Ered Lemrin

noun. Ered Lemrin

echoing mountains (pure S of Ered Lómin); ered (pl. of orod “mountain”) + glemrin (pl. of glamren “echoing”)

Ered Lithui

place name. Ered Lithui

topon.

Ered Wethrin

Ered Wethrin

topon.

ered lómin

place name. Ered Lómin

ered gorgoroth

place name. Mountains of Terror

The mountains south of Dorthonion where Ungoliant once dwelled (S/95, 121). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the name Gorgoroth, which was also used for a region in Mordor (LotR/636).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name appeared as N. Ered Orgoroth (LR/298), because names and nouns in this position underwent soft mutation in Noldorin, as opposed to later Sindarin where only adjectives were lenited in this position. The name was changed in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, first to Ered Gorgorath with an a (MR/127, WJ/129), then Ered Gorgoroth (MR/297). In later writings this name occasionally appeared with the proper Sindarin plural of orod: S. Eryd (MR/297, WJ/319).

ered wethrin

place name. Mountains of Shadow, (lit.) Shadowy Mountains

Mountains in northern Beleriand translated “Mountains of Shadow” (S/106), but more accurately “Shadowy Mountains” (S/118, PE17/43). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the lenited plural of the adjective gwathren “shadowy, dim” (SA/gwath, VT42/9).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the early 1930s, these mountains were first called Eryd-Lómin “Mountains of Shadow” (SM/139), a remnant of earlier G. lómin “shadowy”. This name was revised to N. Eredwethion “Shadowy Mountains” later in the 1930s (SM/268, LR/250), and similar forms S. Eryd-wethion and Eryd-wethian(d) appeared in notes from the 1950s as well (PE17/42-3, WJ/113). Generally, though, the name was changed to Ered Wethrin in Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s, often appearing with the proper Sindarin plural of orod: S. Eryd (MR/297, WJ/113).

ered engrin

place name. Iron Mountains

The “Iron Mountains” around Morgoth’s realm (S/118). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the plural of the adjective angren “of iron” (SA/orod, anga).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales, this name was as G. Angorodin (LT2/77). It was revised in the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, first to (singular) ᴱN. Aiglir Angrin and then to (plural) N. Eiglir Engrin (LB/49), forms that also appeared in the Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/220). In the mid-30s, the form N. Ered-engrin first appeared (LR/258), and The Etymologies from the same period, it already had the derivation given above (Ety/ÓROT).

ered lindon

place name. Mountains of Lindon

The mountains in eastern Beleriand and western Eriador named after the region Lindon (S/123). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” with that region name.

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as N. Eredlindon, but it was first translated “Blue Mountains” (LR/126, LR/260). The second element of this name was originally derived from N. glinn “(pale) blue”, but in The Etymologies Tolkien rejected this word (Ety/GLINDI, EtyAC/GLINDI). He then revised this name’s derivation to the one given above, though at this stage, Lindon was an Ilkorin name (Ety/LIN², ÓROT). Despite this change, Tolkien still referred to them as the “Blue Mountains” in The Lord of the Rings (LotR/43), but with a new Sindarin name Ered Luin.

ered luin

place name. Blue Mountains

The “Blue Mountains” in western Beleriand and eastern Eriador (S/54, 91), also named Ered Lindon (S/123). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the adjective luin “blue”, which has the same singular and plural forms.

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name appeared as N. Eredluin “Blue Mountains” (SM/121, LR/267), but at this stage its second element was the lenited plural of N. lhûn, as is clear from its variant name N. Lhúnorodrim (Ety/LUG²).

ered nimrais

place name. White Mountains, (lit.) White-horns Mountains

Sindarin name of the “White Mountains” (LotR/258), more literally “White-horns Mountains” (UTI/Ered Nimrais). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the plural of Nimras “White Horn” (SA/nim, ras; PE17/89, 168).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, these mountains were first called N. Eredvyrn or Ered Myrn “Black Mountains” (TI/124), later changed to “White Mountains” with numerous Elvish forms: N. Hebel Orolos >> Hebel Uilos (WR/137) >> Hebel or Ephel Nimrais (WR/137) >> Hebel or Ered Nimrath (WR/137, 167) >> Ered Nimras (WR/168), then briefly to Eredfain before finally Ered Nimrais (WR/288). In later writings it occasionally appeared with the proper Sindarin plural of orod: S. Eryd (PE17/168, WJ/385).

Ered Gorgoroth

noun. mountains of terror

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), gor (“extreme horror” duplicated first syllable of goroth) + (n-)goroth (“horror”)

Ered Lithui

noun. ash mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), lith (“ash, sand, dust”) + ui (adjective suffix))

Ered Luin

noun. blue mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), luin (pl. of lûn, lhûn “blue”)

Ered Lómin

noun. echoing mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), lómin (pl. of Dor. lómen “echoing”);

Ered Mithrin

noun. grey mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), mithrin (pl. of mithren “grey”) #M sometimes resists lenition when otherwise may cause confusion.

Ered Nimrais

noun. whitehorn mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), nimp (“white”) + rais (pl. of ras “horn”) The original form of ras is probably rass with the final s dropped at the end of a polysyllable [HKF].

Ered Wethrin

noun. shadowy mountains

ered (pl. of orod “mountain”), gwethrin (pl. of gwathren “shadowy, dim”)

ered lithui

place name. Ashen Mountains

The “Ashen Mountains” north of Mordor (LotR/636). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and lithui “ashen” (SA/lith, RC/765).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Eredlithui (TI/344) and was translated “Ash Mts [Mountains]” on early maps for The Lord of the Rings (TI/305).

ered mithrin

place name. Grey Mountains

Sindarin name of the “Grey Mountains” (LotR/1064). This name is a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and the plural of mithren “grey”. Ordinarily an adjective in this position would ordinarily undergo soft mutation to vithrin, but in notes from around 1969 Tolkien indicated that m did not always undergo grammatical mutation in late Sindarin (PE23/136).

Ered Luin

'Blue Mountains'

topon. 'Blue Mountains'. . This gloss was rejected.

alae! ered en echoriath, ered e·mbar nín

[?behold!] the mountains of Echoriath, the mountains of my home!

Lóminorthin

noun. echoing mountains (pure Dor. of Ered Lómin)

lómin (pl. of Dor.lómen “echoing”) + orthin (pl. of Dor. orth “mountain”)

orod

noun. mountain

The Sindarin word for “mountain”, a derivative of √RŌ/ORO “rise” (PE17/63). Its proper plural form is eryd; the plural form ered in The Lord of the Rings is a late [Gondorian only?] pronunciation (PE17/33).

Conceptual Development: The singular form of this noun was extremely stable. It first appeared as G. orod “mountain” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s beside variant ort (GL/63), and it reappeared as N. orod “mountain” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√OROT “height, mountain” (Ety/ÓROT). It appeared in a great many names in the sixty year span that Tolkien worked on the legendarium.

The development of its plural form is a bit more complex. Its Gnomish plural was orodin (GL/63), but by the Early Noldorin of the 1920s, its plural was eryd (MC/217). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, Tolkien gave its plural form as oroti > ereid > ered (Ety/ÓROT). This fits with normal Noldorin plural patterns of the 1930s: compare plurals N. eregdos → eregdes, N. golodh → geleidh, N. doron → deren, N. thoron → therein. Sindarin plural patterns consistently show o → y in final syllables, such as S. golodh → gelydh or S. Nogoth → Negyth.

This Noldorin plural for orod “mountain” made it into Lord of the Rings drafts, and Tolkien never corrected it before publication. This meant Tolkien was stuck with this remnant of Noldorin plural patterns, which was contradicted by other plural forms in The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien was forced to contrive an explanation for this phenomenon:

> S. Ered. This is used always in L.R. as plural of orod, mountain. But Emyn, pl. of Amon. Cf. also Eryn Forest (oron originally plural = trees?) in Eryn Lasgalen. Rodyn, pl. of Rodon = Vala. It seems necessary to assume that: eryd > ered by late change, but y unstressed remained in certain circumstances, e.g. before nasals. † Use Eryd in Silmarillion (PE17/33).

Despite his statement that y only remained before nasals, ered is the only Sindarin word that retains the Noldorin plural pattern: see the examples golydh and nogyth above, neither involving nasals. Also, despite J.R.R. Tolkien’s intent to use eryd in The Silmarillion, his son Christopher Tolkien retained the form ered in The Silmarillion as published, most likely to avoid confusing readers when they compared this plural to the plural forms in The Lord of the Rings.

Neo-Sindarin: Most knowledgeable Neo-Sindarin writers assume o → y in final syllables is the correct Sindarin plural pattern, and orod → ered is an aberration. I personally assume it is a late Gondorian-only (mis)pronunciation. See the discussion of Sindarin plural nouns for more information.

gwathren

dim

(shadowy), lenited ’wathren; pl. gwethrin. (A lenited pl. is attested in the name Ered Wethrin, Shadowy Mountains.);

gwathren

shadowy

(dim), lenited ’wathren; pl. gwethrin. (A lenited pl. is attested in the name Ered Wethrin, Shadowy Mountains.)

ôr

mountain

(stem orod-), also with pl. eryd, ered. (Names:178). Archaically, the plural forms were öryd, öröd.

ered nimras

place name. White Mountains

Earlier name for S. Ered Nimrais (WR/168), with singular ras “horn” instead of plural rais “horns”. The plural was introduced later (WR/288).

ered nimrath

place name. White Mountains

Earlier name for S. Ered Nimrais (WR/137), with a final element rath “course” (“?climb”) instead of rais “horns”, as suggested by Roman Rausch (EE/3.14). It also appeared as Hebel Nimrath (WR/167).

eredwethion

place name. Shadowy Mountains

Earlier name for S. Ered Wethrin from Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (SM/268, LR/250), a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” (Ety/ÓROT), the lenited plural gwath “shade” (Ety/WATH) and suffix -ion, most likely a genitive plural suffix adapted from the Ilkorin name Urthin Gwethion.

eredvyrn

place name. Black Mountains

Earliest name for S. Ered Nimrais glossed “Black Mountains” instead of “White Mountains” (TI/124), with the lenited plural of morn “black” instead of nimrais “white-horns”.

eredlindon

place name. Mountains of Lindon, (earlier) Blue Mountains

eredlithui

place name. Ash Mountains

eredluin

place name. Blue Mountains

eredlómin

place name. Echoing Mountains

ered orgoroth

place name. Mountains of Terror

ered-engrin

place name. Iron Mountains

hebel uilos

place name. White Mountains

Earlier name for S. Ered Nimrais appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s with the gloss “White Mountains” (WR/137). It is a combination of hebel and Uilos “Ever-snow”. The second element was initially (rejected) Orolos, perhaps meaning “?Mountain Snow” as suggested by Roman Rausch (EE/3.14).

lhúnorodrim

place name. Blue Mountains

A variant name for Eredluin in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/LUG²), a combination of lhûn “blue” and the class-plural of orod “mountain”.

orod

noun. mountain

ered lómin

place name. Echoing Mountains

The mountains to the east of Hithlum translated “Echoing Mountains” (S/118), a combination of the plural of orod “mountain” and NS. lómin “echoing” (SA/lóm). This name must be in the North Sindarin dialect, since in ordinary (West) Sindarin word for “echoing” was S. loven (PE17/133).

Conceptual Development: In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name first appeared as Eryd-Lómin with the meaning “Mountains of Shadow” (SM/139, 296), with the second element a remnant of G. lómin “shadowy”. This name was generally revised to Eredwethion “Shadowy Mountains” (SM/140, 221), while the name Eredlómin was repurposed for the “Echoing Mountains” (SM/268, LR/259).

Since the adjective lómin no longer fit Noldorin phonology, Tolkien explained it as a loan word from Ilk. lómen “echoing”, adapted from the name Ilk. Lóminorthin (Ety/LAM). After Tolkien abandoned the Ilkorin language, he formulated the new derivation from the North Sindarin dialect, as noted above.