Quenya 

mor

darkness

mor noun "darkness" (Letters:308; probably just an Elvish "element" rather than a complete word; Namárië has mornië for "darkness")

morë

black

morë adj. "black" (MOR), "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). In compounds the stem-form mori- (q.v.) appears, since the primitive form was ¤mori.

mornië

darkness

mornië noun "darkness" (Nam, RGEO:67), "dark, blackness" (PE17:73). Early "Qenya" also has Mornië "Black Grief", "the black ship that plies between Mandos and Erumáni" (LT1:261). This is probably a compound of mor- "black" and nië "tear".

morqua

black

morqua adj. "black" (LT1:261; rather morna in LotR-style Quenya)

lúmë

darkness

lúmë (2) noun "darkness" (one wonders if Tolkien confused lúmë "time, hour" and lómë "night") (Markirya)

lúmë

noun. darkness

A noun in the 1960s versions of the Markirya glossed “darkness” (MC/222), perhaps derived from a root √DU as suggested by David Salo in a post to the Elfling mailing list in 2012 (Elfling/362.96).

Neo-Quenya: I’d generally use Q. huinë for “darkness” in Neo-Quenya, but that word is more for total darkness, whereas lúmë might be a less severe form of darkness, a variant of Q. lómë “night, dusk”.

Derivations

  • DU “dark”

Element in

Variations

  • lúme ✧ MC/222

Sindarin 

mor-

black

_ pref. _black. >> Moria, morn-

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:35] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

morn-

black

_pref. _black. >> Moria, mor-

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:31:35] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

mor

black

_adj. _black.

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

morn

adjective. black, dark

Sindarin [Ety/373, Letters/382, Letters/427, WJ/368, WR/11] Group: SINDICT. Published by

morn

adjective. black

adj. black. >> mor, Morgai

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:101] -. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

morn

noun/adjective. black, dark; night

Cognates

  • Q. morna “black, dark; black of hair, black, dark; black of hair; [ᴹQ.] sombre, gloomy” ✧ Let/382

Derivations

  • mornā “dark” ✧ Let/382; WJ/362
    • MOR “black, dark, darkness” ✧ Let/382

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mornā > morn[mornā] > [morna] > [morn]✧ Let/382
mornā > morn-[mornā] > [morna] > [morn]✧ WJ/362

Variations

  • morn- ✧ WJ/362
Sindarin [Let/382; Let/427; PE17/031; PE17/035; PE17/037; PE17/101; PE17/125; RC/lxv; UT/065; VT42/09; WJ/362] Group: Eldamo. Published by

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

Sindarin [Ety/373, Letters/382] Group: SINDICT. Published by

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

Sindarin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). Group: SINDICT. Published by

dúath

noun. nightshade

Sindarin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). Group: SINDICT. Published by

môr

darkness

(i vôr, construct mor), pl. m**ŷr (i m**ŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

môr

black

1) môr (dark), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

môr

black

(dark), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. **myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the

galvorn

black metal

(i ’alvorn), pl. gelvyrn (i ngelvyrn = i ñelvyrn) if there is a pl. (WJ:322). 2) donn (swart, swarty, shady, shadowy) (lenited dhonn, pl. dynn). (VT45:11). Also dunn- in compounds.

darkness

1) (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) fuin (gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 3) môr (i vôr, construct mor), pl. mŷr (i mŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

darkness

(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

fuin

darkness

(gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.

Nandorin 

dunna

adjective. black

This might seem to be derived from dunnâ, sc. the stem DUN "dark (of colour)" (LR:355) either with the adjectival ending -nâ or with medial fortification n > nn and the simpler adjectival ending . However, other Nandorin words seem to have lost their final 's, e.g. ealc "swan" from alk-wâ, and (to quote a wholly parallel example) cogn "bow" from ku3nâ. The descendant form is not cogna with the final vowel intact as the case would seem to be in dunna. However, primitive does come out as -a in Nandorin, cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô, so a form dunnô might be capable of yielding dunna, but this primitive form would rather be a noun "dark person/thing", since primitive -ô, -nô are nominal rather than adjectival endings. Of course, Nandorin may have turned an original noun into an adjective, or developed an adjectival ending -a afresh. But all things considered *dunnâ still appears to be the best reconstruction of the primitive form.

The words dunna and scella raise the question of whether original final is actually preserved as -a following double consonants (as opposed to clusters of different consonants) in Nandorin.

Nandorin [H. Fauskanger (LR:355)] < DUN. Published by

Black Speech

burzum

noun. darkness

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
búrz“dark”
-um“particularizing suffix”
Black Speech [LotR/0254; PE17/011; PE17/012] Group: Eldamo. Published by

burzum

noun. darkness

Black Speech [PE17/11] Published by

Khuzdûl

narâg

adjective. black

Derivatives

  • S. Narog ✧ PE17/037; PE17/047

Element in

Variations

  • Narâg ✧ PE17/037
  • naruka ✧ PE17/047 (naruka)
Khuzdûl [PE17/037; PE17/047; RS/466] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Primitive elvish

mor

root. black, dark, darkness

This root was connected to “black” and “darkness” for all of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√MORO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. móre “night” and ᴱQ. morna “black” (QL/62). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. morn “dark, black” and G. morth “darkness” (GL/58). It appeared as ᴹ√MOR in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a similar set of derivatives (Ety/MOR) and √MOR was mentioned regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “black, dark, darkness” (Let/308, 382; PE17/73).

Derivatives

  • mori “black” ✧ Let/382
    • Q. morë “dark, black; darkness, night, dark, black; darkness, [ᴹQ.] blackness, [Q.] night” ✧ Let/382
    • S. môr “dark(ness); †night, dark(ness); †night, [N.] †black” ✧ Let/382; NM/279
  • mornā “dark” ✧ Let/382
    • Q. morna “black, dark; black of hair, black, dark; black of hair; [ᴹQ.] sombre, gloomy” ✧ Let/382
    • S. morn “black, dark; night” ✧ Let/382; WJ/362
  • Q. morna “black, dark; black of hair, black, dark; black of hair; [ᴹQ.] sombre, gloomy” ✧ PE17/073
  • Q. mornië “darkness, blackness” ✧ PE17/073

Element in

  • Q. Moriquendi “Elves of the Darkness, (lit.) Dark Elves” ✧ SA/mor
  • Q. Mormacil “Black Sword”
  • ᴺQ. mortavar “ebony, ivory”
  • Q. Morwë
  • S. Morannon “Black Gate” ✧ Let/382; PE17/073
  • S. Moravar
  • S. Morbenedh “*Dark-elf”
  • S. Mordor “Black Land” ✧ Let/382; PE17/073; SA/mor
  • S. Morgoth “Black Foe, Dark Foe, Black Enemy, Dark Tyrant” ✧ Let/382; PE17/073; SA/mor
  • S. morgul “black arts, sorcery, necromancy” ✧ Let/382; PE17/036
  • S. Moria “Black Chasm, Black Pit” ✧ Let/382; Let/384; SA/mor
  • S. Mormegil “Black Sword” ✧ SA/mor
  • S. Morwen “Dark Maiden” ✧ SA/mor

Variations

  • mor ✧ Let/308; SA/mor
  • mor- ✧ PE17/036
Primitive elvish [Let/308; Let/382; Let/384; PE17/036; PE17/073; PE17/165; SA/mor] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mori

adjective. black

Derivations

  • MOR “black, dark, darkness” ✧ Let/382

Derivatives

  • Q. morë “dark, black; darkness, night, dark, black; darkness, [ᴹQ.] blackness, [Q.] night” ✧ Let/382
  • S. môr “dark(ness); †night, dark(ness); †night, [N.] †black” ✧ Let/382; NM/279

Element in

Variations

  • morĭ ✧ PE19/081
Primitive elvish [Let/382; NM/279; PE19/081] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

morn

adjective. black, dark

Noldorin [Ety/373, Letters/382, Letters/427, WJ/368, WR/11] Group: SINDICT. Published by

morn

adjective. black

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. morna “gloomy, sombre” ✧ Ety/MOR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MOR “*black, dark” ✧ Ety/MOR

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√MOR > morn[morna] > [morn]✧ Ety/MOR

Variations

  • moru ✧ EtyAC/MOR
  • Morn ✧ WR/113; WR/122 (Morn)
Noldorin [Ety/MOR; EtyAC/LIS; EtyAC/MAT; EtyAC/MOR; EtyAC/ÑGOL; PE22/033; TI/124; WR/113; WR/122] Group: Eldamo. Published by

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

Noldorin [Ety/373, Letters/382] Group: SINDICT. Published by

môr

adjective. black

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. more “black, dark” ✧ Ety/MOR

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶mori “black” ✧ Ety/MOR
    • ᴹ√MOR “*black, dark” ✧ Ety/MOR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶mori > môr[mori] > [more] > [mor] > [mōr]✧ Ety/MOR
Noldorin [Ety/MOR; EtyAC/LOƷ] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

Noldorin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). Group: SINDICT. Published by

dúwath

noun. darkness, shadow

Noldorin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). Group: SINDICT. Published by

dúath

noun. nightshade

Noldorin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). Group: SINDICT. Published by

dúwath

noun. nightshade

Noldorin [Ety/354, S/430] Either the collective plural of dû, or a compound dû+gwath "night shade" (hence dúwath). 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!

Doriathrin

ungol

noun. darkness

A noun for “darkness” developed from the root ᴹ√UÑG (Ety/UÑG), perhaps from a primitive form ✱✶uñglē̆ [uŋglē̆] as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Ilkorin/ungol): after the [[ilk|primitive final [e] was lost]], the resulting [[ilk|final [l] would become syllabic and develop into [-ol]]].

Derivations

  • ᴹ√UÑG “*gloom” ✧ Ety/UÑG

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√UÑG > ungol[uŋgle] > [uŋgl] > [uŋgol]✧ Ety/UÑG
Doriathrin [Ety/UÑG] Group: Eldamo. Published by

dunn

adjective. black

A Doriathrin adjective meaning “black” (Ety/DUN). Its Noldorin and Danian cognates imply development from a primitive form ✱✶dunnā. Since the primitive form ended in [a], the Ilkorin a-affection would ordinarily have produced ✱✱donn. However, it seems that a-affection was prevented or reversed before [nn], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/dunn).

Cognates

  • N. donn “swart, swarthy; shady, shadowy” ✧ Ety/DUN

Derivations

  • ᴹ√DUN “dark (of colour)” ✧ Ety/DUN; Ety/ÑGOROTH

Element in

  • Ilk. Nan Dungorthin “Vale of Black Horror” ✧ Ety/DUN; Ety/ÑGOROTH

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√DUN > dunn[dunnā] > [dunna] > [donna] > [dunna] > [dunn]✧ Ety/DUN
Doriathrin [Ety/DUN; Ety/ÑGOROTH] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Ossriandric

dunna

adjective. black

An adjective for “black” developed from the root ᴹ√DUN (Ety/DUN). It most likely developed from primitive ✱✶dunnā given its cognates, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Nandorin/dunna). It is a counter-example to Danian a-affection, perhaps indicating that this change was prevented or reverted before nasal clusters as was the case in Ilkorin.

Cognates

  • N. donn “swart, swarthy; shady, shadowy” ✧ Ety/DUN

Derivations

  • ᴹ√DUN “dark (of colour)” ✧ Ety/DUN

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√DUN > dunna[dunnā] > [dunna]✧ Ety/DUN
Ossriandric [Ety/DUN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

mori

adjective. black

Derivations

  • ᴹ√MOR “*black, dark” ✧ Ety/MOR

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. more “black, dark” ✧ Ety/MOR
  • N. môr “black” ✧ Ety/MOR

Element in

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/MOR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

morth

noun. darkness

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MORO “*black, dark” ✧ LT1A/Mornië

Element in

Gnomish [GL/58; LT1A/Mornië] Group: Eldamo. Published by

colw

adjective. black

Changes

  • colbcolw ✧ GL/26

Variations

  • colb ✧ GL/26 (colb)

Early Quenya

morna

adjective. black

Changes

  • morwamorna ✧ QL/062

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MORO “*black, dark” ✧ LT1A/Mornië; QL/062

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√MORO > morna[mornā] > [morna]✧ QL/062

Variations

  • morqa ✧ LT1A/Mornië; QL/062
  • morwa ✧ QL/063 (morwa)
Early Quenya [LT1A/Mornië; QL/062; QL/063] Group: Eldamo. Published by

morqa

adjective. black