LotR -- Book 1 - Chapter 05 - A Conspiracy Unmasked

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Not silly at all, Evisse! Your question got me thinking about the meaning of the word "brand" - "brandy" is based on that word root. In German, "Brand" is a fire or blaze, and alcohols (like brandy) are said to be "burned". I looked up "brand" in the M-W online dictionary and found that the etymology of the word is

Middle English, torch, sword, from Old English; akin to Old English bærnan to burn

Accordingly, the definitions are (very briefly) 1)firebrand; 2)sword; 3)brandmark, trademark, or stigma; 4)make; and 5)branding tool.

Now I'm really starting to wonder - what connection did old Gorhendad have with fire? Do you suppose he was the one who was involved in the Old Forest fire which took place at the Bonfire Glade? I couldn't find any reference to that on the quick...

Additional thoughts: The River involved here is the Brandywine, corrupted from Baranduin (meaning in Sindarin: 'golden-brown river' ). In Fosters's Guide, I found this information:

The original (and genuine) Hobbitish name for the river was Branda-nîn, 'border-water,' which was later corrupted to Bralda-hîm, 'heady ale,' its normal name at the time of the WR.

In that case, perhaps the Brandybucks were named for their location at the border of the Shire.

Now I challenge someone to find a connection between the fire and the border definitions!