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.