Elvish Words for Star, Night, and Sky

Tolkien's Elves first awakened under a sky full of stars — before the sun, before the moon, in the Years of the Trees when only starlight lit Middle-earth. Stars are sacred in Elvish culture in a way that goes beyond beauty. They are the first memory.

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Star in Elvish

Elen — Star (Quenya)

Elen is the Quenya word for star — one of the most fundamental words in all of Tolkien's languages.

Pronunciation: EL-en
Plural: eleni (stars in general), elenath (the full host of stars, starry sky)

Êl — Star (Sindarin)

Êl is the Sindarin form — shorter, more compressed, as Sindarin tends to be.

Pronunciation: EL (a single syllable, the accent marks a long vowel)
Plural: elin, elenath (the starry host)

The Famous Star Greeting

The most beautiful use of elen in all of Tolkien:

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo.
"A star shines on the hour of our meeting."

Word by word:

• elen — a star
• síla — shines (present tense of sil-)
• lúmenn' — on the hour (lúmë + genitive ending, contracted)
• omentielvo — of our meeting (omentë "meeting" + -lva "our" + -o genitive)

Frodo uses this as a formal greeting to Gildor Inglorion's company of High Elves in The Fellowship of the Ring. He learned it from Bilbo. The Elves recognize it as an authentic formal greeting and treat him accordingly.

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Night in Elvish

Lómë — Night (Quenya)

Lómë is the Quenya word for night — specifically the starlit night, as the Elves experience it.

Pronunciation: LOH-meh
Note: For Elves, night is not darkness — it is starlight. Lómë carries the connotation of the beautiful, star-lit night rather than threatening darkness.

Dû — Night (Sindarin)

Dû is the everyday Sindarin word for night.

Pronunciation: DOO (long vowel)

Fuin — Darkness, Dark Night (Sindarin)

Fuin is a more ominous word — darkness, specifically the kind associated with shadow and evil.

Taur-nu-Fuin — "Forest under Night/Shadow" — the name of Mirkwood's darkest part

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Sky and Heaven

Menel — Sky, Heavens (Quenya & Sindarin)

Menel means the sky, the heavens — the dome of the sky as seen from the earth. It appears in both Quenya and Sindarin.

Pronunciation: MEH-nel

O menel aglar elenath!
"From the sky the glory of the stars!" (from A Elbereth Gilthoniel)

Menel contains the idea of the sky as a container for the stars — not an empty void but a populated firmament.

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Elbereth — Star-Kindler

Elbereth is Sindarin for the Vala Varda — the one who set the stars in the sky. Her name means "Star-Queen" or "Star-Lady":

• el- (star root) + bereth (queen, great lady)

The full hymn to Elbereth — A Elbereth Gilthoniel — begins:

A Elbereth Gilthoniel,
silivren penna míriel
o menel aglar elenath!

"O Elbereth Star-kindler,
white-glittering, slanting down sparkling like jewels
from firmament the glory of the star-host!"

Gilthoniel = "Star-kindler" — gil (star, glinting point) + thon- (kindle) + -iel (feminine agentive: she who does)

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Complete Night Sky Vocabulary

English	Sindarin	Quenya
Star	êl	elen
Stars (the host)	elenath	eleni
Night	dû	lómë
Sky / Heavens	menel	menel
Moon	ithil	isil
Sun	anor	anar
Darkness	fuin	lómë
Light	calad	calë
Starlight	gilith	silmë
Moonlight	calith ithilui	isilmë
Dawn	minuial	tindómë
Dusk	aduial	undómë
Constellation	tindomë	tinwë

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Example Phrases

"Under the stars"
Sindarin: Nu elenath — Under the star-host
Quenya: Nu eleni — Under the stars

"The night sky is beautiful"
Sindarin: I·menel na bain i·dhû — The sky is beautiful at night
Quenya: Menel vanima ná lómessë — The sky is beautiful in the night

"A star shines on our meeting"
Quenya: Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo — The classic greeting

"By starlight"
Sindarin: Or gilith — By/over starlight
Quenya: Silmessë — In the light of stars (locative)

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Why the Elves Love Stars

In Tolkien's creation story (The Ainulindalë), the Elves first awakened at Cuiviénen — the Water of Awakening — beneath a sky full of stars. Varda had just kindled new stars to brighten the sky in preparation. The first thing every Elf ever saw was starlight.

This is why the hymn to Elbereth (A Elbereth Gilthoniel) is the most sacred song in Elvish culture. She gave them the stars. She lit the sky before they opened their eyes.

When Sam cries Aiya Eärendil elenion ancalima! — "Hail Eärendil, brightest of stars!" — in the darkness of Cirith Ungol, he is drawing on this. Stars are not just beautiful. They are the proof that someone prepared the world for the Elves before they arrived. They are the first act of love.

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Use These Words

Our Elvish Translator can construct any phrase with these words — "the night sky above us," "under the stars we will meet again," "may your night be filled with starlight."

Translate your phrase →

Elen síla lúmenn' omentielvo. A star shines on the hour of our meeting.