n. cave. Q. rondo.
Sindarin
rond
noun. cave roof
rond
noun. vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside), or a (large) hall of chamber so roofed
rond
noun. (vaulted or arched) roof; vaulted chamber or cavern; heavens [as a roof of the world]
Cognates
- Q. rondo “vaulted or arched roof, vaulted hall, vaulted or arched roof, vaulted hall; [ᴹQ.] cavern, cave” ✧ WJ/414
Derivations
Element in
- S. Aglarond “Glittering Cavern” ✧ RC/421; SA/rond
- S. Elrond “Star-dome” ✧ SA/rond; WJ/414
- S. Hadhodrond “Dwarrowdelf, (lit.) Dwarrowvault” ✧ SA/rond; WJ/414
- S. Menelrond “Heaven-dome”
- S. Merethrond “Great Hall of Feasts”
- S. Nargothrond “*Underground Fortress of Narog” ✧ SA/os(t); SA/rond
- S. othrond “underground stronghold, underground stronghold, [N.] underground city, fortress” ✧ WJ/414
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶rondō > rond [rondō] > [rondo] > [rond] ✧ WJ/414
roth
noun. cave
groth
noun. cave, tunnel, large excavation
groth
noun. delving, underground dwelling
fela
cave
(pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.
feleg
noun. cave
n. cave, mine, underground dwelling. Q. felco. Q.
tham
hall
tham, pl. thaim, coll. pl. thammath;
tham
hall
pl. thaim, coll. pl. thammath;
rond
cave
(construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rond
hall with vaulted roof
(construct ron) (cave, cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rond
cavern
(construct ron) (cave, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rond
hall with vaulted roof
rond (construct ron) (cave, cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rond
vault, vaulted ceiling
rond (construct ron) (cave, cavern, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
rond
vault, vaulted ceiling
(construct ron) (cave, cavern, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath
grôd
cave
1) grôd (i **rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414), 2) groth (i **roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12), 3) rond (construct ron) (cavern, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath, 4) roth (delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i **athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd), 5) fela (pl. fili). In the Etymologies (LR:381 s.v. PHÉLEG) the name Felagund is said to include this word, but since Tolkien later re-explained this name as a borrowing from Dwarvish, some would consider fela** as a word for ”cave” conceptually obsolete.
grôd
cave
(i ’rôd, construct grod) (delving, excavation, underground dwelling), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)
othronn
fortress in a cave/caves
(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (underground stronghold). Cited in archaic form othrond in the source (WJ:414).
tobas
roof, roofing
(i** dobas, o thobas), pl. tebais (i** thebais) for archaic pl. töbais (VT46:19)
orthel
roof
(verb.) orthel- (i orthel, in erthelir for archaic in örthelir) (screen above);
orthel
roof
(i orthel, in erthelir for archaic in örthelir) (screen above);
roth
cave
(delving, large excavation), pl. ryth, 4) gathrod (i ’athrod), pl. gethryd (i ngethryd = i ñethryd)
telu
roof
(noun, high roof) telu (i delu, o thelu) (dome), pl. tely (i thely);
telu
roof
(i delu, o thelu) (dome), pl. tely (i thely);
groth
cave
(i ’roth) (delving, large excavation), pl. gryth (in gryth) (VT46:12)
gath
cavern
1) gath (i **ath), pl. gaith (i ngaith = i ñaith), 2) rond (construct ron) (cave, vault, vaulted ceiling, hall with vaulted roof), pl. rynd (idh rynd), coll. pl. ronnath**
gath
cavern
(i ’ath), pl. gaith (i ngaith = i ñaith)
rhûd
artificial cave
(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365)*
rhûd
rockhewn hall
(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (dwelling underground, artificial cave, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid). (PM:365);
toba
roof over
(i** doba, i** thobar) (cover). Cited as a ”Noldorin” infinitive in -o (tobo).**
thamas
great hall
pl. themais, coll. pl. thamassath;
A noun for a vaulted or arched roof, as well as chambers with such a roof, both constructed and natural. Tolkien’s most complete description of this word appeared in the Quendi and Eldar essay:
> S rond, Q rondo are from ✱rono “arch over, roof in”. This could be applied both to natural and to artificial structures, but its view was always from below and from the inside ... CE ✱rondo meant “a vaulted or arched roof, as seen from below (and usually not visible from outside)”, or “a (large) hall or chamber so roofed”. It was still often applied pictorially to the heavens after the Elves had obtained much greater knowledge of star-lore. Cf. the name Elrond “Star-dome“ (WJ/414).
Thus this word was sometimes also applied (metaphorically) to describe the dome of heaven. This definition of rond as both a roof and a cavern appeared elsewhere in Tolkien’s writings as well (RC/421; EtyAC/ROD).
Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor to this word was G. grûd(a) “cavern” (archaic †rûda) from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√roto “hollow” (GL/42, 45, 66; QL/80). This was followed by a word ᴱN. gorod “cave” in the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s (PE13/123), and ᴱN. gronn (archaic †grond) in contemporaneous Early Noldorin Word-lists with glosses like “cave” (PE13/145) or “cavern” (PE13/162).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was N. rhonn (archaic †rhond) “roof, cave” from the root ᴹ√ROD of the same meaning (Ety/ROD). In The Etymologies as published in The Lost Road Christopher Tolkien gave the gloss “cave” (LR/384), but in their Addenda and Corrigenda to the Etymologies, Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne corrected this to “roof, cave” (EtyAC/ROD). In this document it was already the basis of N. Elrond = “Starry-dome” (Ety/EL). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien seems to have kept the basic definition from The Etymologies of the 1930s but updated its form and etymology, deriving it from a new root √RON “arch over”.
Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer the earlier root form ᴹ√ROD as this lets us retain more of the 1930s forms.