Barad-dûr

noun. dark tower

barad (“tower”) + dûr (“dark, somber”) #Dh could revert to d assimilated by the preceding d.

Barad-dûr

place name. 'Dark Tower'

topon. #'Dark Tower'. >> barad, dûr

barad-dûr

place name. Dark Tower

Sauron’s fortress in Mordor, translated “Dark Tower” (LotR/555). It is a combination of barad “tower” and dûr “dark” (PE17/22, 85; RC/274; SA/barad, dûr).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name was already N. Barad-dûr when it first appeared (TI/178).

Cognates

• Q. Lúnaturco “?Dark Stronghold” ✧ PE17/022
• Q. Taras Lúna “*Dark Tower” ✧ PE17/022
• Bs. Lugbúrz “Dark Tower” ✧ LotR/0564; LotRI/Barad-dûr; PE17/012

Elements

Word	Gloss
barad	“tower, great towering building, tower, great towering building, [N.] fort, fortress”
dûr	“dark (with evil implications), gloomy, hellish”

Variations

• barad-dûr ✧ PE17/086

Barad-dûr

Dark Tower

Barad-Dûr translates from Sindarin as "Dark Tower". barad means "tower" and dûr means "dark". Lugbúrz was the name of Barad-dûr in the Black Speech from Lug meaning "tower" and búrz meaning "dark".

Barad-dûr

Barad-dûr

Barad-Dûr translates from Sindarin as "Dark Tower". barad means "tower" and dûr means "dark". Lugbúrz was the name of Barad-dûr in the Black Speech, composed of of the Black Speech words lûg ("fortress, lock-up, prison") and búrz ("dark").