neltil

triangle

neltil (neltild-, as in pl. neltildi) noun "triangle" (TIL, NEL)

neldë

cardinal. three

neldë cardinal "three" (SA:neldor, NÉL-ED, VT47:11, VT48:6). Eleni neldë "three stars", archaic elenion neldë = *"of stars three". Genitive "of 3 stars" = elenion neldë (for archaic elenion neldëo) (VT49:45; see 54 regarding neldion as the gen. pl.) Cf. also nelya, neldëa, Neldië.

neldë

cardinal. three, three; [ᴱQ.] four

Cognates

• S. neledh “three” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06
• T. nelet “three” ✧ VT48/06

Derivations

• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/10
  • √NEL “three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle” ✧ VT47/10
• √NELED “3” ✧ VT47/11

Element in

• Q. eleni neldë “*3 stars” ✧ VT49/45
• Q. elenion neldë “of 3 stars” ✧ VT49/45; VT49/45
• Q. neldëa “third”
• Q. nel(d)esta “one third”
• Q. Neldië “*Trinity”
• ᴺQ. nellumë “thrice, three times”
• ᴺQ. nelquain “thirty”
• ᴺQ. nelequain “thirty”
• ᴺQ. nelequëan “thirty”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶nelede > nelde	[nelede] > [nelde]	✧ VT47/10
√(e)nel-ed > nelde	[nelede] > [nelde]	✧ VT47/11

Variations

• nel-de ✧ PE17/095
• nelde ✧ VT47/10; VT47/11; VT48/06; VT49/45

olë

cardinal. three

olë (2) cardinal "three" (LT1:258; in LotR-style Quenya Tolkien replaced this "Qenya" form with neldë)

nasta

spear-head, spear-point, gore, triangle

nasta (1) noun "spear-head, spear-point, gore, triangle" _(SNAS/SNAT; see VT46:14 about second gloss being "spear-point" and not simply "point" as in the printed Etymologies), "prick, point, stick, thrust" (NAS)_

mëar

gore

mëar noun "gore" (LT1:260)

nehta

spearhead

nehta (1) noun "spearhead", isolated from nernehta, q.v.

mehar

noun. gore

Cognates

• ᴺS. mechor “gore”

Derivations

• ᴺ✶. MEKH “*gore”

naith

place name. Gore, Triangle

Wedge of land in Lórien between the rivers Celebrant and Anduin, translated “Gore” (LotR/347) or “Triangle” (RC/307). It is simply naith “angle” used as a name (PE17/55). The part of this region where Elves dwelled was called Egladil of similar meaning (LotR/347).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Narthas “The Gore” (TI/288), a form that also appeared in a deleted entry in The Etymologies (EtyAC/NARTA). It was soon revised to N. Naith (TI/244), though at this stage the name was generally translated as “Angle” (TI/268, 280).

Elements

Word	Gloss
naith	“spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow prominitory; angle”

neled

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

{ð}_ card. _three. Q. nelde. Fcan, canad, nel

neledh

cardinal. three

Cognates

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ PE17/095; VT48/06

Derivations

• √NELED “3”

Element in

• S. nelui “third” ✧ VT42/25

Variations

• nel(eð ✧ PE17/095
• nêl ✧ VT42/25
• neleð ✧ VT48/06

nêl

cardinal. three

nêl

cardinal. three

naith

noun. any formation or projection tapering to a point: a spearhead, triangle gore, wedge, narrow promontory

nelthil

triangle

nelthil (no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nelthillath)

nelthil

triangle

(no distinct pl. form; coll. pl. nelthillath)

nel

three, tri

;

nêl

cardinal. three

nêl (note: a homophone means ”tooth”), also neled, archaic neledh.

nêl

three

(note: a homophone means ”tooth”), also neled, archaic neledh.

cên

gore

(i gên, o chên, construct cen) (wedge), pl. cîn (i chîn). Alternative sg. form cîn (i gîn, o chîn, construct cin), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chîn)  (VT45:20)

mechor

noun. gore

Cognates

• ᴺQ. mehar “gore”

Derivations

• ᴺ✶. MEKH “*gore”

naith

gore

1) naith (spearhead, wedge, point, promontory); no distinct pl. form; 2) cên (i gên, o chên, construct cen) (wedge), pl. cîn (i chîn). Alternative sg. form cîn (i gîn, o chîn, construct cin), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chîn) (VT45:20)

naith

gore

(spearhead, wedge, point, promontory); no distinct pl. form

naith

spearhead

naith (gore, wedge, point, promontory); no distinct pl. form;

ecthel

spear point

1) ecthel (pl. ecthil), literally "thorn point”, 2) thela (-thel), pl. ?thili, 3) aith; no distinct pl. form.

nelet

cardinal. three

Cognates

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT48/06

Variations

• neled ✧ VT48/21

enel

masculine name. Three

Element in

• Q. Enellië “*Company of Enel”

nel

root. three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle

This root served as the basis for Elvish words for “three” for much of Tolkien’s life. However, in its earliest appearance in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱ√NELE was glossed “point” with derivatives like ᴱQ. neldor “beech”, ᴱQ. nele “tooth” and ᴱQ. nelt “corner”, while the derived numeral was ᴱQ. nelde “four” (QL/65). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also had G. nel “point, end, tip, jutting end” (GL/60), and G. deldron “beech” was almost certainly derived from a strengthened form of the root ndel- (PE11/8; GL/30). ᴱQ. nelde “three” first appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/49, 82).

In the first layer of The Etymologies of the 1930s, this root was glossed “point, triangle” (EtyAC/NEL), but Tolkien changed the gloss of ᴹ√NEL to “three” and gave it two extended roots ᴹ√NELED (also “three”) and ᴹ√NELEK “tooth” (Ety/NEL, NELEK). In this revised paradigm, probably “tooth” was derived from the sense “triangle”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Ilk. neldor “beech” was still derived from this root, but was said to refer to the “three trunks” of Hirilorn.

In later writings from the 1950s and 60s, the gloss of √NEL was consistently “three” (WJ/421; VT42/24; VT47/10-11), and the extended form √NELED “three” appeared regularly as well (VT42/24; VT47/11). √NELEK “tooth” also appeared in several documents from the 1940s and 50s (PE19/58; PE21/56, 71).

Derivatives

• ✶neila “3rd”
• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/10
  • Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT47/10
• ᴺQ. nelma “needle”
• ᴺQ. nelqua “cornered, *angled”
• ᴺQ. neltë “corner”
• Q. Nelwë

Element in

• ✶Enel “Three” ✧ WJ/421
• ✶Enelye ✧ WJ/421
• √NELED “3”
• ✶nelede “three” ✧ VT47/11; VT47/24
• ᴺQ. larnelta “mile; *(lit.) league third”
• ᴺS. nelphaen “thirty”
• ᴺS. paenel “thirteen”

Variations

• nel- ✧ VT47/10
• nel ✧ VT47/11; VT47/24; WJ/421
• enele ✧ VT47/16

nelede

cardinal. three

Derivations

• √NEL “three, three; [ᴱ√] point, *(tri)angle” ✧ VT47/10

Derivatives

• Q. neldë “three, three; [ᴱQ.] four” ✧ VT47/10

Variations

• Nel-de ✧ NM/060
• nel-edē̆ ✧ VT47/24

mekh

root. *gore

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. mehar “gore”
• ᴺS. mechor “gore”

nelthil

noun. triangle

nelthil

noun. triangle

Cognates

• ᴹQ. neltil “triangle” ✧ Ety/NEL; Ety/TIL

Elements

Word	Gloss
nel-	“tri-”
till	“horn”

neled

cardinal. three

neled

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

neledh

cardinal. three

Changes

• neleth → neled ✧ Ety/NEL

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nelde “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Derivations

• ᴹ√NELED “three” ✧ Ety/NEL

Element in

• N. lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh “five foot high the door and three may walk abreast” ✧ TAI/150
• N. Neleduir “Three Kings” ✧ EtyAC/LEP

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√NÉL-ED > neledh	[nelede] > [neleðe] > [neleð]	✧ Ety/NEL

Variations

• neled ✧ Ety/NEL
• neleth ✧ EtyAC/NEL (neleth)

naith

noun. gore

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nasta “spear-head, spear-point, gore, triangle” ✧ Ety/SNAS

Derivations

• ᴹ✶natsai ✧ Ety/SNAS
  • ᴹ√SNAS “*gore, triangle” ✧ Ety/SNAS

Element in

• N. Naith “Angle”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶natsai > naith	[snatsai] > [snatsī] > [snatsi] > [n̥atsi] > [n̥aθθi] > [n̥eθθi] > [n̥eiθθ] > [n̥aiθθ] > [naiθθ] > [naiθ]	✧ Ety/SNAS

naith

noun. any formation or projection tapering to a point: a spearhead, triangle gore, wedge, narrow promontory