nan-tathren

place name. Land of Willows, (lit.) Willow-vale

Land where the river Narog met the river Sirion, translated “Land of Willows” (S/120). It is a combination of nan(d) “valley” and the adjective tathren “of willow” (SA/nan(d), tathar).

Conceptual Development: This name appears as G. Nantathrin with an i in the Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s, and as G. Nan Tathrin in Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/61). It also appeared as N. Nan-Tathrin in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, at one place translated “Valley of Willows” (SM/35) but generally translated “Land of Willows” (SM/141, LR/126). Later in the 1930s Tolkien revised the name to N. Nan-tathren with an e (LR/145), a form that also appeared in The Etymologies with the same derivation as given above (Ety/NAD, TATHAR).

Cognates

• Q. Nan-tasarion “Vale of Willow[s]” ✧ SA/tathar; SI/Nan-tathren
• Q. Tasarinan “Willow-vale” ✧ SA/tathar

Elements

Word	Gloss
nan(d)	“vale, valley, vale, valley, [ᴱN.] dale; [N.] wide grassland; [G.] field acre”
tathren	“of willow(s)”

Variations

• Nan Tathren ✧ SA/nan(d); TII/Nan Tathren; WJI/Nan Tathren

Nan-tathren

Nan-tathren

Nan-tathren is a Sindarin name, meaning "vale of willows" or "land of willows".