Lindissë

woman

Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)

nissë

woman

nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.

nissë

noun. woman

nína

woman

#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])

nís

woman

nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †ní, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.

nís

noun. woman

The usual Quenya word for “woman” or more exactly a “female person” of any race, in later writings appearing as both nís (MR/213, 226, 229) and nisse (VT47/18, 33). Even in the cases where its singular was nís, its plural form was given as nissi, indicating a stem form of niss-. In rough notes from 1968 Tolkien said “The monosyllabic nouns (especially those with only one stem-consonant) were a small dwindling class often replaced by strengthened forms (as nis- was [by] nisse)” (VT47/18).

Thus it seems the ancient form was ✱nis- from the root √NIS, which like its male counterpart Q. nér “man” inherited a long vowel from the ancient subjective form ✱nīs. But the voiceless s was felt to be intrinsic to word, and it was thus strengthened to niss- in inflected forms to avoid the sound changes associated with an isolated s. From this a longer form nisse was generalized. In practice I think either form can be used, with singular nís being preserved by analogy with nér. However, I think inflected forms are probably all based on nisse, such as genitive nisseo “of a woman” rather than ✱✱nisso.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had both ᴹQ. nis and nisse “woman” derived the root ᴹ√NIS, with plural nissi in both cases (Ety/NIS, NDIS). He explained this variation as follows: “nis was a blend of old nīs (nisen) and the elab[orated] form ✱nis-sē” (EtyAC/NĪ¹). Hence it is was essentially the same as the scenario described above, but in the 1930s the long vowel in ancient nīs did not survive in the later short form nis.

In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, Tolkien experimented with some alternate plural forms nínaron [genitive plural] >> nísi [ordinary plural] (VT43/26-29, 31), the former apparently representing a variant singular form ✱nína, but in later writings plural nissi was restored.

Derivations

• ✶nīs “woman, female person”
  • √NIS “woman”
  • √NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female” ✧ PE21/71
• √NIS “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33

Element in

• Q. aistana elyë imíca nísi “blessed art thou amongst women” ✧ VT43/31; VT43/31
• Q. Artanis “Noble Woman”
• Q. Hávanissi “Bread-women”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√nis- > nisse	[nisse]	✧ VT47/18
√nis > nisse	[nisse]	✧ VT47/33

Variations

• nisse ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33

ní

woman, female

†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".

wenci

woman, maiden

wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)

-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.

manyel

female

[manyel noun "female" (PE17:190)]

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.

wendë

noun. maiden

nessa

young

nessa adj. "young" (NETH), alsoNessa as name of a Valië, the spouse of Tulkas (adopted and adapted from Valarin, or an archaic Elvish formation: WJ:404 vs. 416). Also called Indis, "bride" (NETH, NI1). The fem. name Nessanië (UT:210) would seem to incorporate Nessa's name; the second element could mean "tear" (nië), but since Nessa is not normally associated with sorrow, this #nië is perhaps rather a variant of ní "female" (compare Tintanië as a variant of Tintallë).

vinya

young

vinya (1) adj. "young" (VT46:22, VT47:26, PE17:191) or "new" (cf. compounds Vinyamar, Vinyarië below; cf. also winya "new, fresh, young" in a deleted entry in the Etymologies, VT45:16; there the word was first written as vinya.) Vinya "the Young", original name of the isle of Númenor among its own people (SD:332).

inimeitë

female

inimeitë adj.? ?"female" (INI)

inya

female

inya (1) adj. "female" (INI)

arwen

noun. noble woman

bess

noun. (young) woman

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

adaneth

noun. (mortal) woman

adaneth

noun. (mortal) woman

A term for a mortal woman appearing in Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth written around 1959 (MR/349), a feminized form of Adan “Man (as as species)”.

Elements

Word	Gloss
Adan	“Man (as a species)”
-eth	“feminine ending”

Variations

• Adaneth ✧ MR/349

gwein

adjective. young

adj. young. Q. vinya. >> gwîn

gwein

adjective. young

inu

adjective. female

bess

noun. wife

bess

woman

bess (i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

bess

woman

(i vess, construct bes) (wife), pl. biss (i miss). The word etymologically means ”wife”, but the meaning was generalized.

dess

young woman

(i ness, o ndess, constuct des), pl. diss (i ndiss).

adaneth

mortal woman

(pl. edenith), also firieth (pl. firith).

dess

young woman

(i ness, o ndess, constuct des), pl. diss (i ndiss)

gwanur

kinsman

(i ’wanur) (brother), pl. gwenyr (in gwenyr). Note: a homophone of the sg. means ”pair of twins”.

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”.

dî

noun. woman, lady, bride

neth

young

neth (pl. nith). A homophone is the noun ”sister, girl”.

neth

young

(pl. nith). A homophone is the noun ”sister, girl”.

inu

female

inu (analogical pl. iny)

inu

noun/adjective. female

Derivations

• √NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female”

Element in

• ᴺS. inwas “feminity, womanhood”

inu

female

(analogical pl. iny)**

kali

noun. woman

A noun translated “woman” (SD/434).

zinî

noun. female

A noun translated “female” and fully declined as an example of an (archaic) feminine Strong II noun (SD/437). The archaic form of this word is †zini which is a Strong II noun since it ends in a single short vowel. Its non-archaic form is zinî, which is presumably declined as a Weak II noun; most masculine and feminine nouns became weak in Classical Adûnaic (SD/436).

Variations

• zini ✧ SD/437 (zini)
• zinī ✧ SD/437

nis

root. woman

This root first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as ᴹ√NIS “woman”, an extension of ᴹ√NĪ “female” (Ety/NIS). It also had a strengthened form ᴹ√NDIS, unglossed but apparently meaning “bride” based on its derivatives ᴹQ. indis/N. dîs of that meaning (Ety/NDIS). Unstrengthened ᴹ√NIS seems to have survived only in Quenya as the basis for ᴹQ. nis (niss-) “woman”, but this word was also blended with ✱ndis-sē to produce a longer form nisse of the same meaning.

In Tolkien’s later writings, both short Q. nís and longer nissë appeared as words for “woman” (MR/213; VT47/33) and Q. indis reappeared as well, though glossed “wife” (UT/8). As primitive forms, both unstrengthened √nis (VT47/33) and strengthened ✶ndī̆s “woman” also appeared in later writings, the latter given as the feminine equivalent of ✶[[p|n[d]ēr]] “man” (PE19/102).

Derivatives

• ✶ndī̆s “*bride, [ᴹ✶] bride”
  • Q. indis “wife, [ᴹQ.] bride; [Q.] wife”
• ✶nīs “woman, female person”
  • Q. nís “woman”
• Q. nillë “small [woman]” ✧ VT47/33
• Q. nís “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33
• Q. nisto “large woman” ✧ VT47/33

Variations

• nis- ✧ VT47/18
• nis ✧ VT47/33

win

root. young, young, [ᴹ√] new, fresh

Tolkien used a similar set of Elvish roots for “youth” and “freshness” for many years. The earliest of these was primitive guı̯u̯ or gu̯iu̯ [ᴱ√GWIWI] in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like G. gui “just, just now, only just, already”, G. guin “recent, fresh”, and G. gwioth “youth” (GL/42). This root reappeared as ᴹ√WIR “new, fresh, young” in The Etymologies of the 1930s with variants ᴹ√WĪ and ᴹ√WIN and derivatives ᴹQ. vírie “youth” and ᴹQ. virya “fresh” (EtyAC/WIR). The ᴹ√WIN variant had derivatives ᴹQ. vinya/N. gwîn “young”. Tolkien considered, but rejected, deriving these from strengthened ᴹ√GWIN instead, producing (also rejected) ᴹQ. winya/N. bîn (EtyAC/GWIN).

Q. vinya appeared in quite a few later names with the gloss “young” or “new”, but the Sindarin form became S. gwain as in S. Narwain “January, ✱(lit.) New Fire” (LotR/1110) and S. Iarwain “Old-young” (LotR/1114; RC/128). In Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) from 1959, both were given as derivatives of √WIN “young” along with Q. víne/S. gwîn “youth”, though the Sindarin word for “young” was given as (archaic?) gwein (PE17/191). Also related are various words for “baby” from 1968 notes such Q. †wine/S. gwinig “little-one, baby” (VT48/6). In these notes primitive wini was glossed “little” but this was deleted (VT47/26), making it likely that the earlier senses “young, new” were restored for √WIN.

As for the 1930s root ᴹ√WIR, it might have survived as an element in the month names Q. Víressë/S. Gwirith “April” (LotR/1110), perhaps meaning “✱freshness”.

Derivatives

• ✶wini “child not yet full grown” ✧ VT47/26
  • Q. winë “baby, little-one, child not yet full grown” ✧ VT47/26
• ᴺQ. vin “just, just now, only just, already”
• Q. vínë “youth, youth, *childhood” ✧ PE17/191; VT47/26
• Q. vinya “young, new” ✧ PE17/191; VT47/26
• Q. Víressë “April, *Freshness”
• S. gwain “young, *new” ✧ PE17/191
• ᴺS. gwí “just, just now, only just, already”
• S. gwîn “youth” ✧ PE17/191

Element in

• S. gwinig “little-one, baby”
• S. Gwirith “April, *Freshness”
• T. winicë “little-one, baby”

Variations

• wini ✧ VT47/26 (wini)
• win ✧ VT47/26

nīs

noun. woman, female person

Derivations

• √NIS “woman”
• √NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female” ✧ PE21/71

Derivatives

• Q. nís “woman”

yenā

adjective. female

Derivations

• √EYE “feminine” ✧ PE21/83

Variations

• jēnā ✧ PE21/83 (jēnā)

wen(ed)

root. maiden, girl, virgin; woman

This and similar roots were connected to Elvish words for maidenhood for much of Tolkien’s life. The earliest form of this root was unglossed {ᴱ√WENE >>} ᴱ√GWENE in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with derivatives like ᴱQ. ’wendi “maiden” and ᴱQ. ’wendele “maidenhood” (QL/103). In the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon the primitive form was given as {ᴱ✶gw̯ene >>} ᴱ✶gu̯eđe having derivatives like G. gwennin “girl” and {G. gwendi >>} G. gwethli “maiden, little girl” (GL/45).

In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave the root as ᴹ√WEN “maiden” with extension ᴹ√WENED and derivatives like ᴹQ. venesse/N. gweneth “virginity” and ᴹQ. vende/N. gwenn “maiden” (Ety/WEN). In this entry Tolkien later wrote “transfer to GWEN”, indicating a relationship to ᴹ√GWEN, a root in The Etymologies with derivatives having to do with youth and freshness (Ety/GWEN). The root √WEN(ED) appeared a number of times in Tolkien’s later writings, mostly as the basis for Q. wendë/S. gwen(d) “maiden” (PE17/191; VT47/17; VT48/18). The frequency with which Tolkien used Q. wendë over Q. vendë indicates the primitive root may have been ✱√GWEN(ED), since w derived from primitive gw survived longer in Quenya than ancient primitive w; see the entry on Q. vendë for further discussion.

Derivatives

• ✶wendē “maiden, young or small woman, girl” ✧ VT47/17; VT48/18
  • Q. vendë “maiden, *virgin”
  • S. gwend “maiden, maiden, *young woman”
• Q. vendë “maiden, *virgin” ✧ PE17/191; SA/wen; VT47/42
• Q. vénë “virgin, virgin; [ᴹQ.] girl”
• S. gwend “maiden, maiden, *young woman” ✧ PE17/191
• S. -wen “maiden, *female suffix” ✧ SA/wen

Variations

• WEN-ED ✧ PE17/191
• wen ✧ SA/wen
• wen-ed ✧ VT47/17
• wen(ed) ✧ VT47/42
• wēn- ✧ VT48/18

dess

noun. young woman

dî

noun. woman, lady

bess

noun. (young) woman

bess

noun. woman; †wife

Cognates

• ᴹQ. vesse “wife” ✧ Ety/BES

Derivations

• On. besse “wife” ✧ Ety/BES; EtyAC/NIS
  • ᴹ✶bessē “wife” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√BES “wed” ✧ Ety/BES
• ᴹ√BED ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS

Element in

• N. herves “wife” ✧ Ety/BES

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. besse > bess	[besse] > [bess]	✧ Ety/BES

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

dî

noun. woman, bride, lady

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s for “woman” derived from the root ᴹ√NĪ of the same meaning (Ety/NĪ¹). It began with d- due to the influence of N. dîr and as partial blending with derivatives of ᴹ✶ndisi “bride” (Ety/DER); its Old Noldorin form was ON. nī (Ety/NĪ¹). In The Etymologies, this word was archaic: “dî was only rare and poetical (‘bride, lady’): it was replaced in sense ‘woman’ by bess [see BES], and in sense ‘bride’ by cpd. di-neth” (Ety/NĪ¹). The scenario in The Etymologies was that the word N. bess itself originally meant “†wife” but came to mean “woman”, much like its male counterpart N. benn meant “†husband” came to mean “man” (Ety/BES).

Conceptual Development: Earlier words of similar form include (archaic) G. †nîr “woman” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/60) and (rejected) ᴱN. {nain} “woman” from the Early Noldorin Grammar of the 1920s.

Neo-Sindarin: The word S. bess reappeared in later writings with the gloss “wife” (SD/129), indicating Tolkien probably abandoned the scenario in The Etymologies whereby dî became archaic and was replaced by bess for “woman”. As such some Neo-Sindarin writers restore ᴺS. dî as the word for “woman”; this was first suggested to me by Elaran and it is my current recommendation. However, N. bess remains popular for “woman” in Neo-Sindarin as well.

Derivations

• ᴹ√NDIS “*bride” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/BES
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ Ety/NIS
• On. nī “woman” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/NIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹
  • ᴹ✶nī “woman” ✧ EtyAC/NDIS
  • ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ PE21/55
  • ᴹ√NIS “woman” ✧ EtyAC/NDIS; Ety/NIS

Element in

• N. dineth “bride” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS; EtyAC/NIS

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
On. nī > dī	[nī] > [dī]	✧ Ety/NĪ¹

Variations

• dī ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NDIS
• Dí ✧ EtyAC/NIS (Dí)

gwîn

adjective. young

Changes

• gwîn → bîn ✧ EtyAC/GWIN

Cognates

• ᴹQ. vinya “young, new” ✧ EtyAC/GWIN; EtyAC/GWIN; EtyAC/WIR

Derivations

• ᴹ√WIN “new, fresh, young” ✧ EtyAC/GWIN; EtyAC/WIR

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√GWIN > bîn	[gwinje] > [binje] > [binie] > [bini] > [bin] > [bīn]	✧ EtyAC/GWIN
ᴹ√WINI > gwîn	[winje] > [gwinje] > [gwinie] > [gwini] > [gwin] > [gwīn]	✧ EtyAC/WIR

Variations

• bîn ✧ EtyAC/GWIN (bîn)
• gwîn ✧ EtyAC/GWIN (gwîn); EtyAC/WIR

neth

adjective. young

neth

adjective. young

irregular, compare: tathor @@@

Cognates

• ᴹQ. nessa “young” ✧ Ety/NETH

Derivations

• ᴹ✶nethrā “young” ✧ Ety/NETH
  • ᴹ√NETH “young” ✧ Ety/NETH
• ᴹ√NETH “young” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NIS

Element in

• N. dineth “bride” ✧ Ety/NĪ¹; EtyAC/NIS
• N. Neth “Nessa” ✧ Ety/NETH
• N. Nethwelein “Younger Gods”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶nethra > neth	[netʰra] > [neθra] > [neθr] > [neθ]	✧ Ety/NETH

inw

adjective. female

inw

noun/adjective. female

A word appearing as N. inw “female” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√INI of the same meaning, the equivalent of the Quenya adjective ᴹQ. inya but altered in form to match N. anw “male” (Ety/INI).

Conceptual Development: The word for “female” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s was G. gwinwed, an adjectival form of G. gwin “woman, female” (GL/45). In Gnomish Lexicon Slips from the 1910s the adjective for “fem[ale]” became G. gwineth based on primitive {ᴱ✶u̯eniı̯ásta >>} ᴱ✶u̯eniı̯ássa (PE13/118).

Neo-Sindarin: Many Neo-Sindarin writers adapt this word as ᴺS. inu to better fit Sindarin phonology, as suggested in HSD (HSD). It seems likely the Noldorin form was intended to be an adjective, but for purposes of Neo-Sindarin I think it is acceptable to use it as both an adjective or a noun, like its male equivalent ᴺS. anu.

Cognates

• ᴹQ. inya “female” ✧ Ety/INI

Derivations

• ᴹ√NĪ/INI “female” ✧ Ety/INI

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√INI > inw	[?]	✧ Ety/INI

bess

noun. wife