Do all elves have pointy ears, or are they pointy enough to be a distinguishing trait?

[The Elf Imperishable]

Do all elves have pointy enough ears for it to be a distinguishing trait? Do elves consider this important at all?

I argue no on both questions, given that when Tolkien described in a letter to a person unfamiliar with his mythos of hobbit ears being slight leaf-shaped, and 'elvish', that alone doesn't make all elven ears pointy enough to be that different from human years. Maybe for some elves, even a lot of elves, their ears may be pointy like a stereotypical leaf, but that doesn't mean all elves have pointy enough ears to make them completely distinguishable for men.

Case in point, in the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen, when Aragorn was in Lorien and Galadriel did her makeover on him, in Arwen's point of view, Aragorn was described as "more than any king of Men he appeared, and seemed rather an Elf-lord from the Isles of the West." Now one argue that this is a metaphor, and that Arwen did not mean this literally. But if the elven pointy ear thing was significant enough, I think Arwen would've just thought of the tales of the Numenorean kings of old rather than a Valinorean, Tol Eressean elf-lord.

Let's open the discussion.

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

From the Etymologies in The Lost Road: (my emphasis)

Las (1)
*lasse 'leaf': Q lasse, N lhass; Q lasselanta 'leaf-fall, autumn', N lhasbelin (*lassekwelene), cf. Q Narquelion [ KWEL ]. Lhasgalen 'Greenleaf', Gnome name of Laurelin. (Some think this is related to the next and *lasse 'ear'. The Quendian ears were more pointed and leaf-shaped than [?human].)

Las (2)
'listen'. N lhaw 'ears' (of one person), old dual *lasu - whence singular lhewig. Q lar, lasta- 'listen'; lasta 'listening, hearing' - Lastalaika 'sharp-ears', a name, cf. N Lhathleg. N lhathron 'hearer, listener, eavesdropper' (< *la(n)sro-ndo); lhathro or lhathrando 'listen in, eavesdrop'.

[The Elf Imperishable]

One possibility based upon that definition is that the elves had pointy earlobes, rather than a pointy top body of the ear as one would think. Humans don't have leaf-shaped ears because our ear lobes are not pointy.

[Dimcairien Luiniel]

Pointy earlobes would also be less noticeable than pointing tops of the ear.

However, not all human earlobes are shaped the same. Some are attached and others are free, which could be argued to be slightly pointy, though a bit on the rounded side of pointy.

[Elenhir]

but that doesn't mean all elves have pointy enough ears to make them completely distinguishable for men.

That's the key, I think. Arwen with Aragorn is hardly the only time Tolkien takes one of his Men and describes them as seeming or being mistaken for an Elf.

There is a tendency in the fantasy reader community of sort refusing to take things subtly. If something is said to be big, it must be really big, beyond what would be reasonably expected. if someone is quickly, they must be inhumanely speedy. But unless there's another actual reason to think that, it's easier and simpler to keep those qualifications within the bounds of expected reason. And Tolkien doesn't mention Elves' pointy ears that much. I don't think there's a characteristic of Elves that he mentions that he ever mentions less. So it's not as if he's going out of his way to make sure the reader is taking very special note of this. Which means it's probably not that noteworthy. Shapes that can be described as pointy (especially when qualified as leaf-shaped) exist within the variety of human phenotypes. No real reason to escape that for this.

[geordie]

Do all elves have pointy enough ears for it to be a distinguishing trait?

Nope. The main distinguishing features which Tolkien gives to Elves in his published writings are to do with their voices, and their eyes. Ears are never mentioned.

[KingODuckingham]

In Letter 27, in a description of hobbits, Tolkien mentions:

"A round, jovial face; ears only slightly pointed and ‘elvish’"

Now, elvish would not have been a useful word to describe hobbits if Tolkien meant his own version of elves, so we cannot say that this reference automatically means that Tolkien elves have pointed ears, only that hobbits do. But if Tolkien never mentions what elves' ears look like, and it was common knowledge that elvish ears were slightly pointed, then we could argue that common knowledge ought to be applied to Tolkien elves in absence of contrary evidence. Even then, I suspect, as Elenhir says, the ears would not be pointed in such an obvious way as to be a -distinguishing- feature. It would be a slight feature.

On a less important note, I think the example of Arwen and Aragorn is totally irrelevant to the discussion. Using elf-lord as a contrasting foil to human men has nothing to do with physical features, and everything to do with carriage, demeanor, and presence.

[Celebrin]

The only other thing I can find worth bringing up is a bit from Morgoth's Ring in the Laws and Customs Among the Eldar:

"The Eldar grew in bodily form slower than Men, but in mind more swiftly. They learned to speak before they were one year old; and in the same time they learned to walk and to dance, for their wills came soon to the mastery of their bodies. Nonetheless there was less difference between the two Kindreds, Elves and Men, in early youth; and a man who watched elf-children at play might well have believed that they were the children of Men, of some fair and happy people. For in their early days elf-children delighted still in the world about them, and the fire of their spirit had not consumed them, and the burden of memory was still light upon them.

This same watcher might indeed have wondered at the small limbs and stature of these children, judging their age by their skill in words and grace in motion. For at the end of the third year mortal children began to outstrip the Elves, hastening on to a full stature while the Elves lingered in the first spring of childhood. Children of Men might reach their full height while Eldar of the same age were still in the body like to mortals of no more than seven years. Not until the fiftieth year did the Eldar attain the stature and shape in which their lives would afterwards endure, and for some hundred years would pass before they were full-grown."

Ears are still never mentioned but he says that one race can easily be seen as the other, at least in their youth. The differences being their mind's development, body's growth rate, and the tendency of the elves' more fair appearance. There is even a piece of art by Tolkien of Beleg having a beard, so... lol

Personally I'd just give in and say they do have pointy ears because it is what the world has decided and there is no one now to confirm it either way.

[Almarëa Mordollwen]

I think it's possible (and reasonable) to conclude all of the following:
1. Tolkien intended his elves to have slightly pointed/leaf-shaped ears.
2. This was not their most distinguishing feature (as @geordie rightly says, eyes and voices are far more remarked upon).
3. The very large, highly pointed ears that you find in some D&D art, or some fan art, are a substantial exaggeration.

[The Elf Imperishable]

That definition of the Lost Road seems to conflict enough with Morgoth's Ring's description that men who watched elf-children at play could've thought they were human beings. In terms of children, I'm going to assume that ears are one of the most seen body parts, and its lack of mention is significant enough to show either that in childhood, elves' ears are not at all that easy to distinguish from humans.

Do we know what year that section of the Lost Road was created, and when the more substantial description of Morgoth's Ring was written? I ask this because I see the mention of "Gnome." Tolkien's ideas changed as the years went by, so the years are important to cross-examine. I also want a year date on when he sent that letter remarking on what a hobbit's ears looked like.

@Celebrin That's not very Tolkien-like to give in to what the world has decided based on a lack of evidence. Back during Tolkien's day, much of the world had a much different idea on what elves and dwarves looked like. I would've thought that Tolkien would try to stray away from all the noticeable features of a stereotypical elf in Tolkien's day, though I'm not entirely sure what the stereotype for elves was in Tolkien's day. I do know for certain that he hated the dwarven depiction in Snow White.

Tolkien's lack of mentioning of elven ears is significant. Because we know that when Tolkien wants to illustrate a distinguishing characteristic, he writes it. For Hobbits, if I remember correctly the hairy feet are mentioned quite a few times, for instance. At the same time, he's not exclusive in terms of whether he focuses on internal or external characteristics. Hobbits, for one, have the combination of both external and internal characteristics Tolkien focuses on whether through description or through direct commentary from people like Gandalf and others. Just like how Tolkien's mentioning of the internal majesty and grace of the elves is elaborated on, his lack of mention in prose regarding distinguishing external body parts is equally important.

[Celebrin]

I'm not one to get crazy into this lore stuff. Tbh I've only even read the books through one time and I never got through all of the Histories even. BUT, I like this thought on WHY there is so little information on their ears. Could Tolkien have very well been ashamed of their pointed ears and thus not even bringing them to the reader's attention? Could it have something to do with whether pointy ears were attractive at the time? Were they a flaw in their majesty? With hobbits undoubtedly having pointed ears, and with them being described at we'll say plump, did Tolkien purposely avoid comparing the two races on purpose? OR were hobbits given pointy ears to be we'll say cuter because elves had them and thus made pointy ears attractive? Perhaps he did not wish to say and his mind was conflicted over the subject, and possibly even more so after watching Snow White. Did CS Lewis lay down some witty banter about pointed ears and Tolkien had no retort? Is all this the reason hobbit ears are only 'slightly' pointed?

I'd agree with Ducky that hobbit ears being described as 'elvish' does not reflect on his elves at all after reading the definition of "elf" in the dictionary.

elf

noun, plural elves [elvz] .
(in folklore) one of a class of preternatural beings, especially from mountainous regions, with magical powers, given to capricious and often mischievous interference in human affairs, and usually imagined to be a diminutive being in human form; sprite; fairy.
a diminutive person, especially a child.
a mischievous person, especially a child.

I even like that it says "mischievous interference in human affairs" when hobbits themselves have no interest in such activities. Hobbits themselves could be a defiance of stereotypes and the definition of what an elf is, and thus Tolkien's elves as well of course. And he couldn't call them both elves as they were so different.

I have no answers but I'll leave all these questions haha My mind just wandered.