dîn

noun. silence; silent, quiet

A word for “silence” appearing in names like Amon Dîn “Silent Hill, (lit.) ✱Hill of Silence” (LotR/747; PE17/95) and Taur-na-Chardhîn “Forest of Southern Silence” (WJ/185). As originally conceived, it was probably based on an (unattested) root ✱√DIN as indicated by ᴹQ. lína- “be silent” from the late 1940s (PE23/76 note #19).

Conceptual Development: Tolkien’s use of this noun and its associated adjective dínen “silent” was inconsistent. The adjective should have been mutated in names like Rath Dínen “Silent Street”, but it remained unchanged (LotR/826). This may reflect Tolkien’s original reluctance to use dh in names while writing The Lord of the Rings. To reconcile these inconsistencies, Tolkien said in his Unfinished Index to The Lord of the Rings that the proper form of these words was tîn and tínen and both of these were adjectives meaning “silent” or “quiet” (RC/551).

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would stick to noun dîn “silence” and adjective dínen “silent” to avoid conflicts with √TIN “spark”.

dîn

noun. silence

_ n. _silence. >> Amon Dîn, dínen

dîn

noun. silence

Adjectival use seems to be attested in several place names (Amon Dín "Silent Hill", etc.), though an adjective dínen.1 is also attested (Rath Dínen "Silent Street"). When compared with other toponyms where lenition does occur (Taur-na-Chardhîn "Forest of the Southern Silence" in WJ/185,193 and Dor Dhínen in WJ/333,338), the forms dîn and dínen clearly seem to be unmutated. Absence of lenition in these examples from LotR was therefore tentatively explained by resistance to mutation (as in Nan Tathren, Ered Mithrin). However, Tolkien apparently changed his mind in his unfinished index of names from LotR, where he explains both words as mutated adjectives whose unlenited forms are respectively tîn.2
and tínen . Such hesitations between mutated and unmutated forms is not unusual, for instance a similar issue is met with gaear and aear . Of course, Taur-na-Chardhîn and Dor Dhínen would hardly be explainable in that alternate scenario

tîn

pronoun. his

Non-lenited form suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT31/21).

dîn

gap

1. dîn (i dhîn) (opening, mountain pass), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”. 2) gass (i **ass, construct gas) (hole), pl. gais (i ngais** = i ñais)

dîn

mountain pass

dîn (i dhîn) (opening, gap), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

dîn

opening

dîn (i dhîn) (gap, mountain pass), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

dîn

mountain pass

dîn (i dhîn) (opening, gap), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

dîn

gap

(i dhîn) (opening,  mountain pass), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

dîn

mountain pass

(i dhîn) (opening, gap), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath.  Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

dîn

opening

(i dhîn) (gap, mountain pass), no distinct pl. form except with article (i nîn); coll. pl. díniath. Note: a homophone means ”silence”.

Amon Dîn

place name. Amon Dîn

topon. >> dîn

amon dîn

place name. Silent Hill

One of the beacon hills of Gondor (LotR/747), translated “Silent Hill” (UT/319). This name is a combination of amon “hill” and dîn “silence” (PE17/95, 98).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Ring drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Amon Thorn (WR/232).

si loth a galadh lasto dîn

*here flower and tree listen [in] silence

The third phrase of Lúthien’s Song (LB/354). Three translations of this phrase are:

• Patrick Wynne: “✱Here/now let flower and tree listen in silence/below” (NTTLS/11)

• David Salo: “✱now flower and tree, listen silent” (GS/211)

• Bertrand Bellet and Benjamin Babut: “✱then flower and tree, listen in silence” (GTLC)

The first word si resembles the Sindarin word sí “here”, though that word usually appears with a long vowel. All of Wynne, Salo, Bellet and Babut suggested instead that it might in this particular case be used temporally like its Quenya cognate Q. sí “now”. However, in notes published after all of their analyses, Tolkien stated that S. sí only meant “here”, and used hí for “now” (PE17/27). I think it is safer to assume that si means “here”.

The second word is loth “flower” joined by the conjunction a “and” to galadh “tree”. The fifth word lasto is the imperative form of the verb lasta- “to listen”. The last word is probably the noun dîn “silence”, though Wynne suggested it might be some form of di “beneath” (NTTLS/9).

Amon Dîn

noun. silent hill

amon (“hill, steep-sided mount”), dîn (“silent”) Davis Salo: “dh and mh were liable to revert to d and m when they came to follow a nasal after syncope” TolkLang message 19.31. #The name also could be interpreted as “hill of silence”, as adjective “silent” is attested as dínen.

Amon Dîn

silent hill

Amon Dîn is Sindarin, meaning "silent hill" (amon + dîn). Probably it refers to its distinct rocky and barren appearance standing out and isolated from the heavily wooded hills of the Drúadan Forest.

ar iorhael, gelir, cordof, ar baravorn, ionnath dîn

and Frodo, Merry, Pippin and Hamfast his sons

@@@ should be revised to use v3 of the letter from AotM

ar meril bess dîn, ar elanor, meril, glorfinniel, ar eirien sellath dîn

and Rose his wife; and Elanor, Rose, Goldilocks and Daisy his daughters

@@@ should be revised to use v3 of the letter from AotM