An (archaic?) name for “Starlight”, it is not directly attested in Tolkien’s later writing, but appears as an element in several names (SA/ilm). It is a derivative of the root √(Ñ)GIL “shine (white)”. Elsewhere, the usual Quenya word for “starlight” is given as silmë (LotR/1123).

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. ilma “air” appeared in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/142). The name ᴹQ. Ilma “Starlight” is directly attested in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/205), where it first appeared as Silma (SM/240). Ilma also appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√GIL (Ety/GIL), which is the source of the etymology noted above.

This name first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s as ᴹQ. Silma >> Ilma >> Ilmen as a name for the “Place of Light”, home of the stars (SM/240-1). It reappeared in the mid-30s as a word for “Starlight” (LR/205), and also appeared in The Etymologies as a derivative of ᴹ√GIL, alongside (and perhaps an element of) Ilmen “region above air where stars are” (Ety/GIL).

See Q. *Ilma for further discussion.

A word for “air” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/142), probably based on the early root ᴱ√ILU “ether”. Later ᴹQ. Ilma was used for “Starlight” (Ety/GIL; LR/205).