Sauron

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A fictional character and dark lord from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth legendarium, known for his malevolent influence and power
2. An antagonist in "The Lord of the Rings," whose name signifies tyranny and corruption through the One Ring
3. A symbol of ultimate evil in fantasy literature, representing the struggle against oppression and fear within Tolkien’s works

Etymology: Sauron is a name that Tolkien built from scratch in his own invented language. In Quenya, one of the Elvish tongues he constructed, the root "saura" means "foul" or "putrid," and the name carries that sense of corruption into the character himself. Readers who never learned Quenya still feel the name's ugliness, which is part of why it works so well for the Dark Lord of Middle-earth. The name appears in Tolkien's legendarium, the body of writing that includes The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, where it became one of the most recognized villain names in English. Because it began as a made-up word with a built-in meaning, it is one of the rare fictional names that English speakers now use as an ordinary noun, with the character's identity tied directly to the sound and sense of its Elvish root.