ernil

noun. ernil

n.

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).

Element in

• S. Dor-en-Ernil “Land of the Prince” ✧ UT/245
• S. Ernil i Pheriannath “Prince of the Halflings” ✧ Let/425; LotR/0768; LotR/0807

Elements

Word	Gloss
aran	“king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person, king, lord, chief, (lit.) high or noble person; [N.] lord (of a specific region)”
hîl	“heir”

Variations

• Ernil ✧ Let/425; LotR/0768; LotR/0807; UT/245

ernil

noun. prince

ernil

prince

1) 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

prince

(no distinct pl. form)

caun

noun. prince, ruler

caun

prince

pl1. cónin {ō} n. prince, chief, head.

cund

noun. prince

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

cund

prince

(i gund, o chund, construct cun), pl. cynd (i chynd) (VT45:24).