morn (“dark, black”) + coth (“enemy”)
Sindarin
Morgoth
theology. Morgoth
Morgoth
noun. dark enemy
morgoth
masculine name. Black Foe, Dark Foe, Black Enemy, Dark Tyrant
Sindarin name of the Vala Melkor, source of evil in the world, variously translated “Black Foe” (S/79, MR/294), “Dark Foe” (WJ/14), “Black Enemy” (PM/358) or “Dark Tyrant” (PE21/85). His name is a combination of the element MOR “black” (SA/mor, PE17/73) and the lenited form of coth “enemy” (Ety/KOT).
Possible Etymology: Tolkien stated that this name was given to Morgoth by Fëanor (S/79, MR/194). This scenario made sense when the Welsh-like Elvish language was the native language of the Noldorin it was up through the 1940s, but was more difficult to justify when Sindarin became the language of Beleriand in the 1950s. Tolkien seems to have devised several new etymologies of this name specifically to make the statement more plausible. See the entry ✶Moriñgotho for further discussion.
Conceptual Development: The name G. Morgoth appeared in the earliest Lost Tales; this early version of the name does not have a clear etymology, though it may have contained goth “strife” (LT2/67). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, N. Morgoth was translated “Dark Power” (SM/164) or “Black God” (LR/206), indicating a shift in the conception of the name’s meaning. The name first appeared with the translation “Black Foe” and the derivation described above in The Etymologies (Ety/MOR, KOT), though in the same period Tolkien also considered making the second element an Orcish word meaning “master” (LR/406). See ✶Moriñgotho for later etymological developments.
Cognates
- Q. Morikotto “*Dark Enemy” ✧ VT49/24
Derivations
- ✶Moriñgotho “Black Foe” ✧ MR/194; MR/294
Element in
- S. Narn e·’Rach Morgoth “Tale of the Curse of Morgoth” ✧ MR/373
Elements
Word Gloss MOR “black, dark, darkness” coth “enemy, foe, enemy, foe; [N.] enmity” Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶Moringotto > Morgoth [moriŋgotto] > [moreŋgotto] > [moreŋgottʰo] > [moreŋgoθθo] > [moreŋgoθθ] > [morŋgoθθ] > [morgoθθ] > [morgoθ] ✧ MR/194 ✶Moriñgotho > Morgoth [moriŋgotʰo] > [moreŋgotʰo] > [moreŋgoθo] > [moreŋgoθ] > [morŋgoθ] > [morgoθ] ✧ MR/294
Morgoth
the Black Foe
The Sindarin name Morgoth ("the Black Foe") was given him by Fëanor.
Tolkien experimented (but apparently never reached a decision) with different Quenya translations of Morgoth: Moringotto, Moriñgotho, or Morikotto.
Morgoth
Morgoth
theon. >> mor