-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
cambë
hollow (of hand)
cambë
noun. hand, (hollow of) hand
-ya
his
cav-
verb. to receive, to receive, *accept, require, cost
A verb attested only in its past form cambelyes “you received it”. In notes from around 1968, Tolkien (briefly?) considered replacing the root √KAB with √KAM as the basis for hand words such as S. cam, stating “kamba is from KAM not KAB” (VT47/20). On the reverse of this page, Tolkien had the past tense form camnelyes “you received it”, apparently based on a verb ✱cam- “to receive” derived from √KAM (VT47/21). Further down on the same page, Tolkien wrote cambelyes as an alternate form, possibly indicating the restoration of √KAB and a new verb form ✱cav-, as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT47/21).
Conceptual Development: The earliest Qenya verb for “receive” was ᴱQ. tuvu- “receive, accept, take, require, cost”, but in Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s, ᴹQ. tuvo was only glossed “take”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain √KAB “hold, possess, have in hand”, and as such I would use Q. cav- for “receive”, although Helge Fauskanger used cam- in his NQNT (NQNT). I would also use cav- for “accept”. In a Discord conversation from 2023-12-25, Raccoon suggested using cav- for “require, cost” as well, but given the 2024 publication of ᴹQ. tuvo, I would use that verb for “take, ✱require, cost” instead; see that entry for discussion.
-rya
his, her
-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.
-zya
his, her, its
-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)
cam-
verb. to receive
má
noun. hand
hand
má
hand
má noun "hand" (MA3, LT2:339, Narqelion, VT39:10, [VT45:30], VT47:6, 18, 19); the dual "a pair of hands" is attested both by itself as mát (VT47:6) and with a pronominal suffix as máryat "his/her (pair of) hands" (see -rya, -t) (Nam, RGEO:67). The nominative plural form was only máli, not **már (VT47:6), though plurals in -r may occur in some of the cases, as indicated by the pl. allative mannar "into hands" (FS). Mánta "their hand", dual mántat "their hands" (two hands each) (PE17:161). Cf. also the compounds mátengwië "language of the hands" (VT47:9) and Lungumá "Heavyhand" (VT47:19); also compare the adj. -maitë "-handed". See also málimë.
má
noun. hand
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.
nonda
hand, especially in [?clutching]
nonda noun "hand, especially in [?clutching]" (VT47:23; Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible)
cambë noun("k") "hollow (of hand)" (KAB). In the deleted first version of the entry KAB, this word was glossed "closed hand" (VT45:18). Cambeya ("k") colloquial Quenya for "his hand" (the formally correct form being *camberya) (VT49:17)