*can*- (2) vb. "command, order" (give an order) or (with things as object) "demand" _(PM:361-362; where various derivatives of the stem KAN- are listed; the verb _can_- is not directly cited, but seems implied by the statement "in Quenya the sense command had become the usual one". The undefined verb _canya**- listed elsewhere [PE17:113] may also be taken as the actual verbal derivative that Tolkien here refers to.)
Quenya
can-
cardinal. four
can-
command, order
canya-
verb. canya-
canya- (2) verb (pa.t. canyanë given), undefined form occurring in PE17:113 (together with the seeming variant canta-). See *can- #2 for a conjecture regarding its meaning.
canta
cardinal. four
canta (1) ("k") cardinal "four" (KÁNAT, VT42:24, VT48:6). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, this word was cited with a final hyphen (as if it were a verb), but the hyphen does not actually appear in Tolkien's manuscript (VT45:19). Ordinal cantëa ("k") "fourth" (VT42:25) Compare cantil.
canta
cardinal. four
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- Q. ca(na)sta “one fourth, one fourth, *quarter”
- ᴺQ. canquain “forty”
- ᴺQ. canaquain “forty”
- ᴺQ. canaquëan “forty”
- ᴺQ. cantallumë “four times”
- ᴺQ. cantalya “four-legged, quadruped, (lit.) four-footed”
- Q. cantëa “fourth”
- ᴺQ. cantil “quadrangle, *quadrilateral, rectangle, square”
- Q. lepecan “fourth finger”
- Q. cantil “fourth finger”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶kanatā > kanta [kanatā] > [kantā] > [kanta] ✧ VT42/24 Variations
- can-ta ✧ PE17/095
- kanta ✧ VT42/24; VT48/06
can-
verb. to claim, demand (when applied to things)
@@@ Discord 2022-06-22
Derivations
- √KAN “cry aloud; (Q. only) command; lead, rule, cry aloud; (Q. only) command; lead, rule; [ᴹ√] dare”
can- (1) (prefix)("k") "four" (KÁNAT)