denethor
masculine name. Denethor
Variations
- dEnethor ✧ LotR/1116
Denethor
Denethor
Denethor was named after the Nandorin chieftain of the First Age. The name is Nandorin fit into the Sindarin sound range, and is said to mean "Lithe and lank".
denethor
masculine name. lithe-and-lank
Derivations
- ✶Denethara “lithe-and-lank”
Variations
- Enadar ✧ MRI/Denethor
denethara
masculine name. lithe-and-lank
Derivatives
- Nan. Denethor “lithe-and-lank”
Elements
Word Gloss dene “thin and strong, pliant, lithe” thara “tall (or long) and slender”
denethor
masculine name. Denethor
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
denethor
masculine name. *Saviour of the Dani
In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, the son of Dan and leader of those Danians who entered Beleriand (LR/119, 263). In The Etymologies, Tolkien did not explain this name other than to say it derived from the same root ᴹ√DAN as his father’s name (Ety/DAN). Elsewhere, Tolkien said the primitive form of this name was ᴹ✶Ndanithārō “Saviour of the Dani”, and gave derivatives of this name in every language but Danian (LR/188).
The Danian form most closely resembles Ilk. Denithor, and may have had a similar development. In particular, the long [[dan|[ā] likely became [ǭ]]], perhaps shortening later when it became the vowel of the final syllable. The [a] in the first syllable was probably [[dan|mutated to [e] by the following [i]]], though it is unclear why the [i] would then become [e]. Finally, the initial [[dan|[nd] would simplify to [d]]].
Note that, according to the Comparative Tables (PE19/23), the medial [θ] (“th”) in this name [[dan|should have voiced to [ð] (“dh”)]]. Perhaps this name was archaic in this one aspect, or perhaps the name was partly Ilkorinized.
Cognates
Derivations
- ᴹ✶Ndanithārō “Saviour of the Dani”
- ᴹ√(N)DAN “back, backwards” ✧ Ety/DAN
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√DAN > Denethor [ndanitʰārō] > [ndanitʰǭrō] > [ndaniθǭrō] > [ndeniθǭrō] > [ndeniθǭr] > [deniθǭr] > [deneθor] ✧ Ety/DAN
The 10th and also the 26th (and last) of the ruling stewards of Gondor (LotR/1039), possibly derived from the name of the Nandorin Elf Denethor. Its meaning (if any) as a Sindarin name is unclear; the elements of the Nandorin name do not have any clear Sindarin cognates.
Conceptual Development: The name of the last ruling steward was N. Denethor when he first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (TI/375).