Quenya
aulë
masculine name. The Maker, The Smith
Cognates
- Kh. Mahal “Aulë” ✧ S/044; WJI/Mahal
Derivations
- Val. Aʒūlēz “Aulë” ✧ WJ/399
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources Val. Aʒūlēz > Aulë [aɣūlē] > [aulē] > [aule] ✧ WJ/399
Aulë is the Valar of crafting and smithing, spouse of Yavanna, and his name is variously glossed as “The Maker” (S/44) or “The Smith” (LotR/1137). His Quenya name is an adaptation of his Valarin name Val. Aʒūlēz of unknown meaning (WJ/399). His name may also be related to the word [ᴹQ.] aule “invention”.
Conceptual Development: This name dates back to the earliest Lost Tales, appearing from the beginning in the same form: ᴱQ. Aule (LT1/16), and it was translated “Smith” in an early name list (PE13/104). In Tolkien’s Old English version of the Quenta Noldorinwa, his name is translated as “Cræftfréa”, Old English for “Craft Lord” (SM/208). In The Etymologies, ᴹQ. Aule is derived from the root ᴹ√GAWA and thus connected to ᴹQ. aule “invention” (Ety/GAWA). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien said that his name was derived from Valarin Aʒūlēz (WJ/399), and this appears to be the last thing Tolkien wrote on the derivation of this name.