ᴹ√DUN root. “dark (of colour)”
A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “dark (of colour)”, with derivatives like Ilk. dunn “black” or N. donn “swart, swarthy” (Ety/DUN). The most notable derivative of this root was Ilk. Nan Dungorthin “Vale of Black Horror” (Ety/DUN; LR/261), which in later writings appeared as S. Nan Dungortheb “Valley of Dreadful Death” (S/81; MR/297). Given the revised translation of this name, ᴹ√DUN “dark” may not have survived, though the etymology of S. Dungortheb is also unclear. However, given Tolkien’s reinterpretation of S. baran as “golden brown” rather than “dark brown” as it was in the 1930s, N. donn is probably the best remaining word for “dark brown” in Neo-Sindarin.
References ✧ Ety/DUN, ÑGOROTH