Mordor

See also: mordor

English

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 the English word.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔːdɔː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔɹdɔɹ/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈmoːdoː(ɹ)/

Proper noun

Mordor

1. An area of peril, darkness, or evil, which people fear to visit or explore.

   Synonyms: wasteland, hellscape

   • 2007, Paul F. M. Zahl, Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., published 2007, →ISBN, page 94:

     It is a “Mordor” sort of anthropology, dark rather than light, swampland rather than solid ground.

   • 2007, B. Erin Wylde, Where Did I Go?, →ISBN, page 100:

     Nevertheless, this book is about the truth, the good and the bad, so I will tread into the forbidden territory, the Mordor of motherhood.

   • 2012, Zygmunt Miłoszewski, A Grain of Truth: A Second Case for State Prosecutor Teodor Szacki, Bitter Lemon Press (2012; original Polish book published 2011), →ISBN, page 290:

     “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.”

   • 2022 April 17, Pjotr Sauer, Andrew Roth, quoting Antonina Baever, “Empty galleries and fleeing artists: Russia’s cultural uncoupling from the west”, in The Guardian‎^[1], →ISSN:

     “I fled from Moscow, which has turned into Mordor. […] ”

   • 2024 February 25, Helen Russell, “Play outside and sing together: what living in Denmark taught me about raising ‘Viking’ children”, in The Guardian‎^[2], →ISSN:

     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).

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Mordor.
3. (politics, derogatory, neologism) Russia

Descendants

• Chinese: 魔多
• Polish: Mordor
• Russian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)
• Ukrainian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)

Polish

Etymology

From Mordor, a bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔr.dɔr/
• Rhymes: -ɔrdɔr
• Syllabification: Mor‧dor

Proper noun

Mordor m inan

1. Mordor (bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth)
2. (figuratively) Mordor (area of peril, darkness, or evil)
3. (colloquial, derogatory, Warsaw) office complexes on Domaniewska street in Służewiec, a district of Warsaw
   • 2013, Nie sloik, “Re: "Leming jedzie na Służewiec ściśnięty w pozyc...”, in Forum Gazeta.pl‎^[3]:

     A z resztą zgoda - dojazd zbiorkomem jest na Służewiec koszmarny. Nieoficjalna nazwa tej okolicy to od jakiegoś czasu Mordor.

     I agree with the others - mass transit to Służewiec is nightmarish. The unoffical name of this region has been for some time Mordor.

Declension

Declension of Mordor

	singular
nominative	Mordor
genitive	Mordoru
dative	Mordorowi
accusative	Mordor
instrumental	Mordorem
locative	Mordorze
vocative	Mordorze

Further reading

• Mordor in Polish dictionaries at PWN