caras

noun. city, fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks, circular earthwall with dike, city, [N.] city (built above ground); [S.] (orig.) fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks, circular earthwall with dike

An element in the name Caras Galadhon “City of the Trees” (LotR/353, 355), adapted from Silvan Elvish: Caras Galadon (PE17/60). Tolkien said the proper meaning of this word was “a built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks” (PE17/84) or a “circular earthwall with dike” (RC/311), derived from the root √CAR “make, build” (PE17/84). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. caras was glossed “a city (built above ground)” under the root ᴹ√KAR “make, do” (Ety/KAR).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word principally in the sense “city”, and would assume its meaning “earthwall, bulwark” was archaic.

Cognates

• Q. carasse “built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulwarks” ✧ PE17/084

Derivations

• √KAR “do, make, build, do, make, build, [ᴹ√] construct” ✧ PE17/084

Element in

• S. Caras Galadhon “City of the Trees” ✧ RC/311
• S. Caras i-Ngelaidh “City of the Trees” ✧ PE17/060

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√CAR > Caras	[karasse] > [karass] > [karas]	✧ PE17/084

Variations

• Caras ✧ PE17/060; PE17/084

caras

noun. built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulkwarks

_ n. _built fort or dwelling surrounded by bulkwarks. Q. carasse. >> Caras Galadon

caras

noun. circular earthwall with dike

caras

noun. city (built above ground)

caras

caras

It comes from PQ *karasse, Root KAR