Forgoil

From Tolkien Gateway
"Death to the Forgoil! Death to the Strawheads! Death to the robbers from the North!"
― Dunlendings[1]

The Forgoil, or the Strawheads as it reportedly translated in Westron, were the enemies of the Dunlendings. In the rest of Middle-earth, they were known as Rohirrim.

Etymology[edit | edit source]

Forgoil is the only known word in the language of the Dunlendings. It is possible that the final part of the word, -il, is a plural marker, such as in the case of Westron il cf. mûmakil (which is perhaps Haradric); similar formation with the ending -li is also seen in Quenya.[2] There is also a possibility of a plural formation with infixion from *forgol

The (possible) element go has been tied to the Pre-Númenórean word Go-hilleg,[3] which is untranslated, but refers to the Númenórean settlers. It could mean "head", in this sense.[4] However, both these interpretations remain speculation; Tolkien never left any notes on the subject.

References