The Silmarillion

bar 'dwelling' in Bar-en-Danwedh. The ancient word mbar (Quenya mar, Sindarin bar) meant the 'home' both of persons and of peoples, and thus appears in many place-names, as Brithombar, Dimbar (the first element of which means 'sad, gloomy'), Eldamar, Val(i)mar, Vinyamar, Mar-nu-Falmar. Mardil, name of the first of the Ruling Stewards of Gondor, means 'devoted to the house' (i.e. of the Kings).

 

barad 'tower' in Barad-d?r, Barad Either Barad Nimras; the plural in Emyn Beraid.

 

beleg 'mighty' in Beleg, Belegaer, Belegost, Laer C? Beleg.

 

brago 'sudden' in Dagor Bragollach.

 

brethil probably means 'silver birch'; cf. Nimbrethil the birchwoods in Arvernien, and Fimbrethil, one of the Entwives.

 

brith 'gravel' in Brithiach, Brithombar, Brithon.

 

(For many names beginning with C see entries under K)

 

calen (galen) the usual Sindarin word for 'green', in Ard-galen, Tol Galen, Calenardhon; also in Parth Galen ('Green Sward') beside Anduin and Pinnath Gelin ('Green Ridges') in Gondor. See kal-.

 

cam (from kamba) 'hand', but specifically of the hand held cupped in the attitude of receiving or holding, in Camlost, Erchamion.

 

carak- This root is seen in Quenya carca 'fang', of which the Sindarin form carch occurs in Carcharoth, and also in Carchost ('Fang Fort', one of the Towers of the Teeth at the entrance to Mordor). Cf. Caragd?r, Carach Angren ('Iron Jaws', the rampart and dike guarding the entrance to Udun in Mordor), and Helcarax?.

 

caran 'red', Quenya carn?, in Caranthir, Carnil, Orocarni; also in Caradhras, from caran-rass, the 'Red-horn' in the Misty Mountains, and Carnimirie 'red-jewelled', the rowan-tree in Treebeard's song. The translation of Carcharoth in the text as 'Red Maw' must depend on association with this word; see carak-.

 

celeb 'silver' (Quenya telep, telp?, as in Telperion) in Celeborn, Celebrant, Celebros. Celebrimbor means 'silver-fist', from the adjective celebrin 'silver' (meaning not 'made of silver' but 'like silver, in hue or worth') and paur (Quenya quare) 'fist' often used to mean 'hand'; the Quenya form of the name was Telperinquar. Celebrindal has celebrin and tal, dal 'foot'.

 

coron 'mound' in Corollair? (also called Coron Oiolair?, which latter word appears to mean 'Ever-summer', cf. Oioloss?); cf. Cerin Amroth, the great mound in Lothl?rien.

 

c? 'bow' in C?thalion, Dor C?arthol, Laer C? Beleg.

 

cuivi? 'awakening' in Cuivi?nen (Sindarin Nen Echui). Other derivatives of the same root are Dor Firn-i-Guinar; coire, the first beginning of Spring, Sindarin echuir. The Lord of the Rings Appendix D; and coimas 'life-bread', Quenya name of lembas.

 

cul- 'golden-red' in Cul?rien.

 

curu 'skill' in Curuftn(we), Curun?r.

 

dae 'shadow' in Dor Daedeloth, and perhaps in Daeron.

 

dagor 'battle'; the root is ndak-, cf. Haudh-en-Ndengin. Another derivative is Dagnir (Dagnir Glaurunga 'Glaurung's Bane').

 

del 'horror* in Deld?wath; deloth 'abhorrence' in Dor Daedeloth.

 

d?n 'silent' in Dor D?nen; cf. Rath D?nen, the Silent Street in Minas Tirith, and Amon D?n, one of the beacon-hills of Gondor.

 

dol 'head' in L?rindol; often applied to hills and mountains, as in Dol Guldur, Dolmed, Mindolluin (also Nardol, one of the beacon-hills of Gondor, and Fanuidhol, one of the Mountains of Moria).

 

d?r 'land' (i.e. dry land as opposed to sea) was derived from ndor; it occurs in many Sindarin names, as Doriath, Dorthonion, Eriador, Gondor, Mordor, etc. In Quenya the stem was blended and confused with a quite distinct word n?r? meaning 'people'; in origin Valin?r? was strictly 'the people of the Valar', but Valandor 'the land of the Valar', and similarly N?men(n)?r? 'people of the West', but N?mendor 'land of the West'. Quenya Endor 'Middle-earth' was from ened 'middle' and ndor; this in Sindarin became Ennor (cf. ennorath 'middle lands' in the chant A Elbereth Gilthoniel).

 

draug 'wolf' in Draugluin.

 

d? 'night, dimness' in Deld?wath, Ephel D?ath. Derived from earlier d?m?, whence Quenya l?m?; thus Sindarin d?lin 'nightingale' corresponds to l?melind?.

 

duin '(long) river' in Anduin, Baranduin, Esgalduin, Malduin, Taur-im-Duinath.

 

d?r 'dark' in Barad-d?r, Caragd?r, Dol Guldur; also in Durthang (a castle in Mordor).

 

?ar 'sea' (Quenya) in E?rendil, E?rr?m?, and many other names. The Sindarin word gaer (in Belegaer) is apparently derived from the same original stem.

 

echor in Echoriath 'Encircling Mountains' and Orfalch Echor; cf. Rammas Echor 'the great wall of the outer circle' about the Pelennor Fields at Minas Tirith.

 

edhel 'elf (Sindarin) in Adanedhel, Aredhel, Gl?redhel, Ost-in-Edhil; also in Peredhil 'Half-elven'.

 

eithel 'well' in Eithel Ivrin, Eithel Sirion, Barad Eithel; also in Mitheithel, the river Hoarwell in Eriador (named from its source). See kel-.

 

?l, elen 'star'. According to Elvish legend, ele was a primitive exclamation 'behold!' made by the Elves when they first saw the stars. From this origin derived the ancient words ?l and elen, meaning 'star', and the adjectives elda and elena, meaning 'of the stars'. These elements appear in a great many names. For the later use of the name Eldar see the Index. The Sindarin equivalent of Elda was Edhel (plural Edhil), q.v.; 'but the strictly corresponding form was Eledh, which occurs in Eledhwen.

 

er 'one, alone', in Amon Ereb (cf, Erebor, the Lonely Mountain), Erchamion, Eress?a, Eru.

 

ereg 'thorn, holly' in Eregion, Region.

 

esgal 'screen, hiding' in Esgalduin.

 

falas 'shore, line of surf' (Quenya falass?) in Falas, Belfalas; also Anfalas in Gondor. Cf. Falathar, Falathrim. Another derivative from the root was Quenya falma '(crested) wave', whence Falmari, Mar-nu-Falmar.

 

faroth is derived from a root meaning 'hunt, pursue'; in the Lay of Leithian the Taur-en-Faroth above Nargothrond are called 'the Hills of the Hunters'.

 

faug- 'gape' in Anfauglir, Anfauglith, Dor-nu-Fauglith.

 

fea 'spirit' in F?anor, F?anturi.

 

fin- 'hair' in Finduilas, Fingon, Finrod, Glorftndel.

 

formen 'north' (Quenya) in Formenos; Sindarin forn (also for, forod) in Fornost.

 

fuin 'gloom, darkness' (Quenya huine) in Fuinur, Taur-nu-Fuin.

 

gaer 'sea' in Belegaer (and in Gaerys, Sindarin name of Oss?). Said to derive from the stem gaya 'awe, dread', and to have been the name made for the vast and terrifying Great Sea when the Eldar first came to its shores.

 

gaur 'werewolf (from a root ngwaw- 'howl') in Tol-in-Gaurhoth.

 

gil 'star' in Dagor-nuin-Giliath, Osgiliath (giliath 'host of stars'); Gil-Estel, Gil-galad.

 

girith 'shuddering' in Nen Girith; cf. also Girithron, name of the last month of the year in Sindarin (The Lord of the Rings Appendix D).

 

glin 'gleam' (particularly applied to the eyes) in Maeglin.

 

golodh is the Sindarin form of Quenya Noldo; see gul Plural Golodhrim, and Gelydh (in Annon-in-Gelydh).

 

gond 'stone' in Gondolin, Gondor, Gonnhirrim, Argonath, seregon. The name of the hidden city of King Turgon was devised by him in Quenya as Ondolind? (Quenya ondo= Sindarin gond, and lind? 'singing, song'); but it was known always in legend in the Sindarin form Gondolin, which was probably interpreted as gond-dolen 'Hidden Rock'.

 

gor 'horror, dread' in Gorthaur, Gorthol; goroth of the same meaning, with reduplicated gor, in Gorgoroth, Ered Gorgoroth.

 

groth (grod) 'delving, underground dwelling' in Menegroth, Nogrod (probably also in Nimrodel, 'lady of the white cave'). Nogrod was originally Novrod 'hollow delving' (hence the translation Hollowbold), but was altered under the influence of naug 'dwarf'.

 

gul 'sorcery' in Dol Guldur, Minas Morgul. This word was derived from the same ancient stem ngol- that appears in Noldor; cf. Quenya n?l? 'long study, lore, knowledge'. But the Sindarin word was darkened in sense by its frequent use in the compound morgul 'black arts'.

 

gurth 'death' in Gurthang (see also Melkor in the Index).

 

gwaith 'people' in Gwaith-i-M?rdain; cf. Enedwaith 'Middle-folk', name of the land between the Greyflood and the Isen.

 

gwalh, wath 'shadow' in Deld?wath, Ephel D?ath; also in Gwathlo, the river Greyflood in Eriador. Related forms in Ered Wethrin, ThurIngw?thil. (This Sindarin word referred to dim light, not to the shadows of objects cast by light: these were called morchaint 'dark shapes'.)

 

hadhod in Hadhodrond (translation of Khazad-d?m) was a rendering of Khaz?d into Sindarin sounds.

 

haudh 'mound' in Haudh-en-Arwen, Haudh-en-Elleth, etc.

 

heru 'lord' in Herumor, Herun?men; Sindarin hir in Gonnhirrim, Rohirrim, Barahir; h?ril 'lady' in H?rilorn.

 

him 'cool' in Himlad (and Himring?).

 

h?n 'children' in Eruhini 'Children of Eru'; Narn i H?n H?rin.

 

hith 'mist' in Hithaeglir, Hithlum (also i

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