mordor
/ˈmɔɹdɔɹ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.87 in modern English
9
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "It is a “Mordor” sort of anthropology, dark rather than light, swampland rather than solid ground."
- "Nevertheless, this book is about the truth, the good and the bad, so I will tread into the forbidden territory, the Mordor of motherhood."
- "“OK, can we go back now?” asked their guide and expert on the underground, whose restless eyes implied that he was on the edge of panic. “I for one am not venturing a step further into this Mordor.”"
- "It’s impossible to find harmony in an outfit when you have to schlep five kilos of kit with you in order to manage the post-workout transformation. Of course, I could change at work. But this would entail using the office showers. And I would sooner venture into Mordor."
- "“I fled from Moscow, which has turned into Mordor.[…]”"
- "They are out in nature for hours a day – despite the fact that the weather’s terrible (we’re talking Mordor from October to March)."
Etymology
From Mordor, a bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth. Tolkien created the name in his constructed language Sindarin, from morn (“dark, black”) and dôr (“land”). Compare with Old English morþor (“murder”), murder, Greek μαυρός (mavrós, “dim”) and Latin mors (“death”). Sense 2 is a semantic loan from Ukrainian Мо́рдор (Mórdor) or Russian Мо́рдор (Mórdor), both of those from English Mordor, alluding to it being the land of orcs.
Origin
- Source language: English
Word Breakdown
- Root: -, Mordor
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmɔɹdɔɹ/
- British English: /ˈmɔːdɔː(ɹ)/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in Places.