than

root. kindle, set light to, fire, light

Tolkien used this root primarily to explain the name S. Gilthoniel “Star-kindler”. In a 1955 letter to David Masson, Tolkien gave √THAN “kindle” as the basis for the perfect participle S. thoniel “kindler”, in contrast to S. thôn < ✶stŏna (PE17/82). In Words, Phrases and Passages in the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien gave {√TON >> √TÁN >>} √THĂN/THĀN as the basis for the same name, but with the suffix S. -iel being a feminine suffix (PE17/23; MR/388).

The root √THAN from the 1950s might be a restoration of the unglossed root ᴱ√tan- from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. tan “firewood” and G. tantha- “set light to, kindle” (GL/69), along with other forms like G. tôn “fire (on a hearth)” and G. tortha- “scorch” (GL/71). This may be reflected in the deleted forms in the aforementioned note: {√TON >> √TÁN >>} √THĂN/THĀN.

Changes

• TON → TÁN ✧ PE17/023
• TÁN → THĂN/THĀN ✧ PE17/023

Derivatives

• S. thoniel “kindler (in the past)” ✧ PE17/082

Element in

• Q. Ilthániel “Starkindler” ✧ PE17/023 (Ilthániel*)
• S. Gilthoniel “Star-kindler” ✧ MR/388; PE17/023
• S. narthan “beacon”
• ᴺS. nethan- “to inspire, kindle inside”

Variations

• thăn/thān ✧ MR/388
• THĂN/THĀN ✧ PE17/023; PE17/187
• TON ✧ PE17/023 (TON)
• TÁN ✧ PE17/023 (TÁN)