AMMORON

Lehite PN

1.

Traitor, became king of the Lamanites; brother of AMALICKIAH, descended from ZORAM. Ca. 66–61 BC (Alma 52:3; Helaman 1:16)

Two different sets of etymologies are possible, depending on whether the name is divided. Amm-moron/Am-oron can be analyzed as ʿmm, “people, etc. of PN,” with the PN being either moron or oron. Moron could come from the West Semitic root mrʾ, “lord, master” (JH), with attenuation of the aleph, as in mrn, “our lord,” in Hatrean texts DNWSI 684; compare with the 9th C. Aramaic mrʾn, “our lord,” Cross and Freedman, Early Hebrew Orthography, AOS 36, p. 22, n.10 (RFS). The name would then mean “people of our lord” or “the (divine) kinsman is our lord,” both plausible appellations.

Though less likely, with a slight change of the initial vowel oron could be derived from ʾrwn, “ark.” The name would then mean, “people of the ark” (JH), a plausible but unlikely PN.

Ammor-on could come from the root ʾmr, “to say, speak; word, command,” with hypocoristic -on, meaning approximately “(god’s) word” or “(god’s) command,” a plausible name, even though the double h is not accounted for.

Less likely is Ammor-on from ʿmr, “to inhabit, live,” with hypocoristic -on, meaning approximately “(god) dwells.”

Cf. Book of Mormon AMARON, AMMARON, AMORON, MORONI, MORONIHAH, EMER, OMER, MORON, AMULEK (vs. MULEK)

See also Ammoron / Amoron Variant