A word appearing as an element in the name Narchost, which was glossed “Bitter-biting Fort” in Tolkien’s “Unfinished Index” of The Lord of the Rings (RC/601).

Possible Etymology: This word resembles the derivatives of the root ᴹ√NARAK from The Etymologies (Ety/NÁRAK), and probably has a similar derivation. It might be a cognate of the Quenya adjective [ᴹQ.] naraka “harsh, rending, violent (of sounds)”. Alternately, it resembles ᴱQ. narka¹ in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s, whose root ᴱ√ŊARA also has the derivative ᴱQ. narte “bitter”. It could be a later restoration of those ideas.

Conceptual Development: The name N. Narch appears in Lord of the Rings drafts as the original name of the valley of Udûn in Mordor (SD/34), but it isn’t clear whether Tolkien intended this name to be related to Narchost.