Tark
From Tolkien Gateway
- "There's a great fighter about, one of those bloody-handed Elves, or one of the filthy tarks."
- ― Snaga, The Return of the King, The Tower of Cirith Ungol
- "They must be great warriors. Bloody handed Elves or some of those filthy tarks."
- ― Tharzog, The Lord of the Rings: War in the North, Fornost Erain
Tark is an Orkish word that was often used by the Orcs of the later Third Age to describe a Man of Númenórean heritage (such as the Gondorians). Considering the enmity between the Orcs and the Men of Gondor, the word tark tended to be used in an insulting way.[1][2]
Etymology
There exists at least two, only slightly different, etymological explanations of tark:
- a corrupted version of tarkil, a Westron borrowing from Quenya that literally meant "High Man".[3][4]
- unknown etymology, but "possibly a mere abbreviation of tarkil".[2]
Portrayal in Adaptations
2007: The Lord of the Rings Online:
- Whenever a keep is flipped in favor of the Servants of the Eye, an orc calls out "look at the feeble târks run!"
References
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, The Return of the King, "The Tower of Cirith Ungol"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 101
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age"
- ↑ Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 603
