celegorm

masculine name. Hasty-riser

Third son of Fëanor (S/60), his name was adapted from his mother-name Q. Tyelcormo “Hasty-riser” (PM/353). His name was in the North Sindarin dialect, since the final [m] was preserved (VT41/10). It is a compound of S. celeg “hasty” and an adaptation of Q. ormo “riser”.

Conceptual Development: In earliest Lost Tales, his name was G. Celegorm (LT2/241). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the name was changed to N. Celegorn (LR/226 note §41), in keeping with the revised phonology of Noldorin for which [[n|final [m] usually became [v]]]. In The Etymologies, the name was given as a combination of N. celeg “swift” and the lenited form of N. gorn “impetuous” (Ety/KYELEK, GOR).

In his Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien considered connecting the -gorn in Celegorn with the final element of Aragorn, but was generally dissatisfied with the meaning of the name (PE17/112-3). The form Celegorm was restored in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (MR/177) and Tolkien devised the “North Sindarin” explanation of his name in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968, as noted above (PM/353).