Quote:
Originally Posted by Galin
JRRT once noted that in the tongue of Numenor of old, Radagast (it was said) meant 'tender of beasts', but in a late note 'Radagast is said to be a name deriving from the Men of the Vales of Anduin, 'not now clearly interpretable'.
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I had forgotten that, till your mention reminded me.
Quote:
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My guess is that the meaning of the Quenya name Aiwendil was not in play in both cases. And sometimes it can be difficult to say if a name is intended to be a substitution or not: Gandalf and Saruman are substitutions, and Incánus might seem to be another substitution by Tolkien as the fictive translator for example, but in another late note Tolkien at least considers a possible Quenya derivation, as he had considered earlier as well.
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Apparently I was not clear in my intention. I see
Gandalf and
Mithrandir and other names given to Gandalf in various languages as unrelated to the Quenya name
Olórin in meaning. While
Saruman appears to be a translation of that wizard’s Quenya and Sindarin into Old English, presumably representing a form originally in true Rohirric.