Ilurambar

walls of the world

Ilurambar place-name "Walls of the World" (IL, RAMBĀ)

Ilurambar

Ilurambar

Ilurambar derives from ilu- meaning "universe" and rambar (plural of ramba) meaning "walls".

vaia

envelope

vaia < waia (also vaiya < waiya) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY). Cf. váya.

vaiya

envelope

vaiya < waiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY, capitalized Vaiya under GEY; the latter entry was struck out). In a "Qenya" text in MC:214, vaiya is simply translated "sky". In the pre-classical Tengwar system presupposed in the Etymologies, vaiya (/ waiya) was also the name of a tengwa letter that does not appear in Tolkien's later table, but which was apparently intended to have the value w > v, like the letter wilya > vilya in the later, canonical system (VT46:21). According to Arden R. Smith, the form of the pre-classical letter is a variant of #21, which letter Tolkien would later call vala (VT46:32).

waia

envelope

waia > vaia noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY) (also vaiya, waiya)

waiya

envelope

waiya > vaiya (also vaia, waia) noun "envelope", especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls (WAY)

ui

noun. envelope (especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls)

ui

noun. envelope

A noun appearing as N. ui “envelope” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from ON. uia < wōia [wǭia] < ᴹ✶wāyā under the root ᴹ√WAY of similar meaning (Ety/WAY). It was used “especially of the Outer Sea or Air enfolding the world within the Ilurambar or world-walls”. In Noldorin of the 1930s, it seems the normal development of ancient āy was ui, with the initial w vanishing before u: wāyā > wǭia > uia > ui.

Neo-Sindarin: In Sindarin of the 1950s and 60s it seems ancient āy became oe, as with goe < ✶gāyā (PM/363). As such the initial w- from ✶wāya would survive to become gw-. Indeed, Tolkien had ancient ✱wāya become gwoe in notes from around 1957 attempting to derive an etymology for gwae “wind” (PE17/34). As such, I would adapt this Noldorin word as ᴺS. gwoe “envelope” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin. I would use it in the more general sense of “a thing enveloping something else”, and not just limited to envelopes used for letters.

gwoe

noun. envelope