Tinwetar

star-queen, queen of stars

[Tinwetar] noun "star-queen, Queen of Stars", title of Varda (TIN, TĀ/TA3)

Tinwerontar

star-queen, title of varda

[Tinwerontar] noun "star-queen, title of Varda" (TIN, TĀ/TA3)

Elentári

star-queen

Elentári noun "Star-queen", title of Varda (EL, SA:tar)

elbereth

feminine name. Queen of Stars, (lit.) Star-queen

The Sindarin name of Varda, a compound of êl “star” and bereth “queen”, that is: “Star-queen” (LotR/378, RGEO/66). The Quenya equivalent of this name is Elentári. This name was of ancient derivation, from ✶elen-barathī > elmbereth > Elbereth, as shown by the fact that the initial [b] in the second element did not lenite to [v] (MR/387, PE17/22).

Possible Etymology: In the 1930s, N. Elbereth was likewise derived ✶el(en)-barathī (Ety/EL, BARATH). This 1930s derivation worked through a combination of i-affection and i-intrusion, with the resulting ei > e as often happened in unstressed final syllables in Noldorin of the 1930s:

• ✱elen-barathī > elem-berethi > el(e)mbereith > N. elbereth.

This derivation no longer works in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s, however, since [[s|later [ei] became [ai] in final syllables]] in Sindarin and did not reduce to e. Thus we should have ✶barathī > ✱✱beraith. One possibility is that Tolkien transferred this derivation to the root √BER “marry”: in The Road Goes Ever On published in 1967, Tolkien said “bereth actually meant ‘spouse’, and is used of one who is ‘queen’ as spouse of a king” (RGEO/66). This theory was first proposed to me by Elaran in a private Discord chat in November 2018, and I find it very compelling; it neatly resolves the phonological problem if bereth is derived from ✱berettē or something similar.

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name was G. Timbridhil “Queen of Stars” (GL/71, LT1A/Tinwetári), which reappeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as N. Timbreðil (Ety/TIN). Tolkien revised the name to N. Elbereth “Star Queen” (Ety/EL, Ety/BARATH), which appeared in the narratives starting with the Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (RS/68).

Before giving this name to Varda, Tolkien used the name Ilk. Elbereth for the youngest child of Dior (Ety/BER), but he changed that name to Elrûn (later S. Elurín). Tolkien also used the name N. Elbereth for one of the sons of Elrond before renaming him S. Elrohir (WR/297).

Cognates

• Q. Elentári “Queen of the Stars, Star-queen” ✧ LotRI/Elbereth; PE17/022; RGEO/66; SI/Elbereth; MR/388

Derivations

• ✶elen-barathī “star-queen” ✧ MR/387; PE17/022

Element in

• S. a Elbereth Gilthoniel “o Elbereth who lit the stars” ✧ LotR/0238; LotR/0729; PE17/022; RGEO/63; RGEO/64; RGEO/64

Elements

Word	Gloss
êl	“star”
bereth	“queen, spouse; supreme, sublime”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶elen-barathi > elmbereth > Elbereth	[elenbarathī] > [elembarathī] > [elembarathi] > [elemberethi] > [elembereth] > [elmbereth] > [elbereth]	✧ MR/387
✶elen-barathī > el-mbereth > Elbereth	[elenbarathī] > [elembarathī] > [elembarathi] > [elemberethi] > [elembereth] > [elmbereth] > [elbereth]	✧ PE17/022

Variations

• El-bereth ✧ PE17/023

elbereth

feminine name. Queen of Stars, (lit.) Star Queen

Changes

• Elberil → Elbereth ✧ RS/068

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Elentári “Queen of Stars, (lit.) Star Queen” ✧ Ety/EL

Element in

• N. Elbereth Gilthoniel ✧ RS/394

Elements

Word	Gloss
el	“star”
bereth	“queen”

Variations

• El-bereth ✧ Ety/BARATH
• Elberil ✧ RS/068; RSI/Elbereth