Quenya 

aicanáro

masculine name. Fell Fire; Sharp Flame

The mother-name of Aegnor, from which his Sindarin name was derived (PM/346-7). Tolkien gave two distinct interpretations of this name: “Sharp Flame” (MR/323) and “Fell Fire” (PM/347). In both cases, the second element of the name was nár “fire, flame”, but the interpretation of the initial element aica shifted between “sharp” and “fell”. It is hard to say which of these two interpretations was preferred by J.R.R. Tolkien himself and Christopher Tolkien included both translations in the published version of The Silmarillion. See the entry for S. Aegnor for one possible interpretation.

Conceptual Development: In some late notes (VT41/14), J.R.R. Tolkien wrote this name as Ekyanāro “sharp flame” (S. Eignor). As suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT41/19, note #19), Tolkien seems to have (temporarily) shifted aica “sharp” (from the root ᴹ√AYAK) to ekya “sharp” (from the root ᴹ√EK), from which ᴹQ. ehte “spear” was also derived. This was perhaps a reversion to the earlier name N. Egnor (also derived from ᴹ√EK). However, Tolkien apparently abandoned these changes.

Changes

  • EkynāroEkyanāro ✧ VT41/19

Cognates

  • S. Aegnor “Fell Fire, Sharp Flame” ✧ MR/323; MRI/Aikanár; PM/346; PM/347; PMI/Aegnor; SA/nár; WJI/Aikanáro; VT41/19
  • S. Goenor “Fell Fire” ✧ PM/347

Derivations

Elements

WordGloss
aica“fell, terrible, dire, fell, terrible, dire; [ᴹQ.] sharp”
nár“fire (as an element), fire (as an element); [ᴹQ.] flame”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
Aika-nār- > Aikanáro[aikanāro]✧ PM/347

Variations

  • Aikanár ✧ MR/323; MRI/Aikanár
  • Aikanáro ✧ PM/346; PM/347; PMI/Aegnor; SA/nár; WJI/Aikanáro
  • Ekyanāro ✧ VT41/14; VT41/19
  • Ekynāro ✧ VT41/19 (Ekynāro)
Quenya [MR/323; MRI/Aikanár; PM/346; PM/347; PMI/Aegnor; SA/nár; VT41/14; VT41/19; WJI/Aikanáro] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Aikanáro

Aikanáro

aika = "fell, dire", nár = "fire", and -o = pronominal suffix.

Quenya [Tolkien Gateway] Published by

Sindarin 

goenor

masculine name. Fell Fire

The literal Sindarin translation of Q. Aicanáro, as opposed to the form he actually used: Aegnor. It is a combination of goe “terror, great fear” and naur “fire” (PM/363).

Cognates

  • Q. Aicanáro “Fell Fire; Sharp Flame” ✧ PM/347

Primitive elvish

aika-nār-

masculine name. Fell Fire

Derivatives

  • Q. Aicanáro “Fell Fire; Sharp Flame” ✧ PM/347
  • S. Aegnor “Fell Fire, Sharp Flame” ✧ PM/347
Primitive elvish [PM/347] Group: Eldamo. Published by