A word for “woman” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s with stem form nyel-, as indicated by its accusative nyela (PE16/135). Its etymology is unclear; Patrick Wynne and Christopher Gilson suggested it might be connected to the early root ᴱ√NYEHE “weep” or later root ᴹ√NYEL “ring, sing”, but these both feel like stretches to me.
Early Quenya
anai
noun. woman
anaina
adjective. womanly
anî
noun. woman
e-
verb. to be
nyél
noun. woman
nî
noun. woman
ó-
verb. to be
A noun in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s form “woman” with variants anai and anî, a feminine form ᴱQ. anu “a male” (QL/31).