S. Elrond m. “Star-dome”
Lord of Rivendell (LotR/170). His name is translated “Star-dome” (Let/448, WJ/414), a combination of êl “star” and rond “vaulted roof” (SA/rond, WJ/414).
Conceptual Development: The name Elrond first appeared in early Silmarillion drafts from the late 1920s (SM/38) and was first published in the Hobbit in 1937. His name appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s in two forms: Noldorin Elrond “Starry-dome” (Ety/EL) and Ilkorin Elrond “Vault of Heaven” (Ety/ROD), both with essentially the same etymology as his later Sindarin name. In a few places Tolkien considered alternate etymologies for this name: in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, he suggested the final element might be rhond “body” (PE17/183), and in a letter to Rhona Beare from 1958, he suggested the initial element might be archaic †Ell “Elf” (Let/281). Both of these seem to have been transient ideas.
References ✧ Let/281-282, 448; LotRI; PE17/183; PMI; SA/rond; SDI2/Elrond; SI; UTI; VT47/38; WJ/414; WJI
Glosses
Elements
| †êl | “star” | ||
| rond | “(vaulted or arched) roof; vaulted chamber or cavern; heavens [as a roof of the world]” | ✧ SA/rond; WJ/414 | |
| †Ell | “Elf” | ✧ Let/281 | |
| ✶rondō | “vaulted roof or chamber; cave; †heavens” | ✧ Let/282 | |
| rhond | “body” | ✧ PE17/183 (rhonn) | |
Element In
Cognates
Ilk. Elrond m. “Vault of Heaven”
Reference ✧ Ety/ROD ✧ “Vault of Heaven”
Related
Elements
| el | “star” | ||
| rond | “domed roof” | ✧ Ety/ROD | |
| ᴹ√EL | “star, starry sky” | ✧ Ety/ROD | |
N. Elrond m. “Starry-dome, Sky”
References ✧ Ety/EL, ƷEL; LRI; RSI; SDI1/Elrond; SMI; TII; WRI
Glosses
Related
Elements
| el | “star” | ✧ Ety/EL | |
| rhonn | “roof, cave” | soft-mutation | |
| ᴹ√ROD | “roof, cave” | ✧ Ety/EL | |
| ᴹ√ƷEL | “sky” | ✧ Ety/ƷEL | |