Serindë

broideress

Serindë (þ) fem. name; "Broideress" (Silm) or "Needlewoman" (PM:333). Original form Therindë, q.v.

serindë

noun. broideress, needlewoman, *seamstress

A sobriquet of Míriel, mother of Fëanor, variously glossed “broideress” (MR/257) and “needlewoman” (PM/333). It seems likely this word could also be used of an ordinary seamstress, a feminine agental form of the otherwise unattested verb ser- [þ] “✱to sew”. The root √THER or √SER “sew” appeared in notes from 1957, with Tolkien’s preference being the first of these because of its similarity to √TER “pierce” (PE17/33).

Element in

• Q. Serindë “Broideress, Needlewoman” ✧ MR/257; PM/333

Variations

• Serindë ✧ MR/257
• Þerindë ✧ PM/333 (Þerindë)

serindë

feminine name. Broideress, Needlewoman

A sobriquet of Míriel, mother of Fëanor, adopted because of her surpassing skill in weaving and needlework (S/63). It is simply the noun serindë used as a name.

The phonetic development of this name has an interesting history. In Classical Quenya, it was pronounced †Therindë (PM/333). When the sound [[q|[θ] became [s]]] in the speech-feeling of the Noldor, Fëanor opposed this change, in part for practical reasons but also because it meant that the name of his mother was consistently mispronounced Serindë (PM/335).

This sound change was common among all Noldor except Fëanor and his sons, and may have played a part in Fëanor’s alienation from his kin (PM/336). It could therefore have contributed to the exile of the Noldor from Valinor and all the terrible events that followed. Somehow it seems particularlly Tolkienesque that such a critical juncture in the history of the Elves was intertwined with a seemingly minor linguistic change.

Elements

Word	Gloss
serindë	“broideress, needlewoman, *seamstress”

Variations

• Serendë ✧ MR/185
• Serende ✧ MR/205
• Þerindë ✧ PM/333 (Þerindë); PMI/Míriel (Þerindë)

Therindë

needlewoman

†Therindë (þerindë) fem. name, "Needlewoman", original form of Serindë, before the shift th > s (PM:333)

arcandë

petition

#arcandë noun "petition" (isolated from arcandemmar "our petitions") (VT44:8)

-ndë

petition

-ndë (1) noun ending; forming nouns from verbal stems in arcandë "petition" and ulundë "stream" (q.v. and cf. VT44:8), feminine in Serindë "broideress" or "needle-woman" (q.v.) PE17:69 mentions -ndë as a common suffix denoting feminine agent.

anarcandë

petition

#anarcandë noun "petition" (isolated from anarcandemman, "our petitions", possibly an error for *anarcandemmar) (VT44:8); Tolkien seems to have abandoned this word in favour of #arcandë, q.v.