A name attested as an element in Emyn Arnen (LotR/750). In an essay on the The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor (VT42/5-31), Tolkien indicated the name was incorrectly assembled by the local people from a mixture of Quenya and Sindarin elements: Q. ar- “beside” and S. nen “water”, thus meaning “Beside the Water” (VT42/17).
Sindarin
arnen
adjective. (?) royal
arnen
place name. Beside the Water
Element in
- S. Emyn Arnen “Hills of Arnen” ✧ VT42/17
Elements
Word Gloss ar- “by-, beside, near, by-, beside, near; [ᴹQ.] outside” nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream”
arn
adjective. royal
arn
royal
arn (noble), pl. ern
arn
royal
(noble), pl. ern
ar
royal
(adj. prefix) ar- (noble, high). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.
ar
royal
(noble, high). In the form ar(a)- this is an element in the names of the kings of Arnor and Arthedain.
Originally, Lonnath-Ernin might have been intended to mean 'royal havens', assuming the second element to be a regular adjective. However, the second element in Emyn Arnen 'hills of Arnen' is singular, and Tolkien later decided that it should mean 'Hill beside the water', see VT/42:17 and HL/119-124. Nevertheless, this meaning cannot apply to Lonnath-Ernin (havens are near water by definition), so unless we entirely reject this earlier form, we may assume that an adjective 'royal' is still possible.