Qenya
nuru
noun. death, death [abstract]
Cognates
Derivations
- ᴹ√ÑGUR “*death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
Element in
- ᴹQ. Nurufantur “Lord of Death-cloud” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
- ᴹQ. núruhuine méne lumna “death-shadow is heavy on us” ✧ LR/047; LR/056; SD/310
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ᴹ√ÑGUR > ñuru [ŋguru] > [ŋuru] > [nuru] ✧ Ety/ÑGUR Variations
- ñuru ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
- nūru ✧ SD/310
A word for “death” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√ÑGUR, where Tolkien said its personification was Mandos (Ety/ÑGUR). Tolkien also use this word as “death” in the phrase ᴹQ. núruhuine méne lumna “death-shadow on-us is-heavy” (LR/47, 56; SD/310).
Conceptual Development: A possible precursor to this word is ᴱQ. urdu “death” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√GWṚÐṚ “die” (QL/104), given as a cognate to G. gurthu in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/43). A variant of this form seems to have been briefly restored in Quenya prayers from the 1950s as incomplete urtulm..., probably Q. urtu with a possessive suffix, but this was quickly replaced by Q. fírië “death” (VT43/27, 34).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use the word nuru for death as an abstract force or concept (Death), as opposed to the death of individuals which would be fírie (if natural or peaceful) or [ᴹQ.] qualme (if undesired or painful). This is the way its cognate [N.] guru was used (Ety/WAN).