laicolassë

masculine name. Green-foliage

The Quenya name of Legolas, a compound of laica “green” and olassë “foliage” (PE17/56).

Conceptual Development: In the much earlier Lost Tales, ᴱQ. Laiqalasse was given as the Qenya equivalent of the similarly named G. Legolas (LT2/217), though this was a completely different character, unrelated to the Legolas who appeared in The Lord of the Rings.

Cognates

• Nan. Legolas “Greenleaf”
• S. Laegolas “Green-foliage” ✧ PE17/056

Elements

Word	Gloss
laica	“green”
olass(i)ë	“foliage, collection of leaves”

Variations

• laic-olassë ✧ PE17/056

ezel(la)

adjective. green

ezel

green

ezel, ezella adj. "green" (in Vanyarin Quenya only). Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399)

laica

green

laica (1) adj. "green" (in older sources laiqua) (Letters:282, PE17:159). Laicolassë (laica + #olassë) "green-foliage" (PE17:46), Quenya cognate of Sindarin Laegolas (dialectal form Legolas); compare olassië. Adj. laicalassë "green as leaves", literally "green-leaf" (PE17:56).

laica

adjective. green

Cognates

• S. laeg “fresh and green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), fresh” ✧ Let/282; PE17/084; PE17/159
• Nan. lego “green” ✧ Let/282

Derivations

• ✶laikā “green” ✧ Let/282
  • √LAY “*be alive, flourish, [ᴱ√] be alive, flourish” ✧ Let/282
• √LAY “*be alive, flourish, [ᴱ√] be alive, flourish” ✧ PE17/159

Element in

• Q. laicalassë “green-leaf, green as leaves”
• ᴺQ. laicelumir “malachite (lit.) green-flowing-jewel”
• Q. Laicolassë “Green-foliage” ✧ PE17/056
• ᴺQ. laimaril “emerald”
• Q. Laiquendi “Green-elves”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶laikā > laica	[laikā] > [laika]	✧ Let/282
√LAY > laika	[laikā] > [laika]	✧ PE17/159

Variations

• laikā ✧ PE17/084
• laika ✧ PE17/159

wenya

green, yellow-green, fresh

wenya adj. "green, yellow-green, fresh" (GWEN), apparently "fair, beautiful" ("probably originally "fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth") in a later deleted note (PE17:191).

laiqua

green

laiqua ("q")adj. "green" (LÁYAK, LT1:267, MC:214), "Qenya" pl. laiquali ("q")(MC:216). Occurs in the phrase laiqua'ondoisen ("q") "green-rocks-upon" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"), Laiqualassë ("q") masc. name "Legolas" (Greenleaf) (LT1:267). Used as noun in the phrase mi laiqua of somebody clad "in green" (PE17:71). In later material, the word for "green" appears as laica, and the cognate of Legolas is said to be Laicolassë, q.v. (PE17:56)

laiqua

adjective. green

Changes

• laiqua → laikā “green” ✧ PE17/084

Cognates

• S. laeg “fresh and green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), fresh” ✧ PE17/153
• Nan. lego “green” ✧ PE17/153

Derivations

• ✶laikwā ✧ PE17/153

Element in

• ᴺQ. laiquaril “emerald”
• Q. sanomë tarnë Olórin, Aracorno, Eomer, Imrahil, mi mísë, mi telepta yo morna, mi laiqua yo ninquë, mi luinë, ta Gimli mi lossëa “There stood Gandalf, Aragorn, Eomer and Imrahil in grey, in silver and black, in green and white, and in blue, and also Gimli in white” ✧ PE17/071

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶laiquā > laiqua	[laikwā] > [laikwa]	✧ PE17/153

Legolas

noun. green leaves

leg (Nan. form of laeg “green”) + golas (“collection of leaves, foliage”) < gwa (“together”) + lass (“leaf”)

Legolas

noun. A Sindarin name

_ prop. n. _A Sindarin name. >> golas, laeg

Legolas

noun. 'green foliage'

n. 'green foliage'. >> golas(s)

legolas

masculine name. Legolas

laegolas

masculine name. Green-foliage

The true Sindarin form of Nan. Legolas, a combination of laeg “green” and the lenited form of golas “foliage” (Let/282, PE17/56). In some places this name also appeared as S. Legolas with the diphthong [ae] reduced to [e] in the compound, (P17/84, 159), but the exact mechanism for this is unclear.

Conceptual Development: See Nan. Legolas for the earlier developments of this name.

Cognates

• Q. Laicolassë “Green-foliage” ✧ PE17/056
• Nan. Legolas “Greenleaf”

Variations

• laegolas ✧ Let/282
• Legolas ✧ PE17/084
• leg-olas ✧ PE17/159

laeb

adjective. green

_ adj. _green. A theoretical equivalent to Q. laiqua but that did not exist in Sindarin.

laeg

green

_ adj. _green. >> Legolas

laeg

adjective. green

_ adj. _green (of leaves, herbage). Q. laika.

calen

adjective. green

calen

green

(galen) _ adj. _green (fresh, vigorous). galen after a sg. noun. Q. kălina (lit. illumined) sunny, light.

Legolas

Legolas (name)

The name Legolas is a Silvan dialect form of pure Sindarin Laegolas, which means "Greenleaf". This shows that Greenleaf is not his surname, as is sometimes erroneously believed; nor is it an epithet (like Oakenshield), but a translation of his name. It consists of the Sindarin words laeg, green; and golas, a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of las(s), "leaf"). The Qenya form (mentioned in the Book of Lost Tales in the context of another character of that name) is Laiqualassë. In later material by Tolkien, the Quenya cognate of Laegolas is said to be Laicolasse.

There might, however, be a certain meaning to his name: laeg is a very rare, archaic word for green, which is normally replaced by calen (cf. Calenhad, mutated Parth Galen and plural Pinnath Gelin) and is otherwise almost only preserved in Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim (Sindarin form of Quenya Laiquendi), the Green Elves of the First Age.

Legolas

Legolas

The name Legolas is a Silvan dialect form of pure Sindarin Laegolas, which means "Greenleaf". At one point he is called "Legolas Greenleaf" by Gandalf, coupling his name and its translation like an epithet.[note 1] Legolas consists of the Sindarin words laeg, a very rare, archaic word for "green" (cf. Laegrim, Laegel(d)rim, the Green Elves), which is normally replaced by calen (cf. Calenhad, Parth Galen and Pinnath Gelin); and golas, a collection of leaves, foliage (being a prefixed collective form of las(s), "leaf"). The Quenya cognate of Laegolas is said to be Laicolasse.

lasgalen

leaf-green

(pl. lesgelin).

laeg

green

(fresh), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386). 

calen

green

1) (etymologically "bright") calen (lenited galen), pl. celin (attested in lenited form in the name Pinnath **Gelin, "Green Ridges"). 2) laeg (fresh), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas** ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386).

calen

green

(lenited galen), pl. celin (attested in lenited form in the name Pinnath Gelin, "Green Ridges").

ezel(la)

adjective. green

Element in

• Van. Ezellohar “Green Mound” ✧ WJ/399

Variations

• ezel/ezella ✧ WJ/399

legolas

masculine name. Greenleaf

Cognates

• Q. Laicolassë “Green-foliage”
• S. Laegolas “Green-foliage”

Elements

Word	Gloss
lego	“green”
las	“leaf”

lego

adjective. green

Cognates

• Q. laica “green” ✧ Let/282
• Q. laiqua “green” ✧ PE17/153

Derivations

• ✶laikā “green” ✧ Let/282
  • √LAY “*be alive, flourish, [ᴱ√] be alive, flourish” ✧ Let/282
• ✶laikwā ✧ PE17/153

Element in

• Nan. Legolas “Greenleaf” ✧ Let/282; PE17/153

Variations

• leg ✧ Let/282
• lēgo ✧ PE17/153
• lĕgo ✧ PE17/153

laikā

adjective. green

Derivations

• √LAY “*be alive, flourish, [ᴱ√] be alive, flourish” ✧ Let/282

Derivatives

• Nan. lego “green” ✧ Let/282
• Q. laica “green” ✧ Let/282
• S. laeg “fresh and green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), green, viridis, green (of leaves/herbiage), fresh” ✧ Let/282

calen

adjective. green