_3rd pl. poss. suff. their.See also the paradigm of poss. suff. in PE17:46. Earlier -ent_. >> -ent
Sindarin
-wen
suffix. maiden, *female suffix
-wen
suffix. their
gwen
noun. maiden
wen
maiden
, see MAIDEN. The final element -wen in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.
wen
maiden
in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.
gwend
noun. maiden, maiden, *young woman
A word for “maiden” or “✱young woman”, frequently appearing as suffixal -wen as an element in female names, derived from the root √WEN(ED) (PE17/191; Ety/WEN).
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, the word G. gwin meant “woman, female” and G. {gwen >>} gwennin was “girl” (GL/45). The former was derived from the root ᴱ√giu̯i which had to do with pregnancy, but the latter was derived from {ᴱ√gw̯ene >>} ᴱ√gu̯eđe. In the contemporaneous Qenya Lexicon {ᴱ√WENE >>} ᴱ√GWENE was the basis of words like ᴱQ. ’wen(di) “maiden” (QL/103). In the Gnomish Lexicon Slips it seems G. gwin was also reassigned to the root ᴱ√(G)WENE [ᴱ√u̯enĭ-], derived from ᴱ✶u̯einā́, though possibly shifted or blended in meaning with an adjectival sense “womanly” (PE13/113).
In the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s, Tolkien had ᴱN. uin “woman” (PE13/123), a form that also appeared with this gloss in contemporaneous Early Noldorin Word-lists as a replacement for deleted {gwind, gwinn} (PE13/146, 155). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien had N. gwend, gwenn “maiden” under the root ᴹ√WEN(ED) which he said was “often found in feminine names” (Ety/WEN). He noted that “since the [suffixed names] show no -d even in archaic spelling, they probably contain a form wen-”. Tolkien seems to have stuck with these forms thereafter.
Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would use this word for a young woman or adolescent girl, especially prior to marriage, but for female children I would use neth.
gwend
noun. maiden
gwenneth
noun. maiden
rodwen
noun. high virgin noble
carthas
noun. activity
A neologism coined by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo, an abstract elaboration of carth “deed”.
gwend
maiden
gwend (i **wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath**. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.
gwend
maiden
(i ’wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.
iell
girl
- iell (-iel) (daughter, maid), pl. ill; 2) sell (i hell) (daughter, maid), pl. sill (i sill), coll. pl. sellath. 3) (girl in her teens, approaching the adult) neth (also used = ”sister”), pl. nith (VT47:14-16, 33; VT48:6). Notice the homophone neth ”young”. The final element -wen in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.
iell
maid
- iell (-iel) (girl, daughter), pl. ill, 2) sell (i hell) (daughter, girl), pl. sill (i sill), coll. pl. sellath** **
iell
girl
(-iel) (daughter, maid), pl. ill
iell
maid
(-iel) (girl, daughter), pl. ill
neth
girl
(also used = ”sister”), pl. nith (VT47:14-16, 33; VT48:6). Notice the homophone neth ”young”. – The final element -wen in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.
sell
girl
(i hell) (daughter, maid), pl. sill (i sill), coll. pl. sellath.
sell
maid
(i hell) (daughter, girl), pl. sill (i sill), coll. pl. *sellath*** **
A common feminine suffix in Sindarin (SA/wen; PE17/190), a reduction of S. gwend “maiden” in compounds; see that entry for more examples.
Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s the common female suffix was G. -win based on G. gwin “woman”, though Tolkien mentioned a variant -wein in Gnomish Lexicon Slips revising that document (PPE13/118). By the Noldorin of the 1930s, the usual suffix was -wen from N. gwenn “maiden”, and Tolkien seems to have stuck with it thereafter, as noted above.