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Worms

Worm's Stench by Kevin Ward

Worms was a name for the race of Dragons, and especially those wingless kinds (such as Glaurung himself) who crawled on the ground.

[edit] Names

In Gnomish, one of Tolkien's early conceptions of an Elven language, "worm" is gwem.[1]

[edit] Inspiration

Worm is an actual old word for dragon,[2] derived from Old English wyrm, Old Norse ormr ("serpent").

[edit] References

  1. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, "I-Lam na-Ngoldathon: The Grammar and Lexicon of the Gnomish Tongue", in Parma Eldalamberon XI (edited by Christopher Gilson, Arden R. Smith, and Patrick H. Wynne), p. 45
  2. ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien; Verlyn Flieger, Douglas A. Anderson (eds.), Tolkien On Fairy-stories: Expanded edition, with commentary and notes, p. 108
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