Q. Eärendil m. “Lover of the Sea”
The great mariner who took the Silmaril of Beren to Valinórë, thereby instigating the Valar’s liberation of Beleriand and the final defeat of Morgoth (S/246). His name was a compound of ëar “sea” and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend, -lover” (SA/ëar, (n)dil).
Conceptual Development: This was one of the oldest and most important names in Tolkien’s legendarium. Tolkien admitted that the name was inspired by the Anglo-Saxon word éarendel “ray of light” (Let/150, 385). In fact, the first form of this name in the Lost Tales was ᴱQ. Earendel (LT1/13), often spelt Earendl in Tolkien’s early linguistic notes (QL/34, PE13/99). At this stage the name seems to derive from ᴱQ. earen (earend-) “eagle, eyrie” (QL/34), though the “dialectical form” Yarendl was archaically used for “mariner” (QL/105).
The name remained ᴹQ. Earendel in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/326) and up through Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (RS/215, TI/99, WR/223 note #29). The name’s association with the Sea did not emerge until Tolkien wrote the (unfinished) “Notion Club Papers” story in the mid-1940s, at which point its form changed to ᴹQ. Earendil (SM/237, 241) and so remained thereafter.
References ✧ LBI/Eärendel; Let/150, 282, 385-386; LotR/720; LotRI; LRI/Eärendel; LT1I/Eärendel; LT2I/Eärendel; MRI/Eärendel; NM/16, 20, 281; PE17/19, 27, 90, 152; PM/348, 363, 373; PMI/Azrubêl, Eärendil; RGEO/65; SA/ëar, (n)dil; SI; SMI/Eärendel; TII/Eärendel; UTI; WJI
Glosses
Variations
Related
Elements
| ëar | “sea, great sea” | ✧ PE17/27; PM/363 (Eär); RGEO/65; SA/ëar | |
| -(n)dil | “-friend, -lover; devotion, disinterested love” | ✧ PE17/152 (ndil); SA/(n)dil | |
| √AY(AR) | “sea” | ✧ Let/386 (AYAR) | |
| √N(D)IL | “to love (as a friend or equal), be devoted to” | ✧ Let/386 ((N)DIL); NM/16 (ndil); NM/20 (ndil) | |
Element In
Cognates
ᴹQ. Earendil m. “Friend of the Sea”
References ✧ SD/237, 241, 305, 359; SDI2/Azrubêl, Eärendil
Glosses
Variations
Elements
| ear | “(open) sea; water” | ✧ SD/241 (ëare); SD/305 (eäre) |
| ᴹ√N(D)IL | “friend; love, devotion” | ✧ SD/241 (ndil); SD/305 (ndil) |
Cognates
ᴹQ. Earendel m.
See Q. Eärendil for further discussion.
References ✧ LRI/Eärendel; PE21/33-34; PE22/20, 41; PMI/Eärendil; RSI/Eärendel; SDI2/Eärendil; SMI/Eärendel; TI/102; TII/Eärendel; WJI/Eärendil; WR/223; WRI
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| †[Earend]ello | ablative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illo | ablative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elullut | ablative dual | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illut | ablative dual; assimilated | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ela | accusative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illi | accusative plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elta | allative; assimilated | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elunta | allative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]eluntau | allative dual | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]iltau | allative dual; assimilated | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ilintan | allative plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elen | dative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illir | dative plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elo | genitive | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ilion | genitive plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illion | genitive plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ilmen | instrumental | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elúment | instrumental dual; prosodic-lengthening | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ilmet | instrumental dual | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elesse | locative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elusset | locative dual | ✧ PE21/34 |
| Earendel | nominative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elunt | nominative dual | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]illin | nominative plural | ✧ PE21/34 |
| †[Earend]elwa | possessive | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ilwa | possessive | ✧ PE21/34 |
| †[Earend]eldon | similative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]elundon | similative | ✧ PE21/34 |
| [Earend]ildon | similative | ✧ PE21/34 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
ᴱQ. Earendel m.
References ✧ GL/51; LBI/Eärendel; Let/8; LT1A/Eärendel; LT1I/Eärendel; LT2I/Eärendel; MC/216; PE12/25; PE13/99, 103-104; PE15/7, 22, 29; PE16/100, 104; PME/35; QL/34, 105
Variations
Related
Changes
Elements
| earen | “eyrie, (young) eagle” | ✧ LT1A/Eärendel; PE12/25; QL/34 |
Element In
Cognates