laimë

shade

laimë noun "shade" (DAY; in an earlier version the gloss was "shadow (cast by an object or form)"; see VT45:8-9. Perhaps Tolkien transferred this meaning to lëo when giving laimë the more general meaning "shade".)

lómin

shade, shadow

lómin noun "shade, shadow" (LT1:255)

mordo

shadow, obscurity, stain

mordo (1) noun "shadow, obscurity, stain" (MOR)

lëo

shade, shadow cast by any object

lëo noun "shade, shadow cast by any object" (DAY)

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

gwath

noun. stain

gwath

noun. shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade

A word for “shadow” but more accurately an area of “dim light”, since it was “not for the shadows of actual objects or persons cast by sun or moon or other lights” (VT42/9) but was used “in the sense of dim light, owing to cloud or mist, or in deep valleys” (UT/261). A cast shadow would be morchant “(lit.) dark shape” (VT42/9). Gwath was derived from the root √WATH.

Conceptual Development: N. gwath “shade” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above (Ety/WATH).

Cognates

• Q. vasar “veil” ✧ VT42/09

Derivations

• ✶wath “shadow” ✧ PE17/041
  • √WATH “*shade, [ᴹ√] shade”
• √WATH “*shade, [ᴹ√] shade” ✧ VT42/09; VT42/09

Element in

• S. Deldúwath “Deadly Nightshade, (lit.) Horror of Night-shadow” ✧ SA/gwath
• S. dúath “night shadow, dark/black shadow, night shadow, dark/black shadow, [N.] night-shade” ✧ SA/gwath
• S. Eryd-wethion “Mountains of the Region of Shadows”
• S. Gwathir “River of Shadow” ✧ UT/263
• S. Gwathló “Greyflood” ✧ SA/gwath; UT/261; UT/263; VT42/09
• S. gwathren “shadowy, dim”
• S. gwathui “*shadowy, of shadow”
• S. Núath “?Under Shadow”
• S. Thuringwethil “Woman of Secret Shadow”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶wath > gwath	[watʰa] > [waθa] > [gwaθa] > [gwaθ]	✧ PE17/041
√Wath > Gwath	[watʰa] > [waθa] > [gwaθa] > [gwaθ]	✧ VT42/09
√WATH > Gwath	[watʰa] > [waθa] > [gwaθa] > [gwaθ]	✧ VT42/09

Variations

• Gwath ✧ UT/263; VT42/09 (Gwath); VT42/09

guruthos

noun. the shadow of death, death-horror

dae

noun. shadow

dae

noun. shadow, shadow (cast by an object or form), [N.] shade

Element in

• S. Daeron ✧ SA/dae
• S. Dor Daedeloth “Land of Great Dread; Land of Shadow of Horror” ✧ SA/dae

lum

noun. shade

morchant

noun. shadow (of objects, cast by light), dark shape

gwâth

shadow

(i ’wâth; construct gwath) (shade, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261)

gwâth

shade

(noun) 1) gwâth (i **wâth; construct gwath) (shadow, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261), 2) dae (i dhae) (shadow), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae), 3) lûm (pl. luim**).

gwâth

shade

(i ’wâth; construct gwath) (shadow, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261)

dúath

dark shadow

(i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith). Compare the Ephel Dúath or ”Mountains of Shadow” forming th outer fence of Mordor, perhaps suggesting that Dúath is also the word used of Sauron as ”the Shadow”.

dae

shadow

(i dhae) (shade), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae).

dae

shade

(i dhae) (shadow), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae)

daew

shadow

(i dhaew), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndaew) (VT45:8).

lûm

shade

(pl. luim).

morchant

shadow

1) morchant (i vorchant), pl. morchaint (i morchaint). The literal meaning is ”dark shape”, referring to shadows with a recognizable form. 2) dae (i dhae) (shade), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae). 3) daew (i dhaew), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndaew) (VT45:8). 4) gwâth (i **wâth; construct gwath) (shade, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261) 5) muil (i vuil) (twilight, dreariness, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil**),

morchant

shadow

(i vorchant), pl. morchaint (i morchaint). The literal meaning is ”dark shape”, referring to shadows with a recognizable form.

muil

shadow

(i vuil) (twilight, dreariness, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil)

fuin

nightshade

(gloom, darkness, night, dead of night); no distinct pl. form.

scella

noun. shade, screen

Probably noun. Primitive form given as skalnâ, derived from the stem SKAL1 "screen, hide (from light)" (LR:386). Since -nâ is an adjectival ending, often taking on the meaning of a kind of past participle, skalnâ must mean "screened, hidden (from light)"; this has become a noun "shade, screen" in Nandorin.

The word scella, sciella alone tells us that ln is assimilated to ll in Nandorin, and as in dunna, spenna a primitive final -â, usually lost, seems to persist as -a following a double consonant. The shift of a to e in skalnâ > scella is parallelled by the similar shift in spannâ > spenna, q.v. However, such a shift does not occur in what might seem to be similar environments (before a double consonant?); cf. hrassa, not hressa, from khrassê. It would seem that e might further break up into ie, scella having the alternative form sciella.

sciella

noun. shade, screen

>> scella

nâlu

noun. shadow

A noun attested only in the compound agannâlô “death-shadow [is]” (SD/247, VT24/12). The first element of the compound, agan “death”, as identified elsewhere (SD/426), so the remaining element must mean “shadow”. The compound is the subject of the sentence agannâlô burôda nênud “death-shadow [is] heavy on us” and is therefore in the subjective case. According the grammatical rules of Lowdham’s Report, the only possibly normal form producing this subjective is nâlu: compare nîlu “moon” to its subjective form nîlô (SD/431).

Conceptual Development: In early writings, the compound was (non-subjective) agannūlo, so that the apparent draft form of this noun was nūlo. A similar form nūlu appears on SD/306, described only as “a word with the evil sense of ‘night’ or ‘dark’”. It could be a separate word or another variation of this word, with the development nūlo >> nūlu >> nālu. Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/21) that the earlier forms may be related to ᴹQ. nulla “dark, dusky, obscure”.

Element in

• Ad. agannâlô burôda nênud “[the] death-shadow [is] heavy on us” ✧ SD/247; SD/247
• Ad. agannūlo burudan nēnum “death-shade heavy-is on-us” ✧ SD/312

Variations

• nūlu ✧ SD/306
• nūlo ✧ SD/312

ugru

noun. shadow

A noun translated “shadow” (SD/247), also described as “a word with the evil sense of ‘night’ or ‘dark’” (SD/306). It appears in the preprositional phrase ugru-dalad “under shadow” (SD/247) and in the draft-dative form ugrus “‽horror‽shadow” (SD/311).

Element in

• Ad. Êruhînim dubdam ugru-dalad “[the Children of Eru] fell under shadow” ✧ SD/247; SD/247
• Ad. ēruhīn udūbanim dalad ugrus “‽ fell under ‽horror‽shadow” ✧ SD/311
• Ad. ugrudâ- “to overshadow”

wath

noun. shadow

Derivations

• √WATH “*shade, [ᴹ√] shade”

Derivatives

• S. gwath “shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade” ✧ PE17/041

wath

root. *shade, [ᴹ√] shade

The root ᴹ√WATH “shade” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives like N. gwath of the same meaning (Ety/WATH). Primitive ✶wath “shadow” was mentioned in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s as the basis for S. gwath (PE17/41), and primitive root √WATH appeared in notes on The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s, again as the basis for S. gwath and similar words like S. gwathren “shadowy, dim” and Q. vasar “veil”, the latter from extended form waþar [√WATHAR] which was apparently the only survival of the shorter root in Quenya (VT42/9-10). This extended root might also be the basis for the (archaic?) region name Q. Avathar “Shadows” from The Silmarillion (S/73-4; MR/284).

Derivatives

• ✶aw’tha “a dim shape, spectral or vague apparition” ✧ VT42/09
  • Q. ausa “dim shape, spectral or vague apparition” ✧ VT42/09
  • S. auth “dim shape, spectral or vague apparition” ✧ VT42/09
• ✶wath “shadow”
  • S. gwath “shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade” ✧ PE17/041
• S. gwath “shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade” ✧ VT42/09; VT42/09
• S. gwathra- “to overshadow, dim, veil, obscure” ✧ VT42/09
• S. gwathren “shadowy, dim” ✧ VT42/09

Element in

• √WATHAR “*shadow, veil” ✧ VT42/09; VT42/09

Variations

• Wath ✧ VT42/09 (Wath)

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

gwath

noun. stain

gwath

noun. shade

Cognates

• Ilk. gwath “shade” ✧ Ety/WATH

Derivations

• On. watha “shade” ✧ Ety/WATH
  • ᴹ√WATH “shade” ✧ Ety/WATH

Element in

• N. Deldúwath “Deadly Nightshade” ✧ Ety/DYEL
• N. Gwathfuin-Daidelos “Deadly Nightshade”
• N. Dolwethil “(Woman of) Secret Shadow”
• N. dú(w)ath “night-shade”
• N. Eredwethion “Shadowy Mountains” ✧ Ety/WATH
• N. Gwathlo “Greyflood”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. watha > gwath	[waθa] > [gwaθa] > [gwaθ]	✧ Ety/WATH

Variations

• gwath ✧ Ety/WATH

dae

noun. shadow

daew

noun. shadow

lhum

noun. shade

lhum

noun. shade

A word appearing as N. lhum “shade” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√LUM, most notably an element in the name N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM). It was the cognate of ᴹQ. lumbe, and thus derived from primitive ✱lumbē, which explains why the final m survived as a reduction of mb.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was G. lôm {“pool, sl...” >>} “gloom, shade” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, based on primitive ᴱ✶lou̯me (GL/54) and probably derived from the early root ᴱ√LOMO as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Hisilómë). In this early document, G. lum or glum was “a cloud” (GL/55), likely a derivative of ᴱ√LUVU for “✱dark weather” as also suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Luvier). In Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. {lom >>} lhom “shadow” (PE13/149). This became N. lhum “shade” in The Etymologies, as noted above.

Neo-Sindarin: In later writings, Hithlum was designated North Sindarin and its final element was based on a loan from Q. lómë “dusk”, with the m surviving only because it was from the North dialect (PE17/133; WJ/400). However, the root √LUM “shadow, darkness” also survived in later writings (PE17/168), so I think N. lhum “shade” can be salvaged, though if adapted to Neo-Sindarin it would need to become ᴺS. lum as suggested in HSD (HSD). Given the later use of Q. lumbo for “(dark) cloud”, I think the Gnomish sense G. lum “[dark] cloud” can be salvaged as well.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. lumbe “gloom, shadow” ✧ Ety/LUM

Derivations

• ᴹ√LUM “*shadow” ✧ Ety/LUM

Element in

• N. Hithlum “Land of Mist, (lit.) Mist-and-Dusk” ✧ Ety/LUM
• N. lhumren “shady” ✧ Ety/LUM

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√LUM > lhum	[lumbe] > [lumbe] > [lumb] > [l̥umb] > [l̥umb] > [l̥umm] > [l̥um]	✧ Ety/LUM