Sindarin 

rohan

place name. Riddermark, (lit.) Horse-country

The home of the Rohirrim, translated “Riddermark” (LotR/262) or more literally “Horse-country” (RC/241). It is a combination of roch “horse” and -(i)an “-land”, with the [[s|[x] (“ch”) softening to [h] in Gondorian pronunciation]] (LotR/1113).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, this land was first named N. Thanador of unclear meaning, which underwent several revisions (Ulthanador, Borthendor, Orothan[ador]) before Tolkien settled on N. Rohan (RS/434). At this earlier stage, Tolkien posited that this name developed from (ON.?) Rochan(dor); Tolkien coined the archaic form †Rochand later, while working on the drafts of the Lord of the Rings appendices (PM/53).

Cognates

Derivations

  • S. Rochand “Rohan, Horse-country” ✧ Let/178; Let/382; LotR/1115; PM/053; RC/241; SA/roch; UT/318; WJI/Rohan

Elements

WordGloss
roch“horse”
-ian(d)“-land, country”

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
S. Rochann > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ Let/178
S. Rochand > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ Let/382
S. Rochand > Rochann > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ LotR/1115
S. Rochann > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ PM/053
S. Rochan > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ RC/241
S. Rochand > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ UT/318
S. Rochan(d) > Rohan[roxand] > [roxann] > [roxan]✧ WJI/Rohan
Sindarin [Let/178; Let/382; LotR/0262; LotR/1113; LotR/1115; LotRI/Riddermark; LotRI/Rohan; PM/053; PMI/Rohan; RC/241; SA/roch; SI/Rohan; UT/319; UTI/Rohan; WJI/Rohan] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rochand

place name. Rohan, Horse-country

Archaic form of the name Rohan (LotR/1115), a combination of roch “horse” and the archaic suffix †-ian(d) “land” (Let/382).

Conceptual Development: In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, the form (ON.?) Rochan(dor) implies a different history for this name (RS/435).

Derivatives

  • S. Rohan “Riddermark, (lit.) Horse-country” ✧ Let/178; Let/382; LotR/1115; PM/053; RC/241; SA/roch; UT/318; WJI/Rohan

Elements

WordGloss
roch“horse”
-ian(d)“-land, country”

Variations

  • Rochann ✧ Let/178; PM/053 (Ln. Rochann)
  • Rochan ✧ RC/241
  • Rochan(d) ✧ UTI/Rochan(d); UTI/Rohan; WJI/Rohan
Sindarin [Let/178; Let/382; LotR/1115; PM/053; RC/241; SA/roch; UT/318; UTI/Rochan(d); UTI/Rohan; WJI/Rohan] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rohald

proper name. Rohald

The (untranslated) name of Gandalf’s horse in unpublished 1960 revisions to The Hobbit; John Rateliff suggested it might be a Sindarin name with the first element meaning “horse”, as in S. Rohan; the meaning of the second element is unclear (HH/876 note #2). As a Sindarin name, Rohald presents some difficulties, as -ld cannot occur finally in Sindarin, but the name is clearly not Quenya either and there is no other good explanation for the name.

Variations

  • Rohan ✧ HH/386

Noldorin 

rohan

place name. Horse-land

Derivations

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. Rochan(dor) > Rohan[roxan] > [rohan]✧ RS/434
Noldorin [PE22/068; RS/434; RSI/Rohan; SDI1/Rohan; TII/Rohan; WRI/Rohan] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Rohirric

riddena-mearc

place name. Riddermark

Cognates

  • S. Rohan “Riddermark, (lit.) Horse-country” ✧ LotRI/Rohan
Rohirric [LotRI/Rohan] Group: Eldamo. Published by