dwarrow

English

Etymology

Coined by J. R. R. Tolkien as a back-formation of Middle English dwarrows, an irregular plural of dwergh, which became dwarfs in Modern English through leveling with dwarf. Within Tolkien's legendarium, dwarrow is only used in Dwarrowdelf, an alternative name for Moria (see the quotations by Tolkien).

Noun

dwarrow (plural dwarrows)

1. (rare, fantasy) A dwarf (member of a race of beings usually depicted as having some sort of supernatural powers and being skilled in crafting and metalworking, often as short with long beards, and sometimes as clashing with elves).
   • [1937 October 15, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “To Stanley Unwin, Chairman of Allen & Unwin”, in Humphrey Carpenter, Christopher Tolkien, editors, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Company, published 1981, →ISBN, pages 23–24:

     No reviewer (that I have seen), although all have carefully used the correct dwarfs themselves, has commented on the fact (which I only became conscious of through reviews) that I use throughout the ‘incorrect’ plural dwarves. I am afraid it is just a piece of private bad grammar, rather shocking in a philologist; but I shall have to go on with it. Perhaps my dwarf – since he and the Gnome are only translations into approximate equivalents of creatures with different names and rather different functions in their own world – may be allowed a peculiar plural. The real ‘historical’ plural of dwarf (like teeth of tooth) is dwarrows, anyway: rather a nice word, but a bit too archaic. Still I rather wish I had used the word dwarrow.]

   • [1955 October 20, J[ohn] R[onald] R[euel] Tolkien, “Appendix F”, in The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of The Lord of the Rings […], New York, N.Y.: Ballantine Books, published December 1978, →ISBN, pages 518–519:

     It may be observed that in this book as in The Hobbit the form dwarves is used, although the dictionaries tell us that the plural of dwarf is dwarfs. It should be dwarrows (or dwerrows), if singular and plural had each gone its own way down the years, as have man and men, or goose and geese. But we no longer speak of a dwarf as often as we do of a man, or even of a goose, and memories have not been fresh enough among Men to keep hold of a special plural for a race now abandoned to folk-tales, where at least a shadow of truth is preserved, or at last to nonsense-stories in which they have become mere figures of fun. […] It is to mark this that I have ventured to use the form dwarves, and so remove them a little, perhaps, from the sillier tales of these latter days. Dwarrows would have been better; but I have used that form only in the name Dwarrowdelf, to represent the name of Moria in the Common Speech: Phurunargian. For that meant ‘Dwarf-delving’ and yet was already a word of antique form.]

   • 1978, Swords & Sorcery: Quest and Conquest in the Age of Magic: Rules of Play, New York, N.Y.: Simulations Publications, Inc., pages 2, 8, and 9:

     The Elven leaders, led by Gwaigilion Elengal, seemed to favor a policy of a forward defense, followed by retreat and hopefully attrition of the Imperial forces. This was no good for Dwarrows, who were doughty warriors and could fight well in their hills and mountains. […] The barbarians (independent men, dwarrows, etc.) organize in the equivalent of the Terran Viking fylking, and the Orcs, Goblins and Corflu Cultists are formed into the equivalent of an understrength Terran Ottoman touman. […] Dwarrows hold a Folkmoot. No Dwarven units or Characters may move or attack on this Game-Turn.

   • 1978 May 29, Adam L. Gruen, “Fantasy Game Design”, in Thomas Philip Gould, editor, Lilaf, number 9, New York, N.Y.: FWS Publications, pages 3–4:

     Of course, Elves aren't Elves if they don't live in woods (Mallorn trees?), and Dwarves (Ooops, sorry Greg, Thom, and Ben-⁠-Dwarrows?)((Really only Ben-tpg)) aren't just the same if they don't live in mountains.

   • 1993, Tad Williams, To Green Angel Tower (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn; 3), part I, New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., published 1994, →ISBN, pages xix–xx:

     Maegwin is convinced that the Sithi live there, and that they will come to the rescue of the Hemystiri as they did in the old days, but the only inhabitants they discover in the crumbling city are the dwarrows, a strange, timid group of delvers distantly related to the immortals. The dwarrows, who are metalwrights as well as stonecrafters, reveal that the sword Minneyar that Josua’s people seek is actually the blade known as Bright-Nail, which was buried with Prester John, father of Josua and Elias.

   • 1996, Patricia Kennealy-Morrison, The Hedge of Mist (The Keltiad; The Tales of Arthur; III), New York, N.Y.: HarperPrism, →ISBN, pages 129 and 133:

     At first I could see nothing; then one of the tree boles shifted and moved and came toward me, and I saw that it was no tree piece but a corrigaun, one of the dwarrows, the halfling faerie folk. […] The flaming sword was gone now, and he was no dwarrow more but a flame himself, white and gold and tall as a spear.

   • 2002, Cecilia Dart-Thornton, The Lady of the Sorrows (The Bitterbynde; II), New York, N.Y.: Aspect, Warner Books, Inc., →ISBN, pages 394–395:

     One day, not long—in our reckoning—after thou, Ashalind, hadst taken away the children, he brought me to a glade where a platform was raised. It was inlaid with squares of ivory and ebony and upon it stood sixteen dwarrows in mail, armed, and twelve lords and ladies of Erith, including four mounted knights, also a quartet of stone-trolls, all enchanted, all alive.

   • 2010, Diane Duane, Omnitopia Dawn (Omnitopia; 1), New York, N.Y.: DAW Books, Inc., →ISBN, pages 5–6:

     Every kind of person, every kind of character you could imagine, and a lot that you couldn’t, became more and more frequent as you approached the town center: Dwarrows wearing three-piece suits and carrying Armani ax-cases; strolling, elegant Elves burdened with swords and spears and shopping bags; Men in every kind of human dress; […]

   • 2011, Grant Morrison, Joe the Barbarian: The Deluxe Edition‎^[1], New York, N.Y.: DC Comics, →ISBN:

     SMOOT, THE PRINCE OF PIRATES. HE’LL BE JOINING YE ON YER QUEST AS REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PROUD NATION OF WATER-DWARROWS.

   • 2015, Bernhard Hennen, James A. Sullivan, translated by Edwin Miles, “The Children of the Darkalben”, in The Elven, Seattle, Wash.: AmazonCrossing, →ISBN:

     “By the way, we’d prefer it if you called us dwarves,” the small man added. / Dwarves. The old stories told of beings called dweorgas or dwarrows. They were masters of mining and once lived beneath the earth or in rocky regions of Albenmark. Nuramon would never have thought that the dwarves were the children of the Darkalben.

Derived terms

• dwarrowdam