ranga
(
Sindarin) literally 'pace' or 'stride', but used by the
Númenóreans as a unit of measurement, equivalent to approximately 38 inches, or slightly less than one metre. The plural was
rangar, and five thousand of these
rangar composed one
lár, a distance of slightly less than three miles (or about 4.8 kilometres).
rath
(
Sindarin) 'way' or 'street', derived from a root meaning 'climb', seen in the names
Rath Celerdain ('
Lampwrights' Street') and
Rath Dínen ('
Silent Street'), both in
Minas Tirith. Also seen in
Andrath ('long way', or 'long street') where the
Greenway ran through a long gorge, and also in
Cirith Forn en Andrath (translated 'northern pass of the long climb', with the original interpretation of
rath as 'climb') the
Sindarin name of the
High Pass above
Rivendell. As the previous example shows,
rath can bear several interpretations; it goes back ultimately to a root
rat- meaning 'walk', and can be applied in various forms to paths, streets, climbs, crossings and even river courses. An example of the last is in
Rathlóriel ('
Goldenbed') where
rath describes the course of the bed of the river.
rem
(
Elvish root) 'net' or 'mesh', seen uniquely in
Remmirath (literally 'net of a host of jewels', but translated more simply as '
Netted Stars'). The etymology of this element is uncertain, but it may perhaps be related to
rempa, meaning 'hooked'.
riven
(English) an archaic word meaning 'deeply cut' (from the rare verb 'rive' meaning to cut or tear apart), seen in
Rivendell, which is an English translation of
Elvish Imladris, 'deeply cut valley'.
ro
(
Elvish root) from the ancient word
roko, '
horse', specifically in the compound
roko-kwén, 'horse-person' (that is, a rider). That term was worn down over history to form
roquen, '
knight', with
roko being reduced uniquely in this case (due to the duplicated
k sounds) to a simple
ro-.
rory
(Irish) Apparently an anglicisation of the Irish name
Ruaidhrí, meaning 'red king'. Within the context of Tolkien's tales, '
Rory' was an abbreviation of
Rorimac (the name of one of the
Masters of Buckland) but in reality it appears that the name '
Rory' came first, and was expanded by Tolkien to fit the pattern of names used by the
Brandybucks.
roth 1
(
Sindarin) a dialectal word for 'cave' (the more usual
Sindarin word was
rond, a cavern or underground dwelling). The form
roth was associated especially with the
Elves of Doriath, whose capital was at
Menegroth ('
Thousand Caves') and the same word apparently appears in
Androth, the caverns of
Mithrim (not translated, but apparently 'long caves').
rowan
(from Old Norse or an allied language) as the name of a tree, ultimately derived from Old Norse
rauðr 'red' (or the equivalent in a related Scandinavian tongue), in reference to the tree's bright red berries. Used as a personal name for the
Shire-hobbit Rowan, a great-grandmother of
Samwise Gamgee.
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