we wonders, precious, we wonders *gollum*

[Evisse the Blue]

If this is an idiot question, please say so.
Does Gollum, later Smeagol's nickname, mean anything? I know it is the approximate spelling of the chocking sound that Smeagol used to make. But why did he make those noises? And what were they meant to express? What does the resonance of the word evoke? One thing is certain: they were provoked by the sight (and possession) of the Ring. Does anybody know for sure or care to speculate about this?

[Thorongil]

Well, I would think any throat would make weird noises after being in a cold cave for like 500 years. I guess he just has a REALLY sore throat.

[Imladris]

No, he made the noise soon after he discovered the Ring:

He took to thieving, and going about muttering to himself, and gurgling in his throat. So they [his relations] called him Gollum , and cursed him, and told him to go far away;

Maybe he forgot how to laugh. The book says that he would eavesdrop on secrets and use his knowledge for wicked ends. Maybe he laughed in spite, but as time went on and he became so miserable, all that came out was a strangled sort of sound: Gollum. Now, if that's the case (which is doubtful but that's the first thought that came to me), it wouldn't sound like the movie version of Smeagol's gollum. I'm going on the fact that he "gurgled in his throat."

Or maybe he had a severe case of post-nasel drip he never got rid of.

[Lhunardawen]

This would sound stupid, but i guess the gollum sound came about due to Gollum's excessive fish-eating (or any other meat, for that matter).

IN The Hobbit :

And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat. That is how he got his name, though he always called himself "my precious."

So I agree with Imladris that it is not like the sound Gollum made in the movie. And what did he usually swallow? Fish!

Do I make sense?

[radagastly]

The name itself may have been inspired by "golem," a legend of a creature formed from clay and brought to life through the mysteries of the Kabbalah to be a servent of its maker. The stories I was able to find on the internet seem to all come from eastern Europe, and they all give the impression (to me) that they were stories told to frighten children, like a ghost story before bed-time. I believe Tolkien spent some time in Poland as a child. He may have heard the story there. Of course this is just a theory of mine. Maybe some of our more learned Barrow-downers can shed more light on it.

[Ainaserkewen]

I was just thinking that Radagastly.

Who can try and explain what weird, comical quirks that Smeagol developed after all those years? Whether or not they actually were supposed to mean something other than direct side-effects of his life...who knows.

[ElanorGamgee]

At an on-campus Tolkien forum I recently attended, I believe the professor mentioned that the name Gollum can be traced back to the Indoeuropean root word for "throat," gol, which could also mean "greed."

[Estelyn Telcontar]

Radagastly, that's an interesting thought, but I have my doubts as to whether Tolkien was influenced by the 'golem' legends. As far as I remember from the biography, he was never in Poland, certainly not as a child.

[Sharkû]

As far as I can remember, the Golem legend is completely fictitious and relatively recent, and the animation of an artificial creature is attributed to a Rabbi from Prague, CZ. I as well have my doubts that Tolkien would have needed to be inspired by that to name one of his characters after a simple guttural sound.

[Luthien_ Tinuviel]

As far as I can remember, the Golem legend is completely fictitious and relatively recent, and the animation of an artificial creature is attributed to a Rabbi from Prague, CZ. I as well have my doubts that Tolkien would have needed to be inspired by that to name one of his characters after a simple guttural sound.

As do I. I find it doubtful that he had even heard of the Golem... and you're completely correct, Sharkû (I used to live in Prague). I think it just originates from the sound, and nothing more.

[HerenIstarion]

find it doubtful that he had even heard of the Golem

No knowing. After all, he was a man of broad education and agile mind. And if even I have heard of Golem, why not Tolkien. That does not imply I think Gollum was influenced by Golem, just stand up in defence of much admired Professor's erudition

Why did Gollum utter such noises re: (with a condition of taking what follows at its face value, i.e. as a speculation):

Gollum might have had sustained cold (what with lack of clothes and constant living in dark, cold and wet places)

[radagastly]

I must admit it may be a stretch to think that 'The Golem' was necessarily an influence, but I would not discount the possibility. It may be fiction, and fairly recent, but it pre-dates 'The Lord of the Rings' and 'The Hobbit.' There was a film made in Germany with that title (and theme) produced in 1920 by Paul Wegener and Carl Boese. It might be interesting to compare the legend to the first version of Gollum from the original version of "Riddles in the Dark." Unfortunately, (like most people) I only posess the re-write that was done to tie it into 'The Lord of the Rings.'

[Saraphim]

The idea of a Golem is that it is a servant of whoever creates it, right? Well, then look at Gollum himself. He was a essentially a servant of the Ring, which had created him from Smeagol to Gollum

[Evisse the Blue]

The Golem hypothesis is interesting, and I wouldn't discount it as a possibility. The fact that it was a contemporary invention does not make it less valuable. Like any legend/invention it served a certain purpose at that moment in history, in this case, the wishful thinking that one could fashion a creature from mud (with the aid of faith) who would then fight for his creator. What is very important about the Golem myth is that the Golem is said to be brought to life by writing a word onto the back of his hand: the Hebrew equivalent of 'life'. To bring it back to Gollum, consider what Saraphim said. Gollum's will was no longer his own, he was as much a servant of the Ring as the Golem was his master's. And also don't forget the power of words all throughout LOTR, (i.e., the Ring poem and its effect when uttered in Dark Speech at the Council of Elrond.

So, can we call it plausible?

It could also be the fact that he forgot how to laugh, as Imladris suggested, so 'gollum' would be a strangled attempt to show his pleasure, which now only derived from the Ring; or that he kept choking on fish (how often does one have to choke, though, before the sound he makes becomes his nickname? ). Call me crazy, but I actually tried immitating the sound many times, and it never came out right (as is described in the book). It sounds somehow unnatural. And I agree the movie sound is not at all how I imagined it when reading the book description if it. However these theories do not contradict the Golem hypotheses - while one is true in the context of the 'real life inspiration', the others are true in the fictious world of ME ( did I say fictious - I uttered a blasphemy!).

Anyway, the only certainty we have so far is ElanorGamgee 's post, the rest is speculation.

Well, I say, let's keep the speculations coming!

i think it was like a nervours twitch that he had whenever he came in contact with the Ring. Maybe he just was trying to fit in... But it does only start when he gets the ring so it must be ring-related, or at least related to the effect that the ring has upon him. (not pretty)

[Isowen]

I think he was just shocked and it was like, you know when you cry a lot, and you find it hard to catch your breath, it must have been some kind of choking noise and it was the last thing he remembered.

Who ever decided that the story of Rabbi Loew and his Golem was a recent story has got it completely wrong. Whats more, it was not the story that introduced the idea of the Golem. That has been in Jewish mythology for thousands of years. The story about Rabbi Loew just happens to be the most popular.

Its good that you have just decided that Gollum has nothing to do with the Golem legend but the fact is Tolkien would have known all about Gollems seeing as the legend has been around for so long and one of his main passtimes was researching the mythoilogy and language of other cultures hence the creation of his various languages.

Please next time you say something, make sure there is at least a hint of truth to it.

[Assasin]

They gave him that name because of his cough. He always goes, ***gollum, gollum*** when he coughs.

[ohtatyaro]

I have a question: who are 'they'? he was alone in a cave, right? So 'they' are people of his village? Or Bilbo, whom he talked to first of all of the later folks?

[Assasin]

I think it was the people in his village... but that's just what I think. There was a murderer in the "village" and the chased him out.

[Finwe-89]

Smeagol, when he had the Ring, his mind got poisend. Cause of the Ring, he also lost him self, and got a slipetted personality ( if I say it right ). That means that he got two personalities ( it happens in reallife too, only not with the Ring of course ). Cause Smeagol lost it, Gollum came. But not right away. It started with the name ''Gollum, Gollum, Gollum''. Later, Gollum took over the mind of Smeagol and shared it with Smeagol. So the name Gollum just came out of nowhere. Or Tolkien meant something with it... But I don't think any one knows

[Glirdan]

I'd have to agree with HerenIstarion. I believe that seeing how gollum only had a rag around his waist, he probably developed a cold, and therefor the noise he makes is probably his way of coughing. But there are a lot of other really good suggegstions. They were so good that I'd have to agree whit all of them, except Imladris's idea (dont take this offensively please???) because Gollum only laughed when Frodo came into his life and probably before he left his village. But, again, a lot of the idea's are really good.

[Eruanna]

As previously stated the golem legends have been in Jewish and Eastern European myths and legends for countless centuries. Whilst I do not doubt that Professor Tolkien had heard of these legends I don't think that these were the origins of Gollum's name.
The name is just the representation of the sound:

"And when he said gollum he made a horrible swallowing noise in his throat."

Then in LotR:The Uruk-Hai, Pippin is trying to convince Grishnák that he has the Ring:

Then suddenly in the darkness he made a noise in his throat gollum, gollum.

Note the small case 'g' as it appears in the text of both The Hobbit and LotR.


As to the significance of Gollum's swallowing habit. A nervous 'tick'? A dry cough brought on by his habitat or diet? A physical manifestation of his 'swallowing' his guilt over the murder of his cousin? We will probably never know. But it is fun to speculate even so.