A word for “mortal” appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, literally meaning “one apt to die” and based on the root √PHIRI “exhale, expire, breathe out” (WJ/387). It is likely based on the verb fir- “to die”. Like English, it can be used as a both an adjective and a noun. It was used as noun in the Quendi and Eldar essay: Fírimar “Mortals”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. fírima “mortal” was simply an adjective derived from the root ᴹ√PHIR (Ety/PHIR).
Quenya
fírima
proper name. Mortal, (lit.) One Apt to Die
fírima
adjective. mortal, *(lit.) able to die
fírima
mortal
fírima adj. "mortal" (PHIR; firima with a short i in VT46:4); also used as noun: Fírima pl. Fírimar "those apt to die", "mortals", an Elvish name of Mortal Men (WJ:387). This adj. is also the source of an explicit noun, personalized #Fírimo = mortal, mortal man. Pl. Fírimor (VT49:10-11), dative pl. fírimoin "for men" in Fíriel's Song; cf. also the pl. allative fírimonnar in VT44:35.
Fírimo
mortal
#Fírimo noun "mortal", see fírima
fírimáre
noun. mortality (being mortal)
firya
proper name. Mortal
-ima
fair
-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)
alima
fair, good
alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)
alya
fair, good
alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)
linda
fair, beautiful
linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.
vanya
fair
vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.
vanë
fair
vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)
vanë
adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely
A name of Men as mortal beings (S/102, WJ/387). It is the adjective fírima “mortal” used as a noun.
Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the form of this word was ᴹQ. Fírimo ending with an -o (LR/245). This form also appeared in Fíriel’s Song from the same time period. The form Fírima appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/387), and this was the form used in the published version of The Silmarillion (S/102).
In later writings, the older form form still appeared, however. The form fírimonnar appeared later in a draft version of Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun, Tolkien’s partial translation of Gloria in Excelsis Deo from the 1950s, but it was eventually replaced with híni “children [of God]”. Also, fírimor appeared in a draft version of the Ambidexters Sentence from the late 1960s, but it did not appear in the final version. Tolkien seems to have vacillated between Fírimo and Fírima in his later writings, but Fírimo was always replaced with something else, while Fírima was allowed to stand.