Quenya 

núlë

black arts, secrecy

núlë ("ñ")noun "black arts, secrecy" (PE17:125)

Nolmë

knowledge, philosophy (including science)

Nolmë ("ñ")noun "knowledge, Philosophy (including Science)" (PM:360 cf. 344)

nolwë

wisdom, secret lore

nolwë ("ñ")noun "wisdom, secret lore" (ÑGOL)

sairina

magic

sairina adj.? "magic" (evidently adj. rather than noun) (GL:72)

ista

knowledge

ista (1) noun "knowledge" (IS). Also istya.

istare

noun. knowledge

Quenya [PE 22:110] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

istya

knowledge

istya noun "knowledge" (IS). Also ista (#1).

issë

knowledge, lore

issë noun "knowledge, lore" (LT2:339; rather ista or istya in Tolkien's later Quenya)

handë

knowledge, understanding, intelligence

handë noun "knowledge, understanding, intelligence" (KHAN). Note: *handë is (probably) also the past tense of the verb har- "sit".

fairë

phantom, disembodied spirit, when seen as a pale shape

fairë(1) noun "phantom, disembodied spirit, when seen as a pale shape" (pl. fairi in Markirya); compare ausa. The noun fairë was also used = "spirit (in general)", as a kind of being (MR:349, PE17:124). In VT43:37 and VT44:17, fairë refers to the Holy Spirit (fairë aista or Aina Fairë)

Sindarin 

gûl

noun. knowledge

n. knowledge, deep knowledge not 'occult' in modern sense, but applied to the deper knowledge of the 'wise' or skilled persons, not kept secret (as [?among the] Elves) but not attainable by all. Q. ñōle, B.S. gûl phantom, shadow of dark magic, necromancer, slave, servant?. The B.S. word gûl was prob. derived from ngōl-.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:79] < _ngōl_-. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gûl

noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)

Sindarin [Ety/377, S/432, MR/350, WJ/383] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûl

noun. perverted or evil knowledge, sorcery, necromancy

Sindarin [Ety/377, S/432, MR/350, WJ/383] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûl

noun. black arts

n. black arts, sorcery. Q. ñúle, B.S. gûl 'wraith' is probably derived from Sindarin.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:125] < ÑGUL (possibly in origin simply a variant of ÑGOL applied to a darker shade ?) dark, with sinister connotations. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gûl

evil and necromantic arts

_n. _evil and necromantic arts, black arts, sorcery. A loan from B.S. Tolkien notes that "gūl in B.S. is probably from S.". Q. ñūle.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:31-2] < ÑGUL. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gûl

noun. black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, [N.] magic; [ᴱN.] wisdom

Cognates

  • Bs. gûl “phantom, shadow of dark magic, wraith; †black arts, sorcery” ✧ MR/350; PE17/031
  • Q. nólë “lore, knowledge, long study, lore, knowledge, long study; [ᴹQ.] wisdom” ✧ MR/470; PE17/079; SA/gûl; MR/350; MR/471; WJ/383
  • Q. núlë “black arts, sorcery” ✧ PE17/031; PE17/125

Derivations

  • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ PE17/079; SA/gûl; WJ/383
  • √ÑGUL “dark with sinister associations” ✧ PE17/125

Derivatives

  • Bs. gûl “phantom, shadow of dark magic, wraith; †black arts, sorcery” ✧ PE17/031; PE17/125

Element in

  • S. Dol Guldur “Hill of Sorcery” ✧ PE17/031; PE17/032; SA/gûl
  • S. guldur “black arts, sorcery” ✧ PE17/125
  • S. morgul “black arts, sorcery, necromancy” ✧ MR/350; PE17/031; PE17/125; SA/gûl

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
√ngōl- > gûl[ŋgōle] > [gōle] > [gūle] > [gūl]✧ PE17/079
√ÑGUL > gûl[ŋgūle] > [gūle] > [gūl]✧ PE17/125
√ngol- > gûl[ŋgōle] > [gōle] > [gūle] > [gūl]✧ SA/gûl
√NGOL > gûl[ŋgōle] > [gōle] > [gūle] > [gūl]✧ WJ/383
Sindarin [MR/350; MR/470; MR/471; PE17/031; PE17/032; PE17/079; PE17/125; SA/gûl; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

guldur

noun. (dark) sorcery

Sindarin gûl+dûr. Group: SINDICT. Published by

morgul

noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy

Sindarin [Ety/377, S/432, WJ/383, MR/350, RC/482] morn+gûl "dark magic". Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûl

magic

1) gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (sorcery, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383), 2) angol (deep lore), pl. engyl**. Note: a homophone means "stench". DARK MAGIC, see .

gûl

magic

(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (sorcery, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

sorcery

1) gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil** = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383), 2)

gûl

sorcery

(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil)  (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

necromancy

gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, sorcery, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil** = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

necromancy

(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, sorcery, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

evil knowledge

gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, sorcery, necromancy), pl. guil (in guil** = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

evil knowledge

gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, sorcery, necromancy), pl. guil (in guil** = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

gûl

evil knowledge

(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, sorcery, necromancy), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)

morgul

sorcery

morgul (i vorgul), pl. morgyl or mergyl (i morgyl/i mergyl for archaic *mörgyl), 3) durgul (i dhurgul), pl. durgyl (i nurgyl). [Or pl. dyrgyl, i nyrgyl? However, the pl. Dúnedain rather than **Dýnedain would suggest that u does not have to be umlauted in the pl. when it occurs in the first part of a compound, and durgul incorporates dur- "black, dark", dur-gûl implying "dark lore/knowledge".]. The word also appears with the elements reversed: guldur (i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. guldyr (in guldyr = i ñguldyr), or possibly pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr).

morgul

sorcery

(i vorgul), pl. morgyl or mergyl (i morgyl/i mergyl for archaic ✱mörgyl), 3) durgul (i dhurgul), pl. durgyl (i nurgyl). [Or pl. dyrgyl, i nyrgyl? However, the pl. Dúnedain rather than ✱✱Dýnedain would suggest that u does not have to be umlauted in the pl. when it occurs in the first part of a compound, and durgul incorporates dur- "black, dark", dur-gûl implying "dark lore/knowledge".]. The word also appears with the elements reversed: guldur (i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. guldyr (in guldyr = i ñguldyr), or possibly pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr).****

golu

wisdom

*golu (i ngolu = i ñolu, o n**golu = o ñgolu) (secret lore), analogical pl. gely (in gely = i ñgely) if there is a pl. Archaic golw, hence golwath** as the likely coll. pl.

golu

wisdom

(i ngolu = i ñolu, o n’golu = o ñgolu) (secret lore), analogical pl. gely (in gely = i ñgely) if there is a pl. Archaic golw, hence golwath as the likely coll. pl.

angol

magic

(deep lore), pl. engyl. Note: a homophone means "stench".

saelas

noun. wisdom

@@@ Discord 2023-03-06

Elements

WordGloss
sael“wise”
-as“abstract noun”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

ist

knowledge

ist (lore); no distinct pl. form.

ist

knowledge

(lore); no distinct pl. form.

ista

have knowledge

(i ista, in istar), pa.t. sint or istas (VT45:18).

Black Speech

gûl

suffix. phantom, shadow of dark magic, wraith; †black arts, sorcery

Cognates

  • S. gûl “black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, [N.] magic; [ᴱN.] wisdom” ✧ MR/350; PE17/031

Derivations

  • S. gûl “black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, [N.] magic; [ᴱN.] wisdom” ✧ PE17/031; PE17/125
    • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ PE17/079; SA/gûl; WJ/383
    • √ÑGUL “dark with sinister associations” ✧ PE17/125
  • √ÑGOL “knowledge, wisdom, lore, knowledge, wisdom, lore; [ᴹ√] wise, be wise” ✧ PE17/079

Element in

  • Bs. gûldur “sorcery” ✧ PE17/079
  • Bs. Nazgûl “Ring-wraith” ✧ PE17/031; PE17/079; PE17/079; PE17/125; RC/762

Variations

  • gūl ✧ PE17/031
  • Gûl ✧ PE17/125
Black Speech [MR/350; PE17/031; PE17/079; PE17/125; RC/762] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gûldur

noun. sorcery

Cognates

  • S. guldur “black arts, sorcery”

Variations

  • gūldur ✧ PE17/079
Black Speech [PE17/079] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

gûl

noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)

Noldorin [Ety/377, S/432, MR/350, WJ/383] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûl

noun. perverted or evil knowledge, sorcery, necromancy

Noldorin [Ety/377, S/432, MR/350, WJ/383] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûl

noun. magic

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nóle “wisdom” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
  • Ilk. durgul “sorcery” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
  • Ilk. morgul “sorcery” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Element in

  • N. durgul “sorcery”
  • N. morgul “sorcery” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGOL > gûl[ŋgōle] > [ŋgūle] > [gūle] > [gūl]✧ Ety/ÑGOL
Noldorin [Ety/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

durgul

noun. sorcery

Cognates

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Elements

WordGloss
dûr“dark”
gûl“magic”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGOL > dur(n)gul > durgul[durŋgul] > [durŋgul] > [durgul]✧ Ety/ÑGOL
Noldorin [EtyAC/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

morgul

noun. sorcery

Cognates

Element in

Noldorin [EtyAC/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ista-

verb. to have knowledge

Noldorin [Ety/361, VT/45:18] Group: SINDICT. Published by

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!

Edain

nóm

noun. Wisdom

Probably deliberately similar to Gnome @@@

Cognates

  • Q. Noldo “one of the wise folk, Gnome” ✧ WJI/Noldor
Edain [LRI/Nóm; S/141; SI/Nóm; SMI/Nóm; WJ/217; WJI/Noldor; WJI/Nóm; WJI/Nómin; WJI/Samûri; WJI/Sômar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sômar

noun. Wisdom

Changes

  • Sômar → Nóm ✧ WJI/Sômar

Cognates

  • Q. Noldo “one of the wise folk, Gnome” ✧ WJI/Noldor
Edain [WJ/226; WJI/Noldor; WJI/Samûri; WJI/Sômar; WJI/Vidri] Group: Eldamo. Published by

vidri

noun. Wisdom

Changes

  • Vidri → Sômar “Wisdom” ✧ WJI/Vidri
Edain [WJ/202; WJI/Vidri] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Qenya 

nóle

noun. wisdom

Changes

  • nóle → ñóle ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Cognates

  • N. gûl “magic” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGOL > ñóle[ŋgōle] > [ŋōle] > [nōle]✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Variations

  • ñóle ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
Qenya [Ety/ÑGOL; EtyAC/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ista

noun. knowledge

istare

noun. knowledge

Elements

WordGloss
ista-“to know”
-(á)re“general action verbal suffix”

istya

noun. knowledge

Cognates

  • N. ist “lore, knowledge, lore, knowledge; [G.] feeling, sensation; notion” ✧ Ety/IS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√IS “*know” ✧ Ety/IS

Element in

  • ᴹQ. anaristya “[unglossed]”
  • ᴹQ. Istimor “The Wise” ✧ Ety/IS
  • ᴺQ. istyalóra “ignorant”
  • ᴹQ. istyar “scholar, learned man, lore-master, wizard” ✧ Ety/IS

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√IS > ista[ista]✧ Ety/IS
ᴹ√IS > istya[istja]✧ Ety/IS

Variations

  • ista ✧ Ety/IS
Qenya [Ety/IS; PE21/12; PE21/13; PE22/020] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Doriathrin

durgul

noun. sorcery

A Doriathrin noun for “sorcery” (Ety/ÑGOL). The elements of this word seem to be a combination of derivatives of the roots ᴹ√DOƷ and ᴹ√ÑGOL. If it were derived from such a primitive form, it would imply that in its phonological history the [o] because [u] in both syllables. This does not seem to be a general rule in Ilkorin, however: compare Ilk. dorn and (n)golo. A simpler explanation would be that it was a loan word from Noldorin: N. durgul seen in a marginal note (EtyAC/ÑGOL).

Conceptual Development: There is a rejected form dûghol in this entry of The Etymologies that may represent Tolkien’s first attempt to formulate a native Ilkorin word for “sorcery” (EtyAC/ÑGOL). Similar forms appear among the precursors to S. Dol Guldur in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s: Dol Dúgol or Dol Dúghol (TI/178; WR/122). The entry also has a deleted variant form of gûl of Ilk. (n)gôl, so it may be Tolkien originally envisioned a different phonological history of [o] in Ilkorin allowing the production of words like durgul. Perhaps he added the Noldorin form durgul in the margin because he abandoned [o] > [u] in Ilkorin.

Changes

  • dûghol → durgul ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Cognates

  • N. durgul “sorcery”
  • N. gûl “magic” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
DOƷ“night”
ÑGOL“wise, wisdom, be wise”

Variations

  • dûghol ✧ EtyAC/ÑGOL (Dor. dûghol)
Doriathrin [Ety/ÑGOL; EtyAC/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

morgul

noun. sorcery

A Doriathrin noun for “sorcery”, written as mor(n)gul indicating the loss of an earlier n (Ety/ÑGOL). The elements of this word seem to be a combination of derivatives of the roots ᴹ√MOR and ᴹ√ÑGOL. The u in the final element -gul is problematic phonetically, as it is in the similar word durgul. Tolkien first wrote this word as morgol (EtyAC/ÑGOL), probably reflecting this phonetic uncertainty. As with durgul, Tolkien may have resolved this uncertainty by deciding this word was Noldorin, since N. morgul appears in a marginal note in The Etymologies (EtyAC/ÑGOL).

Changes

  • morgol → mor(n)gul ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Cognates

  • N. morgul “sorcery”
  • N. gûl “magic” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL

Variations

  • mor(n)gul ✧ Ety/ÑGOL (Dor. mor(n)gul)
  • morgol ✧ EtyAC/ÑGOL (Dor. morgol)
Doriathrin [Ety/ÑGOL; EtyAC/ÑGOL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Taliska

widris

noun. Wisdom

Changes

  • Widris → Vidri ✧ WJI/Vidri
Taliska [LR/275; LRI/Widris; WJI/Vidri] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

curu

noun. magic

Cognates

  • Eq. kuru “magic, wizardry” ✧ LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KURU “*magic”

Element in

  • G. curin “magical” ✧ GL/28 (curin)
  • G. Curufin “Crafty” ✧ LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar
  • G. curug “wizard” ✧ GL/28 (curion); GL/28; LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar
  • G. curus “witch” ✧ GL/28 (curiel); GL/28; LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar
  • G. curuthli “enchantments, sorcery” ✧ GL/28

Variations

  • curi ✧ GL/28 (curi)
Gnomish [GL/28; LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thairin

adjective. magic

Cognates

Element in

Early Noldorin

gûl

noun. wisdom

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ŊOLO “to know”

Element in

  • En. u(r)ngúl “without wisdom” ✧ PE13/156
Early Noldorin [PE13/156] Group: Eldamo. Published by

curw

noun. magic

Derivations

  • ᴱ√KURU “*magic”
Early Noldorin [PE13/141] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

sairina

adjective. magic

Cognates

Early Quenya [GL/72] Group: Eldamo. Published by

qímar

noun. phantom

Element in

Early Quenya [MC/213] Group: Eldamo. Published by