airë (1) adj. "holy", #Airefëa "the Holy Spirit" (VT43:37, dative airefëan on the previous page), airetári or Airë Tári "holy queen" (a title of Varda, PM:363), genitive aire-tário "holy-queen's" (Nam, RGEO:67). However, according to PM:363, airë is the noun "sanctity", while aira is the adjective "holy". VT43:14 refers to an etymological note of "Sept.-Oct. 1957" where airë is said to be a noun "sanctity, holiness", and the adjective "holy" is given as airëa. However, the verb #airita- "hallow" seems to be formed from an adjective airë, airi- "holy". Evidently airë can function as both adjective ("holy") and noun ("holiness"); if so airë as adj. could represent a primitive adjective gaisi, whereas airë as noun may descend from gaisē. The former but not the latter would have the stem airi- (as observed in the derived verb #airita-), and compounds like airetári (rather than *airitári) would seem to contain properly the noun "holiness".
Quenya
airë
eternity
airë
holy
airë
sea
airë (2) noun "sea" (the form airen is given, intended as a genitive singular when Tolkien wrote this; in LotR-style Quenya it would rather be a dative sg.) (AYAR/AIR; cf. airon)
airë
noun. sea
An archaic word for “sea” which fell out of use to due conflict with “holy” words like aira or airë; it was a noun form of primitive ✶gaı̯ră (PE17/27). The more common modern word for “sea” is ëar.
Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. aire “sea” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√AYAR (Ety/AY); it appeared beside a form ᴹQ. airen that might be a genitive form, or might be a longer form; see the entry on ᴹQ. airon for discussion.
Cognates
- S. gaear “sea” ✧ PE17/027
Derivations
Element in
- Q. airon “ocean” ✧ PE17/027
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶gaı̯ră > aire [gaira] > [ɣaira] > [aira] ✧ PE17/027 Variations
- aire ✧ PE17/027 (aire)
airë
noun/adjective. holy; sanctity, holiness
Changes
aire→ airă “holiness” ✧ PE17/027Cognates
- S. aer “*hallowed, holy”
Derivations
- √AYA(N) “blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere” ✧ PE17/146; PE17/149
- ✶airē “holiness, sanctity” ✧ PE17/149; VT43/14
- √AYA(N) “blessed; treat with awe/reverence, blessed; treat with awe/reverence; [ᴱ√] honour, revere” ✧ PE17/149; VT43/14
- √GAY(AR) “awe, dread; astound, make aghast; sea” ✧ PM/363
Element in
- ᴺQ. airalindë “hymn, (lit.) holy song”
- ᴺQ. airelinna “hymn, (lit.) holy song”
- Q. airëa “holy (applied to persons)” ✧ PE17/149
- Q. Airefëa “Holy Spirit”
- Q. Airë María Eruo ontaril “Holy Mary, Mother of God” ✧ VT43/32
- ᴺQ. airemma “icon, (lit.) holy image”
- Q. Airë Tári “Holy Queen” ✧ PM/363
- ᴺQ. airilírë “hymn”
- ᴺQ. airimo “priest”
- ᴺQ. alairë “unholy”
- Q. Anairë “*Holiest”
- Q. na airë esselya “hallowed be thy name” ✧ VT43/14
- Q. ómaryo airetári-lírinen “in the song of her voice, holy and queenly” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
- Q. ómaryo lírinen airetário “in [by means of] her voice’s song, of the holy-queen” ✧ RGEO/59
- Q. lírinen ómo i·aire tário “by the song of the voice of the holy queen” ✧ PE17/076
- Q. lírinen ómo i·aire táríva “by the song of the voice of the holy queen” ✧ PE17/076
- Q. tintilar lirinen ómaryo Airë-tário ✧ PM/364
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √AYA > aire [ajre] > [aire] ✧ PE17/146 ✶airē > aire [airē] > [aire] ✧ PE17/149 √AYA > airi- [ajri] > [ajre] > [aire] ✧ PE17/149 √GAYA > airë [gajri] > [gajre] > [gaire] > [ɣaire] > [aire] ✧ PM/363 Variations
- aire ✧ LotR/0377; PE17/027 (
aire); PE17/067; PE17/076; PE17/076; PE17/149; RGEO/59; VT43/14; VT43/14- airë ✧ PE17/067; PM/363
- Airë ✧ PM/363; PM/364
- aíre ✧ RGEO/58
- Aire ✧ VT43/32
airen
noun. sea
airëa
holy
airëa adj. "holy"; see airë.
aira
old
aira (3) adj. "old" (MC:214; this is "Qenya")
aira
eternal
[aira (4) adj. "eternal" (EY, VT45:13). Changed by Tolkien to oira.]
aira
holy
aira (2) adj. "holy"; see airë #1
írë
eternal
[írë] (3) noun "eternal" (read "eternity", as suggested by Christopher Tolkien, but the word was in any case changed to oirë)(GEY, VT45:13)
airon
ocean
airon noun "ocean" (PE17:27). Also ëaron, q.v.
airon
noun. ocean
An (archaic) word for “ocean”, an augmentative form of airë mentioned in a couple of later notes (PE17/27, 149). A more modern form is ëaron.
Conceptual Development: The form ᴹQ. airen appeared in parenthesis beside ᴹQ. aire “sea” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/AY). Helge Fauskanger suggested that it might be a genitive form (QQ/airë), but in notes on The Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s, aire “sea” >> airen (PE22/23 note #70), suggesting it is an alternate (augmentative?) form. If so, it is probably a precursor to airon.
Cognates
- S. gaearon “ocean, (lit.) great sea” ✧ PE17/027; PE17/149
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶airō > airon [airon] ✧ PE17/149
-ië
suffix. is
-ië (3) "is", -ier "are", stative verb suffix occurring in Fíriel's Song: númessier "they are in the west", meldielto "they are...beloved", talantië "he is fallen", márië "it is good" (< *númessë "in the west", melda "beloved", *talanta "fallen"); future tense -iéva in hostainiéva "will be gathered" (< *hostaina "gathered"). Compare ye "is", yéva "will be", verbs that also occur in Fíriel's Song. This suffix is probably not valid in LotR-style Quenya: -ië is an infinitival or gerundial ending in CO, for ye "is" Namárië has ná, and the phrase "lost is" is vanwa ná, not *vanwië.
aina
holy
aina (2) adj "holy" (AYAN), derived from Ainu. Adopted and adapted from Valarin. According to VT43:32, the word is "obsolete, except in Ainur", apparently suggesting that airë or airëa (q.v.) was the normal term for "holy" in later Quenya. However, Tolkien repeatedly used aina in his translation of the Litany of Loreto: Aina Fairë "Holy Spirit", Aina Neldië "Holy Trinity", Aina Maria "Holy Mary", Aina Wendë "Holy Virgin". He also used Aina Eruontari for "holy Mother" in his rendering of the Sub Tuum Praesidium(WJ:399, FS, SA, VT43:32, VT44:5, 12, 17-18)
oira
eternal
oira adj. "eternal" (OY)
íra
eternal
[íra adj. "eternal" (GEY, VT45:13; changed by Tolkien to oira, see OY)]
aista
holy
aista (1) adj. "holy" (VT43:37)
oialëa
eternal
oialëa adj. "eternal" (PE17:59)
oialëa
adjective. eternal
Elements
Word Gloss oialë “forever; everlastingly, eternally, in eternity, forever; everlastingly, eternally, in eternity; [ᴹQ.] everlasting age” -a “adjectival suffix”
linyenwa
old, having many years
linyenwa adj. "old, having many years" (YEN)
ná
is
ná (1) vb. "is" (am). (Nam, RGEO:67). This is the copula used to join adjectives, nouns or pronouns "in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have certain quality, or to be the same as another" (VT49:28). Also in impersonal constructions: ringa ná "it is cold" (VT49:23). The copula may however be omitted "where the meaning is clear" without it (VT49:9). Ná is also used as an interjection "yes" or "it is so" (VT49:28). Short na in airë [] na, "[] is holy" (VT43:14; some subject can evidently be inserted in the place of [].) Short na also functions as imperative: alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34), also na airë "be holy" (VT43:14); also cf. nai "be it that" (see nai #1). The imperative participle á may be prefixed (á na, PE17:58). However, VT49:28 cites ná as the imperative form. Pl. nar or nár "are" (PE15:36, VT49:27, 9, 30); dual nát (VT49:30). With pronominal endings: nányë/nanyë "I am", nalyë or natyë "you (sg.) are" (polite and familiar, respectively), nás "it is", násë "(s)he is", nalmë "we are" (VT49:27, 30). Some forms listed in VT49:27 are perhaps to be taken as representing the aorist: nain, naityë, nailyë (1st person sg, and 2nd person familiar/polite, respectively); does a following na represent the aorist with no pronominal ending? However, the forms nanyë, nalyë, ná, nassë, nalme, nar (changed from nár) are elsewhere said to be "aorist", without the extra vowel i (e.g. nalyë rather than nailyë); also notice that *"(s)he is" is here nassë rather than násë (VT49:30).Pa.t. nánë or né "was", pl. náner/nér and dual nét "were" (VT49:6, 9, 10, 27, 28, 30, 36). According to VT49:31, né "was" cannot receive pronominal endings (though nésë "he was" is attested elsewhere, VT49:28-29), and such endings are rather added to the form ane-, e.g. anen "I was", anel "you were", anes "(s)he/it was" (VT49:28-29). Future tense nauva "will be" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 27; another version however gives the future tense as uva, VT49:30). Nauva with a pronominal ending occurs in tanomë nauvan "I will be there" (VT49:19), this example indicating that forms of the verb ná may also be used to indicate position. Perfect anaië "has been" (VT49:27, first written as anáyë). Infinitive (or gerund) návë "being", PE17:68. See also nai #1.
ye
is
ye (2) copula "is" (FS, VT46:22); both earlier and later sources rather point to ná (q.v.) as the copula "is", so ye may have been an experiment Tolkien later abandoned. Future tense yéva, q.v.
úyë
is
úyë vb., a form occurring in Fíriel's Song (cf. VT46:22), apparently ye "is" with the negative prefix ú-, hence "is not" (úyë sérë indo-ninya símen, translated "my hearth resteth not here", literally evidently *"[there] is not rest [for] my heart here")
váya
sea
váya noun "sea" (considered as "waters, motion"). The wording of the source indicates that Tolkien only tentatively considered such a word (PE17:33)
vëa
sea
vëa (3) noun "sea" (MC:213, 214, 216; possibly obsoleted by #1 and #2 above, though some argue that the initial element of the late names Vëantur and Vëandur [q.v.] could be vëa #3 rather than #2 (it can hardly be #1) . In any case, the normal word for "sea" in LotR-style Quenya seems to be ëar.) Inflected vëan "sea" (MC:220), vëar "in sea" (a "Qenya" locative in -r, MC:213), vëassë "on sea" (MC:220). Cf. also vëaciryo.
ëar
sea
ëar noun "sea" (AYAR/AIR [gives also dat. sg. ëaren],WJ:413; see Letters:386 for etymology). Not to be confused with the pl. form of the verb ëa "be, exist". Pl. ëari "seas" (FS, LR:47); Eär "the Great Sea" (cf. ëaron "ocean"), ablative Eärello "from the Great Sea", et Eärello "out of the Great Sea" (EO). Eärë noun "the open sea" (SD:305). Compound ëaruilë noun "seaweed" (UY). Found in proper names like Eärendil "Sea-friend", Eärendur masc. name, *"Sea-servant"; in effect a variant of Eärendil(Appendix A). Eärendur was also used ="(professional) mariner" (Letters:386).Fem. name Eärwen "Sea-maiden" (Silm); Eärrámë "Sea-wing", "Wings of the Sea", name of Tuor's ship (RAM, AYAR/AIR, SA)
waya
noun. ocean
yerna
old, worn
yerna adj. "old, worn" (GYER)
ëaron
ocean
ëaron noun "ocean" (PE17:27), also airon. Cf. ëar.
enwina
old
enwina adj. "old" (Markirya)
enwina
adjective. old
Element in
- Q. enwina lúmë “the old darkness” ✧ MC/222
[airë (3) noun "eternity" (EY, VT45:13)]