Eldamo : Sindarin : amon

S. amon n. “hill, mountain with steep sides; lump, clump, mass” (Category: Hill, Mountain)

S. amon, n. “hill, (isolated) mountain; lump, clump, mass; ⚠️[G.] steep slope” (Category: Hill, Mountain): N. cum “mound, heap, [G.] burial mound”

The basis Sindarin word for “hill”. In one set of notes from around 1967, Tolkien said it could be applied also to any “lump, clump, mass” (PE17/93). In this same note Tolkien said it was “often applied to (especially isolated) mountains”, the most notable example being S. Amon Amarth “Mount Doom”. Its plural form emyn “hills” also appears in many names.

Conceptual Development: This word had a long history in Tolkien’s Elvish languages. It first appeared as G. amon “hill, mount, steep slope” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/19), where it was probably a derivative of the early root ᴱ√AM(U) “up(wards)”. ᴱN. amon “hill” also appears in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s again connected to am- “up” (PE13/137, 159), and was given as N. amon “hill” in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√AM² “up” (Ety/AM²).

Its Quenya cognate Q. ambo was given as derivative of √AM “go up” in notes from 1967, but in other 1967 notes on the comparative, Tolkien coined some different roots as the basis for this S. amon “hill”, first √MAB “lump, mass” (PE17/90) and then √MBON, the latter being the basis for the alternate meanings “lump, clump, mass” mentioned above (PE17/90-93). Tolkien’s motivation for this change was that he wanted √AMA to have a new meaning “addition, increase, plus” to serve as the basis for the intensive.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume S. amon was derived from √AM “up”, since I prefer Q. an- for intensives, but it may have been influenced by √MBON and this was the reason for its alternate meanings “lump, clump, mass”.

References ✧ LotR/1097, 1115; LotRI/Emyn Uial; PE17/15, 33, 61, 93, 121; PM/186; RC/334, 772; S/204, 217; SA/er; UT/255, 280, 301; UTI/Emyn-nu-Fuin; VT42/17; WJ/187

Glosses

“a hill or mountain with steep sides” ✧ UT/255
“hill” ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/61; PE17/93; PE17/121; RC/334; RC/772; S/204; S/217; UT/280; UT/301; VT42/17; WJ/187
“hill, lump, clump, mass” ✧ PE17/15; PE17/93

Variations

amon ✧ LotR/1115; PE17/15; PE17/33; PE17/61; PE17/93; PE17/93; PE17/121; RC/334; RC/772; S/204; S/217; SA/er; UT/255; UT/280; UT/301; VT42/17; WJ/187

Amroth same beginning element as amon “a hill or mountain with steep sides” ✧ UT/255

Inflections

Emyn	plural	“hills”	✧ LotR/1097; LotRI/Emyn Uial; RC/334
Emyn	plural		✧ PE17/33; VT42/17
Emyn	plural		✧ PM/186
Emyn	plural	“mountains”	✧ UT/280; UTI/Emyn-nu-Fuin
emyn	plural		✧ LotR/1115; PE17/61; PE17/121

Element In

N. Amon Carab “Hill of the Hat” ✧ WJ/187
S. Amon Amarth “Mount Doom, (lit.) Hill of Doom” ✧ PE17/93
S. Amon Anwar “Hill of Awe” ✧ UT/301
S. Amon Darthir
S. Amon Dîn “Silent Hill”
S. Amon Ereb “Lonely Hill” ✧ SA/er
S. Amon Ethir “Hill of Spies” ✧ S/217
S. Amon Gwareth
S. Amon Hen “Hill of Sight, (lit.) Hill of the Eye”
S. Amon Lanc “Naked Hill” ✧ UT/280
S. Amon Lhaw “Hill of Hearing, *(lit.) Hill of Ears”
S. Amon Obel
S. Amon Rûdh “Bald Hill” ✧ S/204
S. Amon Sûl “Weathertop, (lit.) Hill of the Wind”
S. Amon Uilos “Hill of Ever-snow”
S. Emyn Arnen “Hills of Arnen” ✧ VT42/17
S. Emyn Beraid “Tower Hills” ✧ LotR/1097
S. Emyn Gwahaedir “*Hills of the Palantír”
S. Amon Tirith “Hill of Guard” ✧ RC/772
S. Emyn Duir “Dark Mountains” ✧ UT/280
S. Emyn Hen Dúnadan “*Hills of the Eye of the Dúnadan” ✧ PM/186 (Emyn Hen Dúnadan)
S. Emyn Muil “Drear Hills” ✧ RC/334
S. Emyn-nu-Fuin “Mountains of Mirkwood, (lit.) Mountains under Night” ✧ UTI/Emyn-nu-Fuin
S. Emyn Uial “Hills of Evendim” ✧ LotRI/Emyn Uial

Cognates

Q. ambo “hill, rising ground, mount” ✧ PE17/92
Q. umbo(n) “hill, lump, clump, mass” ✧ PE17/93

Derivations

< ✶ambu(na) “*hilly” ✧ PE17/92 (ambuna)
- < √AM² “go up”
< ✶ṃbono “hill, lump, clump, mass” ✧ PE17/93
- < √MBON “*lump, mass” ✧ PE17/93 (MBŎNO)

Phonetic Developments

✶ambuna > amon	[ambuna] > [ambona] > [ambon] > [ammon] > [amon]	✧ PE17/93
✶ṃbono > amon	[ṃbono] > [ambono] > [ambon] > [ammon] > [amon]	✧ PE17/93

N. amon n. “hill” (Category: Hill, Mountain)

See S. amon for discussion.

References ✧ Ety/AM²; TI/313