gwae

wind

_ n. _wind. Tolkien also notes "WAKH in wagme > gwaew, gwae" (PE17:34). Q. vea. >> gwaew

gwae

noun. wind

The normal Sindarin word for “wind”, usually appearing as gwae but sometimes as gwaew, most frequently derived from √WAY “blow” but also a bewildering variety of other roots (NM/237; PE17/33-34, 189); see the entry for √WĀ for further discussion.

Conceptual Development: The earliest form of this word was G. gwâ “wind” from both Gnomish Grammar and Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GG/14; GL/43). The form ᴱN. gwá “wind” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s (MC/217), but in the Nebrachar poem from circa 1930 the form was gwaew “wind” (MC/217). It was N. gwaew “wind” in The Etymologies of the 1930s from the root ᴹ√WAIWA (Ety/WĀ), and appeared a number of times in later writings as both gwae and (more rarely) gwaew, as noted above.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer using only gwae for “wind”, reserving gwaew for “storm”.

Cognates

• Q. vailë “wind, [strong] wind, *gale” ✧ PE17/189
• Q. váva “*wind” ✧ PE17/033

Derivations

• ✶wāya “blow” ✧ NM/237; PE17/034
  • √WĀ “blow; noise of wind, echoic representation of sound of wind” ✧ NM/237
  • √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/034
• √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/034; PE17/189
• ✶waiwa(y) “*wind” ✧ PE17/033
  • √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/189

Element in

• ᴺS. gwaeren “windy”
• S. gwaeren “windy”
• S. Gwaeron “March, *Windy-one”
• S. Gwaihir “Windlord” ✧ PE17/034

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶wā-yo > gwoe > gwae	[wājo] > [wǭjo] > [wǭio] > [woio] > [gwoio] > [gwoi] > [gwoe] > [gwae]	✧ NM/237
√WAYA > gwae	[wajā] > [waja] > [waia] > [gwaia] > [gwai] > [gwae]	✧ PE17/033
✶waiwe > gwae(w)	[waiwe] > [gwaiwe] > [gwaiw] > [gwaew]	✧ PE17/033
√WIW > gwae(w)	[waiwe] > [gwaiwe] > [gwaiw] > [gwaew]	✧ PE17/034
✶wāyā > gwoe > gwae	[wājā] > [wāja] > [wǭja] > [wǭia] > [woia] > [gwoia] > [gwoi] > [gwoe] > [gwae]	✧ PE17/034
√WAYA > Gwae	[wajā] > [waja] > [waia] > [gwaia] > [gwai] > [gwae]	✧ PE17/189

Variations

• gwaew ✧ PE17/033 (gwaew)
• gwae(w) ✧ PE17/033 (gwae(w)); PE17/034
• Gwae ✧ PE17/189

gwaew

wind

_ n. _wind. Tolkien also notes "WAKH in wagme > gwaew, gwae" (PE17:34). >> gwae

sûl

noun. wind

sûl

noun. wind, [strong] wind, *gust

A noun for “wind” appearing in names like Amon Sûl, derived from the root √SŪ “blow, move with audible sound (of air)” (NM/237; PE17/124).

Conceptual Development: A precursor to this word is G. saul “great wind” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/67), derived from the early root ᴱ√SUHYU “air, breath, exhale, puff” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Súlimo; QL/86).

Neo-Sindarin: Given its connection to the sound of wind, I think sûl would be used mostly for strong or noisy wind, including (but not limited to) gusts of wind, as opposed to more ordinary (and less noisy) gwae “wind”. This notion is supported by its Gnomish precursor G. saul “great wind”.

Cognates

• Q. súrë “wind, breeze” ✧ PE17/124

Derivations

• ✶sūli “wind”
• √SŪ “blow, move with audible sound (of air)” ✧ NM/237; PE17/124

Element in

• S. Amon Sûl “Weathertop, (lit.) Hill of the Wind” ✧ SA/sûl

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√sū > sûl	[sūl] > [sūle] > [sūl]	✧ NM/237
√SŪ > sūl	[sūli] > [sūle] > [sūl]	✧ PE17/124

Variations

• sūl ✧ PE17/015; PE17/124

gwaew

wind

1) gwaew (i **waew) (storm), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew), 2) sûl (i hûl), pl. suil (i suil**). Note: a homophone means ”goblet”.

gwaew

wind

(i ’waew) (storm), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew)

gwaeren

windy

(lenited ’waeren; pl. gwaerin)

sûl

wind

(i hûl), pl. suil (i suil). Note: a homophone means ”goblet”.