Gorgoroth

Gorgoroth

topon.

gorgoroth

place name. Valley of Terror

A region in Mordor glossed “valley of terror” (LotR/401) as well as the short name of Ered Gorgoroth in Beleriand (S/164). It is a combination of gor “fear” and its augmented form goroth “horror” (SA/gor).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱN. Gorgoroth first appeared in rough notes associated with the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, apparently referring to the mountains in Beleriand (LB/272). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, N. Gorgoroth was derived from ᴹ✶gor-ngoroth (Ety/ÑGOROTH), which is probably the source Christopher Tolkien used for the derivation given above from The Silmarillion appendix. The name was first applied to the region of Mordor in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/104) where it sometimes appeared as Gorgor (WR/137, SD/22). In a few placed is appeared as Gorgorath with an a as a name of the mountains (LB/350, WJ/188).

Element in

• S. Ered Gorgoroth “Mountains of Terror” ✧ SA/gor; UTI/Gorgoroth

Variations

• Gorgorath ✧ LB/350

groga-

verb. to feel terror

goe

noun. terror, great fear

thos

noun. fear

_ n. _fear. O.Q. þosse. >> di'nguruthos

thoss

noun. fear

Cognates

• Q. þossë “fear” ✧ PE17/087

Derivations

• √THOS “frighten, terrify; show dread of” ✧ PE17/087

Element in

• S. guruthos “dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, dread of death, death-horror, shadow of death, [N.] fear of death” ✧ PE17/087
• ᴺS. thossui “fearful, afraid”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√ÞOS > thos(s)	[tʰosse] > [θosse] > [θoss]	✧ PE17/087

Variations

• thos(s) ✧ PE17/087

delu

deadly

delu (hateful, fell), lenited dhelu; analogical pl. dely. Archaic delw (the only attested form);

delu

deadly

(hateful, fell), lenited dhelu; analogical pl. dely. Archaic delw (the only attested form);

Gorgoroth

deadly fear

gorgoroth (i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n**gorgoroth = o ngorgoroth) (terror), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. görgöryth. Also in shorter form gorgor (i ngorgor = i ñorgor, o n**gorgor = o ñgorgor) (extreme horror), pl. gergyr (in gergyr = i ñgergyr), coll. pl. gorgorath (WJ:415). Archaic pl. *görgyr. (verb), see FEEL TERROR.

gorgoroth

deadly fear

(i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n’gorgoroth = o ngorgoroth) (terror), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. görgöryth. Also in shorter form gorgor (i ngorgor = i ñorgor, o n’gorgor = o ñgorgor) (extreme horror), pl. gergyr (in gergyr = i ñgergyr), coll. pl. *gorgorath*** (WJ:415). Archaic pl. ✱görgyr**.

gorgoroth

terror

(i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n’gorgoroth) (deadly fear), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. ✱görgöryth.

gorgor

deadly fear

(i ngorgor = i ñorgor, o n’gorgor = o ñgorgor) (extreme horror), pl. gergyr (in gergyr = i ñgergyr), coll. pl. *gorgorath*** (WJ:415). Archaic pl. görgyr. Also in longer form gorgoroth (i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n’gorgoroth = o ñgorgoroth) (terror), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. ✱görgöryth**.

gorgor

deadly fear

gorgor (i ngorgor = i ñorgor, o n**gorgor = o ñgorgor) (extreme horror), pl. gergyr (in gergyr = i ñgergyr), coll. pl. gorgorath (WJ:415). Archaic pl. görgyr. Also in longer form gorgoroth (i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n**gorgoroth = o ñgorgoroth) (terror), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. *görgöryth.

gôr

fear

(i ngôr = i ñor, o n’gôr = o ñgôr, construct gor) (dread, horror), pl. gŷr (i ngŷr = i ñŷr). Note: a homophone means ”vigour” but has different mutations.

gost

terror

(i ngost = i ñost, o n’gost) (dread), pl. gyst (in gyst = i ñgyst).

gosta

fear exceedingly

(i ’osta, i ngostar = i ñostar)

groga

feel terror

(i ’roga, in grogar) (WJ:415)

goe

terror

1) goe (i **oe) (great fear), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ngoe = i ñoe), 2) gorgoroth (i ngorgoroth = i ñorgoroth, o n**gorgoroth) (deadly fear), pl. gergeryth (in gergeryth = i ñgergeryth). Archaic pl. *görgöryth. 3) gost (i ngost = i ñost, o n**gost) (dread), pl. gyst (in gyst** = i ñgyst).

goe

terror

(i ’oe) (great fear), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ngoe = i ñoe)

goe

great fear

(i ’oe) (terror), no distinct pl. form except with article (i ngoe = i ñoe).

daedhelos

great fear

(i naedhelos, o ndaedhelos), pl. daedhelys (i ndaedhelys). Coll. pl. daedhelossath. A side-form ends in -oth instead of -os. The word appears in the mutated form "ndaedelos" in LotR Appendix F, but since the second element must be delos "abhorrence" and it would surely be lenited following a vowel, this would seem to be one of the cases where Tolkien wrote d even though dh would be technically correct. Another term for

achas

fear

(noun) 1) achas (dread), pl. echais. It is possible that the word is lenited in the source, and that it should have an initial g-; if so read gachas (i **achas), pl. gechais (i ngechais = i ñechais), 2) dêl (i dhêl, construct del) (disgust, loathing, horror), pl. dîl (i nîl), 3) delos (i dhelos) (horror, abhorrence, dread, detestation, loathing), pl. delys (i nelys), coll. pl. delossath. Note: a side-form ends in -oth (pl. -yth) instead of -os (-ys). 4) gôr (i ngôr = i ñor, o n**gôr = o ñgôr, construct gor) (dread, horror), pl. gŷr (i ngŷr = i ñŷr). Note: a homophone means ”vigour” but has different mutations. 5) niphred (pallor); pl. niphrid.

achas

fear

(dread), pl. echais. It is possible that the word is lenited in the source, and that it should have an initial g-; if so read gachas (i ’achas), pl. gechais (i ngechais = i ñechais)

delos

fear

(i dhelos) (horror, abhorrence, dread, detestation, loathing), pl. delys (i nelys), coll. pl. delossath. Note: a side-form ends in -oth (pl. -yth) instead of -os (-ys).

dêl

fear

(i dhêl, construct del) (disgust, loathing, horror), pl. dîl (i nîl)

niphred

fear

(pallor); pl. niphrid.