du(w)ath

noun. 'night shadow'

n. 'night shadow'. >> dû

duwath

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

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).

Element in

• S. Cirith Dúath “Shadow Cleft”
• S. Ephel Dúath “Mountains of Shadow; (lit.) Fence of Shadow” ✧ PE17/152; SA/dú; SA/gwath

Elements

Word	Gloss
dû	“night, dimness; dim, dark, night, dimness; [N.] night-fall, late evening; [S.] dim, dark”
gwath	“shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade”

Variations

• dú(wath) ✧ NM/283
• du-wath ✧ PE17/087
• du(w)ath ✧ PE17/152
• Dúath ✧ SA/dú; SA/gwath