gorgoroth

place name. Valley of Terror

A region in Mordor glossed “valley of terror” (LotR/401) as well as the short name of Ered Gorgoroth in Beleriand (S/164). It is a combination of gor “fear” and its augmented form goroth “horror” (SA/gor).

Conceptual Development: The name ᴱN. Gorgoroth first appeared in rough notes associated with the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s, apparently referring to the mountains in Beleriand (LB/272). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, N. Gorgoroth was derived from ᴹ✶gor-ngoroth (Ety/ÑGOROTH), which is probably the source Christopher Tolkien used for the derivation given above from The Silmarillion appendix. The name was first applied to the region of Mordor in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/104) where it sometimes appeared as Gorgor (WR/137, SD/22). In a few placed is appeared as Gorgorath with an a as a name of the mountains (LB/350, WJ/188).

Element in

• S. Ered Gorgoroth “Mountains of Terror” ✧ SA/gor; UTI/Gorgoroth

Variations

• Gorgorath ✧ LB/350