S. fuin n. “night, gloom, darkness” (Category: Night)
The ordinary Sindarin word for “night” derived from ✶phuinē based on the root √PHUY (NM/279, 283; VT41/8). A footnote from the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings [not appearing in later editions] stated: “in Sindarin the terms were aur [“24 hour day”] containing calan [“daylight”] and fuin [“night”]” (RC/727). Christopher Tolkien also translated fuin as “gloom, darkness” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/fuin) but in notes from 1969 Tolkien said “In Sindarin fuin was the ordinary word for ‘night’ without (originally) any sinister tone” (NM/279). In a later version of these notes Tolkien said it was “the ordinary Sindarin word, fuin, for night, between the twilights but including the darker parts of these” (NM/283).
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this word was G. fui “night” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s based on the early root ᴱ√fuʒu [ǶUẎU] (GL/36). This became ᴱN. fuin “night” in Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/143), keeping that form thereafter. In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. fuin was glossed “night, dead of night” and derived from the root ᴹ√PHUY (Ety/DOƷ; Ety/PHUY).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use fuin as the most common Sindarin word for “night”, but more specifically for the dark of night between the two twilights of dusk and dawn. I would use S. dû for “night” as well, especially when including the twilights or with moonlight, having instead a connotation of dimness rather than darkness.
References ✧ NM/279, 283; PE17/120; RC/727; SA/fuin; UTI/Emyn-nu-Fuin; VT41/8
Glosses
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶phuinē > fuin | [pʰuinē] > [pʰuine] > [ɸuine] > [fuine] > [fuin] | ✧ NM/279 |
| ✶phuinē > fuin | [pʰuinē] > [pʰuine] > [ɸuine] > [fuine] > [fuin] | ✧ NM/283 |
N. fuin n. “night, dead of night” (Category: Night)
References ✧ Ety/DOƷ, ÑGOROTH, PHUY; EtyAC/LOƷ
Glosses
Related
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ✶phuine > fuin | [pʰuine] > [ɸuine] > [fuine] > [fuin] | ✧ Ety/PHUY |
ᴱN. fuin n. “night” (Category: Night)
References ✧ PE13/143, 156; SM/26
Glosses
Element In
G. fui n. “night” (Category: Night)
References ✧ GL/36; LT1A/Fui, Tarn Fui, Turuhalmë; QL/41
Glosses
Related
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√fuʒu > fui¹ | [xʷuɣu] > [fuɣu] > [fuɣ] > [fui] | ✧ GL/36 |
| ᴱ√ǶUẎU > fui | [xʷui] > [fui] | ✧ QL/41 |