Sindarin 

gwaew

wind

_ n. _wind. Tolkien also notes "WAKH in wagme > gwaew, gwae" (PE17:34). >> gwae

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:33-4] < _gwoe_ < _wāyā _< WAYA. Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwaew

noun. storm; blow

A Sindarin word in notes from around 1957, derived from primitive ✶wagmē, the equivalent of Q. vangwë “storm” (NM/237). It is not entirely clear whether Tolkien intended the Sindarin word to have the same meaning, as elsewhere gwaew was typically glossed “wind”. But in the same paragraph, gwae also appeared (likewise unglossed), which is the more usual Sindarin word for “wind”, so I think gwaew = “storm” is a reasonable assumption. The same form and derivation of gwaew < ✶wagme appeared in Quenya Notes also from 1957, but there its Quenya equivalent (also vangwe) was glossed “blow”.

Cognates

  • Q. vangwë “storm; blow, storm, *gale; blow” ✧ PE17/034

Derivations

  • wagmē “storm” ✧ NM/237; PE17/034
    • “blow; noise of wind, echoic representation of sound of wind” ✧ NM/237
    • WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/034

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
wagmē > gwaew[wagmē] > [wagme] > [gwagme] > [gwaɣme] > [gwaime] > [gwaim] > [gwaem] > [gwaev] > [gwaew]✧ NM/237
wagme > gwaew[wagme] > [gwagme] > [gwaɣme] > [gwaime] > [gwaim] > [gwaem] > [gwaev] > [gwaew]✧ PE17/034
Sindarin [NM/237; PE17/034] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwae

wind

_ n. _wind. Tolkien also notes "WAKH in wagme > gwaew, gwae" (PE17:34). Q. vea. >> gwaew

Sindarin [(PE17 Sindarin Corpus) PE17:33-4:189] < _gwoe_ < _wāyā _< WAYA blow (as of wind). Group: Parma Eldalamberon 17 Sindarin Corpus. Published by

gwae

noun. wind

The normal Sindarin word for “wind”, usually appearing as gwae but sometimes as gwaew, most frequently derived from √WAY “blow” but also a bewildering variety of other roots (NM/237; PE17/33-34, 189); see the entry for √ for further discussion.

Conceptual Development: The earliest form of this word was G. gwâ “wind” from both Gnomish Grammar and Gnomish Lexicon from the 1910s (GG/14; GL/43). The form ᴱN. gwá “wind” reappeared in Early Noldorin Word-lists from the 1920s (MC/217), but in the Nebrachar poem from circa 1930 the form was gwaew “wind” (MC/217). It was N. gwaew “wind” in The Etymologies of the 1930s from the root ᴹ√WAIWA (Ety/WĀ), and appeared a number of times in later writings as both gwae and (more rarely) gwaew, as noted above.

Neo-Sindarin: For purposes of Neo-Sindarin, I prefer using only gwae for “wind”, reserving gwaew for “storm”.

Cognates

  • Q. vailë “wind, [strong] wind, *gale” ✧ PE17/189
  • Q. váva “*wind” ✧ PE17/033

Derivations

  • wāya “blow” ✧ NM/237; PE17/034
    • “blow; noise of wind, echoic representation of sound of wind” ✧ NM/237
    • WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/034
  • WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/034; PE17/189
  • waiwa(y) “*wind” ✧ PE17/033
    • WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/189

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
wā-yo > gwoe > gwae[wājo] > [wǭjo] > [wǭio] > [woio] > [gwoio] > [gwoi] > [gwoe] > [gwae]✧ NM/237
WAYA > gwae[wajā] > [waja] > [waia] > [gwaia] > [gwai] > [gwae]✧ PE17/033
waiwe > gwae(w)[waiwe] > [gwaiwe] > [gwaiw] > [gwaew]✧ PE17/033
WIW > gwae(w)[waiwe] > [gwaiwe] > [gwaiw] > [gwaew]✧ PE17/034
wāyā > gwoe > gwae[wājā] > [wāja] > [wǭja] > [wǭia] > [woia] > [gwoia] > [gwoi] > [gwoe] > [gwae]✧ PE17/034
WAYA > Gwae[wajā] > [waja] > [waia] > [gwaia] > [gwai] > [gwae]✧ PE17/189

Variations

  • gwaew ✧ PE17/033 (gwaew)
  • gwae(w) ✧ PE17/033 (gwae(w)); PE17/034
  • Gwae ✧ PE17/189
Sindarin [NM/237; PE17/033; PE17/034; PE17/189] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sûl

noun. wind

Sindarin [S/437] Q súlë. Group: SINDICT. Published by

sûl

noun. wind, [strong] wind, *gust

A noun for “wind” appearing in names like Amon Sûl, derived from the root √ “blow, move with audible sound (of air)” (NM/237; PE17/124).

Conceptual Development: A precursor to this word is G. saul “great wind” from the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/67), derived from the early root ᴱ√SUHYU “air, breath, exhale, puff” as suggested by Christopher Tolkien (LT1A/Súlimo; QL/86).

Neo-Sindarin: Given its connection to the sound of wind, I think sûl would be used mostly for strong or noisy wind, including (but not limited to) gusts of wind, as opposed to more ordinary (and less noisy) gwae “wind”. This notion is supported by its Gnomish precursor G. saul “great wind”.

Cognates

  • Q. súrë “wind, breeze” ✧ PE17/124

Derivations

  • sūli “wind”
  • “blow, move with audible sound (of air)” ✧ NM/237; PE17/124

Element in

  • S. Amon Sûl “Weathertop, (lit.) Hill of the Wind” ✧ SA/sûl

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
> sûl[sūl] > [sūle] > [sūl]✧ NM/237
> sūl[sūli] > [sūle] > [sūl]✧ PE17/124

Variations

  • sūl ✧ PE17/015; PE17/124
Sindarin [NM/237; PE17/015; PE17/124; SA/sûl] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gwaew

storm

1) gwaew (i **waew) (wind), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew**), 2)

gwaew

storm

(i ’waew) (wind), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew)

gwaew

wind

1) gwaew (i **waew) (storm), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew), 2) sûl (i hûl), pl. suil (i suil**). Note: a homophone means ”goblet”.

gwaew

wind

(i ’waew) (storm), no distinct pl. form except with article (in gwaew)

gwaeren

windy

(lenited ’waeren; pl. gwaerin)

sûl

wind

(i hûl), pl. suil (i suil). Note: a homophone means ”goblet”.

alagos

storm of wind

(pl. elegys, coll. pl. alagossath)