return

1496 the return of the king
Note on three names: Hobbit, Gamgee, and Brandywine.
Hobbit is an invention. In the Westron the word used, when this people
was referred to at all, was banakil ‘halfling’. But at this date the folk of the
Shire and of Bree used the word kuduk, which was not found elsewhere.
Meriadoc, however, actually records that the King of Rohan used the
word kûd-dûkan ‘hole-dweller’. Since, as has been noted, the Hobbits
had once spoken a language closely related to that of the Rohirrim, it
seems likely that kuduk was a worn-down form of kûd-dûkan. The latter
I have translated, for reasons explained, by holbytla; and hobbit provides
a word that might well be a worn-down form of holbytla, if that name
had occurred in our own ancient language.
Gamgee. According to family tradition, set out in the Red Book, the
surname Galbasi, or in reduced form Galpsi, came from the village of
Galabas, popularly supposed to be derived from galab- ‘game’ and an
old element bas-, more or less equivalent to our wick, wich. Gamwich
(pronounced Gammidge) seemed therefore a very fair rendering. However,
in reducing Gammidgy to Gamgee, to represent Galpsi, no reference
was intended to the connexion of Samwise with the family of Cotton,
though a jest of that kind would have been hobbit-like enough, had there
been any warrant in their language.
Cotton, in fact, represents Hlothran, a fairly common village-name in
the Shire, derived from hloth, ‘a two-roomed dwelling or hole’, and
ran(u) a small group of such dwellings on a hill-side. As a surname it
may be an alteration of hlothram(a) ‘cottager’. Hlothram, which I have
rendered Cotman, was the name of Farmer Cotton’s grandfather.
Brandywine. The hobbit-names of this river were alterations of the Elvish
Baranduin (accented on and), derived from baran ‘golden brown’ and
duin ‘(large) river’. Of Baranduin Brandywine seemed a natural corruption
in modern times. Actually the older hobbit-name was Branda-nîn
‘border-water’, which would have been more closely rendered by Marchbourn;
but by a jest that had become habitual, referring again to its
colour, at this time the river was usually called Bralda-hîm ‘heady ale’.
It must be observed, however, that when the Oldbucks (Zaragamba)
changed their name to Brandybuck (Brandagamba), the first element
meant ‘borderland’, and Marchbuck would have been nearer. Only a
very bold hobbit would have ventured to call the Master of Buckland
Braldagamba in his hearing.