udûn

place name. Dark Pit

Sindarin name of Morgoth’s fortress Q. Utumno (MR/382) translated “Dark Pit” or “Hell” (RC/297), probably a derivative of the same primitive form ✶Utupnu as its Quenya cognate (MR/69). It was also the name of a plain in Mordor (LotR/928).

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s this name was G. Udum or Uduvna (GL/74), probably derived from the same primitive root ᴱ√TUM(B)U as its (early) Quenya cognate ᴱQ. Utumna (QL/95, LT1A/Utumna). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, N. Udûn had essentially the same form and meaning as the later Sindarin name, though at this stage its primitive form was given as ᴹ✶Utubnu (Ety/TUB).

The vale in Mordor was first called N. Narch or Narch Udûn (SD/34, WR/438).

Cognates

• Q. Utumno “Deep-hidden” ✧ MRI/Udûn; SA/tum

Derivations

• ✶Utupnu
  • √TUP “cover over, hide” ✧ MR/069

Udûn

utumno

(stronghold of Melkor) Udûn

Utum

noun. Utumno

Melkor's first stronghold. The primitive form is given as Utubnu, derived from a stem TUB (LR:394), not defined as such but yielding a series of words that suggest a basic meaning "deep, lowlying". The prefixing of the stem-vowel is a common feature in strengthened primitive forms; the ending -nu seems to be used nowhere else, but Utubnu is clearly to be understood as "very low [place]". The original cluster bn comes out as m in Nandorin; cf. Quenya Utumno. The development is evidently meant to be _Utubnu > Utumnu > *Utumn > Utum_.

udûn

place name. Udûn

Cognates

• ᴹQ. Utumno ✧ Ety/TUB

Derivations

• ᴹ✶Utubnu ✧ Ety/TUB
  • ᴹ√TUB “to fall low[?], go down (below normal ground level), (esp.) to go down (sink, dive) into water” ✧ Ety/TUB

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶Utubnu > Udūn	[utubnu] > [utubno] > [utumno] > [utumn] > [udumn] > [uduvn] > [udūn]	✧ Ety/TUB

Variations

• Udūn ✧ Ety/TUB
• Udun ✧ EtyAC/TUB