fanoiolossë

 proper name. bright (angelic) figure upon uilos

An adaptation of the Sindarin title for Varda, Fanuilos.

Cognates

• S. Fanuilos

Elements

Word	Gloss
fana	“raiment, veil; (bright) shape or figure; bodily form of an angelic spirit”
oi(o)	“ever, everlastingly; an endless period, ever, everlastingly; an endless period, *aeon”
lossë	“snow, fallen snow; snow-white, snowy”

Fanuilos

'Figure upon Uilos'

theon.'Figure (bright and majestic) upon Uilos'. It is not clear whether fanui- is the adjective fanui 'cloudy' or the name should be devised fan-uilos (PE17:26).

Fanuilos

' angelic figure ever- white '

theon. '(bright) angelic figure ever-(snow) white (shining after)', 'of/upon Uilos', 'far away upon Uilos', a title or second name of Elbereth/Varda.

fanuilos

proper name. Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos

A title of Elbereth appearing in the poem A Elbereth Gilthoniel (LotR/238) and Sam’s related invocation for her aid (LotR/729). This name is a combination of the elements fân “cloud; bright thing”, ui “ever” and loss “snow, snow-white”.

Possible Etymology: In his notes in the song-cycle The Road Goes Ever On, Tolkien translated the name as “bright spirit clothed in ever-white” (RGEO/63), but elsewhere his translation referred to the mountain Uilos: “Figure (bright and majestic) upon Uilos” (PE17/26) or to snow: “Bright angelic figure ever-white (as snow)” (PE17/180). No doubt the final element of this name at least alluded to the snowy mountain of Valinor where Elbereth made her home.

The initial element fân is similarly complicated to translate. In ordinary Sindarin speech the word had come to mean “cloud”, but its meaning was also influenced by Q. fana “(radiant) figure”, a term used for the bodily forms assumed by the Valar (RGEO/66, PE/173-6). It is this second meaning that applies to this name.

Element in

• S. a tiro nin, Fanuilos “o guard me, Elbereth” ✧ LotR/0729; RGEO/64
• S. Fanuilos, le linnathon “and now to thee, Fanuilos, bright spirit clothed in ever-white, I will ... sing” ✧ LotR/0238; PE17/026; RGEO/63; RGEO/64

Elements

Word	Gloss
fân	“(white) cloud; veil, curtain; form or vision of a spiritual being; spirit [embodied]”
ui	“ever”
loss	“snow”

Variations

• Fan-uilos ✧ PE17/174; RGEO/66

fanuilos, le linnathon

and now to thee, Fanuilos, bright spirit clothed in ever-white, I will ... sing

Element in

• S. A Elbereth Gilthoniel

Elements

Word	Gloss
Fanuilos	“Bright (Angelic) Figure upon Uilos”
le	“thee, you (polite)”
linna-	“to sing, chant”

Variations

• Fanuilos le linnathon ✧ PE17/020; PE17/021; PE17/021; PE17/021

Fanuilos

Fanuilos

The name is a compound of elements: fân "veil" (see fana) or fan "white" and Uilos.