fir-

die, fade

fir- vb. "die, fade" (cf. fifíru-); aorist (?) fírë "expire"; augmentless perfect fírië, translated "she has breathed forth"(but no explicit element meaning "she" seems to be present) (MR:250, 470, VT43:34)

fir-

verb. to die, fade, †expire, breathe forth

A verb for “to die”, originally meaning “breathe forth, expire” (MR/250). Tolkien also translated it as “die, fade” in notes for the Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/223). The use of this verb for death was connected to the passing of Míriel and was thus used only for a natural or peaceful death (MR/250); for discussion see the noun form fírië “death”. More unpleasant forms of death would instead use the verb Q. qual-. Based on the glosses from the Markirya poem, it seems this verb may also be applied metaphorically to non-living things that “fade (away)”, as in its more elaborate form fifíru- “to slowly fade away” (MC/222-223).

Cognates

• S. fir- “to fade, *die”

Derivations

• √PHIR “exhale, expire, breathe out, exhale, expire, breathe out; [ᴹ√] die of natural causes”

Element in

• Q. fifíru- “to slowly fade away” ✧ MC/223
• Q. fírië “death (of Men), *natural death”
• Q. Fíriel “She that Died; She that Sighed” ✧ MR/250
• Q. fírima “mortal, *(lit.) able to die”
• Q. násië “now and at the hour of our death: Amen” ✧ VT43/34

fifíru-

slowly fade away

fifíru- vb.; this is evidently the frequentative (see sisíla-) form of fir-; according to MC:223 it means "slowly fade away"; participle fifírula in Markirya (translated "fading")

firië

dying, death

firië noun "dying, death" (gerund of fir-) (VT43:34)

qual-

verb. die

qual-

verb. to die

A verb for “to die” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/152), clearly based on the root √KWAL having to do with pain and death (PE18/91, 103; Ety/KWAL). As such, I would use this verb for undesirable or painful death, as opposed to fir- “to die (a natural or peaceful death)”.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. qal- meant “die” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/134), and the root √KWAL had a long history of connection to death and pain in Tolkien’s writings.

Derivations

• √KWAL “die, pain, die, pain, [ᴹ√] die in pain”

Variations

• kwal- ✧ PE22/152

quel-

verb. to fade, to fade; [ᴹQ.] †to fail; [ᴱQ.] to perish

Cognates

• S. pel- “to fade, wane”

Derivations

• √KWEL “fade, die away, grow faint, fade, die away, grow faint, [ᴹ√] fade away; wither, [ᴱ√] decay, perish, die”

Element in

• Q. quelië “*fading” ✧ LotR/1110
• Q. quellë “late autumn and early winter, (lit.) fading”