1) dem (gloomy), lenited dhem, pl. dhim; 2) naer (dreadful, lamentable, woeful); no distinct pl. form. 3) nûr (pl. nuir). Note: homophones mean ”deep” and ”race”.
Sindarin
naer
adjective. sad, lamentable
nûr
adjective. sad
dem
sad
dem
sad
(gloomy), lenited dhem, pl. dhim
nírol
adjective. sad, sorrowing, *sorrowful
Elements
Word Gloss nîr “tear, weeping, weeping, [G.] grief, sorrow; [N.] tear”
naer
sad
(dreadful, lamentable, woeful); no distinct pl. form.
nûr
sad
(pl. nuir). Note: homophones mean ”deep” and ”race”.
For an earlier discussion, see Klockzo, 4th volume, p. 160 §147: The meaning of Núrnen long remained highly hypothetical. The current definition is based on Christopher Tolkien's index to UT and on the unfinished index of names published in RC. The Gnomish Lexicon listed nur- (nauri) "growl, grumble", nurn "plaint, lament, a complaint" and nurna- "bewail, lament, complain of" (PE/11:61). Likewise, the Qenyaqetsa included a root NURU- with several derivatives with similar meanings (PE/12:68). See also Q. nurrula "mumbling" (from nurru- "murmur, grumble") in the final version of the poem The Last Ark (MC/222-23). Patrick Wynne therefore noted: S. *nûr in Núrnen "Sad Water" is apparently "sad" in the sense "bewailing, lamenting, complaining, grumbling", no doubt a reference to the general mood of the hapless laborers in "the great slave-worked fields" beside the lake. (See Lambengolmor/856-860)