dûn

noun. west

The Sindarin word for “west” based on primitive ᴹ✶ndūne derived from the root √NDU “go down” (LotR/1116; PE17/18; Ety/NDŪ; EtyAC/NDŪ). More exactly it is “the way of the sunset” (SA/andúnë). The related word annûn “sunset”, also used to mean “the West”, was derived from ✶ṇdūnē with syllabic initial ṇ.

dúnedhel

proper name. West-Elf

A term for the Elves of the West who fought against Morgoth, coined to match Dúnadan (WJ/378, PE17/141). This name is a combination of dûn “west” and Edhel “Elf”. It also appeared in the variant form Dúnel(t) using Ell “Elf” (PE17/141-142), Dúneglon using Eglon (PE17/142), and Dúnedel using Edel (PE17/142).

dúnadan

proper name. Man of the West

Sindarin term for a “Man of the West”, the descendants of the Elf-friends of Beleriand and Númenor (LotR/233). This name is a combination of dûn “west” and Adan “Man” (SA/andúnë, adan; PE17/18).

Conceptual Development: In an early version of Glorfindel’s greeting to Aragon, this term was N. Torfir (TI/61), and throughout the Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the most common term for “High Men” was ᴹQ. Tarkil (TI/84, WR/310). It was not until very late in the drafts that the terms Dúnadan/Dúnedain appeared (WR/363 note #6).