The Two Towers: Book Three: Chapters 4-7

by J.R.R. Tolkien
In the second part of The Lord of the Rings, the fellowship is broken. Two hobbits are kidnapped by orcs, while Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli help fight the forces of Saruman, an evil wizard. Meanwhile, with Gollum as their guide, Frodo and Sam make their way to Mordor to destroy the One Ring.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Book Three: Chapters 1-3, Book Three: Chapters 4-7, Book Three: Chapters 8-11, Book Four: Chapters 1-3, Book Four: Chapters 4-6, Book Four: Chapters 7-10

Here are links to our lists for other works by J.R.R. Tolkien: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Return of the King, The Hobbit
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. wariness
    the trait of being cautious and watchful
    A queer look came into the old eyes, a kind of wariness; the deep wells were covered over.
  2. subterranean
    being or operating under the surface of the earth
    Treebeard rumbled for a moment, as if he were pronouncing some deep, subterranean Entish malediction.
  3. malediction
    the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil
    Treebeard rumbled for a moment, as if he were pronouncing some deep, subterranean Entish malediction.
  4. conclave
    a confidential or secret meeting
    The voices of the Ents were still rising and falling in their conclave.
  5. ruddy
    inclined to a healthy reddish color
    He was tall, and seemed to be one of the younger Ents; he had smooth shining skin on his arms and legs; his lips were ruddy, and his hair was grey-green.
  6. resonant
    characterized by a loud deep sound
    At last he spoke, and his voice though resonant was higher and clearer than Treebeard’s.
  7. dirge
    a song or hymn of mourning as a memorial to a dead person
    Most of the time they sat silent under the shelter of the bank; for the wind was colder, and the clouds closer and greyer; there was little sunshine, and in the distance the voices of the Ents at the Moot still rose and fell, sometimes loud and strong, sometimes low and sad, sometimes quickening, sometimes slow and solemn as a dirge.
  8. flank
    the side between ribs and hipbone
    Treebeard was at their head, and some fifty followers were behind him, two abreast, keeping step with their feet and beating time with their hands upon their flanks.
  9. wanton
    unprovoked or without motive or justification
    It is the orc-work, the wanton hewing — rárum — without even the bad excuse of feeding the fires, that has so angered us; and the treachery of a neighbour, who should have helped us.
  10. gaunt
    very thin, especially from disease or hunger or cold
    The woods fell away and they came to scattered groups of birch, and then to bare slopes where only a few gaunt pine-trees grew.
  11. guile
    shrewdness as demonstrated by being skilled in deception
    Wise fool. For if he had used all his power to guard Mordor, so that none could enter, and bent all his guile to the hunting of the Ring, then indeed hope would have faded: neither Ring nor bearer could long have eluded him.
  12. rendering
    a translation
    But Treebeard: that is only a rendering of Fangorn into the Common Speech; yet you seem to speak of a person. Who is this Treebeard?
  13. caper
    jump about playfully
    ‘In happy hour you have returned to us, Gandalf,’ cried the Dwarf, capering as he sang loudly in the strange dwarf-tongue.
  14. cleave
    separate or cut with a tool, such as a sharp instrument
    ‘Come, come!’ he shouted, swinging his axe. ‘Since Gandalf’s head is now sacred, let us find one that it is right to cleave!’
  15. terrace
    a level shelf of land interrupting a declivity
    Within there rise the roofs of houses; and in the midst, set upon a green terrace, there stands aloft a great hall of Men.
  16. ford
    a shallow area in a stream that can be crossed
    Over the stream there was a ford between low banks much trampled by the passage of horses.
  17. bandy
    discuss lightly
    I have not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a serving-man till the lightning falls.
  18. hearken
    listen; used mostly in the imperative
    ‘Now Théoden son of Thengel, will you hearken to me?’ said Gandalf.
  19. scabbard
    a sheath for a sword or dagger or bayonet
    Háma knelt and presented to Théoden a long sword in a scabbard clasped with gold and set with green gems.
  20. irksome
    tedious or irritating
    ‘I care for you and yours as best I may. But do not weary yourself, or tax too heavily your strength. Let others deal with these irksome guests. Your meat is about to be set on the board. Will you not go to it?’
  21. grovel
    show submission or fear
    ‘Mercy, lord!’ whined Wormtongue, grovelling on the ground.
  22. defile
    make dirty or spotty
    Another went to the well at the foot of the terrace and in his helm drew water. With it he washed clean the stones that Wormtongue had defiled.
  23. wry
    bent to one side
    ‘Say also,’ said Gandalf, ‘that to crooked eyes truth may wear a wry face.’
  24. proffer
    present for acceptance or rejection
    Théoden drank from the cup, and she then proffered it to the guests.
  25. bivouac
    temporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
    In a great circle, under the starry sky and the waxing moon, they now made their bivouac.
  26. billowing
    characterized by great swelling waves or surges
    In the afternoon the dark clouds began to overtake them: a sombre canopy with great billowing edges flecked with dazzling light.
  27. vanguard
    the leading units moving at the head of an army
    In the last red glow men in the vanguard saw a black speck, a horseman riding back towards them.
  28. culvert
    a transverse and enclosed drain under a road or railway
    Beneath it by a wide culvert the Deeping-stream passed out.
  29. rove
    move about aimlessly or without any destination
    Here and there they came upon roving bands of Orcs; but they fled ere the Riders could take or slay them.
  30. rampart
    an embankment built around a space for defensive purposes
    ‘Not far ahead now lies Helm’s Dike, an ancient trench and rampart scored across the coomb, two furlongs below Helm’s Gate. There we can turn and give battle.’
  31. furlong
    a unit of length equal to 220 yards
    ‘Not far ahead now lies Helm’s Dike, an ancient trench and rampart scored across the coomb, two furlongs below Helm’s Gate. There we can turn and give battle.’
  32. breach
    an opening, especially a gap in a dike or fortification
    ‘It is a mile long or more, and the breach in it is wide.’
    ‘At the breach our rearguard must stand, if we are pressed,’ said Éomer.
  33. parapet
    fortification consisting of a low wall
    The Deeping Wall was twenty feet high, and so thick that four men could walk abreast along the top, sheltered by a parapet over which only a tall man could look.
  34. squat
    short and thick
    For a staring moment the watchers on the walls saw all the space between them and the Dike lit with white light: it was boiling and crawling with black shapes, some squat and broad, some tall and grim, with high helms and sable shields.
  35. brazen
    made of or resembling brass, as in color or hardness
    Brazen trumpets sounded.
  36. gorge
    a deep ravine, usually with a river running through it
    Ere long they were hemmed in in the narrows of the gorge, and all were slain or driven shrieking into the chasm of the Deep to fall before the guardians of the hidden caves.
  37. shingle
    coarse beach gravel of small waterworn stones and pebbles
    Before the wall’s foot the dead and broken were piled like shingle in a storm; ever higher rose the hideous mounds, and still the enemy came on.
  38. whet
    sharpen by rubbing
    The elf was whetting his long knife.
  39. glean
    gather, as of natural products
    His bow was bent, but one gleaned arrow was all that he had left, and he peered out now, ready to shoot the first Orc that should dare to approach the stair.
  40. parley
    a negotiation between enemies
    ‘Get down or we will shoot you from the wall,’ they cried. ‘This is no parley. You have nothing to say.’
Created on Thu Feb 01 20:30:53 EST 2018 (updated Tue Feb 20 16:14:54 EST 2018)

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