Sindarin translation of “Saruman the White” (UT/390), a combination of his Sindarin name Curunír and lenited form ’lân of the (otherwise unattested) adjective glân “white”.
Undetermined
saruman
masculine name. Saruman
Black Speech
uglúk u bagronk sha pushdug saruman-glob búbhosh skai
Uglúk to the cesspool, sha! the dungfilth, the great Saruman-fool, skai; Uglúk to torture chamber with stinking Saruman-filth, dung-heap, skai
Sindarin
curunír ’lân
masculine name. Saruman the White
nan curunír
place name. Valley of Saruman
Sindarin name of the Valley of Saruman (LotR/487), also translated “Wizard’s Vale” (LotR/552). It is a combination of nan(d) “valley” and Curunír “Saruman”.
Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name first appeared as N. Nan Gurunír (TI/420, WR/8), since at this stage both nouns and adjectives were lenited in this position.
Noldorin
nan gurunír
place name. Valley of Saruman
Quenya
Curumo
cunning one
Curumo masc. name *"Cunning One", "Saruman" (UT:401)
Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!
English
Saruman
Saruman
The name Saruman is a Mannish translation of Quenya Curumo, his original name in Valinor as a Maia; and Sindarin Curunír which is supposedly the same name (with the ending -ndîr "man"). All names mean "Skilled Man" (root curu "skill").[source?] Saruman is derived from Old English: the root word searu means "device, design, contrivance, art" and the whole name means "man of skill". His name among the Elves was Curunír Lân (lenited glân "white").[source?]
The common name of the White Wizard, probably representative of his actual (unknown) Westron name in the way that “Frodo” represents the true Westron name Maura. As suggested by Christopher Tolkien, it is very likely based on a modernized form of Old English searu meaning “skill, cunning, cunning device” (UT/401 note #6). Hence in combination with “man” it is the equivalent of his Quenya/Sindarin names Q. Curumo and S. Curunír “Man of Skill” as pointed out by Hammond and Skull (RC/81).