helca ("k")adj. "icy, ice-cold" (misprint "helk" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, entry KHELEK; both the Silmarillion Appendix and LT1:254 have helka, and VT45:21 finally confirmed that there is a final -a in Tolkien's Etymologies manuscript as well). In Helcar, the Inland Sea in the north-east of Middle-earth, and Helcaraxë, the Grinding Ice between Araman and Middle-earth_ (SA; spelt "Helkarakse" in the Etymologies, stem KARAK)_
Quenya
helcar
place name. Helcar
Elements
Word Gloss helca “icy, ice-cold” Variations
- Helkar ✧ MRI/Helkar; WJI/Helkar
helca
icy, ice-cold
An ancient sea formed by the fall of the mountain holding Illuin, northernmost the two lamps that first lit the world (S/49). The meaning of this name is unclear, but it probably is an elaboration of helca “icy, ice-cold” (SA/helca).
Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, ᴱQ. Helkar was the name of the pillar holding one of the lamps, the southernmost one (LT1/69). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the name ᴹQ. Helkar was applied instead to the northern lamp, also used for the name of the sea left behind by its destruction (SM/256, LR/261). In Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, the name of the northern lamp was changed to Illuin, and Helcar became the name of the sea only (MR/7, 22 note #6).