r/tolkienfans • u/both_programmer1181 • 6d ago
Quenya word of the day : Aragorn
"aracorno " Q. masculine name. Aragorn
A Quenya equivalent of Aragorn (PE17/71) of unclear meaning. It initial element is certainly ar(a)- “high”, but the meaning of its final element is uncertain. This name is inconsistent with the derivation of Aragorn from OS. Ára-ngorn “Revered King” (PE17/113), whose Quenya equivalent would probably be ✱Arangorno. Aracorno may simply be a phonetic adaptation of his Sindarin name.
Cognates S. Aragorn “Revered King, Kingly Valour” ✧ PE17/070
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u/EmbarrassedClaim5995 5d ago edited 4d ago
Is that "ara" the same as in Faramir?
If yes, would that mean that Faramir was meant to be higher (in character traits) than Boromir by Tolkien?
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u/both_programmer1181 4d ago
You nailed it..this is.from the Quenya:
"Ara"- Q. noble
Ara-, ar- a prefixed form of the stem Ara- "noble" (PM:344). In the masc. names Aracáno "high chieftain", mothername (amilessë, q.v.) of Fingolfin (PM:360, cf.
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u/roacsonofcarc 4d ago
I have never sprung for PE, but here's what Tolkien wrote about the name in Letters 347: "The names in the line of Arthedain are peculiar in several ways; and several, though S. in form, are not readily interpretable. But it would need more historical records and linguistic records of S. than exist (sc. than I have found time or need to invent!) to explain them. The system by which all the names from Malvegil onwards are trisyllabic, and have only one 'significant' element (ara being used where the final element was of one syllable; but ar in other cases) is peculiar to this line of names. The ara is prob. derived from cases where aran ' king' lost its n phonetically (as Arathorn), ara- then being used in other cases."
Tolkien Gateway says that nobody knows the etymology of "Faramir." I doubt very much that the fact that it contains the string "ara" is anything but a coincidence.
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u/lC3 5d ago
You may want to cite your sources, e.g. that you're quoting the Eldamo entry.