S. Elros m. “Star-foam”

S. Elros, m. “Star-foam”

Brother of Elrond who chose life as a mortal Man and became the first king of Númenor (LotR/1034-5). His name is translated “Star-foam” (Let/448, PM/349), a combination of êl “star” and ross¹ “foam” (SA/ros, PM/368-9).

Conceptual Development: The name N. Elros first appeared in the Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/155 note #9, LR/216) and was mentioned in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/158). In a few places Tolkien considered alternate etymologies for this name: in a letter to Rhona Beare from 1958, he suggested the initial element might be archaic †Ell “Elf” (Let/281), and in an essay on “The Problem of Ros” from 1968, he considered but ultimately rejected the possibility that the final element was a Bëorian word rôs “foam”, instead of Sindarin. Both of these seem to have been transient ideas.

References ✧ Let/281-282, 448; LotRI; PM/349, 368-369, 371; PMI/Elros, Indilzar; SA/ros; SDI2/Elros, Gimilzôr, Indilzar; SI; UT/210; UTI; WJ/414; WJI

Glosses

Elements

êl “star”
ross¹ “rain; spindrift, spray, foam” ✧ PM/368 (-ros); PM/371 (-ros); SA/ros (ros)
Ell “Elf” ✧ Let/281
rossē “dew, spray (of fall or fountain)” ✧ Let/282
Ed. rôs “foam, white crest of waves” ✧ PM/369

Cognates


N. Elros m. “Star-foam”

See S. Elros for discussion.

References ✧ LRI; RSI; SMI; WRI

Elements

el “star”
rhoss¹ “rain”