mîth

mîth

mîth

noun. *Sinda, Grey-Elf

Derivations

• ✶mītha “*grey” ✧ PE17/140
  • √MITH “grey”

Element in

• S. Mithres “Grey-Elf (f.)” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/140 (mithrel*)
• S. Mithron “*Grey-Elf (m.)” ✧ PE17/140

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mītha > mîth	[mītha] > [mīth]	✧ PE17/140

Variations

• mîth ✧ PE17/140
• maeth ✧ PE17/140
• mith ✧ PE17/140
• maiþ ✧ PE17/140 (maiþ)
• mĭth ✧ PE17/140 (mĭth)

hîth

noun. mist, fog

hîth

noun. mist

The Sindarin word for “mist”, an element in many names, derived from the root √KHITH of the same meaning (SA/hîth; PE17/73).

Conceptual Development: N. hîth “mist” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above (Ety/KHIS), though when Tolkien first defined the word, he first wrote (and then deleted) the gloss “fog” (EtyAC/KHIS). In The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road, Christopher Tolkien wrote hith (LR/364), but Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne confirmed that the actual form was hîth in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (VT45/22).

Cognates

• Q. hísië “mist, mistiness” ✧ SA/hîth
• Q. hísë “mist, mist, [ᴹQ.] fog, [ᴱQ.] haze; dusk; bleared”

Derivations

• √KHITH “mist, mist, [ᴹ√] fog”

Element in

• S. Hithaeglir “Misty Mountains, (lit.) Line of Misty Peaks” ✧ SA/hîth
• S. hithlain “mist thread, grey elvish rope”
• north S. Hithlum “Land of Mist” ✧ SA/hîth
• S. hithren “grey”
• S. hithui “misty”
• S. Nen Hithoel “Mist-cool Water” ✧ RC/328; SA/hîth

Variations

• Hith ✧ RC/328

mith

adjective. (pale) grey

mith

grey

adj. grey, light grey. >> Mithrandir, mithril

mithren

adjective. grey

mithren

adjective. grey

Changes

• mithren → hithren ✧ PE17/140

Element in

• S. Ered Mithrin “Grey Mountains” ✧ LotR/1064
• S. Mithrellas

Elements

Word	Gloss
mith	“grey, light grey, pale grey”
-ren	“adjective suffix”

mithrim

place name. Sindar

A lake in northwest Beleriand (S/106) named after the Elves who lived there (WJ/378). This name was the inspiration for Q. Sindar (PE17/140), and is a combination of mith “grey” and the class-plural suffix -rim (SA/mith, rim).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this lake was called G. Asgon (L1T1/238, GL/20), revised to ᴱN. Mithrim towards the end of the tales (LT2/202). The form N. Mithrim appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/4, LR/249), and also in The Etymologies, but with its first element being N. mith “white fog, wet mist” and its second element N. rhim “cold pool or lake (in mountains)”, hence “✱Mist Lake” (Ety/MITH, RINGI). The derivation from the name of the people came later (WJ/378), perhaps inspired in the real world by Q. Sindar, the reverse of the inspiration in the fictional world.

Element in

• S. Mithrimin

Elements

Word	Gloss
mith	“grey, light grey, pale grey”
-rim	“collective or group plural”

hithu

noun. fog

hithren

adjective. grey

_ adj. _grey. >> thind

hithren

adjective. grey

Elements

Word	Gloss
hîth	“mist”

hithlain

noun. mist-thread (a substance used by the Elves of Lothlórien to make strong ropes)

thin

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thind, Thingol, thinn

thend

noun. *Sinda, Grey-Elf

Changes

• thind → thend ✧ PE17/140
• thinið → thineð ✧ PE17/141

Cognates

• Q. Sinda “Grey-elf” ✧ PE17/141; PE17/140; PE17/141

Derivations

• ✶thindā “grey” ✧ PE17/141; PE17/141
  • √THIN “*grey”

Element in

• S. Thenneth “*Grey-Elf (f.)” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/140; PE17/141; PE17/141
• S. Thennor “*Grey-Elf (m.)” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/140; PE17/141; PE17/141

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶thindā > thenn	[tʰindā] > [tʰinda] > [θinda] > [θenda] > [θend] > [θenn]	✧ PE17/141
✶thinida > thineð	[tʰinida] > [θinida] > [θineda] > [θineða] > [θineð]	✧ PE17/141

Variations

• thend ✧ PE17/140; PE17/141 (thend)
• thind ✧ PE17/140 (thind)
• Thinn(d) ✧ PE17/140
• thenn ✧ PE17/141
• Thind ✧ PE17/141
• thineð ✧ PE17/141
• thinið ✧ PE17/141 (thinið)

thind

adjective. grey, pale

thind

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thin, Thingol, thinn

thind

adjective. grey

_ adj. _grey. Obsolete except in names as Thingol. >> hithren

thind

adjective. grey, grey, [N.] pale

if from þindā, why no a-affection? @@@

Cognates

• Q. sinda “grey” ✧ PE17/072; SA/thin(d)
• Q. sindë “grey, pale or silvery grey, grey, pale or silvery grey, [ᴹQ.] pale” ✧ PE17/141; PE17/141; PE17/141

Derivations

• ✶thindā “grey” ✧ PE17/072
  • √THIN “*grey”
• ✶thindi “grey” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/141; PE17/141
  • √THIN “*grey” ✧ WJ/384

Element in

• ᴺS. thindrostir “badger”
• S. Thindrim “Sindar”
• S. Thingódhel “*Grey Noldo”
• S. Thingol “Greycloak, Greymantle” ✧ PE17/072; PE17/112; SA/thin(d)
• S. Thinnedhel “Grey-elf”
• S. Thinrod “noble member of the Thindrim”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶þindā > thin(n)	[tʰindā] > [tʰinda] > [θinda] > [θind] > [θinn]	✧ PE17/072
✶þindĭ- > thind	[tʰindi] > [tʰinde] > [θinde] > [θind]	✧ PE17/140
✶thĭndĭ > thind	[tʰindi] > [θindi] > [θind] > [θinn]	✧ PE17/141

Variations

• thin(n) ✧ PE17/072; PE17/112
• thinn ✧ PE17/141; PE17/141
• thin(d) ✧ SA/thin(d)

thinn

adjective. grey

adj. grey. Q. sinda. >> thin, thind, Thingol

thinn

adjective. grey

_adj. _grey. Q. sinde.

thinn

adjective. grey

thindrim

collective name. Sindar

A Sindarin equivalent of Q. Sindar (VT41/9), a combination of thind “grey” and the class-plural suffix -rim.

Cognates

• Q. Sinda “Grey-elf” ✧ VT41/09

Elements

Word	Gloss
thind	“grey, grey, [N.] pale”
-rim	“collective or group plural”

nimp

adjective. pale

adj. pale, pallid. nimp << nim (PE17:168). >> niphred

elu

pale blue

(analogical pl. ely). Archaic elw (pl. ilw?).

gael

pale

(glittering), lenited ’ael; no distinct pl. form.

hîth

mist

hîth (i chîth) (fog), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîth).

hîth

mist

(i chîth) (fog), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîth).

hîth

fog

1) hîth (i chîth) (mist), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîth), 2) *hithu (i chithu), analogical pl. hithy (i chithy). Cited in archaic form hithw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH), so the coll. pl. is likely hithwath.

hîth

fog

(i chîth) (mist), no distinct pl. form, not even with article (i chîth)

mith

wet mist

(i vith) (white fog), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mith). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone is the adjective ”pale grey”. ✱

mith

white fog

(i vith) (wet mist), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mith). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone is the adjective ”pale grey”.

mith

grey

(lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

mith

pale grey

(lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

mith

wet mist

mith (i vith) (white fog), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mith). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone is the adjective ”pale grey”. *

mith

wet mist

mith (i vith) (white fog), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mith). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone is the adjective ”pale grey”.

mith

wet mist

(i vith) (white fog), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mith). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone is the adjective ”pale grey”.

mithren

grey

1) *mithren (lenited vithren, pl. mithrin). 2) thind (pale); no distinct pl. form. 3) (pale grey) mith (lenited vith; no distinct pl. form). David Salo would read mîth with a long vowel. Note: a homophone means ”white fog, wet mist”.

mithren

grey

(lenited vithren, pl. mithrin).

hithu

noun. fog

Derivations

• √KHITH “mist, mist, [ᴹ√] fog”

hithu

fog

(i chithu), analogical pl. hithy (i chithy). Cited in archaic form hithw (LR:364 s.v. KHIS, KHITH), so the coll. pl. is likely hithwath.

maidh

pale

1) maidh (lenited vaidh; no distinct pl. form) (fallow, fawn), 2) nimp (nim-) (white); no distinct pl. form, 3) thind (grey); no distinct pl. form; 4) gael (glittering), lenited ael; no distinct pl. form. 5) *malu (lenited valu; analogical pl. mely; lenited valu) (fallow). Cited in archaic form malw (LR:386 s.v. SMAL).

maidh

pale

(lenited vaidh; no distinct pl. form) (fallow, fawn)

hithlain

mist-thread

name of a fiber made in Lórien.

thind

grey

(pale); no distinct pl. form.

thind

pale

(grey); no distinct pl. form

malu

pale

(lenited valu; analogical pl. mely; lenited valu) (fallow). Cited in archaic form malw (LR:386 s.v. SMAL).

nimp

pale

(nim-) (white); no distinct pl. form

gwind

pale blue

(lenited ’wind; no distinct pl. form).