White, in my words (revised)

aluth : white

The Illunse word for the color white (dull or matte) is aluth. Aluth is a rare last name. Aluth likely means new in Sinhalese (transliterated).

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for white which is albus, and the Old English word for white which is hwit.

My previous word for white was alith. This is a minor change, a vowel change.

This month I'm revisiting some of my Illunse words on Twitter, starting with colors. This is a step towards restarting my work on Illunse and this blog.

Here's a link to White, in J.R.R Tolkien's words.

Violet, in my words (revised)

hywin : violet

The Illunse word for the color violet is hywin. Hywin is unusual last name.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for violet (or a purplish blue) which is hyacinthinus and the Old English word for a dark color which can be violet hǽwen (blue, azure, purple), which I transliterate to haewen.

It's perhaps a bit of a stretch to construct this word for violet. The Latin and Old English words that I'm using are not all that common.

My previous word for violet was hacwin.

I didn't use the Latin word purpura, which is like our word purple, because that word is for Tyrian purple - also known as royal purple or imperial purple - which is actually more of a dark red or maroon color.

I didn't find any words for the color violet in Sindarin or Quenya.

Black, in my words (revised)

nibel : black

The Illunse word for the color black is nibel. Nibel is a unusual last name. Nibel is unusual masculine name, variant of Nibal. In Romansch (Sursilvan) nibel means cloud.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for black (black, dark-colored, blackening) which is niger, and the Old English word for black (black, dark; ink) which is blæc (blaec), which is close to the Modern English word black.

My previous Illunse word for black was nabel.

Here's a link to Black, in Tolkien's words.

Shining white, in my words (revised)

wicand : shining white

The Illunse word for the color shining white is wicand. Wicand is a rare last name.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for shining white which is candidus, and the Old English word for white which is hwit. I'll admit it's a mixture with more letters from the Latin word.

I made this word purposely to be somewhat similar to the Modern English word incandescent, which is derived from Latin.

My previous word for shining white was icand.


This word does not replace abith as my word for white. This is a another, a second word, for white. Latin has two words for white -- albus and candidus.

In Latin candidus donotes a bright, shining, pure, clean, even transparent, white. The Latin word albus is white, but white without lustre, pale, even colorless, but it's also a favorable or fortunate color.

Here's a link to White, in J.R.R Tolkien's words. It appears that Tolkien had words for shining white.

Blue, in my words (revised)

cealu : blue

The Illunse word for the color blue is cealu. Cealu is possibly a rare last name.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for blue which can be bleó (bleó also means color, appearance, form) or the Middle English word for blue blewe, and the Latin word for blue caeruleus.

My previous word for blue was berl. After much thought, I decided to change this word.

Here's a link to Blue, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Yellow, in my words (revised)

faego : yellow

The Illunse word for the color yellow is faego. Faego is an unusual word, it's sometimes a misspelling of Fargo.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for yellow which is geolu (or geolo), and the Latin word for yellow flavus (gold colored, yellow).

I know that I just revised yellow last week. Sorry, but I've changed my mind again. My previous word for yellow was feolu.

Here's a link to Yellow, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

That's enough with colors.

Gloomy black, in my words

trase : gloomy black

The Illunse word for the color gloomy black is trase. Trase is a last name. In Albanian trase means track. In Creole trase means trace, sketch. In Croatian trase means route. In Latvian means circuit or track.

Trase does not replace my previous word for black, nelc. This is another, a second word, for black. Both Old English and Latin have two separate words for black. I wouldn't have thought to make this up!

This word for gloomy black is a mixture of the Latin word for black (black, dark; coal-black; gloomy; malicious) which is ater, and the Old English word for black (swarthy, black, dark; gloomy; evil) which is sweart.

By the way, my other word for black is a mixture of the Latin word niger and the Old English word blæc.

Gloomy black is a more sinister color than mere black.

An 19th century Latin synonym dictionary I found on the web described the difference between the two Latin words like this: niger is the darkest color and makes a positive, imposing and beautiful impression; ater is a negation of color and makes a dismal and dark impression.

Violet, in my words

hacwin : violet

The Illunse word for the color violet is hacwin.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for violet (or a purplish blue) which is hyacinthinus and the Old English word for a dark color which can be violet hǽwen (blue, azure, purple), which I transliterate to haewen.

It's perhaps a bit of a stretch to construct this word for violet. The Latin and Old English words that I'm using are not all that common.

I didn't use the Latin word purpura, which is like our word purple, because that word is for Tyrian purple - also known as royal purple or imperial purple - which is actually more of a dark red or maroon color.

I didn't find any words for the color violet in Sindarin or Quenya.

Gray, in my words (revised)

gaur : gray

The Illunse word for gray (grey) is gaur. The Gaur is a large, dark-coated, bovine animal of South Asia and Southeast Asia. Gaur is last name. In Basque gaur means today. In Sindarin gaur means werewolf. Gaur is the name of cities in Nepal, India and Malaysia.

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for gray which is glaucus (bluish gray) and the Old English word for gray which is græg.

I'm changing this word because I found a more appropriate Latin word for gray. Earlier I used the Latin word canus, which means gray but primarily for gray hair, and hence also means aged and hoary. My previous Illunse word for gray was ceag.

It's somewhat confounding for me to find definitive color words in Latin. Not because there are too few words for colors, but rather too many. There are words for a wide assortment of shades and hues.

Here's a link to Gray, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words

Red, in my words (revised)

raeb : red

The Illunse word for the color red is raeb. Raeb is an unsual last name. RAEB is an acronym for a type of bone marrow disease (an unfortunate meaning).

This word is a mixture of the Latin word for red which is ruber and the Old English word for red which is réad.

My previous word for red was reud, before that it was rued. Since I decided to end my word for green in a D, I decided to change this word so that it wouldn't end in D. Besides, I wasn't sure I actually liked the word reud for red.

Here's a link to Red, in Tolkien's words.

Green, my words (revised)

geird : green

The Illunse word for the color green is geird. Geird is an unusual last name. Geird is a rare first name, similar Geirdis is an Icelandic feminine first name.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for green which is gréne, and the Latin word for green viridis.

OK, I'm changing my word for green again. I think this new word, geird, is a better alphabetic mix of Old English and Latin.

Here's a link to Green, in J.R.R. Tolkien's words.

Brown, in my words

brusc : brown

The Illunse word for brown is brusc. Le Brusc is a village in southern France. In Romanian brusc translates to sudden, abrubtly.

This word is a mixture of the Old English word for brown which is brún or brun, and the Latin word for brown fuscus (dark colored, black or brown or dusky).