S. gwend n. “maiden” (Category: Girl)
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.
Reference ✧ PE17/191 ✧ gwen(d) “maiden”
Related
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| √WEN-ED > gwen(d) | [wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn] | ✧ PE17/191 |
N. gwenn n. “maiden” (Category: Girl)
Reference ✧ Ety/WEN ✧ “maiden”
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴹ√WENED > gwend > gwenn | [wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn] | ✧ Ety/WEN |
ᴱN. uin n. “woman” (Category: Woman)
References ✧ PE13/123, 146, 155
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Inflections
| uinwaith | class-plural | ✧ PE13/155: sg. coll. |
| uinir | plural | ✧ PE13/123; PE13/155 |
| uint | plural | ✧ PE13/123 |
G. gwin n. “woman, female” (Category: Woman)
References ✧ GG/9; GL/39, 45; PE13/118
Glosses
Variations
Related
Changes
Inflections
| gwinias | plural | ✧ PE13/118 | |
| gwinieis | plural | ✧ PE13/118 | |
| gwinin | plural | ✧ GL/45 | |
| gwinis | plural | ✧ PE13/118 | |
| winin | soft-mutation plural; gw-mutation | “women” | ✧ GG/9 |
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√giu̯i > gwin | [giwini] ? [gʷini] > [gʷin] | ✧ GL/45 |
| ᴱ√u̯enĭ- > gwein | [weni] !!! [gʷein] | ✧ PE13/118 |
| ᴱ✶u̯einā́ > guin | [weinā] !!! [guin] | ✧ PE13/118 |
G. gwennin n. “girl” (Category: Girl)
References ✧ GL/45
Glosses
Variations
Changes
Element In
Cognates
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
| ᴱ√gu̯eđe > gwennin | [gʷendin] > [gʷennin] | ✧ GL/45 |