Noldorin 

gwathel

noun. sister, associate

Noldorin [Ety/392] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gwathel

noun. [sworn] sister, associate [f.]

A noun in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “sister, associate”, the female equivalent of N. gwador “(sworn) brother, associate”, a combination of prefix N. gwa- “together” with the root ᴹ√THEL “sister” (Ety/THEL). It is used for metaphorical “sisters” by oath or association, and not by blood.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. oselle “[sworn] sister, associate [f.]” ✧ Ety/THEL

Derivations

  • On. wathel “[sworn] sister, associate [f.]” ✧ Ety/THEL

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. wathel > gwathel[waθele] > [gwaθele] > [gwaθel]✧ Ety/THEL
On. wathel > gwethil[waθeli] > [gwaθeli] > [gwaθili] > [gweθili] > [gweθil]✧ Ety/THEL
Noldorin [Ety/THEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

thêl

noun. sister

Noldorin [Ety/392] Group: SINDICT. Published by

thêl

noun. sister

A word for “sister” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from the root ᴹ√THEL or THELES of the same meaning, with an irregular plural thelei (Ety/THEL). It had a more elaborate form muinthel, the equivalent of muindor “(dear) brother”, with an initial element muin “dear”.

Neo-Quenya: In notes from the late 1960s, Tolkien introduced a new word nethel for “sister” from the root √NETH (VT47/14). However, I think thêl and related words might be retained to mean a “metaphorical sister”, a close female associate who may or may not be related by blood, as with such words as gwathel “[sworn] sister, associate”. In this paradigm, I would assume muinthel still refers to a sister by blood, with an added connotation of strong affection. I think it’s best to assume the irregular Noldorin plural pattern was reformed to the normal Sindarin plural thîl.

Cognates

  • ᴹQ. seler “sister” ✧ Ety/THEL

Derivations

  • On. thele “sister” ✧ Ety/THEL
    • ᴹ√THEL(ES) “sister” ✧ Ety/THEL
    • ᴹ✶thelese “*sister” ✧ Ety/THEL
    • ᴹ√THEL(ES) “sister” ✧ Ety/THEL

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
On. thele > thêl[θele] > [θel] > [θēl]✧ Ety/THEL
Noldorin [Ety/THEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by

muinthel

noun. sister

Noldorin [Ety/392] muin+thêl. Group: SINDICT. Published by

muinthel

noun. sister

Noldorin [Ety/THEL] Group: Eldamo. Published by