Word of the Day: Tinwë ‘star’ (the leader of the Solosimpi – from an early version of The Book of Lost Tales, later King of the Lost Elves) – as described in Tolkien’s Book of Lost Tales I.
GL: Tinweg (also lintinweg) and more usually Tinwelint in Quenya.
Originally, it is the leader of the Solosimpi (3rd kindred of the Elves) after that, they were led by Ellu. But they became the King of the Lost Elves of Artanor.
This was derived from the prefix tin- with derivatives such as:
- tim (spark, gleam, star)
- tint (silver)
- tintiltha (twinkle)
- tinwithi (star-cluster, constellation)
The second element could be Gnomish:
- lint (quick, nimble, light) – this was from “A Secret Vice,” the essay that Tolkien wrote.
The earlier form, Linwë Tinto, was not in QL nor the later. But under the root, tini-, are:
- tinwë (star) – the Word of the Day
- tint (silver, spark)
- lintitinwë (having many stars) – here, the first element had what he calls a ‘multiplicative prefix’, li-, Lin-.
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