Brandagamba
Brandagamba is the original Westron version of the hobbit-name translated into English as Brandybuck.
Etymology
It contains the element branda-, in this context meaning 'borderland' and referring to Buckland being on the eastern edge of the Shire, but also evoking the early hobbitish name for the Brandywine river – Branda-nîn, 'border-water', a Westronisation of the Sindarin Baranduin which was later altered to Bralda-hîm, 'heady ale' (hence the English translation 'Brandywine'). According to Tolkien, "only a very bold hobbit would have ventured to call the Master of Buckland braldagamba in his hearing".
The second half of the compound, -gamba, is a re-occurrence from the older name Zaragamba, or Oldbuck, and refers to their ancestor Gamba. It is therefore translated to the English 'buck' in the sense of a male deer or ram.
See also
- buck at Wiktionary.
References
- J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "On Translation"