S. tîn¹ n. “spark, sparkle, twinkle of stars” (Category: Star)
A word for “spark, sparkle, twinkle of stars” appearing as an element in S. ithildin “moon-star” (PE17/39, 66). Tolkien sometimes gave it the form tĭn (PE17/39) and sometimes tîn (PE17/66). It was derived from the root √TIN “sparkle, spark” (PE17/66). Primitive ✶tĭnĭ “spark” from Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s may be its ancient form (PE21/80).
In one place Tolkien gave the form tim “spark” as another name for (apparent) stars, but its final m is hard to explain (MR/388; PE17/22). In notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor from 1968 Tolkien said “In the Northern dialect, however, in final position only, C.E. tw > dw, dw > ðw, thw > þw, nw became b, v, f, m” (VT41/8). Thus, tim may be the North Sindarin equivalent of Q. tinwë. However, in the document where it appeared, tim was clearly marked “S” for Sindarin. This form could also be a remnant of Gnomish or Ilkorin tim (see below).
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this word was G. tim “spark, gleam, (star)” in the Gnomish Lexicon of 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√tin- (GL/70), cognate to ᴱQ. tinwe (QL/92). In the Gnomish period, final [nw] became [m], as discussed by Roman Rausch in his Historical Phonology of Goldogrin (HGP/§2.7). This was not true later, since in The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. tinw “spark, small star” was the cognate for ᴹQ. tinwe and the form tim was Ilkorin, all of these under the root ᴹ√TIN “sparkle” (Ety/TIN). In his later writings, Tolkien had the forms tin, tîn and tim, as noted above. Thus while the root and basic meaning of this word were quite stable, its form went through a number of variations.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use the form tîn since short vowels generally lengthened in monosyllables. I think properly it has the meaning “spark(le)” but metaphorically can apply to stars. For the ordinary word for “star”, I’d use gil.
References ✧ PE17/39, 66
Glosses
Variations
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √TIN > tîn | [tin] > [tīn] | ✧ PE17/66 |
N. tinw n. “spark, small star” (Category: Star)
Reference ✧ Ety/TIN ✧ “spark, small star”
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ✶tinmē > tinw | [tinmē] > [tinme] > [tinwe] > [tinw] > [tinu] | ✧ Ety/TIN |
G. tim n. “spark, gleam, (star)” (Category: Star)
References ✧ GL/70; LT1A/Tinwë Linto
Glosses
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√tin- > tim | [tinwe] > [tinw] > [tim] | ✧ GL/70 |