Quenya 

tintila-

twinkle

tintila- vb. "twinkle", present (or maybe rather aorist) pl. tintilar (Nam, RGEO:67)

tintila-

verb. to twinkle, sparkle, glitter, give tremulous light, †tremble

A verb appearing in the Namárië poem, where Tolkien translated it as “tremble” (LotR/377). It is clear form his writings elsewhere that this a poetic rendering, and the actual meaning of the word is “twinkle, give tremulous light” (PE17/66) or “sparkle, glitter” (RGEO/61). It seems to be a combination of the roots √TIN “sparkle” and √THIL “shine silver” (PE17/66), and so is especially appropriate for describing starlight.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies from the 1930s, there was a similar verb ᴹQ. tintina- “to sparkle”, likely a reduplication of the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle”. For Neo-Quenya writing, it is probably preferable to use the better known tintila-.

Cognates

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
TIN“sparkle, spark, sparkle, spark, [ᴱ√] twinkle, [ᴹ√] emit slender (silver pale) beams”
THIL“shine silver; white light”
Quenya [LotR/0377; PE17/066; PE17/069; PM/364; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/61] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Quendya 

tithilla-

verb. twinkle

Quendya [PE 22:112] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

tintila-

verb. *to sparkle

Element in

atintila-

verb. *to sparkle

tithilla-

verb. to twinkle

Derivations

  • ᴹ√THIL ✧ PE22/100; PE22/112

Elements

WordGloss
sil-“to shine”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√THIL > tithilla[titʰilla-] > [tiθilla-] > [tisilla-]✧ PE22/100
ᴹ√THIL > tithilla[titʰilla-] > [tiθilla-] > [tisilla-]✧ PE22/112

Variations

  • tithilla ✧ PE22/100 (tithilla); PE22/112
Qenya [PE22/100; PE22/112] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

tintiltha-

verb. to twinkle

Derivations

  • ᴱ√TINI “twinkle” ✧ GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto
Gnomish [GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

tini

root. twinkle

Derivatives

  • Eq. tini- “to gleam, shine as a star”
  • Eq. tint “(silver) spark” ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto; QL/092
  • Eq. tintya- “to sparkle, etc.” ✧ QL/092
  • Eq. tinwe “star” ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto; QL/092
  • G. tim “spark, gleam, (star)” ✧ GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto
  • G. tinc “a flicker, a gleam” ✧ GL/70
  • G. tintiltha- “to twinkle” ✧ GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto
  • G. tinwin “a small star” ✧ GL/70

Element in

Variations

  • tin- ✧ GL/70
  • TIN ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto
Early Primitive Elvish [GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto; QL/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sṇtyṇ

root. twinkle

Derivatives

  • Eq. sink “mineral, gem, metal” ✧ QL/085
  • Eq. sint “a gleam, spark, glister, drop of dew, etc.” ✧ QL/085
  • Eq. sintl “crystal” ✧ QL/085
  • Eq. sinty- “to sparkle” ✧ QL/085

Element in

Variations

  • SṆT͡YṆ ✧ QL/085
Early Primitive Elvish [QL/085] Group: Eldamo. Published by