Adûnaic

pharazôn

masculine name. Golden

The son of Gimilkhâd who usurped the throne to become the 25th and final ruler of Númenor, translated “Golden” (LotR/1114, S/270). His Quenya name was Tar-Calion. Since Calion appears to mean “✱Son of Light”, Ar-Pharazôn is an example of a Númenórean ruler whose Adûnaic and Quenya names had different meanings.

The first element in his name is the noun pharaz “gold”. Since Pharazôn is glossed “Golden”, the second element -ôn may be an adjectival suffix. Andreas Moehn instead suggested (EotAL/PHAR’Z) that the name means “✱Golden One”, closer to its Quenya equivalent, and that the suffix -ôn is a masculine variant of the agental suffix -ân. Either way, the name is also notable in that it does not undergo the Adûnaic syncope when its suffix is added.

Conceptual Development: The name also appeared in “The Notion Club Papers” from the 1940s (SD/311), in some examples inflected into the subjective case (SD/247, 428-9).

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. Tar-Kalion ✧ SDI2/Tar-kalion; SDI2/Ar-Pharazôn
  • Q. Calion “*Son of Light” ✧ PMI/Ar-Pharazôn; UTI/Ar-Pharazôn

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
pharaz“gold”
-ôn“adjective or agental suffix”

Variations

  • arpharazōn ✧ SD/311
  • ar-pharazōn ✧ SD/312
  • Pharazōn ✧ SD/429; SD/435
Adûnaic [LotR/1114; LotRI/Ar-Pharazôn; MRI/Ar-Pharazôn; PMI/Ar-Pharazôn; S/270; SD/247; SD/311; SD/312; SD/428; SD/429; SD/435; SDI2/Ar-Pharazôn; SDI2/Tar-kalion; SI/Ar-Pharazôn; SI/Pharazôn; UTI/Ar-Pharazôn] Group: Eldamo. Published by