finë

noun. (single) hair, filament

A word for “a hair” appearing in The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/340). In notes from around 1965 Tolkien also had fine (fini-) for “a hair” (PE17/17). In the 1965 notes derived Tolkien derived it from the root √SPIN, but in the 1968 notes from √PHIN. On a torn half-sheet from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien had Q. phin- derived from the root √SPIN “a single hair, filament”, though the ph indicates it was probably an archaic form (PE17/17). See the entry for findë for more suggestions on the application (Neo) Quenya hair words.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, Tolkien had ᴱQ. filma “fine hair, line” under the early root ᴱ√FILI “fine, thin” (QL/38), as well as ᴱQ. {tilme >>} til (tiln-) “a hair” under the early root ᴱ√TILI, with a variant form tila (QL/92). A similar word tile “a single hair” (pl. tili) appeared in a list of body parts from the 1920s (PE14/117).

finë

hair

finë (1) (stem *fini-, given the primitive form ¤phini) noun "a hair" _(PM:340, PE17:17) or "larch" (SPIN)_

finë

dexterity

finë (2) noun "dexterity" _(PE17:119, related to words for skill)_

findë

hair

findë (1) noun "hair" (especially of the head) (PM:340), "a tress or plait of hair" (PM:345), "tress, braid of hair, lock of hair" (SPIN)

fínë

noun. dexterity

finëa

adjective. downy, hairy [specifically fine, light hair]

A neologism for “downy, hairy” (more specifically referring fine, light hair) coined by Paul Strack in 2018 for Eldamo as a replacement for ᴱQ. tilinya of the same meaning. This Early Qenya word was based on ᴱQ. til (tiln-) “single hair”, and finëa is likewise an adjectival form of finë “single hair”.

Ipsin

fine thread

Ipsin noun "fine thread" (PE17:17)

finda

fine & delicately made

finda (2) adj. "fine & delicately made" (PE17:181)

finda

adjective. fine and delicately made

An adjective glossed “fine & delicately made” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 based on the root √PHĬN “clever, fine, delicate” (PE17/181).

finwa

dexterous; clever, fine, delicate

finwa adj. "dexterous; clever, fine, delicate" (PE17:119, 181), a similar word is glossed "sagacious" in very early material (LT1:253)

finya-

verb. to do a thing / make a thing (with fine work)

finya- (2) vb. "to do a thing / make a thing (with fine work)" (PE17:181)

finya-

verb. to do/make a thing (with fine work)

A verb in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 glossed “to do a thing / make a thing (with fine work)”, derived from the root √PHIN “clever, fine, delicate” (PE17/181).

ipsin

noun. fine thread

A word for “fine thread” derived from the root √SPIN- in notes from the mid-1960s (PE17/17).

lelya

delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely

lelya (2) adj. "delicate, beautiful & fine, slender; lovely" (PE17:139, 151)

lia

fine thread, spider filament

lia noun "fine thread, spider filament" (SLIG).

mistë

fine rain

mistë noun "fine rain" (MIZD, VT45:35)

mistë

noun. drizzle, drizzle, [ᴹQ.] fine rain

A word for “drizzle” (PE19/101) or “light rain” (Ety/MIZD) from primitive ✶mizdē, illustrating how ancient *zd* became *st* in Quenya.

Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this word was ᴱQ. mirde “mist” derived from primitive ᴱ✶mẓđē in the Early Qenya Phonology of the 1910s (PE12/14). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, this became ᴱQ. mie derived from primitive ✶míye as a cognate to ᴱN. midh “mist, drizzle” (PE13/150). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹQ. miste “fine rain”, already with the derivation given above and with cognate N. mîdh “dew” (Ety/MIZD). The form miste reappeared in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s with the same derivation and Sindarin cognate S. míð but with gloss “drizzle” (PE19/101).

mulma

fine flour

mulma noun "fine flour" (QL:63). Compare mulë from a post-LotR source.

rossë

fine rain, dew

rossë noun "fine rain, dew" (ROS1, PM:371)

rossë

noun. rain; foam, (fine) rain; [ᴹQ.] dew; *spray, shower; [Q.] foam

An element meaning “foam” (or perhaps “✱spray”) in the name Q. Elerossë “Star Foam” cognate of S. Elros in notes from the late 1960s (PM/349), or “rain” in the name of the waterfall Q. Raurossë “Roaring-rain” cognate of S. Rauros in notes probably from the 1950s (PE19/99). A form rosse “rain” appeared in Eldarin Pronouns, Demonstratives, and Correlatives (EP2) from the early 1950s (PE23/123); in context this form seems to be Primitive Eldarin, but it could be Quenya since the expected primitive form would be ✶rossē (Let/282). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien gave ᴹQ. rosse “fine rain, dew” as a derivative of the root ᴹ√ROS “distil, drip” (Ety/ROS¹).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume this word means a light rain or a continuous spray of water, or the remnants of such water in the form of dew, in other words any persistent collection of small droplets of water either in the air or on the ground, for example from light rain, morning dew or falling mist off a waterfall. This seems to be in keeping with most of its attested glosses.

For more ordinary or heavier rain, I’d use ulo instead, or for a drizzle I’d use mistë, and would reserve rossë only for a light mist-like rain. For a floating mist or fog, I’d use hísë or (if thicker) hiswe. Thus of precipitation, I’d have ulo > mistë > rossë > hísë in decreasing ranks of density, where hísë “mist” is light and/or cold enough not to longer fall. But I think rossë can also refer to “already fallen” droplets in the form of dew.

Raccoon suggested this word may also have the extended meaning “shower”, as posted on 2024-05-03 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), including the sense “instance of taking a shower”.

tereva

fine, acute

tereva adj. "fine, acute" (TER/TERES), "piercing"_ (LT1:255; though glossed "fine, acute" in the Etymologies, the stem _TER is defined as "pierce")

terra

fine pierced hole

terra noun "fine pierced hole" (VT46:18)

tildë

noun. a fine sharp point, fine sharp point, [ᴹQ.] spike; (mountain) horn, [ᴱQ.] tip, peak

This word is most notable as the final element of the name Taniquetil “High White Peak”, a derivation Tolkien used for most of his life. In the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, Tolkien said tilde “is not a mountain peak, but a fine sharp point” (WJ/417). However, its primitive form tilde was glossed “peak” in notes from around 1965 (PE17/186), ᴹQ. tilde was glossed “spike, horn” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under from the root ᴹ√TIL “point, horn” (Ety/TIL; EtyAC/TIL), and ᴱQ. tilde “tip, peak” appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa of the 1910s (PME/92), though it was merely “point” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon under the early root ᴱ√TILI (QL/92).

Note that some of the above forms were presented incorrectly in their original publications. In The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road the gloss of tilde was given as “point, horn” identical to its root (LR/393), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne corrected this “spike, horn” in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT46/19). The primitive form was given as tilte as originally published in Parma Eldalamberon #17 (PE17/186), but in a post to the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Christopher Gilson corrected this to tilde: discord.com.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume tilde refers to a variety of pointy things of various sizes, including spikes, horns, and mountain peaks, especially if they are sharply pointed. In the case of mountains, I would further assume it refers to the tip or peak rather than the entire mountaion.

timpë

fine rain

timpë noun "fine rain" (LT1:268, Narqelion)

lelya

adjective. delicate, beautiful and fine, slender, lovely

finwa

adjective. clever, fine, delicate; dexterous, dexterous, clever; fine, delicate; [ᴱQ.] acute, sagacious

mulma

noun. fine flour

loxë

hair

loxë (1) ("ks")noun "hair" (LOK). In later sources Tolkien uses findë, findessë, findilë for "hair", leaving the conceptual status of loxë uncertain.