tinwë

noun. spark, [apparent] star

A word that technically means “spark”, but was often applied to stars as well (PE17/66, RGEO/61), derived from the root √TIN “spark(le)” (MR/388; PE17/22).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. tinwe was used for “star” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was also derived from the root ᴱ√TINI “twinkle” (QL/92). In The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as ᴹQ. tinwe “spark (star)” with the primitive form ᴹ✶tinmē under the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle, emit slender (silver pale) beams” (Ety/TIN); the gloss was corrected from “sparkle (star)” to “spark (star)” by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies (EtyAC/TIN). The word and its derivation appeared numerous times in Tolkien’s later writings, making it exceptionally stable in his mind.

tinwë

spark

tinwë noun "spark" (gloss misquoted as "sparkle" in the Etymologies as printed in LR, see VT46:19), also "star"; pl. tinwi "sparks", properly used of the star-imagines on Nur-menel (q.v.). Cf. nillë. (TIN, MR:388) In early "Qenya", tinwë was simply glossed "star" (LT1:269, cf. MC:214). In one late source, the meaning of tinwë is given as "spark", and it is said that this word (like Sindarin gil) was used of the stars of heaven "in place of the older and more elevated el, elen- stem" (VT42:11).

Nur-menel

nur-menel

Nur-menel noun the lesser firmament, a great dome covering Valinor, made by Varda and full of star-imagines (see tinwë, nillë). It was a simulacrum of Tar-menel, the true firmament (MR:388)

elen

star

elen noun "star" (SA:êl, elen, EL, VT49:39); pl. eleni (occasionally in verse: eldi) (WJ:362, PE17:127); partitive pl. elelli for elenli (PE17:127), gen. pl. elenion in the phrase Elenion Ancalima "brightest of stars" (LotR2:IV ch. 9; see Letters:385 for translation); elen atta "two stars" (VT49:44), genitive elen atto "of two stars" (VT49:45), eleni neldë "three stars", archaic elenion neldë = "of stars three". Genitive "of 3 stars" = elenion neldë (for archaic elenion neldëo) (VT49:45). Allative elenna "starwards" used as name of Númenor _(Silm; see Elenna)_; ablative pl. elenillor "from stars" in Markirya. **Nai elen siluva ***"may a star shine", VT49:38.

elen

noun. star

The most common Quenya word for “star”, mentioned very frequently, derived from an extended form ✶elen of the root √EL “behold” (PE17/67; WJ/360, 362). Its usual plural form is eleni, but it has an archaic plural †eldi sometimes used in verse, the result of the Ancient Quenya sound whereby [[aq|[ln] became [ld]]] after the ancient plural underwent the Quenya syncope, ✶elenī > AQ. elni; its normal modern plural form eleni was actually a reformation from the singular (PE17/57, 151; WJ/362).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, though in the original entry for the root ᴹ√EL Tolkien said it was poetical and gave variants ellen and elena (Ety/EL).

él

star

†él noun "star", pl. éli given (WJ:362, EL)

él

noun. star

An archaic or poetic word for star (WJ/362), somewhat common in compounds but in ordinary speech typically appearing as elen. It was derived directly from the primitive root √EL “behold”, the basis for other star words (PM/340; WJ/360).

Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as poetical ᴹQ. él “star” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above, though in this document the root ᴹ√EL meant “star” (Ety/EL), a common gloss for the root in later writings as well.

ílë

star

ílë noun "star" (LT1:269; rather elen, él in LotR-style Quenya.)