Sindarin 

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.

Sindarin [PE17/191] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwend

noun. maiden

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

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:191] < WEN-ED girl, virgin, maiden. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwen

noun. maiden

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

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:191] < WEN-ED girl, virgin, maiden. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwend

noun. friendship

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

gwend

maiden

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

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”.

gwendren

adjective. maidenly, girlish

A neologism coined by Paul Strack in 2018 specifically for Eldamo as an adjectival form of S. gwend “maiden”, serving as a replacement for G. gwenniniol of the same meaning (GL/45).

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

gwedh

bind

*gwedh- (i **wêdh, in gwedhir), pa.t. gwedhant, in older language also gwend**. In LR:397 s.v.

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)

gweneth

noun. maidenhood, maidenhood, [N.] virginity

A noun meaning “maidenhood” (PE17/191) or “virginity” (Ety/WEN), an abstract noun formation from gwend “maiden”.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s, the word for “maidenhood” was {gwendithli >>} G. gwenithli, an elaboration of {gwendi >>} G. gwethli “maiden, little girl” (GL/45).

Sindarin [PE17/191] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gweneth

noun. maidenhood

_n. _maidenhood. Q. wendele. >> gwen, gwend

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:191] < WEN-ED girl, virgin, maiden. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

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

Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

nod

bind

nod- (i nôd, i nedir) (tie), pa.t. likely *nunt since the root is __ (LR:378).

nod

bind

(i nôd, i nedir) (tie), pa.t. likely ✱nunt since the root is NUT (LR:378).

Noldorin 

gwend

noun. bond, friendship

gwend

noun. bond, friendship

Noldorin [Ety/397-398, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwend

noun. maiden

Noldorin [Ety/398, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwenn

noun. maiden

gwedh

noun. bond

Noldorin [Ety/397] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwedh

noun. bond

Noldorin [Ety/WED; PE22/032] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwenn

noun. maiden

Noldorin [Ety/398, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwedh-

verb. to bind

gwaedh

noun. bond, troth, compact, oath

Noldorin [Ety/397] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwedh-

verb. to bind

Noldorin [Ety/397, X/ND1] Group: SINDICT. Published by

nûd

noun. bond

Quenya 

wendë

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

Quenya [PE 19:101] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

nilmë

friendship

nilmë noun "friendship" (NIL/NDIL)

nútë

bond, knot

nútë noun "bond, knot" (NUT)

vendelë

noun. maidenhood

A word appearing as wendele “maidenhood” in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, an abstract noun formation from wendë “maiden” (PE17/191). In modern Quenya spelling and pronunciation it would be ✱vendelë.

Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. ’wendele had the same form and meaning in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the only difference being the ’ indicating the loss of initial g from the early root ᴱ√GWENE (QL/103).

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.

vénëa

maidenly, virginal

*vénëa* adj. "maidenly, virginal" (VT44:10; the source has véne' alcarë "virginal glory", the first word possibly representing an adjective vénëa** the final vowel of which has been elided since the next word begins in the same vowel.)

vérë

bond, troth, compact, oath

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

wendelë

maidenhood

wendelë noun "maidenhood" (LT1:271, PE17:191)

wendelë

noun. maidenhood

yelmë

friendship

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


Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Doriathrin

gwedh

noun. bond

A noun meaning “bond” derived from primitive ᴹ✶wedā (Ety/WED). Here the [[ilk|initial [w] became [gw]]], and the [[ilk|[d] spirantalized to [ð]]].

Doriathrin [Ety/WED] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

wende

noun. maiden

Early Quenya [MC/215; PE16/090; PE16/092] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hepe-

verb. to bind

Early Quenya [PE14/056; PME/040; QL/040] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hetl

noun. bond

Early Quenya [QL/040] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lim-

verb. to bind

Early Quenya [PE15/32; QL/054] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wendele

noun. maidenhood

Early Quenya [LT1A/Urwen; QL/103] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

wende

noun. maiden

Old Noldorin [Ety/BAN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

weda

noun. bond

Old Noldorin [Ety/WED] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

wed

root. bind

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bind” with derivatives like ᴹQ. vére/N. gwaedh “bond, troth, compact, oath” and ᴹQ. vesta-/N. gwesta- “swear”, though Tolkien deleted Quenya derivatives of this root beginning with ves- saying they fell out of use due to conflict with ᴹ√BES “wed” (Ety/WED). This root might be a later iteration of the hypothetical early root ✱ᴱ√FEDE indicated by words in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s like G. fedhin “bound by agreement; ally, friend” and G. fedhra- “unite in a band” (GL/34), but the 1910s and 1930s forms are rather dissimilar so it is hard to say.

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/WED; Ety/WEN; Ety/WŌ] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wedā

noun. bond

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/WED] Group: Eldamo. Published by

rap

root. bind

A root in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “bind” but without derivatives (EtyAC/RAP). The element S. raph (“?rope”) in S. Udalraph “Stirrupless” (“?without (U-) foot-rope”) might be related (UT/313).

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/RAP] Group: Eldamo. Published by

wen(ed)

root. maiden

Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/BAN; Ety/GWEN; Ety/WEN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ñel

root. friendship

A rejected root for “friendship” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (EtyAC/ÑEL), apparently replaced by ᴹ√N(D)IL.

Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/ÑEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

gwendi Reconstructed

noun. Gwendi

Early Primitive Elvish [PE13/146] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gu̯eđeþlī

noun. maiden, little girl

Early Primitive Elvish [GL/45] Group: Eldamo. Published by

hotho

root. bind

Early Primitive Elvish Group: Eldamo. Published by

m(b)ṇðṇ

root. bind

Early Primitive Elvish [PME/058; QL/058; QL/063] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

gwenniniol

adjective. maiden(ly), girlish

A word in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s appearing as {gwend(r)iol >>} gwenniniol “maiden (aj.), maidenly, girlish”, an adjectival form of {gwen >>} G. gwennin “girl” (GL/45).

gwethli

noun. maiden, little girl

A noun in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s given as G. {gwendi >>} gwethli “maiden, little girl”, derived from the root {ᴱ√gw̯ene >>} ᴱ√gu̯eđe, more specifically from primitive ᴱ✶gu̯eđeþlī (GL/45).

gwedheling

feminine name. Gwedheling

Gnomish [GL/45; LBI/Gwendeling; LBI/Gwenethlin; LT1A/Wendelin; LT2/049; LT2/050; LT2/051; LT2/119; LT2/244; LT2A/Gwedheling; LT2I/Gwedheling; LT2I/Gwendeling; LT2I/Gwenethlin; LT2I/Gwenniel; SMI/Gwedheling; SMI/Gwendelin; WJI/Gwendelin] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwedhweg

adjective. meandering, twisting, winding, intricate

gwenithli

noun. maidenhood

gethli

noun. friendship

Qenya 

aman

noun. bond

Qenya [PE21/33; PE21/34] Group: Eldamo. Published by

helme

noun. friendship

nilme

noun. friendship