minas ithil

place name. Tower of the (Rising) Moon

Original name of Minas Morgul, translated “Tower of the Rising Moon” (LotR/244), a combination of minas “tower” and Ithil “Moon” (SA/minas, sil).

Conceptual Development: When it first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the name N. Minas Ithil was translated more literally as “Tower of the Moon” (TI/119).

Elements

Word	Gloss
minas	“tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)”
Ithil	“Moon”

Variations

• Minas Anor ✧ LotR/0244

Minas Ithil

noun. the tower of the moon

minas (“tower, fort”), Ithil (“the moon”)