Sindarin
argonath
place name. Pillars of the Kings, (lit.) Royal Stones
Elements
Word Gloss ar(a)- “noble, royal, high” gond “stone, rock, stone, rock, [N.] stone (as a material), [G.] great stone” -ath “collective or group plural” Variations
- argonath ✧ Let/427
- arn(a)gon-ath ✧ Let/427 (arn(a)gon-ath)
Two statues of Gondorian kings just north of Nen Hithoel, translated “Pillars of the Kings” (LotR/392), more literally “(Pair of) Royal Stones” (RC/347, RGEO/67, Let/427). It is combination of the prefix ar(a)- “noble”, the noun gond “stone”, and the class-plural suffix -ath (RC/347).
It is not clear why this noun uses the class-plural. However, in one place Tolkien describes a dual variant argonad using the archaic dual suffix †-ad (Let/427). Perhaps this was the original form of the name, altered to Argonath after the Sindarin dual form was forgotten.
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Sern Aran(ath) “King Stones” along with an alternate name N. Sern Ubed “[Stones of] Denial” (WR/98, 132). Later in these drafts it was revised to N. Argonath (TI/366).