-im

suffix. gendered plural subjective suffix

A suffix used in plural subjective inflections of gendered-nouns, in most cases blending with the plural ending -î to become -îm (SD/430).

-īm

suffix. plural

-imā

suffix. possibility

bani

adjective. fair

kyaw-

verb. to taste

wanyā

adjective. fair

-immë

-immë

-immë (2), see -mmë

-ima

suffix. -able, possibility, -able, [ᴹQ.] -ible, able to be done, [ᴱQ.] possible; [with short base vowel] *having a (strong) nature of

An adjective suffix. When used with verbs, it functions like the English suffix “-able, -ible”: cénima “visible”, mátima “edible”, nótima “countable”. When used in this way, the base vowel of the verb is also lengthened, as opposed to when -ima is used as an ordinary adjective suffix without lengthening:

> Only the adjs. in -ima found with long stem vowel were adjs. of possibility. -ima was frequently used with stems (verbal, adj[ectival] or nominal) with a short vowel, and the sense possessing to a high degree (at all times and by nature) the property mention[ed]. So kalima “luminous (by nature always)”, vanima “beautiful”, norima “running, swiftly a course[?]”, kelima “fluent”, istima “wise (in sense of knowing much), knowledgeable, very well informed”, melima “loving, very affectionate” - but lamélima “unlovable” (PE22/156).

In most cases these two functions for the suffix -ima can be distinguished by the presense or absence of a long vowel, meaning “-able” (long vowel) or “having a [strong] nature of” (short vowel) respectively. But with many weak verbs (especially ta-causatives), lengthening was not possible and the a was retained, as with tultaima “✱fetchable, summonable” (PE22/156).

When used with intransitive verbs, the sense “-able” was not appropriate, so the suffix had its other meaning “having a (strong) nature of”:

> When formed from intransitive stems as kalima “luminous” [from the verb cal- “shine”] they differed from the [active] verbal participles in -ila (a) as being more intensive, (b) as being always aorist[?] and without special reference to a present or particular occasion (PE22/155).

Based on the example calima “luminous”, there was no vowel lengthening when the suffix was used with intransitive verbs.

Conceptual Development: As a general adjective suffix, ᴱQ. -ima dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, but its first clear mention as a verbal suffix of possibility is in Qenya Verb Forms written in the 1920s where it was glossed “-able, possible”, including an example indicating it was associated with vowel-lengthening: tūlima (PE14/33).

In the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 the suffix could use consonant-doubling as an alternate method of strengthening the stem: ᴹQ. mattima “edible” or ᴹQ. qettima “utterable” (PE22/111). In QVS it took the form -alima with weak verbs: ᴹQ. istalima “knowable” or ᴹQ. ortalima “able to be raised” (PE22/111). In Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) of the early 1950s Tolkien said it sometimes took the form -tima, as in mastima < ✶matˢtimā (PE22/137). But elsewhere it was only used with vowel lengthening when functioning as a suffix of possibility.

Tolkien also discussed the -ima suffix at length in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) written in 1969 (PE22/155-156), and the system in the main entry for using -ima is largely based on these 1969 notes. Based on the examples tultaima and lakaltaima from LVS, I believe weak verbs in Tolkien’s later system simply appended -ima to the verb stem. There is a somewhat confusing note in the margin of LVS that might contradict this:

> not ima, which when add[ed] to pre[sent?] stem had [?none] as in nútaila, nútaite, but nútima (PE22/156 and note #64).

This note might mean Tolkien changed his mind, and that -ima replaced the final vowel a in ta-causative núta- “lower”. However, the marginal note appears near a section on intransitive ta/ya-formative verbs, and I believe Tolkien temporarily confused himself, thinking núta- was ta-formative rather than ta-causative. Hat-tip to Lokyt who discussed this issue with me in Discord on 2024-06-01.

This does imply ta/ya-formatives like nahta- “slay” would replace their final a when combined with -ima, such as ✱nahtima “able to be slain”. However, since most such verbs are intransitive, they would rarely use the suffix -ima “able”.

-ima

fair

-ima adjectival suffix. Sometimes it is used to derive simple adjectives, like vanima "fair" or calima "bright"; it can also take on the meaning "-able" (PE17:68), as in mátima "edible" (mat- "eat"), nótima "countable" (not- "count") and (with a negative prefix) úquétima "unspeakable" (from quet- "speak"). Note that the stem-vowel is normally lengthened in the derivatives where -ima means "-able", though this fails to occur in cenima "visible" (q.v., but contrast hraicénima, q.v.) and also before a consonant cluster as in úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176). "X-ima" may mean "apt to X" (when the ending is added to an intransitive verbal stem), as in Fírimar "mortals", literally "those apt to die" (WJ:387). The adj. úfantima "not concealable" (PE17:176) also appears as úfantuma (PE17:180), indicating the existence of a variant ending -uma (possibly used to derive adjectives with a "bad" meaning; compare the ending *-unqua next to -inqua, q.v.)

-ima

suffix. -able, ible

cénima

adjective. visible, visible, [ᴹQ.] able to be seen

-lmë

we

-lmë 1st person pl. pronominal ending: "we" (VT49:38; 51 carilmë *"we do", VT49:16). It was originally intended to be inclusive "we" (VT49:48), including the person(s) spoken to, but by 1965 Tolkien made this the ending for exclusive "we" instead (cf. the changed definition of the corresponding possessive ending -lma, see above). _(VT49:38) Exemplified in laituvalmet "we shall bless them" (lait-uva-lme-t "bless-shall-we-them") (the meaning apparently changed from inclusive to exclusive "we", VT49:55), see also nalmë under ná# 1. (LotR3:VI ch. 4, translated in Letters:308_)

-lwë

we

-lwë, later -lvë, pronominal ending "we" (VT49:51), 1st person pl. inclusive ending, occurring in the verbs carilwë "we do" (VT49:16) and navilwë (see #nav-). The ending became -lvë in later, Exilic Quenya (VT49:51). See -lv-.

-mmë

we

-mmë "we", 1st person dual exclusive pronominal ending: "I and one other" (compare the inclusive dual form -ngwë or -nquë). First written -immë in one source (VT49:57). Carimmë, "the two of us do" (VT49:16, cf. VT43:6). At an earlier conceptual stage, the ending was already exclusive, but plural rather than dual: vammë "we won't" (WJ:371), firuvammë "we will die" (VT43:34), etemmë ?"out of us" (VT43:36); see also VT49:48, 49, 55. Also compare the corresponding emphatic pronoun emmë (q.v.). The ending -lmë replaced -mmë in its former (plural exclusive) sense. In some early material, -mmë was apparently used as an ending for plural inclusive "we" (VT49:55).

-ngwë

we

-ngwë "we", 1st person dual inclusive pronominal ending: "thou and I" (compare the exclusive dual form -mmë). Caringwë, "the two of us do" (VT49:16). One source lists the ending as "-inke > -inque" instead (VT49:51, 53, 57; "inke" was apparently Old Quenya). In an earlier pronoun table reproduced in VT49:48, the ending -ngwë is listed as an alternative to -lmë, which Tolkien at the time used as the plural inclusive ending (a later revision made it plural exclusive).

alima

fair, good

alima adj. "fair, good" (also alya) (PE17:146)

alya

fair, good

alya (1) adj. "fair, good" (PE17:146), "prosperous, rich, abundant, blessed" (GALA). In a deleted entry in Etym, the glosses provided were "rich, blessed"; another deleted entry defined alya as "rich, prosperous, blessed". (GALA, [ÁLAM], VT42:32, 45:5, 14)

ascenë

visible, easily seen

ascenë, ascénima (þ) adj. "visible, easily seen" (PE17:148)

cenima

visible

cenima ("k") adj. "visible" (PE17:175); cf. cen- "see". Read possibly *cénima; see -ima and cf. hraicénima "scarcely visible" (PE17:154).

cénima

adjective. visible

emmë

we

emmë (2) pron. "we", emphatic pronoun; dative emmen (VT43:12, 20). In the source this pronoun is intended as the 1st person plural exclusive; later Tolkien changed the corresponding pronominal ending from -mmë to -lmë, and the plural emphatic pronoun would likewise change from emmë to *elmë. Since the ending -mmë was redefined as a dualexclusive pronoun, the form emmë may still be valid as such, as a dual emphatic pronoun "we" = "(s)he and I".

linda

fair, beautiful

linda adj. "fair, beautiful" (of sound) (SLIN, LIND; VT45:27), "soft, gentle, light" (PE16:96), "beautiful, sweet, melodious of sound" (PE17:150); for Linda as a noun, see Lindar.

me

we, us

me (1) 1st person pl. exclusive pronoun "we, us" (VT49:51; VT43:23, VT44:9). This pronoun preserves the original stem-form (VT49:50). Stressed mé (VT49:51). Cf. also mel-lumna "us-is-heavy", sc. *"is heavy for us" (LR:47, mel- is evidently an assimilated form of men "for us", dative of me; the form men is attested by itself, VT43:21). For me as object, cf. álamë** "do not [do something to] us", negative imperative particle with object pronoun suffixed (VT43:19: álamë tulya, "do not lead us"), ámen** "do [something for] us", imperative particle with dative pronoun suffixed (ámen apsenë "forgive us", VT43:12, 18). Dual exclusive met "we/us (two)" (Nam, VT49:51), "you and me" (VT47:11; the latter translation would make met an inclusive pronoun, though it is elsewhere suggested that it is rather exclusive: "him/her and me", corresponding to wet [q.v.] as the true inclusive dual form). Rá men or rámen "for us/on our behalf", see rá. Locative messë "on us", VT44:12 (also with prefix o, ó- ?"with" in the same source). See also ménë, ómë.

moia-

labour, be afflicted

moia- vb. "labour, be afflicted" (VT43:31)

mol-

labour

mol- vb. "labour" (a form mólë also listed is presumably the pa.t. though it could also be "labour" as a noun) (PE17:115)

mol-

verb. to labour

móta-

labour, toil

móta- noun "labour, toil" (MŌ)

tyav-

verb. to taste, to taste; [ᴱQ.] (impersonal) to taste of, reminds one of

@@@ as derivative of KYAW perhaps past †tyaune > tyáve

vanya

fair

vanya (1) adj. "fair" (FS), "beautiful" (BAN), a word referring to beauty that is "due to lack of fault, or blemish" (PE17:150), hence Arda Vanya as an alternative to Arda Alahasta for "Arda Unmarred" (ibid., compare MR:254). Nominal pl. Vanyar "the Fair", the first clan of the Eldar; the original meaning of this stem was "pale, light-coloured, not brown or dark" (WJ:382, 383, stem given as WAN), "properly = white complexion and blonde hair" (PE17:154, stem given as GWAN); stems BAN vs. WAN discussed, see PE17:150.

vanë

fair

vanë adj. "fair" (LT1:272; in Tolkien's later Quenya rather vanya)

vanë

adjective. fair, fair, [ᴱQ.] lovely

ve

we

ve (2) pron. "we", 1st person pl. inclusive (corresponding to exclusive me), derived from an original stem-form we (VT49:50, PE17:130). Variant vi, q.v. Stressed wé, later vé (VT49:51). Dative (*wéna >) véna, VT49:14. Dual wet*, later vet "the two of us" (inclusive; cf. exclusive met) (VT49:51). Also compare the dative form ngwin or ngwen (q.v.), but this would apparently be wen > ven** according to Tolkiens later ideas.

vi

we

vi pron. "we", 1st person inclusive (PE17:130), variant of ve #2.

we

we

we, wé, see ve #2

linitë

adjective. plural

An adjective for “plural”, a combination of li(n)- “many” and the suffix -itë. Also used as a grammatical term. The terms asta-linitë and quanta-linitë can be used to distinguish the partitive plural from the normal (full) plural.

mintya-

verb. to remind; (impers.) it reminds me = I remember

renta-

verb. to remind

tarassë

noun. labour

-m

suffix. we

1st du. pron. suff. #we (you and me). Q. -mmo.See paradigm PE17:132.

-nc

suffix. we

1st du. pron. suff. #we (you and me). Q. -lmo.See paradigm PE17:132. >> -ngid

bain

fair

_ adj. _fair, good, blessed, wholesome, favourable, without evil/bad element, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bân

bân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, good, wholesome, favourable, not dangerous, evil or hostile. bân or bain << bân pl. bain. >> bain

caw-

verb. to taste

fael

adjective. fair minded, just, generous

gwain

adjective. fair

adj. fair. . This gloss was rejected.

gwana

noun/adjective. fair

gwân

adjective. fair

_ adj. _fair, pale.

lind

adjective. fair

bain

fair

bain (beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

bain

fair

(beautiful). Lenited vain. No distinct pl. form.

drab-

verb. to labour, work; (impersonal) to irk, annoy

men

we

men (accusative mín ”us”, presumably usually lenited vín, which is also the genitive ”our”).

men

we

(accusative mín ”us”, presumably usually lenited vín, which is also the genitive ”our”).

muda

labour

(verb.) muda- (i vuda, i mudar) (toil), pa.t. mudas

muda

labour

(i vuda, i mudar) (toil), pa.t. mudas

renna-

verb. to remind

muda-

verb. to labour, toil

tars

noun. labour, task

tass

noun. labour, task