Silmaril

radiance of pure light

Silmaril (Silmarill-, as in pl. Silmarilli), noun, name of the shining jewels made by Fëanor; full sg. form Silmarillë (SA:sil, SIL, RIL, MIR).Translated "radiance of pure light" in Letters:148. Gen. pl. Silmarillion, as in (Quenta) Silmarillion "(the Story) of the Silmarils".

silmaril

proper name. Great Jewel

The name of the great jewels crafted by Fëanor from which The Silmarillion legends gets their name (S/33). It sometimes appeared in the longer form Silmarillë (PE17/47, PM/363). Tolkien translated this name as “radiance of pure light” (Let/148) and said that it was a combination of silima, the crystaline substance from which the jewels were made (RGEO/65), and a derivative of the root √RIL “brilliant, brilliance” (PM/363), perhaps in the form [ᴹQ.] rille “brilliance”.

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱQ. Silmaril dates back to the earliest Lost Tales (LT1/128). Christopher Tolkien suggested that at this early stage it was a compound of ᴱQ. Sil “Moon” and ᴱQ. marilla “pearl” (LT1A/Silmaril), which is consistent with its Gnomish cognate G. Silubrilt. In The Etymologies, the name ᴹQ. Silmaril appears as a combination of silma “silver, shining white” and the root ᴹ√RIL (Ety/RIL, SIL), similar to its later etymology.

Element in

• Q. Quenta Silmarillion “History of the Silmarils” ✧ S/033

Elements

Word	Gloss
silima	“crystal substance devised by Fëanor”
RIL	“brilliant (light), brilliance, brilliant (light), brilliance, [ᴹ√] glitter”

Variations

• silmaril ✧ LotR/1034; PE17/112
• silmaril(le) ✧ PE17/047
• silmaril(lë) ✧ PM/363
• Silmarillë ✧ PMI/Silmaril
• silma-ril ✧ RGEO/65

sanda

name

[sanda, sandë] (þ) (2) noun "name" (VT46:16)

sanya

name

[sanya] (þ) (2) noun ?"name" (reading of gloss uncertain, VT46:16)

-on

name

-on gen.pl. ending (3O), in aldaron, aranion, elenion, Eldaron, #esseron, Ingweron, Istarion, Númevalion, Quendion, Silmarillion, Sindaron, tasarion (see Nan-Tasarion), Valion, wenderon, yénion. Normally the ending -on is added to the nominative plural, whether it ends in -i or -r, but some nouns in -ë that would have nominative plurals in -i seem to prefer the ending -ron in the genitive (hence #esseron as the gen. pl. of essë "name", though the nominative pl. is attested as essi and we might have expected the gen. pl. *ession; similarly wenderon, Ingweron).

esta-

verb. name

esse

noun. name

essë

name

essë (1) noun "name", also later name of Tengwa #31, originally (MET) called árë (ázë). (Appendix E). With a pronominal ending esselya "thy name" (VT43:14). Pl. #essi in PM:339 and MR:470, gen.pl. #esseron "of names" in the compound Nómesseron (q.v.); we would rather have expected *ession, given the nom.pl. essi; perhaps #esser is a valid alternative plural form. Essecarmë noun "name-making" (MR:214, 470), Eldarin ceremony where the father announces the name of his child. Essecenta *("k") noun "Name-essay" (see centa) (MR:415); Essecilmë noun "name-choosing", an Eldarin ceremony where a child named him- or herself according to personal lámatyávë (q.v.) (MR:214, 471). The meaning Tolkien originally assigned to the word essë** in the Etymologies was "place" rather than "name" (VT45:12).

essë

noun. name

Cognates

• ᴺS. ess “name”

Derivations

• ᴹ√ES “indicate, name”

Element in

• Q. amilessë “mother-name”
• Q. anessë “given (or added) name, nickname, surname” ✧ MR/216
• Q. cilmessë “self-name”
• Q. epessë “after-name”
• Q. Essecarmë “Name-making” ✧ MR/470
• Q. Essecenta Eldarinwa “Enquiry (into the origins) of the Elvish names” ✧ WJ/359
• Q. Essecilmë “Name-choosing” ✧ MR/470
• Q. na airë esselya “hallowed be thy name” ✧ VT43/14
• Q. nómessë “place-name” ✧ VT42/17
• Q. notessë “numeral”
• ᴺQ. tengessë “address, (lit.) indication-name”

Variations

• esse ✧ LotR/1123
• essë ✧ MR/470
• Esse ✧ WJ/359

esta-

verb. to name

eneth

noun. name

esta

name

(verb.) esta- (call) (i esta, in estar)

esta

name

(call) (i esta, in estar)

ess

noun. name

Cognates

• Q. essë “name”

eneth

name

(noun) eneth (pl. enith)

eneth

name

(pl. enith)

en

root. name

Derivatives

• S. en- “*to name”
• ᴺS. enwiol “nominal”