The Silmarillion

by J. R. R. Tolkien

  Westernesse See Anadûnê, Númenor.

  White Council The Council of the Wise in the Third Age formed to oppose Sauron.

  White Mountain See Taniquetil.

  White Tree See Telperion, Galathilion, Nimloth (1). The White Trees of Minas Ithil and Minas Anor.

  Wildman of the Woods Name adopted by Túrin when he first came among the Men of Brethil.

  Wilwarin Name of a constellation. The word meant ‘butterfly’ in Quenya, and the constellation was perhaps Cassiopeia.

  Wizards See Istari.

  Woodland Elves See Silvan Elves.

  Yavanna ‘Giver of fruits’; one of the Valier, numbered among the Aratar; the spouse of Aulë; called also Kementári.

  Year of Lamentation The year of the Nirnaeth Arnoediad.

  APPENDIX

  ELEMENTS IN QUENYA AND SINDARIN NAMES

  These notes have been compiled for those who take an interest in the Eldarin languages, and The Lord of the Rings is extensively drawn upon for illustration. They are necessarily very compressed, giving an air of certainty and finality that is not altogether justified; and they are very selective, this depending both on considerations of length and the limitations of the editor’s knowledge. The headings are not arranged systematically by roots or in Quenya or Sindarin forms, but somewhat arbitrarily, the aim being to make the component elements of names as readily identifiable as possible.

  adan (plural Edain) in Adanedhel, Aradan, Dúnedain. For its meaning and history see Atani in the Index.

  aelin ‘lake, pool’ in Aelin-uial; cf. lin (I).

  aglar ‘glory, brilliance’ in Dagor Aglareb, Aglarond. The form in Quenya, alkar, has transposition of the consonants: to Sindarin aglareb corresponds Alkarinquë. The root is kal-‘shine’, q.v.

  aina ‘holy’ in Ainur, Ainulindalë.

  alda ‘tree’ (Quenya) in Aldaron, Aldudenië, Malinalda, corresponding to Sindarin galadh (seen in Caras Galadhon and the Galadhrim of Lothlórien).

  alqua ‘swan’ (Sindarin alph) in Alqualondë; from a root alak-‘rushing’ occurring also in Ancalagon.

  amarth ‘doom’ in Amon Amarth, Cabed Naeramarth,Úmarth, and in the Sindarin form of Túrin’s name ‘Master of Doom’, Turamarth. The Quenya form of the word appears in Turambar.

  amon ‘hill’, a Sindarin word occurring as the first element of many names; plural emyn in Emyn Beraid.

  anca ‘jaws’ in Ancalagon (for the second element in this name see alqua).

  an(d) ‘long’ in Andram, Anduin; also in Anfalas (‘Langstrand’) in Gondor, Cair Andros (‘ship of long-foam’) an island in Anduin, and Angerthas ‘long rune-rows’.

  andúnë ‘sunset, west’ in Andúnië, to which corresponds in Sindarin annûn, cf. Annúminas, and Henneth Annûn ‘window of the sunset’ in Ithilien. The ancient root of these words, ndu, meaning ‘down, from on high’, appears also in Quenya númen ‘the way of the sunset, west’ and in Sindarin dûn ‘west’, cf. Dúnedain. Adûnaic adûn in Adûnakhôr, Anadûnê was a loan from Eldarin speech.

  anga ‘iron’, Sindarin ang, in Angainor, Angband, Anghabar, Anglachel, Angrist, Angrod, Anguirel, Gurthang; angren ‘of iron’ in Angrenost, plural engrin in Ered Engrin.

  anna ‘gift’ in Annatar, Melian, Yavanna; the same stem in Andor ‘Land of Gift’.

  annon ‘great door or gate’, plural ennyn, in Annon-in-Gelydh; cf. Morannon the ‘Black Gate’ of Mordor and Sirannon the ‘Gate-stream’ of Moria.

  ar- ‘beside, outside’ (whence Quenya ar ‘and’, Sindarin a), probably in Araman ‘outside Aman’; cf. also (Nirnaeth) Arnoediad ‘(Tears) without reckoning’.

  ar(a)- ‘high, noble, royal’ appears in a great many names, as Aradan, Aredhel, Argonath, Arnor, etc.; extended stem arat- appearing in Aratar, and in aráto ‘champion, eminent man’, e.g. Angrod from Angaráto and Finrod from Findaráto; also aran ‘king’ in Aranrúth. Ereinion ‘scion of kings’ (name of Gil-galad) has the plural of aran; cf. Fornost Erain ‘Nor-bury of the Kings’ in Arnor. The prefix Ar- of the Adûnaic names of the Kings of Númenor was derived from this.

  arien (the Maia of the Sun) is derived from a root as- seen also in Quenya árë ‘sunlight’.

  atar ‘father’ in Atanatári (see Atani in Index), Ilúvatar.

  band ‘prison, duress’ in Angband; from original mbando, of which the Quenya form appears in Mandos (Sindarin Ang-band = Quenya Angamando).

  bar ‘dwelling’ in Bar-en-Danwedh. The ancient word mbár (Quenya már, 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, Marnu-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-dûr, Barad Eithel, Barad Nimras; the plural in Emyn Beraid.

  beleg ‘mighty’ in Beleg, Belegaer, Belegost, Laer Cú Beleg.

  bragol ‘sudden’ in Dagor Bragollach.

  brethil probably means ‘silver birch’; cf. Nimbrethil the birch-woods 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. Caragdûr, Carach Angren (‘Iron Jaws’, the rampart and dike guarding the entrance to Udûn in Mordor), and Helcaraxë.

  caran ‘red’, Quenya carnë, in Caranthir, Carnil, Orocarni; also in Caradhras, from caran-rass, the ‘Red-horn’ in the Misty Mountains, and Carnimírië ‘red-jewelled’, the rowan-tree in Quickbeam’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, telpë, 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 quárë) ‘fist’, often used to mean ‘hand’; the Quenya form of the name was Telperinquar. Celebrindal has celebrin and tal, dal ‘foot’.

  coron ‘mound’ in Corollairë (also called Coron Oiolairë, which latter word means ‘Ever-summer’, cf. Oiolossë); cf. Cerin Amroth, the great mound in Lothlórien.

  cú ‘bow’ in Cúthalion, Dor Cúarthol, Laer Cú Beleg.

  cuivië ‘awakening’ in Cuiviénen (Sindarin Nen Echui). Other derivatives of the same root are Dor Firn-i-Guinar; coirë, 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 Culúrien.

  curu ‘skill’ in Curufin(wë), Curunír.

  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 Deldúwath; deloth ‘abhorrence’ in Dor Daedeloth.

  dîn ‘silent’ in Dor Dínen; cf. Rath Dínen, the Silent Street in Minas Tirith, and Amon Dîn, one of the beacon-hills of Gondor.

  dol ‘head’ in Lórindol; 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).

  dôr ‘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 nórë meaning ‘people’; in origin Valinórë was strictly ‘the people of the Valar’, but Valandor ‘the land of the Valar’, and similarly Númen(n)órë ‘people of the West’, but Númendor ‘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.

  dú ‘night, dimness’ in Deldúwath, Ephel Dúath. Derived from earlier dome, whence Quenya lómë; thus Sindarin dúlin ‘nightingale’ corresponds to lómelindë.

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

  dûr ‘dark’ in Barad-dûr, Caragdûr, Dol Guldur; also in Durthang (a castle in Mordor).

  ëar ‘sea’ (Quenya) in Eärendil, Eärrámë, 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, Glóredhel, 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-.

  êl, 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 êl 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, Eressëa, Eru.

  ereg ‘thorn, holly’ in Eregion, Region.

  esgal ‘screen, hiding’ in Esgalduin.

  falas ‘shore, line of surf’ (Quenya falassë) 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.

  fëa ‘spirit’ in Fëanor, Fëanturi.

  fin- ‘hair’ in Finduilas, Fingon, Finrod, Glorfindel.

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

  fuin ‘gloom, darkness’ (Quenya huinë) in Fuinur, Taur-nu-Fuin.

  gaer ‘sea’ in Belegaer (and in Gaerys, Sindarin name of Ossë). 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).

  glîn ‘gleam’ (particularly applied to the eyes) in Maeglin.

  golodh is the Sindarin form of Quenya Noldo; see gûl. 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 Ondolindë (Quenya ondo = Sindarin gond, and lindë ‘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’.

  gûl ‘sorcery’ in Dol Guldur, Minas Morgul. This word was derived from the same ancient stem ngol- that appears in Noldor; cf. Quenya nólë ‘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-Mirdain; cf. Enedwaith ‘Middle-folk’, name of the land between the Greyflood and the Isen.

  gwath, wath ‘shadow’ in Deldúwath, Ephel Dúath; also in Gwathló, the river Greyflood in Eriador. Related forms in Ered Wethrin, Thuringwethil. (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-dûm) was a rendering of Khazâd into Sindarin sounds.

  haudh ‘mound’ in Haudh-en-Arwen, Haudh-en-Elleth, etc.

  heru ‘lord’ in Herumor, Herunúmen; Sindarin hîr in Gonnhirrim, Rohirrim, Barahir; híril ‘lady’ in Hírilorn.

  him ‘cool’ in Himlad (and Himring?).

  híni ‘children’ in Eruhíni ‘Children of Eru’; Narn i Hîn Húrin.

  hîth ‘mist’ in Hithaeglir, Hithlum (also in Nen Hithoel, a lake in Anduin). Hithlum is Sindarin in form, adapted from the Quenya name Hísilómë given by the Noldorin exiles (Quenya hísië ‘mist’, cf. Hísimë, the name of the eleventh month of the year, The Lord of the Rings Appendix D).

  hoth ‘host, horde’ (nearly always in a bad sense) in Tol-in-Gaurhoth; also in Loss(h)oth, the Snowmen of Forochel (The Lord of the Rings Appendix A (I, iii)) and Glamhoth ‘din-horde’, a name for Orcs.

  hyarmen ‘south’ (Quenya) in Hyarmentir; Sindarin har-, harn, harad.

  iâ ‘void, abyss’ in Moria.

  iant ‘bridge’ in Iant Iaur.

  iâth ‘fence’ in Doriath.

  iaur ‘old’ in Iant Iaur; cf. the Elvish name of Bombadil, Iarwain.

  ilm- This stem appears in Ilmen, Ilmarë, and also in Ilmarin (‘mansion of the high airs’, the dwelling of Manwë and Varda upon Oiolossë).

  ilúvë ‘the whole, the all’ in Ilúvatar.

  kal- (gal-) This root, meaning ‘shine’, appears in Calacirya, Calaquendi, Tar-calion; galvorn, Gil-galad, Galadriel. The last two names have no connexion with Sindarin galadh ‘tree’, although in the case of Galadriel such a connexion was often made, and the name altered to Galadhriel. In the High-elven speech her name was Al(a)táriel, derived from alata ‘radiance’ (Sindarin galad) and riel ‘garlanded maiden’ (from a root rig- ‘twine, wreathe’): the whole meaning ‘maiden crowned with a radiant garland’, referring to her hair. calen (galen) ‘green’ is etymologically ‘bright’, and derives from this root; see also aglar.

  káno ‘commander’: this Quenya word is the origin of the second element in Fingon and Turgon.

  kel- ‘go away’, of water ‘flow away, flow down’, in Celon; from et-kele ‘issue of water, spring’ was derived, with transposition of the consonants, Quenya ehtelë, Sindarin eithel.

  kemen ‘earth’ in Kementári; a Quenya word referring to the earth as a flat floor beneath menel, the heavens.

  khelek- ‘ice’ in Helcar, Helcaraxë (Quenya helka ‘icy, ice-cold’). But in Helevorn the first element is Sindarin heledh ‘glass’, taken from Khuzdul kheled (cf. Kheled-zâram ‘Mirrormere’); Helevorn means ‘black glass’ (cf. galvorn).

  khil- ‘follow’ in Hildor, Hildórien, Eluchil.

  kir- ‘cut, cleave’ in Calacirya, Cirth, Angerthas, Cirith (Ninniach, Thoronath). From the sense ‘pass swiftly through’ was derived Quenya círya ‘sharp-prowed ship’ (cf. English cutter), and this meaning appears also in Círdan, Tar-Ciryatan, and no d
oubt in the name of Isildur’s son Ciryon.

  lad ‘plain, valley’ in Dagorlad, Himlad; imlad a narrow valley with steep sides, in Imladris (cf. also Imlad Morgul in the Ephel Dúath).

  laurë ‘gold’ (but of light and colour, not of the metal) in Laurelin; the Sindarin forms in Glóredhel, Glorfindel, Loeg Ningloron, Lórindol, Rathlóriel.

  lhach ‘leaping flame’ in Dagor Bragollach, and probably in Anglachel (the sword made by Eöl of meteoritic iron).

  lin (1) ‘pool, mere’ in Linaewen (which contains aew (Quenya aiwë) ‘small bird’), Teiglin; cf. aelin.

  lin- (2) This root, meaning ‘sing, make a musical sound’, occurs in Ainulindalë, Laurelin, Lindar, Lindon, Ered Lindon, lómelindi.

  lith ‘ash’ in Anfauglith, Dor-nu-Fauglith; also in Ered Lithui, the Ashen Mountains, forming the northern border of Mordor, and Lithlad ‘Plain of Ashes’ at the feet of Ered Lithui.

  lok- ‘bend, loop’ in Urulóki (Quenya (h)lókë ‘snake, serpent’, Sindarin lhûg).

  lóm ‘echo’ in Dor-lómin, Ered Lómin; related are Lammoth, Lanthir Lamath.

  lómë ‘dusk’ in Lómion, lómelindi; see dú.

  londë ‘land-locked haven’ in Alqualondë; the Sindarin form lond (lonn) in Mithlond.

  los ‘snow’ in Oiolossë (Quenya oio ‘ever’ and lossë ‘snow, snow-white’); Sindarin loss in Amon Uilos and Aeglos.

  loth ‘flower’ in Lothlórien, Nimloth; Quenya lótë in Ninquelótë, Vingilótë.

  luin ‘blue’ in Ered Luin, Helluin, Luinil, Mindolluin.

  maeg ‘sharp, piercing’ (Quenya maika) in Maeglin.

  mal- ‘gold’ in Malduin, Malinalda; also in mallorn, and in the Field of Cormallen, which means ‘golden circle’ and was named from the culumalda trees that grew there (see cul-).

  man- ‘good, blessed, unmarred’ in Aman, Manwë; derivatives of Aman in Amandil, Araman,Úmanyar.