suff. #fire. Q. ruine. >> Angruin
Sindarin
uru
noun. brazier, grate
ûr Reconstructed
noun. fire, fire; [ᴱN.] sun
-ruin
suffix. fire
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”.
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”.
naur
fire
_ n. fire. naur an edraith ammen! _'fire [be] for rescue/saving for us'. Q. nár. >> Sammath Naur
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.
anor
sun
(pl. Anoer if there is a pl.) Archaic Anaur (SD:306).
bregedúr
wildfire
(i vregedúr), pl. bregedýr (i mregedýr)
narthan
fire-sign
pl. **nerthain** (VT45:20)
naur
fire
- 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.
ûr
fire
(heat), pl. uir. Notice the homophone ûr ”wide”.
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.