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

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

gwen

noun. maiden

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

gwend

maiden

gwend (i **wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath**. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.

gwend

noun. friendship

gwend (i 'wend, construct gwen) (bond), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”maiden”.

gwend

friendship

(i ’wend, construct gwen) (bond), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”maiden”.

gwend

maiden

(i ’wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.

gwedh

bind

(i ’wêdh, in gwedhir), pa.t. gwedhant, in older language also gwend. In LR:397 s.v.

wen

maiden

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

gwaedh

bond

1. (a ”bond” of loyalty) gwaedh (i **waedh) (troth, compact, oath), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaedh**), 2) _(apparently referring to physical ”bonds”, cf.

gwaedh

bond

(i ’waedh)  (troth, compact, oath), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaedh)

gwenneth

noun. maiden

A longer variant of gwend “maiden” appearing in notes on the Common Eldarin Article (CEA) from 1969 (PE23/136). It might be confused with (or related to) gweneth “maidenhood”.

gwêdh

chain

(i ’wêdh, construct gwedh), pl. gwîdh (in gwîdh), 3) (ditto) nûd (construct nud, pl. nuid). 4) (the ”bond” of friendship) gwend (i ’wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”maiden”.

dilith

noun. friendship

@@@ Discord 2023-03-06

gwend

noun. bond, friendship

gwend

noun. bond, friendship

gwend

noun. maiden

gwenn

noun. maiden

gwedh

noun. bond

gwedh

noun. bond

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bond” derived from ON. weda under the root ᴹ√WED “bind” (Ety/WED). It might be an element of the later word danwedh “ransom” in the name Bar-en-Danwedh “House of Ransom” from The Silmarillion (S/203).

gwenn

noun. maiden

gwedh-

verb. to bind

A verb in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bind” appearing in its Noldorin-style infinitive form gwedi, with an archaic past form gwend/gwenn and a later past gweðant, all under the root ᴹ√WED “bind” (Ety/WED). Given its root, the expected stem form would be ✱gwedh-, so the form gwedi is probably either archaic or malformed.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I would assume its stem form was gwedh-, and I would modernize its past forms as described in the entry on the Sindarin past tense.

gwaedh

noun. bond, troth, compact, oath

nûd

noun. bond

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√NUT “tie, bind” (Ety/NUT).

wendë Archaic

noun. maiden

-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.

helmë

friendship

[helmë noun "friendship" (VT46:3)]

naxa

noun. bond

bond, fetter

nilmë

friendship

nilmë noun "friendship" (NIL/NDIL)

nútë

bond, knot

nútë noun "bond, knot" (NUT)

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.

vérë

bond, troth, compact, oath

vérë (1) noun "bond, troth, compact, oath" (WED)

yelmë

friendship

[yelmë] (2) noun (not glossed; the etymology may suggest *"friendship") (YEL, struck out)