A noun for “Elf” developed from primitive ᴹ✶kwenedē (Ety/KWEN(ED)). It is an example of the Danian syncope, with second unstressed [e] vanishing after the identical vowel. It is also one of the Danian words for which a long final vowel developed into short final [a].
Ossriandric
edel
noun. Elf
Cognates
- ᴹQ. Elda “Elf” ✧ Ety/ELED; Ety/ELED
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√ÉLED > Elda [eledā] > [eldā] > [elda] ✧ Ety/ELED ᴹ✶edel- > Edel [edela] > [edel] ✧ Ety/ELED Variations
- Elda ✧ Ety/ELED (
Elda)
cwenda
noun. Elf
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶kwenedē > cwenda [kwenedē] > [kwendē] > [kwenda] ✧ Ety/KWEN(ED)
A noun for “Elf” derived from primitive ᴹ✶edel-, an inversion of the primitive root ᴹ√ELED (Ety/ELED). Unlike most similar Danian nouns, it did not undergo the Danian syncope and retained its second vowel. One possible explanation is that the primitive form of this noun ended in a short vowel, ✱✶edelă, and this short final vowel vanished before the period of the syncope, preventing it from occurring in this word. Helge Fauskanger originally suggested a theory much like this one (AL-Nandorin/edel).
Conceptual Development: In an earlier version of this entry, the Danian word for Elf was given as Elda (Ety/ELED).