S. Erchamion m. “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 -on¹. 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).
References ✧ LR/301; PE21/86; S/183; SA/cam, er; SI; UTI; VT47/7; WJI
Glosses
Variations
Elements
| er | “one, alone” | ✧ SA/er | |
| cam | “(cupped) hand, holding hand; handful” | liquid-mutation | ✧ SA/cam |
| -on¹ | “masculine suffix” | ||
| ✶kambā | “(cupped) hand” | ✧ VT47/7 | |
Cognates
N. Erchamion m. “One-handed”
References ✧ Ety/MAP; EtyAC/KAB; LB/119, 121; LBI/Erchamion, Ermabwed; LR/146, 405; LRI; RS/183; RSI/Beren, Erhamion; SMI/Erchamion, Ermabwed
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Cognates
N. Erchamui m. “One-handed”
An earlier variant of S. Erchamion “One-handed” (LR/146, 405; Ety/KAB), ending instead with the adjective suffix -ui.
See S. Erchamion for further discussion.
References ✧ Ety/KAB; LR/146, 405; LRI/Erchamion
Glosses
Changes
Elements
| *er | “one, alone” | ✧ Ety/KAB (#er) | |
| cam | “hand” | soft-mutation | ✧ Ety/KAB |
| #-ui | “adjective suffix” |
Ilk. Ermabuin m. “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.
See S. Erchamion for further discussion.
References ✧ Ety/MAP; EtyAC/MAP; LR/131, 146, 405; LRI; SM/310; SMI/Erchamion, Ermabwed
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Elements
| *er | “one” | |
| mâb | “hand” | ✧ Ety/MAP; EtyAC/MAP (mâb) |
| *-en | “adjectival suffix” |
Cognates
ᴱN. Ermabwed m. “One-handed”
References ✧ LB/119, 121; LBI/Erchamion, Ermabwed; SM/113, 297, 310; SMI
Glosses
Variations
Changes
G. Ermabwed m. “One-handed”
References ✧ LT2/34; LT2A/Elmavoitë, Ermabwed; LT2I/Elmavoitë, Ermabwed
Glosses
Elements
| mabwed | “handed, having hands, dextrous” | ✧ LT2A/Ermabwed |
Cognates