Dwarrow

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic or literary plural of dwarf, used especially for the stout, bearded folk of fantasy stories and old legends
2. A poetic or old-fashioned word for dwarves, the short, sturdy people of myth who are often skilled miners and smiths
3. The archaic plural form of dwarf, as used in older writing and in Tolkien's fantasy world for short, craft-loving beings

Etymology: Tolkien did not find this plural in old texts; he built it. The ordinary plural of "dwarf" is "dwarfs," but Middle English had an older, irregular plural "dwarrows," from "dwergh," and Tolkien took that form and pulled a new singular back out of it. Words formed this way, by reversing a supposed base from an existing form, are called back-formations, and "dwarrow" is one of Tolkien's most striking. Its history is short and tied to his own invented world. Within his legendarium, "dwarrow" appears only in "Dwarrowdelf," an alternative name for the mines of Moria, where it sounds like an ancient, dignified way of saying "the delving of the dwarves." Tolkien's use gave the word its strong association with stout, bearded folk. Meanwhile, the everyday "dwarfs" won out in ordinary English. Through leveling, a process where an irregular form is pulled into the regular pattern of its neighbours, "dwarrows" gave way to the more common plural, leaving "dwarrow" as a literary and archaic-sounding word that survives mainly through Tolkien's influence.