Ilu
Ilu is a Quenya word that means "all, everything, the world". As a cosmological term it includes everything that exists, the created being (Eä) but also God and the spirits who created it, and all souls.
Other versions of the legendarium
In the early concept of the legendarium, Ilu was the name of "the World", signifying both the inhabited world and also the whole universe.
Ilu is everything that exists, and comprises of the habitable world proper (Ambar), with its layers of air and skies, the Sun, the Moon and the stars. All these are enveloped in the outer layer of air, Vaiya.
The boundaries of Ilu are the Ilurambar, the "shell" that encloses Ilu, separating Vaiya from kúma and non-existence.
This concept evolved in a different cosmology in The Later Quenta Silmarillion, where new concepts are introduced: The habitable world is named Arda, more or less equivalent to both Ambar and Ilu; the whole existence, or created universe, is named Eä, which, unlike the former Ilu, is vast and might include other worlds other than Arda.
Etymology
Inspiration
Christopher Gilson has noted that the name Ilu is presumably inspired by the Akkadian word ilu ("gods").
Referencias
1. Esta ficha se ha importado inicialmente de TolkienGateway.net el día 26/05/2026.
