Places in Middle-earth
Sirith
Type: Rivers & Lakes
Region: Gondor
Meaning: a flowing
Location: The River Sirith arises in the White Mountains and flows southeast, where it is joined by its tributary, Celos, then flows into the Anduin just downstream of the port of Pelargir.
Description:
Lebennin 'Five Rivers' (those being Erui, Sirith, Celos, Serni, and Gilrain), land between Ered Nimrais and Ethir Anduin....
Lebennin and its environs, showing the River Sirith.
Unfinished Tales, Index
Celos One of the rivers of Lebennin in Gondor; tributary of the Sirith.
Ibid.
Etymology
sîr 'river', from root sir- 'flow', in Ossiriand..., Sirion; also in Sirannon (the 'Gate-stream' of Moria) and Sirith ('a flowing', as tirith 'watching' from tir), a river in Gondor. With change of s to h in the middle of words it is present in Minhiriath 'between the rivers'...; in Nanduhirion 'vale of dim streams', the Dimrill Dale..., and in Ethir Anduin, the outflow or delta of Anduin (from et-sir).
The Silmarillion, Appendix: Elements in Quenya and Sindarin Names
Notes
In at least one earlier, black and red version of the Map of Middle-earth from The Lord of the Rings, the names of the rivers Celos and Sirith are switched. The similar Map of Gondor, however, shows them in the correct order, and the map above has been corrected. The Celos is, in fact, to the west (left) of the Sirith, closer to the Gilrain/Serni system, as confirmed by the following passage:
The Gilrain came swiftly down from the mountains as did the other rivers of that region; but as it reached the end of the outlier of Ered Nimrais that separated it from the Celos... it ran into a wide shallow depression.
Unfinished Tales, Part 2, Ch 4, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn: Amroth and Nimrodel
Contributors:
Still Anonymous, 5Mar04
Elena Tiriel 31Aug10
