lanya-

weave

lanya- (2) vb. "weave" (LAN)

were-

weave

were- vb. "weave" (cited as a derivative of the root WER "twine, weave" and maybe a primitive form rather than a Quenya word). (PE17:33)

were-

verb. to weave

A verb based on √WER “weave” that Tolkien coined in notes from around 1957 while exploring the development of the name S. Gwaihir (PE17/33). The section where this verb appeared was marked out, and in notes 1959-60 Tolkien changed the root to √WIR “weave” (PE17/191; VT39/10).

Neo-Quenya: This verb might be updated to ✱vir- “to weave” from the later form of the root, but I prefer to stick to attested [ᴹQ.] lanya- for “to weave” (Ety/LAN).

Derivations

• √WIR “weave, twine, weaving with cross-threads or withes” ✧ PE17/033

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WER > were-	[gwer-] > [ɣwer-] > [wer-]	✧ PE17/033

wai

wind, weave

wai (what the primitive element ¤wei "wind, weave" became in Quenya; therefore confused with the stem WAY "enfold") (WEY)

wailë

wind

wailë noun "wind", later form vailë, q.v. (PE17:189)

vëa

wind

vëa (4) noun "wind" (PE17:189)

vëa

noun. wind

wá

wind

wá (actually spelt wâ) noun "wind" (LT1:266). Cf. wáya-.

raiwe

lace

[raiwe noun "lace" (VT42:12)]

raiwë

noun. lace

A word for “lace” appearing in The Rivers and Beacon-hills of Gondor from the late 1960s from the root √RAY “net, knit, contrive network or lace, involve in a network, enlace” (VT42/12). The glossed form raiwe “lace” was deleted, but later in the same note Tolkien gave “S. raef or raew (blend of Q. raima and raiwe) ‘net’,” and this second instance of raiwe was not deleted.

Cognates

• S. raew “net” ✧ VT42/12

Derivations

• √RAY “net, knit, contrive network or lace, involve in a network, enlace” ✧ VT42/12

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√RAY > raiwe	[raiwe] > [raiwe]	✧ VT42/12

Variations

• raiwe ✧ VT42/12 (raiwe); VT42/12

lia-

twine

lia- vb. "twine" (LT1:271)

vailë

wind

vailë noun "wind" (PE17:189)

vailë

noun. wind, [strong] wind, *gale

An obscure word for “wind” in notes from December 1959 (D59) derived from the root √WAYA and appearing in various forms: vëa, vaiwe, and vaile, the last of these with an adjectival form vailima “windy” (P17/189). A similar set of Quenya derivatives of √WAY appeared in notes from 1957, but there most of the forms were rejected: {vaiwe, view-, vaive, víw}, along with unrejected váva (PE17/33-34). Tolkien considered all these as possible cognates of S. gwae “wind”.

Conceptual Development: Precursors include ᴱQ. ’wā “wind” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√GWĀ (QL/102), ᴱQ. vá or vanwe “wind” from Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1930s (PE16/142) and ᴹQ. vaiwa “wind” from The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√WAIWA (Ety/WĀ). Thus the Quenya forms were much less stable than their Sindarin equivalent and its precursor, which were simply G. gwâ “wind” (GL/43; PE13/146) >> N./S. gwae(w) “wind” (Ety/WĀ; NM/237; PE17/33-34, 189).

Neo-Quenya: Of the various forms, I prefer Q. vailë since (a) it is later, (b) has an adjectival form and (c) has a possible direct cognate S. gwael “✱wind”, also from around the same time. Q. súrë is the usual word for “wind” and is thus preferable for most uses, but I think vailë might be used for a strong wind or gale, since elsewere in Quenya derivatives of √WĀ seem to be tied to stronger winds: hwarwa “violent wind”, vangwë “storm” (NM/237).

Changes

• waiwe → vaiwe ✧ PE17/189

Cognates

• S. gwae “wind” ✧ PE17/189

Derivations

• √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/189
• ✶waiwa(y) “*wind” ✧ PE17/189
  • √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/189
• ✶waile “*wind” ✧ PE17/189
  • √WAY “blow (of wind), be disturbed” ✧ PE17/189

Element in

• Q. vailima “windy” ✧ PE17/189

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√WAYA > vëa	[waja] > [wea] > [βea] > [vea]	✧ PE17/189
✶waiwa(y) > vaiwe	[waiwai] > [βaiwai] > [vaiwai] > [vaiwe]	✧ PE17/189
✶waile > vaile	[waile] > [βaile] > [vaile]	✧ PE17/189

Variations

• vëa ✧ PE17/189
• vaiwe ✧ PE17/189
• vaile ✧ PE17/189
• waiwe ✧ PE17/189 (waiwe)

vaiwë

wind

vaiwë noun "wind" (PE17:189)

vaiwë

noun. wind

waiwa

wind

waiwa noun "wind" (WĀ/WAWA/WAIWA)

súru

wind

súru noun "wind" (MC:213, 216, 220; this is "Qenya"; Tolkien's later Quenya has súrë)

súrë

wind

súrë noun "wind", stem súri- because of primitive form sūrǐ- (PE17:62),hence the instrumental form súrinen "in the wind" or more literally "by the wind" (Nam, RGEO:66,Markirya, J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator p. 197); Súrion masc.name, "Wind-son" (Appendix A). Early "Qenya" has súru (MC:213, 216, 220). See also súriquessë.

vaiwa

wind

vaiwa noun "wind" (WĀ/WAWA/WAIWA)

gwae

wind

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

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 √WĀ 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
  • √WĀ “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

• ᴺS. gwaeren “windy”
• S. gwaeren “windy”
• S. Gwaeron “March, *Windy-one”
• S. Gwaihir “Windlord” ✧ PE17/034

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶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

gwaew

wind

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

sûl

noun. wind

sûl

noun. wind, [strong] wind, *gust

A noun for “wind” appearing in names like Amon Sûl, derived from the root √SŪ “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”
• √SŪ “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

Development	Stages	Sources
√sū > sûl	[sūl] > [sūle] > [sūl]	✧ NM/237
√SŪ > sūl	[sūli] > [sūle] > [sūl]	✧ PE17/124

Variations

• sūl ✧ PE17/015; PE17/124

gwir-

verb. to weave

Derivations

• √WIR “weave, twine, weaving with cross-threads or withes”

Element in

• ᴺS. gwirfin “braid, pigtail, (lit.) woven-tress”
• ᴺS. gwirthar “shuttle, (lit.) weave-across”

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)

gwer-

verb. to weave, wind, spin, twist

Elements

Word	Gloss
WIR	“weave, twine, weaving with cross-threads or withes”

hwinia

whirl

hwinia- (i chwinia, i chwiniar) (twirl, eddy).

hwinia

whirl

(i chwinia, i chwiniar) (twirl, eddy).

sûl

wind

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

hwiniol

whirling

(giddy, fantastic, mad), lenited chwiniol. It is unclear whether Sindarin participles have any distinct plural forms.

bawab

noun. wind

The noun for “wind”, attested only in the plural (bawîb) and subjective plural (bawîba) forms (SD/247, SD/312). Its plural form indicates that it is a strong-noun (Strong I), so its final vowel must be short, but in theory it could be any of a, i or u, each of which would be replaced by long î in plural nouns. Nouns with identical vowels are more common, however, so ✱bawab is the most likely singular form, though as Helge Fauskanger points out (AL/Adûnaic) the normal form could also be the weak noun ✱bawâb with a poetic strong plural (SD/435).

Element in

• Ad. bawîba dulgî “winds (were) black” ✧ SD/247; SD/312

wer

root. twine, weave

wir

root. weave, twine, weaving with cross-threads or withes

Tolkien used a variety of similar roots for Elvish words having to do with “weaving”, many of them tied to the name of Q. Vairë. The earliest of these was a pair of roots ᴱ√GWERE “whirl, twirl, twist” and unglossed {ᴱ√WIÐI >>} ᴱ√GWIÐI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the latter with derivatives like ᴱQ. ’winda “woof” and ᴱQ. ’windele “loom” (QL/103-104). The connection between ᴱ√GWERE and weaving is more obvious in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon where Tolkien said that ✶gwer- “wind, turn, bend” was often used as “plait or weave”, much like ✶gwidh- (GL/46). The most notable weaving word derived from 1910s ✶gwer- was G. Gwerlum “Gloomweaver” (GL/46).

Nothing of this blended paradigm remained in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where Tolkien instead had ᴹ√WEY “wind, weave” as the basis for ᴹQ. Vaire/N. Gwîr “Weaver”, and in this document the root was blended with ᴹ√WAY “enfold” in Quenya because wei > wai (Ety/WEY). Tolkien seems to have abandoned this phonetic rule by the time he wrote his Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957, where he instead said:

> Owing to the use of gwae / gwaew “wind” as in Gwaehir, we must have √WAYA = blow, or be disturbed. √WAYA cannot therefore be used = “weave”, and Vairë has no connexion with winds or stories. EITHER Vairë must become name of Osse’s wife: Q váya is used of sea (as waters, motion). OR Vairë’s name be changed: sc. to Vérë, √WER- “twine, weave”, were-, weave (PE17/33).

Ultimately Tolkien made neither of these changes to Vairë, and this section was rejected. In a set of roots from December 1959 (D59) Tolkien said “√WIRI, weave; hence Vaire (literally ‘weaving’), not from WAY” (PE17/191). The name Q. Vairë “Ever-weaving” was also derived from √WIR in notes associated with the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 (VT39/10). However, in notes from the late 1960s Tolkien said “weaving with cross-threads or withes was represented by the distinct base {WAY >>} WIG, often in strengthened form waig-” (VT42/10 and VT42/29 note #27). So it seems Tolkien continued to vacillate on the weaving roots.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think the 1959-60 root form √WIR lets us salvage the largest number of words, and it is not clear how Vairë would be derived from late-60s waig-.

Changes

• WAY → WIG ✧ VT42/12

Derivatives

• ✶Wairē “Weaver”
  • Q. Vairë “Weaver, Ever-weaving”
• Q. Vairë “Weaver, Ever-weaving” ✧ PE17/033; PE17/191; VT39/10
• Q. were- “to weave” ✧ PE17/033
• ᴺS. gwir- “to weave”
• ᴺS. gwiril “spindle”

Element in

• ᴺQ. vircolca “basket, (lit.) woven-box”
• ᴺQ. vírina “woven”
• ᴺS. gwer- “to weave, wind, spin, twist”

Variations

• WER ✧ PE17/033 (WER); PE17/191
• WIRI ✧ PE17/158; PE17/191
• WIG ✧ VT42/12
• WAY ✧ VT42/29 (WAY)

sū

noun. wind

Derivations

• √SŪ “blow, move with audible sound (of air)”

Derivatives

• Q. sú “sound of wind, sound of wind, [ᴱQ.] noise of wind” ✧ VT47/12; VT47/35

Element in

• ✶sūli “wind” ✧ VT47/35
• ✶sūri “wind” ✧ VT47/35

sūli

noun. wind

Derivatives

• S. sûl “wind, [strong] wind, *gust”

Elements

Word	Gloss
SŪ	“blow, move with audible sound (of air)”

sūri

noun. wind

Derivations

• √SUR “noise of wind, noise of wind; [ᴱ√] to blow” ✧ NM/237

Derivatives

• Q. súrë “wind, breeze” ✧ NM/237

Variations

• sūr(i) ✧ VT47/35

gwaew

noun. wind

gwaew

noun. wind

Cognates

• ᴹQ. vaiwa “wind” ✧ Ety/WĀ

Derivations

• ᴹ√WAIWA “blow” ✧ Ety/WĀ
  • ᴹ√WĀ “blow” ✧ Ety/WĀ

Element in

• N. Gwaeron “March, *Windy-one”
• N. Gwaihir “Windlord”
• N. Gwaewar “Windlord”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√WAIWA > gwaew	[waiwa] > [gwaiwa] > [gwaiw] > [gwaew]	✧ Ety/WĀ