Etymology
Minas Ithil was also called the Tower of the Moon, the Tower of the Rising Moon, and the Moon-tower. Minas Morgul was also called the Dead City and the Tower of Sorcery.
In Tolkien's fictional elvish language Sindarin Minas Ithil means "Tower of the Moon" and Minas Morgul means "Tower of Black Sorcery." The word minas means "tower." The word ithil is a poetic name for the Moon from sil or thil meaning "shine with white or silver light." The word morgul means "black sorcery" or "black arts." The element mor means "black, dark" and gûl means "sorcery, magic" from the stem ngol- (Quenya cognate nólë) meaning "long study, lore, knowledge."
Read more about this topic: Minas Morgul
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