S. athae n. and adj. “*healing herb, healing” (Category: to Cure, Heal)
A word appearing as an element in athelas “kingsfoil”, derived from primitive ✶aþayā based on the root √ATH “ease, comfort, heal” (PE17/49, 148). In the context of the compound athelas Tolkien represented it as athe, which is probably an example of how ae sometimes became e in polysyllables. The word athae may mean something like “*healing herb“ or “*healing”, and may be a noun or adjective or both. In notes from 1969 Tolkien said the Sindarin word was borrowed from Quenya, even though the related herbs were native to Middle-earth, since they was first discovered by the Noldor (PE22/166). It is unclear how this aligns with Aragorn’s statement that athelas was “a healing plant that the Men of the West brought to Middle-earth” (LotR/198); perhaps the herb was discovered in Beleriand, then given to the Men of Númenor who then spread it to the rest of Middle-earth.
References ✧ PE17/49, 148
Variations
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶aþayā > athae | [atʰajā] > [atʰaja] > [aθaja] > [aθaia] > [aθai] > [aθae] | ✧ PE17/49 |