Melian (pron. ) in Sindarin means Dear gift. Her Quenya name was Melyanna (pron. ; from mel, "love" and anna, "gift"). She was also called Tóril meaning "Queen".
Sindarin
melian
feminine name. Dear Gift
Cognates
- Q. Melyanna “*Dear Gift” ✧ NM/021
Derivations
- ✶Melyanna “Dear Gift” ✧ SA/mel
Element in
- S. Lest Melian “Girdle of Melian” ✧ WJ/228
Elements
Word Gloss mell “dear, beloved” ann “gift” Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶Melyanna > Melian [meljanna] > [melianna] > [meliann] > [melian] ✧ SA/mel
Melian
Dear gift
Melian
Melian
The Maia who married Thingol and ruled Doriath with him (S/55-6), her name was translated “Dear Gift”, a combination of mell “dear” and ann “gift”, or more accurately derived from the ancient form ✶Melyanna (SA/anna, mel).
Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, her name was given as G. Gwedheling along with numerous variations (LT2/50), but in later revisions was changed to G. Melian (LT2/51), the form of her name in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/12). Her name remained Melian in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/13, LR/220), though at this stage her name was likely Ilkorin like that of her husband, Ilk. Thingol.