Sindarin 

erchamion

masculine name. One-handed

Sobriquet of Beren after his hand was bitten off during his quest for a Silmaril (S/183). The two initial elements of this name are er “one” and a mutated form cham of cam “hand” (SA/er, cam). The second of these is especially interesting, in that it is a rare example of liquid mutation. The meaning of the final element is unclear, but it is probably a variant of the masculine suffix -on. As further evidence of this, Tolkien also wrote Erchamon without the i, and according to Patrick Wynne this was clearly deliberate and not a slip (VT47/7, PE21/86).

Conceptual Development: In the earliest Lost Tales from the 1910s, this name appeared as G. Ermabwed (LT2/34). In Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s, this name was revised first to (Ilkorin?) Ermabuin (SM/310), then again to N. Erchamui (LR/146, LR/405). In one place it appeared as Erchamron (Ety/MAP).

As a variation on all these names, the forms N. Er(h)amion or Erchamion appeared as early as the Lays of Beleriand from the 1920s (LB/119, 121) and also in Silmarillion drafts from the 1930s (LR/146, 405). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this name appeared as Erhamion (RS/183) and was firmly established in its final form Erchamion by the time of the Silmarillion revisions from the 1950s-60s (WJ/51, 231).

Cognates

  • Q. Ercambo “Onehand(ed), One-hand Man” ✧ PE21/86; VT47/07

Elements

WordGloss
er“one, alone”
cam“(cupped) hand, holding hand; handful”
-on“masculine suffix”

Variations

  • Erchamon ✧ PE21/86; VT47/07
Sindarin [LR/301; PE21/86; S/183; SA/cam; SA/er; SI/Erchamion; UTI/Erchamion; VT47/07; WJI/Erchamion] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ergammon

masculine name. One-Handed

Sindarin [Minor-Doc/1964-03-05] Group: Eldamo. Published by

erchamion

one-handed

erchamion (pl. erchemyn), also *erchammui, no distinct pl. form. (The word is spelt erchamui in the source.)

Noldorin 

erchamui

masculine name. One-handed

An earlier variant of S. Erchamion “One-handed” (LR/146, 405; Ety/KAB), ending instead with the adjective suffix -ui.

Changes

  • ErchamuiErchamion ✧ LR/146
  • ErchamuiErchamion ✧ LR/405

Elements

WordGloss
er“one, alone”
cam“hand”
-ui“adjective suffix”
Noldorin [Ety/KAB; LR/146; LR/405; LRI/Erchamion] Group: Eldamo. Published by

erchamion

masculine name. One-handed

Changes

  • ErchamionErchamui ✧ Ety/KAB

Cognates

  • Ilk. Ermabuin “One-handed” ✧ Ety/MAP

Variations

  • Erchamron ✧ Ety/MAP
  • Er(h)amion ✧ LB/119; LBI/Erchamion
  • Erhamion ✧ RS/183; RSI/Beren; RSI/Erhamion
Noldorin [Ety/MAP; EtyAC/KAB; LB/119; LB/121; LBI/Erchamion; LBI/Ermabwed; LR/146; LR/405; LRI/Erchamion; RS/183; RSI/Beren; RSI/Erhamion; SMI/Erchamion; SMI/Ermabwed] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Doriathrin

ermabuin

masculine name. One-handed

Predecessor to the name S. Erchamion. In The Etymologies, the form Ermab(r)in “One-handed” was marked Ilkorin (Ety/MAP), and the similar form Ermabuin from the narratives may also be Ilkorin, since it appeared beside the Ilkorin name Mablosgen “Empty-handed” (LR/131). This name is a compound of er “one”, mâb “hand” and a variation of the adjective suffix -en. The u might be explained as a fossilized dual element [u], but the absence of this vowel in The Etymologies may mean that Tolkien rejected it in the Ilkorin form of the name.

Changes

  • ErmabuinErchamui ✧ LR/146
  • ErmabuinErchamui “One-handed” ✧ LR/405
  • ErmabuinErchamion ✧ SMI/Erchamion
  • ErmabuinErchamion ✧ SMI/Ermabwed

Cognates

Elements

WordGloss
er“one”
mâb“hand”
-en“adjectival suffix”

Variations

  • Ermab(r)in ✧ Ety/MAP
  • Ermabin ✧ EtyAC/MAP (Dor. Ermabin)
Doriathrin [Ety/MAP; EtyAC/MAP; LR/131; LR/146; LR/405; LRI/Ermabuin; SM/310; SMI/Erchamion; SMI/Ermabwed] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

ermabwed

masculine name. One-handed

Cognates

  • Eq. Elmavoite “One-handed” ✧ LT2/034; LT2I/Elmavoitë; LT2A/Elmavoitë
Gnomish [LT2/034; LT2A/Elmavoitë; LT2A/Ermabwed; LT2I/Elmavoitë; LT2I/Ermabwed] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Noldorin

ermabwed

masculine name. One-handed

Changes

  • ErmabwethErmabwed ✧ LB/119
  • ErmabwedEr(h)amion ✧ LB/119
  • ErmabwedErchamion ✧ LB/121
  • ErmabwedErchamion ✧ LBI/Erchamion
  • ErmabwedErchamion “One-handed” ✧ LBI/Ermabwed
  • ErmabwedErmabuin ✧ SM/310
  • ErmabwedErmabuin “One-handed” ✧ SMI/Ermabwed

Variations

  • Ermabweth ✧ LB/119; LBI/Ermabwed
Early Noldorin [LB/119; LB/121; LBI/Erchamion; LBI/Ermabwed; SM/113; SM/297; SM/310; SMI/Ermabwed] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

elmavoite

masculine name. One-handed

Cognates

  • G. Ermabwed “One-handed” ✧ LT2/034; LT2I/Elmavoitë; LT2A/Elmavoitë

Elements

WordGloss
er“one, only, alone, a single”
mavoite“having hands”

Variations

  • Elmavoitë ✧ LT2/034; LT2A/Elmavoitë; LT2A/Ermabwed; LT2I/Elmavoitë
Early Quenya [LT2/034; LT2A/Elmavoitë; LT2A/Ermabwed; LT2I/Elmavoitë] Group: Eldamo. Published by