osto

noun. city

minassë

fort, city, with a citadel and central watch-tower

minassë noun "fort, city, with a citadel and central watch-tower" (VT42:24)

taras

great towering building, (fort, city, castle) tower

taras noun, Quenya equilvalent of Sindarin barad "a great towering building, (fort, city, castle) tower" (PE17:22), also tarminas. Barad-dûr (Dark Tower) = Quenya Taras Lúna (or Lúnaturco, q.v.)

osto

strong or fortified building or place, strong place, fortress

osto (1) noun "a strong or fortified building or place, strong place, fortress" (MR:350, 471; WJ:414); "city, town with wall round" (OS, VT46:8)

arta

fort, fortress

arta (2) noun "fort, fortress" (GARAT under 3AR)

marto

tower

marto (1) noun "tower" (PE17:66)

marto

noun. tower

Cognates

• S. barad “tower, great towering building, tower, great towering building, [N.] fort, fortress” ✧ NM/228; PE17/066

Derivations

• √M(B)ARAT “doom, fate” ✧ NM/228
  • √MBAR “settle, dwell; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision, settle; establish, fix, decide, determine, make a decision; dwell, [ᴹ√] inhabit, [ᴱ√] live”
• √BARAT “lofty, high, height combined with strength/size/majesty” ✧ PE17/066
  • √BAR “[ᴹ√] raise; uplift, save, rescue(?)”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√BAR-AT > marto	[mbarto] > [marto]	✧ PE17/066

ostirion

fort

ostirion noun "fort" (TI:423)

tarminas

tower

tarminas noun "tower" etc. (Sindarin barad); see taras (PE17:22)

turco

tower

turco ("k") (2) noun "tower". In Lúnaturco, Quenya name of Barad-dûr (Dark Tower). Tolkien changed the word turco from turma (PE17:22).

turma

tower

[turma] (2) noun "tower". Tolkien changed this word to turco (#2), q.v. (PE17:22)

caras

noun. city, fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks, circular earthwall with dike, city, [N.] city (built above ground); [S.] (orig.) fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks, circular earthwall with dike

An element in the name Caras Galadhon “City of the Trees” (LotR/353, 355), adapted from Silvan Elvish: Caras Galadon (PE17/60). Tolkien said the proper meaning of this word was “a built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks” (PE17/84) or a “circular earthwall with dike” (RC/311), derived from the root √CAR “make, build” (PE17/84). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. caras was glossed “a city (built above ground)” under the root ᴹ√KAR “make, do” (Ety/KAR).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word principally in the sense “city”, and would assume its meaning “earthwall, bulwark” was archaic.

Cognates

• Q. carasse “built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks” ✧ PE17/084

Derivations

• √KAR “do, make, build, do, make, build, [ᴹ√] construct” ✧ PE17/084

Element in

• S. Caras Galadhon “City of the Trees” ✧ RC/311
• S. Caras i-Ngelaidh “City of the Trees” ✧ PE17/060

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√CAR > Caras	[karasse] > [karass] > [karas]	✧ PE17/084

Variations

• Caras ✧ PE17/060; PE17/084

caras

noun. city (built above ground)

minas

noun. fort, city with a citadel and central watch-tower

ost

noun. city, town with wall round

ost

city

ost (pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).

ost

city

(pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).

othronn

underground city or stronghold

(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)

barad

tower

1) barad (fortress, fort) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations. 2) (tower or city with citadel/central watchtower) minas (i vinas), pl. minais (i minais), coll. pl. minassath

barad

noun. tower, fortress

barad

tower

1b n. tower.

barad

tower

1c n. tower. Q. marto.

caras

noun. circular earthwall with dike

minas

noun. tower

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

barad

tower

(fortress, fort) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.

minas

tower

(i vinas), pl. minais (i minais), coll. pl. minassath

caras

noun. moated fortress

      caras "moated fortress" (UT:257), probably to be compared to Sindarin ("Noldorin") _caras_ "a city (built above ground)", derived from the stem _KAR_ "make, do" (LR:362); the basic meaning may be simply "something made, construction" (compare Quenya car "building, house"). Extensions involving a suffixed stem-vowel and a final _-s_ are attested; cf. for instance _SPAL_ and its extended form _SPALAS_ (LR:387). Hence, _KAR_ could easily have a longer form *_KARAS_. Sindarin caras evidently includes the Grey-elven derivative ending [[-as]], though ([[-as]] is basically used to derive verbal nouns, like English_ -ing_, but these may often take on a more concrete meaning; _car-as_ can probably be compared to English build-ing); the Nandorin ending may be related to the Sindarin one. Yet another possibility would be equating this ending [[-as]] with the collective ending seen in [[Danas]], q.v., and assume that [[car]] means something like "house" (as in Quenya); hence [[caras]] = "group of houses, village", later taking on the meaning "moated fortress" if the Nandor used to surround their villages with moats.

kadar

noun. city

A noun appearing only as an element in kadar-lâi “city folk” (SD/435).

Element in

• Ad. kadar-lâi “city folk” ✧ SD/435

ost

noun. city, town (with wall round)

Cognates

• ᴹQ. osto “city, town with wall round, fort” ✧ Ety/OS

Derivations

• ᴹ√OS “round, about” ✧ Ety/OS

Element in

• N. Ang(ren)ost “Isengard”
• N. Belegost “Great Fortress, Great City” ✧ Ety/OS
• N. Caerost “?-town”
• N. Carchost
• N. Gorgos “Dire-castle”
• N. Osforod “Northburg”
• N. Narchost “*Bitter-biting Fort”
• N. Osgiliath “Fortress of the Stars”
• N. Ostechain “Town Built Again, Newbold” ✧ TI/424
• N. othlon “paved way” ✧ Ety/LOD
• N. ostrad “street” ✧ Ety/RAT
• N. Othram “City Wall” ✧ WR/288
• N. othrond “underground city, fortress” ✧ Ety/OS; EtyAC/OS
• N. Tarnost
• N. Taurost “High City”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√OS > ost	[osto] > [ost]	✧ Ety/OS

Variations

• osse ✧ EtyAC/OS (osse)
• Ost ✧ TI/424 (Ost)

caras

noun. city (built above ground)

minnas

noun. fort, city with a citadel and central watch-tower

ost

noun. city, town with wall round

barad

noun. tower, fortress

caras

noun. circular earthwall with dike

garth

noun. fort, fortress

minnas

noun. tower

minnas

noun. tower

Cognates

• ᴹQ. mindon “(isolated) tower” ✧ Ety/MINI

Derivations

• ᴹ√MIN “stand alone, stick out” ✧ Ety/MINI

Element in

• N. Minas Anor “Tower of the Sun”
• N. Minas Ithil “Tower of the Moon”
• N. Minas Morgol “Tower of Sorcery”
• N. Minnastirith “Watchtower”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MINI > minnas	[mindasse] > [mindass] > [minnass] > [minnas]	✧ Ety/MINI

ost

noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art

tirion

noun. tower

Cognates

• ᴹQ. tirion “watch-tower, tower”

Element in

• N. Luindirien “Blue Towers” ✧ Ety/LUG²