ala, #ála (1) imperative particle á, a combined with the negation lá, -la "not" to express a prohibition (VT43:22; see lá #1). Also with 1st person suffix -lyë (alalyë and álalyë, VT43:10, 22, VT44:8) and 1st person pl. object suffix -më (alamë and álamë, "do not [do something to] us", as in álamë tulya, "do not lead us", VT43:12, 22). In the essay Quendi and Eldar, negative imperatives are rather indicated by áva, q.v., but this form can well coexist with ala, #ála.
Quenya
alas
marble
ala
not
ala
hail, blessed be (thou)
[ala (6) (also alar! or alla!) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5,14)]
alasaila
unwise
alasaila adj. "unwise" (VT41:13, 18; VT42:33)
alassë
hail
[alassë (2) interjection "hail" or "bless", evidently a synonym of the greeting alar!, q.v. (VT45:26)]
alassë
joy, merriment
alassë (1) noun "joy, merriment" (GALÁS) [VT42:32; a gloss "mirth" was deleted, VT45:14]
alasaila
adjective. unwise
alasaila ná lá carë tai mo nave mára
it is unwise not to do what one judges good
alassë
noun. happiness, happiness, [ᴹQ.] joy, merriment
alasaila
adjective. unwise
ala-
not
ala- (2) negative prefix "not", "un-", reduced to al- before a vowel (VT42:33, GALA, VT45:25), though the example Alcorin would suggest that al- can sometimes appear before a consonant as well. In a deleted entry in Etym, al(a)- was defined as "not" and said to be a "pure negative" (VT45:5). In alahasta, Alamanyar, alasaila, Alcorin.
ala-
verb. to plant, grow, to grow (of plants) [intr. and trans.], plant; *to thrive, flourish (of other creatures)
A verb glossed “plant, grow” in notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s discussing the derivation of S. galenas “pipeweed” (PE17/100). The verb ala- was used several times in verb charts, such as illustrating pronominal suffixes (PE17/132) or giving the inflections of a-verbs (PE22/164).
Conceptual Development: As suggested by Gilson, Welden and Hostetter, the earliest appearance of this verb might be in the phrase ᴱQ. alildon ornin lassevarnen, which seems to mean something like “✱grow trees leaf-brown” (PE16/80). The word element (and verb?) ᴹQ. ’al appeared under the root ᴹ√GALA “thrive” in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/GALA); an earlier iteration of this root had the glosses “grow, thrive, prosper, be healthy, be glad” along with a word element (and verb?) al-, but the gloss “grow” was deleted along with a statement that “grow is ol-” (Ety/GAL(AS)).
Indeed, the verb ᴹQ. ’alā- “grow” appeared in Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1: PE22/98) from the late 1940s and again in Quenya Verbal System from 1948 (QVS: PE22/106 note #39), but in the latter document it was replaced by ᴹQ. ola- “grow” (PE22/113 note #80). However, in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s, primitive ✶galā- was restored, but with a more specific sense “grow (of plants)”, as opposed to ✶olā- “become, come into being, turn into (another state)” (PE22/134). This plant-growth meaning seems to have carried forward into Tolkien’s later writings (see above: PE17/100).
Neo-Quenya: For purpose of Neo-Quenya, I would assume the verb ala- only means “grow” when applied to plants, but more generally could mean “✱thrive, flourish” when applied to other living creatures, as in i lótë ala “the flower grows” but i Elda ala “the Elf thrives/flourishes”. Based on its glosses from PE17/100, I would assume it can also be used transitively when applied to plants to mean “cause to grow = plant”, as in i Elda ala lóti “the Elf grows/plants flowers” or álëa lóti “... is planting flowers”.
alar!
hail, blessed be (thou)
[alar! (also ala and alla!) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5,14, 26)]
alla!
hail, blessed be (thou)
[alla! (also alar! or ala) interjection "hail, blessed be (thou)". (VT45:5, 14)] PE17:146 cites alla "hail, welcome" as a variant (occurring within the imaginary world) of aiya.
alas
noun. marble
orro
interjection. alas!
horro
ugh, alas! ow!
horro (also orro) interjection "ugh, alas! ow!" (said to be an interjection "of horror, pain, disgust") (VT45:17)
orro
ugh, alas! ow!
orro (also horro) "ugh, alas! ow!" (interjection "of horror, pain, disgust") (VT45:17)
alasta-
verb. to make happy, cheer (up)
@@@ Discord 2022-08-18, replacing intransitive alastă-
alassëa
`Cな#,F`C adjective. happy, joyous
Alassë (joy/merriment) + -a (adjectival suffix)
alasta
adjective. of marble, marble
alassëa
adjective. joyful, happy, *merry
alasta-
verb. to be merry, rejoice
alasatya
adjective. common, general, *communal, (lit.) not private
alasóvinë
adjective. unwashed
ai
interjection. ah, alas
ai!
ah!
ai! interjection "Ah!", "Alas!" (Nam, RGEO:66; also twice in Narqelion, untranslated.) In one (abandoned) version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien may seem to use ai as a vocative particle: ai Ataremma ?"o our Father" (VT43:10, 13)
nai
ill, grievously, abominably
nai (2) prefix "ill, grievously, abominably" (PE17:151), cf. naiquet-. Earlier material also lists an interjection nai "alas" _(NAY; this may be obsoleted by # 1 above; _Namárië uses ai! in a similar sense)
saila
wise
#saila adj. "wise" (isolated from alasaila [q.v.] "unwise" in a late source)
tai
that which, what
tai (1) pron. "that which, what", "which fact" (VT42:34, VT49:12, 20). The word occurs in the sentence alasaila ná lá carë tai mo navë mára, translated "it is unwise not to do what one judges good". So tai = "what", but it means more literally "that which" (VT49:12), ta + i (cf. ta #1 and the use of i as a relative pronoun). In one note, Tolkien emended tai to ita, reversing the elements (VT49:12) and also eliminating the ambiguity involving the homophone tai #2, see below.
saila
adjective. wise
aia
hail
aia interjection "hail", variant of aiya (VT43:28)
aia
interjection. hail
aiya
hail
aiya interjection "hail", as greeting (LotR2:IV ch. 9, see Letters:385 for translation), or a call "for help and attention" (PE17:89), "only addressed to great or holy persons as the Valar, or to Earendil" (PE17:149). Variant aia (VT43:28)
canya
adjective. wise
isqua
wise
isqua ("q") adj. "wise" (LT2:339).
istima
adjective. wise, knowledgeable, v.well informed
iswa
wise
iswa adj. "wise" (LT2:339); rather saila in Tolkiens later Quenya.
ita
that which
ita 3) pron "that which" (VT49:12), emended from tai (#1, q.v.) The form ita is compounded from the relative pronoun i + the pronoun ta "that, it".
loa
growth
loa, noun literally "growth", used of a solar year (= coranar) when seasonal changes are considered (Appendix D; in PM:126 loa is translated "time of growth". Pl. loar, or "löar", in MR:426) The form loa is also mentioned as the hypothetical Quenya cognate of Sindarin lô ("swampy"), but precisely because it clashed with loa "year", this Quenya cognate was not in use (VT42:10)
nóla
wise, learned
nóla ("ñ") (1) adj. "wise, learned" (ÑGOL) (note that this and the next nóla would be spelt differently in Tengwar writing, and originally they were also pronounced differently, since nóla "wise, learned" was ñóla in First Age Quenya).
olmië
noun. growth
saira
wise
saira adj. "wise" (SAY, VT46:12; a later source has the alternative formation #saila as above)
tára
wise
tára (2) ?"wise". (From tentative notes trying to explain Daur [unlenited *Taur] as Sindarin name of Frodo; the more normal word for "wise" seems to be saila/saira.)
tára
adjective. wise
helexë
noun. hail
olasta
noun. growth
alas (alast-) noun "marble" (QL:30, GL:39).