There are various translations of the word fauglith in different sources. 'Gasping dust' here derives from the common translation of the alternative name Anfauglith (literally 'great gasping dust', but usually translated simply as 'Gasping Dust'). In his index to The Silmarilliom, Christopher Tolkien prefers 'choking ash', while another interpretation from The Etymologies (in volume V of The History of Middle-earth) gives 'thirsty sand'. These variations reflect slightly different interpretations of the word's ultimate derivation, from Elvish faug, 'gape, gasp, be thirsty, be parched' and lith, 'sand, ash, dust', with the various English renderings each representing a valid alternative reading of the Elvish original.
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