oro

mount, mountain

oro (1) noun "mount, mountain" (PE17:64), cf. Qenya oro noun "hill" (LT1:256; rather ambo in LotR-style Quenya, though #oro "mountain, hill" appears in Orocarni and orofarnë, q.v. [PE17:83], also with the meaning "high" in oromar, q.v.) Cf. oro- element "up, aloft" (PE17:64).

oro

(high) above

oro

noun. mount, mountain, hill

An element meaning “mountain” or “hill” given as a derivative of √ORO/RŌ (PE17/64, 83) and appearing in various Quenya compounds in the 1950s and 60s: Q. Orocarni “Red Mountains” (MR/77), Q. Orofarnë “Mountain Ash” (PE17/83), Q. oromandi “mountain dweller[s]” (PE16/96), and Q. Pelóri “Mountain Wall” (PE17/26). It also appeared as ᴱQ. oro “hill” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√ORO (QL/70).

See the discussion in the entry for Q. oron “mountain” for more details on the conceptual developments of this and related words.

Derivations

• √RŌ/ORO “up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount, up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount; [ᴹ√] high, [ᴱ√] steepness, rising” ✧ PE17/063

Element in

• Q. Orocarni “Red Mountains”
• Q. Orofarnë “Mountain Ash; Mountain-dwelling” ✧ PE17/083
• Q. oroman “mountain dweller”
• Q. Oromet “?Hill at the End”
• Q. Pelóri “Mountain Wall, Fencing Heights”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√OR/ORO > oro	[oro]	✧ PE17/063

oro-

rise

oro- (2) vb. "rise" (LT1:256; Tolkien's later Quenya has orta-, but cf. oro #1)

oron

mountain

oron (oront-, as in pl. oronti) noun "mountain" (ÓROT; the root occurs in orotinga, q.v.) Oron Oiolossë "Mount Everwhite" (WJ:403)

oron

noun. mountain

A word for “mountain” in Quenya whose stem form was oront-, so that it’s plural would be oronti (Ety/Ety/ÓROT).

Conceptual Development: There were a number of competing “mountain” words in Quenya of similar derivation, all based on the root √ORO “rise”; its Sindarin cognate S. orod “mountain” was much more stable in form. The earliest iteration of these Quenya words was ᴱQ. oro “hill” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s as a derivative of the early root ᴱ√ORO, unglossed but with other derivatives like ᴱQ. oro- “rise” and ᴱQ. orto- “raise” (QL/70). The word oro “hill” also appeared in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa from this period, alongside a variant form oron(d) of the same meaning (PME/70).

The variant oron reappeared in the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, now with the gloss “mountain” (PE21/33); its inflected forms indicate a stem form of {orom- >>} orum- (PE21/34 and note #125). ᴹQ. oron “mountain” appeared again in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√OROT, this time with a stem form oront- as indicated by its plural oronti (Ety/ÓROT). Oron appeared once more in the name Q. Oron Oiolossë “Mount Everwhite” from the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/403).

In Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s Tolkien gave the variant forms oro, orto “mountain” as derivatives of √ORO/RŌ “rise, mount” (PE17/63-64). ᴹQ. orto had previously appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√OROT but with the gloss “mountain-top” (Ety/ÓROT). Hints of this earlier meaning can be seen in the 1968 word Q. orotinga “mountain-top” though in this compound the second element Q. inga also means “top” (VT47/28). Orto “mountain” may be the final element of the 1968 name Q. Tarmacorto “High Mountain Circle”, but more likely the last element is derivative of √KOR “round”, perhaps ✱Q. corto “circle” (NM/351).

As for oro, it meant “mountain” as an element in many late names: Q. Orocarni “Red Mountains” (MR/77), Q. Orofarnë “Mountain Ash” (PE17/83), Q. oromandi “mountain dweller[s]” (PE16/96), and Q. Pelóri “Mountain Wall” (PE17/26), though in one place Tolkien glossed the prefix oro- as “hill” (PE17/83), perhaps a callback to its meaning in the 1910s.

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I feel oron(t) for “mountain” is better established among Neo-Quenya writers; it is the form used in Helge Fauskanger’s NQNT (NQNT), for example. The word Q. orto was not used for “mountain” until quite late, and I would stick with its 1930s meaning “mountain-top”. As for Q. oro, I would use it as “mountain” only in compounds, not as an independent word.

Derivations

• ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain”

Element in

• Q. Oron Oiolossë “Mount Everwhite” ✧ WJ/403

Variations

• Oron ✧ WJ/403

orto

noun. mount, mountain, hill, [ᴹQ.] mountain-top; [Q.] mount, mountain

A word meaning “mount, mountain” given as a derivative of √ORO/RŌ in Notes on Galadriel’s Song (NGS) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/64). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. orto “mountain-top” appeared as a derivative of the root ᴹ√OROT (Ety/ÓROT).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I think it is best to use orto with its 1930s sense “mountain-top”, and use Q. oron for “mountain”; see that entry for more details on the conceptual developments of this and related words.

Cognates

• S. orod “mountain” ✧ PE17/064

Derivations

• ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain”
• √RŌ/ORO “up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount, up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount; [ᴹ√] high, [ᴱ√] steepness, rising” ✧ PE17/063

Element in

• Q. orotinga “mountain-top”
• ᴺQ. ortosta “mountain range”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√OR/ORO > orto	[orto]	✧ PE17/063

orta-

rise

orta- vb. "rise", also transitive "raise, lift up", pa.t. ortanë (Nam, RGEO:67, ORO; misreading "ortani" in Letters:426). According to PE17:63-64, this pa.t. form ortanë is only transitive ("raised"), whereas the intransitive pa.t. ("rose") is orontë. Cf. orya-.

orya-

rise

orya- vb. "rise" (intrasitive only, contrast orta-), pa.t. oronyë (PE17:64)

orta/orya

verb. rise

ambo

hill, rising ground

ambo noun "hill, rising ground" (Markirya, PE17:92), "mount" (PE17:157), allative pl. ambonnar "upon hills" in Markirya (ruxal' ambonnar "upon crumbling hills") According to VT45:5, ambo was added to the Etymologies as a marginal note.

umbo

hill, lump, clump, mass

umbo, umbon noun "hill, lump, clump, mass" (PE17:93)

tundo

hill, mound

tundo noun "hill, mound" (TUN)

ambona

noun. hill

amba

adverb. up(wards)

Cognates

• S. am “up, up, [G.] upwards, towards head of, above”

Derivations

• √AMA “addition, increase, plus” ✧ PE17/091
• √AM “go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up” ✧ PE17/157

Element in

• ᴺQ. ambahep- “to maintain, (lit.) upkeep”
• ᴺQ. ambalasar “stalagmite, (lit.) up-growing stone”
• Q. ambalotsë “uprising-flower”
• Q. Ambaráto “*High Champion”
• Q. Ambaróna “Eastern (Land)” ✧ PE17/082; PE17/091; RC/385
• Q. ambarónë “dawn, dawn; [ᴹQ.] uprising, sunrise, Orient”
• Q. Ambarto “*High and Lofty” ✧ PM/354
• Q. Ambarussa “Top-russet” ✧ PM/354

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√AMA > amba	[amba]	✧ PE17/091
√AM > amba-	[amba]	✧ PE17/157

Variations

• amba- ✧ PE17/082; PE17/157
• amba ✧ PE17/091; PM/354; RC/385; UT/255

Túna

hill, mound

Túna (also Tún) place-name, used of the hill on which Tirion was built (Silm, TUN, KOR), derived from a stem (TUN) apparently meaning simply *"hill, mound".

amun

hill

amun (amund-) noun "hill" (LT2:335; in Tolkien's later Quenya ambo)

orod

mount

pl1. ered or eryd** ** n. mount, mountain. Q. oro, orto.

orod

noun. mountain

orod

mountain

pl1. ered or eryd, pl2. #orodrim _n. _mountain. Tolkien notes that "eryd > ered by late change, but y unstressed remained in certain circumstances, e.g. before nasals" (PE17:33). >> dol, doll, Thangorodrim

orod

noun. mountain

The Sindarin word for “mountain”, a derivative of √RŌ/ORO “rise” (PE17/63). Its proper plural form is eryd; the plural form ered in The Lord of the Rings is a late [Gondorian only?] pronunciation (PE17/33).

Conceptual Development: The singular form of this noun was extremely stable. It first appeared as G. orod “mountain” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s beside variant ort (GL/63), and it reappeared as N. orod “mountain” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain” (Ety/ÓROT). It appeared in a great many names in the sixty year span that Tolkien worked on the Legendarium.

The development of its plural form is a bit more complex. Its Gnomish plural was orodin (GL/63), but by the Early Noldorin of the 1920s, its plural was eryd (MC/217). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, Tolkien gave its plural form as oroti > ereid > ered (Ety/ÓROT). This fits with normal Noldorin plural patterns of the 1930s: compare plurals N. eregdos → eregdes, N. golodh → geleidh, N. doron → deren, N. thoron → therein. Sindarin plural patterns consistently show o → y in final syllables, such as S. golodh → gelydh or S. Nogoth → Negyth.

This Noldorin plural for orod “mountain” made it into Lord of the Rings drafts, and Tolkien never corrected it before publication. This meant Tolkien was stuck with this remnant of Noldorin plural patterns, which was contradicted by other plural forms in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was forced to contrive an explanation for this phenomenon:

> S. Ered. This is used always in L.R. as plural of orod, mountain. But Emyn, pl. of Amon. Cf. also Eryn Forest (oron originally plural = trees?) in Eryn Lasgalen. Rodyn, pl. of Rodon = Vala. It seems necessary to assume that: eryd > ered by late change, but y unstressed remained in certain circumstances, e.g. before nasals. † Use Eryd in Silmarillion (PE17/33).

Despite his statement that y only remained before nasals, ered is the only Sindarin word that retains the Noldorin plural pattern: see the examples golydh and nogyth above, neither involving nasals. Also, despite J.R.R. Tolkien’s intent to use eryd in The Silmarillion, his son Christopher Tolkien retained the form ered in The Silmarillion as published, most likely to avoid confusing readers when they compared this plural to the plural forms in The Lord of the Rings.

Neo-Sindarin: Most knowledgeable Neo-Sindarin writers assume o → y in final syllables is the correct Sindarin plural pattern, and orod → ered is an aberration. I personally assume it is a late Gondorian-only (mis)pronunciation. See the discussion of Sindarin plural nouns for more information.

Cognates

• Q. orto “mount, mountain, hill, [ᴹQ.] mountain-top; [Q.] mount, mountain” ✧ PE17/064

Derivations

• ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain”
• √RŌ/ORO “up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount, up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount; [ᴹ√] high, [ᴱ√] steepness, rising” ✧ PE17/063

Element in

• S. alae! ered en Echoriath, ered e·mbar nín “[?behold!] the mountains of Echoriath, the mountains of my home!” ✧ UT/040; UT/040; UT/054
• S. Erebor “Lonely Mountain”
• S. Ered Engrin “Iron Mountains” ✧ SA/orod
• S. Ered Gorgoroth “Mountains of Terror”
• S. Ered Lindon “Mountains of Lindon” ✧ SA/orod
• S. Ered Lithui “Ashen Mountains” ✧ RC/765
• north S. Ered Lómin “Echoing Mountains” ✧ S/118
• S. Ered Luin “Blue Mountains”
• S. Ered Mithrin “Grey Mountains”
• S. Ered Nimrais “White Mountains, (lit.) White-horns Mountains”
• S. Ered Wethrin “Mountains of Shadow, (lit.) Shadowy Mountains”
• S. Eryd-wethion “Mountains of the Region of Shadows”
• S. Eryd Echor “Encircling Mountains” ✧ RC/621
• S. Eryd Lammad “*Echoing Mountains” ✧ WJ/192
• S. Orchorod “High Mountain Circle”
• S. orodben “mountaineer, one living in the mountains”
• S. Orod-na-Thôn “Mount of the Pine Tree(s)” ✧ LotR/0469
• S. Orodreth “Mountaineer”
• S. Orodruin “Mountain of Fire” ✧ SA/orod
• S. Orthanc “Mount Fang, Forked Height”
• S. Thangorodrim “Mountains of Tyranny” ✧ SA/orod

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√OR/ORO > orod	[oroto] > [orot] > [orod]	✧ PE17/063
√OR/ORO > eryd/ered	[oroti] > [oruti] > [œryti] > [œryt] > [œryd] > [eryd]	✧ PE17/063

Variations

• Orod ✧ LotR/0469

amon

noun. hill, steep-sided mount

amon

hill

pl1. emyn n. hill, lump, clump, mass, often applied to (esp. isolated) mountains. Q. umbo(n). FAmon Amarth

aeglir

noun. range of mountain peaks

aegas

noun. mountain peak

cîl

pass between hills

(i gîl, o chîl) (cleft, gorge), no distinct pl. form except with article (i chîl), coll. pl. cíliath. . A homophone means ”renewal”.

tund

hill

(i** dund, o thund, construct tun) (mound), pl. tynd (i** thynd), coll. pl. tunnath.

orod

mountain

1) orod (pl. ered, eryd; coll. pl. #orodrim isolated from Thangorodrim), 2) ôr (stem orod-), also with pl. eryd, ered. (Names:178). Archaically, the plural forms were öryd, öröd.

orod

mountain

(pl. ered, eryd; coll. pl. #orodrim isolated from Thangorodrim)

ôr

mountain

(stem orod-), also with pl. eryd, ered. (Names:178). Archaically, the plural forms were öryd, öröd.

dôl

hill

(i** dhôl, construct **dol) (head), pl. dŷl (i** nŷl). Note: In the Etymologies, this word was derived from a root with initial nd- (NDOL), which would make the mutations different (i** nôl, pl. i** ndŷl). However, the later name Fanuidhol "Cloudyhead" apparently indicates that the lenited form of this d was later to be dh (whereas it would be n** if the former derivation had been maintained).

amon

hill

1) amon (pl. emyn) (steep-sided mount), 2) dôl (i dhôl, construct dol) (head), pl. dŷl (i nŷl). Note: In the Etymologies, this word was derived from a root with initial nd- (NDOL), which would make the mutations different (i nôl, pl. i ndŷl). However, the later name Fanuidhol "Cloudyhead" apparently indicates that the lenited form of this d was later to be dh (whereas it would be n if the former derivation had been maintained). 3) tund (i dund, o thund, construct tun) (mound), pl. tynd (i thynd), coll. pl. tunnath.

amon

hill

(pl. emyn) (steep-sided mount)

amon

steep-sided mount

(hill), pl. emyn.

eria

rise

eria- (arise) (i eria, in eriar), pa.t. erias (VT46:7)

eria

rise

(arise) (i eria, in eriar), pa.t. **erias **(VT46:7)

orot

noun. mountain

Element in

• T. orotrátho “mountain-climber” ✧ NM/363

urud

noun. mountain

A noun attested only in its plural form urîd “mountains” (SD/251). Several authors have suggested it is related to S. orod “mountain”, either borrowed directly or derived from the same Elvish root ᴹ√OROT (AAD/24, EotAL/ÓROT).

Derivations

• ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain”

Element in

• Ad. urîd yakalubim “The mountains lean over” ✧ SD/251

oro

root. up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount

rō/oro

root. up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount, up(wards); rise (up), go high, mount; [ᴹ√] high, [ᴱ√] steepness, rising

This invertible root had a long history in Tolkien’s writings. Its earliest iteration was in a pair of roots in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: ᴱ√OŘO [OÐO] with derivatives having to do with the “dawn”, and ᴱ√ORO “steepness, rising” with which it was much confused (QL/70). The latter had derivatives like ᴱQ. orme “summit, crest, hilltop” and ᴱQ. orto- “raise” (QL/70), and Tolkien mentioned an inverted variant ᴱ√RŌ or ᴱ√ROHO with derivatives like ᴱQ. róna- “arise, rise, ascend” (QL/80). The contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon also gave it as in an invertible root ᴱ√rō-, oro with derivatives like G. oros “rising” and G. ront “high, steep” (GL/63, 66).

The root reappeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√ORO “up, rise, high” and ᴹ√RŌ “rise” (Ety/ORO, RŌ). The root was mentioned very frequently in his writings from the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s, generally glossed “rise” or “up(wards)”. Thus the root was very well established in Tolkien’s mind.

Derivatives

• ✶ōre “arising”
• ✶ornā “uprising, tall” ✧ PE17/112
  • Q. orwa “high, lofty”
• ✶ornē “(straight) tree” ✧ Let/426
  • Q. ornë “(tall) tree, (tall) tree, [ᴹQ.] high isolated tree” ✧ Let/426
  • S. eryn “wood, forest (of trees)” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/119
  • S. orn “(tall straight) tree” ✧ Let/426; NM/349; UT/266
• ✶orta- “to rise, ascend” ✧ PE18/106; PE22/134
• ✶ortā- “to raise” ✧ PE18/089; PE18/106
  • Q. orta- “to raise, cause to rise, lift (up)” ✧ PE22/159
• ✶orya- “to rise” ✧ PE22/134
  • Q. orya- “to rise” ✧ PE22/157
• ᴺQ. oricon “heather”
• Q. oro “mount, mountain, hill” ✧ PE17/063
• ᴺQ. orosta “ascension”
• ᴺQ. orsa “upper, above”
• Q. orta- “to raise, cause to rise, lift (up)” ✧ Let/426; PE17/063; PE22/156
• Q. orta- “to rise” ✧ PE17/063
• Q. orto “mount, mountain, hill, [ᴹQ.] mountain-top; [Q.] mount, mountain” ✧ PE17/063
• Q. orya- “to rise” ✧ PE17/063; PE22/156; PE22/163
• S. orod “mountain” ✧ PE17/063
• ᴺS. orth “upper”

Element in

• ✶orta- “to rise, ascend” ✧ PE22/129
• √(S)RŌ “east”
• Q. oromar “lofty hall, high-mansion, high (lofty) dwelling” ✧ PE17/063
• ᴺQ. oroparmen “high school, university”
• ᴺQ. orpano “ridgepole”
• Q. rómen “east, uprising, sunrise” ✧ PE17/063

Variations

• OR/RO ✧ Let/426; NM/176; PE22/134
• OR/ORO ✧ PE17/063
• RŌ ✧ PE17/063; PE17/182
• OR/RŌ ✧ PE17/064; PE17/112; PE22/133
• OR/ORO/RŌ ✧ PE17/171
• or/ro ✧ PE18/088; VT48/25
• OR ✧ PE18/089; PE18/106; PE22/129; PE22/156; VT41/11; VT48/31 (OR)
• oro/ro ✧ PE22/163
• or- ✧ VT41/13

ambō

noun. hill

Derivations

• √AM “go up, go up, [ᴹ√] up”

Derivatives

• Q. ambo “hill, rising ground, mount” ✧ PE17/092

pū

noun. ‽

sisti

root. ‽

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. sistë “ulcer, sore, boil”

skā

noun. ‽

skū

noun. ‽

orod

noun. mountain

orod

noun. mountain

Cognates

• ᴹQ. oron “mountain” ✧ Ety/ÓROT

Derivations

• On. oroto “mountain” ✧ Ety/ÓROT; Ety/ÓROT
  • ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain” ✧ Ety/ÓROT

Element in

• N. Erebor “Lonely Mountain”
• N. Ered-engrin “Iron Mountains” ✧ Ety/ÓROT
• N. Ered Orgoroth “Mountains of Terror” ✧ LR/298
• N. Eredlemrin “Echoing Mountains” ✧ Ety/ÓROT
• N. Eredlindon “Mountains of Lindon, (earlier) Blue Mountains” ✧ Ety/ÓROT
• N. Eredlithui “Ash Mountains”
• N. Eredlómin “Echoing Mountains”
• N. Eryd-Lómin “Mountains of Shadow”
• N. Eredluin “Blue Mountains” ✧ Ety/LUG²
• N. Ered Nimras “White Mountains”
• N. Eredfain
• N. Ered Nimrath “White Mountains”
• N. Eredvyrn “Black Mountains” ✧ TI/124
• N. Eredwethion “Shadowy Mountains” ✧ Ety/ÓROT; PE22/041; PE22/041
• N. Eredhithui “Misty Mountains” ✧ TI/124
• N. Lhúnorodrim “Blue Mountains” ✧ Ety/LUG²
• N. Mindor Uilas “*Isolated Mountain of Ever-leaf”
• N. Orodlin
• N. Orod Thuin ✧ TI/420
• N. Orodras
• N. Orodreth ✧ Ety/ÓROT
• N. Orodruin “Mountain of Fire” ✧ TI/028
• N. Orthanc “Mount Fang”
• N. Thangorodrim “Mountains of Duress” ✧ Ety/STAG

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. oroto > orod	[oroto] > [orot] > [orod]	✧ Ety/ÓROT
On. oroti > ereid > ered	[oroti] > [œrœti] > [œrœit] > [œrœid] > [ereid] > [ered]	✧ Ety/ÓROT
N. œrœid > ered	[oroti] > [œrœti] > [œrœit] > [œrœid] > [ereid] > [ered]	✧ PE22/041

Variations

• Orod ✧ TI/420 (Orod)

orodrim

noun. range of mountains

mindon

noun. tower

oeglir

noun. range of mountain peaks

eria-

verb. to rise

amon

noun. hill, steep-sided mount

amon

noun. hill

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ambo “hill” ✧ Ety/AM²

Derivations

• ᴹ√AM “up” ✧ Ety/AM²

Element in

• N. Amon Thorn
• N. Amon Ereb “Lonely Hill”
• N. Amon Gwareth “Hill of Watch”
• N. Amon Hen
• N. Amon Lhaw
• N. Amon Uilos
• N. Emyn Arnen
• N. Haramon
• N. Emyn Rhain “Border Hills” ✧ TI/313
• N. Amon Dengin “Hill of Slain”
• N. Methen Amon

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√AM² > amon	[ambon] > [ambon] > [ammon] > [amon]	✧ Ety/AM²
ᴹ√AM² > emuin > emyn	[amboni] > [ambuni] > [embyni] > [embyn] > [embyn] > [emmyn] > [emyn]	✧ Ety/AM²

oegas

noun. mountain peak

mindon

noun. isolated hill, especially a hill with a watch tower

menniath

noun. range of mountains

menniath

noun. many points

tund

noun. hill, mound

tunn

noun. hill, mound