Khuzdul
- the Secret Tongue of the Dwarves
"The Dwarves of yore made mighty spells.
While hammers fell like ringing bells.
In places deep, where dark things sleep.
In hollow halls beneath the fells"
Khazâd ai-mênu!
"The Dwarves are upon you!"
Dwarvish battle-cry.
Credit to: Helge Kåre Fauskanger
For more information:
(This link has an incredibly extensive treatise on the Tolkian Dwarven language. I'm not kidding - my little Dwarven skull was numbed!)
(The following is directly from Helge's site. I can't make heads nor tails of most of it ... but, there ya go! The color emphasis on the keywords is my doing.)
DWARVISH WORDLIST
(mostly based on a list compiled by Lisa Star that appeared in Tyalië Tyelelliéva #4 p.22; she in turn thanked Jim Gillogly, Alberto Monteiro and Anthony Appleyard for helpful comments and suggestions). I have excluded Balin, which, though it appears in the Balin Tomb inscription, is a Mannish name. So is Forn, a name of Tom Bombadil used by the Dwarves. On the other hand, I have included Fundinul, though only the ending -ul is actually Khuzdul. I have excluded Dushgoi "Minas Morgul", which is evidently Orkish, but nonetheless seems to include an element dush *"dark, black" that also occurs in Buzundush, the Dwarvish name of Morthond.
aglâb "(spoken) language" (WJ:395). This evidently contains the same radicals G-L as in iglishmêk.
ai-mênu "upon you" (LotR2/III ch. 7, Appendix F), with ai, a reduced form of aya (q.v.), and mênu (WR:20)
Azaghâl name of the lord of the Dwarves of Belegost (Silmarillion ch. 20)
[Azanûl - a form Tolkien seems to have replaced with Azanulbizar (RS:466)]
Azanulbizar "Dimrill Dale" (LotR1/II ch. 4). In A Tolkien Compass p. 182, Tolkien states that "the Common Speech form is an accurate translation: the valley of the dim (overshadowed) rills that ran down the mountainside". See also RS:466: Azanulbizâr "Vale of Dim Streams" with the elements ZN, ûl, bizar (q.v.)
aya "upon" (WR:20). Reduced form ai in ai-mênu "upon you".
baraz "?red" in Barazinbar, TI:174. Baraz "?Red One", short name of Barazinbar. (LotR1/II ch.3)
Barazinbar "Redhorn", one of the mountains over Moria, Sindarin Caradhras (LotR1/II ch. 3).
baruk "axes of" (WR:20), Baruk Khazâd! "Axes of the Dwarves!" (Appendix F). Possibly the construct state plural of *burk "axe".
bizar "dale, valley" (RS:466) in Azanulbizar
B-N-D radicals of bund, q.v. (TI:174)
B-R-Z radicals of baraz, q.v. (TI:174)
bund "head" (TI:174). In Bundushathur, q.v.
Bundushathur "Cloudyhead", one of the mountains above Moria, in Sindarin Fanuidhol (LotR1/II ch. 3); the elements are Bund-u-shathur "Head in/of Clouds" (TI:174).
Buzundush "Morthond, Blackroot" (TI:167)
dûm "excavations, halls, mansions", either a true plural or a collective singular (in Khazad-dûm, q.v.)
felek "hew rock" (stated to be a root; the radicals are evidently *F-L-K)
felak 1) (used as noun) a tool like a broad-bladed chisel, or small axe-head without haft, for cutting stone, 2) (used as verb) to use this tool (PM:352)
felakgundu, also assimilated felaggundu "cave-hewer" (name given to Finrod because of his skill in lighter stone-carving, adapted to Sindarin as Felagund). (PM:352) This evidently obsoletes the entry PHELEG in the Etymologies (LR:381), where Tolkien provided an Elvish etymology for this name.
Fundinul translated "son of Fundin", literally probably a kind of adjective derived from this name (which is in itself Mannish, not Khuzdul)
gabil "great", isolated from Gabilgathol, q.v.
Gabilân a name of the river Sirion (WJ:336). Apparently includes gabil "great", cf. Gabilgathol.
Gabilgathol "Great fortress", Sindarin Belegost (Silm ch. 10, LR:274)
Gamil Zirak name of a dwarf-smith, master of Telchar of Nogrod (UT:76). Suggested interpretations are "Old Silver" or "Old Spike"; see zirak.
gathol "fortress", isolated from Gabilgathol, q.v.
gundu "underground hall" (from root gunud) (PM:352). Does a form of this noun occur in the name of the mountain Gundabad, stated to be "in origin a Khuzdul name"? (PM:301)
gunud "delve underground, excavate, tunnel" (PM:352 cf. 365), stated to be a root. Cf. gundu above.
Ibun the name of one of Mîm's sons (Silm. ch 21, UT:102)
iglishmêk a gesture-code used by the Dwarves. (WJ:395) Cf. aglâb.
inbar "horn"; the radicals are given as M-B-R, note apparent dissimilation mb > nb. (TI:174). In Barazinbar, q.v.
Kazaddûm unorthodox spelling of Khazad-dûm (RS:467). It should hardly be taken as an indication that k and kh are not distinct phonemes after all.
K-B-L radicals of kibil, the word for silver (TI:174)
Khazâd "Dwarves", their name for themselves (Appendix F). Sg *Khuzd?
Khazad-dûm "Dwarrowdelf", Moria (LotR1/II ch. 3)
Khazâd ai-mênu! "The Dwarves are upon you!", Dwarvish battle-cry. (Appedix F)
kheled "glass" in Kheled-zâram "Mirrormere", lit. "glasslake" (Silmarillion Appendix, entry khelek-; see also A Tolkien Compass p. 190)
Khîm the name of one of Mîm's sons. (Silm. ch. 21)
[Khuzûd "Dwarves", changed by Tolkien to Khazâd. (LR:274, 278)]
*Kh-Z-D radicals in words having to do with dwarves and dwarvishness, in Khazâd "the Dwarves" (sg. *Khuzd?), in Khuzdul "Dwarvish" and evidently also in Nulukkhizdîn "Nargothrond" (Silm. ch. 21)
kibil "silver" (TI:174). Radicals K-B-L. TI:174 suggests that this word is related to Quenya telpë, but the actual borrowing must rather be from Sindarin celeb (and the borrowing must be fairly late, for even at the Old Sindarin stage, the word was kelepe [LR.367] with no change of post-vocalic p to b; the Primitive Quendian form was *kyelepê). Khuzdul kibil reverses the order of the two last consonants of celeb.
Kibil-nâla "Silverlode" (LotR1/II ch. 3), the river Celebrant.
Mahal Dwarvish name of Aulë (Silm. ch. 2)
Mazarbul "(of?) Records". The Chamber of Mazarbul is equated with "the Chamber of Records". (LotR1/II ch. 5, Letters:186) If -ul is the Khuzdul adjectival ending, "of" in the translation may be strictly superfluous.
M-B-R the radicals of inbar "horn" (note apparent dissimilation mb > nb). (TI:174)
mênu "you (acc. pl.)" (WR:20)
Mîm name of a Petty-Dwarf (Silm. ch. 21)
-nâla According to TI:175, the meaning of this word is not known, but if the Khuzdul name Kibil-nâla has the same meaning as Sindarin Celebrant, Silverlode, it may be assumed to mean "path, course, rivercourse or bed". (TI:174)
Narag-zâram "? Black Pool". Includes radicals N-R-G, q.v. (RS:466)
Nargûn "Mordor"; includes radicals N-R-G "black" (RS:466)
N-R-G radicals of the word for "black" (vowels not given); in Nargûn "Mordor, Blackland". (RS:466) The independent word "black" may be *narag, compare baraz "red" from B-R-Z.
Nulukkhizdîn "Nargothrond" (WJ:180), misspelt Nulukkizdîn in Silm ch. 21 (see WJ:180, where Christopher Tolkien admits that this spelling is wrong). Changed by Tolkien from Nulukkhizdûn. Apparently includes the radicals Kh-Z-D "dwarf".
Rukhs "Orc", pl. Rakhâs (WJ:391)
Sharbhund "? Bald Hill", Petty-Dwarvish name of Amon Rûdh (UT:98). Is bhund just a variant form of bund, q.v.?
shathûr "cloud(s)", Shathûr short name of Bundushathûr, "Cloudyhead", one of the mountains above Moria (LotR1/II ch. 3, TI:174)
Sigin "long" in Sigin-tarâg, q.v. (PM:321) If Khuzdul adjectives agree in number, this may be a plural form (or the basic form may be preferred in compounds).
Sigin-tarâg, "the Longbeards" (PM:321)
tarâg "beards" in Sigin-tarâg, q.v. (PM:321). Sg. *turg?
Tharkûn, Dwarvish name of Gandalf, said to mean "Staff-man" (LotR2/IV ch. 5, UT:353)
Tumunzahar "Hollowbold", Dwarvish name of Nogrod (Silm ch. 10)
-u "in/of" in Bundushathur, Bund-u-shathur "Head in/of Clouds" (TI:174), Uzbad Khazad-dûmu "Lord of Moria" (LotR1/II ch. 4)
[Udushinbar - a form Tolkien seems to have replaced with Bundushathûr (TI:174)]
ûl "streams" in Azanulbizar (RS:466)
-ul, possible adjectival suffix (Khuzdul "Dwarvish", Fundinul "[son] of Fundin")
[Uruktharbun a name of Moria? (possibly replaced by Khazad-dûm) (RS:458)]
Uzbad "Lord" (LotR1/II ch 4)
zâram "lake, pool" (Narag-zâram and Kheled-zaram, RS:466)
Z-G-L radicals of zigil (TI:174)
zigil either "spike (smaller and more slender than a horn)" (TI:174) or a word for "silver" (TI:175) - the compound Zirak-zigil is said to mean "Silver-spike", but it is not entirely clear which element means "silver" and which means "spike".
zirak either "silver" (colour not metal, cf. kibil) or "spike"; see zigil (TI:174 vs. 175) Zirak either "Silver" or "Spike", short name of Zirak-zigil, q.v. (LotR1/II ch. 3) Perhaps also in Gamil Zirak, q.v.
[Zirakinbar "Silverhorn" (see inbar), form Tolkien evidently replaced by Zirak-zigil "Silvertine". (SD:45)]
Zirak-zigil "Silvertine", one of the mountains over Moria (Sindarin Celebdil).
Z-N radicals of words for "dark, dim" (RS:466). In Azanulbizar, q.v.
Z-R-K radicals of zirik, q.v. (TI:174)
