ur

ur

ur(u)- prefix denoting difficulty (PE17:154, 172), cf. urcárima, urucarin

urta-

verb. urta-

*urta-, see usta-

ur(u)-

prefix. hard, difficult, difficult, hard

A prefix appearing in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, meaning “hard, difficult” based on the root √GUR of similar meaning (PE17/154). Tolkien gave as examples of its use: urucarin “made with difficulty” and urcarne or urucárima “hard to make / do”.

Conceptual Development: On a rejected draft page Tolkien also had an unglossed prefixal form ur- apparently derived from √GUR “hard, stiff, difficult, cumbrous, slow”, with an unglossed example urunóte or urnótima, likely “✱difficult to count” (PE17/172). On this same rejected page Tolkien had ur(u) based on √UTHU “unsuitable, bad, improper, useless, wrong”, but since this derivation doesn’t make sense this is probably a slip or misreading for the prefix us-; see that entry for discussion.

Neo-Quenya: I believe that ur(u)- has the connotation “difficult, arduous” due to the inherent complexity of the task, as opposed to hrai- meaning “difficult, hard” due to resistance from the thing or people being worked upon.

uruitë

fiery

uruitë adj. "fiery" (UR; thisstem was struck out in Etym, but several words that must be derived from it occur in LotR, so it seems that Tolkien restored it.)

urulócë

fire-dragon

urulócë ("k") noun "fire-dragon" (LOK), pl. Urulóci ("k")(SA:ur-). In the Silmarillion, the word Urulóci is both singular (as when Glaurung is called "the first of the Urulóki", Silm:138) and plural (as when Glaurung is called "the Urulóki", Silm:255).

úr

fire

úr noun "fire" (UR)This stem was struck out in Etym, but a word that must be derived from it occurs in LotR, so it seems that Tolkien restored it. Early "Qenya" also has Ûr, noun "the Sun" (also Úri, Úrinci ("k"), Urwen) (LT1:271). Cf. Úri.

urda

adjective. hard, difficult, arduous, difficult, arduous, hard

An adjective appearing in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 glossed “hard, difficult, arduous” based on the root √GUR of similar meaning (PE17/154).

Neo-Quenya: I believe that urda has a connotation of “difficult, arduous” due to the inherent complexity or difficulty of the task, as opposed to hraia or hranga meaning “difficult, hard” due to resistance from the thing or people being worked upon.

urus

noun. copper

A noun for “copper” in notes from the late 1960s based on the root √(u)rus (VT41/10).

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. tambe “copper, bronze” under the early root ᴱ√TAMA “beat; smelt, forge” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/88).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would retain ᴺQ. tambë with the meaning of “bronze”, but would use the later word urus for “copper”.

urundil

masculine name. Copper-lover

A sobriquet of the father of Nerdanel in notes from 1968 (PM/366). This name is a compound of the root √URUN “copper” and the suffix -(n)dil “-friend, -lover”.

Urundil

copper-lover

Urundil masc. name, "copper-lover" (PM:365); this may suggest #urun as one word for "copper", unless this is the ending -ndil "friend, lover" suffixed to #uru- as a reduced form of urus, q.v.

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)

urcárima

hard to make / do

urcárima, urcarnë adj. "hard to make / do". (PE17:154). Cf. urucarin.

urda

hard, difficult, arduous

urda adj. "hard, difficult, arduous" (PE17:154)

urdu

death

urdu noun "death" (LT2:342; rather nuru in Tolkien's later Quenya)

urna

oven

urna noun "oven" (LT1:271)

urnótima

difficult to count

urnótima adj. Unglossed, apparently *"difficult to count" (PE17:172)

ursa

rage

ursa (þ) noun "rage" (PE17:188)

ursa

to rage

ursa (þ) vb. "to rage" (PE17:188)

uru

fire

uru noun "fire" (LT1:271)

urucarin

made with difficulty

urucarin adj. "made with difficulty" (PE17:154)

urus

copper

urus (urust-) noun "copper" (VT41:10)

uruvoitë

fiery

uruvoitë adj. "fiery" (LT1:271)

urwa

on fire

urwa adj. "on fire" (LT1:271)

urya-

be hot

urya- vb. "be hot" (PE17:148), "burn" (intransitive) (LT1:271)

ursa

noun. rage

urucarin

adjective. made with difficulty

urucárima

adjective. hard to make / do

urra

adjective. bad

urtu

noun. death

urcarne

adjective. hard to make / do

urra

adjective. nasty, bad

úr

noun. heat

nuru

death, death

nuru, Nuru noun "death, Death" _(ÑGUR). This represents earlier ñuru (VT46:4) _and should be spelt accordingly in Tengwar writing. When personalized, Nuru refers to Mandos. Cf. Nurufantur.

yur-

run

yur- vb. "run" (quoted in form yurin, translated "runs", but within Tolkien's later framework it looks like a 1st person aorist "I run")-QL:106 (cf. entry YUR in Etym)

nauro

noun. wolf

wolf, werewolf of Morgoth

urusta

adjective. of copper

An adjectival form of urus appearing as an element in Helge Fauskanger’s neologism urustamitta “copper-piece”.

urna

noun. oven

hormë

urgency

hormë noun "urgency" (confused with ormë "rushing") (KHOR; originally glossed "encouragement, comfort", VT45:22)

or-

urge, impel, move

#or- vb. "urge, impel, move", only of "mental" impulse. Constructed as an impersonal verb: orë nin caritas "I would like/feel moved to do so" (VT41:13), literally *"it impels for me to do so" (notice that what is the subject in English appears in the dative in Quenya). Elsewhere this verb is presented as an A-stem ora- instead (so that the aorist would be ora instead of orë, cf. ora nin "it warns me" in VT41:15), with past tense oranë or ornë, future tense oruv[a], present tense órëa and a form orië that may be the gerund; the forms orórië and ohórië were rejected but may have been intended as perfect forms (VT41:13, 18, VT49:54)

usta-

burn

usta- vb. "burn" (transitive) (LT1:271, QL:98). This form reflects the stem USU listed in early material; however, since Tolkien seems to have changed it to UR later, we should perhaps read *urta- for usta-.

asta-

to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)

asta- (2) vb. "to heat, bake (by exposure to sun)" (PE17:148)

horta-

send flying, speed, urge

horta- vb. "send flying, speed, urge" (KHOR; originally glossed "urge, encourage", VT45:22)

hortalë

speeding, urging

hortalë noun "speeding, urging" (KHOR)

ulundo

monster, deformed and hideous creature

ulundo noun "monster, deformed and hideous creature" (ÚLUG)

úr(in)

proper name. Sun

A late remnant of earlier names for the Sun: ᴱQ. Ûr and ᴹQ. Úrin. In Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, this name was changed from Úrin >> Naira >> Vása (MR/198), but the form Úr(in) occasionally appeared in some later writings (PE17/148, MR/377). This name was a derivative of the root √UR “heat, be hot” (PE17/148).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name was ᴱQ. Ûr, Ur or Úri “Sun”, but literally meaning “Fire” (LT1/187, QL/98). The name became ᴹQ. Úrin in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/240). It was rejected in The Etymologies along with the root form ᴹ√UR, but reappeared sometimes in later writing as noted above.

úrë

noun. heat

A word for “heat” and name of tengwa #36 [.] in The Lord of the Rings Appendix E (LotR/1123), a derivative of √UR “heat” (PE22/160). On the basis of Úrimë “August, ✱Hot-one”, its stem form might be ✱úri-. Its function as a tengwar name probably reflects its use for u-diphthongs in Tengwar spelling.

Conceptual Development: In the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings the name of tengwa #36 was úr “heat” (RC/736), and in earlier documents on The Feanorian Alphabet this word was glossed “fire, heat” (PE22/51) or just “fire” (PE22/23); see the discussion under ᴹQ. úr for further details.

hrai-

verb. hrai-

hrai- prefix denoting difficulty (PE17:154, 185), cf. ur(u)-

úrimë

heat

Úrimë (in some editions Urimë, but this seems to be an error; cf. úrë "heat") noun, name of the eighth month of the year, "August" (Appendix D, SA:ur-, UT:302)

úrion

úrion

Úrion (Q?) noun, a title of Fionwë (= later Eönwë); see the LR index. (UR; this stem was struck out in Etym, but several words that must be derived from it occur in LotR, so it seems that Tolkien restored it.)

úruva

fiery

úruva adj. "fiery" (from UR; this stem was struck out in Etym, but several words that must be derived from it occur in LotR, so it seems that Tolkien restored it. The word úruva also occurred in early "Qenya"; in LT1:271 it is glossed "like fire".)

anar

noun. Sun

Anar is the most common Quenya name for the Sun and was derived from primitive ✶Anār, an augmented form of the root √NAR “fire” (Let/425; PE17/38; Ety/ANÁR; SD/302, 306). In the uninflected form the long vowel shortens as usual in final syllables, but its stem form is probably Anár- as with the name Anárion (LotR/1044) and the plural coranári of coranar “sun-round” (PM/126). When suffixes with consonant clusters are added, however, the á shortens such as with Anarinya “my Sun” (LR/72).

Conceptual Development: This term appeared in Silmarillion drafts of the 1930s with the gloss “Heart of Flame” (LR/240) and as ᴹQ. Anar “sun” in The Etymologies of the 1930s, already with the derivation given above (Ety/ANÁR, NAR¹).

orco

noun. Orc

This word was adapted from its Sindarin cognate orch, since the Noldor did not encounter orcs until they returned to Middle-earth (WJ/390). There are two attested plurals for this word, orqui and orcor. One possible scenario is that the word was at first treated as a u-stem noun by analogy with urco (urcu-), but later as the two words were disassociated, the declension of orco was regularized and treated as an ordinary vocalic noun.

This is the theory followed here, so that orcor is considered the regular plural and orqui archaic, probably active only in the First Age. If you use the orqui plural, you should also treat this as a u-stem noun (orcu-). @@@

car-

make, do, build, form

car- (1) vb. "make, do, build, form" (1st pers. aorist carin "I make, build"; the aorist is listed with all pronominal endings in VT49:16, also in pl. and dual forms carir, carit). Regarding the form carize- (PE17:128), see -s #1. Pa.t. carnë (KAR, PE17:74, 144). The infinitival aorist stem carë ("k") (by Patrick Wynne called a "general aorist infinitive" in VT49:34) occurs in ecë nin carë sa "I can do it" (VT49:34), also in áva carë "don't do it" (WJ:371) and uin carë (PE17:68); in the last example Tolkien calls carë an example of the "simplest aorist infinitive", the same source referring to carië as the "general infinitive" of the same verb. Pl. aorist carir "form" in the phrase i carir quettar ("k") "those who form words" (WJ:391, cf. VT49:16), continuative cára, future caruva (PE17:144), carita ("k"), infinitive/gerund "to do" or "doing" (VT42:33), with suffixes caritas "to do it" or "doing it", caritalya(s) "your doing (it)" in VT41:13,17, VT42:33. Past participle #carna, q.v.; VT43:15 also gives the long form carina ("k"), read perhaps *cárina. (Carima as a passive participle may be a mistake, VT43:15.) PE17:68 refers to a "simple past passive participle" of the form carinwa ("kari-nwa"). "Rare" past participle active (?) cárienwa* ("k") "having done" (PE17:68), unless this is also a kind of passive participle (the wording of the source is unclear). Some alternative forms in Fíriel's Song: past tense cárë ("káre") "made"; this may still be an alternative to the better-attested form carnë (LR:362) even in LotR-style Quenya. Cf. ohtacárë "war-made", made war (see #ohtacar-). Also cárië with various suffixes: cárier ("kárier") is translated "they made"; in LotR-style Quenya this could be seen as an augmentless perfect, hence "they have made", "they" being simply the plural ending -r. The literal meaning of cárielto* ("k") must also be "they made" (cf. -lto). Derived adjectives urcárima and urcarnë "hard to make / do", urucarin "made with difficulty" (PE17:154), saucarya "evil-doing" (PE17:68).

effírië

death

#effírië noun "death" (isolated from effíriemmo "of our death"). A verbal stem *effir- "expire, die" seems to be implied. (VT43:34)

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/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.

tambina

of copper

tambina adj. "of copper" (LT1:250; rather *urustina in later Quenya, see urus, urust-)

tambë

copper

tambë (2) noun "copper" (LT1:250; this is "Qenya"; see urus for a later word for "copper")

úrë

heat

úrë noun "heat", also name of tengwa #36 (Appendix E)

ñúr

noun. wolf

A neologism for “wolf” coined by Elaran posted on 2025-03-07 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), derived from primitive ✶ñgūr in notes from the early 1950s (PE21/82). This derivation is perfectly viable, but I personally think we already have enough “wolf” words from Tolkien, and would stick with existing words like [ᴹQ.] nauro.

cúma

noun. [unglossed]

thar-

verb. [unglossed]

úra

adjective. nasty

Ulban

monster

Ulban (Ulband-) noun "monster" (a name of Melko) (LT1:260)

aha

rage

aha noun "rage", also name of tengwa #11, earlier called harma (Appendix E)

aha

noun. rage

aranel

princess

aranel noun "princess" (likely *aranell-) (UT:434)

aranel

noun. princess

col-

bear, carry

#col- vb. "bear, carry", not attested by itself by suggested by colindo and colla, q.v.; also compare Tancol.

condo

prince, leader; lord

condo ("k")noun "prince, leader; lord" (PE17:113,117); possibly replaces cundu, q.v.

cundu

prince

†cundu ("k")noun "prince" (KUNDŪ; the "†_" indicating that this word is poetic or archaic was omitted in the Etymologies as printed in LR; see VT45:24)._ Cf. condo.

effírië

noun. death

farnë

dwelling

#farnë (2) noun "dwelling", in orofarnë (as translated in Letters:224, but in other notes of Tolkiens the word was interpreted "any growing thing or plant", PE17:83)

harma

wolf

[harma (2) noun "wolf" (3ARAM). The gloss "hound" was inserted, but then deleted (VT45:17)]

hendas

?. [unglossed]

landa

wide

landa (2) adj. "wide" (LAD). Maybe in landatavárë = *"wide-wood"? (TI:415)

landa

adjective. wide, wide, [ᴱQ.] broad

marda

dwelling

marda noun "dwelling" (PE17:107)

morco

bear

morco ("k")noun "bear" (MORÓK)

narmo

wolf

narmo ("ñ")noun "wolf" (ÑGAR(A)M; both the old form ñarmo = *ngarmo and the Third Age form narmo are given). Another word for "wolf" is ráca.

nor-

verb. run

norta

horrible

norta (ñ) (2) adj. "horrible" _(VT46:4. In Tengwar writing, the initial N would be represented by the letter noldo, not númen.)_

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.)

palla

wide, expansive

palla adj. "wide, expansive" (PAL)

ruinë

fire, a blaze

ruinë noun "a fire, a blaze" (PE17:183). Compare nárë.

ráca

wolf

ráca ("k") noun "wolf" (DARÁK). Another word for "wolf" is narmo.

saiwa

hot

saiwa adj. "hot" (LT1:248, 255, 265); rather lauca in Tolkien's later Quenya

sarda

hard

sarda adj. "hard" (VT39:17); pl. sardë "hards" may be used in the same sense as sarda tengwi, q.v. (As an independent form we would rather expect a nominal pl. sardar.)

sá

fire

sá noun "fire" (LT1:265; "Qenya" spelling sâ. Rather nárë in LotR-style Quenya.)

sára

fiery

sára (2) adj. "fiery" (LT1:248; this "Qenya" word may have been obsoleted by # 1 above)

tampë

copper

tampë noun "copper" (LT1:268; in LotR-style Quenya tampë is [also?] the past tense of tap- "stop, block")

torna

hard

#torna adj. "hard", as in tornanga (q.v.), seemingly -storna after prefixes ending in a vowel, as in the comparative forms aristorna, anastorna (PE17:56; the forms are untranslated and may not necessarily be the same adjective "hard".)

torna

adjective. hard

walta-

to excite, rouse, stir up

walta- vb. "to excite, rouse, stir up" (PE17:154)

yanda

wide

yanda adj. "wide" (PE17:115); variant of yána #1, q.v.

yanda

adjective. wide

yonda

wide, roomy, extensive

yonda adj."wide, roomy, extensive" (PE17:43), also (as alternative form of yonna) glossed "enclosed", with the latter meaning perhaps intended as the passive participle of the verb yor-

ú-

prefix. bad, uneasy, hard

urwen

feminine name. Urwen

Birth name of Lalaith (UT/57), perhaps a combination of ûr “fire” and the suffixal form -wen of gwend “maiden”.

urug

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

urug

noun. bogey

urug

noun. Orc (rarely used)

urui

noun/adjective. hot

urui

noun/adjective. the month of august

gurth

noun. death

The usual Sindarin word for “death”, derived from the root √ÑGUR of similar meaning (UT/39; Ety/ÑGUR).

Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/43), anchored by well established names like Gurthang or Gurtholf(in), the name of Túrin’s sword. Tolkien experimented with various alternate forms over the years, such as G. urthu (GG/14), G. gurthu (GL/43), ᴱN. gurdh (PE13/146) and N. guruth (Ety/ÑGUR), but kept coming back to gurth as the basic form.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word for death in general and especially violent death, as opposed to the more euphemistic [N.] gwanath or gwanu “death”, more literally “departure”.

guru

noun. death, death (abstract)

A Sindarin word for “death” derived from primitive ✶ñgurū (PE17/87), unusual in that its primitive ancient vowel u did not vanish. In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had variant forms [N.] gûr and gurw “death” marked with a “?”, both derived from Old Noldorin nguru and indicating some uncertainty on the exact phonetic developments (EtyAC/ÑGUR). Elsewhere in The Etymologies Tolkien said that [N.] guru was “Death as state or abstract”, as opposed to [N.] gwanw or gwanath for the “act of dying” (Ety/GWAN).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume guru was for death as an abstraction or principle, and for the death of individuals I would use either gurth or gwanu/gwanath; see those entries for discussion.

naur

noun. fire, fire, [N.] flame

The basic Sindarin word for “fire”, derived from the root √NAR of the same meaning (LotR/942; PE17/38) and very well attested. It is derived from primitive ✱nār- since primitive long ā became au in Sindarin. It appeared as N. naur “flame” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with the same derivation (Ety/NAR). As a suffix it usually reduces to -nor, since au usually becomes o in polysyllables. As a prefix, though, it is often Nar- before consonant clusters, no doubt because the ancient long ā was shortened before it could become au.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, the word for “fire” was G. sâ with archaic form †sai (GL/66) clearly based on the early root ᴱ√SAH(Y)A “be hot” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Sári; QL/81). In Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, the word for “fire” was ᴱN. byr or buir from primitive ᴱ✶ [mburyē] (PE13/139). Tolkien introduced naur in The Etymologies of the 1930s and stuck with it thereafter.

guru

noun. death

_ n. _death. guru << gûru.

naur

fire

_ n. fire. naur an edraith ammen! _'fire [be] for rescue/saving for us'. Q. nár. >> Sammath Naur

gaurwaith

noun. wolf-men

gurth

noun. death

urun

noun. copper

A neologism for “copper” created by David Salo in his book Gateway to Sindarin based on the root √URUN (GS/292). I would use attested rust “copper” instead.

urug

bogey

urug (monster, orc), pl. yryg

urui

august

Urui

urug

bogey

(monster, orc), pl. yryg

gaur

wolf

(i ngaur = i ñaur), pl. goer (in goer = i ñgoer), coll. pl. gaurhoth (attested in lenited form: i ngaurhoth = i ñaurhoth).

gurth

death

(i ngurth = i ñurth, o n’gurth = o ñgurth), pl. gyrth (in gyrth = i ñgyrth)

guruth

death

(i nguruth = i ñuruth, o n’guruth = o ñguruth), pl. gyryth (in gyryth = i ñgyryth)

naur

fire

1) naur (in compounds nar-, -nor) (flame, sun), pl. noer, coll. pl. norath; 2) ûr (heat), pl. uir. Notice the homophone ûr ”wide”.

naur

fire

(in compounds nar-, -nor) (flame, sun), pl. noer, coll. pl. norath

naur

sun

(mainly in compounds as nar-, -nor) (flame, fire), pl. noer, coll. pl. norath.

ross

adjective. red-haired, copper coloured (especially used of animals, as fox, red deer, etc.)

ulunn

noun. monster, deformed and hideous creature

hortha

urge on

hortha- (i chortha, i chorthar) (speed)

dosta

burn

dosta- (i dhosta, i nostar) (VT45:10-11; the source is obscure)

dosta

burn

(i dhosta, i nostar) (VT45:10-11; the source is obscure)

gor-

prefix. hard, difficult

A prefix meaning “awkward, hard” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 derived from the root √GUR of similar meaning, used in words such as gornod “hard to count” (PE17/154). This example was given as gornodui [unglossed] in draft notes (PE17/172). Tolkien said:

> Sindarin owing to approach of √GUR- to other stems (as ÑGUR- “death”, NGOR- “terror, dread”) tends to use gor- in a very strong sense of things very painful and horrible to do; and uses dir- (tough) for lesser efforts (PE17/154).

As an example, Tolkien gave gorbedui “only to be said with horror or grief, lamentable to tell” as opposed to dirbedui “hard to utter, difficult to pronounce”.

anor

noun. Sun

The most common Sindarin name for the Sun derived from primitive ✶Anār, an augmented form of the root √NAR “fire” (PE17/38; Ety/ANÁR; SD/302-303, 306). The o is the result of ancient ā becoming au and then this au becoming o in polysyllables.

Conceptual Development: The term Anor was first mentioned in conjunction with early tales of Númenor (LR/41). It briefly appeared as N. {ánar >>} Anar “sun” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the entry for ᴹ√NAR (Ety/NAR¹; EtyAC/NAR¹), but as Anor under ᴹ√ANÁR (Ety/ANÁR). In The Notion Club Papers of the 1940s it was Anor, archaic †Anaur (SD/302-303, 306) and it retained this form thereafter.

dîr

adjective. hard, difficult

An adjective glossed “hard, difficult” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 derived from the root {√DIR >>} √DER of similar meaning (PE17/154). The primitive form was {✶dīrā >>} ✶dērā where [after the change to the root], the [[s|ancient long [ē] became [ī]]] as usual in Sindarin. This word clashes with dîr “man”, but can be distinguished because (a) it is an adjective rather than a noun and (b) its mutations are different, because dîr “man” is from ancient nd- while dîr “difficult” is from ancient d-, as in i nîr dhîr “the difficult man, (lit.) the man difficult”.

Tolkien gave one example of this prefix’s use in dirbedui “hard to utter, difficult to pronounce”. In its prefixal use, Tolkien glossed it as “tough (for lesser efforts)”, contrasting it with gor- “difficult (of things very painful and horrible to do)”; see that entry for discussion.

Neo-Sindarin: I believe that the adjective dîr has the connotation “difficult due to the complexity of the task”. It can be contrasted with rhanc, which I use to mean “difficult due to some resistance or obstacle” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin; compare Q. hranga- “thwart”.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had similar-seeming G. diriol “tedious”, but that was based G. dîr “long (of time)” so was unlikely to be related conceptually (GL/30). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips modifying that document Tolkien considered the form duiriol “tedious” before reverting back to diriol (PE13/112), and there was no sign of this word thereafter except for its possible reemergence as dîr “difficult”.

graw

noun. bear

A Sindarin word for “bear” in notes from the late 1960s, derived from primitive ✶grā (VT47/12).

Neo-Sindarin: Its Quenya cognate Q. roa had the revised meaning {“bear” >>} “dog”, so for purposes of Neo-Sindarin it is probably best to stick with [N.] brôg and ᴺS. medli [N. megli] as words for “bear”.

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.

Nûrnen

place name. Death

_ topon. _Death, dead water. >> guru

bôr

noun. heat

A noun appearing as bôr “heat” in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969 (PE23/136), where it was rejected and replaced by born “hot” (PE23/136).

Neo-Sindarin: I think Tolkien rejected bôr because he changed his example from a noun to an adjective rather than abandoning the word outright. As such I would retain ᴺS. bôr “heat” for purposes of Neo-Sindarin.

Conceptual Development: Early Noldorin word-lists of the 1920s had ᴱN. bordh “heat, rage” derived from primitive ᴱ✶mbúryā (PE13/139). On another page of this word list Tolkien had borth, bordh “hearth”, but that was revised to ᴱN. gorth. In the Early Noldorin Dictionary from this same period Tolkien gave ᴱN. bordh as an adjective glossed “hot, raging, wroth” with the same derivation as the corresponding noun.

oroth

noun. rage

_n. _rage, anger. rage, anger << wrath. Q. _ursa _rage. >> rûth, ruthra-

ruthra-

verb. to rage

_v. _to rage. Q. ursa-. >> oroth, ruthra-

orch

Orc

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

ûr Reconstructed

noun. fire, fire; [ᴱN.] sun

A word for “fire” attested in later writings only as an element in names, such as S. Úrui “August, ✱Hot-one” (LotR/1110). It appeared as N. ûr “fire” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√UR “be hot”, but this and related words were deleted when Tolkien changed the sense of the root to “wide, large, great” (Ety/UR). However, √UR “heat” was restored in later writings (PE17/148; PE22/160), and primitive ✶ūr “a fire (on hearth)” appeared in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s, though Tolkien did mark it with a “?” (PE21/71 and note #8).

Conceptual Development: Perhaps the first precursor to this word was G. †Uril, an archaic word for the Sun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing beside its modern form G. Aur (GL/75) and clearly a derivative of the early root ᴱ√URU as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Ûr; QL/098). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising this document, it became {ŷr >>} hŷr “sun” (PE13/114), and in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s it became ᴱN. {húr >>} úr “sun”, derived from primitive ᴱ✶ourū̆ (PE13/155).

This in turn became N. ûr “fire” in The Etymologies of the 1930s under ᴹ√UR “be hot”, but as noted above the meaning of this root was changed in that document (Ety/UR). Although the root √UR “heat” was later restored, it isn’t clear whether Tolkien also restored ûr “fire”, though there is some secondary evidence of it: primitive ✶ūr “a fire (on hearth)” appeared in notes from the early 1950s, as also noted above (PE21/71).

Neo-Sindarin: If S. naur is (like its Quenya cognate Q. nár) more representative of an elemental or abstract notion of fire, then ûr might be used for an individual physical fire such as one in a fireplace.

gûr

noun. wolf

A neologism for “wolf” coined by Elaran posted on 2025-03-07 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), derived from primitive ✶ñgūr in notes from the early 1950s (PE21/82). This derivation is perfectly viable, but I personally think we already have enough “wolf” words from Tolkien, and would stick with existing words like draug.

anor

sun

(pl. Anoer if there is a pl.) Archaic Anaur (SD:306).

conin

prince

(i chonin), occurring in the Cormallen Praise, is translated "princes" (Conin en Annûn = "princes of the west", Letters:308), but it is unclear what the singular would be. (David Salo suggests caun, though this word has two different meanings already; see

ernil

prince

1) ernil (no distinct pl. form), 2) †cund (i gund, o chund, construct cun), pl. cynd (i chynd) (VT45:24). 3) The plural form conin (i chonin), occurring in the Cormallen Praise, is translated "princes" (Conin en Annûn = "princes of the west", Letters:308), but it is unclear what the singular would be. (David Salo suggests caun, though this word has two different meanings already; see SHOUT, VALOUR)

gwanath

death

1) (act of dying) gwanath (i **wanath), pl. gwenaith (in gwenaith), 2) (act of dying, especially the ”death” of Elves by fading or weariness) gwanu (i **wanu), analogical pl. gweny (in gweny). Archaic gwanw (LR:397 s.v. WAN), hence coll. pl. ?gwanwath. Other words (rather referring to Death as a state or abstract): 3) gûr (i ngûr = i ñûr, o n**gûr = o ñgûr, construct gur), pl. guir (in guir = i ñguir), 4) gurth (i ngurth = i ñurth, o n**gurth = o ñgurth), pl. gyrth (in gyrth = i ñgyrth), 5) guruth (i nguruth = i ñuruth, o n**guruth = o ñguruth), pl. gyryth (in gyryth** = i ñgyryth)

gûr

death

(i ngûr = i ñûr, o n’gûr = o ñgûr, construct gur), pl. guir (in guir = i ñguir)

hûr

fiery spirit

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

nor

run

(verb) 1) nor- (i nôr, in nerir). Only attested as imperative noro! 2) *yr-. Only the ”Old Noldorin” form yurine* ”I run” is given in the source; the verbal stem would become ior**- in ”Noldorin”, but apparently *yr- in Sindarin. Compare COURSE, q.v., where the words come from the same root __-.

nor

run

(i nôr, in nerir). Only attested as imperative noro! 2) ✱yr-. Only the ”Old Noldorin” form yurine ”

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) ”

orch

orc

(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) ”

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.

ruin

fiery red

(burning); no distinct pl. form. Also used as noun ”red flame, blazing fire”. (Silm app, entry ruin; PM:366) Note: a homophone means ”slot, spoor, track, footprint”.

rust

copper

rust, pl. ryst (idh ryst) if there is a pl. Possibly also ?urun (pl. yryn if there is a pl.).

rust

copper

pl. ryst (idh ryst) if there is a pl.  Possibly also ?urun (pl. yryn if there is a pl.).

ulunn

monster

1) *ulunn (deformed and hideous creature), pl. ylynn. (The archaic form ulund and the later form ulun_ is cited in LR:396 s.v. Ú

ulunn

monster

(deformed and hideous creature), pl. ylynn. *(The archaic form ulund and the later form ulun is cited in LR:396 s.v.*

ôr

mountain

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

úan

úlug

(pl. úain), 3) urug (bogey, orc), pl. yryg

bregedúr

wildfire

(i vregedúr), pl. bregedýr (i mregedýr)

laden

wide

1) laden (plain, flat, open, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT), 2) land (plain), pl. laind. Also used as noun ”open space, level”. 3) pann (i bann, o phann, construct pan), pl. pain (i phain). Since the pl. form clashes with *pain ”all” (mutated phain, SD:129), other terms may be preferred for clarity. 4) ûr (pl. uir). Notice the homophone ûr ”fire, heat”.

úrui

hot

1) úrui (no distinct pl. form), 2) born (red), lenited vorn, pl. byrn.

ûr

wide

(pl. uir). Notice the homophone ûr ”fire, heat”.

ûr

heat

(fire), pl. uir. Notice the homophone ûr ”wide”.

ûr

fire

(heat), pl. uir. Notice the homophone ûr ”wide”.

ûr

heat

ûr (fire), pl. uir. Notice the homophone ûr ”wide”.

hand

noun. [unglossed]

oer

adjective. nasty

orch

noun. Orc, Orc, [N.] goblin

rust

noun. copper

A noun for “copper” in notes from the late 1960s based on the root √(u)rus (VT41/10).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. tăm “copper” (GL/69), clearly the cognate of ᴱQ. tambe “copper, bronze” under the early root ᴱ√TAMA “beat; smelt, forge” in the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon (QL/88).

-ruin

suffix. fire

suff. #fire. Q. ruine. >> Angruin

aegas

noun. mountain peak

aeglir

noun. range of mountain peaks

bar

noun. dwelling, home

bar

noun. inhabited land

born

adjective. hot, red

caun

noun. prince, ruler

caun

prince

pl1. cónin {ō} n. prince, chief, head.

cund

noun. prince

dern

hard

adj. hard, thrawn. Also used for Dwarves, esp. in pl2. dernlir. >> gorn

draug

noun. wolf

draug

noun. wolf

A noun for “wolf”, most notably appearing as an element in the name of the great werewolf S. Draugluin. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. draug “wolf” was derived from the root ᴹ√DARAK (Ety/DARÁK).

dîr

adjective. hard

_ adj. _hard, difficult. dērā << dīrā. >> dír-

ernil

noun. prince

ernil

noun. prince

A noun for “prince” appearing in phrases like Ernil i Pheriannath “Prince of the Halflings” (LotR/768) and Dor-en-Ernil “Land of the Prince” (UT/245). Its initial element is likely a reduced form of aran “king, noble person”; compare to ar(a)- “noble” of similar origin. If so, the a became e due to i-affection. The final -il is harder to explain, because normally -il is a feminine suffix. Perhaps it is a reduction of hîl “heir”, so that the literal meaning is “✱king’s heir, royal heir”.

Conceptual Development: N. ernil also appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/287).

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

glamog

noun. an Orc, "a yelling one"

glamog

noun. orc

gorn

hard

adj. hard, thrawn. Also used for Dwarves, esp. in pl2. gornhoth (hostile implication). >> dern

gorn

hard

_ adj. _hard, stiff, thrawn. >> gornod, gordh

gortheb

adjective. horrible

gorthob

adjective. horrible

graw

noun. bear

gwanu

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

iand

adjective. wide

land

adjective. wide, broad

medli

noun. bear

nor-

verb. to run

nor-

verb. to ride

oer

adjective. nasty

ogol

bad

_ adj. _bad, evil, wrong. Q. olca bad, wicked. oklā << ōklā. >> oew, ogron

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

orchoth

noun. the Orcs (as a race)

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

rust

noun. copper

rustui

adjective. of copper

rustui

adjective. copper, copper, *of copper, like copper

An adjectival form of rust “copper” in notes from the late 1960s (VT41/10).

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had G. tambin “of copper” and G. tambrin “like copper”, both based on G. tăm “copper” (GL/69).

thu

bad

_adj. _bad. >> thugar. This gloss was rejected.

amon

steep-sided mount

(hill), pl. emyn.

bara

fiery

1) bara (eager), lenited vara, pl. berai, 2) nórui (sunny). No distinct pl. form.

bara

fiery

(eager), lenited vara, pl. berai

born

hot

(red), lenited vorn, pl. byrn.

bothol

noun. oven

brass

white heat

(i vrass, construct bras), pl. brais (i mrais) if there is a pl.

brassen

white-hot

(lenited vrassen, pl. bressin)

brôg

bear

(i vrôg, construct brog), pl. brŷg (i mrŷg)

bâr

dwelling

bâr (house, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds

bâr

dwelling

(house, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds

bôr

noun. heat

car

make

1) car- (i gâr, i cherir), pa.t. agor (do, build) (WJ:415), 2) echad- (i echad, in echedir) (fashion, shape), pa.t. echant (VT45:19)

cell

running

(of water: flowing), lenited gell; pl. cill

cund

prince

(i gund, o chund, construct cun), pl. cynd (i chynd) (VT45:24).

deleb

horrible

1) deleb (abominable, loathsome), lenited dheleb; pl. delib. 2) gortheb (lenited ngortheb; pl. gerthib; archaic pl. *görthib).

deleb

horrible

(abominable, loathsome), lenited dheleb; pl. delib.

draug

wolf

1) draug (i dhraug), pl. droeg (in droeg), coll. pl. drogath; 2) garaf (i ngaraf = i ñaraf, o n**garaf = o ñgaraf), pl. geraif (in geraif = i ñgeraif), coll. pl. garavath**, 3)

draug

wolf

(i dhraug), pl. droeg (in droeg), coll. pl. drogath

dôr

dwelling place

(i nôr, construct dor) (land, region), pl. dŷr (i ndŷr) (WJ:413).

ernil

prince

(no distinct pl. form)

faeg

bad

*faeg (poor, mean). No distinct pl. form. (Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” foeg.)

faeg

bad

(poor, mean). No distinct pl. form. (Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” foeg.)

garaf

wolf

(i ngaraf = i ñaraf, o n’garaf = o ñgaraf), pl. geraif (in geraif = i ñgeraif), coll. pl. garavath

glam

body of orcs

(i ’lam) (din, uproar, tumult, confused yelling of beasts; shouting, confused noise), pl. glaim (in glaim), coll. pl. glammath

glamhoth

host of tumult

(a term for Orcs, also translated ”Yelling-horde”). (UT:54, MR:109, 195;

gobel

enclosed dwelling

(i ’obel) (walled house or village, ”town”), pl. gebil (i ngebil = i ñebil). Archaic pl. göbil.

gor

warn

gor- (i **ôr, i ngerir** = i ñerir) (counsel) (VT41:11)

gor

warn

(i ’ôr, i ngerir = i ñerir) (counsel) (VT41:11)

gortheb

horrible

(lenited ngortheb; pl. gerthib; archaic pl. ✱görthib).

graw

bear

(noun) 1) graw (i **raw), pl. groe (in groe), coll. pl. ?grawath or ?groath (VT47:12). 2) brôg (i vrôg, construct brog), pl. brŷg (i mrŷg**), 3) *medli (i vedli), no distinct pl. form except with article (i medli). The word literally means ”honey-eater”. Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” megli.

graw

bear

(i ’raw), pl. groe (in groe), coll. pl. ?grawath or ?groath (VT47:12).

grôd

underground dwelling

(i ’rôd, construct grod) (cave, delving, excavation), pl. grŷd (in grŷd) (WJ:414)

gwanath

death

(i ’wanath), pl. gwenaith (in gwenaith)

gwanu

death

(i ’wanu), analogical pl. gweny (in gweny). Archaic gwanw (LR:397 s.v. WAN), hence coll. pl. ?gwanwath. Other words (rather referring to Death as a state or abstract):

ior

i

in ”Noldorin”, but apparently ✱yr- in Sindarin. Compare

laden

wide

(plain, flat,  open, cleared), pl. ledin (for ”N” lhaden pl. lhedin, LR:368 s.v. LAT)

land

wide

(plain), pl. laind. Also used as noun ”open space, level”.

medli

bear

(i vedli), no distinct pl. form except with article (i medli). The word literally means ”honey-eater”. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” megli.

medlin

bearish, of bears

(adjective derived from medli ”bear”), lenited vedlin, no distinct pl. form. – Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” meglin.

narthan

fire-sign

pl. **nerthain** (VT45:20)

norn

hard

norn (twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted), pl. nyrn. Also used as noun = ”Dwarf”. (MR:93, WJ:205)

norn

hard

(twisted, knotted, crabbed, contorted), pl. nyrn. Also used as noun = ”Dwarf”. (MR:93, WJ:205)

nórui

fiery

(sunny). No distinct pl. form.

orod

mountain

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

palan

over a wide area

(far off)

pann

wide

(i bann, o phann, construct pan), pl. pain (i phain). Since the pl. form clashes with ✱pain ”all” (mutated phain, SD:129), other terms may be preferred for clarity.

rhûd

dwelling underground

(construct rhud, with article ?i thrûd or ?i rûd – *the lenition product of rh- is uncertain) (artificial cave, rockhewn hall, mine), pl. rhuid (?idh ruid) (PM:365)*.

riel

princess

#riel (garlanded maiden), pl. ?rîl (idh rîl), coll. pl. riellath. Isolated from the name Galadriel.

riel

princess

(garlanded maiden), pl. ?rîl (idh rîl), coll. pl. riellath. Isolated from the name Galadriel.

um

bad

um (evil), pl. ym. David Salo would read *ûm with a long vowel. (According to VT46:20, it may be that um is intended as a base rather than as a ”Noldorin” word.)

um

bad

(evil), pl. ym. David Salo would read ✱ûm with a long vowel. *(According to VT46:20, it may be that um is intended as a base rather than as a ”Noldorin” word.)*

úrui

hot

(no distinct pl. form)

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).

uruk

noun. orc, goblin

A noun translated “goblin, orc” and fully declined as an example of a Strong I noun (SD/436). Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/24) this form of the word may be a derivative of the contemporaneous Elvish root ᴹ√OROK. In later writings it appeared as Ad. urku/urkhu (WJ/390), a derivative of the Elvish root √RUK “terrible shapes”. This entry retains the form uruk because of its many attested inflections.

urug

noun. bear

A noun translated “bear” (SD/426), also given by Tolkien as an example of how common-nouns can be altered into masculine and feminine forms using the suffixes -û and -î: urgī “female bear, she-bear” (SD/435).

ûri

noun. sun

A noun translated “sun” (SD/306, 428). This word appears in the forms ûrê, ûri and ûrî, but Tolkien declared that the form with long î is actually the personified form Ûrî “Lady of the Sun” (SD/426), perhaps the Adûnaic name of Q. Arien. The form ûrê only appears once (SD/426), so ûri is probably to be preferred as the ordinary word for Sun, especially since it is a neuter noun, which ordinarily cannot end in a long -ê (SD/427). Tolkien lists the “later forms Uir, Ŷr” (SD/306), one of which may be the Westron word for “sun”, most likely Wes. uir. As suggested by several authors (AAD/24, EotAL/UR), ûri is probably derived from the Elvish root ᴹ√UR.

rahat-

verb. to break, rend

A verb appearing in the Lament of Akallabêth with the past-tense translations “broke” and “rent” (SD/247, VT24/12), so meaning “to break, rend”. In the final version of the Lament it appeared as yurahtam “they rent”. The initial element of this form is the 3rd persons masculine plural suffix yu- “they”, while its final element is the plural verbal suffix -m, both in agreement with the plural subject Bârîm “Lords”. This leaves the basic verb form rahta, which is the aorist tense according to the theories used here.

In the previous (second draft) version of the Lament, the verb form was urahta with the 3rd persons masculine singular suffix u- “he”, and no plural suffix -m. This is consistent with the subject in this version, which was the singular Bârun “Lord”.

Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/22) that this verb may be related to Q. rac- “to break” (MC/223). It could also be related to the contemporaneous ᴹQ. hat- “to break asunder” (Ety/SKAT).

Conceptual Development: In the first draft of the Lament, the form was rakkhatū, indicating the earliest form of the verb may have had the verb stem rakhat- instead of later rahat-.

agan

noun. death

A noun for “death” attested both as an independent word (SD/426) and in the compound agannâlô “death-shadow” (SD/247).

agân

masculine name. Death

The masculine personification of agan “death” (SD/426). This could be the Adûnaic name for Mandos.

uruk

noun. Orc

Uruk-hai

Uruk-hai

The name Uruk-hai has the element uruk, which is a Black Speech word meaning "Orc". (For related words in other languages, see Orcs in Tolkien's languages.) The element -hai, also present in Olog-hai and Oghor-hai, means "folk, people".

ghâsh

noun. fire

urku/urkō

noun. orc

urun

root. copper

urkā

adjective. horrible

ñgurū

noun. death

hor

root. urge, impel, move

nar

root. fire, fire, [ᴹ√] flame

A root for “fire” first appearing as ᴹ√NAR “flame, fire” in The Etymologies of the 1930s along with derivatives like ᴹQ. nár(e)/N. naur “flame” (Ety/NAR¹). There was also an augmented variant ᴹ√ANÁR that served as the basis for “Sun” words: ᴹQ. Anar and N. Anor (Ety/ANÁR). These roots and the various derivatives continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings in the 1950s and 60s (PE17/38; Let/425), and in one place Tolkien specified that nār- was “fire as an element” as opposed to √RUYU for an actual blaze.

der

root. hard, difficult

A root in linguistic notes from 1959 used for the sense “hard, difficult” in Sindarin because other roots like √GUR > S. gor- gained a very negative sense due to collision with the roots √ÑGOR “horror” and √ÑGUR “death” (PE17/154). Tolkien first gave this root as √DIR before switching it to √DER. There is no indication of its use in Quenya, so it is probably a Sindarin-only innovation.

sal

root. [unglossed], *harp(ing), lyre

The unglossed root ᴱ√SALA appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. salma “lyre, small harp” and ᴱQ. salumbe “harping, music” (QL/81). The root √SAL appeared again Common Eldarin: Verb Structure from the early 1950s to illustrate the reformed perfect form of its verb Q. asálie (PE22/132), but since these later forms are unglossed it is unclear whether they have the same meaning (“✱harp(ing)”) as the earlier version of the root.

tig

root. [unglossed]

A root appearing in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 as the basis for the verb Q. tinga- “go (for a long while)” (PE22/157). The etymology was marked with an “X” and so was probably a transient idea (PE22/157 note #70).

uk

root. nasty

The root √OKO was mentioned a couple times in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959 with glosses like “wicked, evil” and “evil, bad” serving as the basis for Q. olca/S. ogol “bad, wicked, evil” along with similar words (PE14/149, 170). In other notes from this period Tolkien said √OKO “evil” influenced the meaning of the Sindarin root √AK “hostile return” (PE17/167). In one of these 1959 notes, Tolkien wrote UK, UKLA below OKO with derivatives Q. ulca and S. ogl, all unglossed (PE17/149); Q. ulca was the word Tolkien used most frequently for “evil” in Quenya. In notes from 1968, Tolkien mentioned √UK “nasty” in passing, without giving any derivatives (VT48/25); Patrick Wynne suggested this form of the root may have been connected to 1969 √UG “dislike” (VT48/32 note #15; PE22/160).

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I prefer Q. ulca for “evil”, but I think √OKO “wicked” might coexist with it as variant to salvage other words from that root.

ugrā

adjective. nasty

ñgūr

noun. wolf

anār

noun. Sun

dērā

adjective. hard, difficult

lemek

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s illustrating certain phonetic combinations (PE19/98), and therefore possibly not a “real” root.

morokō

noun. bear

nāro

noun. fire

phut

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root appearing in the second version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ2) as an etymological variation of √PUT (PE18/90).

srak

root. hard, difficult

stuk

root. [unglossed]

An unglossed root in a rejected section of the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s, serving to illustration certain phonetic developments: ✶stuknā > Q. thúna (PE19/86).

yad

root. wide

urus

noun. copper

orot

noun. mountain

urch

noun. Orc

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

guruth

noun. death

anaur

noun. Sun

guruth

noun. death

hortha-

verb. to urge on, speed

ulun

noun. monster, deformed and hideous creature

ulund

noun. monster, deformed and hideous creature

brôg

noun. bear

A noun for “bear” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶morókō under the root ᴹ√MOROK (Ety/MORÓK), where the initial syllable reduced to m’rokō and then the initial mr became br.

Conceptual Development: A likely precursor to this word is ᴱN. gorch “bear” (also “fierce fighter”) from Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s (PE13/145, 149).

garaf

noun. wolf

A noun for “wolf” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√ÑGARAM (Ety/ÑGAR(A)M).

Conceptual Development: This word seems to have replaced N. araf or aram derived from the rejected root ᴹ√ƷARAM with various glosses like “wolf” or (small or swift) “dog” (Ety/ƷARAM; EtyAC/ƷARAM). This in turn may be a later iteration of G. harog or harw “wolf” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with feminine variant G. harach “a she-wolf” (GL/48).

ûr

adjective. wide

ûr

noun. fire

anor

noun. Sun

borth

?. [unglossed]

cunn

noun. prince

draug

noun. wolf

orch

noun. goblin

orod

noun. mountain

pann

adjective. wide

úan

noun. monster

bara

adjective. fiery

bara

adjective. eager

brass

noun. white heat

brôg

noun. bear

clei

?. [unglossed]

coen

?. [unglossed]

cunn

noun. prince

deleb

adjective. horrible, abominable, loathsome

draug

noun. wolf

ernil

noun. prince

garaf

noun. wolf

gaul

noun. wolf-howl

glamhoth

noun. barbaric host of Orcs

gwanath

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

gwanw

noun. death (act of dying, not death as a state or abstract)

gûr

noun. death

lhand

adjective. wide, broad

lhann

adjective. wide, broad

megli

noun. bear

menniath

noun. many points

menniath

noun. range of mountains

oegas

noun. mountain peak

oeglir

noun. range of mountain peaks

orch

noun. Goblin, Orc

orod

noun. mountain

orodrim

noun. range of mountains

pann

adjective. wide

rhuin

noun. fire

um

adjective. bad, evil

úan

noun. monster

ûr

noun. wide

ûr

noun. fire, heat

rukhs

noun. Orc