1) (as a region) gwelwen (i **welwen), pl. gwelwin (in gwelwin), also gwilith (i **wilith), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwilith)
Sindarin
air
adjective. lonely
Derivations
Element in
- S. i glinn hen agorer Edain mi Velerian, ach hí in Ellath îr ed epholar “*this song Men made in Beleriand, but now the Elves alone (?remember) it” ✧ VT50/18
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶eryā > eir > air [erjā] > [erja] > [eria] > [eri] > [eir] > [air] ✧ PE17/028 ✶eryā > erı̯a > erı̯ > irı̯ > îr [erja] > [erja] > [eria] > [eri] > [iri] > [ir] > [īr] ✧ VT50/18 Variations
- îr ✧ VT50/18; VT50/18
gwelu
noun. air (as substance)
lind
noun. air, tune
gwelu
air
gwelwen
air
lind
air
3) (of music) lind (song, tune; singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath (WJ.309)
gwelu
air
(i ’welu), analogical pl. gwely (in gwely) if there is a pl. The attested form is archaic gwelw (LR:398 s.v. WIL). Hence the coll. pl. is likely ✱gwelwath, if there is a coll. pl..
gwelwen
air
(i ’welwen), pl. gwelwin (in gwelwin), also gwilith (i ’wilith), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwilith)
lind
air
(song, tune; singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form, but coll. pl. linnath (WJ.309)
gwiltha-
verb. to air, expose to air
Derivations
- ᴹ√WIL “fly, float in air”
gaer
Sea
glîr
song
1) glîr (i **lîr, construct glir) (poem, lay), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath. 2) laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”summer”. 3) lind (air, tune; also = singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form (WJ.309). See also HYMN regarding the word aerlinn**.
glîr
song
(i ’lîr, construct glir) (poem, lay), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath. 2) laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”summer”. 3) lind (air, tune; also = singer, in the latter sense also used of rivers), no distinct pl. form (WJ.309). See also
gaear
noun. sea
A word for “sea” variously attested as gaear (PE17/027; PM/363; WJ/400), gaer (PE17/27; PE17/149), and aear (Let/386; RGEO/65) in later writings. Of these, I prefer gaear for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, reduced to gaer in compounds.
Possible Etymology: The presence or absence of the initial g- depends on whether the word’s root is √AY(AR) (as it appears in The Etymologies and some later writings) or √GAY(AR) (as it appears in other later writings). See the entry of the root √GAY(AR) for a discussion of this vacillation. Similarly, the form gaer appears primarily as an element in compounds, and can be explained as a reduced form of gaear in that context. For these reasons, this entry uses gaear as the ordinary Sindarin word for “sea”. This has the additional advantage of disambiguating it from the adjective gaer “dreadful”.
Conceptual Development: This word appeared as N. oer or oear “sea” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, reflecting the Noldorin sound change of ai to oe (Ety/AY). However name for the “Great Sea” was N. {Belegar >>} Belegaer in the narratives of this period (LR/19), and the name N. Rhûnaer “Eastern Sea” appeared in draft Lord of the Rings maps from 1943 (TI/307). The element N. oer did appear in the day-of-the-week name N. Aroeren “✱Sea-day” in drafts of The Lord of the Rings appendices, but this was revised to S. Oraeron (PM/130, 138).
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- S. Aerandir “Sea-wanderer”
- S. Belegaer “Great Sea” ✧ PM/363; SA/ëar; SA/gaer
- S. gaearon “ocean, (lit.) great sea” ✧ PE17/027; PE17/149; PM/363; RGEO/65
- S. Gaerdil “*Sea-lover” ✧ PE17/027
- ᴺS. gaeruil “seaweed”
- S. Gaerys “Ossë” ✧ SA/gaer
- ᴺS. gaessarn “pearl, (lit.) sea-pebble”
- S. nef aear, sí nef aearon “here ... beyond the Sea, beyond the wide and sundering Sea” ✧ LotR/0238; PE17/027; RGEO/63; RGEO/64
- S. Tirith Aear “Sea-ward Tower”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶gaı̯ră > gaer [gaira] > [gair] > [gaer] ✧ PE17/027 ✶Gayar- > gaear [gaiara] > [gaiar] > [gaear] ✧ PM/363 Variations
- aear ✧ Let/386; RGEO/65
- gaer ✧ PE17/027; PE17/149; SA/ëar; SA/gaer
aear
sea
aear (ocean); pl. aeair. The shorter form aer (for N oer) is maybe best avoided since it can be confused with aer "holy", unless the latter is actually a lenited form of gaer. Forms with g-, representing an alternative concept of the word for ”sea”: gaear (i **aear) (ocean), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair = i ñaeair) (PM:363), also gaer (i **aer, no distinct pl. form except with article: i ngaer = i ñaer), but homophones of the latter mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "dreadful, awful, fearful; holy".
aear
sea
(ocean); pl. aeair. The shorter form aer (for N oer) is maybe best avoided since it can be confused with aer "holy", unless the latter is actually a lenited form of gaer. Forms with g-, representing an alternative concept of the word for ”sea”: gaear (i ’aear) (ocean), pl. gaeair (i ngaeair = i ñaeair) (PM:363), also gaer (i ’aer, no distinct pl. form except with article: i ngaer = i ñaer), but homophones of the latter mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "dreadful, awful, fearful; holy".
ereb
lonely
ereb (isolated), pl. erib
gaer
holy
gaer (awful, fearful); lenited aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".
hethu
vague
*hethu (foggy, obscure), analogical pl. hethy; lenited chethu. Cited in archaic form hethw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH)
hwest
breeze
hwest (i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breath), pl. hwist (i chwist)
aear
noun. sea
Tolkien changed this word several times, see gaear
aear
Sea
aear
noun. sea
aearon
noun. great sea, ocean
Tolkien changed this word several times, see gaearon
aer
adjective. holy
aer
noun. sea
aerlinn
noun. (unknown meaning, perhaps a song about the sea, or possibly holy song)
gaear
noun. sea
gaear
Sea
gaearon
noun. great sea, ocean
gaer
noun. sea
gaer
noun. sea
gaeron
noun. great sea, ocean
hwa
breeze
n. #breeze. >> hwá
hwá
breeze
n. #breeze. >> hwa
laer
noun. song, long lay
laer
noun. song
Element in
- S. Laer Cú Beleg “Song of the Great Bow”
lîr
noun. song, poem, lay
ereb
lonely
(isolated), pl. erib
gaer
holy
(awful, fearful); lenited ’aear; no distinct pl. form. Note: homophones mean "reddish, copper-coloured, ruddy" and also "sea".
hethu
vague
(foggy, obscure), analogical pl. hethy; lenited chethu. Cited in archaic form hethw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH)
hwest
breeze
(i chwest, o chwest) (puff, breath), pl. hwist (i chwist)
iaun
holy place
(fane, sanctuary), pl. ioen, coll. pl. ionath
2) (as substance) gwelu (i **welu), analogical pl. gwely (in gwely) if there is a pl. The attested form is archaic gwelw** (LR:398 s.v. WIL). Hence the coll. pl. is likely *gwelwath, if there is a coll. pl..