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)

winya

new, fresh, young

winya (1) adj. "new, fresh, young" _(VT45:16; though the entry including this form was struck out in the Etymologies, _vinya "new" is a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, and it is meant to represent older winya. Compare winyamo, q.v.)

sinya

new

sinya adj. "new" (SI)

lanya-

weave

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

cîr

adjective. renewed

gwain

adjective. new

sain

adjective. new

cýr

adjective. renewed

cîr

renewed

clashes with the word for ”ship”.s

gwain

new

1) #gwain (gwin-), lenited wain, pl. gwîn. Isolated from the month-name Narwain, ”new sun” (where #gwain appears in lenited form). The form gwîn ”young” listed in VT46:22 would have to be taken as a pl. form, if it is to be the cognate of Quenya vinya. 2) cîw (lenited gîw; no distinct pl. form) (fresh), 3) eden (begun again), pl. edin; 4) sain (sin-), lenited hain; pl. sîn;

gwain

new

(gwin-), lenited ’wain, pl. gwîn. Isolated from the month-name Narwain, ”new sun” (where #gwain appears in lenited form). The form gwîn ”young” listed in VT46:22 would have to be taken as a pl. form, if it is to be the cognate of Quenya vinya.

cîw

new

(lenited gîw; no distinct pl. form) (fresh)

eden

new

(begun again), pl. edin

sain

adjective. new

sain

new

(sin-), lenited hain; pl. sîn

siniath

news

(tidings) (i siniath).

cîl

renewal

(i gîl; no distinct pl. form except with article: i chîl) (VT48:8)

cýron

new moon

(i gýron), pl. cýroen (i chýroen). Archaic ✱cýraun, spelt cýrawn in the source (VT48:7).

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)

sein

adjective. new

sein

adjective. new

Cognates

• ᴹQ. sinya “new, new, *current” ✧ Ety/SI

Derivations

• ᴹ√SI “this, here, now” ✧ Ety/SI

Element in

• N. siniath “news, tidings” ✧ Ety/SI
• N. sinnarn “novel tale” ✧ Ety/SI

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√SI > sein	[sinja] > [senja] > [senia] > [seni] > [sein]	✧ Ety/SI
ᴹ√SI > sîn	[sinji] > [sini] > [sin] > [sīn]	✧ Ety/SI

eden

adjective. new, begun again