gor (“fear, dread”) + thaur (“abominable, abhorrent”) In [Etym. THUS-] the last element is given thû “stench”, as the proper name of the chief servant of Morgoth.
Sindarin
Gorthaur
noun. ancient S
Gorthaur
noun. abominable fear
gorthaur
masculine name. ?Mist of Fear
Sindarin name of Q. Sauron, glossed “the Cruel” in The Silmarillion (S/32), but it is unclear whether this is an accurate translation. According to Christopher Tolkien, it is a combination of gor “horror” and thaur “abominable” (SA/gor, thaur).
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor of this name was ᴱN. Thû from the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/16), appearing in its extended form N. Gorthû as a late revision to the Lays (LB/232) and in the Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/333). The name was revised to Gorthaur in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (WJ/240).
The meaning of this name is unclear. In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, Tolkien indicated that Gorthu was the proper form, derived from primitive ✶ñgor(o)-thūsō “Mist of Fear”, and apparently Gorthaur was a later variation (PE17/183). The source of the etymology that Christopher Tolkien used in The Silmarillion appendix (given above) remains unpublished.
Cognates
Derivations
- ✶ñgor(o)-thūsō “Mist of Fear” ✧ PE17/183
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ñgor(o)-thūsō > Gorthu > Gorthaur [ŋgorotʰūsō] > [ŋgorotʰūso] > [ŋgoroθūso] > [ŋgoroθūho] > [goroθūho] > [goroθūh] > [goroθū] > [gorθū] > [gorθu] ✧ PE17/183 Variations
- Gorsodh ✧ WJI/Gorsodh
_prop. n. _ancient S. name of Sauron. >> Sauron