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Help[Facts] Re: Rosewen and Sentyabrina
in reply to a message by thegriffon
I don't know what Germanic language features -wen as a name element. The protogermanic form of the quoted name element is *WUNJA and it occurs in names like Wunibald as a first element. In Anglo-Saxon, it becomes wynne (with an umlaut) and later it becomes virtually indistinguishable from WIN "friend".
The form -wen looks very Welsh to me where it derives from gwen "white" (feminine form). I'd read Ros(e)wen as "white Rose" with a Welsh etymology.
The form -wen looks very Welsh to me where it derives from gwen "white" (feminine form). I'd read Ros(e)wen as "white Rose" with a Welsh etymology.
This message was edited 9/11/2017, 8:23 AM
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*Wunja is not "desire, belief, hope". *Wunja- (dwell/dwelling/custom — two different meanings merged in proto-Germanic), *wunjo (joy), *winiz (friend) and *weniz (desire) developed in the Indo-European stage, before proto-germanic. The latter three at least are each represented in Germanic name elements. For *Weniz OE has Wénbeorht, Wénburh, Wénflǽd, Wénheard, Wénhelm, Wulfwén, Tirwén, Oswén, Modwén, Anwén etc.; Forstemann has three columns of names for the High German form Wan- (both Forstemann and the Onomasticon Anglo-Saxonicum list the element under or refer it to the ON form Van-, which is odd as ON doesn't seem to use it onomastically).
This message was edited 9/12/2017, 4:11 PM
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