Lord of the first tribe of the Elves and the high king of Elvenkind (S/52, 62). His name is ancient and its original meaning is unclear, but it is sometimes translated as “Chief”, and is interpreted as a combination of the root √ING “first, foremost” and the suffix -wë common in ancient names (PM/340).
Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this character was first named ᴱQ. Ing, but this was soon changed to ᴱQ. Inwe (LT1/22). The form become ᴹQ. Ingwe in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/13, LR/214), and the derivation for Ingwë discussed above had already emerged in The Etymologies (Ety/ING, WEG).
Lord of the first tribe of the Elves and the high king of Elvenkind (S/52, 62). His name is ancient and its original meaning is unclear, but it is sometimes translated as “Chief”, and is interpreted as a combination of the root √ING “first, foremost” and the suffix -wë common in ancient names (PM/340).
Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this character was first named ᴱQ. Ing, but this was soon changed to ᴱQ. Inwe (LT1/22). The form become ᴹQ. Ingwe in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/13, LR/214), and the derivation for Ingwë discussed above had already emerged in The Etymologies (Ety/ING, WEG).