Quenya 

telperion

proper name. ?Silver Tree

The common name of the White Tree of Valinor, the one of the Two Trees which shone with silver light (S/38). The exact meaning of this name is unclear, but its initial element is the word telpë “silver” (SA/celeb, UT/266). The original Quenya name of this tree was †Tyelperion, but it became Telperion when Quenya speakers adapted older †tyelpë into telpë under the influence of Telerin telpe (UT/266, Let/426).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this tree was usually called ᴱQ. Silpion (LT1/73). The name ᴹQ. Telperion first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s as an alternate name of Silpion (LR/209, 211). In Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, Telperion became its primary name and while Silpion became a secondary name (MR/59, note §5).

Possible Translations: This name is glossed “Silver Tree” in the index of the 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings (LotRI/Silver Tree), but I cannot find this translation anywhere else. In their Reader’s Companion, Hammond and Scull tentatively translate Telperion as “?silver-white” (RC/637). In English the tree is usually referred to as the “White Tree”, but this was also applied to the earlier name Silpion and is perhaps a better translation of that name (given its incorporation of the root √SIL “shine white or silver”). Absent any other information, “Silver Tree” is the best available translation.

Cognates

Derivations

Elements

WordGloss
telpë“silver, silver; [ᴱQ.] money”
?

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
Q. Tyelperion > Telperion[tjelperion] > [telperion]✧ UT/266
Quenya [LotRI/Silver Tree; LotRI/Telperion; LotRI/Trees, Two; LT1I/Telperion; MRI/Telperion; NM/349; PMI/Telperion; S/038; SA/celeb; SI/Telperion; SMI/Telperion; UT/266; UTI/Telperion; WJI/Telperion] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Tyelperion

tyelperion

Tyelperion less common name of Telperion (UT:266).

tyelperion

proper name. ?Silver Tree

The archaic Quenya name of Telperion, from archaic †tyelpë “silver” (UT/266).

Derivatives

Quenya [NM/349; UT/266] Group: Eldamo. Published by

telpë

silver

telpë noun "silver" (in one example with generalized meaning "money", PE14:54), telep- in some compounds like Teleporno; assimilated telem- in Telemnar and the adj. telemna (KYELEP/TELEP, SA:celeb, LT1:255, 268; also tyelpë, telep-, UT:266). The true Quenya descendant of primitive ¤kyelepē is tyelpë, but the Telerin form telpë was more common, "for the Teleri prized silver above gold, and their skill as silversmiths was esteemed even by the Noldor" (UT:266). In various names: Telperion the White Tree of Valinor; Telperien ("Telperiën"), fem. name including telp- "silver" (Appendix A); Telperinquar "Silver-fist, Celebrimbor" (SA:celeb - also Tyelperinquar); Telporno, Teleporno "Silver-high" = Sindarin _Celeborn(Letters:347, UT:266). _It seems that Teleporno is properly Telerin, Quenyarized as Telporno. Compare adjectives telemna, telpina, telepsa, telepta (q.v.)

telpë

noun. silver, silver; [ᴱQ.] money

Cognates

  • S. celeb “silver” ✧ PE17/036; SA/celeb; UT/266
  • T. telpe “silver” ✧ UT/266

Derivations

  • T. telpe “silver” ✧ NM/349
  • kyelepē “silver” ✧ PE17/036; PE21/80
  • Q. tyelpë “silver” ✧ UT/266

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
kelep/kyelep > telep-[kjelepe] > [kjelpe] > [tjelpe]✧ PE17/036
t/kjelepi > telpe[kjelepe] > [kjelpe] > [tjelpe]✧ PE21/80
Q. tyelpe > telpe[tjelpe] > [telpe]✧ UT/266

Variations

  • telpe ✧ Let/426; PE21/81; UT/266
  • telpe- ✧ PE18/093
Quenya [Let/426; NM/349; PE17/036; PE18/093; PE21/81; PM/356; SA/celeb; UT/266] Group: Eldamo. Published by

tyelpë

silver

tyelpë noun "silver" (KYELEP/TELEP), etymology also in Letters:426 and UT:266. Tyelpë is the true Quenya descendant of primitive ¤kyelepē, but the Telerin form telpë was more common, "for the Teleri prized silver above gold, and their skill as silversmiths was esteemed even by the Noldor" (UT:266). In the Etymologies, tyelpë is also the name of Tengwa #1 with overposed dots, this symbol having the value ty (VT45:25). Cf. tyelpetéma as the name of the entire palatal series of the Tengwar system.

tyelpë

noun. silver

Cognates

  • S. celeb “silver” ✧ Let/426
  • T. telpe “silver” ✧ Let/426; NM/349

Derivations

  • kyelepē “silver” ✧ Let/426; NM/349
  • KYELEP “silver” ✧ UT/266

Derivatives

  • Q. telpë “silver, silver; [ᴱQ.] money” ✧ UT/266

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
kyelepē > tyelpe[kjelepē] > [kjelpē] > [tjelpē] > [tjelpe]✧ Let/426
kyelep- > tyelpë[kjelepē] > [kjelpē] > [tjelpē] > [tjelpe]✧ NM/349
kyelep- > tyelpe[kjelepē] > [kjelpē] > [tjelpē] > [tjelpe]✧ UT/266

Variations

  • tyelpe ✧ Let/426; UT/266 (tyelpe)
  • tyelep- ✧ NM/349
Quenya [Let/426; NM/349; PM/356; UT/266] Group: Eldamo. Published by

telempë

silver

telempë noun "silver" (LT1:268; in Tolkien's later Quenya telpë, which is actually also found in early "Qenya")

telepta

silver

telepta adj. "silver" (as adj.: silvery) (LT2:347), used as noun in the phrase mi telepta of someone clad "in silver", where the context (involving other colour-words) shows that this adj. describes something of silver colour(PE17:71). Compare telemna, telepsa, telpina.

telepta

adjective. silver, silver, [ᴱQ.] of silver

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
telpë“silver, silver; [ᴱQ.] money”

silma

silver, shining white

silma adj. "silver, shining white" (SIL), "crystal (white)" (PE17:23)

telperion

Telperion

Telperion comes from telepi "silver". The exact etymology of the ending -rion is not entirely clear, but it can mean something like "great wreathed one" (Cf. ría, rielle). The Quenya form was actually Tyelperion but Quenya adopted telpë from Telerin.

Quenya [Tolkien Gateway] Published by