Quenya 

núlë

black arts, secrecy

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

Sindarin 

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

morgul

noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy

The Sindaril word for black magic, a compound of morn “black, dark” and gûl “(evil) knowledge” (PE17/125). Since the adjectival element “black” appears first in the word, this is probably an older compound, though its elements are still discernible. The word guldur is later compound of similar meaning, but with the adjectival element second.

Conceptual Development: The word N. morgul “sorcery” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a marginal note for the root ᴹ√ÑGOL (EtyAC/ÑGOL). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this word first appeared as N. morgol in the name N. Minas Morgol (TI/127), then later as N. morghul in the names N. Minas Morghul (TI/146) and N. Imlad Morghul (WR/223), before eventually being replaced by N/S. morgul everywhere. It therefore seems likely that the marginal note in The Etymologies was written after the introduction of this word in Lord of the Rings drafts.

Cognates

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
morn“black, dark; night”
gûl“black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, [N.] magic; [ᴱN.] wisdom”

Variations

  • Morgul ✧ Let/382; PE17/031; PMI/Morgul; RC/482; SI/Morgul
Sindarin [Let/382; MR/350; PE17/031; PE17/036; PE17/125; PMI/Morgul; RC/482; SA/gûl; SI/Morgul; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. 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

guldur

noun. (dark) sorcery

Sindarin gûl+dûr. Group: SINDICT. Published by

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).****

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)

Black Speech

gûldur

noun. sorcery

Cognates

  • S. guldur “black arts, sorcery”

Variations

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

Noldorin 

morgul

noun. sorcery

Cognates

Element in

Noldorin [EtyAC/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

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

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

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