A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s for a kingfisher derived from primitive ᴹ✶khalatirnō̆ “fish watcher” with variants heledir and heledirn (Ety/KHAL¹, SKAL², TIR). Tolkien also considered and rejected the form haledir without i-affection (EtyAC/KHAL¹).
Noldorin
hele
noun. glass
heleg
noun. ice
heledir(n)
noun. kingsfisher, (lit.) fish-watcher
helevorn
place name. Black Glass
heleth
noun. fur, fur-coat
heledir
noun. kingfisher (bird)
heledirn
noun. kingfisher (bird)
heleg
noun. ice
heleth
noun. fur, fur-coat
helf
noun. fur, fur, *hide
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “fur” appearing beside N. heleth “fur, fur-coat”, both derived from the root ᴹ√SKEL (Ety/SKEL). Since N. helf seems to be the cognate of ᴹQ. helma “skin, fell”, I believe helf refers to both skin and fur together and hence = “✱hide”, whereas heleth refers to just the fur itself.
Conceptual Development: Various rejected forms appeared in The Etymologies, including halath “skin, fell” from an earlier version the root ᴹ√SKAL, revised to helath “skin, fell” before being deleted (EtyAC/SKEL). Possible precursors include ᴱN. gwadh “bark, skin, peel” vs. ᴱT. suada “hide” (PE13/146), and G. dafros “bark, skin, peel” (GL/29); see those entries for details.
helf
noun. fur
halath
noun. skin, fell
ai
interjection. hail
cenedril
noun. looking-glass, mirror
A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “ice” derived from the root ᴹ√KHELEK of the same meaning (Ety/KHELEK).
Conceptual Development: G. heleg “ice” also appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s along with a variant helc, both under primitive χele-k (GL/48). This is clearly related to the early root ᴱ√HELE as first suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Helkar; QL/39).