A Doriathrin (and Falathrin) noun for “beech (tree)”, a combination of gald “tree” and breth “(beech) mast” (Ety/GALAD, BERÉTH). The second element originally meant “beech”, but later meant “mast”; this original meaning seems to be preserved in this compound.
Doriathrin
bereth
noun. valor
Cognates
- ᴹQ. verie “boldness, boldness, *daring” ✧ Ety/BER
Derivations
- ᴹ√BER “valiant” ✧ Ety/BER
Element in
- Ilk. Elbereth “Valor Star” ✧ Ety/BER (
El-bereth*)Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√BER > bereth [berette] > [bereθθe] > [bereθe] > [bereθ] ✧ Ety/BER
galbreth
noun. beech
Elements
Word Gloss gald “tree” breth “(beech) mast, *beech nut” Variations
- galdbreth ✧ Ety/NEL (Dor. galdbreth)
neldor
noun. beech
A Doriathrin noun for “beech (tree)”, properly referring to Hirilorn with a true meaning of “three trunks” (Ety/NEL). Tolkien indicated it was a combination of neld “three” and orn “tree”, though it is unclear why the final -n vanished. He marked this derivation with a “?” perhaps because of this uncertainty.
Conceptual Development: Tolkien seems to have coined this word to explain names like Neldoreth. Its most obvious precursor is ᴱQ. neldor (QL/65).
Element in
- Ilk. Neldoreth ✧ Ety/NEL
Elements
Word Gloss neld “three” orn “tree”
tóril
noun. queen
A noun for “queen”, a combination of tôr “king” with the feminine suffix -il, though according to Tolkien it was used only as a title for Melian (Ety/TĀ).
Cognates
- ᴹQ. tári “queen” ✧ Ety/TĀ
Elements
Word Gloss tôr “king” -il “feminine suffix” Variations
- tōril ✧ Ety/TĀ
A rejected noun meaning “valor” developed from the root ᴹ√BER (Ety/BER), perhaps from a primitive form ✱✶berette. The word was probably rejected when Elbereth change from an Ilkorin to a Noldorin name.