Q. Hecel (Heceld-) pn. “Elf who stayed in Beleriand”
A term for the Eldar who remained behind in Beleriand (WJ/365). In Quenya, it became a technical term, rarely used in everyday speech (WJ/374). It was originally derived from hecil “one lost or forsaken”, reformed to Hecel (pl. Heceldi) after the pattern of terms like Oärel (WJ/364).
Conceptual Development: A similar term Ecelli “The Forsaken” appeared in earlier writing (MR/169-170). Ecelli was in all cases replaced by other words: Alamanyar (MR/170) or Sindar (MR/175). Nevertheless, it was probably the precursor to Hecel.
References ✧ WJ/365, 374, 379; WJI/Hekeldi
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Inflections
| Hekeldi | plural | ✧ WJ/365; WJ/374: reformed to match Oarel |
| Hekeldi | plural | ✧ WJ/379; WJI/Hekeldi |
Elements
| hecil | “one lost or forsaken by friends, waif, outcast, outlaw” |
| Elda | “Elf, (lit.) one of the Star-folk” |
Element In
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Phonetic Developments
| √HEK > Hekel | [hekel] | ✧ WJ/365 |
Q. Ecelli coll. “The Forsaken”
A term Tolkien introduced in the 1950s, used for the Eldar left behind on the march from Middle-earth (MR/169-170). This term probably replaced the older term Lembi “Lingerers” for this particular purpose (MR/169). Ecelli was later changed to Alamanyar (MR/170) or Sindar (WJ/175), but the concept survived in the Sindarin word Eglath “The Forsaken” (MR/170, S/58). The Quenya cognate of this later Sindarin word, Hecel “Elf who stayed in Beleriand”, is probably the successor to the term Ecelli.
References ✧ MR/169-170; MRI/Ekelli; WJ/175; WJI/Ekelli
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