S. Feir n. “Mortal” (Category: Human Being)
A term used for Men meaning “Mortal”, appearing in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60, cognate to Q. Firya of the same meaning, both derived from √PHIR which was the basis of words for natural death (WJ/387). According to Tolkien this word was borrowed from Quenya, since the Noldor had pre-knowledge of the nature of Men having learned of them from the Valar. The plural form of Feir was Fîr and its class plural Firiath, the latter also appearing in contemporaneous Silmarillion drafts (WJ/219 footnote). It is unclear why this word did not become *Fair, since ei became ai in Sindarin monosyllables. Perhaps it remained Feir because it was an adaptation from Quenya, or it could be a conceptual remnant of its Noldorin form (see below).
Conceptual Development: Probably the first precursor to this word was ᴱN. fion “man, human being” from Index of Names for The Lay of the Children of Húrin compiled in the early 1920s (PE15/62), also appearing with the gloss “mortal man” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the same period (PE13/143). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gaven N. {fîr “man, mortal” >>} feir pl. fîr “mortals” under the root ᴹ√PHIR (Ety/PHIR; EtyAC/PHIR), hence with basically the same form, meaning and etymology as it had in later Sindarin.
References ✧ WJ/219, 387; WJI
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| Firiath | class-plural | “Mortals” | ✧ WJ/219; WJI/Feir |
| Firiath | class-plural | ✧ WJ/387 | |
| Fîr | plural | ✧ WJ/387 | |
| Fîr | plural | “Mortals” | ✧ WJI/Feir |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| Q. Firya > Feir | [firja] > [ferja] > [feria] > [feri] > [feir] | ✧ WJ/387 |
| Q. Firya > Fîr | [firji] > [firi] > [fir] | ✧ WJ/387 |
N. feir¹ n. “mortal man, mortal” (Category: Human Being)
References ✧ Ety/KHIL, PHIR; EtyAC/PHIR
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| firiath | class-plural | ✧ EtyAC/PHIR | |
| fîr | plural | “mortal men” | ✧ Ety/KHIL |
| fîr | plural | “mortals” | ✧ Ety/PHIR |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√PHIR > feir | [pʰirja] > [ɸirja] > [ɸerja] > [ferja] > [feria] > [feri] > [feir] | ✧ Ety/PHIR |
| ᴹ√PHIR > fîr | [pʰirji] > [ɸirji] > [firji] > [firī] > [fir] > [fīr] | ✧ Ety/PHIR |
ᴱN. fion n. “mortal man” (Category: Human Being)
References ✧ PE13/143; PE15/62
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| fionwaith | class-plural | ✧ PE13/143: collective | |
| fionin | plural | “men” | ✧ PE15/62 |
| fionnir | plural | ✧ PE13/143 |
Element In