Q. vendë [w] n. “maiden, *virgin”
The usual Quenya word for “maiden” derived from the root √WEN(ED) (Ety/WEN; PE17/191; VT47/17). Tolkien usually wrote this word as wende but it would be pronounced and written vende in modern Quenya.
Conceptual Development: This word was fairly stable in Tolkien’s mind. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s this word was ᴱQ. ’wen (wend-) “maid, girl” with longer variant wendi “maiden” derived from the early root {ᴱ√WENE >>} ᴱ√GWENE (QL/103). The form wendi was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but there the root was {ᴱ√gw̯ene >>} ᴱ√gu̯eđe (GL/45). In the Nieninqe poem written around 1930 it was ᴱQ. wende “maiden” (MC/215), a form that reappeared in the version of the poem from the 1950s as well (PE16/96).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave this word as ᴹQ. wende, vende “maiden” under the root ᴹ√WEN-ED of the same meaning (Ety/WEN), In a marginal note Tolkien said that derivatives of ᴹ√WEN-ED should be transferred to ᴹ√GWEN, and under that root Tolkien indicated there was blending with ᴹQ. wende “maid” (Ety/GWEN).
In later writings Tolkien mostly used the form wende, but in Quenya prayers from the 1950s he once wrote Vénde, where the long é was probably a slip (VT44/5, 10). Likewise in later writings Tolkien mostly gave the root as √WEN(ED), but in one place considered deriving wende from √GWEN “fair” (PE17/191). Finally he generally translated this word as “maiden”, but in Quenya Prayers from the 1950s used it with the sense “virgin” in reference to the Virgin Mary (VT44/5, 12).
Neo-Quenya: It is tricky to reconcile Tolkien’s regular use of the form wende with the root √WEN(ED), since ancient w became v in Quenya, making the expected form vende. To retain wende, the most straightforward explanation is that it was derived from strengthened *gwendē, since this initial cluster survived as w at least into Classical Quenya and possibly beyond. However, the strengthening of ✶wendē > *gwendē must have occurred after the Common Eldarin period, otherwise the Sindarin form would have been **bend, whereas Tolkien consistently used S. gwen(d).
Many Neo-Quenya writers avoid this question simply by revising the form to vende, a practice I recommend as well, though its suffixal form would (mostly) remain -wen. I also prefer to use vende mainly for “maiden, *young woman” and for “virgin” (of any gender) I recommend vénë.
References ✧ PE16/96; PE17/190-191; PM/343; SA/wen; UT/229; VT44/10, 18; VT47/42
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| Wenderon | genitive plural; er-plural | “*of virgins” | ✧ VT44/18 |
| -wen | suffix | “maiden” | ✧ UT/229 |
| wen | suffix | “maiden” | ✧ SA/wen |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √WEN-ED > wendē | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] | ✧ PE17/191 |
| √GWEN > wendē | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] | ✧ PE17/191 |
| √wen > wen | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] | ✧ SA/wen |
| √wen(ed) > wende | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] | ✧ VT47/42 |
ᴹQ. vende [w] n. “maiden, maid” (Category: Girl)
References ✧ Ety/GWEN, WEN; EtyAC/GWEN
Glosses
Variations
Related
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√WEN(ED) > wende | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] | ✧ Ety/GWEN |
| ᴹ√WENED > wende > vende | [gwende] > [ɣwende] > [wende] > [vende] | ✧ Ety/WEN |
ᴱQ. wende n. “maiden” (Category: Girl)
References ✧ MC/215; PE16/90, 92
Glosses
Element In
ᴱQ. wen(di) n. “maid, girl, maiden” (Category: Girl)
References ✧ GL/45; LT1A/Ónen, Urwen, Wendelin; QL/60, 96, 103
Glosses
Variations
Related
Inflections
| ’wend- | stem | ✧ QL/103 | |
| -wen | suffix | ✧ LT1A/Ónen; QL/103 | |
| -wen | suffix | “feminine patronymic” | ✧ LT1A/Urwen |
| #-wen | suffix | ✧ QL/96 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations