carach angren

place name. Isenmouthe, (lit.) Iron Jaws

Sindarin name of the Isenmouth, translated “Iron Jaws” (LotR/920) or “Iron Mouth” (RC/772, PE17/101). This name is a combination of carach “jaws” and angren “iron” (SA/carak).

Conceptual Development: This name was already N. Carach Angren when it first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (SD/33).

Cognates

• Roh. Isenmouthe “Iron-mouth” ✧ RC/772

Elements

Word	Gloss
carach	“jaws, rows of teeth”
angren	“of iron”

Carach Angren

a ravine leading into Udûn

_topon. _a ravine leading into Udûn. O.E. Isenmouthe. >> dol, doll

Carach Angren

noun. iron fang

carach (“spike, tooth or rock”) + angren (“iron”)

Carach Angren

Carach Angren

Both Carach Angren and Isenmouthe mean "Iron-mouth": "It was so called because of the great fence of pointed iron posts that closed the gap leading into Udûn, like teeth in jaws." Isen is an old English variant form of iron; and mouthe represents Old English mūða < mūð "opening, mouth" especially used of the mouths of rivers, but also applied to other openings. Despite the Old English, the name is not to be understood as Rohirric, but rather as archaic Westron, translation of Sindarin Carach Angren.