-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤-jā being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.
Quenya
-rya
suffix. his, her, its
-rya
suffix. their (colloquial)
-rya
his, her
-ya
his
-lya
suffix. imperfect participle
-zya
his, her, its
-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)
an sí varda, tintallë, elentári ortanë máryat oiolossëo ve fanyar
for now Varda, Star-kindler, Star-queen [has] lifted up her (two) hands from Mount Everwhite like (white) clouds
The 9th and 10th phrases of the prose Namárië, corresponding to the 9th and 10th lines of the poem. They are combined here for purposes of discussion because Tolkien moved words between the two lines. Tolkien dramatically reorganized the text from the poetic version as follows:
> an sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë >>
an sí Varda, Tintallë, Elentári ortanë máryat Oiolossëo ve fanyar
Tolkien grouped together the three names of Varda (Varda, Tintallë, Elentári) as the subject of the phrase. He moved the object máryat “her (two) hands” immediately after the verb, which is the usual Quenya word order. He also moved the two modifying clauses, Oiolossëo “from Mount Everwhite” and ve fanyar “like (white) clouds”, to the end.
The revised Quenya ordering would match the poetic English translation quite closely if the phrase “from Mount Everwhite” were moved closer to the end:
> “for now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds” »»»
“✱for now Varda, the Kindler, the Queen of the Stars has uplifted her hands from Mount Everwhite like clouds”
-ssa
suffix. his, her, its
má
noun. hand
The most common Quenya word for “hand”, which Tolkien usually derived from a root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield”. The weak consonant h or ʒ in the root was lost very early, so that primitive ✶mā was one of a rare set of ancient monosyllabic nouns ending in a vowel. Tolkien said that of the various hand words, má was “the oldest (probably) and the one that retained a general and unspecialized sense - referring to the entire hand (including wrist) in any attitude or function” (VT47/6).
As a part of the body, má “hand” was usually referred to in the singular (má) or dual (mát). This was true when referring to the hands of groups of people as well. For example, to say that “the Elves raised their hands”, you would say either i Eldar ortaner mánta (singular, one hand each) or i Eldar ortaner mántat (dual, both hands each), with the possessive suffix -nta “their”.
The plural form már “hands” (or archaic †mai) was almost never used, in part because it conflicted with Q. már “dwelling”. The singular form was also used in general statements and proverbs: “hand is cleverer than foot” má anfinya epe tál (ná). A collection of otherwise unrelated hands would likely use the partitive-plural form: máli “some hands”, which in this case could also serve as the general plural (VT47/12 Note 2). See the discussions on PE17/161 and VT47/6 for more information.
This word is also unusual in that it retains its long vowel before consonant clusters in inflected forms such as mánta “their hand” (PE17/161) or márya “his/her hand” (PE17/69). As Tolkien described it:
> Lá is usually shortened to la before 2 consonants, according to the usual Q. procedure, but the long vowel can be retained, especially for additional emphasis, as in other cases where pronominal affixes follow a long vowel, as in márya “his hand” (PE22/160).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to ᴱQ. mā “hand” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” (QL/57). ᴹQ. má “hand” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien mentioned this word with great frequency, usually derived from √MAH or √MAƷ (as noted above) though he sometimes considered deriving it from √MAG instead.
óma
noun. voice, resonance of the vocal chords, vowel
-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.