S. Lúthien f. “Daughter of Flowers”
Daughter of Thingol and beloved of Beren, also known as Tinúviel (S/165). Her name was translated as “Daughter of Flowers”, a compound of lûth “inflorescence” and the feminine suffix -ien (PE17/15). This name was given to her because her mother, the Maia Melian, was especially associated with flowers when she dwelled in Lórien (PE17/161).
Conceptual Development: In very early writings, Tolkien used the name G. Lúthien for a male character, the Gnomish name of Ælfwine, translated as either “Wanderer” or “Friend” (LT2/301-4). In one place he used it as an Elvish name of England (see G. Luthany). These early names were abandoned, however.
When the character of Lúthien first appeared in the earliest Lost Tales, her given name was G. Tynwfiel, later changed to Tinúviel “Nightingale” (LT2/41, 51). In The Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, however, Tolkien decided the name Tinúviel was given to her by Beren (LB/179-180) and that her given name as actually ᴱN. Lúthien (untranslated). This new name remained her birthname throughout all of Tolkien’s later writings, but he rarely gave the name a translation.
In The Etymologies, a rejected note translated Dor. Lúthien as “Enchantress”, a combination of luth “spell, charm” with the feminine suffix -ien (Ety/LUK). This Doriathrin translation was deleted, but the Noldorin form of her name, N. Lhúthien “Enchantress”, was not. The translation “Enchantress” is given by Hammond and Scull in the Reader’s Companion (RC/172).
The translation “Daughter of Flowers” given above appeared a list of flower roots written around 1959-60 (PE17/15), which was published after RC.
References ✧ LotRI; LT1I; MRI; PE17/15, 161; PMI; SI; UTI; WJI
Glosses
Elements
| lûth | “blossom, inflorescence” | ✧ PE17/15 (lúth); PE17/161 (lúth) |
| -ien | “feminine ending” |
Ilk. Lúthien f. “Enchantress”
References ✧ Ety/LUK; LRI; PE21/60; RSI; SDI1/Lúthien; SDI2/Lúthien; SMI; TII
Glosses
Variations
Related
Changes
Elements
| luth | “*spell, charm” | ✧ Ety/LUK |
| *-ien | “element in female names” | ✧ Ety/LUK (#-ien) |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ✶luktı̯ēnē > Luthien | [luktiēnē] > [luktiēne] > [luxθiēne] > [luθiēne] > [luθiēn] > [luθien] | ✧ Ety/LUK |
ᴱN. Lúthien f.
References ✧ LB/104, 159; LBI/Lúthien, Melilot; MC/217
Variations
Changes
Element In
G. Lúthien m. “Wanderer; Friend”
References ✧ LT2/301-302, 304; LT2I/Lúsion, Lúthien; PE15/17-18
Glosses
Variations
Related