A great werewolf bred by Morgoth to be the bane of Huan, who later bit off the hand of Beren. His name was translated “Red Maw” (S/180).
Possible Etymology: As indicated by Christopher Tolkien, this name very likely contains carch “fang, tooth” (SA/carak, Ety/KARAK), perhaps as its first element. The name probably also contains caran “red” (SA/caran), which might be the basis of the middle element. Alternately, car(an) could be the initial element, with the nasal mutation char(ch) of carch as the middle element. The final element seems to be the augmentative suffix -oth. Perhaps a more literal translation of the name would be “✱Great Red Fang”. Alternately, perhaps carch + oth = caroth means “maw”, and “Red Maw” is an exact translation.
Conceptual Development: When this character first appeared in the earliest Lost Tales, he was given the (Early) Qenya name ᴱQ. Karkaras “Knife-fang” (LT2/21), soon replaced by its Gnomish equivalent G. Carcaras. The name G. Carcharoth emerged in The Lays of Beleriand, along with its translation “Red Maw” (LB/289). For some time, Tolkien vacillated between Carcaras “Knife-fang” and Carcharoth “Red Maw”, with minor variants on each form, such as Carcharas (SM/115) or Carcharolch (LB/119). The name N. Carcharoth appeared in The Etymologies from the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KARAK (Ety/KARAK), and thereafter Tolkien used only this form.
The Sindarin word for “fang” (SA/carak), most notably appearing as an element in the names like S. Carchost “Fang Fort” (RC/601) and S. Carcharoth “Red Maw” (S/180), perhaps more literally “✱Great Red Fang”. In The Etymologies of the 1930s, N. carch was glossed “tooth, fang” under the root ᴹ√KARAK “sharp fang, spike, tooth” (Ety/KARAK). For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I’d use the word carch exclusively for the sharp teeth of animals (“fang”) and for “tooth” I’d use [N.] nêl or neleg.
Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s had the word G. carc “jag, point, fang” (GL/25), likely based on the earlier form of the root: ᴱ√KṚKṚ (QL/48). This early word reflects the different phonetic developments of Gnomish versus Sindarin/Noldorin: compare G. orc (GL/63) vs. S./N. orch.