narch

noun. (bitter-) biting

narch

adjective. bitter-biting

A word appearing as an element in the name Narchost, which was glossed “Bitter-biting Fort” in Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/601).

Possible Etymology: This word resembles the derivatives of the root ᴹ√NARAK from The Etymologies (Ety/NÁRAK), and probably has a similar derivation. It might be a cognate of the Quenya adjective [ᴹQ.] naraka “harsh, rending, violent (of sounds)”. Alternately, it resembles ᴱQ. narka in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s, whose root ᴱ√ŊARA also has the derivative ᴱQ. narte “bitter”. It could be a later restoration of those ideas.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Narch appears in Lord of the Rings drafts as the original name of the valley of Udûn in Mordor (SD/34), but it isn’t clear whether Tolkien intended this name to be related to Narchost.

Cognates

• ᴺQ. narca “snappy, ill-tempered”
• ᴺQ. narcë “*rend, tear; [ᴱQ.] snap of a dog; spiteful remark”

Derivations

• ᴹ√NARAK “tear, rend (tr. and intr.)”

Element in

• S. Narchost “Bitter-biting Fort” ✧ RC/601

naeth

noun. biting

naeth

noun. woe (gets sense of gnashing teeth in grief)

narch

biting

(pl. nerch) (RC:601)

nanc

noun. bite

Derivations

• √NAK “bite”

naeth

biting

(gnashing of teeth in grief; woe); no distinct pl. form.

naeth

biting

(noun) 1) naeth (gnashing of teeth in grief; woe); no distinct pl. form. 2) narch (pl. nerch) (RC:601)

nag

bite

(verb) nag- (i nâg, in negir);

nag

bite

(i nâg, in negir);