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 1967-69, 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).

wath

noun. shadow

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).

duwath

noun. night shadow, dark/black shadow, night shadow, dark/black shadow, [N.] night-shade

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

gwath

noun. stain

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

shadow

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

gwâth

shade

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

gwatha

stain

(verb) gwatha- (i **watha, in gwathar**) (soil)

gwatha

stain

(i ’watha, in gwathar) (soil)

dúath

noun. night shadow, dark/black shadow, night shadow, dark/black shadow, [N.] night-shade

A word meaning “night shadow” (PE17/152) or “dark/black shadow” (PE17/87), a combination of dû “night” and the soft-mutated form ’wath of gwath “shadow” (SA/dú, gwath), usually written dúath but sometimes dúwath or duwath. Most notably it appeared in the name Ephel Dúath “Mountains of Shadow; (lit.) Fence of Shadow” (LotR/636; RC/457). In one place Tolkien said it was used metaphorically for darkness as an ethereal substances, the opposite of glae(gal) which was light as a substance (NM/283).

Conceptual Development: N. Dú(w)ath “night-shade” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the etymology given above (Ety/DOƷ).

gwass

stain

(noun) 1) gwass (i **wass, construct gwas), pl. gwais (in gwais), also gwath (i **wath), pl. gwaith (in gwaith), 2) (noun) maw (i vaw) (soil), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”. 3) mael (i vael), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mael). Also as adj.

gwass

stain

(i ’wass, construct gwas), pl. gwais (in gwais), also gwath (i ’wath), pl. gwaith (in gwaith)

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**),

dae

noun. shadow

dae

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

guruthos

noun. the shadow of death, death-horror

lum

noun. shade

morchant

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

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).

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”.

fuin

nightshade

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

gwaen

stained

(lenited ’waen; no distinct pl. form)

lûm

shade

(pl. luim).

mael

stain

(i vael), no distinct pl. form except with article (i mael). Also as adj.

mael

stained

(lenited vael; no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”lust”. Another adj.

maw

stain

(i vaw) (soil), pl. moe (i moe). Note: a homophone is an archaic word for ”hand”.

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)

gwath

noun. shade

gwath

noun. stain

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

gwath

noun. stain

gwass

noun. stain

dae

noun. shadow

daew

noun. shadow

gwass

noun. stain

hmael

noun/adjective. stain

hmael

noun/adjective. stained

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.

mael

noun/adjective. stain

mael

noun/adjective. stained

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”.

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).

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".)

lëo

shade, shadow cast by any object

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

lómin

shade, shadow

lómin noun "shade, shadow" (LT1:255)

mordo

shadow, obscurity, stain

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

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