mor noun "darkness" (Letters:308; probably just an Elvish "element" rather than a complete word; Namárië has mornië for "darkness")
Primitive elvish
mor
root. black, dark, darkness
mori
adjective. black
mor(o)kē
noun. she-bear
manrā
adjective. good
Quenya
mor
darkness
mornië
darkness
mornië noun "darkness" (Nam, RGEO:67), "dark, blackness" (PE17:73). Early "Qenya" also has Mornië "Black Grief", "the black ship that plies between Mandos and Erumáni" (LT1:261). This is probably a compound of mor- "black" and nië "tear".
morë
black
morë adj. "black" (MOR), "dark, darkness" (Letters:282). In compounds the stem-form mori- (q.v.) appears, since the primitive form was ¤mori.
morqua
black
morqua adj. "black" (LT1:261; rather morna in LotR-style Quenya)
lúmë
noun. darkness
A noun in the 1960s versions of the Markirya glossed “darkness” (MC/222), perhaps derived from a root √DU as suggested by David Salo in a post to the Elfling mailing list in 2012 (Elfling/362.96).
Neo-Quenya: I’d generally use Q. huinë for “darkness” in Neo-Quenya, but that word is more for total darkness, whereas lúmë might be a less severe form of darkness, a variant of Q. lómë “night, dusk”.
Amarië
good
Amarië fem. name; perhaps derived from mára "good" with prefixing of the stem-vowel and the feminine ending -ië (Silm)
ala-
good
ala- (3), also al-, a prefix expressing "good" or "well" (PE17:146), as in alaquenta (q.v.) Whether Tolkien imagined this ending to coexist with the negative prefix of the same form (#2 above) is unclear and perhaps dubious.
lúmë
darkness
lúmë (2) noun "darkness" (one wonders if Tolkien confused lúmë "time, hour" and lómë "night") (Markirya)
mára
adjective. good
Sindarin
mor
black
_adj. _black.
moria
place name. Black Chasm, Black Pit
Sindarin name for Khazad-dûm after the Dwarves were driven out by the Balrog, translated “Black Pit” (LotR/283, PE17/35) or “Black Chasm” (Let/382, PE17/40). It is a combination of morn “black” and iâ “chasm, pit” (PE17/35; SA/mor, iâ).
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Moria “Black Gulf” (RS/429). Its translation was later revised to “Black Pit” (TI/166). It also appeared in The Etymologies with essentially the same derivation as given above (Ety/YAG).
morn
adjective. black
morn-
black
morthond
place name. Blackroot
mor-
black
morn
noun/adjective. black, dark; night
morgul
noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy
morn
adjective. black, dark
môr
noun. darkness, dark, night
morgul
sorcery
morgul (i vorgul), pl. morgyl or mergyl (i morgyl/i mergyl for archaic *mörgyl), 3) durgul (i dhurgul), pl. durgyl (i nurgyl). [Or pl. dyrgyl, i nyrgyl? However, the pl. Dúnedain rather than **Dýnedain would suggest that u does not have to be umlauted in the pl. when it occurs in the first part of a compound, and durgul incorporates dur- "black, dark", dur-gûl implying "dark lore/knowledge".]. The word also appears with the elements reversed: guldur (i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. guldyr (in guldyr = i ñguldyr), or possibly pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr).
morgul
sorcery
(i vorgul), pl. morgyl or mergyl (i morgyl/i mergyl for archaic ✱mörgyl), 3) durgul (i dhurgul), pl. durgyl (i nurgyl). [Or pl. dyrgyl, i nyrgyl? However, the pl. Dúnedain rather than ✱✱Dýnedain would suggest that u does not have to be umlauted in the pl. when it occurs in the first part of a compound, and durgul incorporates dur- "black, dark", dur-gûl implying "dark lore/knowledge".]. The word also appears with the elements reversed: guldur (i nguldur = i ñuldur), pl. guldyr (in guldyr = i ñguldyr), or possibly pl. gyldyr (in gyldyr = i ñgyldyr).****
môr
darkness
(i vôr, construct mor), pl. m**ŷr (i m**ŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)
môr
black
1) môr (dark), lenited vôr, pl. mŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the
môr
black
(dark), lenited vôr, pl. m**ŷr (Letters:382), also morn (dark), pl. **myrn, lenited #vorn. Note: the word is also used as a noun ”darkness, night”. (Letters:386) The lenited form #vorn appears, compounded, in the name of the
dû
darkness
1) dû (i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302), 2) fuin (gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form. 3) môr (i vôr, construct mor), pl. mŷr (i mŷr) if there is a pl. (Letters:382); 4 morn (i vorn) (night), pl. myrn (i myrn). Note: the word môr, morn is also used as an adjective ”dark, black”. (Letters:386)
maer
good
_(”useful” of things _ not of moral qualities) maer (lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.
bain
good
_ adj. _good, wholesome, blessed, fair (esp. of weather). . This gloss was rejected.
dúath
noun. darkness, shadow
dúath
noun. nightshade
guldur
noun. (dark) sorcery
ma
adjective. good
_ adj. _good. Archaic and obsolete except as interjection 'good, excellent, that's right'.
maer
good
_ adj. _good.
maer
good
adj. good, proper, excellent. Q. mára good, proper, Q. maira excellent. >> mae-. This gloss was rejected.
dû
darkness
(i dhû) (night, nightfall, late evening, dusk), pl. dui (i nui) (SD:302)
fuin
darkness
(gloom, night, dead of night, nightshade). No distinct pl. form.
galvorn
black metal
(i ’alvorn), pl. gelvyrn (i ngelvyrn = i ñelvyrn) if there is a pl. (WJ:322). 2) donn (swart, swarty, shady, shadowy) (lenited dhonn, pl. dynn). (VT45:11). Also dunn- in compounds.
gûl
sorcery
1) gûl (i ngûl = i ñûl, o n**gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil** = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383), 2)
gûl
sorcery
(i ngûl = i ñûl, o n’gûl = o ñgûl, construct gul) (magic, necromancy, evil knowledge), pl. guil (in guil = i ñguil) (Silm:App, MR:250, WJ:383)
maer
good
(lenited vaer, no distinct pl. form) (fit, useful). For ”good” as an adjective describing human qualities, the word fael ”fair-minded, just, generous” may be considered.
Noldorin
morthu
masculine name. *Black Stench
morn
adjective. black
morthond
place name. Blackroot
morgul
noun. sorcery
morn
adjective. black, dark
môr
adjective. black
môr
noun. darkness, dark, night
durgul
noun. sorcery
dúath
noun. darkness, shadow
dúath
noun. nightshade
dúwath
noun. darkness, shadow
dúwath
noun. nightshade
Khuzdûl
buzundush
place name. Blackroot
narâg
adjective. black
Black Speech
burzum
noun. darkness
burzum
noun. darkness
gûldur
noun. sorcery
Nandorin
dunna
adjective. black
This might seem to be derived from dunnâ, sc. the stem DUN "dark (of colour)" (LR:355) either with the adjectival ending -nâ or with medial fortification n > nn and the simpler adjectival ending -â. However, other Nandorin words seem to have lost their final -â's, e.g. ealc "swan" from alk-wâ, and (to quote a wholly parallel example) cogn "bow" from ku3nâ. The descendant form is not cogna with the final vowel intact as the case would seem to be in dunna. However, primitive -ô does come out as -a in Nandorin, cf. golda "Noldo" from ñgolodô, so a form dunnô might be capable of yielding dunna, but this primitive form would rather be a noun "dark person/thing", since primitive -ô, -nô are nominal rather than adjectival endings. Of course, Nandorin may have turned an original noun into an adjective, or developed an adjectival ending -a afresh. But all things considered *dunnâ still appears to be the best reconstruction of the primitive form.
The words dunna and scella raise the question of whether original final -â is actually preserved as -a following double consonants (as opposed to clusters of different consonants) in Nandorin.
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
Middle Primitive Elvish
mor
root. *black, dark
mori
adjective. black
Doriathrin
morgul
noun. sorcery
A Doriathrin noun for “sorcery”, written as mor(n)gul indicating the loss of an earlier n (Ety/ÑGOL). The elements of this word seem to be a combination of derivatives of the roots ᴹ√MOR and ᴹ√ÑGOL. The u in the final element -gul is problematic phonetically, as it is in the similar word durgul. Tolkien first wrote this word as morgol (EtyAC/ÑGOL), probably reflecting this phonetic uncertainty. As with durgul, Tolkien may have resolved this uncertainty by deciding this word was Noldorin, since N. morgul appears in a marginal note in The Etymologies (EtyAC/ÑGOL).
dunn
adjective. black
A Doriathrin adjective meaning “black” (Ety/DUN). Its Noldorin and Danian cognates imply development from a primitive form ✱✶dunnā. Since the primitive form ended in [a], the Ilkorin a-affection would ordinarily have produced ✱✱donn. However, it seems that a-affection was prevented or reversed before [nn], as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Doriathrin/dunn).
durgul
noun. sorcery
A Doriathrin noun for “sorcery” (Ety/ÑGOL). The elements of this word seem to be a combination of derivatives of the roots ᴹ√DOƷ and ᴹ√ÑGOL. If it were derived from such a primitive form, it would imply that in its phonological history the [o] because [u] in both syllables. This does not seem to be a general rule in Ilkorin, however: compare Ilk. dorn and (n)golo. A simpler explanation would be that it was a loan word from Noldorin: N. durgul seen in a marginal note (EtyAC/ÑGOL).
Conceptual Development: There is a rejected form dûghol in this entry of The Etymologies that may represent Tolkien’s first attempt to formulate a native Ilkorin word for “sorcery” (EtyAC/ÑGOL). Similar forms appear among the precursors to S. Dol Guldur in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s: Dol Dúgol or Dol Dúghol (TI/178; WR/122). The entry also has a deleted variant form of gûl of Ilk. (n)gôl, so it may be Tolkien originally envisioned a different phonological history of [o] in Ilkorin allowing the production of words like durgul. Perhaps he added the Noldorin form durgul in the margin because he abandoned [o] > [u] in Ilkorin.
ungol
noun. darkness
A noun for “darkness” developed from the root ᴹ√UÑG (Ety/UÑG), perhaps from a primitive form ✱✶uñglē̆ [uŋglē̆] as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Ilkorin/ungol): after the [[ilk|primitive final [e] was lost]], the resulting [[ilk|final [l] would become syllabic and develop into [-ol]]].
Gnomish
mora
adjective. good
morn
adjective. dark, black
morth
noun. darkness
mor’ach
*too good
colw
adjective. black
mawr
adjective. good
Early Primitive Elvish
moro
root. *black, dark
Early Quenya
morna
adjective. black
morqa
adjective. black
Early Noldorin
môr
adjective. good
i weg mor agos
the very good man
maur
adjective. good
Ossriandric
dunna
adjective. black
An adjective for “black” developed from the root ᴹ√DUN (Ety/DUN). It most likely developed from primitive ✱✶dunnā given its cognates, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL-Nandorin/dunna). It is a counter-example to Danian a-affection, perhaps indicating that this change was prevented or reverted before nasal clusters as was the case in Ilkorin.
Old Noldorin
magra
adjective. good
This root was connected to “black” and “darkness” for all of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as unglossed ᴱ√MORO in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. móre “night” and ᴱQ. morna “black” (QL/62). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon it had derivatives like G. morn “dark, black” and G. morth “darkness” (GL/58). It appeared as ᴹ√MOR in The Etymologies of the 1930s with a similar set of derivatives (Ety/MOR) and √MOR was mentioned regularly in Tolkien’s later writings with glosses like “black, dark, darkness” (Let/308, 382; PE17/73).