Ilk. muil n. “twilight, shadow, vagueness” (Category: Shade, Shadow)

Ilk. muil n. “twilight, shadow, vagueness” (Category: Shade, Shadow)

A Doriathrin noun meaning “twilight, shadow, vagueness” derived from root ᴹ√MUY (Ety/MUY). Its Quenya cognate ᴹQ. muile suggests a primitive form of *✶muı̯lē [mujlē].

Conceptual Development: Tolkien seems to have coined this word to explain Umboth Muilin “Twilight Meres”, a remnant of earlier G. Umboth-muilin “Pools of Twilight”. The meaning of the Ilkorin elements is reversed from the earlier name: in the Gnomish name muilin “pools” was the plural form of the word G. muil, glossed “tarn” in the Gnomish Lexicon (GL/58) which is an older English word for “(mountain) lake”. In later writings, Tolkien replaced this name with S. Aelin-uial “Meres of Twilight”.

Reference ✧ Ety/MUY ✧ Dor. muil “twilight, shadow, vagueness”

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Phonetic Developments

ᴹ√MUY > muil [mujlē] > [muilē] > [muile] > [muil] ✧ Ety/MUY

G. muil n. “tarn” (Category: Lake, Pond)

A word appearing in the Gnomish Lexicon glossed “tarn” (GL/58). Its etymology is unclear. In later writings, muil had a number of different meanings.

References ✧ GL/58; LT2A/Umboth-muilin

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