Lord of.... Moria?

[Mister Underhill]

Originally Posted by Nerwen

Ever hear the theory that Celebrimbor did it as a practical joke?

Not surprising, considering the Buzzer-Rings of Power he was infamous for before Sauron showed up.

Galin, my response is that the doors, while obviously the portal to a Dwarvish realm, were a collaboration between the two races and clearly made in tribute to the Dwarves' western allies, with a password of "mellon", no less. In HoME XII we find this:

The Dwarves said that it was in courtesy to the Elves that the Feanorian letters were used on that gate, since it opened into their country and was chiefly used by them. But the East Gates, which perished in the war against the Orks, had opened upon the wide world, and were less friendly. They had borne Runic inscriptions in several tongues: spells of prohibition and exclusion in Khuzdul, and commands that all should depart who had not the leave of the Lord of Moria written in Quenya, Sindarin, the Common Speech, the languages of Rohan and of Dale and Dunland.

Admittedly I may be reaching when I theorize some underlying humor in the use of "Moria". Perhaps it had merely by that time become the common name for the Dwarrowdelf and accepted and used as such even by the Dwarves in their interactions with outsiders despite its somewhat insulting meaning.