A Doriathrin noun for “moisture” derived from primitive ᴹ✶mizdē (Ety/MIZD). The [i] lengthened due to the [[ilk|vocalization of [z] before voiced stops]], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/míd). According to Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne, this form was originally unglossed and may have been initially intended to mean “fine rain” like its Quenya cognate ᴹQ. miste (EtyAC/MIZD, VTE/45).
Doriathrin
mêd
adjective. wet
Derivations
Element in
- Ilk. Dolmed “Wet Head” ✧ Ety/MIZD
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶mizdā > mēd [mizdā] > [mizda] > [mezda] > [meida] > [meid] > [mēd] ✧ Ety/MIZD Variations
- mēd ✧ Ety/MIZD (Dor. mēd)
- méd ✧ EtyAC/MIZD (Dor. méd)
mîd
noun. moisture
Changes
mîd→ mīd “fine rain” ✧ Ety/MIZDCognates
- ᴹQ. miste “fine rain” ✧ Ety/MIZD
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ✶mizdē > mīd [mizdē] > [mizde] > [mīde] > [mīd] ✧ Ety/MIZD Variations
- mīd ✧ Ety/MIZD (Dor. mīd)
- míd ✧ EtyAC/MIZD (Dor. míd)
- mêd ✧ VTE/45 (Dor.
mêd)
Mêd is a Doriathrin adjective for “wet” derived from primitive ᴹ✶mizdā, appearing as an element in the mountain name Dolmed “Wet Head” (Ety/MIZD). First the [[ilk|short [i] became [e] preceding the final [a]]], then the [e] lengthened due to the [[ilk|vocalization of [z] before voiced stops]]. It is unclear, though, whether the vowel lengthened directly (as suggested by Helge Fauskanger, AL-Doriathrin/méd), or whether it first became the diphthong [ei] after which [[ilk|[ei] became [ē]]] (the theory used here).
Conceptual Development: After abandoning the Ilkorin language, Tolkien retained the name Dolmed. It is possible Tolkien reconceived of this word as Sindarin, but if so, its Sindarin form should perhaps be ✱mêdh, not mêd, since voiced stops became spirants after vowels in Sindarin. In Silmarillion map revisions from the 1950s-60s, Tolkien did write Dolmeð (WJ/183 section F14), but he never made the corresponding change in the narratives.
Neo-Sindarin: For the purposes of Neo-Sindarin writing, it would be better to use one of the other attested Sindarin words for “wet”, such as nîn.