Q. Meneldil m. “*Lover of the Heavens”
The 3rd king of Gondor (LotR/1038), his name was a compound of menel “the heavens” and -(n)dil “-friend” (PE17/152). Tolkien wrote that this name could be interpreted as “astronomer” (Let/386), meaning something like “one interested in the heavens as a matter of lore”.
References ✧ Let/386; LotRI; PE17/30, 152; PMI; SA/menel; SI; UTI; WRI
Elements
| menel | “the heavens, firmament, sky” | ✧ PE17/30; PE17/152; SA/menel | |
| -(n)dil | “-friend, -lover; devotion, disinterested love” | ✧ PE17/152 (dil) | |
| meneldil | “astronomer, *(lit.) lover of the heavens” | ✧ Let/386 | |