nâlu

noun. shadow

A noun attested only in the compound agannâlô “death-shadow [is]” (SD/247, VT24/12). The first element of the compound, agan “death”, as identified elsewhere (SD/426), so the remaining element must mean “shadow”. The compound is the subject of the sentence agannâlô burôda nênud “death-shadow [is] heavy on us” and is therefore in the subjective case. According the grammatical rules of Lowdham’s Report, the only possibly normal form producing this subjective is nâlu: compare nîlu “moon” to its subjective form nîlô (SD/431).

Conceptual Development: In early writings, the compound was (non-subjective) agannūlo, so that the apparent draft form of this noun was nūlo. A similar form nūlu appears on SD/306, described only as “a word with the evil sense of ‘night’ or ‘dark’”. It could be a separate word or another variation of this word, with the development nūlo >> nūlu >> nālu. Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/21) that the earlier forms may be related to ᴹQ. nulla “dark, dusky, obscure”.

ugru

noun. shadow

A noun translated “shadow” (SD/247), also described as “a word with the evil sense of ‘night’ or ‘dark’” (SD/306). It appears in the preprositional phrase ugru-dalad “under shadow” (SD/247) and in the draft-dative form ugrus “‽horror‽shadow” (SD/311).

agannâlô burôda nênud

[the] death-shadow [is] heavy on us

The 9th phrase of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). The subject agannâlô “death-shadow” is a compound of agan “death” and nâlu “shadow” in the subjective case. The next word burôda “heavy” is simply an adjective, and nênud “on us” is a combination of the pronoun nê “us” and the prepositional suffix -nud “on”. Since there is no verb, the subjective here functions as the verb “to be” (SD/429), so that the English translation should be “the death-shadow is heavy on us”, though Tolkien did not include “is” in his translation.

In the previous (second draft) version of this sentence, the spelling of some words were slightly different: buruda (as it was in the first draft) instead of the final form burôda and nēnu instead of the final form nēnud (SD/312). The first draft of this sentence uses the same words but is grammatically different.

êruhînim dubdam ugru-dalad

[the Children of Eru] fell under shadow

The 2nd phrase of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/247). Tolkien did not interpret the name Êruhînim in any version of the text, but elsewhere it is glossed “Children of God (Eru)” (SD/248). Tolkien’s gloss was “‽ fell ‽shadow under/beneath”, with the translation of the last word differing slightly in the typescript (SD/247) and manuscript (VT24/12). In ordinary English the phrase might be “the Children of Eru fell under shadow”.

The subject Êruhînim of the sentence is the subjective plural form of #Êruhin. The verb dubdam seems to be in the aorist form of #dubud- “to fall”, glossed in past tense because it is in a narrative occurring in the past. The verb has the plural marker -m in agreement with the number of the subject. The word dalad “under, beneath” is suffixed to the noun it modifies, as is usual of Adûnaic prepositions.

The previous (second draft) version of this sentence (SD/312) differs only in its use of the verb form dubbudam (past tense) instead of the final version’s form dubdam (aorist). The first draft version used all the same words but differed in its grammar.

agathurush

place name. Greyflood

The Adûnaic name of the river S. Gwathló “Greyflood” (UT/263), also glossed “flood under shadow” (VT42/9). This later name does not fit the Adûnaic phonetic rules described by Tolkien in Lowdham’s Report, since “sh” [ʃ] is not a phoneme used in Adûnaic (SD/418). It may be that Tolkien changed his mind about the phonemes of Adûnaic, or it may be that Agathurush had already undergone some of the phonetic changes leading to the Westron language, which had this sound (LotR/1120). It isn’t clear how this name could be decomposed into its elements.

dâur

noun. gloom

A noun translated as “gloom” derived from the root √DAWAR (SD/423). It is an example of how primitive [[ad|[w] and [j] became [u] and [i] before consonants and finally]], thereby producing diphthongs.

manô

noun. spirit

A noun translated “spirit” and fully declined as an example of a Weak II noun (SD/438). It appeared with both a short a (SD/424) and long â (SD/438). Given its ending -ô, it might be a masculine-noun, but it seems unlikely that spirits would only be male. This entry assumes it is a common-noun instead. It is probably related to ᴹQ. manu “departed spirit” as suggested by various authors (AAD/19, AL/Adûnaic, EotAL/MAN).

dae

noun. shadow, shadow (cast by an object or form), [N.] shade

dae

noun. shadow

morchant

noun. shadow

morn (“dark”) + cant (“shape”) #The second element seems to be liquid mutated (internal spirant mutation).

ephel dúath

place name. Mountains of Shadow; (lit.) Fence of Shadow

The “Mountains of Shadow” west of Mordor (LotR/636), or more literally the “Fence of Shadow” (RC/457). This name is combination of ephel “fence” and dúath “night shadow” (SA/pel, dú, gwath; PE17/152).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the earliest Elvish name these mountains was simply N. Duath (TI/309, TI/343), later revised to N. Hebel Dúath (WR/122) and finally Ephel Dúath (WR/180).

cirith dúath

place name. Shadow Cleft

The original name of Cirith Ungol (UT/279-80 note #11), a combination of cirith “cleft” and dúath “night shadow”.

deldúwath

place name. Deadly Nightshade, (lit.) Horror of Night-shadow

Another name for Taur-nu-Fuin, the forest of Dorthonion corrupted by Morgoth (S/155). Tolkien generally glossed this name as “Deadly Nightshade” (WJ/282, LR/282), but it is a combination of del “horror”, dû “night” and the lenited form of gwath “shadow” (SA/del, dú, gwath), hence literally meaning “Horror of Night-shadow” (SI/Deldúwath).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this forest was referred to only by its other name, G. Taurfuin “Forest of Night” (LT2/47). Starting in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, Tolkien sometimes referred to the forest in English as “Deadly Nightshade” (LB/34). An Elvish form of this second name first appeared in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, initially as N. Math-Fuin-delos (SM/299), later changed to N. Gwathfuin-Daidelos (SM/311). In the mid-30s he changed the name again to N. Deldúwath (LR/147), a name that also appeared in The Etymologies as Deldú(w)ath (Ety/DEL). He used the form Deldúwath thereafter.

dúath

noun. night shadow, dark/black shadow, night shadow, dark/black shadow, [N.] night-shade

A word meaning “night shadow” (PE17/152) or “dark/black shadow” (PE17/87), a combination of dû “night” and the soft-mutated form ’wath of gwath “shadow” (SA/dú, gwath), usually written dúath but sometimes dúwath or duwath. Most notably it appeared in the name Ephel Dúath “Mountains of Shadow; (lit.) Fence of Shadow” (LotR/636; RC/457). In one place Tolkien said it was used metaphorically for darkness as an ethereal substances, the opposite of glae(gal) which was light as a substance (NM/283).

Conceptual Development: N. Dú(w)ath “night-shade” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the etymology given above (Ety/DOƷ).

esgal

noun. cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding, veil, cast shadow, shade; screen, hiding; veil

A word meaning either “veil, screen, hiding” (Ety/SKAL¹; SA/esgal) or “a cast shadow” (PE17/184) derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil”, most notably an element in the name Esgalduin (S/121) translated “River under Veil” (Ety/SKAL¹) or “River under Shade” (PE17/15, 184).

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s esgal was translated “screen, hiding, roof of leaves”, but there it (and the river name) were from the Ilkorin language. In notes from around 1966-67, however, Tolkien shift the sense of the root, saying:

> √SKAL was applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things ... √SPAN was applied to things of lighter texture, and corresponds closer to our “veil” ... They appear also to have differed in that while SKAL was primitively verbal SPAN was primitively nominal. Thus the most primitive derivative of SKAL was skalā and this meant the action or effect of overshadowing: a cast shadow, S esgal, Q †ixal & hala. But spanā meant a thing that veiled, a veil (PE17/184).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I think esgal can refer to both a shading screen (as it did in the 1930s) or the shadow under that screen (as it did in the 1960s), but it is unlikely that Tolkien himself maintained these two senses simultaneously. However, there are a number of other Sindarin good words for “shadow” but not many for “screen, veil”, especially since fân < ✶spanā or ✶phanā is used mainly with the sense “cloud”. However, I would limit esgal to genuinely opaque screens and curtains, ones that block most if not all light, and for a diaphanous veil I’d use fân.

gwath

noun. shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade

A word for “shadow” but more accurately an area of “dim light”, since it was “not for the shadows of actual objects or persons cast by sun or moon or other lights” (VT42/9) but was used “in the sense of dim light, owing to cloud or mist, or in deep valleys” (UT/261). A cast shadow would be morchant “(lit.) dark shape” (VT42/9). Gwath was derived from the root √WATH.

Conceptual Development: N. gwath “shade” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above (Ety/WATH).

gwathir

place name. River of Shadow

Old Sindarin name for the river Gwathló, a combination of gwath “shadow” and the lenited form of sîr “river” (UT/263).

gwathui

adjective. *shadowy, of shadow

A word apparently meaning “✱shadowy” or “✱of shadow” appearing only as an element in the name Gwathuirim “Dunlendings” (PM/330).

núath

place name. ?Under Shadow

A forest near the source of the river Narog (UT/36, WJ/186). The meaning of this name is unclear, but it might be a combination of nu “under” and the lenited form of gwath “shadow” (as suggested by David Salo, GS/387), similar in origin to dúath.

thuringwethil

feminine name. Woman of Secret Shadow

Name of a servant of Sauron translated “Woman of Secret Shadow” (SI/Thuringwethil, Ety/THUR), a combination of thurin “secret, hidden”, gwath “shadow” (SA/gwath) and the feminine suffix -iel.

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱN. Thuringwethil first appeared in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, where it was translated “She of Hidden Shadow” (LB/304). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, Thuringwethil was designated a Doriathrin [Ilkorin] name, translated “(Woman of) Secret Shadow”, and apparently had essentially the same derivation as given above (Ety/THUR).

ered wethrin

place name. Mountains of Shadow, (lit.) Shadowy Mountains

Mountains in northern Beleriand translated “Mountains of Shadow” (S/106), but more accurately “Shadowy Mountains” (S/118, PE17/43). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the lenited plural of the adjective gwathren “shadowy, dim” (SA/gwath, VT42/9).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s, these mountains were first called Eryd-Lómin “Mountains of Shadow” (SM/139), a remnant of earlier G. lómin “shadowy”. This name was revised to N. Eredwethion “Shadowy Mountains” later in the 1930s (SM/268, LR/250), and similar forms S. Eryd-wethion and Eryd-wethian(d) appeared in notes from the 1950s as well (PE17/42-3, WJ/113). Generally, though, the name was changed to Ered Wethrin in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, often appearing with the proper Sindarin plural of orod: S. Eryd (MR/297, WJ/113).

Cirith Dúath

noun. pass of shadow

cirith (“pass, cleft”), dû (“nightfall, night, dimness”) + gwath (“shadow”)

Deldú(w)ath

noun. horror night shadow

del (“fear, disgust, horror”) + dû (“nightfall, night, dimness”) + gwath (“shadow”)

Dor Daedelos

noun. land of great / shadow of fear

(n-)dôr (“land, dwelling-place”), dae (“shadow”) #or daer (“great”) + delos (“abhorrence, loathing, detestation”) [Etym. DYEL-] probably del (“fear”) + gos, goth (#gost? “dread”)

Esgalduin

noun. 'the river under shadow'

n. lit. 'the river under shadow'.

Taur-e-Ndaedelos

noun. forest of the great (shadow of) fear (Mirkwood)

taur (“great wood, forest”) + en (sing. gen. article) + #daer (“great”) or #dae (“shadow”) + delos (“abhorrence, loathing, detestation”) [Etym. DYEL-] probably del (“fear”) + gos, goth (#gost? “dread”); #dae is not found in Etym, but the stem is probably NDAY.

dor daedeloth

place name. Land of Great Dread; Land of Shadow of Horror

The land of Morgoth (S/127), translated “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183), a combination of dôr “land”, a form of daer “great” and deloth “abhorrence, detestation, loathing” (SA/del, WJ/187).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name first appeared as G. Ladwen-na-Dhaideloth “Heath of the Sky-roof” (LT2/287), revised to G. Dor-na-Dhaideloth of similar meaning (LT2A/Dor-na-Dhaideloth, LT2/287). In the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, Tolkien revised the meaning of last element of ᴱN. Dor-na-Dhaideloth to “[Land of the] High Plain” (LB/49).

In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, it generally appeared as N. Dor-Daideloth (SM/269, LR/250) or Dor-Daedeloth (LR/120, LR/256). At this time the name was usually glossed “Land of Dread”, but this was only accurate as a translation of its shorter variant Dor-Deloth (LR/405, WJ/183), which was also translated as “Loathly Land” in The Etymologies (Ety/DYEL). In one place in this period the name appeared as Dor-na-Daideloth “Land of the Shadow of Dread” (LR/405), a better indication of its full meaning. In The Etymologies from the 1930s, there was a word N. dae “shadow”, which appeared as an element in the variant name N. Daedhelos “Shadow of Fear” (Ety/DAY). These factors are probably the source of Christopher Tolkien’s translation in the Silmarillion Index: “Land of Shadow of Horror” (SI/Dor Daedeloth, SA/dae).

However, in revisions to the Silmarillion map from 1950s, J.R.R. Tolkien translated S. Dor Dae-deloth as “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183), and later still considered changing the name to S. Dor-na-Daerachas of the same meaning (WJ/187). This indicates that he altered the sense of the element dae from “shadow” to “great”, though exactly when he did so is difficult to pin down.

du(w)ath

noun. 'night shadow'

n. 'night shadow'. >> dû

esgal

a cast shadow

_n. _a cast shadow. Q. hala, poet. ixal. . This gloss was rejected.

guruthos

noun. dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, [N.] fear of death

A word for the fear of death in the phrase le nallon sí di’nguruthos, translated in The Road Goes Ever On published from 1967 as “here overwhelmed in dread of Death I cry” or more literally “to thee I cry here beneath-death-horror” (RGEO/64), also translated in a 1958 letter to Rhona Beare as “to thee I cry now in the shadow of (the fear of) death” (Let/278). In notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien identified the elements as guru “death” and thoss “fear” (PE17/87), based on the roots √ÑGUR and √THOS (PE17/95).

Conceptual Development: The form N. {gurthos >>} guruthos “fear of death” appeared in the margin of The Etymologies next to the entry for the root ᴹ√GOS “dread” where the word’s final element was probably N. gost “dread, terror” (EtyAC/GOS). As such, its initial element when the word was first introduced was probably N. guruth “death” (Ety/ÑGUR).

guruthos

noun. shadow of death

_ n. _shadow of death. >> nguruthos

morchant

noun. shadow cast by light, (lit.) dark shape

A word for “the shadows of actual objects or persons cast by sun or moon or other lights” attested only in its plural form morchaint (VT42/9), a combination of mor- “dark” and cant “shape” as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT42/28 note #18).

nguruthos

noun. shadow of death

_ n. _shadow of death. >> guruthos

hû

noun. spirit, shadow

Ephel Dúath

noun. fence of shadow

ephel (“outer fence, encircling fence”) < ed (“outer”) + pel (“fenced field”), dû (“nightfall, dimness”) + gwath (“shade”)

duwath

noun. night shadow, dark/black shadow, night shadow, dark/black shadow, [N.] night-shade

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

guruthos

noun. the shadow of death, death-horror

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

morchant

noun. shadow (of objects, cast by light), dark shape

urug

noun. "bogey", anything that caused fear to the Elves, any dubious shape or shadow, or prowling creature

lum

noun. shade

morchant

shadow

1. morchant (i vorchant), pl. morchaint (i morchaint). The literal meaning is ”dark shape”, referring to shadows with a recognizable form. 2) dae (i dhae) (shade), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae). 3) daew (i dhaew), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndaew) (VT45:8). 4) gwâth (i **wâth; construct gwath) (shade, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261) 5) muil (i vuil) (twilight, dreariness, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil**),

morchant

shadow

(i vorchant), pl. morchaint (i morchaint). The literal meaning is ”dark shape”, referring to shadows with a recognizable form.

dae

shadow

(i dhae) (shade), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae).

daew

shadow

(i dhaew), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ndaew) (VT45:8).

gwâth

shadow

(i ’wâth; construct gwath) (shade, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261)

muil

shadow

(i vuil) (twilight, dreariness, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil)

Hithlum

Mist-shadow

Hithlum is a North Sindarin word, meaning "Mist-shadow" (hith + lum); its Quenya counterpart is Hisilómë (pron. , stem Hisilómi-). Its Sindarin name is said to be Hithlũ.

Tolkien initially marked the word as Noldorin; its second element was cognate to Quenya lumbe.

dúath

dark shadow

(i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith). Compare the Ephel Dúath or ”Mountains of Shadow” forming th outer fence of Mordor, perhaps suggesting that Dúath is also the word used of Sauron as ”the Shadow”.

dúath

dark shadow

dúath (i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith). Compare the Ephel Dúath or ”Mountains of Shadow” forming th outer fence of Mordor, perhaps suggesting that Dúath is also the word used of Sauron as ”the Shadow”.

gwathló

place name. Greyflood

The Sindarin name of the river “Greyflood” translated on the map of The Lord of the Rings (LotR/1082). This name is a combination of gwath “shadow” and l(h)ô “flood” (UT/263).

Conceptual Development: This name first appeared as N. Gwathlo with a short o on the draft maps of the Lord of the Rings from the 1940s (TI/304, 312).

dúath

dark shadow

(i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith);

dúath

dark shadow

dúath (i dhúath) (nightshade), pl. dúaith (i núaith);

dúath

adjective. dark

_ adj. _dark, black shadow.

hû

spirit

_ n. _spirit, shadow.

dae

shade

(i dhae) (shadow), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae)

gwâth

shade

(noun) 1) gwâth (i **wâth; construct gwath) (shadow, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261), 2) dae (i dhae) (shadow), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nae), 3) lûm (pl. luim**).

gwâth

shade

(i ’wâth; construct gwath) (shadow, dim light), pl. gwaith (in gwaith) (UT:261)

lûm

shade

(pl. luim).

dúath

nightshade

(i dhúath) (dark shadow), pl. dúaith (i núaith).

muil

twilight

(i vuil) (dreariness, shadow, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil)

uial

twilight

1. uial (pl. uiail if there is a pl.). This can be specified as: 1) (morning twilight) minuial (i vinuial) (dawn, morrowdim), pl. minuiail (i minuiail). 2) (second twilight, before nightfall) aduial (evendim, the time of evening when the stars come out), pl. aduiail. Other terms for twilight: 1) tinnu (i dinnu, o thinnu) (dusk, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl. 2) muil (i vuil) (dreariness, shadow, vagueness), no distinct pl. except with article (i muil)

gwathra

veil

(i ’wathra, in gwathrar) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

gwathra

veil

(verb) gwathra- (i **wathra, in gwathrar**) (dim, obscure, overshadow)

moth

noun. dusk

Hithlum

noun. misty shade

hîth (“mist, fog”) + lum (“shade”)

dor-na-daerachas

place name. Land of Great Dread

A proposed replacement name for Dor Daedeloth in very late notes from 1971 that Tolkien made to The Lord of the Rings maps (WJ/187), translated “Land of Great Dread” (WJ/183). The first few elements seem to be dôr “land”, na(n) “of” and daer “great”. This means the final element achas (perhaps lented from ✱gachas) must mean “dread”, but there are no other clear equivalents to this word in Tolkien’s writing. In a Discord chat from 2022-10-17, Röandil proposed the first element might instead by dae (still meaning “great”), and that the second element rachas might be related to Q. raxë “danger”.

dúath

noun. nightshade

dû

dimness

_ n. _dimness. >> Nanduhirion

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

dûr

dark

_ adj. _dark, gloomy, 'hellish'.

esgal

noun. veil, screen, cover that hides

faer

noun. spirit

fanha-

verb. to veil

v. to veil, cloak. Q. fanta-. Naturally mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or were brighter and more vivid.

fân

noun. veil

fân

noun. cloud (applied to clouds, floating as veils over the blue sky or the sun or moon, or resting on hills)

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

glamog

noun. an Orc, "a yelling one"

gwath

noun. stain

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

orch

Orc

pl1. yrch, pl2. orchoth** ** n. Orc. Nand. ūriſ.

orchoth

noun. the Orcs (as a race)

uial

noun. twilight

uial

noun. twilight

_ n. _twilight. Q. úyale, yúyal.

urug

noun. Orc (rarely used)

daw

gloom

1. daw (i dhaw) (nighttime), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath; 2) dim (i dhim) (sadness), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nim). Note: a homophone means ”stair”. 3) fuin (darkness, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 4) maur (i vaur), pl. moer (i moer) (VT45:35)

daw

gloom

(i dhaw) (nighttime), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath

daw

nighttime

(i dhaw) (gloom), pl. doe (i noe), coll. pl. ?dawath or ?doath.

dim

gloom

(i dhim) (sadness), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nim). Note: a homophone means ”stair”.

doll

dark

doll (dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

doll

dark

(dusky, misty, obscure), lenited noll, pl. dyll. Note: In ”Noldorin”, this word appeared as dolt as well as doll, but the latter seems the best form in S.

dû

dusk

(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302).

dû

darkness

1. dû (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) fuin (gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 3) môr (i vôr, construct mor), pl. mŷr (i mŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

dû

darkness

(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

dû

night

(i dhû) (nightfall, dusk, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)

dûr

dark

dûr (sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

dûr

dark

(sombre), lenited dhûr, pl. duir

escal

veil

(screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail).

escal

veil

(noun) 1) escal (screen, cover that hides), pl. escail. Also spelt esgal (pl. esgail). 2) fân (cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

fae

spirit

1. fae (soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form. 2) faer (radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

fae

spirit

(soul, radiance). No distinct pl. form.

faer

spirit

(radiance). No distinct pl. form. (MR:349)

faun

cloud

(pl. foen, coll. pl. fonath)

fuin

gloom

(darkness, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.

fuin

darkness

(gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.

fuin

nightshade

(gloom, darkness, night, dead of night); no distinct pl. form.

fuin

night, nightshade, dead of night

(gloom, darkness). No distinct pl. form.

fân

cloud

1. fân (veil, also used of the manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain, 2) faun (pl. foen, coll. pl. fonath)

fân

cloud

(veil, also used of the manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

fân

veil

(cloud, manifested body of a Vala), construct fan, pl. fain

graurim

dark people

(VT45:16);

graw

dark

graw (swart), lenited raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

graw

dark

(swart), lenited ’raw, pl. groe. (VT45:16)

guldur

dark sorcery

(i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr)

guruthos

death-horror, dread of death

(i nguruthos, o n’guruthos), pl. (if there is a pl.) either guruthys (in guruthys = i ñguruthys) or gyrythys (in gyrythys = i ñgyrythys) with umlaut throughtout the word. Coll. pl. guruthossath.

hûr

fiery spirit

(i chûr, o chûr, construct hur) (readiness for action, vigour), pl. huir (i chuir) if there is a pl.

maur

gloom

(i vaur), pl. moer (i moer) (VT45:35)

minuial

twilight

(i vinuial) (dawn, morrowdim), pl. minuiail (i minuiail).

morn

dark

morn (black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

morn

dark

(black), pl. myrn, lenited vorn. Note: the latter word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386)

morn

night

(i vorn) (darkness), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word is also used as an adjective ”dark, black” (Letters:386).

moth

dusk

1. moth (i voth), pl. myth (i myth). David Salo would read *môth with a long vowel. 2) dû (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, darkness), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302).

moth

dusk

(i voth), pl. myth (i myth). David Salo would read ✱môth with a long vowel.

môr

dark

môr (black), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also

môr

dark

(black), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr* (Letters:382)*, also

môr

darkness

(i vôr, construct mor), pl. m**ŷr (i m**ŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)

orch

orc

orch (pl. yrch**, archaic †yrchy, coll. pl. orchoth). (RGEO:66, Names:171, Letters:178, MR:195; WJ:390-91, VT46:7). Other terms: 1) urug (monster, bogey), pl. yryg, 2) glamog (i **lamog), pl. glemyg (in glemyg) (WJ:391), 3) ”

tinnu

dusk

tinnu (i dinnu, o thinnu) (twilight, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

tinnu

dusk

(i dinnu, o thinnu) (twilight, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

tinnu

twilight

(i** dinnu, o thinnu) (dusk, starlit evening, early night without a moon, starry twilight), pl. tinny (i** thynny) if there is a pl.

tinnu

early night without a moon

(i dinnu, o thinnu) (dusk, twilight), pl. tinny (i thynny) if there is a pl.

wath

noun. shadow

lub

root. shadow, darkness

This root and ones like it were the basis for shadowy things throughout Tolkien’s life, but went through a number of minor conceptual shifts. The earliest appearance of this root was as ᴱ√LUVU in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, with derivatives like ᴱQ. lumbo “dark lowering cloud” and ᴱQ. lūre “dark weather” (QL/57). In the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa written afterwards, Tolkien gave the root as ᴱ√LUB with a similar set of derivatives (PME/57); phonological developments in both Early Qenya and Gnomish make it very difficult to distinguish ancient voiced stops [b] from voiced spirants [β]. Sign of this root can also be seen in Gnomish words G. lum or glum “cloud”, G. lumbri “foul weather”, and G. luv- “hang, lower, of clouds” (GL/55).

The derivatives of this root in the 1910s seem to connect more specifically to dark weather, but in The Etymologies of the 1930s the root reappeared as ᴹ√LUM with derivatives having to do mainly with shadow, such as ᴹQ. lumbe “gloom, shadow” and N. lhum “shade” (Ety/LUM). These in turn served as the basis for N. Hithlum and ᴹQ. †Hísilumbe >> ᴹQ. Hisilóme interpreted in this period as “Mist-and-Dusk” (LR/406). In earlier writing the second element of ᴱQ. Hisilóme “Misty-gloom” was derived from ᴱ√LOMO (QL/55), whereas in 1964 notes Hithlum was designated “North Sindarin” and given a new etymology as a direct loan from its Quenya equivalent, and thus no longer connected to √LUM (PE17/133).

The last appearance of the root in currently published material was as √LUM or √LUB “shadow, darkness” with derivatives Q. lumbo “dark, shade” and Q. lumbule “shadow” (PE17/168). Q. Luvailin “Shadowmere” (RC/217) is probably related and must derived from √LUB. For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I would assume that √LUB is the form as the root, as the various lumb- forms can likewise be derived from √LUB by way of strengthened ✱lu(m)b-.

hyōba

noun. spirit, shadow

phuinē

noun. deep shadow, night shade, dark substance, vapour-like darkness, deep shadow, night shade, [ᴹ✶] night

skalā

noun. a cast shadow; the action or effect of overshadowing

lum

root. shadow, darkness

dom

root. dark, dark, [ᴹ√] faint, dim

This root was the basis for the main Elvish words for “dusk, night”, which was established as Q. lómë in Quenya for most of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was ᴱ√LOMO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with various derivatives having to do with “dusk” and “shadow” (QL/55). One notable derivative was ᴱQ. lóme “dusk, gloom, darkness”, which survived in Tolkien’s later writings as “night” and in the 1910s was the basis for ᴱQ. Hisilóme/G. Hithlum “Shadowy Twilights”. Another notable derivative was G. lómin “shady, shadowy, gloomy; gloom(iness)” (GL/45) used in the name G. Dor Lómin, which in the 1910s was translated as “Land of Shadow” (LT1/112).

The “shadow” meaning of this early root seems to have transferred to ᴹ√LUM from The Etymologies of the 1930s, which served as the new basis for N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM), as opposed contemporaneous N. Dor-lómen which was redefined as “Land of Echoes (< ᴹ√LAM via Ilkorin or in later writings, via North Sindarin). The “dusk” sense was transferred to a new root ᴹ√DOM “faint, dim”, which (along with ᴹ√DOƷ) was the basis for the pair words ᴹQ. lóme/N. dû “night” (Ety/DOMO).

These two words for “night” survived in Tolkien’s later writing in both Quenya and Sindarin (Let/308; SA/dú). In notes from the 1940s Tolkien clarified that it “has no evil connotations; it is a word of peace and beauty and has none of the associations of fear or groping that, say, ‘dark’ has for us” (SD/306). The Elves were quite comfortable being under the night sky, dating back to the time when the Elves lived under the stars before the rising of the Sun and the Moon. The root √DOM reappeared in etymologies for star-words from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/152). It appeared again in some very late notes from 1969 where it was glossed “dark” and served as the basis for words meaning “blind” as well as “night”, though this paragraph was rejected (PE22/153, note #50).

mornā

adjective. dark

phay

root. spirit, spirit; [ᴹ√] radiate, send out rays of light

When this root first appeared in The Etymologies (Ety/PHAY), it was glossed “radiate, send out rays of light” and its derivatives were consistent with this definition, most notably in N. Feanor “Radiant Sun”. In later writings, this root was instead glossed “spirit” (PM/352), which is the connotation of most of its later derivatives. For example, the later meaning of S. Fëanor was changed to “Spirit of Fire”.

The earlier sense “radiate” probably also survived in Tolkien’s later conception, however. On MR/250, the word Q. fairë “spirit” is said to originally have had the sense “radiance”, which is precisely the meaning that ᴹQ. faire had in The Etymologies. There is also a primitive monosyllable ✶phāy “flame, ray of light” in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s (OP2: PE19/102). If the root meaning “radiate” remains valid, then the word S. ✱fael “gleam of the sun”, an element of S. Faelivrin “gleam of the sun on the pools of Ivrin” (the second name of Finduilas), might be a derivative of this root.

us(u)kwē

noun. dusk

yuyuñal

noun. twilight

du Reconstructed

root. dark

dae

noun. shadow

daew

noun. shadow

dae

noun. shadow (cast by an object or form), shade

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “shadow” derived from the root ᴹ√DAY of the same meaning (Ety/DAY). The original penciled version had {daer >>} dae, while the inked version had daew “shadow (cast by an object or form)” and Dae “shade” (EtyAC/DAY). It was most notably an element in the name N. Dor-Daedeloth “Land of the Shadow of Dread” (LR/120, 405). Christopher Tolkien had S. dae “shadow” in The Silmarillion appendix (SA/dae), but I suspect that was copied from The Etymologies. In later writings, Tolkien seems to have changed the initial element of Daedeloth to a variant of S. daer “great”, and its meaning from “Shadow of Dread” to “Great Dread” (WJ/183).

daedhelos

place name. Shadow of Fear

A name appearing in The Etymologies from the 1930s variously glossed “Shadow of Abomination”, “Shadow of Fear” or “Shadowy Dread”, a combination of dae “shadow” and the lenited form of delos “abhorrence, detestation, loathing” (Ety/DYEL, DAY; EtyAC/DYEL). In an earlier entry it appeared as Daedeloth “Extreme Horror” (EtyAC/DAƷ), a form that also appeared in the Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s as an early name of S. Ephel Dúath (TI/169). It may be a variant name of N. Dor-Daideloth.

dolwethil

feminine name. (Woman of) Secret Shadow

Noldorin equivalent of Ilk. Thuringwethil (Ety/THUR), a combination of doll “secret” with the lenited form of gwath “shadow” where the [[n|[a] changed to [e] because of the following [i]]], ending with the feminine suffix -iel.

hebel dúath

place name. Mountains of Shadow

Earlier name of the Mountains of Shadow in Morder in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/122, 180), a combination of hebel (“?fence”) and dú(w)ath “night-shade”.

dor-daideloth

place name. Land of (the Shadow of) Dread, Loathly Land

eryd-lómin

place name. Mountains of Shadow

dúath

noun. darkness, shadow

dúwath

noun. darkness, shadow

gwath

noun. shade, shadow, dim light

lhum

noun. shade

A word appearing as N. lhum “shade” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, derived from the root ᴹ√LUM, most notably an element in the name N. Hithlum (Ety/LUM). It was the cognate of ᴹQ. lumbe, and thus derived from primitive ✱lumbē, which explains why the final m survived as a reduction of mb.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was G. lôm {“pool, sl...” >>} “gloom, shade” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, based on primitive ᴱ✶lou̯me (GL/54) and probably derived from the early root ᴱ√LOMO as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Hisilómë). In this early document, G. lum or glum was “a cloud” (GL/55), likely a derivative of ᴱ√LUVU for “✱dark weather” as also suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Luvier). In Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s Tolkien had ᴱN. {lom >>} lhom “shadow” (PE13/149). This became N. lhum “shade” in The Etymologies, as noted above.

Neo-Sindarin: In later writings, Hithlum was designated North Sindarin and its final element was based on a loan from Q. lómë “dusk”, with the m surviving only because it was from the North dialect (PE17/133; WJ/400). However, the root √LUM “shadow, darkness” also survived in later writings (PE17/168), so I think N. lhum “shade” can be salvaged, though if adapted to Neo-Sindarin it would need to become ᴺS. lum as suggested in HSD (HSD). Given the later use of Q. lumbo for “(dark) cloud”, I think the Gnomish sense G. lum “[dark] cloud” can be salvaged as well.

gwath

noun. shade

lhum

noun. shade

gwathfuin-daidelos

place name. Deadly Nightshade

An earlier name for S. Deldúwath appearing in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, glossed “Deadly Nightshade” (LR/133) or “Night of Dread’s Shadow” (LR/406). It is a combination of gwath “shade”, fuin “night” and Daedhelos “Shadow of Fear”.

deldúwath

place name. Deadly Nightshade

doll

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dolt

adjective. dark, dusky, obscure

dúath

noun. nightshade

dúwath

noun. nightshade

dûr

adjective. dark, sombre

dûr

adjective. dark

faun

noun. cloud

faun

noun. cloud

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

gwath

noun. stain

gwathlo

place name. Greyflood

math-fuin-delos

place name. Deadly Nightshade

Earliest name for S. Deldúwath appearing in Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s, glossed “Deadly Nightshade” (SM/299). It is a combination of G. math “dusk”, N. fuin “night” and a variant form delos of deloth “abhorrence”.

maur

noun. gloom

maur

noun. gloom

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “gloom” appearing under the root ᴹ√MOR (Ety/MOR). A nearby primitive form ᴹ✶mǭri is the likely basis for this word as suggested by Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne (EtyAC/MOR), where the primitive ǭ became au as was the usual sound change in both Noldorin and later Sindarin (PE18/46, 96).

mân

noun. departed spirit

môr

noun. darkness, dark, night

ogol < ogl

gloom

n/adj gloom, gloomy

tindu

noun. dusk, twilight, early night (without Moon)

tindu

noun. starry twilight

tinnu

noun. dusk, twilight, early night (without Moon)

tinnu

noun. starry twilight

uial

noun. twilight

uial

noun. twilight

ungoliant

feminine name. Gloomweaver

ar lumbulë undulávë ilyë tier

and (heavy) shadow swallowed (lit. down-licked) all roads

The 11th phrase of the prose Namárië. Tolkien altered the text from the poetic version as follows:

> ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë >> ar lumbulë undulávë ilyë tier

Tolkien simply swapped the subject lumbulë “(heavy) shadow” with the object ilyë tier “all roads” to be consistent with the usual Quenya subject-verb-object word order.

hala

noun. cast shadow, cast shadow, *shade

A Quenya word meaning “a cast shadow” appearing in two forms, hala and (archaic) †ixal, both cognates to S. esgal and derived from the root √SKAL “cover, veil, cloak, conceal” (PE17/184). The form hala is the normal development from primitive ✶skalā where the initial sk eventually became h, whereas ixal shows a vowel i developing before syllabic ṣ and then the surviving sk undergoing metathesis to ks (x).

Neo-Quenya: Given that primitive ✶skalā is actually “the action or effect of overshadowing”, I think hala can mean both “(cast) shadow” and “✱shade” as in a shaded region beneath a screen of leaves or something similar. For the screen itself I’d use fanwa.

huinë

noun. gloom, (unrelieved) darkness, deep shadow, night shade; dark (as a substance)

A word for “gloom” and “unrelieved darkness” such as a night without stars or moon (VT41/8), with an archaic form †fuinë [ɸuine] (PE19/71). In one place Tolkien said it is was used of darkness as an ethereal substance, the opposite of Q. linquë which was ethereal light (NM/279, 283). While light as a substance is an idea somewhat supported by reality (e.g. photons), darkness as a substance is necessarily poetic or mythic.

Conceptual Development: The earliest iteration of this word was ᴱQ. hui or fui “fog, dark, murk, night” from the early root ᴱ√ǶUẎU (QL/41), also appearing with the gloss “dark, murk” in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/41). It was equated to ᴱQ. Fui, the name of the Death-goddess Nienna (QL/40). In the Oilima Markirya from around 1930, the word hui was given the translation “evening” in the phrase hui oilima man kiluva “Who shall see the last evening?” (MC/214).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s it was ᴹQ. fuine, huine “deep shadow” under the root ᴹ√PHUY (Ety/PHUY), and in various iterations of the ᴹQ. Lament of Atalante of the 1930s and 40s, huine was glossed “shadow” (LR/47, 56; SD/246, 310). In the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) of the 1940s, it was glossed “deep shadow, nightshade”, with fuine being its normal form but huine being its form in the {Lindarin >>} Vanyarin dialect (PE19/31). However in the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP2) of the 1950s, Tolkien revised this so that huine was its normal Quenya form in all dialects, fuine being archaic and pronounced with a pure labial “f” [ɸ] rather than the later labio-dental “f” [f] (PE19/71).

In writings after this point, it usually as huine (VT41/8; SA/fuin), but in some notes from the late 1960s Tolkien considered making huine the Vanyarin form again, with fuine being the form in Noldorin Quenya (NM/279).

Neo-Quenya: I prefer the notion that [[q|[ɸu] became [hu]]] in all Quenya dialects before [[q|[ɸ] became [f]]], so I would use the form huine. I would use it with the sense “darkness, deep shadow” for a particularly lightless darkness, but only metaphorically or poetically for darkness as ethereal substance in and of itself, as I believe the Elves would have been well aware that darkness was actually the absence of light.

lumbar

proper name. ?Shadow Home

The name of a star (S/48), possibly Saturn (MR/435). The meaning of this name is obscure. Perhaps it is a compound of [ᴹQ.] lumbe “shadow” and már “home”, meaning “✱Shadow Home”. Alternately, it could be a consonant expansion of lumba “gloomy” = lumba-r; hat-tip to Vyacheslav Stepanov for this suggestion.

lumbulë

noun. dark shadow, heavy shadow; deep in shadow

A noun used in the Namárië poem and loosely translated as “deep in shadow” (LotR/377), but more accurately “heavy shadow, dark shadow” (PE17/72, 168; RGEO/59). It is a derivative of the root √LUB “shadow” (PE17/168), perhaps an elaboration of ᴹQ. lumbe “gloom, shadow” from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LUM).

Neo-Quenya: Based on its use, I suspect lumbulë refers to a great expanse of shadow (“shadowness”) rather than an individual cast shadow, which is Q. hala.

ungoliantë

feminine name. Gloomweaver, *Shadow Spider

Quenya form of the name of Ungoliant (WJ/14), a compound of [ᴹQ.] ungo “cloud, dark shadow” and [ᴹQ.] liante “spider” (Ety/UÑG, SLIG). Christopher Tolkien confessed that the Quenya form Ungoliantë was used in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s forward, but he changed it to Ungoliant in the published version of The Silmarillion for compatibility with The Lord of the Rings (LR/299).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales her name was ᴱQ. Ungwe Lianti or Ungweliante, translated “great spider who enmeshes” (LT1/152). At this stage, this name was likely a combination of ᴱQ. ungwe “spider” and a derivative of the root ᴱ√LIYA, perhaps ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (LT1A/Ungwë Lianti). Her Gnomish name G. Gwerlum “Gloomweaver” (ᴱQ. Wirilóme) was of a different origin (LT1A/Gwerlum).

The name ᴹQ. Ungweliante appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/UÑG), but at this stage Tolkien reversed the meaning of its elements, with its initial element ᴹQ. ungwe “gloom” and the final element ᴹQ. liante “spider” (Ety/UÑG). Furthermore, in the contemporaneous narratives the earlier name was replaced by ᴹQ. Ungoliante, which appeared in The Etymologies beside Ungweliante, but with an initial element of ᴹQ. ungo “cloud, dark shadow” (Ety/UÑG, SLIG).

Tolkien used Ungoliantë for her Quenya name in all later writings, but he did not revisit its etymology. In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, Ungoliantë was glossed “Gloomweaver” (LR/230), but Tolkien did not translate the name in later works. The later words Q. ungwë “spider’s web” (LotR/1122) and S. ungol “spider” (Let/180) indicates that Tolkien reversed himself again and decided that the initial element Ungo- meant “spider”: the root √ungu- for “spider words” appears in later writings (PE22/160). This entry uses “Gloomweaver” as the best available translation, but it is most likely a holdover from earlier G. Gwerlum. Using the derivation from The Etymologies, a more literal translation would be “✱Shadow Spider”, but even that is questionable given Tolkien’s later rearrangement of the roots.

Taurë Huinéva

forest of shadow

Taurë Huinéva place-name "Forest of Shadow", Sindarin Taur na Fuin(PHUY, VT46:10)

fuine

noun. deep shadow

PQ. deep shadow, night shade

fuinë

deep shadow

fuinë noun "deep shadow" (PHUY; cf. "Qenya" fuin "night" in MC:221). According to VT41:8, fuinë is not a Quenya form at all, but Telerin for Quenya huinë (but unquestionably, fuinë is quoted as a Quenya form in certain earlier sources; cf. also Fuinur below - perhaps we may assume that fuinë was borrowed into Quenya from Telerin and thus came to co-exist with huinë?

hala

cast shadow

hala (2) noun "a cast shadow" (PE17:184)

huinë

deep shadow

huinë noun "deep shadow" (PHUY), "gloom" (VT41:8), "gloom, darkness" (SA:fuin), also used for "shadow" = Sauron (LR:56). Possessive (adjectival) form huinéva in the name Taurë Huinéva, q.v. In earlier sources, huinë is quoted as a variant of fuinë, but according to VT41:8, huinë is the proper Quenya form and fuinë is Telerin.With prefix nu- "under" and allative ending -nna in nuhuinenna (SD:246); also unuhuinë "under-shadow" (LR:47).

hó

spirit, shadow

hó noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)

ixal

cast shadow

†ixal noun "a cast shadow" (PE17:184)

lumbulë

(heavy) shadow

lumbulë noun "(heavy) shadow" (Nam, RGEO:67, PE17:168)

lumbë

gloom, shadow

lumbë noun "gloom, shadow" (LUM)

lëo

shade, shadow cast by any object

lëo noun "shade, shadow cast by any object" (DAY)

lómin

shade, shadow

lómin noun "shade, shadow" (LT1:255)

mordo

shadow, obscurity, stain

mordo (1) noun "shadow, obscurity, stain" (MOR)

nuhuinenna

under shadow

nuhuinenna adj. "under shadow" (allativic: nu-huinë-nna "under-shadow-to") (SD:246); see huinë.

nuruhuinë

death-shadow

nuruhuinë noun "death-shadow" (LR:47, 56, SD:310)

ungo

cloud, dark shadow

ungo noun "cloud, dark shadow" (UÑG)

unuhuinë

under-shadow

unuhuinë prep + noun "under-shadow" (LR:47); see huinë.

ar ilyë tier undulávë lumbulë

and all paths are drowned deep in shadow

Eleventh line @@@

lómë

noun. night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, night, dimness, twilight, dusk, darkness, [ᴹQ.] night-time, shades of night, gloom; [ᴱQ.] shadow, cloud

ixal

noun. cast shadow

laimë

shade

laimë noun "shade" (DAY; in an earlier version the gloss was "shadow (cast by an object or form)"; see VT45:8-9. Perhaps Tolkien transferred this meaning to lëo when giving laimë the more general meaning "shade".)

Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa Lómëanor

forestmanyshadowed-deepvalleyblack deepvalleyforested gloomyland

Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa Lómëanor "Forestmanyshadowed-deepvalleyblack Deepvalleyforested Gloomyland", Quenya elements agglutinated in Entish fashion; this supposedly means something like "there is a black shadow in the deep dales of the forest" (LotR2:III ch. 4; translated in Appendix F under "Ents"; cf. also Letters:308) Earlier (TLT) version in TI:415: Tauretavárëa Tumbalemorna Tumbaletaurëa landatavárë, perhaps *"forest-wooden deepvalleyblack deepvalleyforested wide-wood."

Fuinur

fuinar

Fuinur (misprint "Fuinar" in the Silmarillion Index) masc. name, evidently derived from fuinë "shadow" (Silm; cf. the stem PHUY in the Etymologies)

undulav-

verb. lick down

undulav- vb., literally "lick down" = cover (glossed "swallow" in PE17:72). Lumbulë undulávë ilyë tier "(heavy) shadow down-licked all paths", lyrical translation "all paths are drowned deep in shadow" (Nam). The pl. past tense would be unduláver (PE17:72).

vasar

noun. veil

A noun meaning “a veil” that is a rare remnant of the root √WATHAR in Quenya, along with a related verb vasarya- “to veil” (VT42/10). In the draft version of the note where it appeared, Tolkien said this noun was “was not in daily use” (VT42/9). It is related to S. gwath, and possibly also the name Q. Avathar “Shadows” as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT48/28 note #17).

halya-

verb. veil, conceal, screen from light

halya- vb. "veil, conceal, screen from light" (SKAL1, VT46:13) Tolkien noted that "√SKAL applied to more opaque things that cut off light and cast shadows over other things" (PE17:184), contrasting it with √SPAN, the rejected stem of fanta-, q.v.

Hísilómë

hithlum

Hísilómë (þ) place-name "Hithlum", "Land of Mist", more literally *"Mist-night" (SA:hîth, LUM, [VT45:28])

fairë

phantom, disembodied spirit, when seen as a pale shape

fairë(1) noun "phantom, disembodied spirit, when seen as a pale shape" (pl. fairi in Markirya); compare ausa. The noun fairë was also used = "spirit (in general)", as a kind of being (MR:349, PE17:124). In VT43:37 and VT44:17, fairë refers to the Holy Spirit (fairë aista or Aina Fairë)

fanta-

verb. to veil, cloak, mantle

fanta- vb. "to veil, cloak, mantle" (VT43:22), mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or that were brighter and more vivid (PE17:174); according to Tolkien usually the strong past tense fánë and perfect afánië were used, but later also fantanë in the past tense (and then perhaps *afantië in the perfect?) (PE17:179-180) Cf halya- (q.v.), the stem of which Tolkien contrasted with the stem of this verb (PE17:184).

fanwa

veil, screen

fanwa noun "veil, screen" (PE17:176, 180)

fána

cloud

fána (2) noun "cloud" _(SPAN, VT46:15). _Cf. fana.

fëa

spirit

fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.

histë

dusk

histë noun "dusk" (LT1:255)

hróva

dark, dark brown

hróva adj. "dark, dark brown", used to refer to hair (PE17:154)

hísë

dusk

hísë (2) noun "dusk" (LT1:255). A "Qenya" form possibly obsoleted by #1 above.

lumbo

cloud

lumbo noun "cloud" (pl. lumbor in Markirya), also glossed "gloom; dark, shade" (PE17:72, 168). In early "Qenya", lumbo was glossed "dark lowering cloud" (LT1:259)

lómë

dusk, twilight

lómë noun "dusk, twilight", also "night"; according to SD:415, the stem is lómi- (contrast the "Qenya" genitive lómen rather than **lómin in VT45:28). According to PE17:152, lómë refers to night "when viewed favourably, as a rule, but it became the general rule" (cf. SD:414-415 regarding lōmi as an Adûnaic loan-word based on lómë, meaning "fair night, a night of stars" with "no connotations of gloom or fear"). In the battle-cry auta i lómë "the night is passing" (Silm. ch. 20), the "night" would however seem to refer metaphorically to the reign of Morgoth. As for the gloss, cf. Lómion masc. name "Child of Twilight [dusk]", the Quenya name Aredhel secretly gave to Maeglin _(SA). Otherwise lómë is usually defined as "night" (Letters:308, LR:41, SD:302 cf.414-15, SA:dú)_; the _Etymologies defines lómë as "Night [as phenomenon], night-time, shades of night, Dark" (DO3/DŌ, LUM, DOMO, VT45:28), or "night-light" (VT45:28, reading of _lómë uncertain). In early "Qenya" the gloss was "dusk, gloom, darkness" (LT1:255). Cf. lómelindëpl. lómelindi "nightingale" _(SA:dú, LR:41; SD:302, MR:172, DO3/DŌ, LIN2, TIN). _Derived adjective #lómëa "gloomy" in Lómëanor "Gloomyland"; see Taurelilómëa-tumbalemorna...

lóna

dark

?lóna (4) adj. "dark" (DO3/DŌ). If this is to be the cognate of "Noldorin"/Sindarin dûr, as the context seems to indicate, lóna is likely a misreading for *lóra in Tolkien's manuscript.

lúmë

darkness

lúmë (2) noun "darkness" (one wonders if Tolkien confused lúmë "time, hour" and lómë "night") (Markirya)

lúmë

noun. darkness

A noun in the 1960s versions of the Markirya glossed “darkness” (MC/222), perhaps derived from a root √DU as suggested by David Salo in a post to the Elfling mailing list in 2012 (Elfling/362.96).

Neo-Quenya: I’d generally use Q. huinë for “darkness” in Neo-Quenya, but that word is more for total darkness, whereas lúmë might be a less severe form of darkness, a variant of Q. lómë “night, dusk”.

lúna

dark

lúna adj. *"dark" in Lúnaturco and Taras Lúna, Quenya names of Barad-dûr (Dark Tower). (PE17:22). In the Etymologies, lúnë "blue" was changed by Tolkien from lúna (VT45:29).

lúrëa

dark, overcast

lúrëa adj. "dark, overcast" (LT1:259)

mor

darkness

mor noun "darkness" (Letters:308; probably just an Elvish "element" rather than a complete word; Namárië has mornië for "darkness")

mori-

dark, black

mori- "dark, black" in a number of compounds (independent form morë, q.v.):Morimando "Dark Mando" = Mandos (MBAD, VT45:33), morimaitë "black-handed" (LotR3:VI ch. 6, VT49:42). Moriquendi "Dark Elves" (SA:mor, WJ:361, 373), Moringotto "Black Foe", Sindarin Morgoth, later name of Melkor. The oldest form is said to have been Moriñgotho (MR:194). In late material, Tolkien is seen to consider both Moringotto and Moricotto _("k") _as the Quenya form of the name Morgoth (VT49:24-25; Moricotto also appears in the ablative, Moricottollo). Morion "the dark one", a title of Morgoth (FS). Morifinwë "dark Finwë", masc. name; he was called Caranthir in Sindarin (short Quenya name Moryo). (PM:353) In the name Morinehtar, translated "Darkness-slayer", the initial element is defined would thus seem to signify "darkness" rather than "dark" as an adjective (see mórë). (PM:384, 385)

morna

dark, black

morna adj. "dark, black" (Letters:282, LT1:261; also used of black hair, PE17:154), or "gloomy, sombre" (MOR). Used as noun in the phrase mi…morna of someone clad "in…black" (PE17:71). In tumbalemorna (Letters:282), q.v. Pl. mornë in Markirya**(the first version of this poem had "green rocks", MC:215, changed to ondolisse mornë** "upon dark rocks" in the final version; see MC:220, note 8).

mornië

darkness

mornië noun "darkness" (Nam, RGEO:67), "dark, blackness" (PE17:73). Early "Qenya" also has Mornië "Black Grief", "the black ship that plies between Mandos and Erumáni" (LT1:261). This is probably a compound of mor- "black" and nië "tear".

morĭ

adjective. dark

PQ. dark

móri

dark

móri adj. "dark" (MC:221; this is "Qenya"; in Tolkien's later Quenya mórë, morë)

nulla

dark, dusky, obscure

nulla adj. "dark, dusky, obscure" (NDUL), "secret" (DUL). See also VT45:11.

núla

dark, occult, mysterious

núla ("ñ")adj. "dark, occult, mysterious" (PE17:125)

orco

orc

orco ("k") noun "Orc", pl. orcor or orqui (WJ:390, ÓROK; pl. Orcor also in WJ:12, MR:74, 194). If the pl. form orqui is preferred, the word should be assigned the stem-form orcu-. Early "Qenya" has orc ("k") (orqu-) ("q") "monster, demon" (LT1:264; in LotR-style Quenya, no word can end in -rc.)

súlë

spirit, breath

súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.

ulca

adjective. dark

dark, gloomy, sinister

undómë

twilight

undómë noun "twilight", usually of the time near evening, not near dawn (that is tindómë)

urco

orc

urco ("k"), stem *urcu- and pl. urqui, noun: an old word used in the lore of the Blessed Realm for anything that caused fear to the Elves during the March; by the Exiled Noldor the word was recognized as the cognate of Sindarin orch and used to mean "Orc". The Sindarin-influenced form orco was also used. (WJ:390)

usque

noun. dusk

dusk

usque

noun. dusk, twilight

vasar

veil

vasar (þ) noun "veil" (VT42:10, the word was "not in daily use", VT42:9). Older form waþar.

vasarya-

verb. to veil

vasarya- (þ) vb. "to veil" (VT42:10)

vilissë

spirit

vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)

yaru

gloom, blight

yaru noun "gloom, blight" (GL:37)

yualë

twilight

yualë noun "twilight" (KAL). Also yúcalë. Cf. yúyal.

yúcalë

twilight

yúcalë ("k")noun "twilight" (KAL, VT45:13). Also yualë.

yúyal

twilight

yúyal noun "twilight" (PE17:169); cf. yualë, yúcalë, q.v.

yúyal

noun. twilight

úyalë

noun. twilight

þúlë

noun. spirit

huine

noun. deep shadow

deep shadow, night shade

fuinë

noun. gloom

burzum

noun. darkness

búrz

adjective. dark

burzum

noun. darkness

búrz

adjective. dark

scella

noun. shade, screen

Probably noun. Primitive form given as skalnâ, derived from the stem SKAL1 "screen, hide (from light)" (LR:386). Since -nâ is an adjectival ending, often taking on the meaning of a kind of past participle, skalnâ must mean "screened, hidden (from light)"; this has become a noun "shade, screen" in Nandorin.

The word scella, sciella alone tells us that ln is assimilated to ll in Nandorin, and as in dunna, spenna a primitive final -â, usually lost, seems to persist as -a following a double consonant. The shift of a to e in skalnâ > scella is parallelled by the similar shift in spannâ > spenna, q.v. However, such a shift does not occur in what might seem to be similar environments (before a double consonant?); cf. hrassa, not hressa, from khrassê. It would seem that e might further break up into ie, scella having the alternative form sciella.

sciella

noun. shade, screen

>> scella

spenna

noun. cloud

Derived from a stem SPAN "white" (LR:387), but hardly a direct cognate of Quenya fanya and Telerin spania (both probably from spanjâ), nor a direct cognate of Sindarin faun, stated to be derived from spâna. Rather spenna must derive from spannâ, sc. the stem SPAN with the adjectival ending -nâ (or possibly the simpler adjectival ending -â combined with a medial strengthening n > nn). As for the change of a to e, cf. scella from skalnâ.

urc

noun. Orc

pl. yrc. In the Etymologies, the primitive form of this word is given as órku (defined as "goblin"), derived from an undefined stem ÓROK (LR:379).

This stem may be understood as a vowel-prefixed variant of the stem ROK "horse", assuming that this originally referred to the steed of the monstrous "dark Rider upon his wild horse" that haunted the Elves by Cuiviénen, assuming that the stem ROK was originally associated with Melkor's creatures. However, Tolkien later derived the Elvish words for "Orc" from a stem RUKU having to do with fear (WJ:389) and listed tentative primitive forms: urku, uruku, urkô. Since primitive final -u is lost in Nandorin (cf. Utum from Utubnu), the forms urku and uruku would evidently be capable of yielding Green-elven urc (while urkô would rather come out as *urca; cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô). The plural form yrc clearly shows umlaut caused by the lost Primitive Quendian plural ending -î; cf. the umlaut caused by the primitive adjectival ending -i, primitive lugni "blue" yielding lygn.

ūriʃ

noun. orcs