S. dû n. “night, dimness; dim, dark” (Category: Night)
A word for “night” appearing in compounds like dúlin “nightingale” and dúath “night shadow” (SA/dú). It was also translated as “dimness” and was the equivalent of Q. lómë, and thus was probably a night with some natural light such as from the moon or stars (PE17/37, 152). It was based on the root √DOM and in The Etymologies of the 1930s was glossed “night-fall, late evening” (PE17/152; Ety/DOƷ; EtyAC/DOMO).
In the Nomenclature of the Lord of the Rings from around 1967 Tolkien gave dû the glosses “dim, dark” in a discussion of the name Nanduhirion (RC/269), but elsewhere it was usually a noun. In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien said dû was used for “dark” as a substance and the ordinary word for “night” was fuin (NM/283); see that entry for further discussion.
References ✧ NM/283; PE17/37, 87, 152; RC/269; SA/dú, lómë, sîr
Glosses
Variations
Related
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ✶dōmē > dû | [dōmē] > [dūme] > [dūme] > [dūm] > [dūv] > [dū] | ✧ PE17/152 |
| ✶dōmē > dú | [dōmē] > [dūme] > [dūme] > [dūm] > [dūv] > [dū] | ✧ SA/dú |
N. dû n. “night, night-fall, late evening” (Category: Night)
References ✧ Ety/DOƷ, DYEL; EtyAC/DOMO; SD/302
Glosses
Variations
Related
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√DOƷ/DÔ > dû | [dō] > [dū] | ✧ Ety/DOƷ |
| ᴹ✶dōmi > dūmh > dū | [dōmi] > [dōme] > [dūme] > [dūm] > [dūv] > [dū] | ✧ SD/302 |