-wen

maiden

-wen "maiden" as suffix, a frequent ending in feminine names like Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (SA:wen). Early "Qenya" also has -wen, feminine patronymic "daughter of" (LT1:271, 273), but the patronymic ending seems to be -iel "-daughter" in Tolkien's later Quenya.

vendë

maiden

vendë < wendë noun "maiden" (WEN/WENED, VT45:16), "virgin" (in Tolkien's translations of Catholic prayers where the reference is to Mary; see VT44:10, 18). The form Véndë in VT44:10 seems abnormal; normally Quenya does not have a long vowel in front of a consonant cluster.

wendë

noun. maiden

gwen

noun. maiden

_n. _maiden. Q. wendē. >> gwend, gweneth

gwend

noun. maiden

_n. _maiden. Q. wendē. >> gwen, gweneth

gwend

noun. maiden, maiden, *young woman

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.

Cognates

• Q. vendë “maiden, *virgin” ✧ PE17/191

Derivations

• ✶wendē “maiden, young or small woman, girl”
  • √WEN(ED) “maiden, girl, virgin; woman” ✧ VT47/17; VT48/18
• √WEN(ED) “maiden, girl, virgin; woman” ✧ PE17/191

Element in

• S. Rodwen “High Virgin Noble”
• S. Arwen “Noble Maiden”
• ᴺS. arwen “noble lady”
• S. Galadwen
• S. Gladhwen “Laughing Maiden”
• ᴺS. gwendren “maidenly, girlish”
• S. gweneth “maidenhood, maidenhood, [N.] virginity” ✧ PE17/191
• ᴺS. gwennod “elder tree; elderberry, *(lit.) maiden berry”
• S. Hirwen
• S. Ivonwin “Maidens of Yavanna”
• S. Ivorwen
• S. Laewen
• S. Urwen
• S. -wen “maiden, *female suffix”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WEN-ED > gwen(d)	[wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn]	✧ PE17/191

Variations

• gwen(d) ✧ PE17/191

wen

maiden

, see MAIDEN. The final element -wen in names means ”girl, maiden, virgin”.

gwend

maiden

gwend (i **wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath**. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.

gwend

maiden

(i ’wend, construct gwen) (friendship), pl. gwind (in gwind), coll. pl. gwennath. Note: a homophone means ”bond, friendship”.

gwend

noun. maiden

gwenn

noun. maiden

gwenn

noun. maiden

Cognates

• ᴹQ. vende “maiden, maid” ✧ Ety/WEN

Derivations

• ᴹ√WEN(ED) “maiden” ✧ Ety/WEN

Element in

• N. Banwen “Vana”
• N. Eledhwen “Elf-maid”
• N. gweneth “virginity” ✧ Ety/WEN
• N. Morwen

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√WENED > gwend > gwenn	[wende] > [gwende] > [gwend] > [gwenn]	✧ Ety/WEN