lúmë

noun. darkness

A noun in the 1960s versions of the Markirya glossed “darkness” (MC/222), perhaps derived from a root √DU as suggested by David Salo in a post to the Elfling mailing list in 2012 (Elfling/362.96).

Neo-Quenya: I’d generally use Q. huinë for “darkness” in Neo-Quenya, but that word is more for total darkness, whereas lúmë might be a less severe form of darkness, a variant of Q. lómë “night, dusk”.

lúmë

darkness

lúmë (2) noun "darkness" (one wonders if Tolkien confused lúmë "time, hour" and lómë "night") (Markirya)

mor

darkness

mor noun "darkness" (Letters:308; probably just an Elvish "element" rather than a complete word; Namárië has mornië for "darkness")

mornië

darkness

mornië noun "darkness" (Nam, RGEO:67), "dark, blackness" (PE17:73). Early "Qenya" also has Mornië "Black Grief", "the black ship that plies between Mandos and Erumáni" (LT1:261). This is probably a compound of mor- "black" and nië "tear".

enwina lúmë

the old darkness

The twenty-eighth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is enwina “old” followed by the noun lúmë “darkness”, possibly a variant of more common lómë as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya).

Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:

> enwina lúmë = “✱old darkness”

huinë

noun. gloom, (unrelieved) darkness, deep shadow, night shade; dark (as a substance)

A word for “gloom” and “unrelieved darkness” such as a night without stars or moon (VT41/8), with an archaic form †fuinë [ɸuine] (PE19/71). In one place Tolkien said it is was used of darkness as an ethereal substance, the opposite of Q. linquë which was ethereal light (NM/279, 283). While light as a substance is an idea somewhat supported by reality (e.g. photons), darkness as a substance is necessarily poetic or mythic.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was ᴱQ. hui or fui “fog, dark, murk, night” from the early root ᴱ√ǶUẎU (QL/41), also appearing with the gloss “dark, murk” in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/41). It was equated to ᴱQ. Fui, the name of the Death-goddess Nienna (QL/40). In the Oilima Markirya from around 1930, the word hui was given the translation “evening” in the phrase hui oilima man kiluva “Who shall see the last evening?” (MC/214).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹQ. fuine, huine “deep shadow” under the root ᴹ√PHUY (Ety/PHUY), and in various iterations of the ᴹQ. Lament of Atalante of the 1930s and 40s, huine was glossed “shadow” (LR/47, 56; SD/246, 310). In the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) of the 1940s, it was glossed “deep shadow, nightshade”, with fuine being its normal form but huine being its form in the {Lindarin >>} Vanyarin dialect (PE19/31). However in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP2) of the 1950s, Tolkien revised this so that huine was its normal Quenya form in all dialects, fuine being archaic and pronounced with a pure labial “f” [ɸ] rather than the later labio-dental “f” [f] (PE19/71).

In writings after this point, it usually as huine (VT41/8; SA/fuin), but in some notes from the late 1960s Tolkien considered making huine the Vanyarin form again, with fuine being the form in Noldorin Quenya (NM/279).

Neo-Quenya: I prefer the notion that [[q|[ɸu] became [hu]]] in all Quenya dialects before [[q|[ɸ] became [f]]], so I would use the form huine. I would use it with the sense “darkness, deep shadow” for a particularly lightless darkness, but only metaphorically or poetically for darkness as ethereal substance in and of itself, as I believe the Elves would have been well aware that darkness was actually the absence of light.

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).

mornië

noun. darkness, blackness

A word for “darkness” or “blackness” appear in the Namárië, a noun form of morna “black, dark” (LotR/377; PE17/73).

morë

noun/adjective. dark, black; darkness, night, dark, black; darkness, [ᴹQ.] blackness, [Q.] night

A word meaning both “dark” and “black” in various compounds, sometimes also functioning as a noun “darkness”. It was derived from primitive ✶mori based on the root √MOR (Let/382).

Conceptual Development: This word has a long history in Tolkien’s languages. It first appeared as ᴱQ. {mōre >>} mōri “night” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s from the early root ᴱ√MORO (QL/62), also appearing as mōre “night” in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/63). The word mōre was used as “darkness” in the Oilima Markirya poem written around 1930 (MC/214).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s there were two distinct forms: noun ᴹQ. móre “blackness, dark, night” from primitive ᴹ✶mǭri and adjective ᴹQ. more “blackness, dark, night” from primitive from primitive ᴹ✶mori (Ety/MOR; EtyAC/MOR), though the adjective prefix mori- was frequently translated “dark” in contemporaneous compounds: ᴹQ. Morimando “Dark Mando”, ᴹQ. Moriqendi “Dark Elves”, etc. In later writings, the forms with long ó were no longer used, though whether this was intentional or a coincidence is unclear.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mainly use more as an adjective with the sense “dark”, reserving for the colour “black” the word morna instead. For the noun form, I’d use mornië, but I sometimes use mori- or móri- for “night” in compounds as the time of darkness.

ar sindanóriello mornië caita

and from a grey country darkness lies

The 12th phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> ar sindanóriello caita mornië >> ar sindanóriello mornië caita

Tolkien simply moved the subject mornië “darkness” before the verb caita “lies” to be consistent with the usual Quenya subject-verb-object word order.

lilómëa

very dark, full of darkness

lilómëa adj. "very dark, full of darkness" (PE17:81)

lilómëa

adjective. many-shadowed, very dark, full of darkness

An element in the Entish phrase Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa Lómëanor (LotR/467), which in one place Tolkien described as meaning “very dark, full of darkness”, a combination of the prefix li(n)- “many” and lómëa “shadowed, gloomy”. A more literal interpretation would be “having many nights”; compare lilótëa “having many flowers” (VT42/18). As such, I think it is safe to say this word is a poetic Entish elaboration, not likely to be used in ordinary Quenya speech.

morinehtar

masculine name. Darkness-slayer

A later name of one of the S. Ithryn Luin “Blue Wizards” (PM/384). It is a compound of morë (mori-) “darkness” and nehtar “slayer”.

mórë

blackness, dark, night, darkness

mórë noun "blackness, dark, night, darkness" (MOR, MC:214), also given with a short vowel:morë "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). If this is the initial element of Morinehtar "Darkness-slayer" (PM:384, 385), it would seem to have the stem-form mori-, though mori- is normally the adjective "dark, black" (see below).

ar sindanóriello caita mornië

and out of a grey country darkness lies

Twelth line @@@

lómë

noun. night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud

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).

morĭ

adjective. dark

PQ. dark

móri

dark

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

ulca

adjective. dark

dark, gloomy, sinister

nehtar

noun. slayer

An element in Morinehtar “Darkness-slayer”, a name of one of the Blue Wizards (PM/384). It seems to be an agental form of nahta- “to slay”, but the reason why the vowel is e is unclear.

-ië

openness

-ië (2) abstract ending, often used to derive abstracts from adjectives, e.g. látië "openness" vs. láta "open", mornië "darkness" vs. morna "black, dark", vanië (for *vanyië) "beauty" vs. vanya "fair".

caita-

verb. lie

caita- vb. "lie" (= lie down, not "tell something untrue"), aorist tense "lies" in the sentences sindanóriello caita mornië "out of a grey land darkness lies" (Nam, RGEO:67), caitas lá/palla i sír "it is [lit. lies] (far) beyond the river" (PE17:65); the latter example demonstrates that caita can also be used of a geographical feature that "lies" in a certain place. According to PE17:72 and VT48:12-13, the pa.t. is cainë or cëantë rather than **caitanë. The "Qenya" form kakainen, translated "were lying", may seem to be related (VT27:7, 21)

huinë

deep shadow

huinë noun "deep shadow" (PHUY), "gloom" (VT41:8), "gloom, darkness" (SA:fuin), also used for "shadow" = Sauron (LR:56). Possessive (adjectival) form huinéva in the name Taurë Huinéva, q.v. In earlier sources, huinë is quoted as a variant of fuinë, but according to VT41:8, huinë is the proper Quenya form and fuinë is Telerin.With prefix nu- "under" and allative ending -nna in nuhuinenna (SD:246); also unuhuinë "under-shadow" (LR:47).

lómë

dusk, twilight

lómë noun "dusk, twilight", also "night"; according to SD:415, the stem is lómi- (contrast the "Qenya" genitive lómen rather than **lómin in VT45:28). According to PE17:152, lómë refers to night "when viewed favourably, as a rule, but it became the general rule" (cf. SD:414-415 regarding lōmi as an Adûnaic loan-word based on lómë, meaning "fair night, a night of stars" with "no connotations of gloom or fear"). In the battle-cry auta i lómë "the night is passing" (Silm. ch. 20), the "night" would however seem to refer metaphorically to the reign of Morgoth. As for the gloss, cf. Lómion masc. name "Child of Twilight [dusk]", the Quenya name Aredhel secretly gave to Maeglin _(SA). Otherwise lómë is usually defined as "night" (Letters:308, LR:41, SD:302 cf.414-15, SA:dú)_; the _Etymologies defines lómë as "Night [as phenomenon], night-time, shades of night, Dark" (DO3/DŌ, LUM, DOMO, VT45:28), or "night-light" (VT45:28, reading of _lómë uncertain). In early "Qenya" the gloss was "dusk, gloom, darkness" (LT1:255). Cf. lómelindëpl. lómelindi "nightingale" _(SA:dú, LR:41; SD:302, MR:172, DO3/DŌ, LIN2, TIN). _Derived adjective #lómëa "gloomy" in Lómëanor "Gloomyland"; see Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna...

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)

morë

black

morë adj. "black" (MOR), "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). In compounds the stem-form mori- (q.v.) appears, since the primitive form was ¤mori.

nehtar

slayer

#nehtar noun "slayer", isolated from Morinehtar "Darkness-slayer" (PM:384, 385). It may be that a verbal stem #nehta- "to slay, kill" can also be isolated from this noun, though the attested form is actually nahta- (a possible example of A/E variation).

Fui

night

Fui noun "Night" (PHUY) - variant Hui, which form is probably to be preferred in light of Tolkien's later insight that the related word fuinë (see below) is actually Telerin, the proper Quenya form being huinë.

Hui

night

Hui noun "Night" (PHUY), in earlier "Qenya" defined as "evening" _(MC:214) or"fog, dark, murk, night" (LT1:253)._

fuine

noun. deep shadow

PQ. deep shadow, night shade

fuinë

deep shadow

fuinë noun "deep shadow" (PHUY; cf. "Qenya" fuin "night" in MC:221). According to VT41:8, fuinë is not a Quenya form at all, but Telerin for Quenya huinë (but unquestionably, fuinë is quoted as a Quenya form in certain earlier sources; cf. also Fuinur below - perhaps we may assume that fuinë was borrowed into Quenya from Telerin and thus came to co-exist with huinë?

furu

lie

furu noun "a lie" _(LT2:340, GL:36) _Read perhaps *huru in a LotR-compatible form of Quenya, since Tolkien decided that fu- tended to become hu-.

histë

dusk

histë noun "dusk" (LT1:255)

hróva

dark, dark brown

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

hísë

dusk

hísë (2) noun "dusk" (LT1:255). A "Qenya" form possibly obsoleted by #1 above.

lumbë

gloom, shadow

lumbë noun "gloom, shadow" (LUM)

lusta

void, empty

lusta adj. "void, empty" (LUS)

látie

noun. openness

A noun for “openness” appearing in the Ósanwe-kenta essay from 1959-60 based on láta “open” (VT39/23).

látië

openness

látië noun "openness" (VT39:23)

ló

night, a night

ló (1) noun "night, a night" (DO3/DŌ, VT45:28)

lúrëa

dark, overcast

lúrëa adj. "dark, overcast" (LT1:259)

mordo

shadow, obscurity, stain

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

mori

night

mori noun "night" (LT1:261, in Tolkien's later Quenya mórë, morë)

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).

morqua

black

morqua adj. "black" (LT1:261; rather morna in LotR-style Quenya)

nulla

dark, dusky, obscure

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

núla

dark, occult, mysterious

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

olo

night

?olo (reading uncertain), possibly a synonym of ló #1, hence noun "night" (VT45:28)

usque

noun. dusk

dusk

usque

noun. dusk, twilight

yaru

gloom, blight

yaru noun "gloom, blight" (GL:37)

burzum

noun. darkness

ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul

one ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

búrz

adjective. dark

burzum

noun. darkness

búrz

adjective. dark

mulkhêr

masculine name. Lord of Darkness

The Adûnaic name of Morgoth; it seems to be a loan word from Q. Melkor “Mighty Arising” (or some Avari variant of it), but it is glossed “Lord of Darkness” (SD/358). If this is the meaning of the word, the final element could be related to khôr “lord” appearing in the later name Adûnakhôr “Lord of the West”, or to the older rejected name Kherû “Lord”, also referring to Melkor. The initial element Mul- could perhaps be a distant variation on the Elvish root √MOR “dark”. Yet another possibility is that it was originally an ancient Elvish loan word (✶milikûr?) that shifted in form to resemble the meaning “Lord of Darkness”.

Conceptual Development: The first Adûnaic name for Morgoth, Mēlekō, was more clearly based on ᴹQ. Melko, which was the Quenya name for Melkor in that stage of Tolkien’s writing.

dâur

noun. gloom

A noun translated as “gloom” derived from the root √DAWAR (SD/423). It is an example of how primitive [[ad|[w] and [j] became [u] and [i] before consonants and finally]], thereby producing diphthongs.

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).

lub

root. shadow, darkness

This root and ones like it were the basis for shadowy things throughout Tolkien’s life, but went through a number of minor conceptual shifts. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√LUVU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. lumbo “dark lowering cloud” and ᴱQ. lūre “dark weather” (QL/57). In the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa written afterwards, Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√LUB with a similar set of derivatives (PME/57); phonological developments in both Early Qenya and Gnomish make it very difficult to distinguish ancient voiced stops [b] from voiced spirants [β]. Sign of this root can also be seen in Gnomish words G. lum or glum “cloud”, G. lumbri “foul weather”, and G. luv- “hang, lower, of clouds” (GL/55).

The derivatives of this root in the 1910s seem to connect more specifically to dark weather, but in The Etymologies of the 1930s the root reappeared as ᴹ√LUM with derivatives having to do mainly with shadow, such as ᴹQ. lumbe “gloom, shadow” and N. lhum “shade” (Ety/LUM). These in turn served as the basis for N. Hithlum and ᴹQ. †Hísilumbe >> ᴹQ. Hisilóme interpreted in this period as “Mist-and-Dusk” (LR/406). In earlier writing the second element of ᴱQ. Hisilóme “Misty-gloom” was derived from ᴱ√LOMO (QL/55), whereas in 1964 notes Hithlum was designated “North Sindarin” and given a new etymology as a direct loan from its Quenya equivalent, and thus no longer connected to √LUM (PE17/133).

The last appearance of the root in currently published material was as √LUM or √LUB “shadow, darkness” with derivatives Q. lumbo “dark, shade” and Q. lumbule “shadow” (PE17/168). Q. Luvailin “Shadowmere” (RC/217) is probably related and must derived from √LUB. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume that √LUB is the form as the root, as the various lumb- forms can likewise be derived from √LUB by way of strengthened ✱lu(m)b-.

phuinē

noun. deep shadow, night shade, dark substance, vapour-like darkness, deep shadow, night shade, [ᴹ✶] night

thūsē

noun. horrible darkness, black mist

lum

root. shadow, darkness

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. dû “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).

mornā

adjective. dark

du Reconstructed

root. dark

mori

adjective. black

us(u)kwē

noun. dusk

wath

noun. shadow

dagmor

proper name. ?Slayer of Darkness

Beren’s sword, named only in the “The Lay of Leithian Recommenced” from the 1950s (LB/350). The initial element may be a form of dag- “slay” and the second element may be môr “darkness”, hence: “✱Slayer of Darkness” (as suggested by David Salo, GS/360).

thû

noun. horrible darkness

n. horrible darkness, black mist.

fuin

noun. night, gloom, darkness, night, gloom, darkness, [N.] dead of night

thû

noun. horrible darkness, black mist, [N.] stench; [S.] black mist, horrible darkness

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

fuin

noun. night, dead of night, gloom, darkness

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

dúath

adjective. dark

_ adj. _dark, black shadow.

dûr

dark

_ adj. _dark, gloomy, 'hellish'.

dû

darkness

1. dû (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) fuin (gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 3) môr (i vôr, construct mor), pl. mŷr (i mŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

dû

darkness

(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

fuin

darkness

(gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.

môr

darkness

(i vôr, construct mor), pl. m**ŷr (i m**ŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

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)

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)

môr

dark

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

môr

dark

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

daw

gloom

1. daw (i dhaw) (nighttime), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath; 2) dim (i dhim) (sadness), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nim). Note: a homophone means ”stair”. 3) fuin (darkness, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 4) maur (i vaur), pl. moer (i moer) (VT45:35)

dû

night

1. dû (i dhû) (nightfall, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) morn (i vorn) (darkness), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word is also used as an adjective ”dark, black” (Letters:386).

dû

dusk

(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302).

dû

night

(i dhû) (nightfall, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

fuin

gloom

(darkness, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.

fuin

night, nightshade, dead of night

(gloom, darkness). No distinct pl. form.

morn

night

(i vorn) (darkness), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word is also used as an adjective ”dark, black” (Letters:386).

moth

dusk

1. moth (i voth), pl. myth (i myth). David Salo would read *môth with a long vowel. 2) dû (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302).

môr

black

1. môr (dark), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

môr

black

(dark), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. **myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

dae

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

dae

noun. shadow

dagnir

noun. slayer

dagnir

noun. bane

dúath

noun. nightshade

dû

night

_ n. _night (when viewed favourably). Q. lóme.

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

guruthos

noun. the shadow of death, death-horror

mor

black

_adj. _black.

mor-

black

_ pref. _black. >> Moria, morn-

morchant

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

morn

adjective. black, dark

morn

adjective. black

adj. black. >> mor, Morgai

morn-

black

_pref. _black. >> Moria, mor-

moth

noun. dusk

cofn

void

(adjective) cofn (empty), lenited gofn, pl. cyfn

cofn

void

(empty), lenited gofn, pl. cyfn

dae

shadow

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

daew

shadow

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

daw

gloom

(i dhaw) (nighttime), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath

daw

nighttime

daw (i dhaw) (gloom), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath.

daw

nighttime

daw (i dhaw) (gloom), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath.

daw

nighttime

(i dhaw) (gloom), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath.

dim

gloom

(i dhim) (sadness), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nim). Note: a homophone means ”stair”.

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”.

dúath

dark shadow

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

dúath

nightshade

(i dhúath) (dark shadow), pl. dúaith (i núaith).

galvorn

black metal

(i ’alvorn), pl. gelvyrn (i ngelvyrn = i ñelvyrn) if there is a pl. (WJ:322). 2) donn (swart, swarty, shady, shadowy) (lenited dhonn, pl. dynn). (VT45:11). Also dunn- in compounds.

gast

void

(i ’Ast if the word can occur with article and is not counted as a proper name)

gaw

void

(noun) 1) gaw (i **aw), pl. goe (i ngoe = i ñoe), 2) (noun, "the Void" beyond the world) Gast (i **Ast if the word can occur with article and is not counted as a proper name), 3) iâ (chasm, gulf, abyss), pl. iai (LR:400, RS:437, Letters:383)

gaw

void

(i ’aw), pl. goe (i ngoe = i ñoe)

graurim

dark people

(VT45:16);

guldur

dark sorcery

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

gwâth

shadow

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

iâ

void

(chasm, gulf, abyss), pl. iai (LR:400, RS:437, Letters:383)

maur

gloom

(i vaur), pl. moer (i moer) (VT45:35)

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.

moth

dusk

(i voth), pl. myth (i myth). David Salo would read ✱môth with a long vowel.

muil

shadow

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

tinnu

dusk

tinnu (i dinnu, o thinnu) (twilight, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

tinnu

dusk

(i dinnu, o thinnu) (twilight, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

tinnu

early night without a moon

(i dinnu, o thinnu) (dusk, twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

dúwath

noun. darkness, shadow

fuin

noun. night, dead of night, gloom, darkness

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

dûr

adjective. dark

belegast

place name. Void

Noldorin term for the “Void” appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s, a combination of beleg “great” and Gast “void” (Ety/KUM), also appearing as a variant Belego containing gaw “void” (Ety/GAS).

dae

noun. shadow

daew

noun. shadow

daw

noun. night-time, gloom

doll

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dolt

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dúath

noun. nightshade

dúwath

noun. nightshade

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

gast

proper name. Void

A name for the Void beyond the world appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s, more fully Belegast (Ety/KUM).

gaw

noun. void

gaw

noun. void

maur

noun. gloom

maur

noun. gloom

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “gloom” appearing under the root ᴹ√MOR (Ety/MOR). A nearby primitive form ᴹ✶mǭri is the likely basis for this word as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne (EtyAC/MOR), where the primitive ǭ became au as was the usual sound change in both Noldorin and later Sindarin (PE18/46, 96).

mordor

place name. Black Country

morn

adjective. black, dark

morn

adjective. black

môr

adjective. black

ogol < ogl

gloom

n/adj gloom, gloomy

tindu

noun. dusk, twilight, early night (without Moon)

tindu

noun. starry twilight

tinnu

noun. dusk, twilight, early night (without Moon)

tinnu

noun. starry twilight

fuinë

noun. gloom

huine

noun. deep shadow

deep shadow, night shade

narâg

adjective. black

dunna

adjective. black

This might seem to be derived from dunnâ, sc. the stem DUN "dark (of colour)" (LR:355) either with the adjectival ending -nâ or with medial fortification n > nn and the simpler adjectival ending -â. However, other Nandorin words seem to have lost their final -â's, e.g. ealc "swan" from alk-wâ, and (to quote a wholly parallel example) cogn "bow" from ku3nâ. The descendant form is not cogna with the final vowel intact as the case would seem to be in dunna. However, primitive -ô does come out as -a in Nandorin, cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô, so a form dunnô might be capable of yielding dunna, but this primitive form would rather be a noun "dark person/thing", since primitive -ô, -nô are nominal rather than adjectival endings. Of course, Nandorin may have turned an original noun into an adjective, or developed an adjectival ending -a afresh. But all things considered *dunnâ still appears to be the best reconstruction of the primitive form.

The words dunna and scella raise the question of whether original final -â is actually preserved as -a following double consonants (as opposed to clusters of different consonants) in Nandorin.