caras (#Nan. “moated fortress”), galadh (“tree”) + #on (#could be Nan. genitive suffix [HKF])
Sindarin
caras galadhon
place name. City of the Trees
Elements
Word Gloss caras “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” galadh “tree” Variations
- Caras Galadon ✧ PE17/084; RC/311
Caras Galadhon
noun. fortress of the trees
caras i-ngelaidh
place name. City of the Trees
The pure Sindarin form of Caras Galadhon, appearing in notes from the mid-1960s (PE17/60). In these notes, it appears as Caras (i)Ngelelaið, but Christopher Gilson suggested the final word was probably a slip for Ngelaið, which would be the ordinary nasal mutation of the plural of galadh “tree”. Its initial element is S. (or Nan.) caras, and the i is the elided form of the plural definite article in, whose elision causes the nasal mutation of the final word.
Cognates
- Nan. Caras Galadon ✧ PE17/060
Variations
- Caras (i)Ngelelaið ✧ PE17/060
Name of the city of Lórien (LotR/355), translated “City of the Trees” (LotR/353). This name is an adaptation of Nan. Caras Galadon of the same meaning (LotR/1127), replacing Nan. galad “tree” with S. galadh. In pure Sindarin, it would S. Caras i-Ngelaidh (PE17/60). Its initial element is S. (or Nan.) caras “moated fort” and its final element has the Nandorin genitive plural suffix -on.
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s and in the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings, this name appeared as N. Caras Galadon (TI/245, RC/311). In between the 1st and 2nd editions, Tolkien became disatisified with this name, which was clearly different from S. galadh “tree”. In his Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien considered changing the meaning of this name so that it, like Galadriel had nothing to do with trees (PE17/84). Ultimately, though, he decided that the form Caras Galadon was Nandorin (PE17/60), and changed the name to its Sindarized form in the 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings.