tîn

spark

n. spark, star. Q. tinwe spark (Poet. star).

gil-

prefix. spark

_ pref. _spark, often used for 'star'. Form of gail/geil in compounds. >> gail, geil, Gilgalad

tin

noun. spark

_ n. _spark, sparkle (esp. used of the twinkle of stars). >> ithildin

tîn

noun. spark, sparkle, twinkle of stars

A word for “spark, sparkle, twinkle of stars” appearing as an element in S. ithildin “moon-star” (PE17/39, 66). Tolkien sometimes gave it the form tĭn (PE17/39) and sometimes tîn (PE17/66). It was derived from the root √TIN “sparkle, spark” (PE17/66). Primitive ✶tĭnĭ “spark” from Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s may be its ancient form (PE21/80).

In one place Tolkien gave the form tim “spark” as another name for (apparent) stars, but its final m is hard to explain (MR/388; PE17/22). In notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 Tolkien said “In the Northern dialect, however, in final position only, C.E. tw > dw, dw > ðw, thw > þw, nw became b, v, f, m” (VT41/8). Thus, tim may be the North Sindarin equivalent of Q. tinwë. However, in the document where it appeared, tim was clearly marked “S” for Sindarin. This form could also be a remnant of Gnomish or Ilkorin tim (see below).

Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this word was G. tim “spark, gleam, (star)” in the Gnomish Lexicon of 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√tin- (GL/70), cognate to ᴱQ. tinwe (QL/92). In the Gnomish period, [[g|final [nw] became [m]]], as discussed by Roman Rausch in his Historical Phonology of Goldogrin (HGP/§2.7). This was not true later, since in The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. tinw “spark, small star” was the cognate for ᴹQ. tinwe and the form tim was Ilkorin, all of these under the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle” (Ety/TIN). In his later writings, Tolkien had the forms tin, tîn and tim, as noted above. Thus while the root and basic meaning of this word were quite stable, its form went through a number of variations.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use the form tîn since short vowels generally lengthened in monosyllables. I think properly it has the meaning “spark(le)” but metaphorically can apply to stars. For the ordinary word for “star”, I’d use gil.

gil

noun. star, bright spark

In The Etymologies (Ety/358, corrected by VT/45:15), this word was given as geil , plural gîl. However, later in LotR/E and RGEO/73, Tolkien seems to consider gil as a singular (with no hints in the sources of what the plural would be, besides the collective plural giliath )

tin

noun. spark, sparkle, twinkle of stars

tinu

noun. spark, small star

míriel

adjective. sparkling like jewels, like a jewel

An adjective meaning for “sparkling like jewels” (RGEO/64) in the poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel (LotR/238). It was the passive participle of the verb míria- “to sparkle like jewels” (PE17/24). Tolkien also considered connecting it to Quenya past passive participles like káriela in notes from 1969, perhaps from a verb ✱mir- with a Q. past participle míriela, but this Q. form was deleted and the whole thing seems to have been a transient idea (PE22/152).

silivros

proper name. Sparkling Rain

Another name for Silpion translated “Sparkling Rain” (MR/155), a combination of archaic †silif “silver (light)” and ross “spray; rain”.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Silivros appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s translated “Glimmering Rain” (LR/210) and also in The Etymologies, which is the source of the derivation above (Ety/ROS¹, SIL). It appeared in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/155) but not in the published version of The Silmarillion.

Míriel

noun. sparkling like a jewel

míria-

verb. to sparkle like jewels

A verb for “to sparkle like jewels” or “to shine like a jewel” serving as the basis for míriel “like a jewel” (PE17/24), which appeared in the poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel (LotR/238).

el

star

n. star.

elen

star

pl1. elin, pl2. elenath _n._star. Its collective plural (pl2.) designates 'the (host of all the) stars, (all) the (visible) stars of the firmament'. Q. elen, pl1. eldi, eleni. o menel aglar elenath ! lit. 'from Firmament glory of the stars !'. >> êl

elen

noun. star

gil-

noun. star

gill

noun. star

êl

star

pl1. elin, pl2. elenath** ** n. star. Q. elen, pl1. eldi, eleni, pl2. elelli. >> elen

êl

noun. star

A Sindarin word for “star” that is largely archaic and poetic, and is mainly used as element in names like Elrond (Let/281; WJ/363; Ety/EL); the more usual word for “star” in ordinary speech was gil (RGEO/65). However, the collective form elenath is still used in common speech to refer to the entire host of stars (WJ/363). The plural of êl is elin, as this word was derived from ancient ✶elen, and the final n that was lost in the singular was preserved in the plural. In some cases Tolkien posited a restored analogical singular elen from the plural form (PE17/24, 67, 139), but this isn’t in keeping with the notion that the word was archaic, so I would ignore this for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: This word and its root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where N. el “star” was derived from the root ᴹ√EL of similar meaning, but was “only [used] in names” (Ety/EL). It seems Tolkien introduced the root to give a new etymology for names like N. Elrond and N. Elwing, which initially appeared under the root ᴹ√ƷEL “sky” (Ety/ƷEL).

limp

noun/adjective. clear, sparkling; (bright/clear/gleaming) liquid

lim

adjective. clear, sparkling, light

tint

spark

1) tint (i dint, o thint), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thint), coll. pl. tinnath; 2) tinu (i dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds), analogical pl. tiny (i thiny). The word is also used =

tint

spark

(i dint, o thint), no distinct pl. form except with article (i thint), coll. pl. tinnath

tinu

spark

(i dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds), analogical pl. tiny (i thiny). The word is also used =

tinthilthad

noun. sparkling, twinkling, scintillation

Míriel

sparkling like a jewel

míriel (lenited víriel, pl. míril) (jewel-like)

lim

sparkling

(adj.) lim (clear, light), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

lim

sparkling

(clear, light), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

míriel

sparkling like a jewel

(lenited víriel, pl. míril) (jewel-like)

gîl

star

gîl (i ngîl = i ñîl, o n**gîl, construct gil) (bright spark, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. giliath** (RGEO, MR:388). Poetic †êl (elen-, pl. elin, coll. pl. elenath) (RGEO, Letters:281, WJ:363).

gîl

star

(i ngîl = i ñîl, o n’gîl, construct gil) (bright spark, silver glint), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. giliath **(RGEO, MR:388). Poetic †êl (elen-, pl. **elin, coll. pl. elenath) (RGEO, Letters:281, WJ:363).

tinthiltha-

verb. to twinkle, *sparkle

tinu

small star

tinu (i dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds) (spark), analogical pl. tiny (i thiny). Archaic tinw, so the coll. pl. is likely tinwath.

tinu

small star

tinu (i dinu, o thinu; also -din at the end of compounds) (spark), analogical pl. tiny (i thiny), coll. pl. tinwath

gîl

silver glint

(i ngîl = i ñîl, o n’gîl = o ñgîl, construct gil) (star, bright spark), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gîl = i ñgîl), coll. pl. *giliath (RGEO, MR:388)*

lim

clear

(adj.) lim (sparkling, light), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

lim

clear

(sparkling, light), no distinct pl. form. Note: a homophone means ”fish”.

glanna

clear

(verb, ”make clear”) *glanna- (i **lanna, in glannar**) (VT45:13; this is how David Salo would normalize the form ”glantha” occurring in the primary source)

glân

clear

glân (white), lenited lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”.

tim

small star

. In First Age North Sindarin this word appears as tim (MR:388). Archaic tinw, so the coll. pl. is likely tinwath. 3)

tinna

glint

(vb.) *tinna- (cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive tinno) (i dinna, i thinnar). Noun

Idril

noun. Idril

prop. n. . This gloss was rejected.

giliath

noun. all the host of stars

glîn

noun. gleam, glint (usually of fine slender but bright shafts of light, particularly applied to light of eyes)

glînn

noun. gleam, glint (usually of fine slender but bright shafts of light, particularly applied to light of eyes)

êl

noun. star (little used except in verses)

agol

noun. flash

gilion

of stars

(lenited ngilion; pl. gilioen). Archaic ✱giliaun.

glanna

clear

(i ’lanna, in glannar) (VT45:13; this is how David Salo would normalize the form ”glantha” occurring in the primary source)

glân

clear

(white), lenited ’lân, pl. glain. (UT:390, VT45:13). Note: a homophone means ”hem, border”.

tim

small star

(MR:388). Archaic tinw, so the coll. pl. is likely  tinwath. 3)

tinna

glint

(cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive tinno) (i dinna, i thinnar). Noun

tinwë

spark

tinwë noun "spark" (gloss misquoted as "sparkle" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, see VT46:19), also "star"; pl. tinwi "sparks", properly used of the star-imagines on Nur-menel (q.v.). Cf. nillë. (TIN, MR:388) In early "Qenya", tinwë was simply glossed "star" (LT1:269, cf. MC:214). In one late source, the meaning of tinwë is given as "spark", and it is said that this word (like Sindarin gil) was used of the stars of heaven "in place of the older and more elevated el, elen- stem" (VT42:11).

tinwë

noun. spark, [apparent] star

A word that technically means “spark”, but was often applied to stars as well (PE17/66, RGEO/61), derived from the root √TIN “spark(le)” (MR/388; PE17/22).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. tinwe was used for “star” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was also derived from the root ᴱ√TINI “twinkle” (QL/92). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹQ. tinwe “spark (star)” with the primitive form ᴹ✶tinmē under the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle, emit slender (silver pale) beams” (Ety/TIN); the gloss was corrected from “sparkle (star)” to “spark (star)” by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (EtyAC/TIN). The word and its derivation appeared numerous times in Tolkien’s later writings, making it exceptionally stable in his mind.

fëalócë

spark-dragon

fëalócë ("k") noun "spark-dragon" (LOK)

tin-

glint, spark, glitter

tin- vb. "glint, spark, glitter" (3rd pers. aorist tinë "it glints") (TIN, PE17:69)

tin-

verb. to spark, glitter, to spark, glitter, [ᴹQ.] glint, [ᴱQ.] gleam, shine as a star

ita-

sparkle

ita- 1) vb. "sparkle" (SA:ril, PM:363)

tintina-

sparkle

tintina- vb. "sparkle" (actually glossed "it sparkles") (TIN)

tintila-

verb. to twinkle, sparkle, glitter, give tremulous light, †tremble

A verb appearing in the Namárië poem, where Tolkien translated it as “tremble” (LotR/377). It is clear form his writings elsewhere that this a poetic rendering, and the actual meaning of the word is “twinkle, give tremulous light” (PE17/66) or “sparkle, glitter” (RGEO/61). It seems to be a combination of the roots √TIN “sparkle” and √THIL “shine silver” (PE17/66), and so is especially appropriate for describing starlight.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies from the 1930s, there was a similar verb ᴹQ. tintina- “to sparkle”, likely a reduplication of the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle”. For Neo-Quenya writing, it is probably preferable to use the better known tintila-.

itarillë

feminine name. *Sparkling Brilliance

The Quenya name of S. Idril, from which her Sindarin name was derived (SA/ril, PM/346). Her name is a combination of ita- “to sparkle” and the root √RIL “brilliance” (SA/ril, PM/363 note #42) with the feminine agental suffix -llë, perhaps meaning something like “✱Sparkling Brilliance”. This name also appeared as Itarildë, using the suffix -ldë instead (PM/348, PE17/112).

Conceptual Development: For a very long time, Idril’s Quenya name was Irildë (LT2/216, Ety/KYELEP, WJ/235), with its initial element derived from √ID (Ety/ID, PE17/112). After the publication of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien became dissatisfied with this etymology, as the initial ✶Id- would have developed in Sindarin into Idh-. Tolkien explored several possible solutions to the problem: changing Idril to Ídhril or changing her Quenya name to Itarillë (PE17/112). He eventually settled on the second option (PM/346).

When Tolkien first introduced this new Quenya name, its initial element was íta “very, extremely” from the root √IT “repeat, multiply”, so that her name meant “Very Bright” (PE17/112). Tolkien later changed the meaning of this root to √IT “glitter” with the verb form ita- “to sparkle” (PM/363 note #42), and this was the etymology used by Christopher Tolkien in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/ril).

See Q. Irildë for earlier developments of this name.

elen

star

elen noun "star" (SA:êl, elen, EL, VT49:39); pl. eleni (occasionally in verse: eldi) (WJ:362, PE17:127); partitive pl. elelli for elenli (PE17:127), gen. pl. elenion in the phrase Elenion Ancalima "brightest of stars" (LotR2:IV ch. 9; see Letters:385 for translation); elen atta "two stars" (VT49:44), genitive elen atto "of two stars" (VT49:45), eleni neldë "three stars", archaic elenion neldë = "of stars three". Genitive "of 3 stars" = elenion neldë (for archaic elenion neldëo) (VT49:45). Allative elenna "starwards" used as name of Númenor _(Silm; see Elenna)_; ablative pl. elenillor "from stars" in Markirya. **Nai elen siluva ***"may a star shine", VT49:38.

elen

noun. star

The most common Quenya word for “star”, mentioned very frequently, derived from an extended form ✶elen of the root √EL “behold” (PE17/67; WJ/360, 362). Its usual plural form is eleni, but it has an archaic plural †eldi sometimes used in verse, the result of the Ancient Quenya sound whereby [[aq|[ln] became [ld]]] after the ancient plural underwent the Quenya syncope, ✶elenī > AQ. elni; its normal modern plural form eleni was actually a reformation from the singular (PE17/57, 151; WJ/362).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, though in the original entry for the root ᴹ√EL Tolkien said it was poetical and gave variants ellen and elena (Ety/EL).

él

star

†él noun "star", pl. éli given (WJ:362, EL)

él

noun. star

An archaic or poetic word for star (WJ/362), somewhat common in compounds but in ordinary speech typically appearing as elen. It was derived directly from the primitive root √EL “behold”, the basis for other star words (PM/340; WJ/360).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as poetical ᴹQ. él “star” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above, though in this document the root ᴹ√EL meant “star” (Ety/EL), a common gloss for the root in later writings as well.

ílë

star

ílë noun "star" (LT1:269; rather elen, él in LotR-style Quenya.)

ita-

verb. to sparkle

miriéla

adjective. ?sparkling

mirilya

 adjective. sparkling like jewels, like a jewel

tintilië

noun. sparkling, twinkling

titinwë

noun. small star, sparkle of dew, *small sparkling thing

Idril

Idril

The name Idril is the Sindarin form of her Quenya name Itarildë (or Itarillë), which means "Sparkling Brilliance".[source?] She was called Celebrindal, "Silver-foot", because she always went barefoot.

hísë

blinking

hísë (3) adj.? "blinking" (?) (MC:214) A "Qenya" form possibly obsoleted by #1 above.

tindë

glint

tindë noun "glint" (TIN)

tintila-

twinkle

tintila- vb. "twinkle", present (or maybe rather aorist) pl. tintilar (Nam, RGEO:67)

wintil

glint

wintil noun "glint" (LT1:261)

íta

flash

íta noun "a flash" (PM:363)

íta

noun. flash

A noun for “a flash” appearing in The Shibboleth of Fëanor as part of a discussion the name Q. Itarillë, S. Idril from the late 1960s, derived from the root √IT (PM/363). It seems to be a bright and direct flash of light, as opposed to ᴹQ. tinde “glint” for a less brilliant and reflected flash of light.

tini

noun. spark

tin

root. sparkle, spark, sparkle, spark, [ᴱ√] twinkle, [ᴹ√] emit slender (silver pale) beams

The root √TIN was connected to Elvish words for twinkle and sparkle for much of Tolkien’s life. The root first appeared as ᴱ√TINI “twinkle” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. tintya- “sparkle” and ᴱQ. tinwe “star” (QL/92). The root also had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. tim “spark, gleam, (star)” and G. tintiltha- “twinkle” (GL/72). In The Etymologies of the 1930s he had the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle, emit slender (silver pale) beams” with derivatives like ᴹQ. tin-/N. tinna- “glint” and ᴹQ. tinwe/N. tinw “spark, (small) star” (Ety/TIN). The root √TIN was mentioned regularly in his later writings with glosses like “spark” or “sparkle” (MR/388; PE17/22, 66).

elen

noun. star

ēl

noun. star

tint

noun. spark

tint

noun. spark

tinw

noun. spark, small star

geil

noun. star, bright spark

gildin

noun. silver spark

tinw

noun. spark, small star

el

noun. star

geil

noun. star

giliath

noun. all the host of stars

glan

adjective. clear

tinna-

verb. to glint

elen

noun. star

él

noun. star

tithilla-

verb. twinkle