§ Gorgos ’Dire-castle’ (TI:344)
§ Nargos (TI:344)
These are the names for two guarding towers of Cirith Ungol, later Nelig Myrn, Naglath Morn (see 3.11). In The Lord of the Rings they are Narchost and Carchost, ’Towers of the Teeth’ (LotRVI, ch.1).
In the first name, #gorg- ’dire’ must be related to ÑGOROTH- ’horror’, also gorgor ’extreme horror’ (WJ:415) + -os, apparently a simplified N. ost ’city, town with wall around’ (OS-), here – ’castle’.
In the preceding passage the two towers are called ’Loath and Grim’ >> ’Fell and Dire’, so that Nargos likely means *’Fell-castle’. If so, #-narg is probably syncopated NÁRAK- ’tear, rend (tr. and intr.)’ with primitive narāka ’rushing, rapid, violent’ > Q. naraka ’harsh, rending, violent’, N. Narog as a river name. This stem could likely produce ’fell’ in the sense of ’fierce, destructive’. Compare also narch ’bitter-biting’ in later Narchost (RC:601).
But since the translation ’Fell and Dire’ does not contain ’castle’ the second part might also be lenited gost ’dread, terror’ (GOS-, GOTH-) rather than ost, compare N. Tauros ’Forest-Dread’.