Tol Eressëa

lonely isle

Tol Eressëa place-name "Lonely Isle" (LONO, Silm), "Solitary Isle" (Letters:386), also spelt Tol-Eressëa (ERE), Tol-eressëa (TOL2)

tol eressëa

place name. Lonely Isle

Easternmost outpost of the land of Valinor (S/59). This name is a combination of tol “island” and eressëa “lonely”, though the island was sometimes simply called Eressëa. It may be that this island was sometimes still reachable by mortals after the world was bent and the lands of Aman were removed from the world.

Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, and the earlier names ᴱQ. Tol Eressea and ᴹQ. Tol Eressea have the same form and meaning (LT1A/Tol Eressëa; Ety/ERE, TOL²). Perhaps the most important function of this island in Tolkien’s tales was as the place where Elvish lore was transmitted to Men, first to ᴱQ. Eriol in the earliest stories and to Ælfwine in later tales. Although Christopher Tolkien removed this idea from the published version of The Silmarillion to prevent confusion, it persisted into J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings in the 1950-60s.

Elements

Word	Gloss
tollë	“island, (steep) isle”
eressëa	“lonely”

Variations

• Tol-eressea ✧ VT47/13
• TolEressea ✧ VT47/28

eressëa

lonely

eressëa adj. "lonely" (ERE, LT1:269), "solitary" (cf. Letters:386). Eressëa place-name "Lonely (One)", often used by itself for Tol Eressëa, the Lonely Isle (Silm) or Solitary Isle (Letters:386, footnote)

eressëa

adjective. lonely

Element in

• Q. Eressëa “Lonely (Isle)”
• Q. Tol Eressëa “Lonely Isle”

Variations

• erEssëa ✧ LotR/1116

air

adjective. lonely

Derivations

• ✶eryā “isolated, lonely” ✧ PE17/028; VT50/18
  • √ER “one, single, alone, one, single, alone; [ᴹ√] be alone, deprived; [ᴱ√] remain alone”

Element in

• S. i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, ach hí in Ellath îr ed epholar “*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it” ✧ VT50/18

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶eryā > eir > air	[erjā] > [erja] > [eria] > [eri] > [eir] > [air]	✧ PE17/028
✶eryā > erı̯a > erı̯ > irı̯ > îr	[erja] > [erja] > [eria] > [eri] > [iri] > [ir] > [īr]	✧ VT50/18

Variations

• îr ✧ VT50/18; VT50/18

ereb

lonely

ereb (isolated), pl. erib

ereb

lonely

(isolated), pl. erib