au- (1) a verbal prefix "off, *away", as in auciri ("k") "cut off" (so as to get rid of or lose a portion); contrast hóciri (WJ:366, 368). Compare au as a variant of the stem awa "away from" (VT49:24) and the adverb au (see #2 below).
Quenya
au-
prefix. away (from)
au-
off, *away
au-
without
au- (3) privative prefix, = "without" (AWA)
au
away
au (2) adv. "away", of position rather than movement (compare oa). PE17:148
au
away from
o (3) prep.? variant (along with au and va) of the stem awa "away from" (VT49:24). It is uncertain whether this o is a Quenya word; Patrick Wynne suggests it could be the first element of the preposition ollo "away from" (ibid.)
au
adverb. away, off, not here (of position)
An adverb meaning “away” derived from √AWA in Definitive Linguistic Notes (DLN) written in 1959 (PE17/144, 148). In one of these notes it was glossed “off, away, not here, of pos[ition]” and contrast with öa meaning “away of movement” (PE17/144). In another place in the same document, adverbial au was contrasted with prepositional o (PE17/148).
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. au “away from” appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√AVA “go away, depart, leave”, but there Tolkien marked it with a “?” and said it was especially used as a prefix as opposed to adverbial ᴱQ. vá (QL/33). In Tolkien’s later writings, va is usually prefixal or prepositional.
Neo-Quenya: See öa for my recommendations for Neo-Quenya usage.
au
adverb. if only
aucir-
verb. to cut off (and get rid of or lose a portion)
únotë(a)
adjective. not counted, uncounted
A word appearing as au- or únote(a) “not counted, uncounted” in notes from 1959 (PE17/144), based on √NOT “count”.
(ai)que kestanellen, (ai) tullenye
if you had asked me, I should have come
-enca
without, -less
-enca suffix "without, -less" (PE17:167), cf. nec-, q.v.
au, auve
particle. might(have), would(have); if only (”the ’remoter’ particle”)
au kestanellen!
if only you had asked me!
au tuluvanye
I wish/would I were coming
au túlielde (las)!
if only you had come (were here)
ava-
without
ava- (3) prefix "without" (AR2, AWA). In some cases apparently used as a mere negation prefix: The form avalerya in VT41:6 is seemingly a negated form of the verb lerya- "release, set free"; the verb avalerya- is suggested to have the same meaning as the root KHAP = "bind, make fast, restrain, deprive of liberty". Likewise, the verb avalatya- from the same source seems to mean "to close, shut", this being a negated form of a verb *latya- "open" (q.v.)
hó-
away, from, from among
hó- verbal prefix; "away, from, from among", the point of view being outside the thing, place, or group in thought (WJ:368)
nec-
without, -less
nec- prefix "without, -less" (PE17:167), cf. -enca, q.v.
nec-
prefix. without
ollo
away from
ollo (2) prep. "away from" (VT49:24)
ollo
preposition. away from
pen
without, not having
[pen prep. "without, not having" (PE17:171). Cf. Ú #1.]
ú
without, destitute of
ú (1) adv. and prep. "without, destitute of" (VT39:14). Usually followed by genitive: ú calo "without light" (cala). In one source, ú is seemingly also used as a negative verb "was not" (VT49:13), but Tolkien revised the text in question.
ú
preposition/adverb. without, destitute of
@@@ with object of the preposition in the genitive: ú calo “without light”
A prefix meaning “away” derived from √AWA of similar meaning (PE17/24). In one note from the late 1960s, it had variants o and va (VT49/24). In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60, Tolkien further specified that it meant “away from the speaker or the place of his thought” (WJ/365) and thus could not be used with verbs like tul- “come” indicating motion towards something (WJ/368). For these other senses of “away (from)”, the prefix hó- is used instead; see that entry.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. au “away from” was mentioned as a prefix in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√AVA (QL/33).