The conventional Sindarin word for Orcs was Yrch, but these creatures were also known in that language as Glamhoth. The latter name comes from a combination of glam- meaning 'din, noise, tumult', and hoth for a horde. The entire word Glamhoth, then, meant 'din-horde' referring to the disordered uproar of a host of Orcs gathered together.
This word is seen in Tuor's muttered oath on seeing a camp of Orcs in his way as he journeyed to Gondolin - Gurth an Glamhoth, or 'death to the Orcs'1. The word is also seen in abbreviated form in the name of Gandalf's sword Glamdring. Though the sword's name is commonly translated as 'Foe-hammer', the 'foe' here actually represents a shortened form of Glamhoth, so the name derives from a construction like glamhoth dring 'hammer of the Orcs'.
Notes
1 |
Unfinished Tales Part One I, Of Tuor and His Coming to Gondolin |
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- Updated 22 April 2026
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