Halflings
From Tolkien Gateway
- Main article: Hobbits
Halflings was a name for Hobbits used by Men; it was originally given to them by the tall Dúnedain who had stood two rangar tall, making the average Hobbit about half their height. The term first applied to the Harfoots who became known in Arnor around T.A. 1050 and later to the Fallohides and the Stoors.[1]
The name was still used by Gondorians in the Third Age although they were shorter than their ancestors since the line of the Kings ended, and the halflings were more than half of their height.[1]
Etymology
The name "Halfling" is a translation from the Westron banakil which means "half-man". It was translated into both Sindarin and Quenya as Perian.[2]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 J.R.R. Tolkien, Christopher Tolkien (ed.), Unfinished Tales, "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields", "Appendix: Númenórean Linear Measures"
- ↑ J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F, "On Translation"