S. naith n. “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow promontory; angle” (Category: Angle, Corner)
This word was most notably used as the name of the wedge of land in Lórien where Galadriel bade farewell to the Fellowship: S. Naith, translated “Gore” (LotR/347) or “Triangle” (RC/307). In The Etymologies of the 1930s N. naith “gore” was derived from primitive ᴹ✶[s]natsai based on the root ᴹ√SNAS or ᴹ√SNAT; Tolkien indicated the primitive form might have been a plural (Ety/SNAS). In Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien instead derived naith “angle” from primitive ✶nektē based on the root √NEK (PE17/55). In late notes associated with the “Disaster at Gladden Fields” Tolkien again derived naith from √nek “narrow”, saying it applied to “any formation or projection tapering to a point” and could thus be used for “spearhead, gore, wedge, narrow promontory” (UT/282).
References ✧ PE17/55; UT/282
Glosses
Element In
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Phonetic Developments
| ✶nek-tē > neith > naith | [nektē] > [nekte] > [nektʰe] > [nexθe] > [neiθe] > [neiθ] > [naiθ] | ✧ PE17/55 |