Eldamo : Sindarin : gorthad

S. gorthad [ng-] n. “wraith, spirit of Dead” (Category: Ghost, Specter, Phantom)

S. gorthad [ng-], n. “wraith, spirit of Dead” (Category: Ghost, Specter, Phantom): ᴱN. oif “terror, horror; (evil) phantom, ghost”; G. ûl “a ghost”

A word for “wraith, spirit of Dead” in the name Tyrn Gorthad “Barrow-downs”, more literally “*mounds of wraith/spirit of the dead” (LotR/1040; PE17/116). The initial element of this word is clearly gorth¹ “dead” and its second element might just be the abstract noun ending -ad; hat-tip to Vyacheslav Stepanov for this suggestion. Hammond and Scull suggested it might instead be gorth² “dread” + sad “place”, or “dread place = barrow” (RC/691), but they did not cite a source for this etymology.

References ✧ PE17/116; PMI/Tyrn Goerthaid

Glosses

“wraith, spirit of Dead” ✧ PE17/116

Variations

gorthad ✧ PE17/116

Inflections

Goerthaid

plural

✧ PMI/Tyrn Goerthaid

Elements

#gorth¹	“dead; dead (person)”
#-ad¹	“noun-suffix”

Element In

S. Tyrn Gorthad “Barrow-downs” ✧ PE17/116; PMI/Tyrn Goerthaid (Tyrn Goerthaid)