Isil

noun. moon

moon

Isil

moon

Isil (þ) place-name "Moon" (FS; SA:sil, Appendix E, SD:302, SIL; also defined as "the Sheen" under THIL); Isildur masc. name., *"Moon-servant" (SA:sil, Appendix A, NDŪ)

isil

noun. Moon, (lit.) Sheen

The usual name for the Moon in Quenya, also translated as “Sheen” (LR/240; MR/130), from an augmented form of the root √THIL (Let/425; Ety/THIL). This word is most likely the proper name of the Moon, analogous to English “Luna”. Compare this to Q. Rána “Wayward”, which is more descriptive of the nature of the body and hence closer to “Moon” (and “moon”).

Conceptual Development: The precursor to this name seems to be ᴱQ. Sil (Sill-) “moon” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√SILI (QL/83). The root had various derivatives having to do with “gleam(ing)”, but in the contemporaneous narratives ᴱQ. Sil was translated “(silver) rose” (LT1/192 and 197 note #17). There was also ᴱQ. Silmo as a masculinized name for “moon” (QL/83), which seems to be the ordinary word for “moon” in the English-Qenya Dictionary of the 1920s (PE15/75).

The name ᴹQ. Isil first appeared in early versions of the tales of Númenor from the 1930s (LR/41). The derivation given above appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/THIL) and again in a 1972 letter to Richard Jeffery (Let/425).

Cognates

• S. Ithil “Moon” ✧ Let/425; LotR/1114; PE17/039; PE17/121; SA/sil

Derivations

• √THIL “shine silver; white light” ✧ Let/425
• √SIL “shine (white or silver)” ✧ SA/sil

Element in

• Q. Isildur “*Servant of the Moon” ✧ SA/sil
• Q. isilmë “moonlight”
• Q. Isilmo
• Q. Isilya “*Monday, Moon-day”
• Q. Narsil “Red and White Flame” ✧ SA/sil

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√THIL > Isil	[itʰil] > [iθil] > [isil]	✧ Let/425

Variations

• Ithil ✧ NM/280

ithil

noun. the (full) Moon, lit. 'The Sheen'

ithil

noun. Moon

_n. Astron._Moon. Q. Isil. >> Anor, ithildin

ithil

noun. Moon

The usual name for the Moon in Sindarin, from an augmented form of the root √THIL (Let/425; Ety/THIL). This word is most likely the proper name of the Moon, analogous to English “Luna”: in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien indicated Ithil was a “poetic name”. Compare this to S. Raun “Wanderer”, which is more descriptive of the nature of the body and hence closer to “Moon” (and “moon”).

Conceptual Development: The first precursor to this name seems to be G. Thilim “Moon” in an early list of names (PE14/13). This became G. {Thil >>} Sil “Rose of Silpion, Moon” (GL/67, 72) and G. {Thilmos >>} Silma in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/33, 67), both derivatives of the early root ᴱ√SILI as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Sil). The name Ithil first appeared in early versions of the tales of Númenor from the 1930s (LR/41).

Cognates

• Q. Isil “Moon, (lit.) Sheen” ✧ Let/425; LotR/1114; PE17/039; PE17/121; SA/sil

Derivations

• √THIL “shine silver; white light” ✧ Let/425; SA/sil

Element in

• S. ir Ithil ammen Eruchín “*when the Moon, for us, the Children of God” ✧ LB/354
• S. Ithilbor “*Moon-fist”
• S. ithildin “magical alloy that glows in moonlight, (lit.) moon-star” ✧ PE17/039; PE17/039
• S. Ithilien “Land of the Moon” ✧ SA/sil
• S. Minas Ithil “Tower of the (Rising) Moon” ✧ SA/sil
• S. Orithil “*Moon-day, Monday”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√THIL > Ithil	[itʰil] > [iθil]	✧ Let/425
√thil- > Ithil	[itʰil] > [iθil]	✧ SA/sil

mithril

noun. Moria-silver, true-silver

Elements

Word	Gloss
mith	“grey, light grey, pale grey”
RIL	“brilliant (light), brilliance, brilliant (light), brilliance, [ᴹ√] glitter”

Variations

• Mithril ✧ LotRI/Mithril; RSI/Mithril

cýrawn

noun. new moon

cýron

noun. new moon

raun

noun. Moon

A word for “moon”, equivalent of Q. Rána, attested in later writings only as the element -rawn in the archaic form S. †cýrawn “new-moon”, in modern speech cýron (VT48/7). Based on its use in this word, as well as in N. cúran “crescent moon” [ᴺS. cúron], it seems this is the ordinary word for “Moon” (or “moon”) as a celestial body, as opposed to S. Ithil which is the proper name of the moon, equivalent to English “Luna”. Raun is derived from primitive ✶rānā from the root √RAN “wander”, and hence originally meant something like “Wanderer”, though its Quenya equivalent is usually translated “Wayward”.

Conceptual Development: A very similar form G. Rân “the moon” appeared in Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/64), as well as ᴱN. rán “moon” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/152), though in this period its etymology is unclear. It appeared as N. Rhân “Moon” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” (Ety/RAN), but in this period its Quenya equivalent was ᴹQ. Rana with short a. In later writings the Quenya form became Q. Rána, requiring a change to S. Raun since ancient ā became au in Sindarin.

Cognates

• Q. Rána “Moon, (lit.) Wayward”

Derivations

• ✶rānā “moon” ✧ VT48/07
  • √RAN “wander, stray, meander, go on an uncertain course, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen); err”

Element in

• ᴺS. cúron “crescent moon”
• S. cýron “new-moon” ✧ VT48/07

Variations

• rawn ✧ VT48/07 (rawn)

raun

moon

(pl. roen, idh roen), coll. pl. ronath. Cf. the ending -ron at the end of month-names. Raun is basically the adj. ”straying, wandering” used as a noun, hence identifying the Moon as ”the Wanderer”. – The ”Noldorin” form rhân presupposes a different primitive form and may not correspond to S ✱rân as would normally be supposed.

ithil

moon

1) Ithil (= ”the sheen”); 2) (apparently also used = ”month”) raun (pl. roen, idh roen), coll. pl. ronath. Cf. the ending -ron at the end of month-names. Raun is basically the adj. ”straying, wandering” used as a noun, hence identifying the Moon as ”the Wanderer”. The ”Noldorin” form rhân presupposes a different primitive form and may not correspond to S *rân as would normally be supposed.

ithil

sheen

(The Sheen, name of the Moon) Ithil

ithil

sheen

ithil

moon

(= ”the sheen”)

nîlu

noun. moon

A noun translated as “moon” and fully declined as an example of a Strong II noun (SD/431). It appears with both a short and long final -u, but Tolkien indicated that the form with long û is actually the personified form Nîlû “Man in the Moon” (SD/426), perhaps the Adûnaic name of Tilion. Tolkien also listed the “later forms Nil, Njūl” (SD/306), one of which may be the Westron word for “moon”, most likely Wes. nil. Andreas Moehn suggested (EotAL/NUL) that this noun may be related to nûlo/nûlu/nâlu, but given the evil connotations of these words (SD/306) and the different stem vowels, this seems unlikely to me.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Isil “Moon, (lit.) Sheen” ✧ SD/241; SD/306

Derivatives

• Wes. nil “moon” ✧ SD/306

Element in

• Ad. Nîlû “(Man in the) Moon” ✧ SD/426
• Ad. Ûrinîluwat “Sun and Moon” ✧ SD/428
• Ad. ûriyat nîlô “sun and moon” ✧ SD/428

Variations

• Nīlū ✧ SD/241
• Nīlu ✧ SD/306
• nīlu ✧ SD/431
• Nil ✧ SDI2/Nîlû
• Njūl ✧ SDI2/Nîlû

silki

noun. sheen

Derivations

• √SIL “shine (white or silver)”

Variations

• silmi ✧ PE21/80

rānā

noun. moon

Derivations

• √RAN “wander, stray, meander, go on an uncertain course, go aside from a course (commanded or self-chosen); err”

Derivatives

• Q. Rána “Moon, (lit.) Wayward”
• S. Raun “Moon” ✧ VT48/07

Element in

• ✶keu̯rānā “new-moon” ✧ VT48/07

ithil

noun. the (full) Moon, lit. 'The Sheen'

ithil

noun. Moon

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Isil “Moon, (lit.) Sheen” ✧ Ety/I²; Ety/SIL; Ety/THIL; LR/041; SD/302; SD/306

Derivations

• ᴹ✶Ithil “moon” ✧ Ety/I²; SD/306
• ᴹ√THIL ✧ Ety/SIL; Ety/THIL

Element in

• N. ithildin “*moon-star”
• N. Ithilien “*Moon Lands”
• N. Minas Ithil “Tower of the Moon”
• N. Ithilduin
• N. Arithil “*Moon-day”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶ITHIL > Ithil	[itʰil] > [iθil]	✧ Ety/I²
ᴹ√THIL > Ithil	[itʰil] > [iθil]	✧ Ety/SIL
ᴹ√THIL > Ithil	[itʰil] > [iθil]	✧ Ety/THIL
ᴹ✶Ithīl > Ithil	[itʰīl] > [iθīl] > [iθil]	✧ SD/306

ithil

noun. Moria-silver, true-silver

Changes

• Ithil → Thilevril ✧ TI/184

Variations

• Ithil ✧ RS/458; RS/465; RSI/Ithil; TI/184

rhân

noun. Moon

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Rana “Moon, (lit.) Wayward” ✧ Ety/RAN

Derivations

• ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” ✧ Ety/KUƷ
• ᴹ✶Ranā “Moon” ✧ Ety/RAN
  • ᴹ√RAN “wander, stray” ✧ Ety/RAN

Element in

• N. cúran “crescent moon” ✧ Ety/KUƷ

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶Ranā > Rhân	[ranā] > [rana] > [ran] > [r̥an] > [r̥ān]	✧ Ety/RAN