^I should think Tolkien, a Professor of English Language and Literature and an ardent philologist, knew perfectly well the proper usages of his vocabulary. :|
Odds are pretty good he was also very well aware of the distinct regional variations in gender distributions in the historical European context. Dude was erudite, yo.
Also popular modern folklore usage does not equate actual meaning because most modern peeps derive their ideas about such from fucking Disney cartoons and similarly authoritative sources. (You may note at least one of the illustrative quotes at M-W blithely regurgitates the usual erroneous commonplace about the role of the Inquisition...)