Home of the Noldor in Eriador during the Second Age, described as the “city of the Elves” (S/286) and translated by Christopher Tolkien as “Fortress of the Eldar” (SI/Ost-in-Edhil). This name is a combination of ost “fortress, city”, the plural in of the definite article i and the plural of Edhel “Elf” (SA/os(t), edhel).
Sindarin
ost
noun. fort, fortress, stronghold, citadel; fortified town; enclosure, fort, fortress, stronghold, citadel; (fortified) town, [N.] city; [orig.] [S.] enclosure, [G.] yard
ost
noun. city, town with wall round
ost
noun. citadel, fortress or stronghold, made or strenghtened by art
Ostgiliath
Ostgiliath
ost-in-edhil
place name. Fortress of the Eldar
Ost-in-Edhi
noun. city, fortress of elves
ost (“fortress, city with wall around”) + in (pl. gen. article) + edhil (pl. of edhel “elf”)
ost
city
ost (pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).
ost
stronghold
(fortress, city), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (fortress with a watchtower), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).
ost
fort, fortress
(city, stronghold), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (q.v.), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).
ost
city
(pl. yst) (city/town with wall around).
ostirion
fortress with a watchtower
(pl. ostiryn).
ostirion
fortress with a watchtower
ostirion (pl. ostiryn).
ostirion
watchtower, fortress with a
ostirion (pl. ostiryn). The name of the city Minas Tirith may be interpreted as ”watchtower” or ”tower of guard”.
ostirion
watchtower, fortress with a
(pl. ostiryn). The name of the city Minas Tirith may be interpreted as ”watchtower” or ”tower of guard”.
osta-
verb. to surround with walls, build up; to fortify, protect; [orig.] to surround
ostol-
verb. to circumnavigate, come around
ostor
noun. enclosure, circuit of walls, *town wall
nost
house
(pl. nyst) (family) (PM:360)
osgiliath
place name. Citadel of the Stars
The old capital of Gondor, translated “Citadel of the Stars” (LotR/244) or “Fortress of the Stars” (RGEO/65, Let/426). This name is a combination of ost “fortress, city” and the class-plural of gil “star” (RC/232; SA/os(t), gil).
Conceptual Development: When this name first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, it was already N. Osgiliath “Fortress of the Stars” (TI/119).
rath
noun. street, street, track; [N.] course, river-bed
A word used in street-names in Minis Tirith, most notably Rath Celerdain “Lampwrights’ Street” (LotR/768) and Rath Dínen “Silent Street” (LotR/826). It was also an element in the (rejected) name Raith ’Ngorthrim “Paths of the Dead” (RC/526) and the river-name Rathlóriel “Golden-bed” (S/235), but the last of these may be a remnant of its 1930s meaning (see below). In the “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings Tolkien indicated that rath meant “street (in a city)” (RC/523, 551).
The most extensive description of this word appears in a 1968 discussion of the (possibly related) name Amroth which Tolkien said “is connected with a stem RATH meaning ‘climb’ - with hands and feet, as in a tree or up a rocky slope”. Regarding S. rath Tolkien said:
> Both Quenya and Lindarin also possessed a word ratta, which might be a derivative (by lengthening the medial consonant, a frequent device in Primitive Eldarin) from either ✱rattha or ✱ratta from the stem RAT ... It meant ‘a track’; though often applied to ways known to mountaineers, to passes in the mountains and the climbing ways to them, it was not confined to ascents ... This is evidently the origin also of S. rath ... [which] had the same senses as Q., L. ratta, though in mountainous country it was most used of climbing ways ... In Minas Tirith, in the Númenórean Sindarin that was used in Gondor for the nomenclature of places, rath had become virtually equivalent to ‘street’, being applied to nearly all the paved ways within the city. Most of these were on an incline, often steep (NM/364).
Thus Sindarin rath was a blending of √RATH “climb” and ✶ratta “track” < √RAT “find a way”, and in the context of Minas Tirith was generalized to “(city) street” since most of that city’s streets were sloped.
Rath seems to have been used in the sense “climb” or “climbing track” in the name Andrath [= “✱Long Climb”] for the high-climbing pass from Rivendell over the Misty Mountains that Bilbo and the Dwarves took in The Hobbit, as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (UT/271, 278 note #4). However, the name Andrath was also used for the road running from Fornost down to Tharbad (TI/305; UT/348) which was unlikely to climb much, so in that case may have been used in the sense “street”, “track”, or “course”.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. rath was also derived from ON. rattha < ᴹ✶rattā̆ under the root ᴹ√RAT “walk”, but in that document it was glossed “course, river-bed” (Ety/RAT). In this sense it was the basis for the river-name N. Rathloriel, translated “Bed of Gold” in narratives from this period (LR/141). This translation of Rathlóriel survived in The Silmarillion as published (S/235), but may have been a remnant of the 1930s meaning of rath.
Neo-Sindarin: Tolkien’s 1968 note implies that original sense of S. rath was a “(climbing) track”, and may have meant “street” only in Númenórean Sindarin, or possibly just for street names in Minas Tirith. For city streets in other contexts I would use [N.] ostrad or [ᴺS.] othrad. I would furthermore ignore the 1930s translation N. rath “course, river-bed”, and would assume that Rathlóriel had a more metaphorical meaning: “✱Golden Street/Track”. For “(river) course” I was instead use the better-attested S. rant; see that entry for details.
garth
stronghold
1) garth (i **arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth), 2) ost (fortress, city), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (fortress with a watchtower), Othram** ”fortress-wall” (WR:288).
garth
fort, fortress
1) garth (i **arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth), 2) ost (city, stronghold), pl. yst (WJ:414). The word may appear as os- or oth- before certain consonants in compounds, e.g. Osgiliath ”Citadel (Fortress) of the Stars” (LotR), ostirion (q.v.), Othram ”fortress-wall” (WR:288). 3) barad (fortress, tower) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad** is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.
aethas
noun. siege
A neologism coined by Ellanto posted on 2024-05-15 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), a noun form of aetha- “to narrow; to besiege”.
noss
house
(family) 1) noss (construct nos, pl. nyss) (family, clan), 2) nost (pl. nyst) (family) (PM:360), 3) nothrim (family); no distinct pl. form (PM:360)
othrad
street
1) *othrad (pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad. 2) rath (climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255). 3)
othrad
street
(pl. ethraid for archaic öthraid). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” ostrad.
cerin
noun. circular enclosure
cerin
noun. mound
laer
noun. summer
othrad
noun. street
othrond
noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold
othronn
noun. fortress or city in underground caves, underground stronghold
rath
noun. street
n. street.
sennas
noun. guesthouse
adab
house
(building), pl. edaib. In ”Noldorin”, the plural was edeb.
barad
fort, fortress
(fortress, tower) (i varad), pl. beraid (i meraid). Note: barad is also an adjective "doomed", but this is derived from a stem in mb- and would have different mutations.
bâr
house
bâr (dwelling, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.
bâr
house
(dwelling, home, family; land, earth) (i mâr, o mbâr, construct bar), pl. bair (i mbair). Also -bar, -mar at the end of compounds.
car
house
(building, dwelling-place) 1) car or cardh (i gar[dh], o char[dh]) (building), pl. cerdh (i cherdh) or cair (i chair). Note: cardh also means "deed, feat". Therefore, the form car may be preferred for clarity. 2) adab (building), pl. edaib. In ”Noldorin”, the plural was edeb. 3)
car
house
or cardh (i gar[dh], o char[dh]) (building), pl. cerdh (i cherdh) or cair (i chair). Note: cardh also means "deed, feat". Therefore, the form car may be preferred for clarity.
cerin
circular enclosure
(i gerin, o cherin) (circular raised mound), no distinct pl. form except with article (i cherin).
covas
noun. community
garth
stronghold
(i ’arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth)
garth
fort, fortress
(i ’arth) (stronghold), pl. gerth (i ngerth = i ñerth)
gobel
village
(i ’obel) (enclosed dwelling, ”town”), pl. gebil (i ngebil = i ñebil). Archaic pl. ✱göbil.
laer
summer
laer (no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”song”.
laer
summer
(no distinct pl. form). Note: a homophone means ”song”.
noss
house
(construct nos, pl. nyss) (family, clan)
nothrim
house
(family); no distinct pl. form (PM:360)
othrad
noun. street
othronn
underground city or stronghold
(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)
othronn
underground stronghold or city
(pl. ethrynn for archaic öthrynn) (fortress in a cave or caves). Cited in archaic form othrond in the sources (WJ:414, VT46:12)
pêl
enclosure
pêl (i bêl, construct pel) (fence, fenced field, garth), pl. peli (i pheli), the latter forms reflecting the stem pele- (root __, LR:380).
pêl
enclosure
(i bêl, construct pel) (fence, fenced field, garth), pl. peli (i pheli), the latter forms reflecting the stem pele- (root PEL(ES), LR:380).
rath
street
(climb, climbing path, course, riverbed), pl. raist (idh raist) (UT:255).
sennas
guesthouse
(i hennas), pl. sennais (i sennais), coll. pl. sennassath (RC:523)
topon. -. >> Osgiliath