Quenya 

Nurufantur

lord of death-cloud

Nurufantur noun "lord of Death-cloud", surname of Mandos (SPAN, ÑGUR)

nuru

death, death

nuru, Nuru noun "death, Death" _(ÑGUR). This represents earlier ñuru (VT46:4) _and should be spelt accordingly in Tengwar writing. When personalized, Nuru refers to Mandos. Cf. Nurufantur.

urtu

noun. death

Cognates

Element in

  • Q. násië “now and at the hour of our death: Amen” ✧ VT43/34

urdu

death

urdu noun "death" (LT2:342; rather nuru in Tolkien's later Quenya)

effírië

death

#effírië noun "death" (isolated from effíriemmo "of our death"). A verbal stem *effir- "expire, die" seems to be implied. (VT43:34)

effírië

noun. death

Sindarin 

Nûrnen

place name. Death

_ topon. _Death, dead water. >> guru

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:87] < _ngurū nenda_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

guru

noun. death

_ n. _death. guru << gûru.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:87] < _ngur(u)_. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

guru

noun. death, death (abstract)

A Sindarin word for “death” derived from primitive ✶ñgurū (PE17/87), unusual in that its primitive ancient vowel u did not vanish. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had variant forms [N.] gûr and gurw “death” marked with a “?”, both derived from Old Noldorin nguru and indicating some uncertainty on the exact phonetic developments (EtyAC/ÑGUR). Elsewhere in The Etymologies Tolkien said that [N.] guru was “Death as state or abstract”, as opposed to [N.] gwanw or gwanath for the “act of dying” (Ety/GWAN).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume guru was for death as an abstraction or principle, and for the death of individuals I would use either gurth or gwanu/gwanath; see those entries for discussion.

Changes

  • gûru → guru ✧ PE17/087

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nuru “death, death [abstract]”

Derivations

  • ✶ñgurū “death” ✧ PE17/087
    • √ÑGUR “death; to die”

Element in

  • S. guruthos “dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, [N.] fear of death” ✧ PE17/087

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
✶ngurū > guru[ŋgurū] > [ŋguru] > [guru] > [guru] > [guru]✧ PE17/087

Variations

  • gûru ✧ PE17/087 (gûru)
Sindarin [PE17/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gurth

noun. death

Sindarin [S/432, UT/39, UT/54] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gurth

noun. death

The usual Sindarin word for “death”, derived from the root √ÑGUR of similar meaning (UT/39; Ety/ÑGUR).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/43), anchored by well established names like Gurthang or Gurtholf(in), the name of Túrin’s sword. Tolkien experimented with various alternate forms over the years, such as G. urthu (GG/14), G. gurthu (GL/43), ᴱN. gurdh (PE13/146) and N. guruth (Ety/ÑGUR), but kept coming back to gurth as the basic form.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word for death in general and especially violent death, as opposed to the more euphemistic [N.] gwanath or gwanu “death”, more literally “departure”.

Cognates

Derivations

  • √ÑGUR “death; to die”

Element in

Variations

  • Gurth ✧ UT/039
Sindarin [SA/gurth; UT/039] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwanu

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

Sindarin [Ety/397, X/W] Group: SINDICT. Published by

guruth

death

(i nguruth = i ñuruth, o n’guruth = o ñguruth), pl. gyryth (in gyryth = i ñgyryth)

gurth

death

(i ngurth = i ñurth, o n’gurth = o ñgurth), pl. gyrth (in gyrth = i ñgyrth)

gwanu

death

(i ’wanu), analogical pl. gweny (in gweny). Archaic gwanw (LR:397 s.v. WAN), hence coll. pl. ?gwanwath. Other words (rather referring to Death as a state or abstract):

gwanath

death

1) (act of dying) gwanath (i **wanath), pl. gwenaith (in gwenaith), 2) (act of dying, especially the ”death” of Elves by fading or weariness) gwanu (i **wanu), analogical pl. gweny (in gweny). Archaic gwanw (LR:397 s.v. WAN), hence coll. pl. ?gwanwath. Other words (rather referring to Death as a state or abstract): 3) gûr (i ngûr = i ñûr, o n**gûr = o ñgûr, construct gur), pl. guir (in guir = i ñguir), 4) gurth (i ngurth = i ñurth, o n**gurth = o ñgurth), pl. gyrth (in gyrth = i ñgyrth), 5) guruth (i nguruth = i ñuruth, o n**guruth = o ñguruth), pl. gyryth (in gyryth** = i ñgyryth)

gwanath

death

(i ’wanath), pl. gwenaith (in gwenaith)

gûr

death

(i ngûr = i ñûr, o n’gûr = o ñgûr, construct gur), pl. guir (in guir = i ñguir)

Adûnaic

agan

noun. death

A noun for “death” attested both as an independent word (SD/426) and in the compound agannâlô “death-shadow” (SD/247).

Element in

Variations

  • Agan ✧ SD/247
Adûnaic [SD/247; SD/312; SD/426] Group: Eldamo. Published by

agân

masculine name. Death

The masculine personification of agan “death” (SD/426). This could be the Adûnaic name for Mandos.

Variations

  • Agān ✧ SD/426

Primitive elvish

ñgurū

noun. death

Derivations

  • √ÑGUR “death; to die”

Derivatives

  • S. guru “death, death (abstract)” ✧ PE17/087

Element in

  • S. Núrnen “Sad Water, Dead Water” ✧ PE17/087

Variations

  • ngurū ✧ PE17/087
Primitive elvish [PE17/087] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

gurfannor

masculine name. Lord of Death-cloud

A surname for Mandos appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s, a combination of guru “death” and the name Fannor “Cloud-lord” that he shared with his brother Lórien (Ety/ÑGUR, SPAN).

Conceptual Development: This name appeared as G. Gwifanthor or Gwefanthor in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GL/34, 45), a combination of his short name G. Gwî with G. Fanthor, precursor of N. Fannor.

Changes

  • Nurchwannor → Gurfannor ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. Nurufantur “Lord of Death-cloud” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR; Ety/SPAN

Elements

WordGloss
guru“death (abstract)”
Fannor“Cloud-lord”

Variations

  • Nurchwannor ✧ EtyAC/ÑGUR (Nurchwannor)
Noldorin [Ety/ÑGUR; Ety/SPAN; EtyAC/ÑGUR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

guruth

noun. death

Noldorin [Ety/377] Group: SINDICT. Published by

guruth

noun. death

Derivations

  • On. ngurtu “death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
    • ᴹ√ÑGUR “*death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. ngurtu > guruth[ŋgurtu] > [ŋgurtʰu] > [ŋgurθu] > [gurθu] > [gurθu] > [gurθu] > [guruθ]✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Variations

  • Gurth ✧ RS/186
Noldorin [Ety/ÑGUR; RS/186] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwanath

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

Noldorin [Ety/397] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwanw

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

Noldorin [Ety/397, X/W] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gûr

noun. death

Noldorin [Ety/377] 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!

Qenya 

nurufantur

masculine name. Lord of Death-cloud

A surname of Mandos as lord of the dead in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/207). In The Etymologies it was given as a compound of nuru “death” and Fantur “Lord of Cloud”, the latter of which also appeared in the surname of his brother, Olofantur (Ety/ÑGUR, SPAN).

Conceptual Development: The first form of this name in the earliest Lost Tales was ᴱQ. Vefántur “Fantur of Death”, where the initial element ᴱQ. Vê was another name of Mandos (LT1/76; QL/37, 100). In early Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s this became ᴹQ. Nefantur (SM/166) and finally Nurufantur (LR/207). This name disappeared from Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, but the term Q. Fëanturi was still used to collectively describe Mandos and Lórien.

Changes

  • Nurufantur → Námo ✧ UT/397

Cognates

  • N. Gurfannor “Lord of Death-cloud” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR; Ety/SPAN

Elements

WordGloss
nuru“death, death [abstract]”
Fantur“Lord of Cloud”

Variations

  • Nurutar ✧ EtyAC/ÑGUR (Nurutar)
Qenya [Ety/ÑGUR; Ety/SPAN; EtyAC/ÑGUR; LR/207; LRI/Nefantur; LRI/Nurufantur; LRI/Vefántur; MRI/Nurufantur; UT/397; UTI/Nurufantur] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nuru

noun. death, death [abstract]

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).

Cognates

  • On. nguru “death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
  • N. guru “death (abstract)” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
  • S. guru “death, death (abstract)”

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGUR “*death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGUR > ñuru[ŋguru] > [ŋuru] > [nuru]✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Variations

  • ñuru ✧ Ety/ÑGUR
  • nūru ✧ SD/310
Qenya [Ety/ÑGUR; EtyAC/ÑGUR; LR/047; LR/056; SD/310] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

ngurtu

noun. death

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGUR “*death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Derivatives

  • N. guruth “death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGUR > ngurtu[ŋgurtū] > [ŋgurtu]✧ Ety/ÑGUR
Old Noldorin [Ety/ÑGUR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nguru

noun. death

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. nuru “death, death [abstract]” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Derivations

  • ᴹ√ÑGUR “*death” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Derivatives

  • N. guru “death (abstract)” ✧ Ety/ÑGUR

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√ÑGUR > nguru[ŋgurū] > [ŋguru]✧ Ety/ÑGUR
Old Noldorin [Ety/ÑGUR] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

wanwē

noun. death

Derivations

  • ᴹ√WAN “depart, go away, disappear, vanish” ✧ Ety/WAN

Derivatives

  • N. gwanw “death (act of dying)” ✧ Ety/WAN
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/WAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

gurth(u)

noun. death

Cognates

  • Eq. urdu “death” ✧ GL/43; LT2A/Gurtholfin

Derivations

Element in

  • G. Gurtholfin “Wand of Death” ✧ GL/43; GL/43 (Gortholfin); LT2A/Gurtholfin

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶gu̯rþū́ > gurthu[gʷṛθū] > [gʷurθū] > [gurθū] > [gurθu]✧ GL/43
ᴱ✶ngwṛþ- > gurth[ŋgʷṛθ] > [gʷṛθ] > [gʷurθ] > [gurθ]✧ GL/43

Variations

  • urthu ✧ GG/14
  • gurthu ✧ GL/41; GL/43; GL/44; LT2A/Gurtholfin
  • gorth ✧ GL/43 (gorth)
  • gurth ✧ GL/43
Gnomish [GG/13; GG/14; GL/41; GL/43; GL/44; LT2A/Gurtholfin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

gurdh

noun. death

Changes

  • gurth → gurdh “death” ✧ PE13/146

Derivations

Element in

  • En. Gurthrond “Valley of the Dead Awaiting” ✧ LB/028

Variations

  • gurth ✧ LB/028; PE13/146
Early Noldorin [LB/028; PE13/146] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

urdu

noun. death

Cognates

  • G. gurth(u) “death” ✧ GL/43; LT2A/Gurtholfin

Derivations

Element in

  • Eq. Urdolwen “Wand of Death” ✧ GL/43

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ✶gu̯rþū́ > urdu[gʷṛθū] > [gʷṛθu] > [wṛθu] > [urθu] > [urðu] > [urdu]✧ GL/43
ᴱ√GWṚÐR > urdu[gʷṛðū] > [gʷṛðu] > [wṛðu] > [urðu] > [urdu]✧ QL/104
Early Quenya [GL/43; LT2A/Gurtholfin; QL/104] Group: Eldamo. Published by

qalume

noun. death

Derivations

  • ᴱ√QALA “die” ✧ QL/076

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√QALA > qalume[kʷalumē] > [kʷalume]✧ QL/076

Variations

  • qalume ✧ QL/076 (qalume)
Early Quenya [QL/076] Group: Eldamo. Published by