malta

gold

malta noun "gold", also name of tengwa #18 (Appendix E). The Etymologies (entry SMAL) instead has malda, q.v. for discussion, but according to VT46:14, the form malta originally appeared in the Etymologies as well. Also compare the root MALAT listed in PM:366.

Tar-culu

gold

Tar-culu ("k"), name listed in the Etymologies but not elsewhere attested. The second element is apparently culu "gold" (a word Tolkien seems to have abandoned); Hostetter and Wynne suggest that this may be an alternative name of Tar-Calion (= Ar-Pharazôn "the Golden"); see VT45:24.

culo

gold

[culo, culu ("k")noun "gold" (substance)] (KUL, VT49:47; the word culu_ also occurred in early "Qenya" [LT1:258], but in the Etymologies it was struck out; the regular Quenya word for "gold" is apparently _malta. In another version, culo meant "flame" [VT45:24], but this is apparently also a word Tolkien abandoned.)

laurë

gold

†laurë noun "gold", but of golden light and colour, not of the metal: "golden light" (according to PE17:61 a poetic word). Nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto "may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading" (VT49:47). In Etym defined as "light of the golden Tree Laurelin, gold", not properly used of the metal gold (LÁWAR/GLÁWAR, GLAW(-R), VT27:20, 27, PE17:159). In early "Qenya", however, laurë was defined as "(the mystic name of) gold" (LT1:255, 258) or simply "gold" (LT1:248, 268). In Laurelin and Laurefindil, q.v., Laurenandë "Gold-valley" = Lórien (the land, not the Vala) (UT:253) and laurinquë name of a tree, possibly *"Gold-full one" (UT:168). Laurendon "like gold" or "in gold fashion" (but after citing this form, Tolkien decided to abandon the similative ending -ndon, PE17:58).

laurina

golden

laurina adj. "golden" (LT1:258). Compare laurëa in later material.

laurëa

golden, like gold

laurëa adj. "golden, like gold"; pl. laurië is attested (Nam, RGEO:66)

mall

golden

adj. #golden. This word is not explicitly presented as S. >> malh, mallorn

mallen

adjective. golden, golden, [N.] of gold

Derivations

• √MAL “gold, yellow, gold”

Element in

• S. Cormallen “Golden Circle” ✧ RC/625

malh

golden

adj. #golden. This word is not explicitly presented as S. >> mall, mallorn

malt

noun. gold, gold (as metal)

Cognates

• Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material” ✧ PE17/050

Derivations

• √MALAT “gold”

Element in

• S. Araval
• S. Malbeth “*Golden Word”
• S. mallorn “gold tree, yellow tree”
• S. mallos “golden flower”
• ᴺS. malthos “butter cup”
• S. Malvegil “?Sword of Gold”
• Os. malthorn “gold tree” ✧ PE17/050; VT42/27

glóriel

adjective. golden

@@@ suggested by David Salo, GS/258).

Element in

• S. Galadlóriel “Golden Rain, (lit.) Golden Tree”
• S. Rathlóriel “Golden-bed” ✧ S/235

Elements

Word	Gloss
glaur	“gold [light or colour]”
-iel	“adjective suffix”

mall

gold

(i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

mallen

golden

(lenited vallen; pl. mellin).

malt

gold

(i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i ’lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair) (VT41:10)

malad

gold

(as metal) 1) malad (i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl. 2) malt (i valt), pl. melt (i melt) if there is a pl. (VT42:27). ”Gold” in extended senses: glawar (i **lawar) (sunlight, radiance of the Golden Tree Laurelin), pl. glewair (in glewair**) (VT41:10) GOLD (COLOUR?) *mall (i vall), pl. mail (i mail) if there is a pl. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” malt.

malad

gold

(i valad), pl. melaid (i melaid) if there is a pl.

malthen

golden

1) (of gold) malthen (melthin- in compounds; lenited valthen; pl. melthin), 2) (shining with golden light) glóren (glórin-), lenited lóren; pl. glórin, 3) mallen (lenited vallen; pl. mellin).

malthen

golden

(melthin- in compounds; lenited valthen; pl. melthin)

glóren

golden

(glórin-), lenited ’lóren; pl. glórin

lóri

noun. gold

Cognates

• Q. laurë “gold (light or colour)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048
• T. glavarë “golden light”

Element in

• Nan. Lórinand “Valley of Gold(en Light)” ✧ NM/347; PE17/048

Variations

• lōri ✧ NM/347
• lór- ✧ PE17/048

pharaz

noun. gold

A noun meaning “gold”, the only Adûnaic word defined in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1114).

Conceptual Development: This noun also appears in “Lowdham’s Report on the Adunaic Language” from the 1940s (SD/426).

Element in

• Ad. Pharazôn “Golden” ✧ LotR/1114

pharazôn

masculine name. Golden

The son of Gimilkhâd who usurped the throne to become the 25th and final ruler of Númenor, translated “Golden” (LotR/1114, S/270). His Quenya name was Tar-Calion. Since Calion appears to mean “✱Son of Light”, Ar-Pharazôn is an example of a Númenórean ruler whose Adûnaic and Quenya names had different meanings.

The first element in his name is the noun pharaz “gold”. Since Pharazôn is glossed “Golden”, the second element -ôn may be an adjectival suffix. Andreas Moehn instead suggested (EotAL/PHAR’Z) that the name means “✱Golden One”, closer to its Quenya equivalent, and that the suffix -ôn is a masculine variant of the agental suffix -ân. Either way, the name is also notable in that it does not undergo the Adûnaic syncope when its suffix is added.

Conceptual Development: The name also appeared in “The Notion Club Papers” from the 1940s (SD/311), in some examples inflected into the subjective case (SD/247, 428-9).

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Tar-Kalion ✧ SDI2/Tar-kalion; SDI2/Ar-Pharazôn
• Q. Calion “*Son of Light” ✧ PMI/Ar-Pharazôn; UTI/Ar-Pharazôn

Element in

• Ad. Ar-Pharazôn “King Pharazon” ✧ SD/435
• Ad. Ar-Pharazôn kathuphazgânun “King Ar-Pharazon the Conqueror” ✧ SD/429
• Ad. Ar-Pharazônun azaggara Avalôiyada “[Ar-Pharazôn] was warring against [the] Powers” ✧ SD/247; SD/312
• Ad. arpharazōn azgaranādu avalōi-{men >>}si “‽ was waging war‽ Powers on” ✧ SD/311
• Ad. Ar-Pharazônun Bâr ’nAnadûnê “King Pharazon is Lord of Anadune” ✧ SD/428
• Ad. Ar-Pharazônun kathuphazgân “King Ar-Pharazon is (was) a Conqueror” ✧ SD/429

Elements

Word	Gloss
pharaz	“gold”
-ôn	“adjective or agental suffix”

Variations

• arpharazōn ✧ SD/311
• ar-pharazōn ✧ SD/312
• Pharazōn ✧ SD/429; SD/435

mal

root. gold, yellow, gold

This was the root for Elvish words meaning “yellow” for much of Tolkien’s life, though with some minor variations. It appeared as ᴱ√MALA “yellow” (usually mali-) in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. malina “yellow” and ᴱQ. malikon “amber” (QL/58). It also appeared in a list of M-roots at the end of that section (QL/63). It had derivatives in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon such as G. malon “yellow” and G. malthos “butter cup” (GL/56).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it seems Tolkien first gave this root as ᴹ√MAL (EtyAC/MAL) but rejected this and replaced it with ᴹ√SMAL “yellow” (Ety/SMAL). It had derivatives like ᴹQ. malina/N. malen “yellow”, ᴹQ. malta/N. malt “gold (as metal)” and ᴹQ. malo/N. hmâl “pollen, yellow powder” (< ᴹ✶smalu), with some revisions in Noldorin forms as Tolkien vacillated on whether or not primitive sm- resulted in voiceless nasal hm- or a voiced nasal m-.

This √SMAL vs. √MAL variation seems to have continued into Tolkien’s later writings, as seen in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s where ✶malu >> ✶smalu “dust, grit” (PE21/80), probably a later iteration of ᴹ✶smalu “pollen, yellow powder” from The Etymologies. But it seems Tolkien settled on √MAL as evidenced by the extended root √MALAT “gold” from The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 (PM/366).

Derivatives

• ✶malnā “yellow, of golden colour”
  • Q. malina “yellow, of golden colour” ✧ PE17/051
• ✶malu “dust”
• ✶smalu “dust, grit, [ᴹ✶] pollen, yellow powder; [✶] dust, grit”
• S. mallen “golden, golden, [N.] of gold”

Element in

• ✶Malaphinde “Goldlocks”
• √MALAT “gold”
• Q. culumalda “laburnum, *(lit.) orange-tree” ✧ SA/mal
• ᴺQ. malicon “amber”
• Q. Malinalda “Tree of Gold” ✧ SA/mal
• ᴺQ. malma “lemon”
• S. Cormallen “Golden Circle” ✧ SA/mal
• S. Malduin “Yellow River” ✧ SA/mal
• S. Malgalad “?yellow radiance”
• S. Mallor
• S. mallorn “gold tree, yellow tree” ✧ SA/mal

Variations

• mal- ✧ SA/mal

malat

root. gold

Derivatives

• ✶mal(a)tā “gold (as metal)”
  • Q. malta “gold (metal), gold as material”
• S. malt “gold, gold (as metal)”

Elements

Word	Gloss
MAL	“gold, yellow, gold”

mallen

adjective. of gold, golden

malt

noun. gold (as metal)

malthen

adjective. of gold, golden

côl

noun. gold (metal)

gloriel

adjective. golden

Element in

• N. Galadloriel “Golden Rain” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. Rathloriel “Golden-bed, Bed of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Elements

Word	Gloss
glaur	“gold”
-iel	“adjective suffix”

glaur

noun. gold

Cognates

• ᴹQ. laure “gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Derivations

• ᴹ√(G)LAWAR “*gold” ✧ Ety/GLAW(-R); Ety/LÁWAR

Element in

• N. Glorfindel ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. gloriel “golden” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. Inglor “*Heart of Gold” ✧ Ety/LÁWAR
• N. Maglor “Gold-cleaver” ✧ Ety/MAK

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√GLAW(-R) > glaur	[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]	✧ Ety/GLAW(-R)
ᴹ√GLÁWAR > glaur	[glawre] > [glaure] > [glǭre] > [gloure] > [glaure] > [glaur]	✧ Ety/LÁWAR

Variations

• glor-/lor- ✧ EtyAC/LÁWAR