haleth

feminine name. Haleth

Daughter of Haldad and leader of the Haladin (S/146). Her name seems to be derived from the prefix hal- “chief, head” like all the other early leaders of the Haladin (WJ/238), though it might also be derived from hal(a) “watch, guard” (WJ/270).

Conceptual Development: In the Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name was applied to various male characters described as “hunters” (SM/108 note #11, LR/130), and in The Etymologies was tentatively given as a Noldorin name derived from the roots ᴹ√SKAL “skin, fur” or ᴹ√KHAL “uplift” (Ety/KHAL), but both these derivations were rejected. The leader of the Haladin was stil described as male in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/157). The male Haleth the Hunter still appeared in the Grey Annals from the early 1950s (WJ/48), but in later Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, the leader of the Haladin was described as female (WJ/221). She appeared in a genealogy chart from this period (WJ/237), where a note indicates the derivation given above.

Element in

• Ed. Nothlir Haletha “Folk of Haleth” ✧ WJ/237
• S. Bar Haleth
• S. Halethrim “People of Haleth”

Elements

Word	Gloss
hal-	“chief, head”