17/185). However, in The Shibboleth of Feanor from 1968 Tolkien gave the root as √PHIN “hair” (PM/340).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would ignore this 1968 change of √SPIN >> √PHIN. Furthermore, I would assume √SPIN referred to a single hair or other kind of filament, and extended √SPINID referred to a tress of hair.

Derivatives

  • phini- “a single hair”
    • S. fîn “(single) hair, filament” ✧ PM/362
  • phinik ✧ PE17/017
    • Q. finca “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/017
    • S. fing “lock of hair” ✧ PE17/017
  • spindē “tress, braid of hair” ✧ PE17/017
    • S. find “tress; single hair, tress, [ON.] lock of hair; [ᴱN.] hair (in general); [S.] single hair” ✧ PE17/017
  • phindē “tress”
    • S. find “tress; single hair, tress, [ON.] lock of hair; [ᴱN.] hair (in general); [S.] single hair” ✧ PM/362
  • spini- “thin thread” ✧ PE17/017
    • S. esbin “thin thread, tress” ✧ PE17/017
  • Q. findë “hair (especially of the head), tress or plait of hair, hair (especially of the head); tress or plait of hair, [ᴹQ.] braid of hair” ✧ PE17/119; PM/340
  • Q. finë “(single) hair, filament” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/017; PM/340
  • Q. ipsin “fine thread” ✧ PE17/017
  • S. esbin “thin thread, tress” ✧ PE17/119
  • ᴺS. fidhras “collective hair, *all hair on the body”
  • S. fîn “(single) hair, filament” ✧ PE17/017

Element in

  • spindilā “head of hair” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/017; PE17/017; PE17/119
  • Q. Finwë ✧ PM/340

Variations

  • SPIN- ✧ PE17/017; PE17/017
  • SPIN-ID ✧ PE17/119
  • SPĬN ✧ PE17/185
  • SPIN ✧ PE17/185
  • fin- ✧ PM/340
  • PHIN ✧ PM/340
Primitive elvish [PE17/017; PE17/119; PE17/185; PM/340] Group: Eldamo. Published by