Bakêl-nak

Bakêl-nak is a typical dwarf name. According to Dûgad’s Concise Grammar of the Dwarven Tongue, the adjective–noun bahuvrihi compound is more common in names than in ordinary speech and probably reflects an older stage of the language. In this case, the adjective bakêl ‘skillful’ is a vrddhi derivative from the root b-k-l ‘to succeed’, whereas the noun na´k ‘hammering’ is derived from the root n-´-k ‘to hammer’. The meaning is thus ‘one who is characterized by skillful hammering’. The latter root’s similarity with the Elfish stem nak ‘to bite’ is amongst the material that has prompted the hypothesis that both languages share a common ancestor. Another school, however, contends that this material reflects old borrowings. Whatever the case, the result is an uncanny similarity between some dwarf names containing the meaning ‘hammering’ and some orc names containing the meaning ‘to bite’.

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