S. brand¹ adj. “towering; tall and massive” (Category: Tall)
In notes from the 1950s or 60s the word brand, brann meant “towering; tall and massive” (PE17/22, 61). In these notes Tolkien said it was derived from √BARAT (PE17/22), but that root would probably produce **brant so I think it is more likely to be based on (or blended with) √BARAD. The Etymologies from around 1937 had N. brand, brann “lofty, noble, fine” derived from primitive ᴹ✶b’randā under the root ᴹ√BARAD (Ety/BARÁD). In a phrase from Thrór’s Map written in 1936, brann was translated “high”: lheben teil brann i annon ar neledh neledhi gar godrebh “five foot high the door and three may walk abreast” (TAI/150).
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume brand was a blending of various ancient words meaning both “tall” and “noble”, so useable for either depending on context. I further assume it can only be used for “high, tall (and massive)” of things mostly of exceptional height, while of people it means “lofty, noble, fine”. For tall people I would probably instead use tond.
References ✧ PE17/22-23, 61
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Element In
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| √BARAD > brand | [barándā] > [branda] > [branda] > [brand] | ✧ PE17/22 |
N. brann adj. “lofty, noble, fine; high” (Category: Noble, Nobleman)
References ✧ Ety/BARÁD; TAI/150
Glosses
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ON. branda > brand > brann | [branda] > [brand] > [brann] | ✧ Ety/BARÁD |