Mordor

From Mordor, a bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth. Tolkien created the name in his constructed language Sindarin, from morn (“dark, black”) and dôr (“land”).

Compare with Old English morþor (“murder”), murder, Greek μαυρός (mavrós, “dim”) and Latin mors (“death”).

Sense 2 is a semantic loan from Ukrainian Мо́рдор (Mórdor) or Russian Мо́рдор (Mórdor), both of those from the English word, alluding to it being the land of orcs.

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔːdɔː(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔɹdɔɹ/
• (AU, NZ) IPA^(key): /ˈmoːdoː(ɹ)/

Mordor

1. An area of peril, darkness, or evil, which people fear to visit or explore.

   Synonyms: wasteland, hellscape

   • 2007, Paul F. M. Zahl, Grace in Practice: A Theology of Everyday Life, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., published 2007, →ISBN, page 94:

     It is a “Mordor” sort of anthropology, dark rather than light, swampland rather than solid ground.

   • 2007, B. Erin Wylde, Where Did I Go?, →ISBN, page 100:

     Nevertheless, this book is about the truth, the good and the bad, so I will tread into the forbidden territory, the Mordor of motherhood.

   • 2012, Zygmunt Miłoszewski, A Grain of Truth: A Second Case for State Prosecutor Teodor Szacki, Bitter Lemon Press (2012; original Polish book published 2011), →ISBN, page 290:

     “OK, can we go back now?” asked their guide and expert on the underground, whose restless eyes implied that he was on the edge of panic. “I for one am not venturing a step further into this Mordor.”

   • 2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times‎:

     It’s impossible to find harmony in an outfit when you have to schlep five kilos of kit with you in order to manage the post-workout transformation. Of course, I could change at work. But this would entail using the office showers. And I would sooner venture into Mordor.

   • 2022 April 17, Pjotr Sauer, Andrew Roth, quoting Antonina Baever, “Empty galleries and fleeing artists: Russia’s cultural uncoupling from the west”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     “I fled from Moscow, which has turned into Mordor. […] ”

   • 2024 February 25, Helen Russell, “Play outside and sing together: what living in Denmark taught me about raising ‘Viking’ children”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     They are out in nature for hours a day – despite the fact that the weather’s terrible (we’re talking Mordor from October to March).

   • For more quotations using this term, see Citations:Mordor.
3. (politics, slang, derogatory) Russia.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

• Chinese: 魔多
• Polish: Mordor
• Russian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)
• Ukrainian: Мо́рдор (Mórdor)

Polish Wikipedia has an article on:

Mordor

Wikipedia ^pl

Mordor sense 1

Mordor sense 3

From Mordor, a bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth.

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔr.dɔr/
• Rhymes: -ɔrdɔr
• Syllabification: Mor‧dor

Mordor m inan

2. Mordor (bleak realm ruled by the dark lord Sauron, in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth)
   • 2020 March 21, Ziemowit Szczerek, “Szczerek sprawdza: Gdzie na mapie Europy wypada Mordor, a gdzie wiedźmińskie krainy”, in wyborcza.pl‎, archived from the original on 9 September 2024:

     Nie zrobił Mordor niczego złego: był jedynym w Śródziemiu nowoczesnym społeczeństwem opartym na wiedzy i racjonalizmie, rozwijającym się i uprzemysławiającym, pełnym naukowców i artystów – zupełnie jak Rosja.

     Mordor did nothing wrong: it was the only modern society in Middle-earth based on knowledge and rationalism, developing and industrializing, full of scientists and artists – just like Russia.

3. (figurative) Mordor (area of peril, darkness, or evil, which people fear to visit or explore)
5. (derogatory, humorous, slang) informal name for the area in the city of Warsaw, Poland, located within the neighborhoods of Służewiec and western Ksawerów in the district of Mokotów, mostly composed of office buildings, including the headquarters of branches of many multinational corporations
   • 2024 March 13, Izabela Popko, “Był symbolem „Mordoru” w Warszawie. Słynny biurowiec zostanie wyburzony”, in rp.pl‎, archived from the original on 9 September 2024:

     Do dzielnicy biurowców na warszawskim Służewcu przylgnęło określenie „Mordor” – jako biznesową, nieco odhumanizowaną i wiecznie zakorkowaną część miasta, która pustoszeje po zmroku. Pierwszym biurowcem, który zbudowano w przyszłej dzielnicy biznesowej, był biurowiec Curtis Plaza. Budynek, który powstał na początku lat 90. i w pewnym momencie stał się symbolem rozwoju gospodarczego i sukcesu Warszawy, niebawem zniknie z pejzażu miasta. Taką decyzję podjął jego nowy właściciel.

     The name “Mordor” has become associated with the office district within the neighborhoods of Warsaw's Służewiec, as it is a somewhat dehumanized and perpetually congested business part of the city that empties out after dark. The first office building to be built in the future business district was the Curtis Plaza office building. The building, which was built in the early 1990s and at one point became a symbol of Warsaw's economic development and success, will soon disappear from the city's landscape. This is the decision of its new owner.

   • 2022 June 12, Marta Trepczyńska, “Ulice na warszawskim Mordorze będą miały nazwy z Tolkiena”, in noizz.pl‎, archived from the original on 9 September 2024:

     Obecnie Mordor staje się coraz bardziej przyjaznym miejscem. Powstają nowe osiedla bloków, a zarządcy przestrzeni kładą coraz większy nacisk na rozwój terenów zielonych. W związku z tym przebudowywane są też ulice. Obecnie w Mordorze powstają nowe odcinki lokalnych dróg. Zgodnie z początkowymi pomysłami, miały nazywać się: Pirytowa i Tytanowa, jednak stołeczni radni zdecydowali, że ulice mają nawiązywać do Mordoru. W efekcie otrzymają nazwy: „Tolkiena” i „Gandalfa”.

     Today, Mordor is becoming an increasingly friendly place. New housing estates of blocks of flats are being built and the space managers are putting more and more emphasis on the development of green areas. As a result, streets are also being redeveloped. New sections of local roads are currently being built in Mordor. According to initial ideas, they were to be named “Pirytowa Street” and “Tytanowa Street”, but the capital's councillors decided that the streets should refer to Mordor. As a result, they will be given the names “Tolkiena Street” and “Gandalfa Street”.

• Mordor in the Korpus Języka Polskiego PWN