Quenya 

caita-

verb. to lie (down)

The Quenya verb for “lie” based on the root √KAY of the same meaning (PE17/72; PE22/156). It is a half-strong verb with half-strong past ceantë (PE22/157, 164), but it more commonly uses a strong past caine “lay” (PE17/72; PE22/159; VT48/12) as is often the case for verbs derived from y-roots. This version of the verb is intransitive, but there also seems to be transitive variant caita- “✱lay” with a weak past form caitane (PE22/159); see that entry for discussion.

The verb caita- is not used to describe the location of regions or other flat geographical features like lakes; the verb [ᴹQ.] lat- “spread, extend, be situated” is used for that purpose instead (PE22/126); see that entry for discussion.

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. kaita- was a transitive verb with the gloss “to place” under the early root ᴱ√KAYA “lie, rest; dwell” (QL/46). The intransitive verbs in this period were ᴱQ. {kaito- >>} kaima- “lie quiet” < ᴱ√KAYA (QL/46) and ᴱQ. kama- “lie down” < ᴱ√KAMA (QL/44). The Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s had kaita “lie down” (PE14/58), but the first version of the ᴱQ. Oilima Markirya used ᴱQ. kaya- “to lie” (MC/221; PE16/75) and kay- “lie” appeared in Qenya Word-lists from slightly earlier (PE16/132).

Starting in the late 1930s, intransitive “lie” seems to have been only ᴹQ. kaita- (VT27/7; PE22/126).

Quenya [LotR/0377; PE17/065; PE17/072; PE22/156; PE22/157; PE22/159; PE22/164; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; VT48/12] Group: Eldamo. Published by

caita-

verb. *to lay (something down), *to lay (something down); [ᴱQ.] to place

In Tolkien’s later writings, caita- was generally used as an intransitive, half-strong verb meaning “to lie (down)”, with a past tense caine (strong) or ceante (half-strong). In Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, Tolkien provided an alternate conjugation of caita- as a weak verb with past tense caitane (PE22/159), clearly derived from the same root √KAY. This strong conjugation is probably a transitive form of the verb meaning “✱to lay (something down)”.

Conceptual Development: The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. kaita- as a verb meaning “place” under the early root ᴱ√KAYA (QL/46). This early verb hints at another possible meaning for transitive caita-: “to place”. In the Early Qenya Grammar (EQG) of the 1920s, kaita had an intransitive meaning “lie down”, with strong past kaine (PE14/58).

caita-

lie

caita- vb. "lie" (= lie down, not "tell something untrue"), aorist tense "lies" in the sentences sindanóriello caita mornië "out of a grey land darkness lies" (Nam, RGEO:67), caitas lá/palla i sír "it is [lit. lies] (far) beyond the river" (PE17:65); the latter example demonstrates that caita can also be used of a geographical feature that "lies" in a certain place. According to PE17:72 and VT48:12-13, the pa.t. is cainë or cëantë rather than **caitanë. The "Qenya" form kakainen, translated "were lying", may seem to be related (VT27:7, 21)

cainë

lay

cainë "lay", pa.t. of caita- "lie", q.v.

cairë

lay

cairë _("k")_vb. "lay" (pa.t. of "lie") (MC:221; this is "Qenya" - in LotR-style Quenya cainë pa.t. of caita?) An word cairë with no clear definition appears in PE17:101; see cëa, cairë.

furu

lie

furu noun "a lie" _(LT2:340, GL:36) _Read perhaps *huru in a LotR-compatible form of Quenya, since Tolkien decided that fu- tended to become hu-.

kakainen

kakainen

kakainen, see caita-

lirilla

lay, song

lirilla noun "lay, song" (LT1:258)

tindon

lay

tindon pa.t. vb? "lay" (???) (MC:220; this is "Qenya")

Sindarin 

glîr

lay

glîr (i **lîr, construct glir) (poem, song), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath**;

glaer

long lay

(i ’laer) (narrative poem), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glaer)

glîr

lay

(i ’lîr, construct glir) (poem, song), no distinct pl. form except with article (in glîr), coll. pl. glíriath;

Noldorin 

glaer

noun. long lay, narrative poem

Written glær (with ae-ligature) in the Etymologies, rectified here according to VT/45:15

Noldorin [Ety/359, VT/45:15] Group: SINDICT. Published by

Adûnaic

khay-

verb. to lie (down)

A verb appearing only as akhaini “lay” in the first draft of the Lament of Akallabêth (SD/312). In later versions of the Lament it was change to the verb yad- “to go”, but since this replacement has a different sense, perhaps khay- remains valid.

This verb is only attested in the form akhaina “lay” and like all the draft verbs is difficult to analyze. Carl Hostetter and Patrick Wynne analyze its initial element as the 3rd-singular pronominal suffix a- and its final element -ni as a past tense marker (VSH/34, 37), also suggesting it may be derived from the Elvish root √KAY “lie (down)” (AAD/10). This Elvish derivation seems likely to me, but I think the form of the verb may instead be the draft-perfect.

Thorsten Renk suggested (NBA/35) the verb stem may instead be khain-. While he could be right about its use in the draft Adûnaic language, this doesn’t fit the later phonetic rules of Lowdham’s Report, which allow only long diphthongs in Classical Adûnaic (SD/423).


Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Gnomish

cum-

verb. to lie (down)

A verb in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “lie (down)” (GL/27), probably related to the early root ᴱ√KAMA of the same meaning (QL/44).

Gnomish [GL/27; LT1A/Cûm a Gumlaith] Group: Eldamo. Published by