vasar

noun. veil

A noun meaning “a veil” that is a rare remnant of the root √WATHAR in Quenya, along with a related verb vasarya- “to veil” (VT42/10). In the draft version of the note where it appeared, Tolkien said this noun was “was not in daily use” (VT42/9). It is related to S. gwath, and possibly also the name Q. Avathar “Shadows” as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT48/28 note #17).

vasar

veil

vasar (þ) noun "veil" (VT42:10, the word was "not in daily use", VT42:9). Older form waþar.

fanwa

noun. veil, screen

A noun for a “veil or screen” derived from ✶phanmā based on the root √PHAN (PE17/176, 180).

fanta-

verb. to veil, cloak, mantle

fanta- vb. "to veil, cloak, mantle" (VT43:22), mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or that were brighter and more vivid (PE17:174); according to Tolkien usually the strong past tense fánë and perfect afánië were used, but later also fantanë in the past tense (and then perhaps *afantië in the perfect?) (PE17:179-180) Cf halya- (q.v.), the stem of which Tolkien contrasted with the stem of this verb (PE17:184).

fanwa

veil, screen

fanwa noun "veil, screen" (PE17:176, 180)

halya-

verb. veil, conceal, screen from light

halya- vb. "veil, conceal, screen from light" (SKAL1, VT46:13) Tolkien noted that "√SKAL applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things" (PE17:184), contrasting it with √SPAN, the rejected stem of fanta-, q.v.

vasarya-

verb. to veil

vasarya- (þ) vb. "to veil" (VT42:10)

vasarya-

verb. to veil

hala

noun. cast shadow, cast shadow, *shade

A Quenya word meaning “a cast shadow” appearing in two forms, hala and (archaic) †ixal, both cognates to S. esgal and derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal” (PE17/184). The form hala is the normal development from primitive ✶skalā where the initial sk eventually became h, whereas ixal shows a vowel i developing before syllabic ṣ and then the surviving sk undergoing metathesis to ks (x).

Neo-Quenya: Given that primitive ✶skalā is actually “the action or effect of overshadowing”, I think hala can mean both “(cast) shadow” and “✱shade” as in a shaded region beneath a screen of leaves or something similar. For the screen itself I’d use fanwa.

hen

eye

hen (hend-, as in pl. hendi) noun "eye" (KHEN-D-E); possibly dual #hendu in hendumaica, q.v. Noun henfanwa "eye-screen, veil upon eyes" (PE17:176), adj. henulca "evileyed" (SD:68; cf. ulca).

larma

noun. raiment

A word from the late 1960s for “raiment” appearing only its plural form in the phrase Valar ar Maiar fantaner nassentar fanainen ve quenderinwe coar al larmar “Valar and Maiar cloaked their true-being in veils, like to Elvish bodies and raiment” (PE17/175). It’s derivation is unclear, but it might be tied to ᴹ√LAD “lie flat” from the 1940s (PE22/126).

hen

noun. eye

The Quenya word for “eye”, derived from the root √KHEN for eye-words (PE17/187; Ety/KHEN-D-E) and with stem-form hend- given its dual hendu (WJ/337).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as ᴱQ. hen in The Qenya Phonology of the 1910s, derived from primitive ᴱ✶þχe-ndǝ and appearing beside ᴱQ. sé “eye, pupil” < ᴱ✶þeχē (PE12/21). Hen (hend-) “eye” appeared in the Qenya Lexicon though it was marked “†” for archaic (QL/40), and ᴱQ. hend- also appeared in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as the cognate of G. hen “eye” (GL/48). ᴱQ. hen appeared regularly in documents from the 1920s (PE13/147; PE14/43, 76; PE16/136), although in the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s ᴱQ. sinda was given as the cognate of ᴱN. hen(n) “eye” (PE13/122). The form ᴱQ. sinda seems to have been a transient idea.

A lengthy declension of ᴹQ. hen “eye” appeared in documents from the early 1930s (PE21/52) and in The Etymologies of the 1930s it was based on a new the root ᴹ√KHEN-D-E “eye” (Ety/KHEN-D-E). In both these documents, inflected forms indicate a stem form of hend-. Thus this word and its stem were quite stable in Tolkien’s mind, though he did alter its root from early ᴱ√SEHE [ÞEHE] to later √KHEN.

fanya

(white) cloud

fanya noun "(white) cloud" (translated "sky" in FS); pl. fanyar in Namárië(Nam, RGEO:67). ). Used "only of white clouds, sunlit or moonlit, or clouds gilded or silvered at the edges by light behind them", not "of storm clouds or cloud canopies shutting out the light" (PE17:174). Cf. lumbo, q.v. According to VT46:15, fanya was originally given as an adjective "white" in the Etymologies; the printed version in LR wrongly implies that fanya and fána both mean "cloud", whereas actually the first was at this stage meant to be an adjective "white" whereas fána is both noun "cloud" and adj. "white". However, Namárië and later emendations to the entry SPAN in Etym indicate that Tolkien would later think of fanya as a noun "cloud", perhaps giving it the same double meaning as fána: noun "cloud" as well as adjective "white". According to PE17:26, fanya was originally an adjectival form "white and shining" that was however often used as a noun "applied to various things, notably to white clouds lit by sun or moon". In Namárië, the word is used poetically with reference to the hands of Varda (she lifted her hands ve fanyar "like clouds").

fur-

verb. to conceal, to lie

fur- vb. "to conceal, to lie" (LT2:340) Read perhaps *hur- in a LotR-compatible form of Quenya, since Tolkien decided that fu- tended to become hu-.

ixal

noun. cast shadow

larma

raiment

#larma (1) noun "raiment", attested in pl. form larmar (PE17:175)

top-

verb. cover

top- vb. "cover" (1st pers. aorist topë "covers"), pa.t. tompë (TOP). Variant tup-, q.v.

tup-

verb. cover

#tup- vb. "cover", isolated from untúpa, q.v. Variant top- in the Etymologies.

fân

noun. veil

esgal

noun. cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding, veil, cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding; veil

A word meaning either “veil, screen, hiding” (Ety/SKAL¹; SA/esgal) or “a cast shadow” (PE17/184) derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil”, most notably an element in the name Esgalduin (S/121) translated “River under Veil” (Ety/SKAL¹) or “River under Shade” (PE17/15, 184).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s esgal was translated “screen, hiding, roof of leaves”, but there it (and the river name) were from the Ilkorin language. In notes from around 1966-67, however, Tolkien shift the sense of the root, saying:

> √SKAL was applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things ... √SPAN was applied to things of lighter texture, and corresponds closer to our “veil” ... They appear also to have differed in that while SKAL was primitively verbal SPAN was primitively nominal. Thus the most primitive derivative of SKAL was skalā and this meant the action or effect of overshadowing: a cast shadow, S esgal, Q †ixal & hala. But spanā meant a thing that veiled, a veil (PE17/184).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I think esgal can refer to both a shading screen (as it did in the 1930s) or the shadow under that screen (as it did in the 1960s), but it is unlikely that Tolkien himself maintained these two senses simultaneously. However, there are a number of other Sindarin good words for “shadow” but not many for “screen, veil”, especially since fân < ✶spanā or ✶phanā is used mainly with the sense “cloud”. However, I would limit esgal to genuinely opaque screens and curtains, ones that block most if not all light, and for a diaphanous veil I’d use fân.

esgalduin

place name. River under Veil, River under Shade

A river flowing through Doriath (S/121), translated “River under Shade” (PE17/15, 184) or “River under Veil” (Ety/SKAL¹). This name is a combination of esgal “shadow, screen” and duin “river” (SA/esgal, duin; PE17/184).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱN. Esgalduin first appeared in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s where it was described as the “Elf-river” (LB/76), perhaps related to G. Egla “Elf” (GL/32). This name reappeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/103, LR/260), and in The Etymologies, Ilk. Esgalduin was designated an Ilkorin name, already with essentially the same derivation as given above (Ety/DUI, SKAL¹).

fân

noun. (white) cloud; veil, curtain; form or vision of a spiritual being; spirit [embodied]

The usual Sindarin word for “cloud” (PE17/36, 174; RGEO/66). As Tolkien explained it “The S. form fân, fan- was usually applied to clouds, as veils over the blue sky or the sun or moon, or resting hills” (RGEO/66). This use meant it was largely limited to white clouds in fair weather (PE17/36; Let/278); a dark or stormy cloud would be [ᴺS.] lum (see that entry for discussion). In an essay written around 1967 Tolkien indicated that fân had a second meaning:

> In Sindarin ✱phanā > fân meant a “veil”: a covering concealing what lay within or behind. It was frequently used of clouds in the sky, as veils over the blue heaven or the sun, moon, stars. This indeed became its leading sense, so that when it was still used of lesser and handmade things this was felt to be a transference of the sense “cloud” and fân was seldom applied to any but things of soft textures, such as woven veils, mantles, or curtains (PE17/173).

Thus in addition to “cloud”, fân applied to soft handmade veils or curtains (from its original sense). But the word had a third meaning as well, with a more complex origin:

> √PHAN-. The basic sense of this was “cover, screen, veil”, but it had a special development in the Eldarin tongues ... In Quenya, owing to close relations of the Eldar in Valinor with the Valar, and other lesser spirits of their order, fana developed a special sense. It was applied to the visible bodily forms adopted by these spirits, when they took up their abode on Earth, as the normal “raiment” of their otherwise invisible being ... This Quenya meaning of fana after the coming of the Exiles to Middle-earth was also assumed by Sindarin fân, at first in the Sindarin as used by the exiled Noldor, and eventually also by the Sindar themselves, especially those in close contact with the Noldor or actually mingled with them (PE17/174-176).

Thus, owing to the Quenya meaning of the word, the Sindar also used fân to referred physical form of the Valar and other spiritual beings, as well as visions of such beings (PE17/26), since the Sindar had relatively little direct experience of the Valar. For spirits, being embodied was not their natural state, so their fân was like “clothing” a spirit could wear to interact with the physical world.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s this word was N. faun “cloud” derived from primitive ᴹ✶spāna based on the root ᴹ√SPAN “white” (Ety/SPAN). In one note from around 1957 Tolkien considered using S. fân for an embodied spirit or soul, the equivalent of Q. fëa (NM/237), but elsewhere this was S. fae (MR/165; PM/343). For the most part in later writings, Tolkien used fân for “cloud” and related senses, as discussed above. Furthermore, in later writings it was a derivative of √PHAN rather than 1930s ᴹ√SPAN.

fanha-

verb. to veil

v. to veil, cloak. Q. fanta-. Naturally mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or were brighter and more vivid.

fân

a veil

n. a veil, a covering concealing what lay within or behind. Frequently used of clouds in the sky, as veils over the blue heaven or the sun, the moon, etc. (white cloud). It became its leading sense. Usual word for 'cloud', floating clouds, or those for a while resting upon or wreathing hills and mountain-top. It was seldom applied to any but things of soft textures (woven veils, mantles, or curtains). The lengthening of the vowel only took place where the word was used alone as a stressed monosyllable. After the coming of the Noldorin Exiles in Middle-earth, the meaning of Q. fana (_i.e. _shining shape, 'angelic' spirit) was assumed by S. fân. >> fain, fanui, Fanuidhol

gwathra-

verb. to overshadow, dim, veil, obscure

A verb meaning “overshadow, dim, veil, obscure” appearing in The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from 1967-69, from the root √WATH (VT42/9).

esgal

noun. veil, screen, cover that hides

fanha-

verb. to veil, cloak

gwathra-

verb. to overshadow, dim, veil, obscure

Esgalduin

noun. veiled river

esgal (“veil, screen, cover”) + duin (“river”)

fân

noun. cloud (applied to clouds, floating as veils over the blue sky or the sun or moon, or resting on hills)

escal

veil

(screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

veil

(noun) 1) escal (screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail). 2) fân (cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

fân

veil

(cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

gwathra

veil

(i ’wathra, in gwathrar) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

gwathra

veil

(verb) gwathra- (i **wathra, in gwathrar**) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

fanna- Reconstructed

verb. to veil, cloak

A Sindarin verb appearing as fanha- “to veil, cloak” in notes from the mid-1960s, derived from primitive ✶phantā- based the root √PHAN of similar meaning (PE17/174). The nh in this verb seems to represent a survival of a long voiceless nasals in Sindarin; compare antha- > anha- “give” from around this same period (PE17/93). More commonly in Sindarin, primitive nt &gt; nth &gt; voiceless nh &gt; voiced nn, so a more normal representation of this verb might be ✱fanna-.

escal

cover

(a cover that hides) escal (screen, veil), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

cover

(screen, veil), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

gwathra

overshadow

gwathra- (i **wathra, in gwathrar**) (dim, veil, obscure)

gwathra

overshadow

(i ’wathra, in gwathrar) (dim, veil, obscure)

esgal

a cast shadow

_n. _a cast shadow. Q. hala, poet. ixal. . This gloss was rejected.

hen

noun. eye

hen(d)

noun. eye

The Sindarin word for “eye”, most notably in the name Amon Hen “Hill of the Eye” (LotR/400), derived from the root √KHEN that was the basis for eye-words (PE17/187). Given the words henneth “window” (LotR/674) and Lachend “Flame-eyed” (WJ/384), it is possible that the independent word for “eye” is hend, but note also maecheneb “sharp-eye” which has no double-n (WJ/337).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to G. hen “eye” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/48), cognate to ᴱQ. hend- and so probably similarly derived from primitive ᴱ✶þχe-ndǝ (PE12/21). In the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s, ᴱN. hen(n) “eye” was paired with ᴱQ. sinda (PE13/122), but in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the same period, ᴱN. henn was again cognate with ᴱQ. hen (hend-), both from primitive ᴱ✶ske-ndá. In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was N. {hent, henn >>} hên “eye” from the root ᴹ√KHEN-D-E “eye” (Ety/KHEN-D-E). Thus this word was well established in Tolkien’s mind, but had several variations in its form and derivation.

hend

noun. eye

heneb

adjective. of eye, eyed, having eyes

henn

noun. eye

delia

conceal

(i dhelia, i neliar), pa.t. daul (whence the passive participle dolen ”concealed”), later pa.t. deliant.

doltha

conceal

(i dholtha, i noltar). Pa.t. †daul, an archaic form that was maybe replaced by dolthant later. Passive participle dolen (see

hend

eye

hend (i chend, construct hen), pl. hind (i chind), dual hent ”pair of eyes” (VT45:22), coll. pl. hennath. Adj.

hend

eye

(i chend, construct hen), pl. hind (i chind), dual hent ”pair of eyes” (VT45:22), coll. pl. hennath. Adj.

heneb

eyed

(lenited chebeb, pl. henib). Isolated from maecheneb ”sharp-eyed” (lenited vaecheneb; pl. maechenib) (WJ:337)

toba

cover

toba- (i doba, i thobar) (roof over). Cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -o (tobo)

toba

cover

(i doba, i thobar) (roof over). Cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -o (tobo)

phanmā

noun. veil, screen

phantā-

verb. to veil, cloak

phanā

noun. veil, cloud

spanā

noun. a thing that veiled, a veil

hent

noun. the two eyes (referring to one person's eyes)

hên

noun. eye

hên

noun. eye

toba-

verb. to cover, roof over

ugrudâ-

verb. to overshadow

A verb translated “overshadow”, given as an example of a derived-verb (SD/439). It appears to contain the element ugru “shadow”, so perhaps the final element -dâ- is a causative verbal suffix.