A word for “lair” as in Torech Ungol “Shelob’s Lair”, though this may be a loose translation. In Tolkien’s Unfinished Index to The Lord of the Rings of 1954-55, he translated torech as “hole, excavation” and Torech Ungol as “Tunnel of the Spider” (RC/490). In etymological notes from around 1964 (DD) Tolkien said it meant “secret hole, lair”, a combination of the root √TOR “secrete, hide” and primitive ✶ekka “hole” (PE17/188).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the form was N. terch, glossed either “lair” or “hole” (WR/202).