Eljorahir
Seeking the strange paths of Elvish dreams
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- Jul 13, 2022
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The list in the "Tolkien's Special Words" thread reached the capacity for a single post. So, the list has been separated into two parts. Your comments and suggestions regarding the listing of words are welcome, but please continue to make them in the original thread here:
damascene The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “There stood the house of the Golden Flower who bore a rayed sun upon their shield, and their chief Glorfindel bore a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold.”, [Definition: to ornament (something, such as iron or steel) with wavy patterns like those of watered silk or with inlaid work of precious metals.]
dastard The Children of Hurin, Chapter 12, (Turin, having returned to his childhood home, begins a rampage.): “’Not first will I die here!’ he cried. And he seized Brodda, and with the strength of his great anguish and wrath he lifted him on high and shook him, as if he were a dog…’You son of dastards, thief, slave of slaves!’ Thereupon he flung Brodda…”, [Definition: a coward or a person who acts treacherously.]
daubing Leaf by Niggle: "’Niggle’s picture!’…’He tried to tell you long ago,’ said the man, ‘but you would not look…This is what you and your wife used to call Niggle’s Nonsense, or That Daubing.’…’you might have caught the glimpse, if you had ever thought it worth while to try.’", [Definition 1: a crude picture. Definition 2 (archaic): something having a false exterior.]
dearth Concerning Hobbits: “Many thousands then perished, but the Days of Dearth (1158-60) were at the time of this tale long past and the Hobbits had again become accustomed to plenty.”, [Definition: scarcity that makes dear, or specifically “famine”.]
debouched The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale (fleeing the burning city): “Then came they at the last lessened by wellnigh a tithe to the tunnel’s opening, and it debouched cunningly in a large basin where once water had lain, but it was now full of thick bushes.”, [Definition: emerged, discharged.]
dern The word “dern” is used in the names Dernhelm (Eowyn’s secret identity) and Derndingle (the hidden meeting place of the Ents), [Synonyms for dern: secret, hidden.] Note: together with “helm” (a position of control), “Dernhelm” may signify Eowyn taking control of her destiny (going to battle against orders) while keeping her identity hidden.
device The King of the Golden Hall: "…a small shield he also took. It bore the running horse, white upon green, that was the emblem of the House of Eorl…Gimli bowed. ‘I am proud, Lord of the Mark, to bear your device,’ he said. ‘Indeed sooner would I bear a horse than be borne by one.’”, [Meaning: an emblem, sometimes called a heraldic badge. Bearing the device usually indicates allegiance to the family or entity represented by the device.]
diapered The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “There stood the house of the Golden Flower who bore a rayed sun upon their shield, and their chief Glorfindel bore a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold.”, [Definition: decorate (a surface) with a repeating geometric or floral pattern.]
dight The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Behind them came the host of the Harp…They were dight with tassels of silver and tassels of gold, and a harp of silver shone in their blazonry upon a field of black…”, [Archaic definition: dress or adorn.]
dingle Treebeard: “We shall meet in the place we have always met: Derndingle Men call it.”, [Definition: a small wooded valley.] Note: together with “dern”, Derndingle becomes: a hidden wooded valley.
dirk The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Then Glorfindel’s left hand sought a dirk, and this he thrust up that it pierced the Balrog’s belly nigh his own face (for that demon was double his stature); and it shrieked, and fell backward from the rock, and falling clutched Glorfindel’s yellow locks beneath his cap, and those twain fell into the abyss.”, [Definition: a long straight-bladed dagger.]
discomfit The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "The great wrath of his [Eomer’s] onset had utterly overthrown the front of his enemies, and great wedges of his Riders had passed clear through the ranks of the Southrons, discomfiting their horsemen and riding their footmen to ruin.”, [Definition: to frustrate the plans of, thwart.]
doggrel The Houses of Healing (the herb-master speaking): "…rhymes of old days which women such as our good Ioreth still repeat without understanding. ‘When the black breath blows and death’s shadow grows and all lights pass, come athelas! come athelas! Life to the dying In the king’s hand lying!’ It is but a doggrel, I fear…”, [Meaning: (variant of doggerel) poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning.]
dolven The Children of Hurin: “Then Beleg chose Anglachel; and that was a sword of great fame, and it was so named because it was made of iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star; it would cleave all earth-dolven iron.”, [Definition: that which has been dug from the ground.]
doom The Field of Cormallen: “But Gandalf lifted up his arms and called once more in a clear voice: ‘Stand, Men of the West! Stand and wait! This is the hour of doom.’ And even as he spoke the earth rocked beneath their feet.”, [Definition: destiny. Often unhappy destiny, but not always.]
Doughty Prologue: “Though slow to quarrel, and for sport killing nothing that lived, they were doughty at bay, and at need could still handle arms.”, [Definition: determined, brave, and unwilling ever to stop trying to achieve something.]
draggle The Great River: "Slowly the sky above grew lighter, and then suddenly the clouds broke, and their draggled fringes trailed away northward up the River.”, [Definition: straggle, to trail behind others of the same kind.]
dragonets The Old Forest: “Half in a dream he wandered forward to the riverward side of the tree, where great winding roots grew out into the stream, like gnarled dragonets straining down to drink.”, [Definition: little dragons.]
draught Not at Home: “…and they met no sign of any living thing, only furtive shadows that fled from the approach of their torches fluttering in the draughts.”, [Meaning: chiefly British spelling of “draft”.]
draught (2) The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "…they cried in dismay; for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught with many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze.”, [Definition: draft, the depth of water required to float a ship--especially when loaded.]
Draught (3) A Long-expected Party: “A draught of cooks, from every inn and eating-house for miles around, arrived to supplement the dwarves and other odd folk that were quartered at Bag End.”, [Definition: British spelling of draft; a selection or drawing of persons, by lot or otherwise, from the general body of the people, especially for military service.]
dromund The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "…they cried in dismay; for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught with many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze.”, [Dromond definition: a large medieval fast ship propelled primarily by oars but sometimes also by sails.]
dryad Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit: "Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now desolate kept still a disheveled dryad loveliness.", [Definition: a tree spirit or tree nymph in Greek mythology. Dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved towards tree nymphs in general. Often their life force was connected to the tree in which they resided and they were usually found in sacred groves of the gods.]
dumbledor Errantry: "He battled with the Dumbledors, the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees, and won the Golden Honeycomb; and running home on sunny seas in ship of leaves and gossamer with blossom for a canopy, he sat and sang, and furbished up and burnished up his panoply.", [Meaning: bumblebee.]
dun Of the Fifth Battle: “Now Morgoth, who knew much of what was done and designed by his enemies, chose his hour, and trusting in his treacherous servants to hold back Maedhros and prevent the union of his foes he sent a force seeming great (and yet but part of all that he had made ready) towards Hithlum; and they were clad all in dun raiment and showed no naked steel, and thus were already far over the sands of Anfauglith before their approach was seen.”, [Definition: having a slightly brownish dark gray color or marked by dullness and drabness.]
durst The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Now these were demons with whips of flame and claws of steel by whom he tormented those of the Noldoli who durst withstand him in anything…”, [Archaic meaning: past tense of dare.]
dwimmer-crafty The Riders of Rohan: Eomer speaking to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli: "It is ill dealing with such a foe: he is a wizard both cunning and dwimmer-crafty, having many guises.", [Meaning: possibly, creator of phantoms]
dwimmerlaik The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "Dernhelm speaking...'Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!'", [Meaning in the language of Rohan: work of necromancy or spectre.]
elevenses A Long-expected Party: "There were three official meals: lunch, tea, and dinner…At other times there were merely lots of people eating and drinking – continuously from elevenses until six-thirty, when the fireworks started.”, [Definition: a short break taken at around 11:00 a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The details vary among countries.]
eleventy A Long-Expected Party (Chapter #1…sentence #1): “When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”, [Meaning: derived from the Old English ‘hund endleofantig’. It can mean either an indefinite large number (like gazillion) or the exact number 110.]
ell The Taming of Smeagol: Sam measuring his elven rope: "Five, ten, twenty, thirty ells, more or less...", [Definition: a former measure of length (equivalent to six hand breadths) used mainly for textiles, locally variable but typically about 45 inches.]
embrasure Minas Tirith: "They put all into a wicker basket and climbed back into the sun; and Berogond brought Pippin to a place at the east end of the great out-thrust battlement where there was an embrasure in the walls with a stone seat beneath the sill.”, [Definition: an opening with sides flaring outward in a wall or parapet of a fortification usually for allowing the firing of weapons.]
emprise The Fall of Gondolin, Additional Notes—The Prophecy of Mandos: “For the kin-slaying he cursed the house of Feanor, and to a less degree all who followed them, or shared in their emprise, unless they would return to abide the doom and pardon of the Valar.”, [Definition: an adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise.]
envoy Farmer Giles of Ham: "Envoy” appears only as the title of the last chapter of the book, [Definition: variant of envoi, the concluding part of a literary work, especially a short stanza concluding a poem written in certain verse forms (e.g. the ballade or sestina); (occasionally in extended use) an author's concluding words, dedication, etc.]
errantry Many Meetings: "But her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir were out upon errantry; for they rode often far afield with the Rangers of the North, forgetting never their mother’s torment in the dens of the orcs.”, [Definition: the quality, fact, or condition of wandering. Especially, a roving in search of chivalrous adventure.] [Another meaning: "Errantry" is a poem by JRRT, first published in 1933. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia describes "Errantry" as "the nonsensical adventures of a tiny messenger knight who falls in love with a butterfly and battles various insects." It adds that it is then linked to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins's "serious account of Eärendil's quest" as described in The Lord of the Rings.]
escarpment The Riders of Rohan: "The trail led them north along the top of the escarpment, and at length they came to a deep cleft carved in the rock by a stream that splashed noisily down.”, [Definition: a long cliff or steep slope separating two comparatively level or more gently sloping surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting.]
esquire The Passing of the Grey Company: "…laying his long old hands upon the brown hair of the hobbit, he blessed him. ‘Rise now, Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan of the household of Meduseld!’…’As a father you shall be to me,’ said Merry.", [There are many meanings. Two of which are: 1. A rank next below that of knight, and 2. An attendant on the person of the Sovereign.]
essay The Shadow of the Past, (Gandalf speaking to Frodo): “The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles—yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals.”, [Definition: an initial tentative effort.]
Exchequer Farmer Giles of Ham: "The royal retinue ate up nearly all the bread, butter, eggs, chickens, bacon and mutton…But the King paid handsomely for everything (in tallies to be honoured later by the Exchequer…)…so the folk of Ham were well satisfied, not knowing the actual state of the Exchequer.", [Definition: a department or office of state in medieval England charged with the collection and management of the royal revenue and judicial determination of all revenue causes, or simply the royal treasury.]
eyot The Great River: "That night they camped on a small eyot close to the western bank.", [Definition: variant of British “ait”, a small island usually in a river. An eyot is characteristically long and narrow, and may become a permanent island should it become secured and protected by growing vegetation.]
fain The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Now Tuor’s plan seemed to the lords desperate indeed – seeing the narrowness of the tunnel and the greatness of the company that must pass it – yet would they fain take this rede in their straits.”, [Synonym: gladly.]
fallow Lothlorien: "Looking through an opening on the south side of the flet Frodo saw all the valley of the Silverlode lying like a sea of fallow gold tossing gently in the breeze.”, [Definition: Fallow is a pale brown color that is the color of withered foliage or sandy soil in fallow fields. Fallow is one of the oldest color names in English. The first recorded use of fallow as a color name in English was in the year 1000. Note: The branch of hobbits, the Fallohides were “fairer of skin and of hair”.]
fane Akallabeth: "…and it was named the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, and upon it was a high place that was hallowed to Eru Iluvatar, and it was open and unroofed, and no other temple or fane was there in the land of the Numenoreans.", [Archaic meaning: temple.]
Farthing Of the Ordering of the Shire: “The Shire was divided into four quarters, the Farthings…North, South, East, and West…”, [Definition: a former British monetary unit equal to ¼ of a penny. Etymology: from Old English fēortha meaning a fourth.]
fathom The Taming of Smeagol: "'It would be a big jump still,' said Frodo. 'About...eighteen fathoms, I should guess.'", [Definition: a unit of length equal to six feet (approximately 1.8 m), chiefly used in reference to the depth of water.]
fax The Council of Elrond (Gandalf speaking): "Shadowfax they called him. By day his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, and he passes unseen. Light is his footfall!”, [Meaning: Old Norse term for ‘mane’.]
fell(1) The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "A creature of an older world maybe it was...And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly...", [Definition: "Fell" has several definitions. In this quote the meaning is probably "sharp or pungent".]
fell(2) The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien: "By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien [Beren] was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of Thuringwethil.", [Synonyms: skin, hide, pelt.]
fell(3) The Passage of the Marshes: "…Frodo and Sam staring at the sky…a black shadow loosed from Mordor; a vast shape winged and ominous. It scudded across the moon, and with a deadly cry went away westward, outrunning the wind in its fell speed.", [List of synonyms that could apply here: fierce, cruel, terrible, sinister, malevolent, deadly.]
fell(4) Flight to the Ford: "’I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while,’ said Strider. ‘We have now come to the River Hoarwell, that the Elves call Mitheithel. It flows down out of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells north of Rivendell…’", [British Definition: a high barren field or moor.]
fen The Great River: "On the other side the meads had become rolling downs of withered grass amidst a land of fen and tussock.", [Definition: low land that is covered wholly or partly with water and that usually has peaty alkaline soil and characteristic flora (as of sedges and reeds).]
fender An Unexpected Party: “Then they went back, and found Thorin with his feet on the fender smoking a pipe.”, [Definition: a low metal frame set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot, and ash.]
fetters Flotsam and Jetsam (Aragorn complimenting Pippin): “One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters. You did rightly.”, [Definition: a chain or shackle for the feet, or something that restrains.]
fey The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: “...Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins...”, [Some meanings: fated to die, foreboding of death or calamity, visionary/able to see future, marked by an otherworldly air, or not mentally sound.]
fief The Children of Hurin, Chapter 1, Hurin speaking to Morwen: “And if we gain our ends, then the Elven-kings are resolved to restore all the fiefs of Beor’s house to his heir,; and that is you, Morwen daughter of Baragund.”, [Definition: a feudal estate.]
filigree Tales from the Perilous Realm, ‘The Man in the Moon Came Down too Soon’: "On a filigree stair of glimmering hair then lightly down he went, And merry was he at last to be free on a mad adventure bent.", [Definition: ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs. It often suggests lace.]
fillet The Steward and the King: “A hush fell upon all as out from the host stepped the Dunedain in silver and grey; and before them came walking slow the Lord Aragorn…his head was bare save for a star upon his forehead bound by a slender fillet of silver.", [Definition: in classical antiquity a fillet was a very narrow band of cloth, leather or some form of garland, frequently worn by athletes. It was also worn as a sign of royalty and became symbolized in later ages as a metallic ring which was a stylized band of cloth.]
fire-bolt The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "Fewer were they [the Rohirrim] but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.”, [Meaning: a thunderbolt, a flash of lightning.]
firedogs Smith of Wootton Major: "For by that time he was the best smith between Far Easton and the Westwood, and he could make all kinds of things of iron in his smithy…pots and pans…hinges…firedogs, and horse-shoes, and the like.", [Definition: same as andirons, a pair of metal supports for firewood used on a hearth and made of a horizontal bar mounted on short legs with usually a vertical shaft surmounting the front end.]
firmament Ainulindale: "…Iluvatar arose…Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Iluvatar the Music ceased.", [Modern Meaning: the vault or arch of the sky. In biblical cosmology: the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to separate the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear.]
flagon Barrels Out of Bond: "It must be potent wine to make a wood-elf drowsy; but this wine, it would seem, was the heady vintage of the great gardens of Dorwinion not meant for his soldiers or his servants, but the king’s feasts only, and for smaller bowls not for the butler’s great flagons.", [Definition: a large usually metal or pottery vessel (as for wine) with handle and spout and often a lid.]
flammifer Many Meetings (Bilbo chants the last few lines of his song about Earendil and the Silmaril): "…for ever still a herald on an errand that should never rest to bear his shining lamp afar, the Flammifer of Westernesse.”, [Latin Definition: flame-bearing, burning, fiery.]
flaxen The King of the Golden Hall: "Their horses were of great stature…The men that rode them matched them well: tall and long-limbed; their hair, flaxen-pale, flowed under their light helms, and streamed in long braids behind them; their faces were stern and keen.”, [Definition: a pale yellowish-gray color, the color of straw or unspun dressed flax.]
fold Minas Tirith: “The townlands were rich, with wide tilth and many orchards, and homesteads there were with oast and garner, fold and byre, and many rills rippling through the green from the highlands down to Anduin.”, [Definition: a pen or enclosure for domestic animals, especially sheep.]
folde The Muster of Rohan: "On into the shadow they road…twelve leagues …they camped…And then on again through the Folde; and through the Fenmarch…”, [Old English Definitions: the land, dry ground, the earth as a dwelling place of man.]
footler Leaf by Niggle: "’…silly footler.’…’Footler,’sighed Atkins. ‘Yes, poor little man, he never finished anything. Ah well, his canvases have been put to better uses, since he went.’", [Definition: one who foolishly wastes time.]
footpad The Taming of Smeagol: “…Sam turned and looked back at the way they had come…’I’m glad we’ve got the rope,’ he said. ‘We’ve set a little puzzle for that footpad, anyhow. He can try his nasty flappy feet on those ledges!’”, [Definition: a criminal who robs pedestrians.]
forsooth The Voice of Saruman (Eomer, not fooled by The Voice): "Lord, hear me!...Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue?...What aid can he give to you, forsooth? All he desires is to escape from his plight…", [Archaic Meaning: in truth, indeed. Often used to imply contempt or doubt.]
fortnight A Warm Welcome: “At the end of a fortnight Thorin began to think of departure.”, [Definition: a period of fourteen days. Etymology: Middle English fourtenight, alteration of fourtene night, from Old English fēowertȳne niht “fourteen nights”.]
fosse The Mirror of Galadriel (The Company reaches Caras Galadhon.): "There was a wide treeless space before them…Beyond it was a deep fosse lost in soft shadow, but the grass upon its brink was green, as if it glowed still in memory of the sun that had gone.”, [Definition: ditch or moat. Note: the “e” is silent. Pronounced like “fahss”.]
freshet Lothlorien: "Some way below the mere they came on a deep well of water, clear as crystal, from which a freshet fell over a stone lip and ran glistening and gurgling down a steep rocky channel. ‘Here is the spring from which the Silverlode rises,’ said Gimli. ‘Do not drink of it! It is icy cold.’”, [Definition: most commonly refers to the annual high or overflowing waters in a stream associated with melting snow in the spring. In some cases it is used to mean simply “stream” regardless of its flow.]
fret The Fall of Gondolin, The Last Version (Tuor and Voronwe approach the River Sirion): “The banks of its deep channel fell away in that place, and its waters, choked by a great waste of stones, were spread out into broad shallows, full of the murmur of fretting streams.”, [Definition for water: to become agitated or rippled.]
frith The Children Of Hurin (Appendix 1, The Evolution of The Great Tales): ''…they (Turin and Gwindor) came to a country kindly tended; through flowery frith and fair acres they fared...”, [Meaning: associated with a state of peace, stability, and security.]
frore The Lay of Leithian: “Esgalduin’s dark and shrouded stream he followed, till its water frore were joined to Sirion…”, [Archaic meaning: frozen, frosty.]
froward The King of the Golden Hall: “Faithful heart may have froward tongue.” [Definition: willfully contrary; not easily managed.]
furlong Fog on the Barrow-downs: "They galloped their ponies over the last furlongs and halted under the long shadows of the trees.”, [Modern definition: a unit of distance equal to 220 yards or 1/8 mile. (The furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow in a cultivated field.) Etymology: from Old English “furh” and “lang” which mean “furrow” and “long”.]
gabble The Choices of Master Samwise: "Orcs go fast in tunnels…as they ran they gabbled and yammered after the fashion of their kind.", [Meanings: to talk fast or foolishly, to utter inarticulate or animal sounds.]
gaffer The Scouring of the Shire: "there were thousands of willing hands of all ages, from the small but nimble ones of the hobbit lads and lasses to the well worn and horny ones of the gaffers and gammers.", [Meaning: older man, approaching or at grandparent age. Etymology: phonetic reduction of “godfather”.]
gainsay The Children of Hurin, Chapter 2: “But this was the counsel of Turambar, and it was useless to gainsay him.”, [Definition: contradict, oppose.]
gammer The Scouring of the Shire: "there were thousands of willing hands of all ages, from the small but nimble ones of the hobbit lads and lasses to the well worn and horny ones of the gaffers and gammers.", [Meaning: older woman, approaching or at grandparent age. Etymology: phonetic reduction of “godmother”.]
garn The Land of Shadow: "’Why, before I knew he was wanted I shot him, as neat as neat, at fifty paces right in the back; but he ran on.’ ‘Garn! You missed him,’ said the tracker. ‘First you shoot wild, then you run too slow…’", [Definition: same as ‘go on’, often used to express disbelief or ridicule of a statement.]
garner Minas Tirith: “The townlands were rich, with wide tilth and many orchards, and homesteads there were with oast and garner, fold and byre, and many rills rippling through the green from the highlands down to Anduin.”, [Definition: a storehouse for corn, granary.]
garth The Children of Hurin: "Is this the door of your house?" said Turin..."Not the door of the house, but the gate of the garth," said Mim., [Definition: a small yard or enclosure, a small piece of enclosed ground or garden.]
ghyll The Black Gate Opens: "They went openly but heedfully, with mounted scouts before them on the road, and others on foot upon either side, especially on the eastward flank; for there lay dark thickets, and a tumbled land of rocky ghylls and crags, behind which the long grim slopes of the Ephel Duath clambered up.", [British definition: (alternate spelling of gill), a ravine or a narrow stream.]
gimlet The Uruk-hai (Ugluk says something nice about the orcs of Moria): "There’s only one thing those maggots can do: they can see like gimlets in the dark.", [Definition: a tool with a screw point for drilling small holes, having a piercing or penetrating quality. “Gimlet-eyed” means “sharp sighted”.]
girt The King of the Golden Hall: “Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.” [Definition: past participle of gird. To encircle or bind with belt or band.]
girth The Muster of Rohan: "Already the companies were preparing to start: men were tightening girths, looking to saddles, caressing their horses…”, [Definition: a band or strap that encircles the body of an animal to fasten something (such as a saddle) on its back.]
glede The Council of Elrond, Isildur writing about the One Ring: "It was hot when I first took it; hot as a glede, and my hand was scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain of it." [Definition: a live coal, an ember.]
glen Minas Tirith: "And there where the White Mountains of Ered Nimrais came to their end he saw , as Gandalf had promised, the dark mass of Mount Mindolluin, the deep purple shadows of its high glens, and its tall face whitening in the rising day.”, [Definition: a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides.]
glistering The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “But Tuor looked upon the walls of stone, and the uplifted towers, upon the glistering pinnacles of the town, and he looked upon the stairs of stone and marble, bordered by slender balustrades and cooled by the leap of threadlike waterfalls…so great was his amaze at the glory of Gondolin.”, [Synonym: glittering.]
gloaming The Last Stage (Bilbo returns to Rivendell once upon an evening): “…elves still singing…as if they had not stopped since he left…’The fire is more shining, On hearth in the gloaming, Than gold won by mining, So why go a-roaming?...’”, [Synonyms: twilight, dusk.]
glower Queer Lodgings: “But in the evening when the dusk came on and the peaks of the mountains glowered against the sunset they made a camp and set a guard, and most of them slept uneasily with dreams in which there came the howl of hunting wolves and the cries of goblins.”, [Modern definition: to look or stare at with sullen annoyance or anger. (Glower is a distant relative of Middle Low German glūren, which means "to be overcast" or “covering”.) Perhaps either meaning could work to some extent in the context of the quote. The red sunset provides the backdrop of “anger” within the modern definition or the mountains were simply “covering” the view of the sunset according to the old German meaning.]
gorcrow The Mewlips: "Beside the rotting river-strand; The drooping willows weep, And gloomily the gorcrows stand; Croaking in their sleep.", [Definition: a carrion crow. Etymology: combination of ‘gore’ and ‘crow’.]
gore Lothlorien: "'No, friends,' said Haldir, 'you have entered the Naith of Lorien or the Gore, as you would say for it is the land that lies like a spearhead between the arms of Silverlode and Anduin the Great.'", [Definition: a small usually triangular piece of land.]
grabbling The Taming of Smeagol: “’We will swear to do what he wants, yes, yess,’ said Gollum, still twisting and grabbling at his ankle. ‘It hurts us.’”, [Definition: searching with the hand, groping.]
grange The Scouring of the Shire: "…they gasped…The Old Grange on the west side had been knocked down, and its place taken by rows of tarred sheds.", [Definitions: a storehouse for grain, a barn, or a farmhouse with outbuildings.]
greatheart The Field of Cormallen: "…a minstrel of Gondor stood forth…’Lo! Lords and knights and men of valour unashamed, kings and princes, and fair people of Gondor, and Riders of Rohan, and ye sons of Elrond, and Dunedain of the North, and Elf and Dwarf, and greathearts of the Shire, and all free folk of the West, now listen to my lay. For I will sing to you of Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom.’”, [Meaning in other literature: Greatheart is the hero of the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Possible meaning within the final chapters of The Lord of the Rings: Greatheart is the Pilgrims’ guide and protector as they journey toward the Celestial City. The story includes a stay at an inn, a conversation with a friendly inn-keeper, the defeat of enemies allowing the release of prisoners from cells, and the conclusion of the story with characters crossing over water to reach their heavenly destination. In LOTRs this sounds reminiscent of The Prancing Pony, Barliman, The Scouring, the releases from The Lockholes at Michel Delving, and Frodo’s final voyage.]
greave The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “…folk were the busier about the quarrying of metals and the forging of all manner of swords and axes, spears and bills, and the fashioning of coats of mail, byrnies and hauberks, greaves and vambraces, helms and shields.”, [Definition: a piece of armor used to protect the shin.]
greensward Three is Company (arriving at the wood hall in the woods above Woodhall): "At the south end of the greensward there was an opening. There the green floor ran on into the wood, and formed a wide space like a hall, roofed by the boughs of trees.”, [Definition: turf that is green with growing grass.]
greyhame King of the Golden Hall, Theoden to his people after Gandalf healed his darkened mind: "Here now I name my guest Gandalf Greyhame, wisest of counsellors, most welcome of wanderers, a lord of the Mark...", [Meaning: grey covering. See separate entry for “hame”.]
grot The Window on the West: "’Well, here is our refuge,’ said Faramir…‘At one time the water flowed down through this cave and out of the arch, but its course was changed further up the gorge, by workmen of old, and the stream sent down in a fall of doubled height over the rocks far above. All the ways into this grot were then sealed against the entry of water or aught else, all save one.’”, [Definition: (same as grotto), a natural or artificial cave used by humans.]
guerdon The Lay of Leithian: “Thus guerdon shall ye have that bore these tidings sweet, O traitor dear!”, [Archaic meaning: reward, recompense.]
habergeon Many Meetings: "In panoply of ancient kings, in chained rings he armoured him; his shining shield was scored with runes to ward all wounds and harm from him; his bow was made of dragon-horn; his arrows shorn of ebony, of silver was his habergeon, his scabbard of chalcedony; his sword of steel was valiant, of adamant his helmet tall, an eagle-plume upon his crest, upon his breast an emerald.", [Meaning: Habergeon ("little hauberk") generally refers to the quilted undergarment used with a hauberk (chain mail shirt), but the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.]
hame The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien: "By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien [Beren] was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of Thuringwethil.", [Obsolete synonyms: covering, skin, membrane.]
haply The Lay of Leithian: “…or haply battle, ruin, and woe, in Doriath where great Thingol reigned, if Feanor’s fatal jewel he gained.”, [Archaic definition: by chance or accident; perhaps.]
hard by Akallabeth: "At the feet of the mountain were built the tombs of the Kings, and hard by upon a hill was Armenelos, fairest of cities…", [Definition: in close proximity to.]
harts-tongue Lothlorien (description of a dell along the Silverlode): "About it stood fir-trees, short and bent, and its sides were steep and clothed with harts-tongue and shrubs of whortle-berry.”, [Definition: hart’s-tongue fern or Asplenium scolopendrium is an evergreen fern whose leaves are said to resemble the tongue of a hart (a male red deer). It often grows in shaded areas with moist soils and in damp crevices of rock walls.]
hauberk Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin: “Thus he {Tuor} came at length to the deserted halls of Vinyamar beneath Mount Taras, and he entered in, and found there the shield and hauberk, and the sword and helm, that Turgon had left there by the command of Ulmo long before…”, [Definition: a tunic of chainmail worn as defensive armor from the 12th to the 14th century.]
haughty The White Rider (Gandalf advises his friends to behave themselves.): "Draw no weapon speak no haughty word, I counsel you all, until we are come before Theoden’s seat.”, [Definition: blatantly and disdainfully proud, having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior.]
hayward Of the Ordering of the Shire: "The Shirriffs…were in practice rather haywards than policemen, more concerned with the strayings of beasts than of people.", [Definition: an officer of an English parish dating from the Middle Ages in charge of fences and enclosures; also, a herdsman in charge of cattle and other animals grazing on common land. Their main job was to protect the crops of the village from livestock.]
heart of darkness Lothlorien (Haldir speaks to Frodo and Sam atop Cerin Amroth a few days before their journey by boat begins.): “In this high place you may see the two powers that are opposed one to another; and ever they strive now in thought, but whereas the light perceives the very heart of the darkness, its own secret has not been discovered. Not yet.”, [One meaning: the title of a story by Joseph Conrad which includes a journey by boat on a river, arrows shot at the boat along the way, an encounter with a beautiful woman who holds her arms high above her head on the riverbank as the boat departs the scene, an encounter with a madman, the death of the madman, and the body of the madman being carried downstream in the boat. Sound familiar?]
heath Queer Lodgings: "The wind was on the withered heath, but in the forest stirred no leaf: there shadows lay by night and day, and dark things silent crept beneath.”, [Definition: an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil, inferior drainage, and a surface rich in peat or peaty humus.]
held forth A Long-expected Party: "He [Ham Gamgee] held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years…”, [Meaning: spoke at length.]
helter-skelter Out of the Frying-pan Into the Fire (Dori explains to Gandalf how he misplaced a burglar): “…There was no time to count, as you know quite well, till we had dashed through the gate-guards, out of the lower door, and helter-skelter down here.”, [Definition: in undue haste, confusion, or disorder.]
hemmed Of Maeglin: “’And be wary,’ he said; ‘for though Morgoth be yet hemmed in the North there are many perils in Middle-Earth of which the Lady knows nothing.’", [Definition: surrounded in a restrictive manner, confined, (usually used with “in”.)]
high sea The Grey Havens: "...And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water.", [Definition: the open part of a sea or ocean especially outside territorial waters, usually used in plural. (Use of this term dates to the 12th century.)]
hillock The Children of Hurin, Chapter 13 (Turin grieves at the burial site of Finduilas): “…they led him to a hillock by the Crossings of Teiglin. There he laid himself down, and a darkness fell on him, so that they thought he was dead.”, [Definition: a small hill.]
hither Journey to the Crossroads: “Frodo could hear its stony voice coming up through the silence; and beside it on the hither side a road went winding down like a pale ribbon, down into chill grey mists that no gleam of sunset touched.” [Definition: situated on this side. Or: to this place, here.]
hoar Of Beren and Luthien, After Beren’s (first) death and Luthien’s spirit departs her body to follow him: “Then a winter, as it were the hoar age of mortal Men, fell upon Thingol.”, [Meaning: referring to anything that is old or has the whitened look of age.]
hobgoblin Queer Lodgings (Gandalf answers Bilbo’s question regarding alternate routes.): “Before you could get round Mirkwood in the North you would be right among the slopes of the Grey Mountains, and they are simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description.”, [Definition: a mischievous goblin. (In English folklore a hobgoblin is a household spirit, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous.)]
hobnob The Black Gate is Closed (Sam speaking to Smeagol): "You seem to know a lot about what He’s doing and thinking’ said Sam. ‘Have you been talking to Him lately? Or just hobnobbing with Orcs?’”, [Definition: to associate familiarly or (archaically) to drink socially. Note: Hob and nob were used in the phrases "to drink hob or nob" and "to drink hobnob," which meant "to drink alternately to each other." Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, hobnob came to refer to congenial social interaction.]
house-carle The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “…Tuor shouted to the men about Earendel to stand and flee not, for the wolfriders were scattering them and slaying them piecemeal, and the child was upon the shoulders of one Hendor, a house-carle of Idril’s, and he seemed like to be left with his burden.”, [Meaning: A housecarl was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia. They were well-trained and paid as fulltime soldiers.]
howe The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "Green and long grew the grass on Snowmane's Howe, but ever black and bare was the ground where the beast was burned.", [Meaning: burial mound.]
hue and cry The Land of Shadow: "With a desperate spurt Frodo and Sam dashed along the bridge; but they had hardly reached its further end when they hear the hue and cry begin. Away behind them…the tower of Cirith Ungol…its harsh bell clanged…then broke into a shattering peal. Horns sounded…answering cries…they heard the tramp of iron-shod feet…”, [Meaning: a loud outcry formerly used in the pursuit of one who is suspected of a crime. By the Statute of Winchester of 1285 it was provided that anyone, either a constable or a private citizen, who witnessed a crime shall make hue and cry, and that the hue and cry must be kept up against the fleeing criminal until the felon is apprehended and delivered to the sheriff. All able-bodied men, upon hearing the shouts, were obliged to assist in the pursuit of the criminal. "Hue" appears to come from the Old French huer, which means "to shout”.]
hummerhorn Errantry: "He battled with the Dumbledors, the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees, and won the Golden Honeycomb; and running home on sunny seas in ship of leaves and gossamer with blossom for a canopy, he sat and sang, and furbished up and burnished up his panoply.", [Meaning: believed to be a name invented by Tolkien for a large wasp or hornet.]
hummock The Palantir (Pippin’s about to become the second burrahobbit in our stories.): “…seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed…close beside him, between his right side and his bent arm, there was a hummock, something round wrapped in a dark cloth…”, [Definition: a rounded knoll or hillock, small hill. The hum in hummock is a relative of the word hump.]
hundredweight The Shadow of the Past: “He refused to go into mourning; and the next year he gave a party in honour of Bilbo’s hundred-and-twelfth birthday, which he called a Hundred-weight Feast.”, [British Definition: a unit of weight equal to one hundred and twelve pounds.]
husbandmen Minas Tirith: "Gandalf passed now into the wide land beyond the Rammas Echor…The townlands were rich, with wide tilthe…the herdsmen and husbandmen that dwelt there were not many…", [Medieval Meaning: small landowners occupied in agriculture. Note: The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" rather than "married man".]
hutch The Houses of Healing, (To Eomer, Gandalf explains the angst of Eowyn): "But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?”, [Definition: a pen or coop for an animal.]
hythe Farewell to Lorien: "The Swan passed on slowly to the hythe, and they turned their boats and followed it. There in the last end of Egladil upon the green grass the parting feast was held…”, [Definition: Middle English spelling of “hithe”, a small port or harbor especially on a river, now used chiefly in place names.]
damascene The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “There stood the house of the Golden Flower who bore a rayed sun upon their shield, and their chief Glorfindel bore a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold.”, [Definition: to ornament (something, such as iron or steel) with wavy patterns like those of watered silk or with inlaid work of precious metals.]
dastard The Children of Hurin, Chapter 12, (Turin, having returned to his childhood home, begins a rampage.): “’Not first will I die here!’ he cried. And he seized Brodda, and with the strength of his great anguish and wrath he lifted him on high and shook him, as if he were a dog…’You son of dastards, thief, slave of slaves!’ Thereupon he flung Brodda…”, [Definition: a coward or a person who acts treacherously.]
daubing Leaf by Niggle: "’Niggle’s picture!’…’He tried to tell you long ago,’ said the man, ‘but you would not look…This is what you and your wife used to call Niggle’s Nonsense, or That Daubing.’…’you might have caught the glimpse, if you had ever thought it worth while to try.’", [Definition 1: a crude picture. Definition 2 (archaic): something having a false exterior.]
dearth Concerning Hobbits: “Many thousands then perished, but the Days of Dearth (1158-60) were at the time of this tale long past and the Hobbits had again become accustomed to plenty.”, [Definition: scarcity that makes dear, or specifically “famine”.]
debouched The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale (fleeing the burning city): “Then came they at the last lessened by wellnigh a tithe to the tunnel’s opening, and it debouched cunningly in a large basin where once water had lain, but it was now full of thick bushes.”, [Definition: emerged, discharged.]
dern The word “dern” is used in the names Dernhelm (Eowyn’s secret identity) and Derndingle (the hidden meeting place of the Ents), [Synonyms for dern: secret, hidden.] Note: together with “helm” (a position of control), “Dernhelm” may signify Eowyn taking control of her destiny (going to battle against orders) while keeping her identity hidden.
device The King of the Golden Hall: "…a small shield he also took. It bore the running horse, white upon green, that was the emblem of the House of Eorl…Gimli bowed. ‘I am proud, Lord of the Mark, to bear your device,’ he said. ‘Indeed sooner would I bear a horse than be borne by one.’”, [Meaning: an emblem, sometimes called a heraldic badge. Bearing the device usually indicates allegiance to the family or entity represented by the device.]
diapered The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “There stood the house of the Golden Flower who bore a rayed sun upon their shield, and their chief Glorfindel bore a mantle so broidered in threads of gold that it was diapered with celandine as a field in spring; and his arms were damascened with cunning gold.”, [Definition: decorate (a surface) with a repeating geometric or floral pattern.]
dight The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Behind them came the host of the Harp…They were dight with tassels of silver and tassels of gold, and a harp of silver shone in their blazonry upon a field of black…”, [Archaic definition: dress or adorn.]
dingle Treebeard: “We shall meet in the place we have always met: Derndingle Men call it.”, [Definition: a small wooded valley.] Note: together with “dern”, Derndingle becomes: a hidden wooded valley.
dirk The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Then Glorfindel’s left hand sought a dirk, and this he thrust up that it pierced the Balrog’s belly nigh his own face (for that demon was double his stature); and it shrieked, and fell backward from the rock, and falling clutched Glorfindel’s yellow locks beneath his cap, and those twain fell into the abyss.”, [Definition: a long straight-bladed dagger.]
discomfit The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "The great wrath of his [Eomer’s] onset had utterly overthrown the front of his enemies, and great wedges of his Riders had passed clear through the ranks of the Southrons, discomfiting their horsemen and riding their footmen to ruin.”, [Definition: to frustrate the plans of, thwart.]
doggrel The Houses of Healing (the herb-master speaking): "…rhymes of old days which women such as our good Ioreth still repeat without understanding. ‘When the black breath blows and death’s shadow grows and all lights pass, come athelas! come athelas! Life to the dying In the king’s hand lying!’ It is but a doggrel, I fear…”, [Meaning: (variant of doggerel) poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning.]
dolven The Children of Hurin: “Then Beleg chose Anglachel; and that was a sword of great fame, and it was so named because it was made of iron that fell from heaven as a blazing star; it would cleave all earth-dolven iron.”, [Definition: that which has been dug from the ground.]
doom The Field of Cormallen: “But Gandalf lifted up his arms and called once more in a clear voice: ‘Stand, Men of the West! Stand and wait! This is the hour of doom.’ And even as he spoke the earth rocked beneath their feet.”, [Definition: destiny. Often unhappy destiny, but not always.]
Doughty Prologue: “Though slow to quarrel, and for sport killing nothing that lived, they were doughty at bay, and at need could still handle arms.”, [Definition: determined, brave, and unwilling ever to stop trying to achieve something.]
draggle The Great River: "Slowly the sky above grew lighter, and then suddenly the clouds broke, and their draggled fringes trailed away northward up the River.”, [Definition: straggle, to trail behind others of the same kind.]
dragonets The Old Forest: “Half in a dream he wandered forward to the riverward side of the tree, where great winding roots grew out into the stream, like gnarled dragonets straining down to drink.”, [Definition: little dragons.]
draught Not at Home: “…and they met no sign of any living thing, only furtive shadows that fled from the approach of their torches fluttering in the draughts.”, [Meaning: chiefly British spelling of “draft”.]
draught (2) The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "…they cried in dismay; for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught with many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze.”, [Definition: draft, the depth of water required to float a ship--especially when loaded.]
Draught (3) A Long-expected Party: “A draught of cooks, from every inn and eating-house for miles around, arrived to supplement the dwarves and other odd folk that were quartered at Bag End.”, [Definition: British spelling of draft; a selection or drawing of persons, by lot or otherwise, from the general body of the people, especially for military service.]
dromund The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "…they cried in dismay; for black against the glittering stream they beheld a fleet borne up on the wind: dromunds, and ships of great draught with many oars, and with black sails bellying in the breeze.”, [Dromond definition: a large medieval fast ship propelled primarily by oars but sometimes also by sails.]
dryad Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit: "Ithilien, the garden of Gondor now desolate kept still a disheveled dryad loveliness.", [Definition: a tree spirit or tree nymph in Greek mythology. Dryads were originally considered the nymphs of oak trees specifically, but the term has evolved towards tree nymphs in general. Often their life force was connected to the tree in which they resided and they were usually found in sacred groves of the gods.]
dumbledor Errantry: "He battled with the Dumbledors, the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees, and won the Golden Honeycomb; and running home on sunny seas in ship of leaves and gossamer with blossom for a canopy, he sat and sang, and furbished up and burnished up his panoply.", [Meaning: bumblebee.]
dun Of the Fifth Battle: “Now Morgoth, who knew much of what was done and designed by his enemies, chose his hour, and trusting in his treacherous servants to hold back Maedhros and prevent the union of his foes he sent a force seeming great (and yet but part of all that he had made ready) towards Hithlum; and they were clad all in dun raiment and showed no naked steel, and thus were already far over the sands of Anfauglith before their approach was seen.”, [Definition: having a slightly brownish dark gray color or marked by dullness and drabness.]
durst The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Now these were demons with whips of flame and claws of steel by whom he tormented those of the Noldoli who durst withstand him in anything…”, [Archaic meaning: past tense of dare.]
dwimmer-crafty The Riders of Rohan: Eomer speaking to Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli: "It is ill dealing with such a foe: he is a wizard both cunning and dwimmer-crafty, having many guises.", [Meaning: possibly, creator of phantoms]
dwimmerlaik The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "Dernhelm speaking...'Begone, foul dwimmerlaik, lord of carrion! Leave the dead in peace!'", [Meaning in the language of Rohan: work of necromancy or spectre.]
elevenses A Long-expected Party: "There were three official meals: lunch, tea, and dinner…At other times there were merely lots of people eating and drinking – continuously from elevenses until six-thirty, when the fireworks started.”, [Definition: a short break taken at around 11:00 a.m. to consume a drink or snack. The details vary among countries.]
eleventy A Long-Expected Party (Chapter #1…sentence #1): “When Mr. Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday with a party of special magnificence, there was much talk and excitement in Hobbiton.”, [Meaning: derived from the Old English ‘hund endleofantig’. It can mean either an indefinite large number (like gazillion) or the exact number 110.]
ell The Taming of Smeagol: Sam measuring his elven rope: "Five, ten, twenty, thirty ells, more or less...", [Definition: a former measure of length (equivalent to six hand breadths) used mainly for textiles, locally variable but typically about 45 inches.]
embrasure Minas Tirith: "They put all into a wicker basket and climbed back into the sun; and Berogond brought Pippin to a place at the east end of the great out-thrust battlement where there was an embrasure in the walls with a stone seat beneath the sill.”, [Definition: an opening with sides flaring outward in a wall or parapet of a fortification usually for allowing the firing of weapons.]
emprise The Fall of Gondolin, Additional Notes—The Prophecy of Mandos: “For the kin-slaying he cursed the house of Feanor, and to a less degree all who followed them, or shared in their emprise, unless they would return to abide the doom and pardon of the Valar.”, [Definition: an adventurous, daring, or chivalric enterprise.]
envoy Farmer Giles of Ham: "Envoy” appears only as the title of the last chapter of the book, [Definition: variant of envoi, the concluding part of a literary work, especially a short stanza concluding a poem written in certain verse forms (e.g. the ballade or sestina); (occasionally in extended use) an author's concluding words, dedication, etc.]
errantry Many Meetings: "But her brothers, Elladan and Elrohir were out upon errantry; for they rode often far afield with the Rangers of the North, forgetting never their mother’s torment in the dens of the orcs.”, [Definition: the quality, fact, or condition of wandering. Especially, a roving in search of chivalrous adventure.] [Another meaning: "Errantry" is a poem by JRRT, first published in 1933. The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia describes "Errantry" as "the nonsensical adventures of a tiny messenger knight who falls in love with a butterfly and battles various insects." It adds that it is then linked to the Hobbit Bilbo Baggins's "serious account of Eärendil's quest" as described in The Lord of the Rings.]
escarpment The Riders of Rohan: "The trail led them north along the top of the escarpment, and at length they came to a deep cleft carved in the rock by a stream that splashed noisily down.”, [Definition: a long cliff or steep slope separating two comparatively level or more gently sloping surfaces and resulting from erosion or faulting.]
esquire The Passing of the Grey Company: "…laying his long old hands upon the brown hair of the hobbit, he blessed him. ‘Rise now, Meriadoc, esquire of Rohan of the household of Meduseld!’…’As a father you shall be to me,’ said Merry.", [There are many meanings. Two of which are: 1. A rank next below that of knight, and 2. An attendant on the person of the Sovereign.]
essay The Shadow of the Past, (Gandalf speaking to Frodo): “The lesser rings were only essays in the craft before it was full-grown, and to the Elven-smiths they were but trifles—yet still to my mind dangerous for mortals.”, [Definition: an initial tentative effort.]
Exchequer Farmer Giles of Ham: "The royal retinue ate up nearly all the bread, butter, eggs, chickens, bacon and mutton…But the King paid handsomely for everything (in tallies to be honoured later by the Exchequer…)…so the folk of Ham were well satisfied, not knowing the actual state of the Exchequer.", [Definition: a department or office of state in medieval England charged with the collection and management of the royal revenue and judicial determination of all revenue causes, or simply the royal treasury.]
eyot The Great River: "That night they camped on a small eyot close to the western bank.", [Definition: variant of British “ait”, a small island usually in a river. An eyot is characteristically long and narrow, and may become a permanent island should it become secured and protected by growing vegetation.]
fain The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “Now Tuor’s plan seemed to the lords desperate indeed – seeing the narrowness of the tunnel and the greatness of the company that must pass it – yet would they fain take this rede in their straits.”, [Synonym: gladly.]
fallow Lothlorien: "Looking through an opening on the south side of the flet Frodo saw all the valley of the Silverlode lying like a sea of fallow gold tossing gently in the breeze.”, [Definition: Fallow is a pale brown color that is the color of withered foliage or sandy soil in fallow fields. Fallow is one of the oldest color names in English. The first recorded use of fallow as a color name in English was in the year 1000. Note: The branch of hobbits, the Fallohides were “fairer of skin and of hair”.]
fane Akallabeth: "…and it was named the Meneltarma, the Pillar of Heaven, and upon it was a high place that was hallowed to Eru Iluvatar, and it was open and unroofed, and no other temple or fane was there in the land of the Numenoreans.", [Archaic meaning: temple.]
Farthing Of the Ordering of the Shire: “The Shire was divided into four quarters, the Farthings…North, South, East, and West…”, [Definition: a former British monetary unit equal to ¼ of a penny. Etymology: from Old English fēortha meaning a fourth.]
fathom The Taming of Smeagol: "'It would be a big jump still,' said Frodo. 'About...eighteen fathoms, I should guess.'", [Definition: a unit of length equal to six feet (approximately 1.8 m), chiefly used in reference to the depth of water.]
fax The Council of Elrond (Gandalf speaking): "Shadowfax they called him. By day his coat glistens like silver; and by night it is like a shade, and he passes unseen. Light is his footfall!”, [Meaning: Old Norse term for ‘mane’.]
fell(1) The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "A creature of an older world maybe it was...And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly...", [Definition: "Fell" has several definitions. In this quote the meaning is probably "sharp or pungent".]
fell(2) The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien: "By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien [Beren] was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of Thuringwethil.", [Synonyms: skin, hide, pelt.]
fell(3) The Passage of the Marshes: "…Frodo and Sam staring at the sky…a black shadow loosed from Mordor; a vast shape winged and ominous. It scudded across the moon, and with a deadly cry went away westward, outrunning the wind in its fell speed.", [List of synonyms that could apply here: fierce, cruel, terrible, sinister, malevolent, deadly.]
fell(4) Flight to the Ford: "’I am afraid we must go back to the Road here for a while,’ said Strider. ‘We have now come to the River Hoarwell, that the Elves call Mitheithel. It flows down out of the Ettenmoors, the troll-fells north of Rivendell…’", [British Definition: a high barren field or moor.]
fen The Great River: "On the other side the meads had become rolling downs of withered grass amidst a land of fen and tussock.", [Definition: low land that is covered wholly or partly with water and that usually has peaty alkaline soil and characteristic flora (as of sedges and reeds).]
fender An Unexpected Party: “Then they went back, and found Thorin with his feet on the fender smoking a pipe.”, [Definition: a low metal frame set in front of the fireplace to contain embers, soot, and ash.]
fetters Flotsam and Jetsam (Aragorn complimenting Pippin): “One who cannot cast away a treasure at need is in fetters. You did rightly.”, [Definition: a chain or shackle for the feet, or something that restrains.]
fey The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: “...Théoden could not be overtaken. Fey he seemed, or the battle-fury of his fathers ran like new fire in his veins...”, [Some meanings: fated to die, foreboding of death or calamity, visionary/able to see future, marked by an otherworldly air, or not mentally sound.]
fief The Children of Hurin, Chapter 1, Hurin speaking to Morwen: “And if we gain our ends, then the Elven-kings are resolved to restore all the fiefs of Beor’s house to his heir,; and that is you, Morwen daughter of Baragund.”, [Definition: a feudal estate.]
filigree Tales from the Perilous Realm, ‘The Man in the Moon Came Down too Soon’: "On a filigree stair of glimmering hair then lightly down he went, And merry was he at last to be free on a mad adventure bent.", [Definition: ornamental work especially of fine wire of gold, silver, or copper made with tiny beads or twisted threads, or both in combination, soldered together or to the surface of an object of the same metal and arranged in artistic motifs. It often suggests lace.]
fillet The Steward and the King: “A hush fell upon all as out from the host stepped the Dunedain in silver and grey; and before them came walking slow the Lord Aragorn…his head was bare save for a star upon his forehead bound by a slender fillet of silver.", [Definition: in classical antiquity a fillet was a very narrow band of cloth, leather or some form of garland, frequently worn by athletes. It was also worn as a sign of royalty and became symbolized in later ages as a metallic ring which was a stylized band of cloth.]
fire-bolt The Battle of the Pelennor Fields: "Fewer were they [the Rohirrim] but they clove through the Southrons like a fire-bolt in a forest.”, [Meaning: a thunderbolt, a flash of lightning.]
firedogs Smith of Wootton Major: "For by that time he was the best smith between Far Easton and the Westwood, and he could make all kinds of things of iron in his smithy…pots and pans…hinges…firedogs, and horse-shoes, and the like.", [Definition: same as andirons, a pair of metal supports for firewood used on a hearth and made of a horizontal bar mounted on short legs with usually a vertical shaft surmounting the front end.]
firmament Ainulindale: "…Iluvatar arose…Then he raised up both his hands, and in one chord, deeper than the Abyss, higher than the Firmament, piercing as the light of the eye of Iluvatar the Music ceased.", [Modern Meaning: the vault or arch of the sky. In biblical cosmology: the firmament is the vast solid dome created by God during the Genesis creation narrative to separate the primal sea into upper and lower portions so that the dry land could appear.]
flagon Barrels Out of Bond: "It must be potent wine to make a wood-elf drowsy; but this wine, it would seem, was the heady vintage of the great gardens of Dorwinion not meant for his soldiers or his servants, but the king’s feasts only, and for smaller bowls not for the butler’s great flagons.", [Definition: a large usually metal or pottery vessel (as for wine) with handle and spout and often a lid.]
flammifer Many Meetings (Bilbo chants the last few lines of his song about Earendil and the Silmaril): "…for ever still a herald on an errand that should never rest to bear his shining lamp afar, the Flammifer of Westernesse.”, [Latin Definition: flame-bearing, burning, fiery.]
flaxen The King of the Golden Hall: "Their horses were of great stature…The men that rode them matched them well: tall and long-limbed; their hair, flaxen-pale, flowed under their light helms, and streamed in long braids behind them; their faces were stern and keen.”, [Definition: a pale yellowish-gray color, the color of straw or unspun dressed flax.]
fold Minas Tirith: “The townlands were rich, with wide tilth and many orchards, and homesteads there were with oast and garner, fold and byre, and many rills rippling through the green from the highlands down to Anduin.”, [Definition: a pen or enclosure for domestic animals, especially sheep.]
folde The Muster of Rohan: "On into the shadow they road…twelve leagues …they camped…And then on again through the Folde; and through the Fenmarch…”, [Old English Definitions: the land, dry ground, the earth as a dwelling place of man.]
footler Leaf by Niggle: "’…silly footler.’…’Footler,’sighed Atkins. ‘Yes, poor little man, he never finished anything. Ah well, his canvases have been put to better uses, since he went.’", [Definition: one who foolishly wastes time.]
footpad The Taming of Smeagol: “…Sam turned and looked back at the way they had come…’I’m glad we’ve got the rope,’ he said. ‘We’ve set a little puzzle for that footpad, anyhow. He can try his nasty flappy feet on those ledges!’”, [Definition: a criminal who robs pedestrians.]
forsooth The Voice of Saruman (Eomer, not fooled by The Voice): "Lord, hear me!...Have we ridden forth to victory, only to stand at last amazed by an old liar with honey on his forked tongue?...What aid can he give to you, forsooth? All he desires is to escape from his plight…", [Archaic Meaning: in truth, indeed. Often used to imply contempt or doubt.]
fortnight A Warm Welcome: “At the end of a fortnight Thorin began to think of departure.”, [Definition: a period of fourteen days. Etymology: Middle English fourtenight, alteration of fourtene night, from Old English fēowertȳne niht “fourteen nights”.]
fosse The Mirror of Galadriel (The Company reaches Caras Galadhon.): "There was a wide treeless space before them…Beyond it was a deep fosse lost in soft shadow, but the grass upon its brink was green, as if it glowed still in memory of the sun that had gone.”, [Definition: ditch or moat. Note: the “e” is silent. Pronounced like “fahss”.]
freshet Lothlorien: "Some way below the mere they came on a deep well of water, clear as crystal, from which a freshet fell over a stone lip and ran glistening and gurgling down a steep rocky channel. ‘Here is the spring from which the Silverlode rises,’ said Gimli. ‘Do not drink of it! It is icy cold.’”, [Definition: most commonly refers to the annual high or overflowing waters in a stream associated with melting snow in the spring. In some cases it is used to mean simply “stream” regardless of its flow.]
fret The Fall of Gondolin, The Last Version (Tuor and Voronwe approach the River Sirion): “The banks of its deep channel fell away in that place, and its waters, choked by a great waste of stones, were spread out into broad shallows, full of the murmur of fretting streams.”, [Definition for water: to become agitated or rippled.]
frith The Children Of Hurin (Appendix 1, The Evolution of The Great Tales): ''…they (Turin and Gwindor) came to a country kindly tended; through flowery frith and fair acres they fared...”, [Meaning: associated with a state of peace, stability, and security.]
frore The Lay of Leithian: “Esgalduin’s dark and shrouded stream he followed, till its water frore were joined to Sirion…”, [Archaic meaning: frozen, frosty.]
froward The King of the Golden Hall: “Faithful heart may have froward tongue.” [Definition: willfully contrary; not easily managed.]
furlong Fog on the Barrow-downs: "They galloped their ponies over the last furlongs and halted under the long shadows of the trees.”, [Modern definition: a unit of distance equal to 220 yards or 1/8 mile. (The furlong was originally defined less precisely as the length of a furrow in a cultivated field.) Etymology: from Old English “furh” and “lang” which mean “furrow” and “long”.]
gabble The Choices of Master Samwise: "Orcs go fast in tunnels…as they ran they gabbled and yammered after the fashion of their kind.", [Meanings: to talk fast or foolishly, to utter inarticulate or animal sounds.]
gaffer The Scouring of the Shire: "there were thousands of willing hands of all ages, from the small but nimble ones of the hobbit lads and lasses to the well worn and horny ones of the gaffers and gammers.", [Meaning: older man, approaching or at grandparent age. Etymology: phonetic reduction of “godfather”.]
gainsay The Children of Hurin, Chapter 2: “But this was the counsel of Turambar, and it was useless to gainsay him.”, [Definition: contradict, oppose.]
gammer The Scouring of the Shire: "there were thousands of willing hands of all ages, from the small but nimble ones of the hobbit lads and lasses to the well worn and horny ones of the gaffers and gammers.", [Meaning: older woman, approaching or at grandparent age. Etymology: phonetic reduction of “godmother”.]
garn The Land of Shadow: "’Why, before I knew he was wanted I shot him, as neat as neat, at fifty paces right in the back; but he ran on.’ ‘Garn! You missed him,’ said the tracker. ‘First you shoot wild, then you run too slow…’", [Definition: same as ‘go on’, often used to express disbelief or ridicule of a statement.]
garner Minas Tirith: “The townlands were rich, with wide tilth and many orchards, and homesteads there were with oast and garner, fold and byre, and many rills rippling through the green from the highlands down to Anduin.”, [Definition: a storehouse for corn, granary.]
garth The Children of Hurin: "Is this the door of your house?" said Turin..."Not the door of the house, but the gate of the garth," said Mim., [Definition: a small yard or enclosure, a small piece of enclosed ground or garden.]
ghyll The Black Gate Opens: "They went openly but heedfully, with mounted scouts before them on the road, and others on foot upon either side, especially on the eastward flank; for there lay dark thickets, and a tumbled land of rocky ghylls and crags, behind which the long grim slopes of the Ephel Duath clambered up.", [British definition: (alternate spelling of gill), a ravine or a narrow stream.]
gimlet The Uruk-hai (Ugluk says something nice about the orcs of Moria): "There’s only one thing those maggots can do: they can see like gimlets in the dark.", [Definition: a tool with a screw point for drilling small holes, having a piercing or penetrating quality. “Gimlet-eyed” means “sharp sighted”.]
girt The King of the Golden Hall: “Slender and tall she was in her white robe girt with silver; but strong she seemed and stern as steel, a daughter of kings.” [Definition: past participle of gird. To encircle or bind with belt or band.]
girth The Muster of Rohan: "Already the companies were preparing to start: men were tightening girths, looking to saddles, caressing their horses…”, [Definition: a band or strap that encircles the body of an animal to fasten something (such as a saddle) on its back.]
glede The Council of Elrond, Isildur writing about the One Ring: "It was hot when I first took it; hot as a glede, and my hand was scorched, so that I doubt if ever again I shall be free of the pain of it." [Definition: a live coal, an ember.]
glen Minas Tirith: "And there where the White Mountains of Ered Nimrais came to their end he saw , as Gandalf had promised, the dark mass of Mount Mindolluin, the deep purple shadows of its high glens, and its tall face whitening in the rising day.”, [Definition: a valley, typically one that is long and bounded by gently sloped concave sides.]
glistering The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “But Tuor looked upon the walls of stone, and the uplifted towers, upon the glistering pinnacles of the town, and he looked upon the stairs of stone and marble, bordered by slender balustrades and cooled by the leap of threadlike waterfalls…so great was his amaze at the glory of Gondolin.”, [Synonym: glittering.]
gloaming The Last Stage (Bilbo returns to Rivendell once upon an evening): “…elves still singing…as if they had not stopped since he left…’The fire is more shining, On hearth in the gloaming, Than gold won by mining, So why go a-roaming?...’”, [Synonyms: twilight, dusk.]
glower Queer Lodgings: “But in the evening when the dusk came on and the peaks of the mountains glowered against the sunset they made a camp and set a guard, and most of them slept uneasily with dreams in which there came the howl of hunting wolves and the cries of goblins.”, [Modern definition: to look or stare at with sullen annoyance or anger. (Glower is a distant relative of Middle Low German glūren, which means "to be overcast" or “covering”.) Perhaps either meaning could work to some extent in the context of the quote. The red sunset provides the backdrop of “anger” within the modern definition or the mountains were simply “covering” the view of the sunset according to the old German meaning.]
gorcrow The Mewlips: "Beside the rotting river-strand; The drooping willows weep, And gloomily the gorcrows stand; Croaking in their sleep.", [Definition: a carrion crow. Etymology: combination of ‘gore’ and ‘crow’.]
gore Lothlorien: "'No, friends,' said Haldir, 'you have entered the Naith of Lorien or the Gore, as you would say for it is the land that lies like a spearhead between the arms of Silverlode and Anduin the Great.'", [Definition: a small usually triangular piece of land.]
grabbling The Taming of Smeagol: “’We will swear to do what he wants, yes, yess,’ said Gollum, still twisting and grabbling at his ankle. ‘It hurts us.’”, [Definition: searching with the hand, groping.]
grange The Scouring of the Shire: "…they gasped…The Old Grange on the west side had been knocked down, and its place taken by rows of tarred sheds.", [Definitions: a storehouse for grain, a barn, or a farmhouse with outbuildings.]
greatheart The Field of Cormallen: "…a minstrel of Gondor stood forth…’Lo! Lords and knights and men of valour unashamed, kings and princes, and fair people of Gondor, and Riders of Rohan, and ye sons of Elrond, and Dunedain of the North, and Elf and Dwarf, and greathearts of the Shire, and all free folk of the West, now listen to my lay. For I will sing to you of Frodo of the Nine Fingers and the Ring of Doom.’”, [Meaning in other literature: Greatheart is the hero of the second part of The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. Possible meaning within the final chapters of The Lord of the Rings: Greatheart is the Pilgrims’ guide and protector as they journey toward the Celestial City. The story includes a stay at an inn, a conversation with a friendly inn-keeper, the defeat of enemies allowing the release of prisoners from cells, and the conclusion of the story with characters crossing over water to reach their heavenly destination. In LOTRs this sounds reminiscent of The Prancing Pony, Barliman, The Scouring, the releases from The Lockholes at Michel Delving, and Frodo’s final voyage.]
greave The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “…folk were the busier about the quarrying of metals and the forging of all manner of swords and axes, spears and bills, and the fashioning of coats of mail, byrnies and hauberks, greaves and vambraces, helms and shields.”, [Definition: a piece of armor used to protect the shin.]
greensward Three is Company (arriving at the wood hall in the woods above Woodhall): "At the south end of the greensward there was an opening. There the green floor ran on into the wood, and formed a wide space like a hall, roofed by the boughs of trees.”, [Definition: turf that is green with growing grass.]
greyhame King of the Golden Hall, Theoden to his people after Gandalf healed his darkened mind: "Here now I name my guest Gandalf Greyhame, wisest of counsellors, most welcome of wanderers, a lord of the Mark...", [Meaning: grey covering. See separate entry for “hame”.]
grot The Window on the West: "’Well, here is our refuge,’ said Faramir…‘At one time the water flowed down through this cave and out of the arch, but its course was changed further up the gorge, by workmen of old, and the stream sent down in a fall of doubled height over the rocks far above. All the ways into this grot were then sealed against the entry of water or aught else, all save one.’”, [Definition: (same as grotto), a natural or artificial cave used by humans.]
guerdon The Lay of Leithian: “Thus guerdon shall ye have that bore these tidings sweet, O traitor dear!”, [Archaic meaning: reward, recompense.]
habergeon Many Meetings: "In panoply of ancient kings, in chained rings he armoured him; his shining shield was scored with runes to ward all wounds and harm from him; his bow was made of dragon-horn; his arrows shorn of ebony, of silver was his habergeon, his scabbard of chalcedony; his sword of steel was valiant, of adamant his helmet tall, an eagle-plume upon his crest, upon his breast an emerald.", [Meaning: Habergeon ("little hauberk") generally refers to the quilted undergarment used with a hauberk (chain mail shirt), but the terms are sometimes used interchangeably.]
hame The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien: "By the counsel of Huan and the arts of Luthien [Beren] was arrayed now in the hame of Draugluin, and she in the winged fell of Thuringwethil.", [Obsolete synonyms: covering, skin, membrane.]
haply The Lay of Leithian: “…or haply battle, ruin, and woe, in Doriath where great Thingol reigned, if Feanor’s fatal jewel he gained.”, [Archaic definition: by chance or accident; perhaps.]
hard by Akallabeth: "At the feet of the mountain were built the tombs of the Kings, and hard by upon a hill was Armenelos, fairest of cities…", [Definition: in close proximity to.]
harts-tongue Lothlorien (description of a dell along the Silverlode): "About it stood fir-trees, short and bent, and its sides were steep and clothed with harts-tongue and shrubs of whortle-berry.”, [Definition: hart’s-tongue fern or Asplenium scolopendrium is an evergreen fern whose leaves are said to resemble the tongue of a hart (a male red deer). It often grows in shaded areas with moist soils and in damp crevices of rock walls.]
hauberk Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin: “Thus he {Tuor} came at length to the deserted halls of Vinyamar beneath Mount Taras, and he entered in, and found there the shield and hauberk, and the sword and helm, that Turgon had left there by the command of Ulmo long before…”, [Definition: a tunic of chainmail worn as defensive armor from the 12th to the 14th century.]
haughty The White Rider (Gandalf advises his friends to behave themselves.): "Draw no weapon speak no haughty word, I counsel you all, until we are come before Theoden’s seat.”, [Definition: blatantly and disdainfully proud, having or showing an attitude of superiority and contempt for people or things perceived to be inferior.]
hayward Of the Ordering of the Shire: "The Shirriffs…were in practice rather haywards than policemen, more concerned with the strayings of beasts than of people.", [Definition: an officer of an English parish dating from the Middle Ages in charge of fences and enclosures; also, a herdsman in charge of cattle and other animals grazing on common land. Their main job was to protect the crops of the village from livestock.]
heart of darkness Lothlorien (Haldir speaks to Frodo and Sam atop Cerin Amroth a few days before their journey by boat begins.): “In this high place you may see the two powers that are opposed one to another; and ever they strive now in thought, but whereas the light perceives the very heart of the darkness, its own secret has not been discovered. Not yet.”, [One meaning: the title of a story by Joseph Conrad which includes a journey by boat on a river, arrows shot at the boat along the way, an encounter with a beautiful woman who holds her arms high above her head on the riverbank as the boat departs the scene, an encounter with a madman, the death of the madman, and the body of the madman being carried downstream in the boat. Sound familiar?]
heath Queer Lodgings: "The wind was on the withered heath, but in the forest stirred no leaf: there shadows lay by night and day, and dark things silent crept beneath.”, [Definition: an extensive area of rather level open uncultivated land usually with poor coarse soil, inferior drainage, and a surface rich in peat or peaty humus.]
held forth A Long-expected Party: "He [Ham Gamgee] held forth at The Ivy Bush, a small inn on the Bywater road; and he spoke with some authority, for he had tended the garden at Bag End for forty years…”, [Meaning: spoke at length.]
helter-skelter Out of the Frying-pan Into the Fire (Dori explains to Gandalf how he misplaced a burglar): “…There was no time to count, as you know quite well, till we had dashed through the gate-guards, out of the lower door, and helter-skelter down here.”, [Definition: in undue haste, confusion, or disorder.]
hemmed Of Maeglin: “’And be wary,’ he said; ‘for though Morgoth be yet hemmed in the North there are many perils in Middle-Earth of which the Lady knows nothing.’", [Definition: surrounded in a restrictive manner, confined, (usually used with “in”.)]
high sea The Grey Havens: "...And the ship went out into the High Sea and passed on into the West, until at last on a night of rain Frodo smelled a sweet fragrance on the air and heard the sound of singing that came over the water.", [Definition: the open part of a sea or ocean especially outside territorial waters, usually used in plural. (Use of this term dates to the 12th century.)]
hillock The Children of Hurin, Chapter 13 (Turin grieves at the burial site of Finduilas): “…they led him to a hillock by the Crossings of Teiglin. There he laid himself down, and a darkness fell on him, so that they thought he was dead.”, [Definition: a small hill.]
hither Journey to the Crossroads: “Frodo could hear its stony voice coming up through the silence; and beside it on the hither side a road went winding down like a pale ribbon, down into chill grey mists that no gleam of sunset touched.” [Definition: situated on this side. Or: to this place, here.]
hoar Of Beren and Luthien, After Beren’s (first) death and Luthien’s spirit departs her body to follow him: “Then a winter, as it were the hoar age of mortal Men, fell upon Thingol.”, [Meaning: referring to anything that is old or has the whitened look of age.]
hobgoblin Queer Lodgings (Gandalf answers Bilbo’s question regarding alternate routes.): “Before you could get round Mirkwood in the North you would be right among the slopes of the Grey Mountains, and they are simply stiff with goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs of the worst description.”, [Definition: a mischievous goblin. (In English folklore a hobgoblin is a household spirit, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous.)]
hobnob The Black Gate is Closed (Sam speaking to Smeagol): "You seem to know a lot about what He’s doing and thinking’ said Sam. ‘Have you been talking to Him lately? Or just hobnobbing with Orcs?’”, [Definition: to associate familiarly or (archaically) to drink socially. Note: Hob and nob were used in the phrases "to drink hob or nob" and "to drink hobnob," which meant "to drink alternately to each other." Since "drinking hobnob" was generally done among friends, hobnob came to refer to congenial social interaction.]
house-carle The Fall of Gondolin, The Original Tale: “…Tuor shouted to the men about Earendel to stand and flee not, for the wolfriders were scattering them and slaying them piecemeal, and the child was upon the shoulders of one Hendor, a house-carle of Idril’s, and he seemed like to be left with his burden.”, [Meaning: A housecarl was a non-servile manservant or household bodyguard in medieval Northern Europe. The institution originated amongst the Norsemen of Scandinavia. They were well-trained and paid as fulltime soldiers.]
howe The Battle of The Pelennor Fields: "Green and long grew the grass on Snowmane's Howe, but ever black and bare was the ground where the beast was burned.", [Meaning: burial mound.]
hue and cry The Land of Shadow: "With a desperate spurt Frodo and Sam dashed along the bridge; but they had hardly reached its further end when they hear the hue and cry begin. Away behind them…the tower of Cirith Ungol…its harsh bell clanged…then broke into a shattering peal. Horns sounded…answering cries…they heard the tramp of iron-shod feet…”, [Meaning: a loud outcry formerly used in the pursuit of one who is suspected of a crime. By the Statute of Winchester of 1285 it was provided that anyone, either a constable or a private citizen, who witnessed a crime shall make hue and cry, and that the hue and cry must be kept up against the fleeing criminal until the felon is apprehended and delivered to the sheriff. All able-bodied men, upon hearing the shouts, were obliged to assist in the pursuit of the criminal. "Hue" appears to come from the Old French huer, which means "to shout”.]
hummerhorn Errantry: "He battled with the Dumbledors, the Hummerhorns, and Honeybees, and won the Golden Honeycomb; and running home on sunny seas in ship of leaves and gossamer with blossom for a canopy, he sat and sang, and furbished up and burnished up his panoply.", [Meaning: believed to be a name invented by Tolkien for a large wasp or hornet.]
hummock The Palantir (Pippin’s about to become the second burrahobbit in our stories.): “…seemed asleep, but with lids not fully closed…close beside him, between his right side and his bent arm, there was a hummock, something round wrapped in a dark cloth…”, [Definition: a rounded knoll or hillock, small hill. The hum in hummock is a relative of the word hump.]
hundredweight The Shadow of the Past: “He refused to go into mourning; and the next year he gave a party in honour of Bilbo’s hundred-and-twelfth birthday, which he called a Hundred-weight Feast.”, [British Definition: a unit of weight equal to one hundred and twelve pounds.]
husbandmen Minas Tirith: "Gandalf passed now into the wide land beyond the Rammas Echor…The townlands were rich, with wide tilthe…the herdsmen and husbandmen that dwelt there were not many…", [Medieval Meaning: small landowners occupied in agriculture. Note: The meaning of "husband" in this term is "master of house" rather than "married man".]
hutch The Houses of Healing, (To Eomer, Gandalf explains the angst of Eowyn): "But who knows what she spoke to the darkness, alone, in the bitter watches of the night, when all her life seemed shrinking, and the walls of her bower closing in about her, a hutch to trammel some wild thing in?”, [Definition: a pen or coop for an animal.]
hythe Farewell to Lorien: "The Swan passed on slowly to the hythe, and they turned their boats and followed it. There in the last end of Egladil upon the green grass the parting feast was held…”, [Definition: Middle English spelling of “hithe”, a small port or harbor especially on a river, now used chiefly in place names.]
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