S. gelir adj. “merry” (Category: Happy; Happiness)
Sindarin translation of the name of Sam’s son Merry, appearing in Tolkien’s unpublished epilogue to The Lord of the Rings and in the King’s Letter from the early 1950s (SD/126, 129). This word is apparently an adjective, most likely an elaboration of [N.] gell “joy”. In Didier Willis’s Sindarin Dictionary, it is suggested this word might instead be a noun, an agental formation meaning “*merry person” (HSD/gelir).
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, the word for “merry” was G. dairog (GL/29), likely derived from ᴱ√TYALA “play”. This was revised to G. dairion in the “Gnomish Lexicon Slips” (PE13/112) and again to ᴱN. gair in Early Noldorin word lists from the 1920s (PE13/141, 143). This last change probably also reflects a new root, though exactly what this root might be is unclear. There isn’t a clear connection between these early forms and later gelir beyond a superficial resemblance of form.
Reference ✧ SD/129 ✧ Gelir “merry”
Elements
| N. gell | “joy, triumph, (?victory)” |
Element In
ᴱN. gair adj. “merry” (Category: Happy; Happiness)
References ✧ PE13/141, 143
Glosses
Variations
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Element In