Tarkil: Difference between revisions

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[[Category:Quenya nouns]]
[[Category:Quenya nouns]]
[[Category:Quenya names]]
[[Category:Quenya names]]
[[Category:Westron words]]
[[Category:Westron words]]

Revision as of 09:17, 9 November 2012

tarkil is a Quenya word, used in the Common Tongue as a name for a Man of Númenórean descent.[1][2][3]

The Orcs corrupted the word, and used tark as an insulting term for a Gondorian.[1][2]

It has been suggested that tarkil also probably lies behind the meaning of the name of Tarcil, the sixth King of Arnor.[4]

Etymology

In the Etymologies, tark derives from Primitive Quendian tāra-khil (roots TUR and KHIL).[5][note 1] It has been suggested that tarkil means "literally 'high follower' ([since] the Elves referred to Men as followers because they were the Afterborn Children of Ilúvatar)".[4][note 2]

Other versions of the legendarium

In The Lord of the Rings, the word appears only in a footnote (added in the Allen & Unwin second edition, 1966) in Appendix F. However, at one time it was destined for more prominence: in the early drafts of the work, Aragorn himself is known as "the Tarkil", but this was changed to "the Dúnadan" in the published text.[2][6]

Notes

  1. tarkil as related to the root KHIL also appears in a later manuscript, cf. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 101.
  2. Cf. TUR for the connection to "high" and KHIL for the connection to "follower".

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "The Languages and Peoples of the Third Age"
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull (eds), The Lord of the Rings: A Reader's Companion, p. 603
  3. J.R.R. Tolkien, "Words, Phrases and Passages in Various Tongues in The Lord of the Rings", in Parma Eldalamberon XVII (edited by Christopher Gilson), p. 101
  4. 4.0 4.1 Tarkil at The Encyclopedia of Arda (accessed 14 May 2011)
  5. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Lost Road and Other Writings, Part Three: "The Etymologies", pp. 364, 395
  6. J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), The Treason of Isengard, p. 8