S. talan n. “platform, flat space, flet [Middle English = ‘floor’]” (Category: Floor)
A noun Tolkien described as a “flet” (Middle English for “floor”) applied to the elevated wooden platforms the Elves of Lórien had in trees from The Lord of the Rings (LotR/342). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien said its proper meaning was a “flat space, platform” and it was derived from primitive ✶talam (PE17/52). It seems this word applies to an elevated platform without walls, as opposed to a floor within a building which would be [N.] panas (Ety/PAN). In theory the final n of talan would be lost, but it was likely restored by analogy with its plural form telain.
Conceptual Development: This word appeared as N. talan “flet” in Lord of the Rings drafts of the 1940s (TI/227).
References ✧ LotR/342; LotRI/Flet, Talan; NM/362-363; PE17/52; UT/245-246; UTI/flet, talan
Glosses
Variations
Inflections
| telain | plural | “flets” | ✧ NM/362; UT/245 |
| telain | plural | ✧ PE17/52; UT/246; UTI/talan | |
| telain | plural | ✧ PE17/52 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶talam- > talan | [talam] > [talan] | ✧ PE17/52 |
| ✶talam- > telain | [talani] > [teleni] > [telein] > [telain] | ✧ PE17/52 |