asëa (þ) 1) adj. "beneficial, helpful, kindly" _(so according to a late note where the word is derived from *ATHAYA)_; hence also: 2) asëa (þ) noun,name of the healing plant called in Sindarin athelas(PE17:148), in English (representing Westron) called "kingsfoil", cf. longer Quenya name asëa aranion (þ) "asëa of kings" (LotR3:V ch. 8). Cf. aran.
Quenya
asëa aranion
noun. kingsfoil, asëa of the Kings
Cognates
- S. athelas “kingsfoil, a healing herb” ✧ LotR/0864; LotRI/Asëa aranion; PE17/100
Variations
- Asëa aranion ✧ LotRI/Asëa aranion
asëa
beneficial, helpful, kindly
The Quenya name of S. athelas “kingsfoil” (LotR/864), a combination of asëa and aranion, the genitive plural of aran “king”, hence = “asëa of the kings” (PE17/49, 100). The exact meaning of asea itself isn’t entirely clear. Tolkien sometimes implied asea was another name of athelas (PE17/148; PE22/166), but the translation “asëa of the kings” seems to imply it was a more general term (?healing herb) and that “kingfoil” was more specifically asëa aranion. For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to use asea for healing herbs of any kind, and use asëa aranion for the species “kingsfoil”.
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. asea aranaite, using a distinct adjective ᴹQ. aranaite “✱kingly, royal” instead of later aranion.