n. cave. Q. rondo.
Sindarin
groth
noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation
groth
noun. delving, underground dwelling
groth
noun. large excavation, delving, underground dwelling, large excavation, delving, underground dwelling; [N.] cave, tunnel, [G.] grot
Cognates
- Q. rotto “small grot, tunnel, tunnel, small grot, [ᴹQ.] cave”
Derivations
- √ROT “cave; delve underground, dig, excavate, tunnel, [ᴹ√] bore; [ᴱ√] hollow, delve underground, dig, excavate, tunnel, [ᴹ√] bore; [ᴱ√] hollow; [√]cave” ✧ PE17/049
- ✶grottā “(large) excavation, underground dwelling” ✧ WJ/414; WJ/415; WJ/415
- √ROT “cave; delve underground, dig, excavate, tunnel, [ᴹ√] bore; [ᴱ√] hollow, delve underground, dig, excavate, tunnel, [ᴹ√] bore; [ᴱ√] hollow; [√]cave” ✧ VT39/09; WJ/414; WJ/415
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ROT > -roth/rod [-rottā] > [-rotta] > [-rottʰa] > [-roθθa] > [-roθθ] > [-roθ] ✧ PE17/049 ✶(g)rotā > grod [grotā] > [grota] > [grot] > [grod] ✧ WJ/414 ✶grottā > groth [grottā] > [grotta] > [grottʰa] > [groθθa] > [groθθ] > [groθ] ✧ WJ/415 Variations
- grod ✧ SA/groth; WJ/414; WJ/415
roth
noun. cave
grod
noun. large excavation, delving, underground dwelling
cae
noun. earth
This word is indeclinable, according to the Etymologies
ceven
noun. Earth
ennorath
noun. central lands, middle-earth
rond
noun. cave roof
rond
noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed
feleg
noun. cave
n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.
sabar
noun. delving
A noun appearing only in its mutated form -habar in names like Anghabar “Iron-delvings” and Nornhabar “Dwarrowdelf, ✱Dwarf-delving” (WJ/209). It provides evidence for the retention of the root √SAP “dig” in Tolkien’s later writing.
Derivations
- √SAP “*dig”
Element in
fela
cave
(pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.
groth
cave
(i ’roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12)
groth
large excavation
(i ’roth) (cave, delving), pl. gryth (in gryth)**
groth
delving
(i ’roth) (cave, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth)
groth
large excavation
groth (i **roth) (cave, delving), pl. gryth (in gryth**)
groth
large excavation
groth (i **roth) (cave, delving), pl. gryth (in gryth**);
roth
cave
(delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i ’athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd)
amar
earth
(archaic Ambar), pl. Emair
bâr
earth
(dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.
cae
noun. earth
Derivations
- ᴹ√KEM “soil, earth”
cae
earth
(i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also
ceven
earth
1) ceven (i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23), 2) (world) Amar (archaic Ambar), pl. Emair; 3) bâr (dwelling, house, home, family; land) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds. 4) (maybe ”earth” as substance) cae (i gae, o chae). No distinct pl. form even if there is a pl., except with article (i chae). For ”earth” as a substance, see also SOIL.
ceven
earth
(i geven, o cheven), pl. cevin (i chevin) (VT48:23)
grôd
cave
1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12), 3) rond (construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath, 4) roth (delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i **athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd), 5) fela (pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela** as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.
grôd
cave
(i ’rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)
grôd
excavation
1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (cave, delving, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) torech (i dorech, o thorech) (lair, hole), pl. terich (i therich) for archaic törich** (RC:490);
grôd
excavation
(i ’rôd, construct grod) (cave, delving, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)
grôd
delving
1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (cave, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (cave, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth)
grôd
delving
(i ’rôd, construct grod) (cave, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)
othronn
fortress in a cave/caves
(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).
rond
cave
(construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rhûd
artificial cave
(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365)*
torech
excavation
(i** dorech, o thorech) (lair, hole), pl. terich (i** therich) for archaic törich (RC:490)
ennor
place name. central land, middle-earth
A noun for a large excavation (WJ/415) or a cave or tunnel (EtyAC/ROT) with variants groth and grod, the former seen in names like Menegroth “Thousand Caves” and the latter in names like Novrod “Hollow-delving” (later Nogrod “Dwarf-delving”). It was derived from strengthened forms ✶grottā or grotā of the root √ROT (WJ/414-415).
Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was (archaic) G. †roth “cave, grot” from the early root ᴱ√roto (GL/65); this root was glossed “hollow” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/80). Both strengthened and unstrengthened variants N. groth and roth “cave, tunnel” appeared under the root ᴹ√ROT “bore, tunnel”, a late entry to The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/ROT). Suffixal forms -roth, -rod were mentioned in passing in Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s as derivatives of √ROT “cave” in connection to the name S. Nimrodel (PE17/49).
A fairly lengthy discussion of these words appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (WJ/414-415), where Tolkien gave the root form as √groto “dig, excavate, tunnel” contrasted with √rono “arch over, roof in”. Tolkien also compared groth/grod to S. rond “vaulted or roofed chamber”, only the latter of which “could be applied both to natural and to artificial structures”. Of the two Tolkien said:
> Though distinct in origin the derivatives of ✱groto and ✱rono naturally came into contact, since they were not dissimilar in shape, and a ✱rondō was usually made by excavation. Thus S groth < ✱grottā (an intensified form of grod < ✱grotā) “a large excavation” might well apply to a rond. Menegroth means “the Thousand Caves or Delvings”, but it contained one great rond and many minor ones (WJ/415).
Neo-Sindarin: Despite Tolkien’s comments in the Quendi and Eldar essay, there are some cases where grod/groth seems to apply to natural caves as well as excavated ones, such as Nimrodel “Lady of the White Cave” and Androth “✱Long Cave”. As such, I would use it for both natural and excavated caverns.