Apparently Google has just indexed Orr s article although they date it to 1993 He writes that Radagast and Variag which were obviously taken from Slavic originals and are recognised as such by all the critics The latter statement seems a bit vague to say the least And then there s a treatise by Clive Tolley in Old English influence on The Lord of the Rings where he writes that Radagast is derived from Slavonic aka Slavic Anyhow the etymology of Tolkien s characters should either be treated in a relevant stand alone article or in J R R Tolkien s influences but not in this article about The Hobbit