Sindarin 

morgul

noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy

Sindarin [Ety/377, S/432, WJ/383, MR/350, RC/482] morn+gûl "dark magic". Group: SINDICT. Published by

morgul

noun. black arts, sorcery, necromancy

The Sindaril word for black magic, a compound of morn “black, dark” and gûl “(evil) knowledge” (PE17/125). Since the adjectival element “black” appears first in the word, this is probably an older compound, though its elements are still discernible. The word guldur is later compound of similar meaning, but with the adjectival element second.

Conceptual Development: The word N. morgul “sorcery” appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a marginal note for the root ᴹ√ÑGOL (EtyAC/ÑGOL). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this word first appeared as N. morgol in the name N. Minas Morgol (TI/127), then later as N. morghul in the names N. Minas Morghul (TI/146) and N. Imlad Morghul (WR/223), before eventually being replaced by N/S. morgul everywhere. It therefore seems likely that the marginal note in The Etymologies was written after the introduction of this word in Lord of the Rings drafts.

Cognates

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
morn“black, dark; night”
gûl“black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, black arts, sorcery, (evil) knowledge, [N.] magic; [ᴱN.] wisdom”

Variations

  • Morgul ✧ Let/382; PE17/031; PMI/Morgul; RC/482; SI/Morgul
Sindarin [Let/382; MR/350; PE17/031; PE17/036; PE17/125; PMI/Morgul; RC/482; SA/gûl; SI/Morgul; WJ/383] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gûl

noun. black arts

n. black arts, sorcery. Q. ñúle, B.S. gûl 'wraith' is probably derived from Sindarin.

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:125] < ÑGUL (possibly in origin simply a variant of ÑGOL applied to a darker shade ?) dark, with sinister connotations. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

guldur

noun. (dark) sorcery

Sindarin gûl+dûr. Group: SINDICT. Published by

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).****

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)