núlë ("ñ")noun "black arts, secrecy" (PE17:125)
Quenya
sairina
magic
núlë
black arts, secrecy
Sindarin
morgul
noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy
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
- S. Minas Morgul “Tower of Sorcery” ✧ SA/gûl
Element in
- S. Imlad Morgul “Morgul Vale” ✧ RC/482
- S. Minas Morgul “Tower of Sorcery” ✧ MR/350; PE17/031
- S. Morgulduin
Elements
Word Gloss 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
gûl
noun. perverted or evil knowledge, sorcery, necromancy
guldur
noun. (dark) sorcery
gûl
noun. black arts
n. black arts, sorcery. Q. ñúle, B.S. gûl 'wraith' is probably derived from Sindarin.
gûl
noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)
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)
angol
magic
(deep lore), pl. engyl. Note: a homophone means "stench".
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)
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).****
Black Speech
gûldur
noun. sorcery
Cognates
- S. guldur “black arts, sorcery”
Variations
- gūldur ✧ PE17/079
Noldorin
gûl
noun. magic
Cognates
Derivations
- ᴹ√ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√ÑGOL > gûl [ŋgōle] > [ŋgūle] > [gūle] > [gūl] ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
durgul
noun. sorcery
Cognates
- Ilk. durgul “sorcery”
Derivations
- ᴹ√ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
Elements
Word Gloss dûr “dark” gûl “magic” Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√ÑGOL > dur(n)gul > durgul [durŋgul] > [durŋgul] > [durgul] ✧ Ety/ÑGOL
morgul
noun. sorcery
Cognates
- Ilk. morgul “sorcery”
Element in
- N. Imlad Morghul “Vale of Morghul”
- N. Minas Morgol “Tower of Sorcery”
- N. Duin Morghul
gûl
noun. perverted or evil knowledge, sorcery, necromancy
gûl
noun. magic lore, long study (being used mostly of secret knowledge, especially such as possessed by artificers who made wonderful things)
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
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/ÑGOLCognates
Element in
- Ilk. Dol Dúghol
Elements
Word Gloss DOƷ “night” ÑGOL “wise, wisdom, be wise” Variations
- dûghol ✧ EtyAC/ÑGOL (Dor.
dûghol)
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/ÑGOLCognates
Variations
- mor(n)gul ✧ Ety/ÑGOL (Dor. mor(n)gul)
- morgol ✧ EtyAC/ÑGOL (Dor.
morgol)
Gnomish
curu
noun. magic
Cognates
- Eq. kuru “magic, wizardry” ✧ LT1A/Tolli Kuruvar
Derivations
- ᴱ√KURU “*magic”
Element in
Variations
- curi ✧ GL/28 (
curi)
thairin
adjective. magic
Cognates
- Eq. sairina “magic” ✧ GL/72
Element in
- G. thairiniol “magical” ✧ GL/72
Early Noldorin
curw
noun. magic
Derivations
- ᴱ√KURU “*magic”
Early Quenya
sairina
adjective. magic
Cognates
- G. thairin “magic” ✧ GL/72
sairina adj.? "magic" (evidently adj. rather than noun) (GL:72)