Sindarin
ras-arphain
place name. Ras-Arphain
Cognates
- Q. Arfanyarassë “High Shining White Peak” ✧ WJ/403
Elements
Word Gloss rass “horn, horn [of both animals and mountains]” ar(a)- “noble, royal, high” fain “white, shimmering, shining; white and shining [thing]; dim, dimmed; filmy, fine-woven; (vague) apparition; cloud, white, shimmering, shining, [N.] radiant; [S.] white and shining [thing]; dim, dimmed; filmy, fine-woven; (vague) apparition; cloud”
A Sindarin name for Q. Taniquetil, equivalent to Q. Arfanyarassë (WJ/403). It appears to be a combination of rass “horn”, ar(a)- “high” and fain “white and shining (thing)”.
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this name was G. Danigwethil, the Gnomish cognate of ᴱQ. Taniqetil in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GL/29). This version of the name seems to be a combination of dâ “high” and nigweth “(snow) storm”, as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Taniquetil). This name had numerous variants, and evolved into ᴱN. Taingwethil in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/49, 135). A similar name TainBethil appeared in Early Noldorin notes from the same period as a combination of ᴱN. tain “mountain” and ᴱN. pethil (PE13/152); the later word was unglossed but was probably equivalent to the -qetil in ᴱQ. Taniqetil.
Starting with Tolkien’s writings in the 1930s, the usual Noldorin/Sindarin name for this mountain was Amon Uilos, cognate to its other Quenya name Oiolossë. He gave a few other Noldorin/Sindarin names, but none were direct cognates of Q. Taniquetil. In The Etymologies from the 1930s, he gave N. Nimdildor “High White Horn” derived from ᴹ✶Ninkwitil(di) Tára, a combination of Nimdil “White Horn” and taur “high” (Ety/NIK-W, TĀ). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 he gave the Sindarin form Ras-Arphain noted above (WJ/403).