Quenya 

fëanáro

masculine name. Spirit of Fire

The mother-name of Fëanor by which he was usually known, and from which his Sindarin name was derived (MR/217, PM/343). His name contains the elements fëa “spirit” and nár “fire”, but the name is actually an old compound, developed from ancient ✶Phayanāro (PE17/39, Ety/PHAY).

Conceptual Development: Curiously, in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, ᴱQ. Feanor was marked as Qenya (GL/35), corresponding to G. Fionor “Goblet Smith”, but it seems unlikely that this was a lasting idea. In the earliest Lost Tales, Feanor was probably so named in his own language, Gnomish (LT1/128). His later Quenya name ᴹQ. Feanáro first appeared in The Etymologies, where it is translated as “Radiant Sun” (Ety/PHAY). The interpretation as “Spirit of Fire” appears in texts from the 1950s and 1960s, as noted above (MR/217, PM/343).

Cognates

  • S. Fëanor “Spirit of Fire” ✧ MR/257; MRI/Fëanor; PE17/039; PE17/118; PM/343; PMI/Fëanor; SA/nár; SI/Fëanor

Derivations

Derivatives

  • S. Fëanor “Spirit of Fire” ✧ SI/Fëanor

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
fëa“(indwelling or incarnate) spirit, soul”
nár“fire (as an element), fire (as an element); [ᴹQ.] flame”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
phaya-nāro > Fëanáro[pʰajanāro] > [ɸajanāro] > [ɸeanāro] > [feanāro]✧ PE17/039

Variations

  • Feanáro ✧ PE17/118
Quenya [MR/206; MR/217; MR/257; MRI/Fëanor; PE17/039; PE17/118; PE22/149; PM/343; PMI/Fëanor; SA/nár; SI/Fëanor] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Fëanáro

spirit of fire

Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire", in Sindarized form Fëanor(SA:nár, PHAY, MR:206). The word apparently includes the masculine ending -o. Compare fëa, nár.

Fayanáro

fayanáro

Fayanáro archaic form of Fëanáro, q.v. (PM:343)

fëa

spirit

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

nár

flame

nár noun "flame", also nárë (NAR1).Translated "fire" in some names, see Aicanár(o), Fëanáro (where nár apparently has the masculine ending -o added to it). According to PE17:183, nár- is "fire as an element" (a concrete fire or blaze is rather called a ruinë).

nárë

flame

nárë, also short nár, noun "flame" (NAR1, Narqelion). Translated "fire" in some names, see Aicanáro, Fëanáro (where nár apparently has the masculine ending -o, though in the latter name it may also be the genitive ending since Fëa-náro** is translated "Spirit of Fire"). At one point, Tolkien mentioned "nār-" as the word for "fire (as an element)" (PE17:183). Cf. ruinë** as the word for "a fire" (a concrete instance of fire) in the same source.

spirit, shadow

noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)

súlë

spirit, breath

súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

velca

flame

velca ("k") noun "flame" (LT1:260; nár, nárë would be the normal word in Tolkien's later Quenya)

vilissë

spirit

vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)

þúlë

noun. spirit