Quote:
Originally Posted by jallanite
One reason the later Hobbit may have disliked the name halfling is that they saw it as a gross exaggeration of their smallness. But banakil and perian remained the name of this people in standard Westron and in Sindarin. And both meant ‘halfling’, regardless that the term was not precisely suitable.
|
I think that the detail of "half" is not particularly important. The Big Folk would have continued using
halfling from habit and because it really does not matter if it is halfling or threequarterling, as long as it gets the point across. The hobbits would continue to be offended because
halfling and
threequarterling alike are diminutive in their nature, regardless of how accurate. No people wants to be named relative to another, since to each people they are the norm.