Sindarin
alfirin
noun/adjective. immortal, (lit.) not dying; a species of flower
Cognates
- ᴹQ. ilfirin “immortal”
Derivations
Elements
Word Gloss al- “no, not” firin “mortal, dying, dying, mortal; [N.] human” Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶alfirīne > alfirin [alpʰirīne] > [alɸirīne] > [alfirīne] > [alfirīn] > [alfirin] ✧ PE17/101 Variations
- Alfirin ✧ Let/402; LotRI/Alfirin
A word used in The Lord of the Rings for a flower that was clearly intended to mean “immortal” when Tolkien first coined the word, a negated form of firin “mortal, dying”. Tolkien described this flower as being similar to an immortelle (Let/402). In the period where Tolkien decided that √LA was not a negative element, he coined a couple alternate etymologies for the flower, one based on alph “swan” (PE17/100) and another where the initial element was al- “well” and the second element was pirin for flowers that opened and closed with changes of light (PE17/146). In periods where Tolkien used √LA for negation, the meaning “immortal” was restored (PE22/153, PE22/156).
Neo-Sindarin: Since I retain al- as a negative prefix for purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d keep the gloss “immortal” for this word, using it as both an adjective and noun with this meaning, as well as referring to the immortelle-like flower.