Ilk or in

Ilkorin http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/ilkorin.
htm
Ilkorin - a "lost tongue"?

Originally, Tolkien did not imagine the history of the Elvish tongues in Middle-earth quite like the
scenario we know from the published Silmarillion. According to the Silmarillion and other post-LotR
sources, the Noldor and the Vanyar went over the sea and developed Quenya in Valinor, while some of
the Teleri stayed in Beleriand, where their tongue evolved into Sindarin. But in Tolkien's older
conception, Quenya was the language of the Vanyar (long called "Lindar") only; the Noldor developed
the language that the Etymologies calls "Old Noldorin", while the tongue of the Teleri that were left in
Beleriand evolved into Ilkorin. The Teleri in Beleriand were not called Sindar or "Grey-elves" in
Tolkien's older scenario; they were Ilkorindi, "those not of Kôr" (a central place in Valinor). When the
Noldor came from Valinor speaking "Old Noldorin", their language was influenced by the indigenous
"Ilkorin" tongue and underwent drastic changes to become "Noldorin". (The last flicker of the idea that
"the two tongues grew towards one another", before this concept was finally abandoned, is found in
WJ:21, 24 - where the tongues in question are already Quenya and Sindarin.) Tolkien even considered
the possibility that the languages became amalgamated. See LR:346.
But further revisions were to follow. Tolkien decided that the "Noldorin" language he had already made
was not the language of the Noldor after all. In fact, it turned out to be the language of the Teleri that
had remained in Beleriand, who came to be called Sindar (replacing the term Ilkorindi), so Noldorin
had to be renamed Sindarin. The Noldor, that were now conceived as speakers of Quenya just like the
Vanyar, simply adopted the Sindarin tongue when they came to Middle-earth. There was no complex
process of mutual influence and amalgamation. In other words, "Noldorin" > Sindarin usurped the place
of Ilkorin as the indigenous Beleriandic tongue. So what happened to the Ilkorin tongue - did it
disappear from the mythos altogether? Many words and names that Tolkien originally held to be
Ilkorin, such as Esgalduin or the name of Túrin's friend Beleg, survived in the narrative texts - but after
the revision they must probably be understood as Sindarin forms instead. Interestingly, the name
Esgaroth known from The Hobbit occurs in the Ilkorin wordlist. Elrond was also thought of as an
Ilkorin name when Tolkien first made it, but in the context of LotR it can only be Sindarin. The status
of Ilkorin in the mature mythos is thus very questionable. Edward Kloczko has argued that Tolkien,
rather than scrapping Ilkorin completely, turned parts of it into the obscure "northern dialect" of
Sindarin, the tongue of the Mithrim; his original article is reproduced as an Appendix.
Elementary Phonology
The general sound of Ilkorin is reminiscent of Sindarin. As in Sindarin, the original unvoiced plosives
have become voiced following vowels (e.g. t > d in adar "father" from the stem ATA; Sindarin also has
adar; contrast Quenya atar). Original voiced plosives may become voiced spirants in the same position;
cf. b > v in tovon "lowlying, deep, low" from the stem TUB; this is also the case in Sindarin. As in
Sindarin, plosives generally become spirants following the liquids l, r: compare t in tôr "king" with th
in balthor "Vala-king"; compare also dh in erdh "seed, germ" with d in the primitive form *eredê
(stem ERÉD). The word erdh also illustrates one of the differences between Ilkorin and Sindarin. In
primitive Elvish, there were many three-syllable words where all three vowels were the same except
that the last was long, like *eredê "seed". Quenya dropped the middle vowel and shortened the last,
*eredê yielding erde. Sindarin dropped the last vowel, *eredê becoming eredh. But Ilkorin dropped
both the middle and the final vowel, so that *eredê became erdh.
Long and short vowels are distinctive, as is demonstrated by the minimal pair gwen "girl" vs.
gwên "greenness". In monosyllables the long vowels are marked with a circumflex, e.g. côm
"sickness", môr "night", ôr "blood". In polysyllabic words, the accent is used instead; compare tôr
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Ilkorin http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/ilkorin.htm
"king" with its plural form tórin (not *tôrin). This system is also used in the spelling of Sindarin; in
that language, it denotes that in monosyllables, long vowels tend to become especially long. This may
also be the case in Ilkorin.
The Noun
Two inflections are found in the material, genitive and plural. A genitive ending -a is seen in the phrase
Tor Tinduma "King of Twilight", a title of Thingol (THIN, TIN; cf. tindum "twilight"). The plural
ending is -in, seen in adar "father" pl. edrin (ATA), aman "mother" pl. emnin (misreading "emuin" in
the published Etymologies, stem AM1), Balthor *"Vala-king" pl. Balthorin (BAL), boron "trusty man"
pl. burnin (BOR), gangel "harp" pl. genglin (ÑGAN), tôr "king", pl. tórin (TÂ/TA3, BAL), talum
"ground, floor" pl. telmin (TALAM), thorn "eagle" pl. thurin (THOR/THORON). It will be noted that
the ending -in causes a to umlaut to e, and in the case of polysyllabic words, the vowel in the syllable
preceding the ending is lost (adar > edrin, aman > emnin, talum > telmin). In one attested case,
plurality is shown by umlaut only, and the ending -in is not used: tal "foot", pl. tel "feet" (TAL).
The vowel o becomes u in boron > burnin and thorn > thurin (read *thurnin?), but not in tôr
> tórin (evidently because this ô is long and represents earlier long A).
A plural genitive ending -ion seems to occur in the phrase Dor-thonion "Land of Pines"; cf. also
thurnion "of eagles" in Torthurnion "King of Eagles". Cf. Quenya -ion.
Verbs
Only five verbs are known, and there isn't much we can say about them. All end in -a: góda- "to soil,
stain", taga "he fixes, constructs, makes", tingla- "sparkle", toga "he brings", tolda "he fetches" (see
wordlist below for references). As we see, taga, toga and tolda are glossed as 3. person masculine
singular present-tense forms, while góda and tingla are glossed as infinitives. Since they display the
same ending as the other forms, it seems likely that they, too, are really 3. pers. sg. present-tense forms -
*"he soils, stains" and *"he (it?) sparkles". In Ilkorin, the 3. pers. sg. present tense may be the simplest
form of the verb and is therefore used as the lexical form. In three out of five cases, Tolkien translated
the Ilkorin verbs literally; in the remaining two cases, he used the English lexical form, the infinitive.
The ending -a for "he" and "present tense" may indeed represent older endings where an explicit
pronominal element was present; see taga in the wordlist below for further discussion.
Past Participle
The word thúren "guarded, hidden" from the stem THUR- "hedge in" seems to argue the existence of a
past participle in -en, presumably the cognate of Quenya -ina. Notice that the stem-vowel is lengthened;
this means that where the original vowel was a, it would change to ó in the past participle (since A,
when it was long already in the primitive language, became long O in Ilkorin - see for instance tôr in
the wordlist below). Original O in the verbal stem would likewise come out as long ú.
Ilkorin vs. Doriathrin and Sindarin

From the above it is clear that Ilkorin is very similar to Doriathrin, as would be expected since Tolkien
conceived them as closely related languages. For instance, the two tongues share the plural ending -in
and the genitive ending -a. Doriathrin and Ilkorin should be considered closely related dialects of the
same language; indeed Tolkien sometimes seems to use the term "Ilkorin" with reference to all the
dialects of Beleriand, including Doriathrin.
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But what is the relationship of Ilkorin to Sindarin, the language that usurped its place in the
mythos? It is interesting to notice that when "Noldorin" became Sindarin, Tolkien did certain revisions
that in some respects made the language somewhat more similar to Ilkorin. For instance, in "Noldorin"
primitive initial l- and r- turned into unvoiced sounds lh- and rh-, but in Ilkorin, these sounds were
unchanged - and this is also the case in Sindarin. Another change affects final w following a consonant:
In "Noldorin" this sound remained unchanged; in LR:398 s.v. WEG, Tolkien noted that the "Noldorin"
cognate of the Quenya name Elwë would have been Elw, but that no such form was in use. But in later
Sindarin, we do find a Grey-elven form of the name Elwë, namely Elu - and this is also the form we
would have expected in Ilkorin, in which language -w in this position did turn into -u. Cf. such an
Ilkorin word as adu "double" as the cognate of Quenya atwa, LR:349 s.v. AT(AT). This word occurs in
the Silmarillion as part of the river-name Adurant *"Doublecourse", and since in the published
Silmarillion the language of Beleriand is Sindarin and not Ilkorin, adu must now be considered a
Sindarin word - though it would probably have been *adw in Tolkiens earlier "Noldorin". Indeed one
reason why Tolkien made "Noldorin" a little more similar to Ilkorin, thereby producing Sindarin, may
have been that he wanted to keep many of the long-established names of places and people in Beleriand
more or less unchanged - and this would not be possible if "Noldorin" was made the indigenous
language of Beleriand just like this tongue had appeared in the Etymologies. So while "Noldorin" did in
one way eat Ilkorin alive, it was not unaffected by this; Sindarin as we know it from later sources in
some respects looks like the earlier "Noldorin" with an Ilkorin substrate!
ILKORIN WORDLIST with etymological notes

Ancestral forms "reconstructed" by Tolkien himself are not asterisked. In the primitive forms, long
vowels are marked by circumflexes; the sources use macrons instead.
-a genitive ending, seen in Tor Tinduma "King of Twilight", a title of Thingol (cf. tindum
"twilight"). The primitive Common Eldarin genitive ending was -hô > -ô, derived from an "ancient
adverbial element" HO meaning "away, from, from among" (WJ:368). The corresponding entry in the
far earlier Etymologies seems to be 3O (3Ô) "from, away, from among, out of" (LR:360). Could
primitive -ô come out as -a in Ilkorin? There are a few words where -ô may seem to develop in such a
way (see adda, broga), but normally, final -ô is lost like other final vowels. - In the plural genitive
ending -ion, the "genitival" element (< 3O or HO) appears as o; see -ion.
adar "father", pl. edrin. Derived from a stem ATA, itself simply defined as "father" (LR:349).
The Primitive Quendian form is given as atar, that must be seen simply as an extension of the stem
itself. As in Sindarin, unvoiced stops (p, t, k) are voiced (to b, d, g) following a vowel, hence atar >
adar. - The plural form edrin shows umlaut a > e, caused by the i of the plural ending -in (concerning
which see separate entry). Also notice the syncope of the second vowel of adar in the inflected form.
For similar contractions, compare aman pl. emnin, boron pl. burnin, gangel pl. genglin (q.v.)
adda "father" (possibly hypocoristic, = *"dad"). Derived from the same stem ATA as adar above
(LR:349). It would be tempting to believe that this is the cognate of Quenya atto, primitive *attô,
evidently the stem ATA with a medial fortification t > tt and the masculine ending -ô. If so, the form
adda would suggest that final -ô becomes -a in Ilkorin. Compare broga "bear" from primitive morókô -
but in other examples, final -ô is lost without trace (see for instance benn, ber). Moreover, the word
adda would seem to indicate that following a vowel, also double *tt becomes voiced dd in Ilkorin.
Contrast Sindarin, in which language only single t would be voiced in this position, while *tt becomes
th instead - cf. for instance peth "word" from earlier kwetta. However, another Ilkorin word does show a
Sindarin-like development of *tt: brith "gravel" from b'rittê. It may be, then, that Ilkorin adda is not
really the cognate of Quenya atto, but rather an affectionate form based on adar "father", formed later
and not directly descended from the primitive language. If we see adda as the cognate of High-elven
atto, we would have to assume that Tolkien changed his mind about the phonological evolution of
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Ilkorin while he was writing the Etymologies (which is of course not inconceivable; the editor in
LR:346 refers to "divergent forms...between one part of the Etymologies and another").
adu, also ado, "double". Derived from a stem AT(AT), which Tolkien defined as "again, back"
(LR:349). It would seem that this is basically a simple stem AT that often appears as ATAT, the
reduplication symbolizing the repetition. Adu, ado must come from simple AT, though. These Ilkorin
words for "double" are apparently cognates of Quenya atwa of similar meaning. The primitive form,
transparently meant to be *atwâ, combines the stem AT with the adjectival ending -wâ (concerning this
ending, cf. for instance narwâ "fiery red", derived from the stem NAR1 "flame, fire", LR:374; see also
alch, laig). After the loss of primitive final -â, the final semi-vowel of the resulting form *atw
apparently turned into a full vowel -u, *atu then becoming adu after the voicing of post-vocalic *t (cf.
adar from atar). It would seem that adu subsequently became ado (a similar change of final -u to -o
occurred in Common Eldarin, but this Ilkorin development must be later). That this change occurred
only when -u was final is suggested by the compound Adurant (rather than *Adorant) for
*"Doublecourse", name of a river in Ossiriand which for a distance had divided streams (concerning the
second element, see rant).
alch "swan" (ÁLAK). Primitive form given as alk-wâ, derived from a stem ÁLAK "rushing"
(LR:348). Alk-wâ would seem to be an adjectival formation (concerning the adjectival ending -wâ, see
ado above). The primitive word was evidently an adjective with the same meaning as the stem:
"rushing", later used as a noun "rushing (one)" and applied to an animal. Tolkien may have imagined
that after the loss of the final vowel, the now final kw was de-velarized to k, the resulting form *alk then
turning into alch because p, t, k following a liquid became spirants f, th, ch (= kh, [x]), just as in
Sindarin (see UT:265, footnote). Compare words like Balthor, erdh, salch (but contrast the word tolda
< tultâ-, where lt mysteriously becomes ld instead of lth; perhaps this is because this cluster lt occurred
already at the very oldest stage, whereas the other combinations here listed arose only later, as a result
of syncopes or compounding). Notice that kw was not de-velarized initially, so we have for instance
cwess "down" (noun) from primitive kwessê (LR:366 s.v. KWES). In this respect at least, Ilkorin cannot
function as a dialect of Sindarin after Tolkien's revisions of the history of the Elvish languages: In
Sindarin, indeed in the entire Lindarin branch of the Elvish language family, primitive kw very early
became p (WJ:375, cf. WJ:407 note 5). Alk-wâ so early became *alpâ that if we are to make Ilkorin a
Lindarin language according to Tolkien's later ideas, this word would have had to become *alf, just like
in normal Sindarin (in that language preferably spelt alph). Compare salch.
aman "mother", pl. emnin (obvious misreading "emuin" in the published LR). Derived from a
stem AM1 (LR:348), simply defined as "mother". Aman must represent an "extended" stem *aman, sc.
AM1 with suffixation of the stem-vowel (by a Quenya term ómataina, vocalic extension) and a suffixed
consonant -n. Compare boron, q.v., from BOR. The plural form emnin shows the same contraction and
umlaut as in the examples adar pl. edrin, gangel pl. genglin.
Argad "outside the fence", lands outside Doriath (the "fence" obviously being the Girdle of
Melian). Also explicitly Argador "land outside the fence", sc. outside Doriath. (The forms Argad and
Argador are mentioned in LR:349 s.v. AR2, Argador also in LR:358 s.v. GAT(H).) Concerning dor
"land", see separate entry; as an Ilkorin word, the element gad "fence" is attested in this compound
only, but Doriathrin has the same word: See gad in the wordlist appended to the article about Doriathrin
for etymological discussion. The element ar- "outside" that is prefixed to Argad, Argador is derived
from the stem AR2 (LR:349), not itself defined but probably meaning much the same as the Quenya
preposition ara "outside, beside", the first word listed in this entry in the Etymologies. Compare the
entry ar- in the Silmarillion appendix. In Etym it is stated that in Quenya and Ilkorin alike, this element
was "purely local in sense", referring simply to spatial relationships. This was evidently the original
meaning of this element as well, since it is further said that in Sindarin ("Noldorin"), this element
developed a privative sense ("without"), as in arnediad (arnoediad) "without reckoning, numberless".
Ilkorin and Quenya thus preserve the original meaning of this prefix.
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arn "red". Derived from a stem YAR, defined as "blood" (LR:400, the Ilkorin word for blood, ôr,
is indeed derived from the same stem). The primitive form is undoubtedly meant to be *jarnâ (*yarnâ)
with the common adjectival ending -nâ (sometimes used to derive passive participles); the primitive
word must clearly have implied "bloody" or "blood-red". Perhaps this association would no longer be
so strong in Ilkorin, the phonological evolution having made the words for "red" and "blood" somewhat
divergent in form; the words arn and ôr are not as obviously connected as their primitive counterparts
*jarnâ and *jara. Notice that the final -â of *jarnâ is lost without trace in arn; more remarkably, the
initial j has also disappeared (as in ôr "blood").
Aros name of river with reddish water, the southern river of Doriath. Derived from the same stem
YAR "blood" as arn "red" above (LR:400). The "Noldorin"/Sindarin cognate is given as iaros,
suggesting that the stem YAR as such (rather than a derivative like *jarnâ) was once prefixed in this
word. The second element of the name, -os, is obscure. See the name of another river, Thalos, for some
thoughts about this ending.
ascar "violent, rushing, impetuous"; also Askar as name of a river (one of the tributaries of
Gelion). The difference in spelling (c/k) seems unimportant; in the published Silmarillion, the name is
spelt Ascar. Derived from a stem SKAR (LR:386), the root-sense of which is given as "tear, rend". The
primitive adjective yielding ascar is given as askarâ, with prefixing of the stem-vowel (probably
intensifying the meaning) and the common adjectival ending -â. As usual, final -â is lost without trace
in Ilkorin.
ass "cooked food, meat". Derived from the undefined stem AP (LR:349). The Quenya and
"Noldorin"/Sindarin cognates (apsa, aes) would seem to indicate a primitive form *apsâ. There is not
much more we can say about this form or about the ending -sâ; a few Quenya words do show the
ending -sa, but they seem to have little in common semantically (in addition to the noun apsa, the
cognate of ass, we have for instance the frequentative verb lapsa- "lick" and the adjective telepsa "of
silver"). We may speculate that AP is a verbal stem *"cook", and that *apsâ is properly an adjective
*"cooked", later used as a noun "cooked thing, something cooked" > "cooked food". For the
assimilation *ps > ss in Ilkorin, compare tuss "thatch" from primitive tupsê (LR:395).
Balthor, *"Vala-king" = Vala (pl. Balthorin is given). This form, listed in LR:350 s.v. BAL,
contains the same elements as Quenya Valatar (Valatár-), though this Quenya word has a somewhat
more specific meaning: it refers to one of the nine chief Valar (corresponding to the Aratar in Tolkien's
later works), while Ilkorin Balthor just means "Vala" in general. The second element -thor is simply a
form of tôr "king" (q.v. for etymological discussion); since tôr hear appears as the second, unaccented
element of a compound, the long vowel becomes short, and since t here follows an l, it becomes th (see
alch). The first element of Balthor represents bálâ, "Power, Vala", derived from the stem BAL, itself
undefined in Etym (LR:350), though Tolkien suggests that the stem BEL "strong" is related (LR:352).
A later source states that the Quenya word vala is properly a verb "has power" that was also used as a
noun "a Power" (WJ:403); this may provide a good clue to the basic meaning of the stem BAL. The
final vowel of bálâ "Vala" dropped out in the compound that produced Ilkorin Balthor; a primitive
form is given (in LR:350) as bal'tar-, the apostrophe indicating the syncope. Actually the second a (in
-tar) must have been long â for it to become ô > o, unless we are to assume that the word at one stage
appeared as *baltr with a syllabic final -r, in front of which a vowel o subsequently developed
(compare ungor < *uñgr < *uñgrâ). But if so, we would expect the plural form to be **Balthrin rather
than Balthorin. Notice that there is no umlaut o > u in the plural (not **Balthurin, contrast for
instance boron pl. burnin), indicating that o derived from another source than primitive *o is not
affected by this umlaut.
Balthronding name of Beleg's bow, more commonly called Belthronding, q.v. for discussion
(LR:388 s.v. STAR, subentry STARAN).
basgorn (for bast-gorn) "round bread". Mentioned in the Etymologies in the entry for the stem
KOR "round" (LR:365); the element -gorn can readily be matched with the primitive adjective kornâ
there listed (concerning the adjectival ending -nâ, see arn, caun). In Ilkorin, kornâ by itself would
appear as *corn, but in a compound the initial consonant is apparently lenited: hence c > g. The
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element bast (here simplified to bas- to avoid the medial cluster *stg) is to be referred to the stem
MBAS "knead" (LR:372). If primitive *mbastâ has the same meaning as its direct Quenya descendant
masta, it could be either a verb "to bake" or a noun "bread"; the ending -tâ is a common verb-former,
and the noun is perhaps derived from the verb. In Ilkorin as in Sindarin, primitive initial mb- is
simplified to b-. The order of the compounded elements, "bread-round" with the adjectival element last,
corresponds to the preferred order in Sindarin. In the entry MBAS in Etym, it seems that basgorn is
indeed listed as a "Noldorin"/Sindarin word, not as an Ilkorin word as in the entry KOR. Of course, both
languages could have the same word.
bel "strength". Derived from a stem BEL "strong", that Tolkien tentatively compared to BAL, the
source of bálâ "Power, God" (Quenya Vala). Concerning the latter stem, see Balthor. The primitive
form of bel is given as belê; the ending -ê could be simply the stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened, but
-ê is also an abstract ending.
Beleg "the Strong", name of an Ilkorin bowman of Doriath. Derived from the same stem BEL
"strong" as bel above (LR:352). This name would seem to be the same as the Sindarin/"Noldorin" word
beleg ("mighty, great"), but remarkably, Tolkien noted that "this word is distinct in form from though
related to Ilk. name Beleg". Obviously the words are not really distinct in form as they appear
synchronically; perhaps Tolkien meant that the ancestral forms differed? This student cannot come up
with any better etymology for the name Beleg than the one we can reconstruct for Sindarin beleg. In
Etym, Tolkien first mentions a form bélek, which is probably to be understood as an extended variant of
BEL, with the stem-vowel reduplicated and suffixed (so-called ómataina, vocalic extension) and a
consonant -k added. Then follows the primitive form bélekâ, which is clearly this extended stem with
the common adjectival ending -â. Bélekâ then yields Sindarin beleg via Old Sindarin beleka. After
Tolkien revised the history of the Elvish languages, turning "Noldorin" > Sindarin into the language of
the Elves of Beleriand (replacing Ilkorin), we can no longer insist of any distinction between the name
Beleg and the common adjective "great, mighty".
Belthronding (Bel-thron(d)-ding) name of Beleg's yew bow, mentioned in two different entries
in the Etymologies (LR:352 s.v. BEL, LR:354 s.v. DING); in addition to this, a deviant form
Balthronding is listed in LR:388 s.v. STAR, STARAN. In the entry DING, Belthronding is also broken
up as Bel-thron(d)-ding. The first element bel- would mean "strong", like the stem BEL; -thron-
means "stiff, hard" and also appears as an independent word in Ilkorin (see thrôn for further
discussion), while the element ding is onomatopoeic ("twang"); it seems that this is also the Ilkorin
word for "sound". So Belthronding would seem to mean *"Strong Stiff (thing that gives out a)
Twang". The alternative form Balthronding replaces bel- "strong" with bal- "power" (see Balthor
above concerning the stem BAL), hence meaning something like *"Powerful Stiff (thing that gives out
a) Twang".
benn "husband". Derived from a stem BES "wed" (LR:352); the primitive form is given as besnô,
including the primitive masculine agentive ending -nô. Hence besnô is literally "wedder" = bridegroom.
Notice the assimilation sn > nn, attested in this word only. Here, final -ô is lost without trace; in a
couple of words, primitive -ô may seem to come out as -a in Ilkorin (see adda, broga).
ber "valiant man, warrior". Derived from the stem BER "valiant"; the primitive form is given as
berô, the masculine ending -ô being added to the adjectival stem to produce a noun "valiant one, valiant
man". Again, final -ô is lost instead of producing -a as in adda (?) and broga.
bereth "valor" (cf. El-bereth). Derived from the same stem BER "valiant" as ber above. And
abstract ending -eth is known from Sindarin as well. We may refer bereth to *bereth- with some lost
final vowel; this would be the stem BER in its extended form *BERE (with ómataina, reduplicated and
suffixed stem-vowel) + a suffixed consonant -th. In Sindarin, it seems that the abstract ending -eth was
later generalized and could be added to stems with any stem-vowel; we have no examples to show us
whether this was also the case in Ilkorin.
boron "steadfast, trusty man, faithful vassal", pl. burnin. Derived from a stem BOR "endure"
(LR:353), specifically from an extended form that is given as bóron-, sc. BOR- with ómataina and the
suffixed consonant -n, apparently followed by another vowel, lost in Ilkorin: cf. the hyphen at the end
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of bóron-. We might have expected the Ilkorin form to be *born instead, cf. thorn "eagle" from the
stem THORON. In the plural form burnin, the second vowel of boron is syncopated; compare a similar
contraction in adar "father" pl. edrin and other Ilkorin words. Why the change from o to u in the
plural? (Compare thorn "eagle", pl. thurin.) Is this some kind of umlaut triggered by the vowel of the
plural ending -in? Normally, we would expect the umlaut product of o to be ö or y.
breth "mast, beech-mast". Derived from a stem BERÉTH (LR:352), apparently meaning
"beech-tree" (this is the meaning of Telerin bredele, the first derivative listed). The stem BERÉTH
would seem to be unconnected to BER "valiant". The primitive form of breth is given as b'rethâ; as
usual, final -â has been lost in Ilkorin. B'rethâ is best taken as an adjectival form *"beechen", -â being a
common adjectival ending (mentioned in WJ:382); later this adjective may have been used as a noun
"that which pertains to beeches", hence "mast, beech-mast". B'rethâ must represent even older
*beréthâ, but in the evolution of the Celtic-style languages of Tolkien's mythos, it is quite typical that
the vowel of an unaccented initial syllable is lost, the syllable collapsing into a consonant cluster.
Compare bril below.
bril "glass, crystal" or (as part of the river-name Brilthor, q.v.) "glittering". Derived from
MBIRIL (LR:372), said to be a "compound" of two distinct stems, MIR and RIL. The first of these, MIR,
is not defined as such, but it yields Quenya mírë, Sindarin mîr "jewel" (LR:373). In the compound, MIR
appears as MBIR, apparently showing initial fortification. The stem RIL signifies "glitter" (or, according
to the Silmarillion Appendix, "brilliance") and is the source of the second element of Quenya Silmaril
(translated "radiance of pure light" in Letters:148, the word translating -ril evidently being "radiance").
Bril must be referred to mbiríl-, later b'ril- after the loss of an unaccented vowel (cf. breth above); as
usual, initial mb- is simplified to b- in Ilkorin (cf. basgorn above).
Brilthor "Glittering Torrent" (river-name, one of the tributaries of Gelion). Listed in the
Etymologies in the same entry MBIRIL (LR:372) as bril discussed above; also mentioned in the entry
THOR, LR:393. The first element bril- would have the same derivation as bril "glass, crystal" above,
though it is here translated "glittering" instead. The second element thor directly represents the stem
THOR "come sweeping down", here used in an agental sense: "thing that comes sweeping down" =
"torrent". Alternatively we can see -thor as a shortened form of the adjective thôr "swooping, leaping
down" (probably from *thorâ), in which case Brilthor is actually Bril Thôr, "Glass/crystal (that is)
leaping down" (Tolkien's translation "glittering torrent" being explicatory rather than literal). Notice
that the final element of Balthor "Vala-king" is wholly unrelated; this -thor is just the form tôr (-tor)
takes after the liquid l (lt becoming lth for phonological reasons).
brith "broken stones, gravel". The undefined stem BIRÍT is said to be unique to Ilkorin (LR:353).
It looks like an extension of a simpler stem *BIR, but there is no material to throw any light on the more
basic meaning. A primitive form is given as b'rittê, presumably representing even older *biríttê before
the unaccented vowel of the initial syllable dropped out. The double tt of b'rittê is probably best taken
as a medial fortification, the final consonant of BIRÍT being doubled (compare WJ:415, where a
primitive word grottâ is said to be an "intensified" form of grotâ). Here, we see primitive tt become th,
as in Sindarin; contrast (?) adda, q.v. The ending -ê sometimes occurs in the names of substances; cf.
for instance mazgê "dough" (LR:371 s.v. MASAG) or srawê "flesh" (MR:350). "Broken stones" may
also be considered a substance, as indicated by the additional gloss "gravel".
Brithombar *"Land of Brithon" (LR:353 s.v. BIRÍT). Compound of the river-name Brithon,
q.v., and bar "land", more literally "home" (notice assimilation nb > mb in Brithon-bar >
Brithombar). As an Ilkorin word, bar is attested in compounds only (Brithombar and Dimbar), but it
would obviously come from the stem MBAR "dwell, inhabit" (LR:372). It is possible that it would have
a long vowel (*bâr) if it appeared as an independent word. (Compare thôr "sweeping" with short -thor
in the river-name Brilthor.)
Brithon "pebbly", river name. Derived from the same undefined stem BIRÍT as brith "broken
stones, gravel" (q.v.) If the gloss is literal, this word must be derived from *biríttânâ > *b'rittânâ with a
longer form of the adjectival ending -nâ (concerning which see caun).
broga "bear". The stem MORÓK (LR:374) is not itself defined; it could be an extended form of
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MOR "dark, black" (Letters:382); perhaps we are to assume that the Elves' first acquaintance with bears
involved black bears? The primitive form is given as morókô; the final -ô could be a third reduplication
of the stem-vowel, or it may be an ending denoting a (male) animate. As often, the unaccented vowel of
the initial syllable dropped out on the way to Ilkorin; there must have been an intermediate form
*m'rokô, but mr was abandoned as an initial combination, becoming br instead (the same development
occurred in Sindarin/"Noldorin"). As usual, post-vocalic k is voiced to g, and the final -ô seemingly
survives as -a (cf. possibly adda < *attô above, but contrast benn < besnô and other words where it is
simply lost like the other final vowels).
burnin pl. of boron (BOR); see boron.
caun "bowed, bow-shaped, bent". Another, apparently earlier form was coun. Derived from a
stem KU3 "bow" (LR:365). The most primitive form is given as ku3nâ, sc. the stem KU3 with the
adjectival ending -nâ (in UT:266, a word in -nâ is called as an "ancient adjectival form"). A later form
kogna, perhaps "Old Ilkorin", is also mentioned: In Ilkorin, the primitive back spirant 3 (= gh) became a
plosive g; compare go "from" (q.v.) from 3O. Another change affects the stem-vowel, u becoming o;
this is evidently due to an umlaut caused by the final -a. The combination g + a nasal proved unstable,
the voiced plosive later becoming a spirant gh following a vowel (see tûgh, tû) and then merging into
the preceding vowel to produce a diphthong ou: kogna > *kogn > *koghn > coun. This diphthong
eventually merged with au (found in many other words), producing caun. For a wholly parallel case,
see daum (< do3mê).
celon "river". Derived from a stem KEL "go, run (especially of water)" (LR:363). A primitive
form kelu-n is given. Extensions in -n are not uncommon (see for instance boron), but instead of
normal ómataina (reduplication and suffixing of the stem-vowel itself, which in this case would have
produced *kele), an element u is suffixed to KEL. (Compare the middle vowel of the Quenya derivative
celumë "stream, flow".) The Index to Unfinished Tales, entry Celos, actually mentions a root kelu-
"flow out swiftly". This suffixed element -u cannot be fully explained; in WJ:411, Tolkien refers to telu
as a "differentiated form of *TELE"; perhaps kelu- is similarly a "differentiated from" of *KELE. The u
of kelu-n has become o in Ilkorin celon; this may parallel the change seen in ulgundô > ulgund >
ulgon, ulion (q.v.) Perhaps unaccented u tended to become o in Ilkorin?
côm "sickness". The stem KWAM (LR:366) is not itself defined. Quenya quámë, Sindarin paw
and Ilkorin côm must all descend from a form something like *kwâmê (or conceivably *kwâmi >
Common Eldarin kwâme). After long â became ô (compare ôr, tôr, q.v.), the initial consonant evidently
lost its velarized quality, *cwôm becoming côm (compare gôd, q.v.). If Ilkorin is to be adapted as a
Sindarin dialect according to Tolkien's later scenario, *kw would already have become p (as in the
Sindarin/"Noldorin" cognate paw), so we would have seen *pôm instead.
coun "bowed, bow-shaped, bent", alternative (evidently older) form of caun, q.v. (LR:365 s.v.
KU3)
cwess "down" (noun). The stem KWES (LR:366) is not defined; the primitive form is given as
kwessê, apparently including a medial fortification s > ss (unless a longer ending -sê is present). The
ending -ê may denote a substance (cf. brith "gravel" < *b'rittê), and down is indeed a substance, but the
Quenya cognate of Ilkorin cwess (namely quessë) means "feather". If Quenya preserves the original
meaning of *kwessê, the final ê may be simply the stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened. - Again, cw
would have had to appear as p instead if Ilkorin is to be adapted as a dialect of Sindarin according to
Tolkien's later scenario.
dair "shadow of trees". Derived from a stem DAY "shadow" (LR:354). The Quenya word laira
"shady" points to a primitive adjective *dairâ with a well-attested adjectival ending -râ (compare târâ
"lofty"; see tôr). The same primitive form could have produced Ilkorin dair, but since the latter is a
noun rather than an adjective, it may be better to assume a primitive noun *dairê; concerning the
nominal (abstract or collective) ending -rê, compare for instance thêrê "look, face, expression" derived
from the stem THÊ "look (see or seem)" (LR:392). - Notice that Ilkorin preserves primitive *ai
unchanged, while it becomes ae in Sindarin (in the "Noldorin" of the Etymologies, Tolkien can be seen
trying to make up his mind whether *ai yielded oe or ae, but the latter was his final decision).
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dang "sound", onomatopoeic. Variant of ding, q.v. (LR:354 s.v. DING; dang would obviously
require a stem *DANG instead; DING is said to be a variation of TING, TANG [LR:394], so postulating
a form *DANG corresponding to TANG like DING corresponds to TING is not implausible).
daum "night-time, gloom". Derived from a stem DO3 with a variant DÔ (LR:354); this evidently
indicates that the original stem was DO3 (in which 3 = a back spirant, in Orkish spelt gh); later, the
weak consonant 3 was lost, and the preceding vowel was lengthened in compensation. The stem
DO3/DÔ is not defined, but Quenya ló "night" comes directly from DÔ. Daum is clearly to be referred
to do3mê with an ending denoting something abstract or intangible (this primitive form is mentioned in
LR:355, in the entry DOMO). The development apparently parallels that of caun above, *do3mê
becoming dogme (attested as an Old Sindarin word) and then daum; the form coun intermediate
between caun and *kogn < kogna may suggest that there was likewise a form *doum intermediate
between daum and *dogm < dogme.
dem "sad, gloomy". The stem, similarly defined, is given in LR:354 as DEM, but this must be an
error or a misreading, DIM being intended. The ancestral form of dem is given as dimbâ, not **dembâ,
and in two other derivatives (dim and dimb, see below), the original quality of the stem-vowel still
survives in Ilkorin. Dimbâ shows a medial fortification m > mb combined with the adjectival ending -â.
Some might also argue that -bâ is here an allomorph of the longer adjectival ending -wâ (w becoming b
after m?) In any case, there was a final -â that eventually caused the vowel i (in dimbâ) to umlaut to e,
the final -â thus leaving its mark upon the word dem even after it was lost, like the original final vowels
usually were in Ilkorin. Contrast dim "gloom, sadness" from dimbê, the original quality of the vowel
persisting because there was no following -â to cause umlaut. - In the word dem from dimbâ, and
likewise dim from dimbê, the cluster mb has been simplified to single m (probably after the loss of the
final vowel: *demb > dem). Strangely, final -mb seems to persist in dimb (see below).
Dilion - hypothetical Ilkorin form of Noldorin Gelion, not used (LR:359-360 s.v. GYEL, a stem
that is not defined as such, but apparently having to do with joy and triumph). This example would
seem to indicate that primitive initial gye- (gje-) comes out as di- in Ilkorin, so that the cognate of (say)
Quenya yerna "old, worn" (primitive *gjernâ, stem GYER) would be *dirn. As for the name
Dilion/Gelion itself, Tolkien made a note that his son rightly describes as "perplexing": "Gelion shorter
name of a great river in E. Beleriand; a Gnome [Noldo] interpretation (this would have been Dilion in
Ilkorin); cf. Ilk. gelion = bright, root GAL." What Tolkien is trying to say seems to be this: The name
Gelion actually comes from the Ilkorin word for "bright", derived from the stem GAL. However,
Tolkien imagined that the Noldor incorrectly associated this word with their own Noldorin word Gelion
(for at this time, he still had not turned Noldorin into Sindarin), derived from the stem GYEL having to
do with joy: Noldorin Gelion is translated "merry singer". That this was not the correct interpretation of
the Ilkorin river-name, even though the Ilkorin and the Noldorin word had the same form, is shown by
the fact that the true cognate of Noldorin Gelion (stem GYEL) would not have been Gelion at all, but
Dilion: In Ilkorin, primitive gje- became di-, not as in Noldorin ge-. Gelion (q.v.) means "bright"
instead, unrelated to the Noldorin word gelion.
dim "gloom, sadness" (LR:354 s.v. DEM, but as explained in the entry dem above, the actual
stem must rather be DIM). The primitive form is given as dimbê, which is the stem DIM with medial
fortification m > mb and the abstract ending -ê or conceivably DIM with an ending -bê, allomorph of
the abstract ending -wê (w becoming b following m). As in the case of dem above, the simplification
mb > m likely took place only after the loss of the final vowels.
dimb "sad" (LR:354 s.v. DEM). This synonym of dem (from dimbâ) must come from another
adjectival form, with an ending that does not cause umlaut - say, *dimbi. Compare for instance the
primitive adjective slindi "fine, delicate", derived from the stem SLIN; slindi thus shows a medial
fortification n > nd that could be compared to m > mb in *dimbi. Strangely, *mb is in this case not
simplified to -m after the cluster became final by the loss of the final vowels; contrast dim and dem
above. Perhaps dimb is an early form, later becoming *dim (and then probably disappearing, since this
adjective would then merge with the noun dim, leaving dem as the sole adjectival form). Dimb occurs
in the place-name Dimbar, *"Sadland". Compare Christopher Tolkien's note on Dimbar in the
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Silmarillion Index, entry bar; the first element is there said to mean "sad, gloomy". Concerning the
element -bar, see Brithombar above.
ding "sound" (also dang). Essentially the stem DING, said (in LR:354) to be onomatopoeic, with
no additional elements. DING is a variant of TING, TANG. See dang, Belthronding above.
dôl "flat, lowlying vale". Does this gloss mean "vale that is flat and lowlying", or that dôl
functions both as an adjective "flat" and as a noun "lowlying dale"? The word is in any case derived
from a stem DAL "flat" (LR:353). One primitive form is listed as dâla; read perhaps *dâlâ since the
final vowel is still in place in Quenya lára: A short final -a would have disappeared at the Common
Eldarin stage. In Ilkorin, final A disappears whether it was short or long, but a long final -â could be
identified with a well-attested adjectival ending (explicitly mentioned by Tolkien in WJ:382). Non-final
long â in any case becomes ô, hence dâl- > dôl, perhaps an adjective "flat" (the original meaning of the
primitive word) that also came to be used as a noun "lowlying vale".
dor "land", isolated from Argador, Dor-thonion (q.v.) If dor appeared independently, it would
probably have a long vowel: *dôr. In the Etymologies, the Eldarin words for "land" are derived from a
stem NDOR "dwell, stay, rest, abide" (LR:376). No Ilkorin word is there listed, but dor would have the
same origin as the identical Sindarin word: primitive ndorê (the ending -ê may sometimes denote a
locality, compare taurê "forest", LR:391 s.v. TÁWAR). Notice, however, that Tolkien many years later
derived the Eldarin words for "land" from a stem DORO "dried up, hard, unyielding" (WJ:413).
However, this later source does confirm that the Primitive Quendian form was ndorê, now thought to be
formed by initial enrichment d > nd. This is defined as "the hard, dry land as opposed to water or bog",
later developing the meaning "land in general as opposed to sea", and finally also "a land" as a
particular region.
Dor-thonion "Land of Pines", place-name (LR:392 s.v. THÔN). Concerning dor "land", see
separate entry above. Thonion is the genitive plural of thôn "pine", q.v.
dorn "oak" (same word in Ilkorin and Doriathrin). The stem DÓRON is itself defined only as
"oak" (LR:355). It is tempting to think of DÓRON as an extended form of DORO "hard, unyielding"
(WJ:413), since oak-wood is hard - though the stem DORO is not in the Etymologies and only appears
in a document written a quarter of a century later. Quenya norno and Sindarin doron together point to a
primitive form *doronô, where the final -ô may simply be the stem-vowel reduplicated, lengthened and
suffixed (-ô may also be a masculine ending, but this does not seem fitting here).
duil "river". Listed under the stem DUI (LR:355), not itself glossed in the Etymologies, but in A
Tolkien Compass p. 179 it is defined as "flow (in volume)". The primitive form is probably meant to be
*duilê, originally an abstract formation "flowing". See VT39:16 concerning the abstract ending -lê; cf.
also such an example as tuilê "spring-time" from TUY "spring, sprout" (LR:395); tuilê is literally simply
an abstract *"springing, sprouting". In Ilkorin, duil has taken on a more concrete meaning than its
primitive counterpart *duilê: "flowing" > "river".
Duilwen place-name, *"Green River" (LR:355 s.v. DUI, LR:359 s.v. GWEN). See above
concerning duil "river". The element -wen "green" would seem to be a lenited and shortened form of
gwene, q.v.
duin "water, river" (LR:355 s.v. DUI). See duil above concerning the most basic meaning of the
stem DUI. The primitive form of duin "river" is given (in A Tolkien Compass p. 178-179) as duinê. A
noun-former -nê is seen in a few primitive words, e.g. neinê "tear" from the stem NEI of similar
meaning (LR:370). The primitive word ornê "(slender) tree" is stated to be related to the adjective ornâ
"uprising, tall" (UT:266). In this word, -nê would seem to be a nominal ending corresponding to
adjectival -nâ, an ornê being literally a "tall thing", used with reference to slender trees. It may be, then,
that there was an adjective *duinâ "flowing (in volume)" that corresponds to a noun *duinê "thing that
flows" = "water, river". - In A Tolkien Compass, duin is understood to be a Sindarin word, since Ilkorin
was partly swallowed up by Sindarin when Tolkien revised the history of the Elvish tongues. Cf.
Anduin "long river" in LotR. Also in Esgalduin, which name Tolkien originally thought of as Ilkorin.
dûm "twilight" (short -dum in tindum, q.v.). Listed under a stem DOMO "faint, dim" (LR:354);
a primitive form dômi- is listed (the hyphen suggesting that the word is incomplete?) The ending -i is
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rare (normally used to form colour-adjectives) and cannot be readily explained. In Quenya, dômi-
"twilight" and do3mê "night" merged as lómë, but in Ilkorin they apparently remained distinct
(appearing as dûm and daum, respectively). - This word provides our sole example of long ô becoming
Ilkorin û, though this parallels the development in Sindarin.
edrin pl. of adar, q.v. for discussion (LR:349 s.v. ATA).
Eglath is in the Etymologies conceived as a form cognate with Quenya Eldar (LR:368 s.v. LED);
according to LR:358 s.v. GAT(H) this is what the Ilkorins called themselves. Tolkien's ideas about the
etymology of both Quenya Eldar and the Beleriandic word Eglath changed over time. In Etym he first
associated Eldar with a stem ELED "go, depart, leave" (LR:356), transparently a stem-vowel prefixed
variant of a simpler stem LED "go, fare, travel" (LR:368). The idea was that the Eldar were the elves
that left Cuiviénen to go to Valinor (whether they ever got there or not). While this application of the
word Eldar remained ever since, Tolkien soon changed its etymology to "Star-folk", introducing a new
stem ÉLED, evidently to be understood as an extended form of EL "star" (LR:355). In the Silmarillion
narrative the story emerged that Oromë originally called all the Elves by this name, but it was later
applied only to those who followed him on the westward march. At this time, Tolkien probably
imagined the primitive form of Quenya Elda to be the same as the one he gave in Letters:281 many
years later: Eledâ "an Elf". According to LR:356, eled- had an alternative, transposed form edel-, the
whole word presumably being *edelâ. After the loss of the middle vowel, bringing the consonants d
and l into direct contact, the new cluster dl became Ilkorin gl as in Eglath. (In the "Noldorin" of the
Etymologies, but not in Tolkien's later Sindarin, intervocalic dl also becomes gl.) The ending -ath seen
in Eglath must be understood as a collective suffix, corresponding to a similar ending in
"Noldorin"/Sindarin. However, Tolkien later derived Quenya Elda from primitive eldâ, an adjectival
formation "connected or concerned with the stars" (WJ:360), and it is doubtful whether eldâ could
come out as Egl- in Ilkorin. By this time, Tolkien had long since replaced Ilkorin with Sindarin as the
language of the Elves of Beleriand. The term Eglath was carried over into Sindarin and is found in the
published Silmarillion (chapter 5), where it is still said to be what the Elves of Beleriand called
themselves, but now it is translated "the Forsaken People". Hence Eglath is no longer conceived as the
cognate of Quenya Eldar "Star-folk". In WJ:365, a variant form Eglan (pl. Eglain, Egladhrim) is
associated with a stem HEK, HEKE "aside, apart, separate" (cf. WJ:361).
[El-bereth] ?"Heavenly Valor", personal name (LR:352 s.v. BER). It is not clear from the
Etymologies whether this was intended as a name of Varda, the well-known application of the name
Elbereth in Sindarin. In the Etymologies, Tolkien struck out El-bereth as an Ilkorin name, perhaps
because of the emergence of a similar form as a name of Varda. Here, the second element is bereth
"valor", q.v. for discussion. The element el- presumably means "heaven" or "sky" in light of two other
Ilkorin words that were explicitly translated by Tolkien, Elrond "Vault of heaven" and Elthorn "eagle
of sky". In the Etymologies, the element EL is defined not only as "star" but also as "starry sky"
(LR:355), and the translation "heaven" or "sky" must depend on the latter gloss. It is said that in
"Noldorin and Telerin", EL was confused with a distinct stem 3EL "sky" (LR:360), but this would
probably come out as *gel- in Ilkorin, so it is difficult to see how the elements could have been
confused in that language. - Concerning Tolkien's later, different interpretation of the name Elbereth as
the Sindarin name of Varda, see barathi, elen-barathi in the wordlist appended to the article about Old
Sindarin.
Elrond "Vault of heaven", name of Eärendel's [sic] son (LR:384 s.v. ROD). Concerning the first
element el- "heaven", see El-bereth above. In the Etymologies, rond "vault" is derived from a stem
ROD "cave", Quenya rondo indicating a primitive form *rondô, showing nasal infixion and an ending
-ô that may be simply the stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened. Much later, when Elrond had long since
become a Sindarin name, Tolkien derived the element rond from a stem RONO "arch over, roof in"
instead (WJ:414). The primitive form would still be the same, *rondô, but now nd must be taken as a
medial fortification of n; it cannot be produced by nasal infixion as when the stem was still conceived
as ROD. In the same source, Tolkien translated Elrond as "Star-dome" rather than "Vault of heaven",
the element el- now meaning "star" only, rather than covering both "star" and "heaven" as in earlier
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sources.
Elthorn "eagle of sky", personal name. In LR:392 s.v. THOR/THORON, the name is given as
"Elthor(o)n", probably indicating an Ilkorin form Elthorn and a "Noldorin"/Sindarin form Elthoron
(since the "N"/S word for eagle is thoron, corresponding to Ilkorin thorn). Concerning the element el-,
see El-bereth above; see thorn for a discussion of the last element.
[emuin misreading for emnin, pl. of aman, q.v. (LR:348 s.v. AM1)]
erdh "seed, germ". Derived from a stem ERÉD (LR:356) that is not itself defined, but to be
understood as a stemvowel-prefixed variant of RED "scatter, sow". The primitive form of erdh is given
as eredê; the ending -ê is probably just the stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened. The syncope brought
original r and d into direct contact, and as in Sindarin, d becomes dh following a liquid r or l (see alch).
Ermabin, Ermabrin "one-handed", name of Beren (LR:371 s.v. MAP). The prefixed element er
"one" is obviously derived from the stem ERE "be alone, deprived" (LR:356; compare Eru, the One, as
a Quenya name of God). For the middle element mab "hand", see separate entry. The endings -in, -rin
turn "hand" into an adjective "handed". These adjectival endings would represent primitive -ina, -rina,
the final -a being lost before it could cause umlaut (or we would see -en, -ren, as in Sindarin).
esg "sedge" (LR:356 s.v. ESEK), obsoleting: [esg] "rustle, noise of leaves" (LR:357 s.v. EZGE).
The stem EZGE was itself defined "rustle, noise of leaves"; this looks like a rearranged form of a
simpler stem *SEG (compare EZDÊ, from which is derived the name of the Valië Estë, in relation to the
verbal stem SED "rest": LR:357, 385). When Tolkien introduced the ESEK, he evidently imagined esg
to be derived from either *eskê or *esekê. For the change sk > sg following a vowel, compare esgal
(stem SKAL1) below. Curiously, this shift does not occur in the river-name Ascar (Askar).
esgal "screen, hiding, roof of leaves". Derived from the stem SKAL1 "screen, hide (from light)".
It is not clear where the prefix e- comes from; a similar prefix appears in esgar # 2 (see below).
Esgalduin "River under Veil" of [?leaves] - Tolkien's handwriting was illegible (LR:386 s.v.
SKAL1, LR:355 s.v. DUI, LR:357 s.v. EZGE).
esgar (1) "reed-bed" (LR:356 s.v. ESEK). In the name Esgaroth, q.v. Esgar would seem to be
esg "sedge" (see above) with some sort of collective ending, perhaps related to the Quenya collective
ending -rë.
esgar (2) "wound"? The word is not clearly glossed; Tolkien lists Quenya and
"Noldorin"/Sindarin words for "wound", adding "cf. Ilk. esgar" with no further explanation. While
esgar cannot be a direct cognate of the other words listed, it seems that it is intended to mean "wound"
like they do. The stem SKAR (LR:386) is not defined as such, but its derivatives suggest a basic
meaning "tear, wound", verb or noun. The e- prefix in esgar is curious, but compare esgal above. As in
esgal (from the stem SKAL1), sk becomes sg following a vowel.
Esgaroth "Reed-lake" (LR:356 s.v. ESEK). Concerning the first element, esgar "reed-bed", see
separate entry. It would seem that -oth is the element translated "lake". No similar word or element of
such a meaning seems to occur anywhere else.
gangel ?"harp" (pl. genglin). The wording in LR:377 s.v. ÑGAN is not quite clear as to whether
this Ilkorin word means "a harp", "harping" or even "harper", but gangel seems to be the cognate of
Quenya ñandellë "little harp", Sindarin/"Noldorin" gandel, gannel "harp". The stem ÑGAN, also
expanded ÑGÁNAD (with ómataina and suffixed -d), is defined "play (on stringed instrument)".
Quenya ñandë "a harp" must represent *ñgandê, the ending -ê apparently being a noun-former here
(was this originally an abstract "harping", since -ê often functions as an abstract ending?) The longer
form ñandellë "little harp" (< *ngandellê) apparently has a diminutive ending attached, perhaps related
to the feminine ending seen in Tintallë "Kindler" as a title of the goddess Varda. Though ñandellë is
defined as "little harp", the Sindarin/"Noldorin" cognate gandel, gannel is simply glossed "a harp",
suggesting that the final element was no longer felt to signify smallness in this language, gannel being
perceived as a unitary word: this may also be true for Ilkorin gangel. In gangel we see the same shift nd
> ng as in gwilwering "butterfly" = Quenya wilwarind-. This is an unusual development; in many
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words nd is unchanged in Ilkorin (e.g. lind, rond, thind, tindum, tund). In gangel, the shift nd > ng
may be due to assimilation, nd being influenced by the initial g (or already the primitive initial *ñg). -
The plural genglin shows the plural ending -in, q.v., combined with the regular syncope of the middle
vowel and umlaut a > e caused by the i of the plural ending.
Garthurian "Hidden Realm", "Fenced Realm" = Doriath; from gardh-thurian (LR:358 s.v.
GAT(H), LR:393 s.v. THUR; notice that in LR:360 s.v. 3AR, Garthurian is said to be a Doriathrin
word rather than Ilkorin). LR:393 s.v. THUR indicates that Garthurian is a compound of garth, gardh-
"realm" and an element thurian "hidden". In LR:360 s.v. 3AR, Quenya arda "realm" is said to be
derived from the stem GAR, defined as "hold, possess" (LR:357, there struck out, but on the next page
GAR resurfaces as a variant of a stem 3AR - apparently of similar meaning). Quenya arda must
therefore come from gardâ (this primitive form is actually mentioned in WJ:402), showing a medial
fortification r > rd and the ending -â that may denote something inanimate; it may also simply be the
stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened. Gardâ produced garth in Doriathrin (evidently gardâ > *gardh >
*garth), and the same word evidently occurred in Ilkorin as well. - The element thurian "hidden" is
obviously a kind of past participle based on the verbal stem THUR-, defined as "surround, fence, ward,
hedge in, secrete". To explain the ending -ian we must probably assume a primitive verb *thurjâ- with
a verbal ending that is very well attested (yielding Quenya -ya); to this verb the primitive adjectival/past
participle ending -nâ has been added to produce *thurjânâ > Ilkorin thurian.
gelion "bright", evidently the same word that is also the name of the river Gelion. Listed in
LR:359 under GYEL; however, the stem is not GYEL; instead it is indicated to be GAL. The latter stem
is listed as a separate entry in the Etymologies (LR:357), where it is said to be a variant of KAL "shine"
(cf. LR:362), but no derivatives are listed. Gelion could represent primitive *Galjânâ, combining the
adjectival endings -jâ and -nâ. - At a later stage, Tolkien noted that Gelion was among the "river-names
[that] need revision to etymologizable words" (WJ:336), as if he himself could not think of any suitable
etymology then. This may be connected to the rejection of Ilkorin as the language of Beleriand; Gelion
now had to become a meaningful Sindarin word instead, or be dropped altogether. Various possible
replacements are indeed listed in the source just quoted (WJ:336); Tolkien even considered postulating
that the name was actually adapted to Grey-elven from Dwarvish Gabilân "great river". The published
Silmarillion nonetheless retains Gelion as the name of the great river of Beleriand.
go "from". Derived from a stem 3O "from, away, from among, out of". (LR:360; in a later entry,
Tolkien noted that the stem WÔ "together" had no descendant in Ilkorin because it became identical to
go- and hence did not survive: LR:399.) In a later source than the Etymologies, Tolkien gave the
primitive stem meaning "from" as HO instead of 3O (WJ:368). Go- was also a patronymic prefix;
Tolkien used the example go-Thingol "son of Thingol" - which is a strange example, since Thingol had
no son, but only a daughter (Lúthien). But since the basic meaning is simply "from Thingol", this
phrase could surely cover "daughter of Thingol" as well. - At the same time, Tolkien also stated that
"initial h disappeared in Sindarin" (WJ:369), so it would be difficult to keep go as a Sindarin word if we
were to adapt Ilkorin as a Grey-elven dialect.
gôd "dirtiness, filth". The stem WA3 "stain, soil" (LR:397) yielded a primitive form wahtê; this is
evidently Common Eldarin for even older (sc. Primitive Quendian) *wa3tê "a stain", the back spirant 3
later becoming h (here probably denoting [x] = German ach-Laut) by contact with the unvoiced plosive
t. (Compare Primitive Quendian ma3-tâ yielding Common Eldarin mahtâ-; see LR:371 s.v. MA3.) The
ending -tê is very rare, but can apparently be used to derive words for something that is produced by
means of the verbal action denoted by the stem (compare kirtê "cutting, rune" from kir- "cut", WJ:396;
if Tolkien's glosses for the stem WA3 - "stain, soil" - are taken as verbs rather than nouns, wahtê could
be a similar formation). Waht- clearly became wât- at some early point, h being lost and the preceding
vowel being lengthened in compensation, long â later becoming ô (cf. ôr, tôr), while -t was regularly
voiced to -d following a vowel. This is not how primitive ht develops in Sindarin; instead of h being
lost and the preceding vowel being lengthened, ht was assimilated to tt in Old Sindarin, later becoming
th in Classical Sindarin (the cognate of Ilkorin gôd being gwath). - It is clear that original w- turned into
gw- at some early stage (and here Ilkorin does follow Sindarin). Nearly all the words in gw- listed
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below come from stems in W- (only in the cases of gwên and gwene did the stem originally begin in
GW-). Before o, gw was reduced to g- (hence gôd < *gwôt < *gwât- < *wât- < wahtê).
góda- "to soil, stain". Derived from the stem WA3 of similar meaning (LR:397); a primitive form
is given as wahtâ- (Common Eldarin for Primitive Quendian *wa3tâ-?), showing the common verbal
ending -tâ. Tolkien probably imagined a development something like wahtâ > wâtâ- > *gwâta >
*gwôta- > *góda-. Normally, final -â would not survive into Ilkorin as -a (cf. for instance gwedh [q.v.],
not **gwedha, for primitive wedâ). The hyphen following góda- may suggest that it is not really final
at all, but that some pronominal or inflectional ending would follow. Góda as an independent word
may actually mean *"he soils, stains"; concerning the ending -a implying "he" and "present tense", see
taga.
gôr "soiled, dirty". Yet another derivative of WA3 "stain, soil" (LR:397); the primitive form is
given as wa3râ with a well-attested adjectival ending (compare for instance ubrâ "abundant" from the
stem UB "abound", LR:396). Wa3râ became *wârâ when the back spirant 3 was lost before a
consonant and the preceding vowel was lengthened in compensation (compare *ta3râ > târâ, see tôr).
Later, w turned into gw, but when â became long ô, the preceding gw turned into g. Compare gôd,
góda- above.
gwath "shade". This is also the gloss of the stem WATH (LR:397); no primitive form is given,
but Old Sindarin ("Old Noldorin") watha points to *wathâ. Here, the ending -â is used to derive an
inanimate noun (compare gwedh < wedâ "bond" below). In this and the following words, gw for
primitive w- persists (instead of becoming g before o as in gôd, góda-, gôr above). - The form
gwethion occurring in the name Urthin Gwethion (q.v.) may be the genitive plural of gwath; notice
the I-umlaut turning a into e.
gwau "wind". The relevant entry-head in the Etymologies reads WÂ-, WAWA-, WAIWA-
(LR:397, defined as "blow"), apparently indicating a simple stem WÂ that also appears in reduplicated
form WAWA, and the latter may also be I-infixed to produce WAIWA. Quenya vaiwa (archaic waiwa)
and Sindarin gwaew must come from *waiwâ, but Ilkorin gwau rather represents WAWA.
gwedh "bond". Primitive wedâ, derived from the stem WED "bind" (LR:397), shows an ending
that is often adjectival but may also form inanimate nouns, as here. Wedâ is best taken as an impersonal
agental formation: a "bond" being a thing that functions as a "binder". (Compare mapâ; see mab.)
gwelo, also gwelu, "air, lower air" (said to be "distinct from the 'upper' air of the stars, or the
'outer' " - this refers to Tolkien's invented cosmology, or one stage of it). The stem WIL is defined "fly,
float in air"; primitive wilwâ (> Quenya wilwa) by its form looks like an adjective (ending -wâ, see
adu), but it is clearly intended to be a noun. Before the final -â disappeared, it umlauted i to e (compare
rest, q.v., from rista-). After the loss of the final vowel, a form *gwelw may have occurred (initial w
having become gw already); then the final semivowel -w turned into a full vowel u, producing gwelu,
final -u later turning into -o, hence the form gwelo. Compare ado, earlier adu.
gwen "girl". The stem WEN "maiden" (LR:398) also has a longer form WENED (with ómataina,
sc. the stem-vowel reduplicated and suffixed, and a suffixed -D). This expanded stem is reflected in
Quenya vendë (< *wendê), but Tolkien argued that there must also have been a simpler primitive form
wen- (the hyphen suggesting some final vowel that was later lost), and he quoted the Ilkorin form gwen
as evidence for such a form. This would seem to indicate that final -nd was not reduced to -n in Ilkorin
(and this is confirmed by such examples as lind, rond, thind, tund, q.v.); hence gwen could not be a
direct cognate of Quenya vendë, for if so it would appear as **gwend instead.
gwên "greenness". This word, as well as gwene below, is derived from a stem where initial gw- is
original and not a later elaboration of primitive w-. The stem GWEN is not itself defined - Tolkien only
noted that it was not connected to WEN(ED) "maiden" (see gwen above) - but the derivatives of GWEN
have to do with greenness and freshness. Ilkorin gwên is evidently a cognate of Quenya wén
"greenness, youth, freshness", perhaps indicating a Primitive Quendian form *gwene, Common Eldarin
*gwên (compare PQ kwene "person" > CE kwên, Quenya quén, WJ:360-361). Earlier long â, ô in
Ilkorin become ô, û (see ôr, dûm), just as in Sindarin, and since Sindarin turns long ê into î, we might
expect that an earlier form *gwên would come out as *gwîn in Ilkorin. However, this is not the case;
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gwên is simply unchanged. (Cf. terêwâ yielding Ilkorin trêw, q.v., not as in Sindarin/"Noldorin" trîw.)
Long *í, *î is actually not attested in any Ilkorin word.
gwene "green". Derived from the same undefined stem GWEN as gwên above (LR:359). This is
surely the cognate of Quenya wenya "green, yellow-green, fresh", indicating a primitive form *gwenjâ.
After the loss of final -â, the semivowel that remained at the end of *gwenj turned into a full vowel,
evidently producing *gweni in early Ilkorin (cf. gwini, q.v., though this word was struck out). Later,
final -i turned into -e, hence the attested form gwene (but probably still gweni- as the first element of
compounds). This parallels the development of final *-w turning into -u and then -o in words like adu,
ado "double" (but only adu- in compounds like Adurant, since -u is not there final). In compounds,
the word gwene is actually only attested as the final element, in the name Duilwen *"Green River", in
which -wen is apparently a reduced form of gwene. (A voiced stop following a liquid like l normally
turns into a spirant, cf. the words alch, erdh, so at an older stage the form may have been *Duilghwen,
gh subsequently being lost as in Sindarin. The word tûgh > tû, q.v., demonstrates that Ilkorin at one
stage had the spirant gh and then lost it.)
Gwethion *"Shadow-land"? This is a place-name possibly meant to replace Urthin; Tolkien's
wording is not clear. Derived from the stem WATH "shade" (LR:397), this name shows the regular
Ilkorin enrichment of initial w- to gw, plus the ending -ion occurring in the names of some countries;
the i of this ending turns the stem-vowel a into e by umlaut. However, it is also possible that Tolkien
intended a name Urthin Gwethion, that could be interpreted "Mountains of Shadows" if we take
gwethion to be the genitive plural of gwath (q.v.)
gwilwering "butterfly". The basic stem is WIL "fly, float in air" (LR:398); the rest of the word is
somewhat obscure. Ilkorin gwilwering, Quenya wilwarin (wilwarind-), Telerin vilverin and
"Noldorin"/Sindarin gwilwileth cannot all be cognates; the latter evidently represents a reduplicated
stem WIL-WIL (combined with the feminine ending -eth). The middle element of the Ilkorin, Quenya
and Telerin words, variously appearing as -wer-, -war- and -ver-, is difficult to explain; Quenya
wilwarin suggests that the original middle vowel was a, in Ilkorin umlauted to e by the i in the next
syllable. Quenya wilwarin may be analyzed as wilwa-rin, the first element meaning "air" (cognate of
Ilkorin gwelo, q.v.) and the final element being obscure. If, on the other hand, we take -in(d)- to be an
independent suffix, it may be analyzed as a feminine ending (cf. such names as Serindë), semantically
corresponding to Sindarin -eth in gwilwileth. Unlike -eth, the -ing of Ilkorin gwilwering is apparently
cognate with Quenya -ind-; for this (rare) correspondence ng = nd compare gangel "harp" = Quenya
ñandellë. Perhaps this shift is due to assimilation (to g occurring elsewhere in the word) in both cases.
gwing "spindrift, flying spray". Derived from an undefined stem WIG (LR:398); primitive wingê
shows nasal infixion and an ending -ê that has no clear-cut meaning; here it may be relevant that it
occurs in the words for a number of substances (see brith, maig). The derivation of wingê from WIG
exactly parallels that of slingê "cobweb" from SLIG (LR:386, another undefined stem). In certain late
writings, Tolkien considered removing Quenya wingë and Sindarin gwing (Ilkorin no longer existed)
from the Elvish languages, making it a word of the Mannish language of the people of Bëor instead
(PM:370; the original Bëorian form is given as wing). Tolkien's final decision, however, seems to have
been that wing- was to remain an Elvish word. He now proposed an etymology by which it was related
to a Quenya word winta- "scatter" (PM:377, note 24); this probably requires a stem *WIN, for the stem
given in the Etymologies, WIG, could hardly be the base of a High-elven word winta-. A stem WIN was
indeed listed in Etym (LR:399), but it was struck out and could for semantic reasons hardly have
yielded a word for "spindrift" anyway (see gwini below).
[gwini, later gwine "evening"] In the Etymologies, the entire entry for the stem WIN/WIND was
struck out by Tolkien (LR:399). This undefined stem presumably meant much the same as the first
word listed: primitive windi "blue-grey, pale blue or grey". Gwini, gwine is however derived from
winjâ (spelt winyâ in LR:399). By its form, primitive winjâ would most likely be a verb or an adjective
(ending -jâ); however, all its descendants in various languages are nouns for "evening". The
development parallels that of gwene (q.v.): after the loss of the final vowel -â, the now final -j first
became -i and then -e.
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gwo- "together" (LR:399 s.v. WÔ), prefix apparently occurring in older Ilkorin, but it was later
lost because when w disappeared before o (cf. gôd), this prefix could no longer be distinguished from
go, go- from" (q.v.) - The long vowel of the stem WÔ must have been shortened in this prefix (because
it was unstressed?); otherwise, it would have become long û at the Ilkorin stage. Compare dûm, q.v.,
from dômi-.
-in plural ending seen in adar pl. edrin, aman pl. emnin, boron pl. burnin, gangel pl. genglin,
talum pl. telmin. The original Primitive Quendian language had a plural ending -î (as in kwendî
"Quendi, Elves", WJ:360). There was also a plural element -m; LR:360 s.v. 3O makes reference to this
"plural m". How and where this -m was originally used is not clear. It is tempting to assume that -in
somehow represents -î-m, the two primitive plural morphemes being combined, though final or
post-vocalic -m does not normally become -n in Ilkorin. This plural ending -in is also found in
Doriathrin and Westron.
-ion would seem to be the genitive plural ending, cf. Dor-thonion "Land of Pines", Torthurnion
"King of Eagles", Urthin Gwethion *"Mountains of Shadows". Quenya has the same ending; in that
language it represents the plural ending -i + o genitive marker + n another plural marker. See WJ:368,
407; cf. LR:360 s.v. 3O. We may assume that the Ilkorin ending has more or less the same etymology.
See also -a (the singular genitive ending).
laig "keen, sharp, fresh, lively". The stem LAIK is defined "keen, sharp, acute" (LR:367); a
corresponding Quenya form is given as "laike", but this is almost certainly a misreading for laika
(confused by the editor with the noun laike "acuteness, keenness of perception"? A form laika is
actually mentioned in LR:368 s.v. LÁYAK, where the editor rightly supplies a cross-reference to the
entry LAIK.) The corrected Quenya form points to a primitive form *laikâ with the frequent adjectival
ending -â. Tolkien indicated that laig was not only descended from *laikâ, but also from laik-wâ
"green", the latter being derived from the distinct stem LÁYAK (LR:368) and showing the adjectival
ending -wâ (concerning which see adu). Both *laika and laik-wâ would become laig in Ilkorin, since
after the loss of the final vowels, the now-final kw was evidently de-velarized to simple -k (compare
alch, salch); hence laikâ and laik-wâ merged as laik, in turn becoming laig. There was evidently a
semantic merger as well, the "keen, sharp, acute" of *laikâ being infused with the "green" of laik-wâ,
resulting in the idea of something "fresh" or "lively".
legol "nimble, active, running free". The stem LEK is defined as "loose, let loose, release"
(LR:368). We are probably to assume a primitive form *lekla, that may be compared to hekla "any
thing (or person) put aside" in relation to the primitive element HEKE "aside" (WJ:361). A *lekla
would then be "any thing (or person) that is nimble, active, running free" (since the ending -la would
seem to mean "thing or person"). Since legol is an adjective rather than a noun, it may also be referred
to *leklâ, an adjectival form of *lekla, just like hekla is said to have an adjectival form heklâ (still
WJ:361). After the loss of the final -a, -â, the final consonant of *lekl evidently became syllabic
(pronounced lek-l, much like English "little" is pronounced lit-l), but such syllabic consonants were
apparently disliked in the Eldarin tongues, for in all known cases a new vowel developed before them.
In Ilkorin (and Sindarin) this vowel was o, hence *lekl > *lekol > legol, alternatively *lekl > *legl >
legol if the voicing of post-vocalic unvoiced stops occurred before the new vowel developed (compare
makla "sword" > *makl > Sindarin magl, later magol; other Ilkorin examples include tangol, ungol,
ungor [q.v.] from earlier *tangl, *ungl, *ungr). Legol seems to occur in the name of the river Legolin;
the ending -in could be an extra adjectival suffix (concerning this ending, see Ermabin)
Lhinnon "musical land", a name of Ossiriand; the proper Ilkorin form seems to be Lindon, q.v.
In the entry LIN2 (LR:369) the wording "Lindon, Lhinnon Ilk. name of Ossiriand" occurs. A literal
interpretation of this would seem to indicate that Lhinnon is an Ilkorin word, so it has to be mentioned
here, but Lhinnon definitely looks like "Noldorin" instead (the "almost-Sindarin" of the Etymologies; in
LotR-style Sindarin we would expect *Linnon). Tolkien's intention may have been that Lindon is the
proper form of the Ilkorin name and that Lhinnon is a "Noldorin" adaptation of it. It should be
remembered that the Etymologies is for the most part Tolkien's rough working notes, not a work he
thought others would ever read, so there was no reason for him to clarify things that would be perfectly
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obvious to him.
lind "tuneful, sweet". Derived from a stem LIND "fair (especially of voice)" (LR:369); this stem
cannot well be separated from LIN2 "sing" (according to the Etymologies, this stem was "originally
GLIN", but WJ:382 mentions a primitive stem LIN with "primary reference to melodious or pleasing
sound"; this agrees well with the meaning of Ilkorin lind). WJ:382 also mentions a reinforced form
lind- that may well be equated with the entry LIND in the Etymologies. Lind corresponds to Quenya
linda "fair, beautiful", pointing to a primitive form lindâ ("sweet-sounding") that is actually given in
LR:386 s.v. SLIN. The ending -a is adjectival. - It should be noted that A-umlaut, whereby a final -â
may turn a preceding i or u into e or o, respectively, does not occur in this word. (Contrast the
"Noldorin" cognate lhend, Sindarin *lend, where the vowel has been umlauted. For an Ilkorin example
of A-umlaut, cf. rest < *ristâ.) It seems that in Ilkorin, a vowel that is followed by a n is not subject to
A-umlaut; cf. tund, tung corresponding to "Noldorin"/Sindarin tond, tong (see also tingla-). That only
n and not nasals in general has the power to neutralize (or subsequently undo the effect of?) A-umlaut is
evident from the word dem < dimbâ, where umlaut does occur despite the following nasal. It is also
possible that A-umlaut originally did occur, lind indeed being *lend at one stage, but that a subsequent
change turned e, o into i, u before n (and ñ = ng), as seems to be the case in the closely related
Doriathrin language - this change incidentally undoing the effect of the earlier A-umlaut. Unfortunately
we lack an Ilkorin example that could tell us whether original *o, *e (as opposed to the umlaut products
of *u, *i) also turn into u, i before n, but cf. Doriathrin cwindor from kwentro. - In the Ilkorin word for
"nightingale", murilind, the final element is probably a noun "singer" that is descended from *lindê
instead; see murilind. We cannot tell whether a noun lind "singer" also appeared as an independent
word in Ilkorin.
Lindon, a name of Ossiriand. (Concerning the form Lhinnon, see separate entry.) Tolkien
interpreted this name in several different ways over the years. In the Etymologies, it was defined as
"musical land" ("because of water and birds"), hence to be referred to the stem LIN2 "sing" (LR:369);
see lind above concerning this root. A primitive from Lindân-d is mentioned; this would seem to be the
primitive adjective lindâ "sweet-sounding" (LR:386 s.v. SLIN) with an ending that is sometimes used to
derive the name of countries (compare Sindarin Rochand, "Horseland, Rohan", Ossiriand "Land of the
Seven Rivers"). - Later, when Ilkorin had been discarded as the language of Beleriand, Tolkien
transferred the name Lindon to Nandorin (Green-elven) and derived it from primitive Lindânâ
(WJ:385), which is clearly Lindâ "Linda, Elf of the Third Clan" + the well-attested adjectival ending
-nâ. Lindânâ therefore means simply "(Land) of the Lindar", "Lindarin (Land)" (named after the
Lindarin Green-elves that entered Beleriand and settled in Ossiriand).
line "pool". Derived from the stem LIN1, that is similarly glossed (LR:369); the Quenya cognate
linya indicates a primitive form *linjâ. The ending -jâ is most often used to derive adjectives or verbs,
but here it is used to produce a noun (compare gwine "evening" < *winjâ). The development parallels
that of gwini > gwine and gwene: linjâ > *linj > early Ilkorin *lini > later line.
mab "hand". Not a direct cognate of Quenya má, though the stem MAP "lay hold of with hand,
seize" is probably ultimately related to MA3, the stem yielding the Quenya word (both stems listed in
LR:371). The primitive form is given as mapâ, the ending -â being simply a noun-former here (possibly
the stem-vowel suffixed and lengthened). A mapâ is apparently *"that which seizes". Compare wedâ
*"that which binds" = a bond; see gwedh.
Mablosgen "emptyhanded", epithet of Beren who returned to Menegroth without the Silmaril,
corresponding to Sindarin Camlost. Listed in LR:371 s.v. MAP, where we also find the first element of
this name: mab "hand". The element los apparently represents *lustâ "empty", the cognate of Quenya
lusta (LR:370, stem LUS); notice how the original final *-â causes u to become o by umlaut. The
ending -en could be adjectival, representing primitive -inâ, but it is unclear where the intervening g
(Mablosgen) comes from. Perhaps losg represents *luskâ rather than *lustâ, since -kâ is also an
adjectival ending. An alternative form Mablothren is listed in the entry LUS, though it is somewhat
unclear what language it belongs to; this plainly represents mab + lost + -ren, the latter perhaps being a
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variant of the adjectival ending -rin as in Ermabrin (another of Beren's epithets). In Sindarin, -ren is
the normal form of the ending in question.
maig "dough". Derived from a verbal stem MASAG "knead, make soft by rubbing, kneading,
etc." (LR:371). MASAG looks like an expansion of a simpler stem *MAS, of which the synonymous
stem MBAS "knead" (LR:372) may be a strengthened form. One primitive form of maig is given as
mazgê; the ending -ê may sometimes signify a substance (see brith, gwing). Mazgê is therefore a
*"kneaded substance". The oldest primitive form was probably *masgê, before the s of the stem
MASAG was voiced to z by contact with the following voiced stop g. According to the information
provided in WJ:402, the original form of the name of the Vala Estë was esdê, becoming ezdê in
Common Eldarin; in light of this, mazgê may also be seen as a Common Eldarin form. - As in Old
Sindarin, z followed by a consonant became i in Ilkorin, merging with the preceding vowel to produce a
diphthong, in this case ai. Hence mazgê > maig.
môr "night". Derived from the well-known stem MOR "dark, black", not explicitly glossed in
LR:373, but see Letters:382. A primitive form mori is given in both of these sources, glossed "black" in
LR:373 and "dark(ness)" in Letters:382. Since the ending -i is often used to derive colour-adjectives,
the glosses "black, dark" are probably the most literal, but it is interesting that according to Letters,
mori can also be an abstract "darkness". This explains how it could end up as a noun "night" in Ilkorin.
(In LR:394, where a "Noldorin" loan-word from Ilkorin is discussed, Tolkien emphasized that "mori
did not = 'night' in N", in a context implying that 'night' is precisely what it meant in Ilkorin.) Mori
would become *more in Common Eldarin, which is still the form used in Quenya, but as usual, the final
vowel has been lost in Ilkorin. At some late stage, the vowel of the resulting monosyllable *mor was
lengthened to produce môr; we know this was a late change, for earlier long ô would have become û in
Ilkorin (cf. dûm < dômi-). Such lengthening only occurs when there is only one consonant following
the vowel (hence no lengthening in words like rant, tass), and in a few words (bel, tal) it mysteriously
fails to take place. For a similar example of a late lengthening, see tâch.
murilind or myrilind, also murlind or myrlind, "nightingale" (LR:373 s.v. MOR, see also
LR:394). (The form "murulind" in LR:373 s.v. MOR is plainly a misreading for murilind as in LR:394;
compare the alternative form myrilind mentioned just afterwards, and also Quenya morilindë
mentioned just before.) The last element in all these Ilkorin forms, lind, evidently means "singer". If so
it is related to, but not identical to the adjective lind "tuneful, sweet" (q.v.), that is descended from
lindâ. Quenya morilindë indicates that the lind of murilind etc. descends from *lindê. Compare the
(evidently Old Sindarin) word linde "singer / singing" that is mentioned in WJ:309, pointing in the
same direction. The stem is transparently LIN, used with reference to "melodious or pleasing sound"
(see lind for reference). In *lindê, the stem is reinforced to lind-; the ending -ê can be taken either as
feminine (and then probably agental) or abstract. By the first interpretation, *lindê means "(female)
singer", the counterpart of masculine *lindô (whence Quenya lindo "singer, singing bird", LR:369 s.v.
LIN2). - The first element of these words for "nightingale", variously muri-, myri-, mur-, myr-, would
seem to mean "night", and is therefore a variant form of môr "night" above. In LR:394, Tolkien implies
that the first element of murilind represents primitive mori, as does môr. It would seem that mori
developed in another way when used as the first part of a compound; the -i was not final and therefore
was not lost. Mori- as part of *morilindê evidently became muri- because the i caused the original o to
umlaut to u; concerning this umlaut, compare boron pl. burnin and thoron pl. thurin. It would seem
that the umlaut affection continued and eventually turned u into y, since Tolkien indicated that
murilind also (later, or in another dialect?) appeared as myrilind. The shorter forms murlind, myrlind
are either shortened from murilind, myrilind or represent a shorter primitive form *morlindê with the
stem MOR "dark, black" prefixed directly to lindê. If so, the umlaut o > u > y must here be caused by
the i of the second element lind.
olg "hideous, horrible". The stem ÚLUG (LR:396) is not defined; it could be an extended form of
a simpler stem *UL- that may underlie the Quenya word ulca "evil" (as in henulca "evileyed", SD:68;
cf. the Qenya Lexicon p. 97). The Telerin cognate ulga points to a primitive form *ulgâ with the
adjectival ending -â. This former presence of this ending is indicated by the fact that original *u has
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been umlauted to o.
ôr "blood". This is also the meaning of the stem YAR (LR:400). The Quenya cognate yár,
becoming yar- with a short vowel before an ending, points to a Primitive Quendian form *jara (*yara),
later becoming *jâr (with endings *jar-) in Common Eldarin. (Compare PQ kwene "person", CE kwên,
kwen-, Quenya qúen, quen-: WJ:360, 361.) In Ilkorin, long â becomes ô (compare for instance côm,
tôr) and initial j- is lost (compare arn "red" < *jarnâ). - In later sources, there turn up words for
"blood" that cannot be derived from YAR: Sindarin sereg and Quenya sercë, indicating a primitive form
*serekê (see sereg in the Silmarillion Appendix). In Ilkorin, this would have become *serch.
oth "war". The entry-head OKTÂ occurring in the Etymologies (LR:379) is not so much a "stem"
as a primitive word in itself. As confirmed by Tolkien's cross-reference, the actual stem is KOT (or
according to one revision, KOTH) "quarrel" (LR:365). OKTÂ is a rearranged form of this stem, the
stem-vowel being prefixed instead of occurring between the two first consonants (concerning such
rearrangements, see esg). The ending -â may be just a noun-former here (it is normally used to derive
concrete nouns, not as here an abstract). The primitive cluster kt comes out as th in Ilkorin, perhaps via
assimilated *tt (compare brith from b'rittê for the development tt > th). This is somewhat different
from the development in Sindarin, in which language oktâ becomes (*oktha > *outha > *outh >) auth.
rant "flow, course of river" (also attested as the final element of the river-name Adurant). The
stem RAT is glossed "walk" (LR:383); the meaning of the "Noldorin"/Sindarin verb rado "to make a
way, find a way" may also be noted: A river-course is where the water makes its way. We are probably
to assume a primitive form *rantâ, a nasal-infixed variant of ratâ "path, track", alternatively *rantê
with the ending -ê sometimes denoting a locality (cf. dor "land" < ndorê).
rest "cut" (noun). In the Etymologies, Tolkien made two entries for the stem RIS (LR:384), first
glossing it "slash, rip" and then "cut, cleave". One primitive form is given as rista-, apparently a verb
"cut" like its identical Quenya descendant; we should probably read *ristâ- with a long final vowel
since a short final -a would not survive into Quenya rista-. The Quenya word rista may be used both as
a verb "to cut" and as a noun "cut", and Ilkorin rest must also derive from *ristâ used as a noun. The
final *-â caused umlaut before it was lost, changing *i to e (compare the umlaut *u > o in *ulgâ > olg,
q.v.)
rond "domed roof" (LR:384 s.v. ROD), also translated "vault" when appearing as a part of the
name Elrond "vault of heaven". See Elrond concerning the various etymologies Tolkien proposed for
this word; the one given in the Etymologies differs from the one given later, when Elrond had become a
Sindarin name.
salch "grass". The relevant entry-head in the Etymologies is SALÁK-(WÊ) (LR:385), which seems
to indicate a stem SALÁK with an ending -wê; Quenya salquë and Old "Noldorin"/Sindarin salape
likewise suggest a primitive form *salakwê. The ending -wê is somewhat surprising; LR:398 s.v. WEG
mentions an "abstract suffix" -wê, but "grass" is obviously not an abstract. However, this ending also
occurs on some concrete nouns, like atakwê "building" (LR:390). The development is apparently meant
to be *salakwê > *salkwê > *salkw > *salk > Ilkorin salch. Compare alch "swan" from" alk-wâ. Again
we run into the problem of kw/p if Ilkorin is to be adopted as a form of Sindarin; see alch.
saum "drinking-vessel". The stem SUK means "drink" (LR:388); the primitive form is given as
sukmâ, showing "a suffix frequent in the names of implements" (WJ:416, where a synonymous
primitive word julmâ is mentioned, derived from another stem for "drink"). To better understand the
development from primitive uk + nasal to Ilkorin au + nasal, we must realize that sukmâ would later
appear as *sokma because the final A would umlaut the stem-vowel. Compare Ilkorin caun < coun
(q.v.) from earlier kogna, ultimately derived from primitive ku3nâ, stem KU3. It may be that *sokma
later appeared as *sogma, if (as in the evolution of Sindarin) k became g before a nasal. If so, the
evolution from *sogma to saum would parallel that from kogna to coun > caun (and we must therefore
assume that saum was *soum in early Ilkorin).
tâch "firm, stiff, solid". Since this word is quite synonymous with Quenya tanca and
"Noldorin"/Sindarin tanc, and is moreover derived from the same stem TAK "fix, make fast" (LR:389),
it would be tempting to assume that all three words are cognate. Tanca, tanc are most likely to be
19 of 29 22.09.2004 11:30
derived from *tankâ (with nasal infixion and adjectival -â). The spirant ch of the Ilkorin word probably
represents older *kk; compare th from earlier *tt in brith < *b'rittê. But can we turn *tankâ into
*takka? An assimilation nk > kk is not implausible as such (it occurs in Adûnaic, SD:420). But later in
the same entry in the Etymologies, Tolkien derived Ilkorin tangol "pin, brooch" from tankla. Here, nk
does not become kk, or we would expect *tachol (as in "Noldorin"/Sindarin). It seems, then, that tâch
cannot be a direct cognate of tanca, tanc < *tankâ. Rather we must refer this Ilkorin word to a distinct
primitive adjective *takkâ, perhaps the stem TAK with the adjectival ending -kâ (cf. for instance poikâ
"clean" from the stem POY, LR:382), alternatively TAK with a medial fortification k > kk and the
adjectival ending -â). - When the final vowel had been dropped so that only a monosyllable remained,
the stem-vowel was lengthened to produce tâch. This change was late, since early long â produces
Ilkorin ô (see ôr, tôr). For another example of a late lengthening of the stem-vowel in a monosyllable,
see môr.
taga "he fixes, constructs, makes". The stem TAK meant much the same: "fix, make fast"
(LR:389). There would be a primitive verbal stem *taka- or *takâ-, but how did the final vowel survive
into Ilkorin when final -a, -â is otherwise lost? It should be noted that Tolkien's gloss for taga includes
a pronoun, "he fixes". In the primitive language, the pronoun "he" (sô or so) also appeared as a suffix;
Tolkien made a reference to the "-so inflexion of verbs" (LR:385 s.v. S-). In the primitive language, "he
fixes" might therefore be *takâ-so, *takaso. After the loss of the final vowels, we would be left with
*takas; thereafter, post-vocalic lenition set in. If the development of Ilkorin parallels that of Sindarin,
single post-vocalic s became h at the same time k became g; hence we would have *takas > *tagah, but
final -h did not survive, so in Ilkorin, the word appears as taga. Final -a thus survived because it was
not final at an earlier stage, when final vowels were lost. The form taga probably covers the entire third
person singular: "he, she, it fixes" (since primitive *takaso, *takase and *takasa, with endings for "he,
she, it" respectively, would all end up as taga in Ilkorin). Compare toga "he brings", tolda "he fetches".
taig "deep". Tolkien's notes on the etymology of this word are vague. It the Etymologies, it is
listed in the entry for the stem AYAK "sharp, pointed" (LR:349). A Quenya word aiqua "steep" is
tentatively suggested to be related to "Noldorin" oeglir "range of mountain peaks" (in later Sindarin
aeglir). Quenya aiqua would most likely represent primitive *aikwâ, a shortened form of the stem
AYAK + the adjectival ending -wâ. (As Tolkien says, the other words can only be "related" and not
direct cognates, for *aikwâ would produce "Noldorin" **oeb-, Sindarin **aeb-, not oeg-, aeg-.) In
Ilkorin, aikwâ would come out as *aig. The unexpected appearance of the initial consonant seen in taig
Tolkien explained by postulating that this Ilkorin word was "blended with tára, see TÂ". LR:389 lists a
stem TÂ, TA3 "high, lofty, noble" with a derivative târâ "lofty" (the ending -râ is adjectival; see gôr),
Quenya tára. It does not make much sense that a Quenya word as such could influence an Ilkorin word,
so tára in LR:349 s.v. AYAK is better taken as some early Beleriandic form descended from târâ.
However, it is not quite obvious how the meanings "steep" and "lofty" could merge to produce the
meaning "deep".
Taiglin, river-name (= Teiglin in the published Silmarillion). In the Etymologies, is not clear
from the wording in the entry LIN1 (LR:369) what language this word belongs to (it is mentioned after
the Quenya word ailin "pool", but Taiglin is obviously not Quenya, since this language cannot have g
in this position). The name looks like Ilkorin, though, and the Etymologies lists many other Beleriandic
river-names that are explicitly identified as Ilkorin (Adurant, Aros, Askar/Ascar, Brilthor, Brithon,
Gelion, Duilwen, Esgalduin, Legolin, Thalos). In the Etymologies, it seems that Taiglin is intended to
mean *"deep pool" (taig "deep", q.v., plus an element -lin evidently derived from LIN1 "pool", the
entry where the name occurs in the Etymologies). Later, when this river-name had to become a Sindarin
word because Ilkorin had been discarded as the language of Beleriand, Tolkien interpreted it quite
differently: The (Old Sindarin?) elements were now said to be taika "boundary" and linde "singer /
singing", the latter being used as the name "of many rivers of quick course that make a rippling sound"
(WJ:309); hence the name would mean "boundary river". As Tolkien noted in the same place, taika +
linde would rather produce Taeglind in Sindarin (and *Taiglind in the Ilkorin of the Etymologies). As
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mentioned above, the published Silmarillion nonetheless has the form Teiglin; after Tolkien's revisions,
this probably has to be understood as some dialectal Sindarin form.
tal "foot", pl. tel. The stem TAL is itself glossed "foot" (LR:390). The Quenya cognate tál
becomes tal- with a short vowel when an ending is added. This may suggest a Primitive Quendian form
*tala, Common Eldarin *tâl, tal-, Quenya tál pl. tal-. (Compare PQ kwene "person", CE kwên, kwen-,
Quenya qúen, quen-: WJ:360, 361.) However, Common Eldarin *tâl should have yielded Ilkorin **tôl
(compare ôr, q.v.). Perhaps Ilkorin tal "foot" is simply the stem TAL with no additions; it is still strange
that we do not at least have **tâl with a long vowel, since the vowel of monosyllables is lengthened in
a number of other words (see môr, tâch, thôr, but contrast bel - are we to assume that lengthening does
not take place before l?!) Whatever the case, the plural form tel is obviously due to i-umlaut caused by
the primitive plural ending -î: *talî. It is not clear why the longer Ilkorin plural ending -in is not used in
this word (**telin).
talum "ground, floor", pl. telmin. Derived from a stem TALAM "floor, base, ground" that is said
to be an extended form of TAL, the stem for "foot" (LR:390). TALAM shows ómataina (reduplication
and suffixation of the stem-vowel) + a suffixed -m. Quenya talan and "Noldorin"/Sindarin talaf point to
a primitive form *talama (the final vowel cannot be reconstructed with certainty; it may also have been
-e or -o). Following the syncope of middle vowels and the loss of final vowels, a form *talm would
arise in the branch of Elvish leading to Ilkorin, and this form may still be reflected in the plural telmin.
But it would seem that the final nasal of talm became syllabic (constituting a syllable by itself, tal-m),
and a vowel developed before it to make a regular syllable. In Ilkorin, the vowel developing before final
syllabic consonants is normally o (see tangol, tovon, ungor, ungol), but here we see u instead; perhaps
this is the vowel that regularly develops before syllabic m (no other examples in Ilkorin, but compare
Tolkien's early "Gnomish" language, where a word like telm "roof, sky" has an alternative form telum;
see the Gnomish Lexicon p. 70). - The plural form telmin perfectly fits the pattern exemplified by the
examples adar pl. edrin and aman pl. emnin: the plural is formed with the ending -in, triggering
umlaut a > e in the stem of the noun itself, and the noun is contracted by omission of the second vowel
(or, as we argued above, the plural telmin may reflect the simpler word *talm that evidently existed
before the vowel u developed before the final nasal).
tangol "pin, brooch". Derived from a nasal-infixed variant of the stem TAK "fix, make fast"
(LR:389) combined with the ending -la: tankla. This ending seems to imply only "thing" or "person"
somehow related to the meaning of the stem; see the entry legol about the example hekla. Sometimes,
words for implements are derived by means of this ending, like tekla "pen" from TEK "write" (LR:391).
A tankla is not precisely an implement (unlike takmâ "thing for fixing" from the same root, see taum
below), but a thing that is itself "fixed", namely a brooch. Tankla is the only published primitive word
to combine the ending -la with a nasal-infixed variant of the stem. It would seem that k, sandwiched
between the voiced consonants n and l, became voiced to g (see tingla- concerning a possible parallel
development *ntl > *ndl); later, after the loss of the final vowels, the final consonant of *tangl
evidently became syllabic, and then a vowel o developed before it to produce tangol. (See legol
concerning such developments.)
targ "tough, stiff". Derived from an undefined stem TÁRAG (LR:390); the primitive form is
given as targâ, apparently including the adjectival ending -â (WJ:382). Notice that while the unvoiced
stops p, t, k turn into spirants f, th, ch following the liquids l, r (see alch), a voiced stop like g is not
affected. (In Sindarin, g following a liquid apparently first became a spirant *gh paralleling the
development of other stops in such a position. Later final gh following a consonant became -a; hence
the "Noldorin"/Sindarin cognate of targ is tara, apparently representing older *targh.)
tass "pin". The primitive form is given as taksê, defined as "nail", so in this case, there is a
semantic change as well as a change in form. The stem TAK means "fix, make fast" (LR:389). In a
number of primitive words, the ending -sê seems to denote something that is made by the verbal action
of the stem, e.g. sjadsê (syadsê) "cleft, gash" in relation to its stem SYAD "shear through, cleave"
(LR:389). But in taksê, the ending seems to denote an implement, a "nail" (the meaning of the primitive
word) being a thing that is used to fix something. There seems to be no other example of -sê being used
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with such a meaning (this is rather how the ending -mâ is normally used; cf. taum below). In Ilkorin
tass, original ks has assimilated to ss (which is also how primitive ps comes out in Ilkorin: see ass,
tuss).
taum "holder, socket, hasp, clasp, stable". This word, like tass above, is derived from the stem
TAK "fix, make fast" (LR:389). The primitive form is given as takmâ, "thing for fixing". This is a very
literal translation; see saum concerning the ending -mâ often occurring in the names of implements. As
suggested in the entry saum, it may be that k followed by a nasal was voiced to g at some stage, so that
there was an intermediate form *tagma; later, when g following a vowel became a spirant gh (see
tûgh), the combination *-aghm- evidently proved unstable and became aum.
taur 1. "great wood, forest"; 2. "wood" (material). The first of these descends from taurê "great
wood, forest". The meaning of taurê primarily reflects the stem TÁWAR "wood, forest" (LR:391; taurê
= *taw'rê; in a later source, Tolkien gave the stem for "wood" as TAWA [VT39:7], of which TÁWAR
would be an expanded form). Except for this taurê, there are few examples of primitive words in -ê
denoting localities, but ndorê "land" may be noted (LR:376 s.v. NDOR, also WJ:413). Tolkien noted
that taurê was blended with taurâ "mighty" from the quite distinct stem TUR "power, control, mastery,
victory" (LR:395); this taurâ shows A-infixion (according to VT39:10 an intensive formation) and the
adjectival ending -â. Hence, taur was used with reference to great forests. But in Ilkorin, taur was also
used for "wood" as a material, and according to LR:391 s.v. TÁWAR, this was descended from the
distinct primitive form tawar, though taurê and tawar merged as taur in Ilkorin. Presumably tawar first
became *tauar, the vowel following the diphthong later dropping out to produce taur.
tel pl. of tal, q.v. (LR:390 s.v. TAL)
telf "silver". This word alone indicates that in Ilkorin, Tolkien uses the spelling f for final [f], not
ph as in "Noldorin"/Sindarin. The stem KYELEP itself means "silver" (LR:366-367); in the
Etymologies, Tolkien hinted that there was also a side-form TELEP, but this may also be seen as the
form KYELEP took in Telerin. In PM:366, a stem KYELEP "silver" is mentioned among the four stems
for metals that are common to all Eldarin languages (the others denote gold, iron and copper), The
primitive form of the word for "silver" is given (in Letters:426) as kjelepê (there spelt kyelepê). The
final -ê may be the base-vowel suffixed and lengthened; on the other hand, one of the functions of the
ending -ê is to denote a substance (cf. for instance mazgê "dough", LR:371 s.v. MASAG, or srawê
"flesh", MR:350). Interestingly, primitive kj- comes out as t in Ilkorin (as in the Telerin of Aman: the
Telerin cognate of telf is telepe, telpe). This is markedly different from Sindarin, in which language kj-
became c (kjelepê yielding celeb). Primitive kj- probably first became ty (tj), cf. Quenya tyelpë, ty in
turn being simplified to t. - The loss of the second vowel of kjelepê brought l and p into contact, and as
usual, an unvoiced stop turns into a spirant following a liquid: lp > lf as in telf. See alch.
telmin pl. of talum, q.v. (LR:390 s.v. TALAM)
thall "steep, falling". The stem STAL is itself defined "steep" (LR:388); the primitive form, given
as stalrê, is somewhat surprising, since the ending -rê is normally used to derive abstract or collective
nouns. It may be that stalrê is a misreading for *stalrâ with a well attested adjectival ending (as for the
endings -rê and -râ, compare dair). Notice the assimilation lr > ll in thall; initial st becomes th
(presumably = þ, sc. th as in English think). In Sindarin and Quenya, initial st- developed in the same
way (þ subsequently becoming s in Noldorin Quenya).
thalos "torrent", also used as name of a river in Ossiriand, Thalos apparently being thought of as
the "Torrent" par excellence. Derived from the same stem STAL "steep" (LR:388) as thall above. The
ending -os is somewhat obscure (it also occurs in another Ilkorin river-name, Aros); we must assume
that the primitive form was something like *stalossê (while Aros perhaps descends from *jarossê). The
ending -ssê may sometimes denote a locality; cf. its Quenya descendant -ssë in such words as aicassë
"mountain peak", apparently derived from the adjective aica "sharp": LR:349 s.v. AYAK. Hence
*stalossê = ?"steep place" (and *jarossê = ?"red place"). It is not clear where the middle vowel of
*stalossê would come from, though.
thavon "carpenter, wright, builder". The stem STAB as such is not defined; the words derived
from it revolve around the theme of architectural constructs made of wood: chambers, halls, wooden
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pillars (LR:387-388). Thavon seems to be the cognate of Quenya samno (but not directly cognate with
"Noldorin"/Sindarin thavron; though this word seems more similar, it actually employs a distinct
ending). Two primitive forms are listed, stabnô and stabrô; Ilkorin thavon (and Quenya samno) are
clearly to be referred to the former. The ending -nô in stabnô is masculine and often agental; cf. for
instance tirnô "watcher" in relation to the stem TIR "watch, guard" (LR:394; tirnô occurs in the
compound khalatirnô, khalatirno "fish-watcher"). The development must have been *stabnô > *thavno
> *thavn after the loss of the final vowels. Tolkien may have imagined that the now final *-n became
syllabic (constituting a syllable by itself, *thavn being pronounced *thav-n, like English oven is
pronounced ov-n). Then, as in the case of final syllabic l and r, a vowel o developed before it to produce
thavon. Compare tubnâ > *tov-n > tovon, q.v.
thind "grey, pale", also Thind as the name of "Elwë's brother". (Thind is the same person as
Thingol, King of Doriath; while Tolkien later made Elwë/Elu a name of Thingol himself, "Elwë" here
corresponds to the character Tolkien later called Olwë, Lord of the Teleri. See LR:217, note 23, about
these revisions.) Both of these words are derived from a stem THIN (LR:392), not itself defined but
yielding words having to do with grayness: it is suggested that it may be related to TIN "sparkle, emit
slender (silver, pale) beams", LR:393. Both the adjective thind and the name Thind clearly reflect a
strengthened stem thind-, a medial fortification turning N into ND. However, this is where the
similarities end, for while the adjective and the name could no longer be distinguished in Ilkorin, they
actually represent quite different formations at the primitive stage. The original Primitive Quendian
colour-adjective is given as thindi (both in LR:392 and WJ:384; notice that primitive th is aspirated t, in
Ilkorin becoming th as in English think; this parallels the development in "Noldorin"/Sindarin). That
the final -i is not just the stem-vowel suffixed is seen from the fact that other colour-adjectives with
other stem-vowels than i show the same ending (e.g. karani "red", LR:362 s.v. KARÁN). The name
Thind, on the other hand, must descend from *Thindô with the masculine ending -ô, still reflected in
the Quenya and Telerin cognates: Sindo, Findo. - In the Etymologies, it is stated that Thind was "later
in Doriath called Thingol" (LR:392 s.v. THIN); see below.
Thingol (masc. name). Derived from the stem THIN (LR:392), not defined as such, but it is
suggested to be a variant of TIN "sparkle, emit slender (silver, pale) beams". THIN yields words for
"grey, pale, evening, fade". This entry in the Etymologies implies that Thingol's name in the primitive
language was *Thindô *"Grey One" (primitive form not given as such, but compare Quenya Sindo,
Telerin Findo). *Thindô yielded Ilkorin Thind, q.v. above. But according to the same source, Thind
was later called Thingol as a compound of Thind (Thin-) and gôl (-gol), the latter element meaning
"wise" (derived from the same well-known stem ÑGOL "wise, wisdom, be wise" [LR:377] that is also
the source of the Quenya word Noldo). However, Tolkien eventually rejected this explanation of the
second element in the name Thingol. In later sources, the name Thingol is interpreted "Grey-cloak" (so
already in LotR Appendix A: "Lúthien Tinúviel was the daughter of King Thingol Grey-cloak...") In
MR:385, the second element of Thingol (Quenya Sindikollo) is said to be kolla, which is defined as
"borne, worn, especially [when used as a noun] a vestment or cloak". (The final -a of kolla is replaced
by the masculine ending -o in the name Sindikollo.) It seems that kolla is a Quenya word; the primitive
form can tentatively be given as *kolnâ, sc. a stem *KOL "bear" (cf. Quenya colindo "bearer" in
Cormacolindor "Ring-bearers", LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308) with the adjectival/past
participle ending -nâ. If the masculinized form kollo descends from a word that existed already in the
primitive language, this would be *kolnô. Primitive *Thindikolnô would come out as Sindikollo (or
*Sindikoldo) in Quenya, and evidently it would also become Thingol in the Ilkorin of the Etymologies.
In Sindarin, in which language initial k (c) is often lenited to g when a word appears as the second
element in a compound, *kolnâ or *kolnô would indeed become -gol in this position. A similar lenition
C > G is seen to occur in Ilkorin, cf. basgorn "round bread" (bast "bread" + corn "round").
thôn "pine-tree", gen. pl. thonion in Dor-thonion "Land of Pines" (concerning dor "land", see
separate entry). The stem is given as THÔN, not itself defined (LR:392). It is strange that the vowel is
indicated to be long, for a primitive form *thôn- would have produced Ilkorin **thûn (cf. dûm, q.v.,
from dômi-). Rather the primitive form must be *thon-, probably with some final vowel that was later
23 of 29 22.09.2004 11:30
lost, the vowel of the resulting monosyllable *thon being lengthened in Ilkorin to produce thôn.
Compare mori > *more > *mor > môr, q.v.; cf. also thôr below. Since this lengthening only occurred
in monosyllables, it is not surprising to see that the vowel remains short in the genitive plural thonion. -
The Etymologies suggests that thôn was borrowed into early "Noldorin" and later became thaun, but
while "Noldorin" normally closely corresponds to later Sindarin, the Sindarin word for "pine-tree" is
not thaun, but the same as the Ilkorin word: Thôn. When Tolkien discarded Ilkorin as the language of
Beleriand, he carried over into Sindarin a number of Ilkorin names, including Dor-thonion (in
Grey-elven the ending -ion is better seen as adjectival, since Sindarin has no genitive endings).
thôr "sweeping, leaping down". It is not clear from the wording in LR:393 whether this word is
intended to be Ilkorin or "Noldorin"/Sindarin; it may occur in the river-name Brilthor (q.v.), that is
explicitly said to be Ilkorin. In any case, thôr is probably to be referred to a primitive adjective *thorâ,
derived from the stem THOR "come swooping down". After the loss of the final vowel, the resulting
monosyllable *thor was apparently lengthened to thôr; compare môr, tâch. Another word from the
same stem that may or may not be Ilkorin is thórod "torrent", evidently representing an extended stem
*thórot-.
thorn "eagle" (also in the names Elthorn "eagle of sky" and Thorntor *"Eagle-king"), pl.
thurin, and evidently genitive pl. thurnion in Torthurnion, q.v. The relevant entry-head in the
Etymologies (LR:392), namely THOR-, THORON-, clearly indicates a simple stem THOR with an
extended form THORON (showing ómataina, sc. a reduplicated stem-vowel, plus a suffixed consonant
-n). As mentioned in the discussion of thôr above, Tolkien assigned the root-sense "come swooping
down" to the basic stem THOR (LR:393), and this can of course be applied to eagles. The syncopated
form thorn is what we would expect in Ilkorin; however, the plural thurin is a bit strange. The change
o > u is apparently an umlaut caused by the vowel of the plural ending -in (compare burnin as the pl.
of boron, q.v.) But why does the n of thorn disappear in the plural form thurin? Is this plural formed
from the simple stem THOR instead of the expanded form THORON? The example burnin indicates
that a final -n does not regularly drop out when the plural ending -in is added. It may be that thurin is a
misreading or misprint for *thurnin, and the genitive plural thurnion seems to support this theory.
Thorntor evidently = Sindarin Thorondor, "King of Eagles", literally *"Eagle-king" (LR:392 s.v.
THOR/THORON). The elements are thorn "eagle" + -tor "king" (uncompounded tôr); see thorn, tôr
for discussion. Notably, the second element of the compound is not lenited; since *corn becomes -gorn
in basgorn (q.v.), we might have expected -tor to become -dor here, as in the Sindarin form of the
name.
thrôn "stiff, hard". The basic stem is STAR "stiff", with an extended form STARAN (sc. STAR
with -n suffixed to ómataina, the stem-vowel reduplicated). The primitive form of thrôn is given as
starâna. The ending -a could be adjectival (but we would then expect long -â), or it may be just another
reduplication of the stem-vowel. Notice the lengthening of the middle vowel of starâna; surely this
vowel also received the accent at some stage, and the unaccented vowel before it dropped out: starâna
> *st'râna. Compare such a primitive word as b'rittê "gravel"; the stem BIRÍT indicates that the older
form was *biríttê (see brith); cf. also Ilkorin trêw from terêwâ, apparently accented on ê. From
*st'râna we get directly to Ilkorin thrôn, the changes st > th, â > ô and final vowels > zero all being
familiar. - In compounds, thrôn may be shortened to thron (as in thron-ding below).
thron-ding *"stiff-twang", element in the name Balthronding, Belthronding (LR:388 s.v.
STARAN); see Belthronding.
thúren "guarded, hidden". This is the past participle based on the verbal stem THUR "surround,
fence, ward, hedge in, secrete" (LR:393). A "Noldorin"/Sindarin past participle equivalent in meaning,
thoren, is derived from tháurênâ later in the same entry; yet tháurênâ does not seem to be the ancestral
form of thúren, for it is difficult to get from primitive áu to Ilkorin ú. A primitive form *thûrinâ seems
much more likely. Compare such a past participle as Quenya rácina "broken" vs. the verb rac- "break"
(MC:222-223); rácina would represent primitive *râkinâ, a form wholly parallel to *thûrinâ: the past
participle is in both cases formed with the ending -inâ combined with lengthening of the stem-vowel. In
Ilkorin, *thûrinâ becomes thúren because the final -â, before it was lost, umlauted the i in the syllable
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before it to e (cf. for instance dem concerning this umlaut).

thurin pl. of thorn, q.v. (LR:392 s.v. THOR, THORON)
tim "spark, star" (the first gloss is the most literal, "star" being a secondary application). Tolkien
suggested that the stem TIN "sparkle, emit slender (silver, pale) beams" (LR:393) was related to THIN,
the stem yielding words for "grey" (see thind above). The primitive form tinmê by its form looks like
an abstract formation; concerning the abstract ending -mê, cf. for instance julmê "drinking, carousal" in
relation to the verbal stem JULU "drink", WJ:416). Of course, there is no great semantic leap from an
abstract *"sparkling" to a concrete noun "spark". It may be that nm early assimilated to mm in the
branch of Elvish that leads to Ilkorin, tinmê becoming *timme and later *timm > tim (while nm was
dissimilated to nw in Quenya, *tinmê producing High-elven tinwë). - Later, after Ilkorin had been
discarded as the language of Beleriand, Tolkien spoke of tim as a Sindarin word (MR:388).
tindum is glossed both "starlight, twilight" (LR:393 s.v. TIN) and "starry twilight" (LR:354 s.v.
DOMO). The final element is plainly just a shortened form of dûm "twilight", see separate entry. The
prefixed element tin- reflects the stem TIN "sparkle, emit slender (silver, pale) beams", that is also the
source of an Ilkorin word for "star" (see tim above). Since tindum corresponds to Quenya tindómë and
"Noldorin"/Sindarin tinnu, it would seem that this compound was made already in Common Eldarin:
primitive *tindómi? - Tor Tinduma "King of Twilight", a title of Thingol (LR:393 s.v. TIN, LR:392
s.v. THIN); tindum here has the genitive ending -a.
tingla- "sparkle", verb. This is a strange formation. The stem TIN also means "sparkle" or "emit
slender (silver, pale) beams" (LR:393), but this entry in the Etymologies provides no help regarding the
ending -gla-. Conceivably, tingla- could be the cognate of the Quenya form tintila- "sparkle" attested in
Namárië in LotR. We must then imagine a development something like this: primitive *tintilâ- is first
syncopated to *tintlâ-; the t, sandwiched between the voiced consonants n and l, is itself voiced to
produce d; the resulting form *tindla- then becomes tingla-, since a shift nd > ng is seen in a few
Ilkorin words (see gangel, gwilwering). The final -a of tingla does not change the stem-vowel to e by
umlaut (as in rest < *ristâ) because there is an n following the stem-vowel; compare lind (not **lend)
< lindâ.
tiog "thick, fat". Derived from a stem TIW, similarly defined (LR:394). The primitive form is
given as tiukâ, -kâ being an adjectival ending (cf. poikâ "clean" from POY, LR:382; see also tâch). As
usual, a final semi-vowel in the stem turns into a full vowel when followed by a consonant, hence
TIW-kâ > tiukâ for *tiwkâ (and likewise poikâ for *poykâ, *pojkâ). The final -â umlauted the u to o
before it was lost: tiukâ > *tioka > *tiok > Ilkorin tiog.
toga "he brings". The stem TUK likewise means "draw, bring" (LR:395); we are clearly to
assume a primitive verbal stem *tukâ- (the â umlauting the u to o), to which the ending -so "he" was
added; cf. taga "he fixes, constructs, makes" for further discussion of the development.
tolda "he fetches". The ending -a ("he" + present tense) would represent *-aso as in taga (and
toga above). The stem TUL means "come, approach, move towards (point of speaker)" (LR:395); the
formation tultâ- "make come" is perhaps our best example of the verbal ending -tâ being used with a
causative meaning. In the Ilkorin form tolda-, the final -a has umlauted the original u to o as we would
expect (cf. toga above), but the change lt > ld is somewhat surprising. In our other example, lt becomes
lth instead: Balthor "Vala-king" (Bal + tôr). This, of course, is a compound and therefore represents l
+ t in secondary contact, whereas tolda represents a case where the combination lt existed already in the
primitive language (tultâ); this may account for the differing Ilkorin developments of this cluster.
tôr "king", only used of Thingol (LR:389 s.v. TÂ, TA3), but the plural form tórin "kings" was
also used of the Valar (LR:350 s.v. BAL). The original stem was apparently TA3, glossed "high, lofty;
noble", later becoming TÂ when the back spirant 3 was lost and the vowel was lengthened in
compensation. A primitive adjective târâ (presumably representing even older *ta3râ) is mentioned,
defined as "lofty"; the ending -râ is adjectival (cf. Quenya laira "shady" form *dairâ, see dair; see also
ungor). While Ilkorin tôr could be derived from târâ itself, Tolkien also listed a primitive noun târo,
apparently a personalized form of târâ (the masculine ending -o, more commonly -ô, replacing the final
-â). Târo "king" ("only used of the legitimate kings of whole tribes") is the form quoted as the source of
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Ilkorin tôr, the changes being perfectly regular: final vowel lost and long â becoming ô. In various
phrases and compounds tôr is shortened to tor, apparently because it is not fully accented: Tor Thingol
"King Thingol" (LR:390 s.v. TÂ, TA3), also compounded Torthingol (LR:392 s.v. THIN). Tor
Tinduma "King of Twilight", a title of Thingol (LR:393 s.v. TIN, LR:392 s.v. THIN; see tindum),
Balthor "Vala-king" (LR:350 s.v. BAL, -tor becoming -thor following the liquid l), Thorntor
*"Eagle-king", King of Eagles, = Sindarin Thorondor (LR:392 s.v. THOR, THORON).
tóril a title of Melian, evidently meaning "queen". Listed in the same entry TÂ, TA3 as tôr "king"
(LR:389; see above) and clearly derived from it by means of a feminine ending. There are no other
examples of feminine -il in Ilkorin, but compare Doriathrin Thuringwethil "(woman of) secret shadow"
(LR:393 s.v. THUR) and Quenya tavaril "female dryad" (LR:391 s.v. TÁWAR).
Torthingol "King Thingol" (LR:392 s.v. THIN), the title tor (tôr) "king" being directly prefixed
to the name Thingol (compare uncompounded Tor Thingol in LR:389 s.v. TÂ, TA3).
Torthurnion evidently = S Thorondor, "King of Eagles" (LR:392 s.v. THOR, THORON). The
elements are tôr "king" (q.v.) and thurnion "of Eagles"; see thorn.
tovon "lowlying, deep, low". The stem TUB (LR:394) is not defined, but all of its derivatives
revolve around the same theme as the gloss of tovon. The primitive form is given as tubnâ "deep", the
ending -nâ being adjectival. Undoubtedly we are to assume a development like tubnâ > *tobna (the
final vowel causing A-umlaut so that u becomes o) > tobn, tovn > tovon. As in the case of thavon
(q.v.), the final -n evidently became syllabic, and a vowel o regularly developed before it.
trêw "fine, slender". The stem TER is apparently verbal, since it is glossed "pierce", though no
verbal derivatives are listed for any Elvish language (LR:392; an extended form TERES is also listed,
but seems to be irrelevant for trêw). The primitive form is given as terêwâ, glossed "piercing, keen";
notice the semantic drift that has taken place between the primitive language and Ilkorin. Terêwâ must
represent an extended stem TERE with ómataina (suffixed stem-vowel), here actually terê- with
lengthened ómataina, and an ending -wâ that is normally adjectival (concerning this ending, see adu).
Here, the ending -wâ takes on an almost participial force, being used to derive a word for "piercing"
from a verbal stem meaning "pierce". It seems clear that it was the middle vowel of terêwâ that received
the accent, and as in the case of other Ilkorin words, the unaccented vowel before it drops out (compare
brith < b'rittê < *birittê, or thrôn < starâna).
tûgh, tû "muscle, sinew, vigour, physical strength". The stem TUG is not defined; all of its
derivatives have to do with things that are somehow strong or taut. The primitive form is given as tûgu;
the ending -u may occur in the names of body-parts: cf. mbundu "snout, nose, cape" (LR:372 s.v.
MBUD) and ranku "arm" (LR:382 s.v. RAK). Therefore, it may be that "muscle, sinew" is the original,
basic meaning of tugû, from which the more abstract meanings "vigour" and "physical strength"
developed. - Post-vocalically, original g became a back spirant gh in Ilkorin, like all voiced stops turned
into spirants in this positions. However, the sound gh was lost in later Ilkorin, as the alternative form tû
would indicate (this parallels the development in "Noldorin"/Sindarin, that also has tû).
tund "tall". Derived from an undefined stem TUN (LR:395); the primitive form tundâ shows a
medial fortification n > nd + the adjectival ending -â. Again we see that a vowel followed by an n is not
affected by A-umlaut; hence this u is not umlauted to o (contrast olg, tovon above). Compare tung
below; cf. also lind (rather than *lend < *lindâ).
tung "taut, tight", (of strings:) "resonant". Concerning the stem TUG (LR:394), see tûgh, tû
above. The primitive form is given as tungâ, showing nasal infixion and the same adjectival ending -â
as in tundâ (see tund above). Taken together, the words lind, tund and tung (< lindâ, tundâ, tungâ)
seem to confirm that a vowel followed by an n is not affected by A-umlaut (or we would have seen
**lend, **tond, **tong). Alternatively, as we suggested in the entry lind, it may be that these forms
did exist at one stage, but a subsequent change turned e, o into i, u before n (and ñ = ng), as seems to be
the case in Doriathrin - this change incidentally undoing the effect of the earlier A-umlaut.
tuss "thatch". The stem TUP (LR:395) is not defined, but probably has to do with some kind of
roofing; compare the Quenya verb untúpa "down-roofs" = "covers" in Namárië in LotR (for the
translation "down-roofs", see the interlinear rendering in RGEO:67). The primitive form of tuss is
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given as tupsê; this is a quite unique example of the ending -sê being used to derive a word for a
construction. Notice that as in ass < apsâ, the primitive cluster ps is seen to assimilate to ss in Ilkorin
(as does ks; cf. tass < taksê).
Uduvon name of Melko[r]'s vaults in the North; = Quenya Utumno. The stem TUB is not defined
as such, but all of its derivatives have to do with something that is deep or low-lying (LR:394). In the
entry for this stem in the Etymologies, the primitive name of Utumno was given as Utubnu. This form
cannot be fully explained; utub- is clearly a stemvowel-prefixed variant of TUB, but the ending -nu
does not seem to occur in any other primitive word mentioned by Tolkien. Apart from this difficulty,
the Ilkorin form Uduvon arises perfectly regularly: After the loss of the final vowels we would have
*utubn; unvoiced stops become voiced and voiced stops become spirants following a vowel, resulting
in a form *uduvn, and finally a vowel o develops before the final, syllabic -n to produce Uduvon.
Compare another word derived from the same stem, tubnâ "deep" becoming Ilkorin tovon via *tobn >
*tovn. - In a later source, Tolkien derived Quenya Utumno from Utupnu, translated "the Deep-hidden"
(MR:69). Utupnu would probably have yielded Ilkorin *Udubon, but by the time this new primitive
form was proposed, Tolkien had discarded Ilkorin as the language of the Elves of Beleriand, replacing
it with Sindarin.
ulgund, ulgon, ulion "monster, deformed and hideous creature". Derived from a stem ÚLUG
(LR:396) that is not itself defined; it could be an extension of ULU "pour, flow" listed on the same
page, but then the semantic connection would be obscure. Perhaps ÚLUG is somehow related to
Quenya ulca "bad, evil" instead (henulca "evil-eyed", SD:68). Whatever the basic meaning of the stem
may be, the primitive form of the word for "monster" etc. is given as ulgundô; the ending -ndô seems to
be masculine (a nasal-infixed variant of -dô as in ñgolodô "Noldo"?) The three variant Ilkorin forms
listed evidently developed in the same order: Ulgundô first yielded ulgund simply by the loss of the
final vowels. Later, final -nd in polysyllabic words was evidently simplified to -n, so perhaps Elrond is
a slightly archaic form (there is no trace of such a simplification in monosyllables; see gwen for a list of
words that would have been affected). At the same time, the unaccented u became o, ulgund thus
turning into ulgon (compare celon, q.v., from kelu-n). Later still, the cluster lg + a vowel became li-
(this did not happen finally, cf. olg, not **oli). Perhaps lg first became *lgh; see taum for another
example of the back spirant gh turning into a vowel (*-aghm > aum).
ungol "darkness". The stem UÑG is not defined in the Etymologies (LR:396), but its derivatives
have to do with darkness and gloom. The immediate ancestor of ungol is clearly meant to be *ungl, the
l being syllabic so that a vowel o regularly developed before it (see legol). The l of *ungl would
represent a remnant of a longer ending. The complete word may have been *uñgla; see legol
concerning the ending -la. However, considering the abstract meaning ("darkness"), it may be more
probable that Tolkien intended the primitive form to be *uñglê, since "nouns made with the ending -lê
seem properly to have been universal and abstract" (VT39:16). Notice that the Ilkorin word ungol as
such is not directly cognate with the first element of Quenya Ungoliantë ("Noldorin"/Sindarin
adaptation: Ungoliant). This is a compound of Quenya ungo "dark shadow" (< *uñgô or *uñgu) and
liantë "spider"; see LR:386 s.v. SLIG for the latter. - It may be that Tolkien altered the meaning of the
stem UÑG, making it refer to spiders instead of darkness and gloom (if so, he probably reinterpreted the
name Ungoliant, since he originally intended the second element to mean "spider"). What suggests that
such a revision had taken place is the Quenya word ungwë. In the Etymologies, it was defined as
"gloom", but in LotR Appendix E (in the list of the names of the Tengwa letters), ungwë is said to mean
"spider's web" instead.
ungor "black, dark, gloomy". Derived from the same undefined stem UÑG (LR:396) as ungol
above. Again, this stem can be seen to refer to darkness and gloom (rather than spiders) at the time
Tolkien wrote the Etymologies. Ungor is undoubtedly meant to represent *uñgrâ, the ending -râ being
adjectival (cf. târa "lofty", see tôr, and Quenya laira "shady" form *dairâ, see dair). When the form
uñgr, ungr arose after the loss of the final vowels, r became syllabic, and as in the case of final syllabic
l, a vowel o developed before it to produce Ilkorin ungor.
Urthin Gwethion a place-name listed in LR:397 s.v. WATH. The wording in this entry is not
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clear; Tolkien first wrote Urthin and above it Gwethion, but following Urthin the "Noldorin"/Sindarin
form Eredwethion was added (= Ered Wethrin in the published Silmarillion). Urthin Gwethion would
seem to be the Ilkorin equivalent of Eredwethion. Urthin is apparently "mountains", plural of *orth,
derived from the stem ÓROT "height, mountain", in turn an extended form of ORO "up; rise; high"
(LR:379; orth is attested as a Doriathrin word). Gwethion may be seen as the genitive plural of gwath
"shade, *shadow", hence "mountains of shadows".
usc "smoke". Derived from an undefined stem USUK; a primitive form is given as us(u)k-wê, the
ending -wê denoting an abstract (see LR:398 s.v. WEG). If USUK is a verbal stem "reek, belch",
us(u)k-wê could be basically a verbal noun "reeking, belching", later used in a more concrete sense for
the smoke itself. It seems that after the loss of the final vowels, the now final -kw became -k in Ilkorin
(compare alch, for *alk, from *alk-wâ "swan").
APPENDIX:
Edward Kloczko's theory that Tolkien recycled parts of Ilkorin as North Sindarin
This article originally appeared in Tyalië Tyelelliéva #9 (October 1996) and is reproduced with Mr. Kloczko's kind
permission. Some very small changes have been made to adapt it to other Ardalambion texts (like references being
given in the form "WJ:400" rather than "400 WJ"). The letter @ represents an open variety of o; in Tolkien's
writings (and Kloczko's original article) it is represented by o with a comma-like diacritic attached. The vowel @ is
always long in this article, and was marked as such with a macron in the text in Tyalië Tyelelliéva. The abbreviations
PQ and CE mean Primitive Quendian and Common Eldarin.
Ilkorin and North Sindarin (Mithrim)

When Etymologies was published, I was thrilled! - like every Vinya-Lambengolmo, - but at the same
time quite puzzled. I did not know at that time what to do with the Ilkorin (and Doriathrin) words. I am,
and was, against mixing these languages. Even if I quickly discovered that Ilkorin and Goldogrin
looked very much alike, I also knew that Noldorin was to be called Sindarin later. What on earth (or
Middle-earth) had Tolkien done with Ilkorin in the 1950's? Had he totally disregarded it, like Taliska,
when he changed the history of the Elvish languages? Last year, finally, according to the War of the
Jewels, we know that Sindarin possessed, according to Tolkien's latest discoveries, three dialects before
the coming of the Etyañgoldi: the dialect of Doriath (the most archaic), that of the Falas, and Mithrim,
also called North Sindarin.
Let us look at what we know (from the published text) of this Mithrim dialect: "the
diphthongization of ô and the opening of intervocalic m did not occur" (WJ:400). And so North
Sindarin Arum = Sindarin Araw (the Vala Oromë); this means that final North Sindarin -um =
Sindarin -aw from *-@m(æ). Now let us have a look in Etymologies. We see that not a few Ilkorin
words with um = Noldorin words with aw; e.g., Ilkorin daum = Noldorin daw (LR:354). We know
also from the above, that intervocalic m stays m in North Sindarin, just as in Ilkorin; PQ. *tinmê >
Noldorin tinw but > Ilkorin tim (LR:393); or as Tolkien could have later put it: CE *tinmê > Common
Telerin *tinmæ > [?Old Sindarin] *tinm(a) > North Sindarin tim(m), *tinmh > Sindarin tinw. I don't
think that the use of tim, instead of tinw, as a Sindarin word in MR:388 contradicts the above:
"Sindarin tim, gil referred properly to the Valinorian imagines [on the Dome of Varda]." For tim, being
a Sindarin word referring to the Valinorian images, could only be a late (semantic) loan, since the
Sindar did not have information about the Dome (except maybe from Melian). The Exiled Noldor
learned first North Sindarin, since they came first to that region (Mithrim), and so it was they who
introduced in the late First Age Sindarin tim from North Sindarin, with the sense 'star from the Dome of
Varda'.
We know also from WJ:414 that n@v, n@f is North Sindarin (< nâbâ), but is in Sindarin
(Doriathrin and Falassian) nauv > naw. This means that CE *â > @ in North Sindarin (written ô or ó),
28 of 29 22.09.2004 11:30
but CE *â > au in Sindarin. It is exactly what we have in Etymologies: e.g., *târ > Noldorin taur
versus Ilkorin tôr (LR:389).
It looks to me that many Ilkorin words in Etymologies can now be considered, in fact, to be North
Sindarin words.
Editorial P.S. by H. K. Fauskanger: For words that it would be difficult to adopt as "dialectal Sindarin", see alch,
côm, cwess, salch (because kw fails to become p) and go (because primitive 3, H becomes g instead of
disappearing). But then Kloczko does not argue that Ilkorin as such was turned into North Sindarin, but only that
Tolkien in North Sindarin may have recycled some words and ideas from Ilkorin.
Ardalambion Index
29 of 29 22.09.2004 11:30

Ilk or in

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Ilk or in

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Ilkorin http://www.uib.no/People/hnohf/ilkorin.

Ilkorin - a "lost tongue"?

Ilkorin vs. Doriathrin and Sindarin

ILKORIN WORDLIST with etymological notes

before it to e (cf. for instance dem concerning this umlaut).

Ilkorin and North Sindarin (Mithrim)

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