yeldë

daughter

yeldë noun "daughter" (YEL) This word was struck out in Etym, but it may have been restored together with the ending -iel, q.v.

yeldë

noun. daughter

A less common Quenya word for “daughter”, an analog of Q. yondo “son”.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL of the same meaning, but the meaning of the root was first changed to “friend”, and then the root was then deleted (Ety/YEL). Meanwhile, under the root ᴹ√YŌ or YON, Tolkien introduced a feminine variant ᴹQ. yende “daughter” along with (suffixal?) yen, derived from primitive ᴹ√yēn or yend (Ety/YŌ). Previously this yende/yendi form was a feminine agent, but Tolkien rejected that meaning (EtyAC/ƷAN).

In between yelde >> yende for “daughter” in The Etymologies, Tolkien considered using the form ᴹQ. selde, and in later writings this seems to be his preferred Quenya word for “daughter”. However, yeldë “daughter” was mentioned again briefly in rough notes from around 1959 (PE17/190), and -iel remained Tolkien’s preferred suffix for “daughter of”.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I recommend seldë as the more common word for “daughter”, but assume yeldë also exists as variant due to the influence of yondo “son”; see the entries on seldë and the root √YE(L) for further discussion.

Derivations

• √YE(L) “daughter” ✧ PE17/190

Variations

• yelde ✧ PE17/190

yelwa

cold

yelwa (2) adj. "cold" (LT1:260 this "Qenya" word is apparently obsoleted by # 1 above. In LotR-style Quenya, the regular term for "cold" seems to be ringa.)

yen

daughter

yen, yendë noun "daughter" (YŌ/YON). This word replaced another form, but this form may have been restored; see yeldë. In VT45:16, yendë is said to refer to a female "agent", a word changed by Tolkien from yendi, but Tolkien deleted all of this.

-iel

daughter

-iel patronymic/matronymic ending -"daughter" (YEL, VT46:22-23) In the Etymologies, Tolkien struck out this ending and the corresponding independent word yeldë "daughter", changing them to -ien, yendë. However, the ending -iel later turns up in later forms: Uinéniel "Daughter of Uinen" in UT:182 and Elerondiel "daughter of Elrond" (Elerondo) in PE17:56. Hence it would seem that Tolkien changed his mind again and restored this ending, and perhaps the noun yeldë along with it. The form Elerondiel (from Elerondo) demonstrates that a final vowel is omitted before -iel.

anel

daughter

anel noun "daughter" (PE17:170), possibly intended by Tolkien as a replacement for seldë (q.v.). Compare anon.

anel

noun. daughter

A transient word for “daughter” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, written of above the more common sel-de (PE17/170).

heldo

friend

[heldo, also helmo, fem. heldë, noun "friend" (VT46:3)]

meldo

friend, lover

meldo noun "friend, lover". _(VT45:34, quoting a deleted entry in the Etymologies, but cf. the pl. #_meldor in Eldameldor "Elf-lovers", WJ:412) **Meldonya *"my friend" (VT49:38, 40). It may be that meldo is the distinctly masculine form, corresponding to feminine #meldë** (q.v.)

meldë

friend

#meldë noun "friend", feminine (meldenya "my friend" in the Elaine inscription [VT49:40], Tolkien referring to Elaine Griffiths). Compare meldo.

seldë

noun. daughter, daughter; [ᴹQ.] child [f.], *girl

This seems to be the word that Tolkien favored for “daughter” in his later writings (PE17/170; VT47/10; PE19/73), though it had competition from other forms like Q. yeldë.

Conceptual Development: The earliest word resembling this form was ᴱQ. sui “daughter” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SUẈU (QL/87), a word also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/87). This became ᴱQ. silde “daughter” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/135).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien experimented with several different forms. He had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL, but this entry was deleted (Ety/YEL). Tolkien also had a root ᴹ√SEL(D) “daughter” with a derivative ᴹQ. selde, but the meaning of this root was changed to “child”, and masculine and neuter forms ᴹQ. seldo and ᴹQ. selda were added to the entry (Ety/SEL-D). Finally, under the entry for ᴹ√YŌ or YON “son”, Tolkien added a primitive feminine variant ᴹ✶yēn or yend “daughter”, producing ᴹQ. yende and (suffixal?) yen (Ety/YŌ).

These vacillations continued in later writings, where at one point Tolkien wrote “Q[uenya] Wanted: Son, Daughter” (PE17/170). In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 Tolkien wrote Q. sel-de for “daughter”, but above it he wrote a variant form anel. In rough notes from around 1959 Tolkien explored a large number of masculine and feminine suffixes, and on the page he had yeldë “daughter”, though at the end of the sentence he wrote “also yen” (PE17/190). In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien wrote selyë as a diminutive/affectionate word for “daughter”, with seltil as a play name for the fourth finger representing a daughter (VT47/10, 27).

Also of note is Tolkien’s Quenya name for S. Tinúviel “Daughter of Twilight”, which he generally represented as something like Q. Tindómerel < ✶Tindōmiselde. Tolkien was fairly consistent in this Quenya form starting in the 1930s (Ety/SEL-D; PE19/33), with examples in the 1950s (PE19/73) and 1960s (VT47/37) as well. Indeed, in a couple cases he used this name to illustrate how medial s generally became z and eventually r in Quenya (PE19/33, 73), so it seems that for this name Tolkien consistently imagined the primitive form for “daughter” as ✶selde.

Neo-Quenya: I’d assume selde is the main word for “daughter” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but I’d assume a variant form yeldë, especially since -iel was the most common suffix for “daughter of”. This variant probably arose very early under the influence of √YON “son”.

Cognates

• S. sell “*daughter, daughter; [N.] †girl, maid”

Derivations

• ✶sel(dĕ) “*daughter”
  • ᴹ√SEL(D) “child, child; *daughter”

Element in

• Q. Elerondorel “*Daughter of Elrond”
• Q. selyë “daughter (diminutive)”
• Q. Tindómerel “Daughter of Twilight”

Variations

• sel-de ✧ PE17/170

selyë

daughter

[selyë noun "daughter", used in children's play for "fourth finger" or "fourth toe" _(VT47:10, 15, VT48:4) _It is unclear whether it was the word selyë "daughter" itself that was rejected, or just its use as a play-name of a digit. Compare yeldë, yendë.]

-ien

daughter

-ien fem. ending in certain names like Yávien, Silmarien (q.v.) At one point -ien implied "daughter", see -iel above.

-ser

friend

-ser noun "friend" (SER)

niquë

noun. cold, cold; [ᴹQ.] snow

Derivations

• √NIK(W) “(also of) snow, ice, snow, ice; *white” ✧ PE17/168

Element in

• Q. taniquelassë “*high-white-leaf”
• Q. Taniquetil “High White Peak” ✧ PE17/168; PE17/168

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√NIK > nī̆que	[nikwe]	✧ PE17/168

Variations

• nī̆que ✧ PE17/168
• nique ✧ WJ/417

ringa

cold

ringa adj. "cold" (Markirya); the Etymologies gives ringë (RINGI), but it seems that ringa is to be preferred (cf. Ringarë below). Yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). According to VT46:11, Tolkien originally used the form ringa in Etym as well; later he would restore it. - In early "Qenya", ringa is glossed "damp, cold, chilly" (LT1:265)

ringa

adjective. cold, cold, [ᴱQ.] chilly; damp

Cognates

• S. ring “cold, chill, cold, chill, [G.] cool”

Derivations

• ✶ringā
  • √RINGI “cold”

Element in

• Q. Ringarë “December, *Coldness”
• Q. ringa súmaryassë “in her cold bosom” ✧ MC/222
• Q. yá hríve menë, ringa ná “when winter comes/arrives/is with us, it is cold” ✧ VT49/23 (yá hríve tene, ringa ná)

ringë

cold

ringë adj. "cold", also ringa (which form is to be preferred; cf. Ringarë in LotR). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, ringë is also given as a noun "cold pool or lake (in mountains)", but according to VT46:11 this noun should read ringwë. (RINGI)

-ndil

friend

-ndil (also -dil) ending occurring in many names, like Amandil, Eärendil; it implies devotion or disinterested love and may be translated "friend" (SA:(noun)dil); this ending is "describing the attitude of one to a person, thing, course or occupation to which one is devoted for its own sake" (Letters:386). Compare -ndur. It is unclear whether the names derived with the ending -ndil are necessarily masculine, though we have no certain example of a woman's name in -ndil; the name Vardilmë (q.v.) may suggest that the corresponding feminine ending is -(n)dilmë.

málo

noun. friend

friend, comrade

málo

friend

málo noun "friend" (MEL, VT49:22)

nildo

friend

nildo noun "friend" (apparently masc.; contrast nildë) (NIL/NDIL)

nildë

friend

nildë noun "friend" (fem.) (NIL/NDIL)

nilmo

friend

nilmo noun "friend" (apparently masc.) (NIL/NDIL)

sermo

friend

sermo noun "friend" (evidently masc., since sermë is stated to be fem.) (SER)

sermë

friend

sermë noun "friend" (fem.) (SER)

seron

friend

seron noun "friend" (SER)

-ndur

friend

-ndur (also -dur), ending in some names, like Eärendur; as noted by Christopher Tolkien in the Silmarillion Appendix it has much the same meaning as -ndil "friend"; yet -ndur properly means "servant of" (SA:(noun)dil), "as one serves a legitimate master: cf. Q. arandil king's friend, royalist, beside arandur 'king's servant, minister'. But these often coincide: e.g. Sam's relation to Frodo can be viewed either as in status -ndur, in spirit -ndil." (Letters:286)

sondo

friend

[sondo noun "friend" (VT46:15)]

mellon

noun. friend

mellon

noun. friend

_ n. _friend. Pedo mellon a minno! 'Say friend and enter'. 

mellon

noun. friend

Cognates

• Q. meldo “friend, lover” ✧ WJ/412

Derivations

• √MEL “love, love, [ᴹ√] love (as friend)” ✧ SA/mel

Element in

• S. ar e aníra ennas suilannad mhellyn în phain “and he desires to greet there all his friends” ✧ AotM/062; SD/129
• S. Elvellyn “Elf-friends, Elf-lovers” ✧ WJ/412
• S. mellyn enin Edhellion “*friends of the Elves” ✧ PE17/097
• S. pedo beth mellon “say the word mellon” ✧ VT44/26
• S. pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter; (alternately) say ‘friend’ and enter” ✧ LotR/0305; LotR/0305; PE17/041

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√mel- > mellon	[meldondo] > [melðondo] > [melðond] > [mellond] > [mellonn] > [mellon]	✧ SA/mel

Variations

• Mellon ✧ LotR/0308; LotRI/Mellon

sellath

noun. all the daughters

ring

adjective. cold

iell

daughter

1) iell (-iel) (girl, maid), pl. ill, 2) sell (i hell) (girl, maid), pl. sill (i sill), coll. pl. sellath**. **DAUGTHER OF TWILIGHT, see NIGHTINGALE

iell

daughter

(-iel) (girl, maid), pl. ill

sell

daughter

(i** hell) (girl, maid), pl. sill (i** sill), coll. pl. *sellath***. **

helch

bitterly cold

(lenited chelch; pl. hilch);

meldis

friend

(i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.

mellon

friend

1) (masc.) mellon (i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath. 2) (fem.) meldis (i veldis), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldis), coll. pl. meldissath.

mellon

friend

(i vellon) (lover), pl. mellyn (i mellyn), coll. pl. mellonnath. Also meldir (i veldir), no distinct pl. form except with article (i meldir). Also seron (i heron, o seron), pl. seryn (i seryn), coll. pl. seronnath.

ring

cold

(adj.) ring (no distinct pl. form),

ring

cold

(no distinct pl. form)

rim

cold pool/lake

; no distinct pl. form except with article (idh rim), coll. pl. rimmath. Note: a homophone means ”crowd, great number, host”.

ye(l)

root. daughter

The root √YEL was one of several competing Elvish roots for “daughter”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹ√YEL “daughter” was first used as the basis for ᴹQ. yelde/N. iell “daughter”, but it was deleted (Ety/YEL). N. iell was given a new derivation from ᴹ√SEL-D “child”, by analogy with N. ionn “son” (Ety/SEL-D), while a new Quenya word for “daughter” was introduced: ᴹQ. yende from a feminine variant ᴹ√yēn of ᴹ√YO(N) (Ety/YŌ). Note that ᴹ√SEL-D itself was initially glossed “daughter”, but was changed to “child” and given derivatives for all genders in Quenya: ᴹQ. selda [n.], ᴹQ. selde [f.], and ᴹQ. seldo [m.].

The picture in later writings is also rather muddled. In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 Tolkien gave sel-de “daughter” (PE17/170), while S. sel(l) = “daughter” appeared in both the King’s Letter from the late 1940s (SD/129) as well as the Túrin Wrapper from the 1950s (VT50/5). The diminutive form for “daughter” appeared as Q. selyë in notes from the late 1960s (VT47/10). In several places Tolkien gave Q. Tindómerel “Daughter of Twilight” as the Quenya equivalent of S. Tinúviel, with the final element being derived from primitive ✶-sel(dĕ) > -rel (Ety/SEL-D; PE19/33, 73; VT47/37).

In this period, however, the more common suffix for “daughter” was Q. -iel as in Q. Elerondiel (S. Elrenniel) “✱Daughter of Elrond” as applied to Arwen (PE17/56) and Q. Uinéniel “Daughter of Uinen” (UT/182). Furthermore, in a list of masculine and feminine suffixes written around 1959, Tolkien gave (primitive?) yē, yel and (Quenya?) yelde for “daughter”, though in that note the feminine patronymic suffixes were revised from {-yel, iel, -yelde >>} -well-, -uell-, -wend-, -wel, and yen was given as another variant (PE17/190). In other notes from the late 1950s associated with “Changes affecting Silmarillion nomenclature”, Tolkien had feminine patronymic suffixes -en, -ien, but said that Quenya used -ielde, -iel (PE17/170).

Neo-Eldarin: All of the above indicates considerable vacillation between √SEL, √YEL, and √YEN for “daughter” words and suffixes in the 1930s to 1960s: of the three Tolkien seem to favor sel- for “daughter” words but -iel for “daughter” suffixes. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume ᴹ√SEL(D) originally meant “child”, with √YEL an early variant meaning “daughter” under the influence of √YON “son”, especially used as a suffix. However, due to reverse influence Q. seldë and S. sell were early on used to mean “daughter”, with female child = “girl” words becoming Q. nettë and S. neth.

Derivatives

• Q. yeldë “daughter” ✧ PE17/190

Element in

• ᴺQ. súyel “niece”

Variations

• yē ✧ PE17/190
• yel ✧ PE17/190

ringi

root. cold

Tolkien used very similar forms for Elvish words for “cold” for all of his life. The earliest iteration of this root was unglossed ᴱ√RIŊI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. rin (ring-) “dew” and ᴱQ. ringa “damp, cold, chilly” (QL/80). The root had similar derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. rî “coolness, cool” and G. ring “cool, cold” (GL/65). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root {ᴹ√RINGĀ >>} ᴹ√RINGI “cold” with derivatives like ᴹQ. ringe/N. rhing “cold” (Ety/RINGI; EtyAC/RINGI). Primitive forms ✶riñgi “chill” and ✶riñgā appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s (PE21/80), and Christopher Tolkien mentioned √ring as the basis for cold words in the Silmarillion Appendix (SA/ring).

Derivatives

• ✶ringā
  • Q. ringa “cold, cold, [ᴱQ.] chilly; damp”
• ✶ringi “chill”
• Q. Ringarë “December, *Coldness” ✧ SA/ring
• Q. Ringil ✧ SA/ring
• S. ring “cold, chill, cold, chill, [G.] cool” ✧ SA/ring

Variations

• ring ✧ SA/ring

elf

noun. friend

Cognates

• ᴹQ. helmo “friend” ✧ EtyAC/ÑEL

Derivations

• ᴹ√ÑEL “friendship” ✧ EtyAC/ÑEL

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√ÑEL > elf	[ŋelmo] > [elmo] > [elm] > [elv]	✧ EtyAC/ÑEL

iell

noun. daughter

Stated to be an alteration of sell , remodelled after ion "son" (OS *jondo). It was "a change assisted by the loss of s in compounds and patronymics", hence the ending -iel in several feminine words

iell

noun. girl, maid

Stated to be an alteration of sell , remodelled after ion "son" (OS *jondo). It was "a change assisted by the loss of s in compounds and patronymics", hence the ending -iel in several feminine words

iell

noun. daughter

Cognates

• ᴹQ. selde “child [f.]” ✧ Ety/SEL-D
• ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” ✧ Ety/YEL

Derivations

• N. sell “girl, maid” ✧ Ety/SEL-D
  • ᴹ√SEL(D) “child, child; *daughter” ✧ Ety/SEL-D
• ᴹ√YEL “daughter” ✧ Ety/YEL

Element in

• N. -iel “daughter; feminine suffix” ✧ Ety/YEL (-iel)

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
N. sell > iell	[sell] > [jell]	✧ Ety/SEL-D
ᴹ√YEL > iell	[jelde] > [jelðe] > [jelð] > [jell]	✧ Ety/YEL

sell

noun. daughter

sell

noun. girl, maid (child)

helch

noun. bitter cold

meldir

noun. friend

meldis

noun. friend

mellon

noun. friend

mellon

noun. friend

Cognates

• ᴹQ. málo “friend” ✧ Ety/MEL
• ᴹQ. meldo “(friend), lover” ✧ EtyAC/MEL

Derivations

• ᴹ√MEL “love (as friend)” ✧ Ety/MEL; EtyAC/MEL

Element in

• N. pedo mellon a minno “speak, friend, and enter” ✧ TI/182

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MEL > meldon > mellon	[meldondo] > [melðondo] > [melðond] > [mellond] > [mellonn] > [mellon]	✧ EtyAC/MEL

Variations

• Mellon ✧ TI/181

rhing

adjective. cold

rhing

adjective. cold

Changes

• rheng → rhing ✧ Ety/RINGI

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ringe “cold, cold, *chill” ✧ Ety/RINGI

Derivations

• On. ringe “cold” ✧ Ety/RINGI; EtyAC/RINGI
  • ᴹ√RINGI “cold” ✧ Ety/RINGI; EtyAC/RINGI

Element in

• N. Himring “Ever-cold”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. ringe > rhing	[riŋge] > [riŋg] > [r̥iŋg] > [r̥iŋ]	✧ Ety/RINGI
On. ringa > rheng	[riŋga] > [reŋga] > [reŋg] > [r̥eŋg] > [r̥eŋ]	✧ EtyAC/RINGI

Variations

• rheng ✧ EtyAC/RINGI (rheng)

thond

noun. friend

Cognates

• ᴹQ. sondo “friend” ✧ EtyAC/SON

Derivations

• ᴹ√SON “love, befriend, cherish” ✧ EtyAC/SON

Element in

• N. Elethon “Ælfwine” ✧ EtyAC/SON (Elethon)
• N. Manathon “Bliss-friend” ✧ EtyAC/SON (Manathon*)

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√SON > thond	[tʰondo] > [θondo] > [θond]	✧ EtyAC/SON