Quenya 

Moriquendi

noun. Elves of the Dark

Elves of the Dark

Quenya [PE 18:74] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

moriquendi

collective name. Elves of the Darkness, (lit.) Dark Elves

Originally, this term was used for the Elves who never saw the light of the Two Trees of Valinor (S/51, WJ/361). Later, the meaning of this term was modified to exclude the Sindar, and so became more or less equivalent to Avari (WJ/373, SI/Moriquendi). It is a compound of morë (mori-) “darkness” and the plural of Quendë “Elf”.

Conceptual Development: One of the earliest name for the Dark Elves may have been ᴱQ. Hisildi “Twilight People” (LT1/232). The term ᴹQ. Moriqendi first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/197). It also appeared in The Etymologies, with the same derivation as given above (Ety/MOR). In this earlier period, Tolkien also used the terms ᴹQ. Moreldar and ᴹQ. Morimor for “Dark-elves” (LR/197, 405; Ety/MOR).

A singular form, Moriq(u)en, appeared in linguistic notes from the 1930s and 1940s (PE19/59; PE21/69), as an illustration of the loss of short final vowels in trisyllabic or longer words. A longer singular form Moriquende, reformed from the independent word Quendë, also appeared (PE19/59).

Cognates

  • S. Morben “*Dark-folk” ✧ WJI/Morben; WJ/361; WJ/376
  • T. Moripendi “Dark-elves” ✧ WJ/361; WJI/Moriquendi

Derivations

  • morikwende “*Dark-elf, [ᴹ✶] Dark-elf” ✧ WJ/373

Elements

WordGloss
morë“dark, black; darkness, night, dark, black; darkness, [ᴹQ.] blackness, [Q.] night”
Quendë“Elf, (lit.) One That Speaks”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mori-kwendī > Moriquendi[morikwendī] > [morikwendi]✧ WJ/373

Variations

  • Moriqend ✧ PE17/141
Quenya [LT2I/Moriqendi; MRI/Moriquendi; PE17/141; PE18/074; S/053; SA/mor; SA/quen; SI/Dark Elves; SI/Moriquendi; WJ/361; WJ/373; WJ/376; WJI/Morben; WJI/Moriquendi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

morĭ

adjective. dark

PQ. dark

Quenya [PE 19:81] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

mori-

dark, black

mori- "dark, black" in a number of compounds (independent form morë, q.v.):Morimando "Dark Mando" = Mandos (MBAD, VT45:33), morimaitë "black-handed" (LotR3:VI ch. 6, VT49:42). Moriquendi "Dark Elves" (SA:mor, WJ:361, 373), Moringotto "Black Foe", Sindarin Morgoth, later name of Melkor. The oldest form is said to have been Moriñgotho (MR:194). In late material, Tolkien is seen to consider both Moringotto and Moricotto _("k") _as the Quenya form of the name Morgoth (VT49:24-25; Moricotto also appears in the ablative, Moricottollo). Morion "the dark one", a title of Morgoth (FS). Morifinwë "dark Finwë", masc. name; he was called Caranthir in Sindarin (short Quenya name Moryo). (PM:353) In the name Morinehtar, translated "Darkness-slayer", the initial element is defined would thus seem to signify "darkness" rather than "dark" as an adjective (see mórë). (PM:384, 385)

morna

dark, black

morna adj. "dark, black" (Letters:282, LT1:261; also used of black hair, PE17:154), or "gloomy, sombre" (MOR). Used as noun in the phrase mi…morna of someone clad "in…black" (PE17:71). In tumbalemorna (Letters:282), q.v. Pl. mornë in Markirya**(the first version of this poem had "green rocks", MC:215, changed to ondolisse mornë** "upon dark rocks" in the final version; see MC:220, note 8).

móri

dark

móri adj. "dark" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"; in Tolkien's later Quenya mórë, morë)

lóna

dark

?lóna (4) adj. "dark" (DO3/DŌ). If this is to be the cognate of "Noldorin"/Sindarin dûr, as the context seems to indicate, lóna is likely a misreading for *lóra in Tolkien's manuscript.

lúna

dark

lúna adj. *"dark" in Lúnaturco and Taras Lúna, Quenya names of Barad-dûr (Dark Tower). (PE17:22). In the Etymologies, lúnë "blue" was changed by Tolkien from lúna (VT45:29).

lúrëa

dark, overcast

lúrëa adj. "dark, overcast" (LT1:259)

núla

dark, occult, mysterious

núla ("ñ")adj. "dark, occult, mysterious" (PE17:125)

ulca

adjective. dark

dark, gloomy, sinister

Quenya [PE 18:88] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

nulla

dark, dusky, obscure

nulla adj. "dark, dusky, obscure" (NDUL), "secret" (DUL). See also VT45:11.

hróva

dark, dark brown

hróva adj. "dark, dark brown", used to refer to hair (PE17:154)

Sindarin 

dúath

adjective. dark

_ adj. _dark, black shadow.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:87] < _du-wath_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dûr

dark

_ adj. _dark, gloomy, 'hellish'.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:152] < _(n)dūrā_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

Sindarin [Ety/354, S/430, UT/434] Group: SINDICT. Published by

morn

dark

morn (black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

morn

dark

(black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

môr

dark

môr (black), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also

môr

dark

(black), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr* (Letters:382)*, also

guldur

dark sorcery

(i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr)

graurim

dark people

(VT45:16);

doll

dark

doll (dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

doll

dark

(dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

dûr

dark

dûr (sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

dûr

dark

(sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

graw

dark

graw (swart), lenited raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

graw

dark

(swart), lenited ’raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

dúath

dark shadow

(i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith);

Telerin 

moripendi

collective name. Dark-elves

Cognates

  • S. Morben “*Dark-folk” ✧ WJI/Moriquendi
  • Q. Moriquendi “Elves of the Darkness, (lit.) Dark Elves” ✧ WJ/361; WJI/Moriquendi
Telerin [WJ/362; WJ/375; WJI/Moriquendi] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Black Speech

búrz

adjective. dark

Element in

  • Bs. burzum “darkness” ✧ PE17/011; PE17/012
  • Bs. Lugbúrz “Dark Tower” ✧ PE17/012; PE17/079

Variations

  • burz ✧ PE17/012
Black Speech [PE17/011; PE17/012; PE17/079] Group: Eldamo. Published by

búrz

adjective. dark

Black Speech [PE17/11] Published by

Primitive elvish

mornā

adjective. dark

Derivations

  • MOR “black, dark, darkness” ✧ Let/382

Derivatives

  • Q. morna “black, dark; black of hair, black, dark; black of hair; [ᴹQ.] sombre, gloomy” ✧ Let/382
  • S. morn “black, dark; night” ✧ Let/382; WJ/362
Primitive elvish [Let/382; WJ/362] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dom

root. dark, dark, [ᴹ√] faint, dim

This root was the basis for the main Elvish words for “dusk, night”, which was established as Q. lómë in Quenya for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√LOMO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with various derivatives having to do with “dusk” and “shadow” (QL/55). One notable derivative was ᴱQ. lóme “dusk, gloom, darkness”, which survived in Tolkien’s later writings as “night” and in the 1910s was the basis for ᴱQ. Hisilóme/G. Hithlum “Shadowy Twilights”. Another notable derivative was G. lómin “shady, shadowy, gloomy; gloom(iness)” (GL/45) used in the name G. Dor Lómin, which in the 1910s was translated as “Land of Shadow” (LT1/112).

The “shadow” meaning of this early root seems to have transferred to ᴹ√LUM from The Etymologies of the 1930s, which served as the new basis for N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM), as opposed contemporaneous N. Dor-lómen which was redefined as “Land of Echoes (< ᴹ√LAM via Ilkorin or in later writings, via North Sindarin). The “dusk” sense was transferred to a new root ᴹ√DOM “faint, dim”, which (along with ᴹ√DOƷ) was the basis for the pair words ᴹQ. lóme/N. “night” (Ety/DOMO).

These two words for “night” survived in Tolkien’s later writing in both Quenya and Sindarin (Let/308; SA/dú). In notes from the 1940s Tolkien clarified that it “has no evil connotations; it is a word of peace and beauty and has none of the associations of fear or groping that, say, ‘dark’ has for us” (SD/306). The Elves were quite comfortable being under the night sky, dating back to the time when the Elves lived under the stars before the rising of the Sun and the Moon. The root √DOM reappeared in etymologies for star-words from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152). It appeared again in some very late notes from 1969 where it was glossed “dark” and served as the basis for words meaning “blind” as well as “night”, though this paragraph was rejected (PE22/153, note #50).

Derivatives

  • dōmē “night, twilight” ✧ PE17/152
    • Q. lómë “night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud” ✧ PE17/152; SA/dú
    • S. “night, dimness; dim, dark, night, dimness; [N.] night-fall, late evening; [S.] dim, dark” ✧ PE17/152; SA/dú
  • ᴺQ. lomba “blind”
  • Q. lomba “blind” ✧ PE22/153
  • Q. lómë “night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud” ✧ PE22/153
  • ᴺS. dom “blind”
  • S. dom “blind” ✧ PE22/153
Primitive elvish [PE17/151; PE17/152; PE22/153] Group: Eldamo. Published by

du Reconstructed

root. dark

Derivatives

  • durnu “dark of hue”
    • ᴺQ. nurno “dark, deep (of hue)”
  • Q. lúmë “darkness”
  • Q. lúna “*dark”

Noldorin 

doll

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

Noldorin [Ety/355, Ety/376, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dolt

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

Noldorin [Ety/355, Ety/376, Tengwestie/20031207] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dûr

adjective. dark

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. lóna “dark” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Derivations

  • ᴹ√DOƷ “night” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√DOƷ/DÔ > dûr[dōr] > [dūr]✧ Ety/DOƷ

Variations

  • Dûr ✧ WR/113
Noldorin [Ety/DOƷ; WR/113] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

Noldorin [Ety/354, S/430, UT/434] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

moriqendi

collective name. Dark-elves

Cognates

  • N. Dureledh “Dark-elf” ✧ Ety/MOR
  • N. Durion “Dark-elf” ✧ Ety/MOR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶morikwende “Dark-elf” ✧ PE19/057; PE19/059; PE21/69

Elements

WordGloss
more“black, dark”
Qende“Elf”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶móri-kwenedḕ > móri-kwèn(ǝ)dĕ[morikwenedē] > [morikwendē] > [morikwende]✧ PE19/057
ᴹ✶móri-kwènedḗ > móri-kwènǝdĕ > móri-kwèndĕ > móri-kwèn(d) > Moriquen[morikwenedē] > [morikwendē] > [morikwende] > [morikwend] > [morikwen]✧ PE19/059
ᴹ✶mŏrĭkwĕndĕ > moriqen[morikwende] > [morikwend] > [morikwen]✧ PE21/69

Variations

  • Moriquendi ✧ PE18/024
  • Moriquende ✧ PE19/059
Qenya [Ety/MOR; LR/197; LRI/Moriqendi; PE18/024; PE19/057; PE19/059; PE21/69] Group: Eldamo. Published by

moreldar

collective name. Dark-elves

Elements

WordGloss
more“black, dark”
Elda“Elf”
Qenya [LR/405; LRI/Moreldar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lóna

adjective. dark

Cognates

  • N. dûr “dark” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Derivations

  • ᴹ√DOƷ “night” ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√DOƷ/DÔ > lóna[doɣna] > [dōna] > [lōna]✧ Ety/DOƷ

Variations

  • lóna ✧ Ety/DOƷ

Early Noldorin

hinar

adjective. dark

An adjective for “dark” from the Nebrachar poem written around 1930 (MC/217). Its etymology is unclear.

Element in

Early Noldorin [MC/217] Group: Eldamo. Published by

drú

adjective. dark

Early Noldorin [PE13/142] Group: Eldamo. Published by