topon. 'Tower of Watch', the great 'home' of Finrod, a fort built on an island in Sirion and intended to command access into Beleriand from the North. >> Minas Morgul
Quenya
Tiristemindon
place name. Minas Tirith
Sindarin
Minas Tirith
noun. tower watch
Minas Tirith
place name. 'Tower of Watch'
minas tirith
place name. Tower of Guard, Tower of Watch
The name of Minas Anor after the resurgence of Mordor, translated “Tower of Guard” (LotR/245) or “Tower of Watch” (PE17/31). The name was also used for a stronghold of the Noldor on Tol Sirion in Beleriand (S/120). This name is a combination of minas “tower” and tirith “watching, guarding” (SA/minas, tir; PE17/31).
Conceptual Development: As a tower of the Noldor, Tolkien first used the name N. Inglormindon, but revised it to N. Minnastirith (LR/146), translated “Watchtower” (LR/264). The form Minnas-tirith also appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/TIR). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, Tolkien considered a variety of names for the capital of Gondor before settling on N. Minas Tirith (TI/115-6), which he initially translated as “Tower of Guard” (TI/127).
Cognates
- Roh. Mundburg “Guardian Fortress” ✧ LotRI/Minas Tirith; PMI/Minas Tirith; PMI/Mundburg
Element in
- S. a Pherhael ar am Meril suilad uin aran o Minas Tirith nelchaenen ned Echuir “to Samwise and Rose the King’s greeting from Minas Tirith, the thirty-first day of Stirring” ✧ SD/129; SD/129
Elements
Word Gloss minas “tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” tirith “watching, guarding, watch, ward, guard”
ostirion
watchtower, fortress with a
(pl. ostiryn). The name of the city Minas Tirith may be interpreted as ”watchtower” or ”tower of guard”.
Noldorin
minas tirith
place name. Tower of Guard
Changes
Minas-tir→ Minas-ond ✧ TI/115Minas-ond→ Minas-berel ✧ TI/115Minas-berel→ Minas-tirith ✧ TI/115Minas Giliath→ Minas rhain ✧ TI/116Minas rhain→ Othrain ✧ TI/116Othrain→ Minas tirith ✧ TI/116Cognates
- ᴹQ. Tiristemindon “Minas Tirith” ✧ PE22/125
Elements
Word Gloss minas “tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” tirith “watch, guard” Variations
- Minas-tir ✧ TI/115 (
Minas-tir)- Minas-ond ✧ TI/115 (
Minas-ond); TII/Minas Tirith- Minas-berel ✧ TI/115 (
Minas-berel); TII/Minas Tirith- Minas-tirith ✧ TI/115
- Minas Giliath ✧ TI/116 (
Minas Giliath); TII/Minas Tirith- Minas rhain ✧ TI/116 (
Minas rhain); TII/Minas Tirith- Othrain ✧ TI/116 (
Othrain); TII/Minas Tirith- Minas tirith ✧ TI/116
minnastirith
place name. Watchtower
Changes
- Minnastirith → Minastirith ✧ LR/146
- Minnastirith → Minastirith ✧ LRI/Minnastirith
Elements
Word Gloss minnas “tower” tirith “watch, guard” Variations
- Minnas-tirith ✧ Ety/TIR; WJI/Minnas-tirith
- Minastirith ✧ LR/146; LRI/Minnastirith
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!
Undetermined
Minas Tirith
Minas Tirith (name)
Qenya
tiristemindon
place name. Minas Tirith
A Quenya translation of Minas Tirith in linguistic notes from the 1940s (PE22/125). Its final element is clearly mindon “tower”, so its initial element tiriste most likely means, “watch, guard” as an abstraction of the verb tir- “to watch”.
Cognates
- N. Minas Tirith “Tower of Guard” ✧ PE22/125
Element in
- ᴹQ. Tiristemindon hame Ondoresse “Minas Tirith is/stands/is situated in Gondor” ✧ PE22/125
minas (“tower, fort”), tirith (“watch, guard, vigilance”)