Linguistic puns, riddles, and jokes in LotR, etc.

[Eönwë]

Originally Posted by MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie

Also, gimel is the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet, but I don't know what it means or if it fits in.

But isn't it always Aragorn (1), Legolas (2), and Gimli (3). I always think of them in that order anyway. And even in the movies they place them in that in order in the CoE

Originally Posted by Rina

I have discovered something interesting. The last half of Theoden's name is reminiscent of Odin or Woden, the supreme Norse god. Also, the last part of Denethor's name is like Thor, the Norse God of thunder. I wonder if Tolkein did this purposely.

So Theoden is more in power than Denethor? Anyway, Theoden is a king, whereas Denether is just a steward.

Originally Posted by Cúdae

The third thing I came up with after breaking it down were other Sindarin words with "ae" or preferably "aeg" in them OR with "las" or "olas" in them. Here's what I found:
maeg-"sharp; piercing" Looking at it this way- possibly a reference to eyesight? This is also seen in the eyesight of the other Legolas in Gondolin(?).
dae- "shadow" I almost eliminated this one because of the "d."

Or maybe the 'dae' bit could be a reference to Mirkwood.

And the Old English word 'mægþ' (pronounced magth, I think) can mean a clan (with Aragorn and Gimli?), race (Elves?), or kindom (mirkwood again?)

Maybe I'm just stretching things a bit on this one.

Originally Posted by Manardariel

Eomer and Eowyn. This one´s sort of far fetched, but not very. They both share "Eo-" which indicates they´re very close. But now it´s interesting: EoWYN is spoken like "to win". An indication that she will indeed "win renown", which she obviously wants. EoMER however is spoken like EoMARE. A mare is a female horse. Eomer comes from Rohan. Rohan is famous for horses. Makes sense, doesn´t it?

'Eoh' is OE for 'horse'. So maybe Eomer is "horse-mare" or even "horse-horse" just to emphasize the Rohan-ishness.



The there's this whole Galad/Galadh thing. People say they're not related but I think they are. Remeber, the Two Trees=Light. Makes sense. Later on, Galadriel is has the "galad" for light, but her people are the "galadhrim" which are connected to trees. So maybe light and treesare meant to go together in Tolkien's wors.



Then again, I think it is in UT that CT meantions some of these. I'll have to go and fins the relevant quotes.

[Galin]

Originally Posted by Eönwë

(...) 'Eoh' is OE for 'horse'. So maybe Eomer is "horse-mare" or even "horse-horse" just to emphasize the Rohan-ishness.

I think Éomer means 'horse-famous (famous horseman)', while Éowyn means 'Horse-joy'. These are intended as Anglo-Saxon based translations of their 'real' names, which we do not know (in full anyway).

The there's this whole Galad/Galadh thing. People say they're not related but I think they are. Remeber, the Two Trees=Light. Makes sense. Later on, Galadriel is has the "galad" for light, but her people are the "galadhrim" which are connected to trees. So maybe light and treesare meant to go together in Tolkien's wors.

There's an essay published over at the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship: Light and Tree, A Survey Through the External History of Sindarin, by Helios De Rosario Martínez. It's in depth and maybe some might be interested (see the Tengwestie link over at E.L.F.org). I'm going to read it again in any case.

As an annoying spelling note concerning Alfirin's post: that should be Branda-nîn 'Border-water' and Bralda-hîm 'heady ale' (pun of the name).

Though *Barad-nen could be Sindarin

[Alfirin]

Originally Posted by Galin

I think Éomer means 'horse-famous (famous horseman)', while Éowyn means 'Horse-joy'. These are intended as Anglo-Saxon based translations of their 'real' names, which we do not know (in full anyway).



There's an essay published over at the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship: Light and Tree, A Survey Through the External History of Sindarin, by Helios De Rosario Martínez. It's in depth and maybe some might be interested (see the Tengwestie link over at E.L.F.org). I'm going to read it again in any case.

As an annoying spelling note concerning Alfirin's post: that should be Branda-nîn 'Border-water' and Bralda-hîm 'heady ale' (pun of the name).

Though *Barad-nen could be Sindarin

Oops, I;m sorry must have been reading too fast when I copied hence the mistakes (also my keyboar doesnt seem to be able to put the carats over the "i"'s at last not when I'm online)