n. Poet. head of hair (fax). Preserved mainly in such old names as Glorfindel 'Golden-hair'. >> find, finn, finnel
Sindarin
findel
adjective. having beautiful hair
findel
Poet
findel
noun. Fairfax
prop. n. Fairfax. >> findel
findel
noun/adjective. head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair
finnel
noun/adjective. head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair, head of hair, fax, mass of long hair; having fine or beautiful hair; [N.] (braided) hair; [G.] tress
This word had a quite lengthy history as an element in the name S. Glorfindel “Golden Hair”. It appeared in the Name-list to the Fall of Gondolin as G. findel “tress” (PE15/24) and in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon with the gloss “a lock of hair”, but in that document it was deleted and replaced by G. finn “a lock of hair” and G. fingl or finnil “tress” (GL/35). It appeared as N. finnel “(braided) hair” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√SPIN (Ety/SPIN).
In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 findel was an adjective meaning “having beautiful hair” or “having fine hair” (PE17/119, 151). In a torn half sheet from the late 1950s or early 1960s it was OS. findel, S. finnel “mass of long hair”, and in a document from around 1965 it was (archaic) findel “head of hair, fax” from primitive ✶spindilā (PE17/17). In this last document Tolkien said it was “preserved mainly in such old names as Glorfindel”, so Tolkien may have intended that it was no longer in active use in modern Sindarin.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use fîn for a single hair, find for a tress or lock of hair or hair in general, with finnel used for an entire head of hair, assuming finnel survived into modern Sindarin with the usual sound change of medial nd to nn. I would assume it can also be used adjectivally in reference to having beautiful hair.
Cognates
Derivations
- ✶spindilā “head of hair” ✧ PE17/017; PE17/017; PE17/119; PE17/151
Element in
- S. Glorfindel “Golden-hair” ✧ PE17/017
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶espin-delē > findel > finnel [spindelē] > [spindele] > [sɸindele] > [ɸindele] > [findele] > [findel] > [finnel] ✧ PE17/017 ✶spindilā > findel [spindilā] > [spindila] > [sɸindila] > [ɸindila] > [ɸindela] > [findela] > [findel] > [finnel] ✧ PE17/017 ✶spin-dela > findel [spindela] > [sɸindela] > [ɸindela] > [findela] > [findel] > [finnel] ✧ PE17/119 Variations
- findel ✧ PE17/017 (findel); PE17/119; PE17/151
find
noun. a tress
fing
noun. lock of hair
A noun appearing in 1967 notes on the Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings as an element in Finglas “Leaflock” (RC/760). The form fineg appeared unglossed in notes from around 1965 as a derivative of ✶phinik (PE17/17). The word fing is more obscure than S. find of similar meaning.
Conceptual Development: The word G. fingl or finnil “a tress” appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/35). In that period, the gl was probably the result of the sound change whereby ðl became gl, since this early form was likely derived from the root ᴱ√FIŘI [FIÐI] (QL/38). When it first appeared, the name N. Finglas (= find + las?) may also have had a similar sound change, but since Tolkien abandoned that phonetic rule in Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s (compare S. edlenn vs. N. eglenn “exiled”), Tolkien needed to come up with a new etymology.
Cognates
- Q. finca “[unglossed]” ✧ PE17/017
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶finik/fink > fineg [pʰinika] > [ɸinika] > [ɸineka] > [fineka] > [finek] > [fineg] ✧ PE17/017 Variations
- fineg ✧ PE17/017
finn-
noun. a tress
fîn
noun. a tress
ell
Poet
elein
Poet
pl2. eleniath, elenwaith n. Poet. star.
elles
noun. Poet
ellon
noun. Poet
laws
noun. hair ringlet
aur
noun. Poet
n. Poet. #sunlight, daylight. Q. aure.
ennorath
noun. Poet
maw
noun. Poet
_ n. Poet. _hand. Q. má. >> maetha-
oron
Poet
pl1. ryn, eryn _ n. Poet. _upstanding plant, general word for tree. >> orn
sadar
Poet
pl1. sedair n. Poet. trusty follower, loyal companion (member of "comitatus" of a lord, or prince). >> sadron
sadron
Poet
pl1. sedryn n. Poet. trusty follower, loyal companion (member of "comitatus" of a lord, or prince). Probably form of _sadar with masc. suffix -on_. >> sadar
taur
noun. Poet
túr
noun. Poet
finnel
braided tress of hair
finnel (pl. finnil). Archaic †findel (pl. findil).
finnel
braided tress of hair
finnel (pl. finnil). Archaic †findel (pl. †findil).
finnel
braided tress of hair
(pl. finnil). Archaic †findel (pl. findil).
find
hair
(construct fin), no distinct pl. form, coll. pl. finnath.
find
tress
find (lock of hair). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath.
find
tress
(lock of hair). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath.
find
lock of hair
find (tress). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath
find
lock of hair
(tress). Construct fin; no distinct pl. form; coll pl. finnath
fing
lock of hair
fing (no distinct pl. form)
fîn
hair
1) (a single hair) fîn (construct fin), no distinct pl. form. (PM:362), 2) (lock of hair, tress) find (construct fin), no distinct pl. form, coll. pl. finnath.
fîn
hair
(construct fin), no distinct pl. form. (PM:362)
fast
shaggy hair
(pl. faist if there is a pl.).
adj. having beautiful hair. >> Glorfindel