#ilkorin

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Elven words for the moon

Elven words for stars

This is a collection of elven words related to the moon including poetic and archaic words.

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

Rána and Isil are the two most common Quenya names for the moon. Rána means “Wayward” and derives from an archaic word for wandering or straying off course. Isil derives from thil meaning to shine white or silver.

Ránuringwi is an archaic Quenya word for sun and moon.

Isilmë means moonlight in Quenya.

Gilm is an older Sindarin word for moonlight, derived from gili meaning pale shining

Raun, a cognate of Rána, is used most commonly in Sindarin however Ithil, also derived from thil, is used poetically

Istil is the name of the moon in Ilkorin, the Sindarin language of Doriath.

Ceuran means new moon in Quenya. This word has two cognates; cýron in Sindarin and ciuran in Telerin.

Cúran is an older Sindarin word for crescent moon 🌙 from cú meaning arch or crescent and rhan, the older form of raun.

Cú or Kú by itself was used to mean the crescent moon in Quenya

Though Silpilon was the name of the white tree of Tirion, in older Quenya, Silpilon meant red or cherry moon, possibly a reference to the phenomenon of a blood moon or lunar eclipse.

Rincu is an archaic Quenya word for the shape of the moon, derived from rini meaning circle

Important note: Morwen’s sobriquet, Eledhwen, is translated to elf-sheen in The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. Though the two primary parts, eled(h), an archaic word for elf and (g)wen, a feminine suffix often related to beauty, do not refer to shine or sheen, it is possible it is related to iþil, the older version of ithil which does relate to shining.

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My Neologisms of the Year

This is my collection of words I created in elven languages this year!

With links to the original posts!

Calilqua meaning iridescence, a Quenya neologism derived from the canonical elements cal, a prefix often relating to light and ilqua, an older Quenya word for oily or glossy; so, oily light.

Marilquilëa or eärsilquilëa meaning pearlescence, translating to pearl colored from marilla or eärsil meaning pearl and quilëa, a Quenya suffix for colored or hues

I have another small collection of related words here

Erlosta, a Quenya neologism I created for flowers that bloom only once, meaning once blooming though this is imperfect

Istilhoth, meaning moon flower, an Ilkorin (the Sindarin language of Doriath) word for the flower annual honesty which I discussed in more detail here

Luinesë and Luinith, names for July because July didn’t have a canonical name in the convention of the other months! It means Blueness

Ëarwesta in Quenya, meaning sea breeze and gaerwest, its Sindarin cognate

Minyalossë meaning first snow, from Quenya

Taurecaila meaning moss, from Quenya

Lassëventa meaning scattered leaves, leaves in the wind, from Quenya

Helefalas from Sindarin meaning sea glass

Rávalótë meaning wildflower, from Quenya

Lindaewen from Sindarin, meaning bird song

Narollasë and Nargolas from Quenya and Sindarin respectively, meaning the smell of foliage

Iavros from Sindarin, meaning, autumn rain

Abrosceven meaning, the smell of earth after rain, from Sindarin

Líriausa meaning “the specters of the song” from Quenya

Saerlaich meaning bitter sweet from Sindarin

Meluilë from Quenya meaning honey suckle

I also have Laeriel, the sobriquet I made for Aerin, which I did create before 2025 but I talked a lot about it this year! It’s inspired by her canonical sobriquet from The Book of Lost Tales!

I also didn’t include my words relating to elven states of consciousness here because they require more explanation but I am very happy with them!

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Birds in Elven Languages Part Two

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

This doesn’t include species created by Tolkien as I have a list for that here! My environment masterlist also has a lot of bird related world building!

These are Sindarin words! Quenya words here! My Sindarin animal list is here! That one only included a couple birds

I’ve included information on the words derivations and roots where we have them because the meanings are often really cool and poetic!

Aew is the Sindarin word for bird, usually used for smaller birds

Laud means feather 🪶

Raw means wing and roval means winged

Thoron means eagle and, like the Quenya word, comes from a root that means “come swooping down”

Maew means gull and derives from the root for whine

Alph means swan 🦢 and derives from the root alak meaning rushing

Dúlin means nightingale and translate to “night song”

Myrilind is the word for nightingale in Ilkorin, the Sindarin language of Doriath. It means night singing.

Cwên is another Ilkorin word for a small sea bird. It derives from kwæ, an onomatopoetic word

Flinc means finch

Heledir, sometimes written as heledirn, is an early Sindarin word for kingfisher that translates literally to fish washer. The root for watching in this, tir, is the same tir that appears in words like tirith like Minas Tirith (and appears in the earliest version of Morwen’s name!)

Cugu is an older Sindarin word for dove. Like the words for gull, its root is onomatopoetic.

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Elven words for Twilight, Dusk, and Dawn

Elven times of day: Quenya, Sindarin (these contain only the primary or most commonly used words for twilight

I’m working on a post about elves and liminal spaces and one of the main parts of it is discussing the multitude of words various elven languages have for these crepuscular hours. So I wanted to post a complete list especially as many are very lovely words

I hope everyone likes this! 💫🪐🌘🌌

Ambarónë is the most common Quenya word for sunrise or earlier dawn. It translates to uprising or rising east. Amrûn is its Sindarin cognate meaning the same.

Annûn (S) means sunset or literally, going down. Andúnë is the Quenya cognate

Sunquelë (Q) meant the sinking or falling of heavenly bodies

Tindómë (Q) means starry twilight or the time before sunrise. Minuial is its Sindarin cognate translating to first twilight

Undómë (Q) means evendom or evening twilight. Adual is its Sindarin cognate

Dûm is the word in Ilkorin, the Sindarin language of Doriath, for twilight. It derives from a root for dim or dusky

Tinnu is another Sindarin word for evening. It derives from tin meaning sparkle. In earlier Sindarin however it specifically referred to early night without the moon.

Candóra is a word from early Quenya meaning bright dawn or red sky in the morning. It derives from an archaic root for shine “kndn”.

Thegla is an archaic Sindarin word for the first lights of dawn however no further translation or etymology is given. This is purely speculative but I wonder if it’s related to thê, another archaic Sindarin word meaning to see

Artuilë (Q) means day spring or early more. Tuilë, the word for spring means spring like the season and relates to growth and renewal however it is also related to the word for spring like an issue of water

Mórilanta (Q) means nightfall or the beginning of night.

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Elven words for the stars

Stars are referenced hundreds of times in Tolkien’s writings and the root for many words related to the elves, el, is also the root for many star related words 🌌🌠💫

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

I included derivations when available!

Named stars and constellations of Middle Earth

Elen was the Quenya word for star. It was derived from the root el meaning star or elf. This shared root highlights just how important stars are in elven culture. Elenya is the adjective form.

Elvëa means starlike

Él, derived from the same, is also the word for star in Telerin.

Élë is an archaic Quenya word meaning star ray, possibly meant to mean a shooting star

While Gil was the primary Sindarin word for star, derived from gilyā, silver spark, el was also used, from the same root as elen.

Tin is a Sindarin prefix meaning spark or sparkle of stars. It derives from the root tin meaning the same.

Tim, one of the few words that we know of in North Sindarin, means the same.

Tim is also the Ilkorin (the Sindarin language of Doriath) word for spark or star. Timdum means starlight or twilight with stars in Ilkorin. Istil in Ilkorin also means starlight.

Meneldil is the Quenya word for astronomer. It translates literally to star lover.

Silmë means starlight in Quenya. It derives from Sil meaning to shine white or silver

Gilith is the Sindarin word for starlight. It derives from gili meaning shine pale

Tinwithli is an archaic Sindarin word for constellation.

Tinwin meant a small star in older Sindarin. It derived from tini meaning twinkle.

Letinwessë is the Quenya word for constellation 🌌 (Not to be confused with litinwissë meaning having many stars)

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Elven words for the home

Part one

These are Sindarin words!

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

I’ve included information on the words derivations and roots where we have them!

Barthan means a dwelling house. In some translations, it refers specifically to a large stone house. Bâr and bardh are also used to mean a house or home. All these words derive from mbar, meaning settle, dwell or decide

Sam means a room or chamber. It is derived from stab meaning wood

Fend means door. It is derived from phen meaning the same

Henneth means window. Most notably in Tolkien’s works, Henneth Annûn meaning the window of the west or the window of sunset. Henneth derives from hen meaning eye.

Galoth is an older word for window that means hole of daylight

Talan means floor. It derives from talam meaning flat space

Ram means wall. It derives from rab meaning the same. It’s seen in words like Andram, the long wall in The Silmarillion

Ruist means fireplace or hearth. It derives from ruy meaning blazing red

Dim means stair or stairs. It’s seen in words like Dimrost (rainy stairs)

Hadhu means chair or seat. It derives from khad meaning sit

Calar means a portable lamp or lantern. Calardan meant a lampwright or maker

Nitha means candle, derived from nith meaning wax

Haust means bed. It derives from hawa, a word without a clear meaning but it seems to relate to lying down, which would fit the etymology of the Quenya words for bed

Rond is the Ilkorin word for a domed roof, derived from rod meaning cave. Tus means a thatched roof, derived for tup meaning cover

Soth or fôs meant a bath, derived from sovo meaning wash

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Elven Tree Words Part Two

Part one

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

I’ve included information on the words derivations and roots where we have them because the meanings are often really cool and poetic!

These are Sindarin words!

Galadh is the Sindarin word for tree. It derives from the root gal meaning grow or thrive

In Ilkorin, the Sindarin language of Doriath, gald is used for tree.

Orn means a straight, tall tree. It derives from the root rō or oro meaning upwards

Nordh means oak. It derives from the root doron meaning the same.

Noch or nocha means acorn. Its root is unknown.

Neldor means beech. It derives from the root nele meaning point

Whinn meant birch. It was a cognate of the Quenya word hwindë, both of which derived from the root sili meaning gleam. This is likely a reference to the silvery, metallic bark many birch species have

Brethil, meaning silver birch specifically, was more commonly used than whinn. The word Brethil likely derived from the Ilkorin word breth meaning beech mast or nut

Cwileg is an old Sindarin word for alder. It derives from cwǐl meaning quiet or gentle

Alaf meant elm. It derives from the root alab meaning the same. Lalm, deriving from the same root, is the Ilkorin word for elm

Thôn meant pine. It derives from the older word thǒno meaning the same

Tathar means willow. It derives from tasa meaning tassel or fringe.

Faran means Rowan or mountain ash.

Regorn means holly tree in Ilkorin. It derives from erek meaning thorn. Other Sindarin languages use reg or ereg (like in Eregion) to mean holly bushes and trees interchangeably.

Mabinos is an old Sindarin word for plane trees (an isolated genus of trees with maple tree like leaves). It derives from an old word for hand, mab, likely due to the shape of the leaves

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Elven words for food and drink part two

Part one

More in the linguistic resources and word of the day (wotd) tags! Let me know if there are any topics you would like to see covered!

This covers Sindarin words. Unfortunately, there are not as many recorded words in these categories than in Quenya. I did use some words from proto Sindarin languages however I only included the ones that can be grammatically retained in later Sindarin!

Mad is the verb meaning to eat. Mann is an older word meaning food though it’s not widely used

Ylf meant a drinking cup

Bas or bast is the Sindarin word for bread with lembas of course meaning way bread

Basgorn is an Ilkorin (the Sindarin language in Doriath) word meaning a rounded bread loaf

Maig, another Ilkorin word, means dough

Cordof is a unique Sindarin word for a type of yellow or red apples, seen in the Sindarin translation of Pippin 🍎.

Sing is an archaic word for salt

Thim means milk, specifically milk that can be drank (after the parts have been separated)

Aes means meat, ass is the Ilkorin version

Suithlas means tea. The literal translation is leaf drink.