hala

noun. cast shadow, cast shadow, *shade

A Quenya word meaning “a cast shadow” appearing in two forms, hala and (archaic) †ixal, both cognates to S. esgal and derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal” (PE17/184). The form hala is the normal development from primitive ✶skalā where the initial sk eventually became h, whereas ixal shows a vowel i developing before syllabic ṣ and then the surviving sk undergoing metathesis to ks (x).

Neo-Quenya: Given that primitive ✶skalā is actually “the action or effect of overshadowing”, I think hala can mean both “(cast) shadow” and “✱shade” as in a shaded region beneath a screen of leaves or something similar. For the screen itself I’d use fanwa.

Cognates

• S. esgal “cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding, veil, cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding; veil” ✧ PE17/184

Derivations

• ✶skalā “a cast shadow; the action or effect of overshadowing” ✧ PE17/184
  • √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal, cover, veil, cloak, conceal, [ᴹ√] screen, hide (from light), overshadow” ✧ PE17/184

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶skalā > ixal	[ṣkal] > [iskal] > [iksal]	✧ PE17/184
✶skalā > hala	[skalā] > [xalā] > [halā] > [hala]	✧ PE17/184

Variations

• ixal ✧ PE17/184 (ixal)

ixal

noun. cast shadow

vasar

noun. veil

Cognates

• S. gwath “shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade” ✧ VT42/09

Derivations

• √WATHAR “*shadow, veil” ✧ VT42/09; VT42/10

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√Wathar > waþar > vasar	[watʰar] > [waθar] > [βaθar] > [vaθar] > [vasar]	✧ VT42/09
√waþar > vasar	[watʰar] > [waθar] > [βaθar] > [vaθar] > [vasar]	✧ VT42/10

vasar

veil

vasar (þ) noun "veil" (VT42:10, the word was "not in daily use", VT42:9). Older form waþar.

halya-

veil, conceal, screen from light

halya- vb. "veil, conceal, screen from light" (SKAL1, VT46:13) Tolkien noted that "√SKAL applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things" (PE17:184), contrasting it with √SPAN, the rejected stem of fanta-, q.v.

vasarya-

to veil

vasarya- (þ) vb. "to veil" (VT42:10)

fanwa

veil, screen

fanwa noun "veil, screen" (PE17:176, 180)

lom-

hide

lom- vb. "hide" (LT1:255; given in the form lomir "I hide"; read *lomin if the word is to be adapted to LotR-style Quenya.)

nurta-

hide

#nurta- vb. "hide", verbal stem isolated from nurtalë "hiding", q.v.

top-

cover

top- vb. "cover" (1st pers. aorist topë "covers"), pa.t. tompë (TOP). Variant tup-, q.v.

tup-

cover

#tup- vb. "cover", isolated from untúpa, q.v. Variant top- in the Etymologies.

fanta-

to veil, cloak, mantle

fanta- vb. "to veil, cloak, mantle" (VT43:22), mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or that were brighter and more vivid (PE17:174); according to Tolkien usually the strong past tense fánë and perfect afánië were used, but later also fantanë in the past tense (and then perhaps *afantië in the perfect?) (PE17:179-180) Cf halya- (q.v.), the stem of which Tolkien contrasted with the stem of this verb (PE17:184).

esgal

noun. veil, screen, cover that hides

esgal

a cast shadow

_n. _a cast shadow. Q. hala, poet. ixal. . This gloss was rejected.

esgal

noun. cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding, veil, cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding; veil

A word meaning either “veil, screen, hiding” (Ety/SKAL¹; SA/esgal) or “a cast shadow” (PE17/184) derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil”, most notably an element in the name Esgalduin (S/121) translated “River under Veil” (Ety/SKAL¹) or “River under Shade” (PE17/15, 184).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s esgal was translated “screen, hiding, roof of leaves”, but there it (and the river name) were from the Ilkorin language. In notes from around 1966-67, however, Tolkien shift the sense of the root, saying:

> √SKAL was applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things ... √SPAN was applied to things of lighter texture, and corresponds closer to our “veil” ... They appear also to have differed in that while SKAL was primitively verbal SPAN was primitively nominal. Thus the most primitive derivative of SKAL was skalā and this meant the action or effect of overshadowing: a cast shadow, S esgal, Q †ixal & hala. But spanā meant a thing that veiled, a veil (PE17/184).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I think esgal can refer to both a shading screen (as it did in the 1930s) or the shadow under that screen (as it did in the 1960s), but it is unlikely that Tolkien himself maintained these two senses simultaneously. However, there are a number of other Sindarin good words for “shadow” but not many for “screen, veil”, especially since fân < ✶spanā or ✶phanā is used mainly with the sense “cloud”. However, I would limit esgal to genuinely opaque screens and curtains, ones that block most if not all light, and for a diaphanous veil I’d use fân.

Cognates

• Q. hala “cast shadow, cast shadow, *shade” ✧ PE17/184

Derivations

• ✶skalā “a cast shadow; the action or effect of overshadowing” ✧ PE17/184
  • √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal, cover, veil, cloak, conceal, [ᴹ√] screen, hide (from light), overshadow” ✧ PE17/184

Element in

• S. Esgalduin “River under Veil, River under Shade” ✧ PE17/184; SA/esgal
• S. Esgaliant “Bridge of Esgalduin”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶skalā > esgal	[ṣkalā] > [ṣkala] > [eskala] > [eskal] > [esgal]	✧ PE17/184

fân

noun. veil

fanha-

verb. to veil

v. to veil, cloak. Q. fanta-. Naturally mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or were brighter and more vivid.

fân

noun. cloud (applied to clouds, floating as veils over the blue sky or the sun or moon, or resting on hills)

escal

veil

(screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

veil

(noun) 1) escal (screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail). 2) fân (cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

escal

screen

(noun) escal (veil, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

screen

(veil, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

cover that hides

(screen, veil), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

cover

(a cover that hides) escal (screen, veil), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

cover

(screen, veil), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

fân

veil

(cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

gwathra

veil

(i ’wathra, in gwathrar) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

gwathra

veil

(verb) gwathra- (i **wathra, in gwathrar**) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

haltha

screen

(verb) haltha- (i chaltha, i chalthar);

haltha

screen

(i chaltha, i chalthar);

orthel

screen above

(i orthel, in erthelir for archaic in örthelir) (to roof)

toba

cover

toba- (i doba, i thobar) (roof over). Cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -o (tobo)

toba

cover

(i doba, i thobar) (roof over). Cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -o (tobo)

haltha-

verb. to screen

toba-

verb. to cover, roof over