Q. ailin n. “a large lake” (Category: Lake, Pond)
A noun for a large lake or pool, a combination of the ancient roots √AY “sea” and √LIN¹ “pool” (PE17/160; Ety/AY, LIN¹). It is an element in several names such as Q. Angalailin “Mirrormere” (NM/353) and Q. Luvailin “Shadowmere” (RC/217).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where it appeared as ᴱQ. ailin “lake”; its root was marked “?”, but Tolkien indicated its stem form was also ailin- (QL/29). This word was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/29) as well as the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, along with a variant ᴱQ. ailo (ailu-) of the same basic meaning (GL/17). ᴱQ. ailin “lake” was mentioned again in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/138), though in one place its stem form was given as ailind- (PE13/158).
ᴹQ. ailin “pool, lake” reappeared in The Etymologies, already with the etymology given above, along with its genitive singular form ailinen (Ety/AY, LIN¹). It was mentioned again in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, again as a combination of √LĬNĬ “pool, mere, lake” and √AYA(R) “sea”, and as such specifically referred to “a large lake” (PE17/160). In this note Tolkien gave variant forms ilin and ailinn for the root √LĬNĬ, the latter possibly an alternate explanation for ailin “lake”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer √GAY(AR) as the basis for “sea” words. As such, I think augmented ilin/ailin(n) mentioned in QN is the best basis for Q. ailin and S. ael “lake”.
Reference ✧ PE17/160 ✧ “a large lake”
Elements
| √AY(AR) | “sea” | ✧ PE17/160 (AYA(R)) |
| √LIN¹ | “pool, mere, lake” | ✧ PE17/160 (LĬNĬ) |
Element In
Cognates
ᴹQ. ailin n. “pool, lake” (Category: Lake, Pond)
References ✧ Ety/AY, LIN¹
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| ailinen | genitive | ✧ Ety/AY |
Elements
| ᴹ√AY(AR) | “sea” | ✧ Ety/LIN¹ (AY) |
| ᴹ√LIN¹ | “pool” | ✧ Ety/LIN¹ |
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ✶ai-lin- > ailin | [ailin] | ✧ Ety/AY |
ᴱQ. ailin¹ (ailind-) n. “lake, pool” (Category: Lake, Pond)
References ✧ GL/17; LT2A/Elwing; PE13/136, 158; PE15/14; PME/29; QL/29
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| ailindi | plural | ✧ PE13/158 |
| ailind- | stem | ✧ PE13/158 |
Elements
| ?ᴱ√AYA(LA) | “lake” |
Element In
Cognates
ᴱQ. ailo (ailu-) n. “lake, pool” (Category: Lake, Pond)
References ✧ GL/17; LT2A/Elwing
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| ailu | stem | ✧ GL/17 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations