Tolkien the Wordsmith

[the guy who be short]

Well, it's common knowledge that Tolkien created Middle Earth to give his languages a history, not vice versa, and that he was incredibly interested in words, their roots and evolution, and languages in general. I call such people wordsmiths.

Anywho, does anybody else notice the maifestation of this love of words in Middle Earth? There are two examples I can think of.

I noticed that Aragorn and arwen's son was called Eldaron, and knowing a little Quenya, I knew this meant "of the Elves." I didn't really think about it any more. Then, I suddenly realised how fitting the name was for a man of his descend, having Elven blood on both sides.

The other is the use of the word Shirriffs. I knew it was an adaptation of Sheriff, of course, but only recently did I realise why it was adapted: Shirriffs in the Shire. Again, I marvelled at the way tolkien could play with words.

It has occurred to me that perhaps I'm simply a little slow and other people might have noticed these things from the start. If so, in my defense, I would like to say: Look over there!