A name that Finduilas gave to Túrin translated “Secret” (UT/157), simply the adjective thurin “secret, hidden” used as a name.
Sindarin
thurin
adjective. secret, hidden
Element in
- S. Garthúrian “Hidden Realm”
- S. Thurin “Secret” ✧ UT/157
- S. Thuringud “Hidden Foe” ✧ WJ/256
- S. Thuringwethil “Woman of Secret Shadow”
Elements
Word Gloss THUR “surround, fence, ward, hedge in, secrete” -en “adjective suffix” Variations
- Thurin ✧ UT/157; WJ/256 (Thurin)
thurin
masculine name. Secret
Elements
Word Gloss thurin “secret, hidden”
thorn
noun. eagle
thoron
noun. eagle
thoron
noun. eagle
The Sindarin word for “eagle”, derived from ✶thorono (Let/427).
Possible Etymology: The form of this word is difficult to explain. Since final nasals vanished after vowels, in the ordinary phonetic development of Sindarin it should have become thôr, a form that did appear as variant in the Etymologies (Ety/THOR, KIRIS). Tolkien himself suggested that the (Noldorin) word was a back-formation from the archaic genitive ON. thoronen (Ety/THOR). While this specific genitive form did not survive in (Old) Sindarin, there are plenty of other mechanisms that might result in such a back-formation in Sindarin. For example, David Salo suggested that it could be a back-formation from its plural ✱theryn (GS/291), perhaps also influenced by ancient names where it still appeared, such as Thorondor “King of Eagles”.
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s this word appeared as G. thorn (GL/73), which was also the usual form in names of this period. In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it reappeared as ᴱN. thorn (PE13/154), but in The Etymologies of the 1930s it appeared as N. thoron beside the variant thôr as noted above (Ety/THOR, KIRIS). The names of this period also began to reflect this change, and names after the 1940s consistently show thoron, though the form þorn did appear at least once in later notes (PE22/159).
Cognates
- Q. soron “eagle” ✧ Let/427; SA/thoron; PE22/159
Derivations
Element in
- S. Cirith Thoronath “Eagles’ Cleft” ✧ SA/thoron
- ᴺS. thorombar “eagle’s nest, eyrie”
- S. Thorondir “*Eagle-man”
- S. Thorondor “King of Eagles” ✧ Let/427; SA/thoron
- S. Thorongil “Eagle of the Star” ✧ Let/427
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶þorono > Thoron [tʰorono] > [θorono] > [θoron] ✧ Let/427 Variations
- Thoron ✧ Let/427
- þorn ✧ PE22/159
thoronath
noun. eagles
thôr
noun. eagle
thurin
secret
(adjective) 1) thurin (hidden); no distinct pl. form, 2) dolen (hidden), lenited dholen, pl. dolin;
thoron
eagle
thoron, pl. theryn, coll. pl. thoronath. The sg. may also appear as thôr (with stem thoron-); thôr is also an adjective ”swooping, leaping down”. In ”Noldorin”, the pl. was therein (LR:392 s.v. THOR).
An adjective meaning “secret” or “hidden” appearing in a number of names (UT/157, WJ/256). It is most likely derived from the root ᴹ√THUR (Ety/THUR). It’s unclear why the short u did not become y before i as was usual in Sindarin. Perhaps the u was originally long, as suggested by David Salo (GS/291).
Conceptual Development: Both this word and its Ilkorin precursor thúren seems to be elements of the name Garthurian “Hidden Realm”. As such, the earliest form of S. thurin might be Gnomish furion “secret, concealed” (GL/36) from the earliest versions of that name from the 1910s: G. Gar Furion or Gar Thurion “Secret Place”.
In the 1930s, Tolkien reconceived of these names as Ilk. Garthurian, clearly related to Ilk. thúren “guarded, hidden” as both were derived from the root ᴹ√THUR (Ety/THUR). The long ú in this Ilkorin word is another hint that the Sindarin development might have been similar, although it can’t be identical, because the Sindarin word shows no sign of the a-affection appearing in the Ilkorin form.