A small village of the Shire. It lay in the northern corner of the Southfarthing, some miles south of the Three-Farthing Stone, in that hilly part of the Shire known as the Green Hill Country. It seems to have been built in the southern slopes of the Green Hills, and was reached by only a single road, apparently leading from the larger settlement of Longbottom to the south.
Notes
1 |
Tolkien discusses the derivation of 'Pincup' in his translation notes, explaining that it comes from the name elements pinnuc (a small bird, especially a finch or sparrow) and hop, a place of retreat (presumably meaning a nesting site in this particular case). It has been speculated that the word pinnuc perhaps originated with the sound of the chaffinch's call (which is generally characterised as sounding like pink pink). Via the form finc, that word gave rise to the modern English word 'finch'. If this speculation is accurate, then in a certain sense the bird could be said to have named itself. |
Indexes:
About this entry:
- Updated 15 April 2018
- This entry is complete
For acknowledgements and references, see the Disclaimer & Bibliography page.
Original content © copyright Mark Fisher 2001, 2016, 2018. All rights reserved. For conditions of reuse, see the Site FAQ.
SHARE
