_ n. _wind. Tolkien also notes "WAKH in wagme > gwaew, gwae" (PE17:34). Q. vea. >> gwaew
Sindarin
gwathir
place name. River of Shadow
Elements
Word Gloss gwath “shadow, dim light, shadow, dim light, [N.] shade” sîr “river, stream”
gwae
wind
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
Derivations
Element in
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
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
gwaeren
windy
(lenited ’waeren; pl. gwaerin)
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)
sûl
wind
(i hûl), pl. suil (i suil). Note: a homophone means ”goblet”.
Old Sindarin name for the river Gwathló, a combination of gwath “shadow” and the lenited form of sîr “river” (UT/263).