Thanks for adding those good thoughts about the second part of the river's name, "wine", Fordim! It seems to me that we have evidence for another of Tolkien's clever wordplays here. On the surface (no water pun intended
) we have a lighthearted river name that sounds like what the Hobbits seem to be at first glance - all about eating and drinking! But go down deeper and you find layers of meaning and of, well - depth, the toughness of the Hobbits. Those who live in Buckland are indeed "border-friends", if we combine two of those meanings.
Knowing how important names were to Tolkien, I can well imagine that he was fully aware of all of these connotations and used them on purpose. How like a linguist to combine several languages, including the archaic form, to make a name that seems simple yet has so much more to it than meets the eye! As a matter of fact, even within the context of the story, we have three linguistic layers to the river's name: Brandywine, Branda-Nīn, and Baranduin.
Now I'm curious about the "Buck-" part of the name. M-W online again -
Quote:
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Etymology: Middle English, from Old English bucca stag, he-goat
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The presumed founder of the house of Oldbuck was Bucca of the Marsh, first Thain of the Shire. I'm not sure what significance that has; any additional ideas?
In answer to your question, Fordim, I think they had their heroic qualities inside them from the beginning - the circumstances only brought them out. I don't think adventures can make changes in a person unless the seed is already there.