alfirin

adjective. immortal

alfírima/alfírimo

immortal

ilfirin

immortal

ilfirin adj. "immortal" (PHIR)

ilpirin

immortal

*ilpirin (hypothetical form; the word actually appears in Q as ilfirin) adj. "immortal" (PHIR)

il-

verb. no, *un-

il- (prefix) "no, *un-" (LA); cf. ilfirin "immortal" (vs. firin "dead"). This prefix "denotes the opposite, the reversal, i.e. more than the mere negation" (VT42:32). But il- can also mean "all, every"; see ilaurëa, ilqua, ilquen.

la

no, not

la negation "no, not" (see lá); also prefix la- as in lacarë, q.v. (VT45:25)

lá

no, not

lá (1) adv. "no, not" (LA, VT45:25) According to VT42:33, lá is the stressed form, alternating with la when the negation is unstressed. In another conceptual phase of Tolkien's, lá had the opposite meaning "yes" (VT42:32-33), but this idea is contradicted by both earlier and later material: usually lá is conceived as a negation. The negation can receive tense markers and be used as a negative verb "when [another] verb is not expressed" (VT49:13), apparently where the phrase "is not" is followed by a noun or an adjective as a predicate, or where some verb is understood, as in English "I do not" (i.e. "I do not do whatever the context indicates"). With pronominal endings la- in the aorist, e.g. lanyë "I do not, am not" (etc.) (Tolkien abandoned the form lamin.) Exemplified in the sentence melin sé apa lanyë hé *"I love him but I do not [love] him" (another person) (VT49:15). Present tense laia, past lánë, perfect alaië, future lauva.

ui

no

ui interjection "no" (originally an endingless negative verb in the 3rd person aorist: "it is not [so]"; see #u-). Apparently this is the word for "no" used to deny that something is true (compare vá, which is rather used to reject orders, or to issue negative orders). (VT49:28) Compare uito.

alfirin

noun/adjective. immortal

alfirin

noun. immortal

al- (negative prefix) + firin (“mortal”)

alfirin

noun/adjective. immortal, (lit.) not dying; a species of flower

A word used in The Lord of the Rings for a flower that was clearly intended to mean “immortal” when Tolkien first coined the word, a negated form of firin “mortal, dying”. Tolkien described this flower as being similar to an immortelle (Let/402). In the period where Tolkien decided that √LA was not a negative element, he coined a couple alternate etymologies for the flower, one based on alph “swan” (PE17/100) and another where the initial element was al- “well” and the second element was pirin for flowers that opened and closed with changes of light (PE17/146). In periods where Tolkien used √LA for negation, the meaning “immortal” was restored (PE22/153, PE22/156).

Neo-Sindarin: Since I retain al- as a negative prefix for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d keep the gloss “immortal” for this word, using it as both an adjective and noun with this meaning, as well as referring to the immortelle-like flower.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ilfirin “immortal”

Derivations

• ✶alfirīne “not dying” ✧ PE17/101
  • √PHIR “exhale, expire, breathe out, exhale, expire, breathe out; [ᴹ√] die of natural causes”

Elements

Word	Gloss
al-	“no, not”
firin	“mortal, dying, dying, mortal; [N.] human”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶alfirīne > alfirin	[alpʰirīne] > [alɸirīne] > [alfirīne] > [alfirīn] > [alfirin]	✧ PE17/101

Variations

• Alfirin ✧ Let/402; LotRI/Alfirin

alfirin

noun/adjective. name of a flower, bell-like and running through many soft and gentle colours

alfirin

noun/adjective. also used for another small white flower

baw

interjection. no, don't!

ú

prefix. no, not (negative prefix or particle)

û

interjection. no

adv. or interj. no, not (of fact).

alfirin

immortal

alfirin (no distinct pl. form). Note: the word alfirin is also used as name of a flower.

alfirin

immortal

(no distinct pl. form). Note: the word alfirin is also used as name of a flower.

gú

no, not

also ú

baw!

no

! (interjection expressing refusal or prohibition, not denying facts) baw! (dont!) Prefix

baw!

no

(don’t!) Prefix

al-

prefix. no, not

mû

interjection. no

Derivations

• ᴹ√GŪ “no, not” ✧ Ety/MŪ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MŪ > mû	[mū]	✧ Ety/MŪ