-in Reconstructed

suffix. plural suffix

A suffix appearing in almost all attested Ilkorin plurals.

Conceptual Development: This suffix is the same as the most common Gnomish plural suffix -in (GG/10).

-en Reconstructed

suffix. adjectival suffix

An adjectival suffix appearing as both -en and -in, and in one place as -on: Brithon. The -en form can be easily explained as a derivative of the primitive suffix ᴹ✶-ina, with the [[ilk|primitive [i] becoming [e] due to Ilkorin a-affection]], the same origin as the Noldorin adjectival suffix -en. The -in variant is more difficult to explain. At least one example lómen had variations with both -en and -in, so perhaps the two forms represented vacillation on the function of Ilkorin a-affection, or an alternate primitive form ᴹ✶-ină where the final ă was lost before a-affection.

Alternately, -in could be a Doriathrin-specific variant, since the forms where it appears are all Doriathrin, while the forms where -en appear are marked Ilkorin, excepting only lómen which was itself revised from lómin.

dôr

noun. land

A Doriathrin noun for “land” (EtyAC/NDOR) apparently from primitive ᴹ✶ndorē (Ety/NDOR). If its primitive form indeed had a short [o], then this word may be an example of how short vowels sometimes lengthened in monosyllables in Ilkorin.

líw

noun. fish

A Doriathrin noun for “fish” derived from primitive ᴹ✶liñwi (Ety/LIW). It is the clearest example of how [[ilk|[ŋg] vanished before [w] lengthening the preceding vowel]], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/líw). @@@ same development in ᴱN hiw PE13/147

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as rejected ling (EtyAC/LIW), probably reflecting Tolkien’s uncertainty on the development of [-ŋgw-] in Ilkorin.