-wen

maiden

-wen "maiden" as suffix, a frequent ending in feminine names like Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (SA:wen). Early "Qenya" also has -wen, feminine patronymic "daughter of" (LT1:271, 273), but the patronymic ending seems to be -iel "-daughter" in Tolkien's later Quenya.

wendë

noun. maiden

vendë

maiden

vendë < wendë noun "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16), "virgin" (in Tolkien's translations of Catholic prayers where the reference is to Mary; see VT44:10, 18). The form Véndë in VT44:10 seems abnormal; normally Quenya does not have a long vowel in front of a consonant cluster.

ve

pronoun. us (inclusive)

Derivations

• ✶we “we, us (inclusive)” ✧ PE17/130; PE17/130; VT49/50
  • ✶ñwe “1 pl. inclusive base” ✧ VT48/10; VT48/10
  • ✶me “1st-pl-exclusive pronoun” ✧ VT48/10

Element in

• Q. hrívë úva véna “winter is drawing near (to us)” ✧ PE22/167; VT49/14
• Q. inwë “ourselves (inclusive)”
• ᴺQ. venya “ours (inclusive)”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶wē̆ > vē̆	[wē] > [βē] > [vē]	✧ PE17/130
✶wi > vi	[wi] > [βi] > [vi]	✧ PE17/130

Variations

• vē̆ ✧ PE17/130
• vi ✧ PE17/130
• vé ✧ VT49/51

céva

fresh, new

céva ("k")adj. "fresh, new" (VT48:7, 8)

höa

adjective. big, large

@@@ used in NQNT

Derivations

• √KHAW “big” ✧ PE17/115

Element in

• ᴺQ. höassë “size”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√KHAWA > höa	[kʰawa] > [xawa] > [xoa] > [hoa]	✧ PE17/115

molda

adjective. big, large

Derivations

• √MŌ “labour, be afflicted” ✧ PE17/115

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√MBOL > molda	[mbolda] > [molda]	✧ PE17/115

polda

big

polda adj. "big" (PE17:115), "strong, burly" (POL/POLOD)

polda

adjective. big, big; [ᴹQ.] strong, burly; [ᴱQ.] mighty, powerful

Derivations

• √POL “can, have physical power and ability; large, big (strong); pound up, break up small, reduce to powder, can, have physical power and ability; large, big (strong); [ᴹ√] physically strong, [ᴱ√] have stength; [√] pound up, break up small, reduce to powder” ✧ PE17/115

Derivatives

• ᴺQ. poldavë “strongly”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√pol > polda	[polna] > [polda]	✧ PE17/115

Variations

• polya ✧ PE17/115 (polya)

túra

big, great

túra adj. "big, great" (PE17:115), related to words for power and apparently referring to a more abstract greatness than words like haura "huge". Cf. taura, túrëa. Apparently initial element of Túrosto.

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

Derivations

• √BAN “beauty (due to lack of fault or blemish); fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/056

Element in

• Q. úvanë(a) “without beauty”
• Q. vanessë “beauty” ✧ PE17/056
• Q. vanië “beauty” ✧ PE17/056
• Q. vanima “beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair” ✧ PE17/056

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√BAN > vane	[bani] > [bane] > [βane] > [vane]	✧ PE17/056

Variations

• vane ✧ PE17/056

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

nettë

girl, daughter

nettë (stem *netti-, given the primitive form listed in VT47:17) noun "girl, daughter" (but also "sister", see below), also used as a play-name of the "fourth finger" or "fourth toe" (VT47:10, VT48:6), in two-hand play also used for the numeral "nine" (nettë is conceived as being related to nertë, q.v.) Nettë is also defined as "sister" or "girl approaching the adult" (VT47:16, VT49:25), "girl/daughter" (VT47:15-16); it may be that "sister" was Tolkien's final decision on the meaning (VT48:4, 22) - The related word nésa seems like a less ambiguous translation of "sister".

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

virya

fresh

virya (1) adj. "fresh" (VT46:22)

tereva

fine, acute

tereva adj. "fine, acute" (TER/TERES), "piercing"_ (LT1:255; though glossed "fine, acute" in the Etymologies, the stem _TER is defined as "pierce")

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

vi

pronoun. us (inclusive)

-ima

fair

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

gwen

noun. maiden

_n. _maiden. Q. wendē. >> gwend, gweneth

gwend

noun. maiden

_n. _maiden. Q. wendē. >> gwen, gweneth

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.

Cognates

• Q. vendë “maiden, *virgin” ✧ PE17/191

Derivations

• ✶wendē “maiden, young or small woman, girl”
  • √WEN(ED) “maiden, girl, virgin; woman” ✧ VT47/17; VT48/18
• √WEN(ED) “maiden, girl, virgin; woman” ✧ PE17/191

Element in

• S. Rodwen “High Virgin Noble”
• S. Arwen “Noble Maiden”
• ᴺS. arwen “noble lady”
• S. Galadwen
• S. Gladhwen “Laughing Maiden”
• ᴺS. gwendren “maidenly, girlish”
• S. gweneth “maidenhood, maidenhood, [N.] virginity” ✧ PE17/191
• ᴺS. gwennod “elder tree; elderberry, *(lit.) maiden berry”
• S. Hirwen
• S. Ivonwin “Maidens of Yavanna”
• S. Ivorwen
• S. Laewen
• S. Urwen
• S. -wen “maiden, *female suffix”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WEN-ED > gwen(d)	[wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn]	✧ PE17/191

Variations

• gwen(d) ✧ PE17/191

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

Changes

• gwain → gwana “fair, general word for Elves” ✧ PE17/140

Derivations

• ✶wanasō ✧ PE17/140

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶wanasō > gwana	[wanasō] > [wanaso] > [wanaho] > [gwanaho] > [gwanah] > [gwana]	✧ PE17/140

Variations

• gwain ✧ PE17/140 (gwain)

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

cîw

adjective. fresh, new

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

laeb

adjective. fresh

laeg

adjective. "viridis", fresh and green

Seldom used (replaced by calen )

laew

adjective. fresh

_ adj. _fresh.

laew

adjective. fresh

Derivations

• √LAY “*be alive, flourish, [ᴱ√] be alive, flourish” ✧ PE17/159

Element in

• ᴺS. laeweth “freshness”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√LAY > laew	[laiwa] > [laiw] > [laew]	✧ PE17/159

lind

adjective. fair

Derivations

• √LIN “sing, make a musical sound, sing, make a musical sound, [ᴱ√] gentle”

Element in

• S. Linhir “Fair Stream” ✧ RC/587

Variations

• lin ✧ RC/587 (lin)

lhind

adjective. fine, slender

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

gwen

pronoun. us (inclusive)

Elements

Word	Gloss
gwe	“we (inclusive)”

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”.

wen

maiden

, see MAIDEN. The final element -wen in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.

pen

pronoun. us (inclusive)

Elements

Word	Gloss
pe	“we (inclusive)”

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

brand

fine

1) brand (high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind, 2) trîw (lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender) , 3) *lhind (slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

brand

fine

(high, lofty, noble), lenited vrand, pl. braind

iell

girl

1) 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

girl

(-iel) (daughter, maid), pl. ill

lhind

fine

(slender), lenited ?thlind or ?lind (the lenition product of lh is uncertain); no distinct pl. form. Sugggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlind.

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.

tess

fine pierced hole

(i dess, construct tes), pl. tiss (i thiss). Older ters (VT46:18).

trîw

fine

(lenited drîw; no distinct pl. form) (slender)

cîw

fresh

1) cîw (lenited gîw; no distinct pl. form) (new), 2) laeb (no distinct pl. form). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” lhoeb (LR:368 s.v. LÁYAK) 3) laeg (green), no distinct pl. form. (Note: a homophone means ”keen, sharp, acute”.) In the Woodland dialect lêg, whence leg- in the name Legolas ”Greenleaf” (Lettters:282, 386).

lhê

fine thread

(?i thlê or ?i lê – the lenition product of lh is uncertain) (spider filament), pl. lhî (?i lî). Suggested Sindarin form of ”Noldorin” thlê.

nithil

noun. girl

A noun translated “girl” and fully declined as an example of a feminine Strong I noun (SD/430). It is also used as an example of feminine nouns that use the suffix -i in their objective inflection as opposed to the usual -u: nithli (SD/431). Though not explicitly stated, nithli is also an example of the variant objective-with-syncope syntax discussed on SD/435. Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne suggested (AAD/21) it may be related to the Elvish root √NETH “young”.

Derivations

• √NETH “(young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry, (young) woman, female person; sister; fresh, lively, merry; [ᴹ√] young”

gwen

root. fair, beautiful; (probably originally) fresh, fair, unblemished (especially of beauty of youth)

This root appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s with derivatives having to do with freshness and greenness, as in ᴹQ. wenya “green, yellow-green, fresh” and Ilk. gwên “greenness”. In that document it was also the basis for N. bein “fair, beautiful” by way of blending with ᴹ√BAN “beautiful”. In the entry for ᴹ√GWEN Tolkien said it needed to be distinguished from ᴹ√WEN(ED) “maiden”, but in the entry for ᴹ√WEN(ED) he said maiden words needed to be transferred to ᴹ√GWEN (Ety/WEN).

This connection between “fresh” and “maiden” reappeared in notes from 1959, where √GWEN was given with gloss “fair, beautiful (probably originally fresh, fair, unblemished especially of beauty of youth)” as this basis for “maiden” words (PE17/191). But Tolkien soon rejected this notion and reverted back to √WEN(ED); this may be a reflection of Tolkien’s ongoing vacillation between Q. wende versus vende as the proper Quenya word for “maiden”; wende (which seems to be his preference) would be better supported by an ancient root beginning with gw-, but that would also invalidate the Sindarin form gwend “maiden” (not ✱✱bend).

Tolkien seems to have given up on √GWEN for maiden words, and the sense “fresh” seems to have been reassigned to the root √KEW in later notes (VT48/7), so √GWEN may have been abandoned completely.

Changes

• GWEN → WEN-ED “fair, beautiful; (probably originally) fresh, fair, unblemished (especially of beauty of youth)” ✧ PE17/191

Derivatives

• ✶gwenyā “fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/191
  • Q. wenya “fair, beautiful” ✧ PE17/191
  • S. bain “fair, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair-haired, beautiful; good, wholesome, favorable; fair, fair-haired” ✧ PE17/191
• Q. vendë “maiden, *virgin” ✧ PE17/191

Element in

• S. Eledhwen “Elfsheen, Elven-fair”

wanyā

adjective. fair

Derivations

• √(G)WAN “pale, fair” ✧ WJ/383

Derivatives

• Q. Vanya “Fair Elves, the Fair” ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383
  • T. Vania “Vanya” ✧ WJ/383

Variations

• wanjā ✧ WJ/380; WJ/383

khaw

root. big

Changes

• KHAW → KHAWA ✧ PE17/115

Derivatives

• Q. haura “huge” ✧ PE17/115
• Q. höa “big, large” ✧ PE17/115

Variations

• KHAWA ✧ PE17/115; PE17/157
• KHAW ✧ PE17/115 (KHAW)

bani

adjective. fair

Element in

• Q. vanië “beauty” ✧ PE17/057
• Q. vanima “beautiful, fair, beautiful, fair, *handsome; [ᴱQ.] proper, right, as it should be, fair” ✧ PE17/057

Variations

• vanĭ ✧ PE17/057

gwen

root. fresh, *green, fair, unblemished, beautiful

@@@ might still be valid for Quenya derivations in the Etymologies

Element in

• ᴺQ. wenwa “lime (fruit)”

gwend

noun. maiden

gwenn

noun. maiden

gwenn

noun. maiden

Cognates

• ᴹQ. vende “maiden, maid” ✧ Ety/WEN

Derivations

• ᴹ√WEN(ED) “maiden” ✧ Ety/WEN

Element in

• N. Banwen “Vana”
• N. Eledhwen “Elf-maid”
• N. gweneth “virginity” ✧ Ety/WEN
• N. Morwen

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√WENED > gwend > gwenn	[wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn]	✧ Ety/WEN

thlind

adjective. fine, slender

thlinn

adjective. fine, slender

trîw

adjective. fine, slender

lhaeb

adjective. fresh

lhoeb

adjective. fresh

lhoeb

adjective. fresh

Changes

• lhaeb → lhoeb ✧ Ety/LÁYAK

Cognates

• ᴹQ. laiqa “green” ✧ Ety/LÁYAK

Derivations

• ᴹ✶laikwā “fresh” ✧ Ety/LÁYAK
  • ᴹ√LAYAK “*fresh, green” ✧ Ety/LAIK; Ety/LÁYAK

Element in

• N. Lhoebelidh “Green-elves” ✧ Ety/LÁYAK; EtyAC/LÁYAK (Lhebenidh/Lhebelidh)

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶laı̯k-wā > lhoeb	[laikwa] > [laipa] > [laip] > [l̥aip] > [l̥aib] > [l̥oeb]	✧ Ety/LÁYAK
ᴹ✶laı̯k-wā > lhaeb	[laikwa] > [laipa] > [laip] > [l̥aip] > [l̥aib] > [l̥aeb]	✧ Ety/LÁYAK

Variations

• lhaeb ✧ EtyAC/LÁYAK (lhaeb)