S. Annúminas loc. “Tower of the West”
The capital of Arnor (LotR/244). Christopher Tolkien translated it as “Tower of the West” (SI/Annúminas), a combination of annûn “west” and minas “tower” (SA/andúnë, minas).
Conceptual Development: When this city first appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, it was named N. Torfirion “Westermanton” (TI/144). In an early version of the Tale of Years the city was called N. Dunhirion (PM/167). Both of these variants were eventually replaced by Annúminas.
References ✧ LotRI; PMI; SA/andúnë, minas; SDI1/Annúminas; SI; TI/145, 304; TII; UTI
Glosses
Elements
| annûn | “sunset, west; (lit.) going down” | ✧ SA/andúnë |
| minas | “tower, fort, city (with a citadel and central watch tower)” | ✧ SA/minas |
N. Dunhirion loc. “?West Lord Land”
Earlier name for Annúminas appearing in the drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/167). It may be a combination of dûn “west”, hîr “lord” and the suffix -ion² used in the names of lands.
References ✧ PM/167; PMI
Changes
Elements
| dûn | “west” |
| hîr | “master, lord” |
| *-ion² | “-region, -land” |
Cognates
N. Torfirion loc. “Westermanton”
Earlier name for Annúminas appearing in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s with the gloss “Westermanton” (TI/144, 304). It may be a combination of Torfir “High-man” and the suffix -ion² used in the names of lands, as suggested by Roman Rausch (EE/2.19).
References ✧ TI/144, 296, 304; TII
Glosses
Changes
Elements
| Torfir | “High-man” |
| *-ion² | “-region, -land” |
Cognates