pl1. cónin {ō} n. prince, chief, head.
Sindarin
cund
noun. *prince
cund
noun. prince
caun
noun. prince, ruler
caun
prince
cund
prince
(i gund, o chund, construct cun), pl. cynd (i chynd) (VT45:24).
ernil
prince
- ernil (no distinct pl. form), 2) †cund (i gund, o chund, construct cun), pl. cynd (i chynd) (VT45:24). 3) The plural form conin (i chonin), occurring in the Cormallen Praise, is translated "princes" (Conin en Annûn = "princes of the west", Letters:308), but it is unclear what the singular would be. (David Salo suggests caun, though this word has two different meanings already; see SHOUT, VALOUR)
ernil
noun. prince
ernil
noun. prince
A noun for “prince” appearing in phrases like Ernil i Pheriannath “Prince of the Halflings” (LotR/768) and Dor-en-Ernil “Land of the Prince” (UT/245). Its initial element is likely a reduced form of aran “king, noble person”; compare to ar(a)- “noble” of similar origin. If so, the a became e due to i-affection. The final -il is harder to explain, because normally -il is a feminine suffix. Perhaps it is a reduction of hîl “heir”, so that the literal meaning is “✱king’s heir, royal heir”.
Conceptual Development: N. ernil also appeared in Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s (WR/287).
conin
prince
(i chonin), occurring in the Cormallen Praise, is translated "princes" (Conin en Annûn = "princes of the west", Letters:308), but it is unclear what the singular would be. (David Salo suggests caun, though this word has two different meanings already; see
ernil
prince
(no distinct pl. form)
This word is only directly attested in The Etymologies, appearing as N. †cunn “prince” (Ety/KUNDŪ) and marked as an archaic form (EtyAC/KUNDŪ). It still appears in later writings as a element in some first-age Sindarin names from The Silmarillion: Baragund, Belegund and perhaps Felagund (see below). Its Quenya cognate Q. cundo also appears in later writings (PM/260, PE17/117-8), indicating that †cund may have remained conceptually valid.
Alternate etymologies of the name Felagund complicate this picture, however. In a 1959 etymology Tolkien said Felagund was derived from Dwarvish Felakgundu “Cave Hewer” (PM/352), and in a 1969 etymology Tolkien said it meant “den-dweller” and that “the ending -gund could not be interpreted from Eldarin” (NM/304). This indicates cund “prince” may have been abandoned, and that Baragund and Belegund were either (a) remnants of earlier conceptions or (b) reinterpreted as Mannish (Beorian) names.
Elsewhere, the third-age Sindarin word for “prince” is said to be caun (PE17/102), so even if survived conceptually, it seems likely the older form †cund fell out use.