#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)
Quenya
car-
verb. to do, make, to do, make, [ᴹQ.] build
Cognates
Derivations
Element in
- Q. A carnë ta yallë B (carnë) “A did that as / like B (did)” ✧ PE17/074; PE17/074
- ᴺQ. ahtar- “to do back, react; to requite, avenge”
- Q. ahtar- “to do back, react; to requite, avenge”
- Q. alacarna “well-done, well-made”
- Q. alasaila ná lá carë tai mo nave mára “it is unwise not to do what one judges good” ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
- Q. á carë (sí) ancárië “try harder” ✧ PE17/094; PE17/094; PE17/094; PE17/094
- ᴺQ. ascarë “easily done”
- ᴺQ. atacar- “to revenge, (lit.) back-make”
- Q. áva carë “Don’t do it” ✧ WJ/371
- ᴺQ. cacar- “to continue, go on doing”
- Q. carda “deed” ✧ PE22/152
- Q. carë “action, doing, making”
- Q. carë mára quí tyarë naxa “doing good may cause evil” ✧ PE22/154
- ᴺQ. cariendë “production”
- Q. carilye tar “you do, sir” ✧ PE17/058
- Q. cárima “feasible, possible (to do), able to be done, feasible, possible (to do), able to be done, [ᴹQ.] able to be made”
- Q. carina “done, done, [ᴱQ.] finished” ✧ VT43/15
- Q. carma “tool, implement, means, weapon” ✧ PE22/152
- Q. carmë “art; making, production; structure”
- Q. -carya “doing”
- Q. ecë nin care sa “I can do that” ✧ VT49/20
- Q. ecuva nin carë sa nöa “I ‘may’ do that tomorrow, I have a chance of doing that [tomorrow]” ✧ VT49/20
- Q. hrúcarë “evil-doing”
- Q. i carir quettar ómainen “those who form words with voices” ✧ WJ/391
- Q. ilucara “omnificient” ✧ VT39/20
- Q. lacarë “not-doing, inaction” ✧ PE22/154
- Q. lá carita i hamil mára alasaila ná “not to do (in this case) what you judge good (would be) unwise” ✧ PE22/154; VT42/33
- Q. lá caritas alasaila cé nauva “not doing this may be/prove unwise” ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
- Q. lá caritas, navin, alasaila ná “not doing this would be (I think) unwise” ✧ PE22/154; VT42/34
- Q. la navin caritalyas mára “I do not advise you to do so, (lit.) I don’t judge your doing (it) good” ✧ PE22/154; VT42/33
- Q. ma caruvalwë ohta “shall we make war” ✧ PE22/161
- ᴺQ. maicarindo “benefactor”
- Q. na carë indómelya “thy will be done” ✧ VT43/15; VT43/15; VT43/15
- Q. nancar- “to undo, to undo, *destroy”
- ᴺQ. ocaraitië “program, a set of activities”
- Q. orë nin caritas “I feel an urge/wish/desire to do it” ✧ VT41/13
- Q. orë nin caritas nó namin alasaila “I would like / feel moved to do so but judge it unwise” ✧ VT41/13
- Q. sustanë Manwëo súlë ten i indo Sindicollo ar he lastanë ar carnes “*the spirit of Manwe blew unto the heart of Thingol and he listened and did it” ✧ NM/239
- ᴺQ. tercara “thorough, elaborate, comprehensive”
- Q. uan carë “I do not make” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan cára “I am not making” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan carnë “I did not make” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan caruva “I am not going to make” ✧ PE17/144; PE17/144
- Q. uin carë “I do not make” ✧ PE17/068; PE22/152
- ᴺQ. ulcarindo “evil-doer”
- Q. urucárima “hard to make / do”
- Q. urucarin “made with difficulty”
- Q. vá caris i “he is not to do it (now or ever); in any case (whatever may be said, desired, or may occur to the contrary) he is not to do this” ✧ PE22/162
- Q. vá caruvalwë (ohta) “we will not (make war)” ✧ PE22/161
- Q. vá caruvas i ✧ PE22/162
- Q. ván caruva “I will not (do not intend) to make” ✧ PE17/144
- ᴺQ. yocar- “to assemble, compose, construct”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶karize- > karis- [karise] > [karize] > [karire] ✧ PE17/129 ✶*kar ubā ni > caruvan(ye)* [karubāni] > [karubān] > [karuβān] > [karuβan] > [karuvan] ✧ PE22/167 Variations
- kar- ✧ PE22/152; VT39/20 (kar-)
car-
make, do, build, form
car-
verb. do, make
car-
with
úcar-
to sin, trespass; to do wrong
#úcar- vb. "to sin, trespass; to do wrong" (pl. aorist úcarer in VT43:12, we would rather expect úcarir, a form seemingly indicated by an emendation in one variant of the text in question, VT43:21). The verb is car- "do" with the prefix ú-, here suggesting something morally bad ("do wrong") rather than simple negation.
cár
head
cár (cas-) ("k")noun "head" (KAS).The given stem-form appears doubtful within the phonological framework of LotR-style Quenya. Probably we should read cas with stem car- (PE14:69 indeed reads "kas head, pl. kari", and VT49:17 quotes the sg. "kas" from a post-LotR source). Compare other forms found in late sources: hlas "ear" with stem hlar- (PE17:62) and olos "dream", pl. olori (UT:396). In Tolkiens early "Qenya", post-vocalic -s became -r at the end of words but was preserved when another vowel followed. His later scheme either lets -r appear in both positions, or reverses the scenario altogether (hence olos, olor-). It would seem that the forms cár, cas- were distractedly carried over into the Etymologies from the Qenya Lexicon (kar, kas-, QL:45) even though they presuppose an earlier version of the phonology. An apparent variant form in late material, cára from earlier cáza ("k"), however fits the later phonology since intervocalic s would become z > r (PE17:188).
carna
built, made
carna passive participle *"built, made" in Vincarna "newly-made" (MR:408), also struck-out alacarna "well-done, well-made" (PE17:172). Carna would seem to be the passive participle of car-, though a longer form carina (read *cárina?) is also attested (VT43:15).
carnë
red
carnë adj. "red", "scarlet, red" (SA:caran, PE17:154, MC:214, KARÁN - spelt with a k in the two latter sources), not to be confused with the past tense of car- "do, make". Stem carni- as in Carnimírië, Carnistir.
cára
noun. head
ohtacar-
káre
#ohtacar- stem of the past tense ohtacárë (-"káre")vb. "war-made", made war (+ allative = make war upon) (LR:47, SD:246; ohtacárië in LR:56). The past tense could probably also be *ohtacarnë with the better-attested pa.t. of car- "make".
cas
noun. head, head, [ᴱQ.] top, summit
This is the Quenya word for “head”, with a stem form of car- because medial s generally became z and then r, but the s was preserved when final. This word can refer to the head of people and animals, as well as the metaphorical “head” (or top) of other things, in much the same way that Q. tál “foot” can refer to their base.
Conceptual Development: This word was established very early in Tolkien’s writing, being derived from the root ᴱ√KASA “head” all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/45), but its exact form varied as Tolkien changed his mind on the phonetic development of s in Quenya. Its form in the Qenya Lexicon was in fact ᴱQ. kar (kas-), since in Early Qenya period medial s survived and it was final s that became r (PE12/26). This kar (kas-) was the usual word for head in the 1910s and 20s, but in the typescript version of the Early Qenya Grammar Tolkien instead revised it to ᴱQ. kas (kast-) “head” (PE14/72 and note #5).
In noun declensions from the late 1920s and early 1930s, Tolkien instead had cas (car-), reflecting a conceptual shift in the phonologic development of s (PE13/112-113; PE21/22). However, for reasons unclear, the form ᴹQ. kár (kas-) was restored in The Etymologies written around 1937 under the root ᴹ√KAS “head” (Ety/KEM), despite s > z > r being the normal medial phonetic development in this period (PE19/33). This abnormal form slipped into The Lord of the Rings itself as part of the name Q. Eldacar “Elfhelm” (LotR/1038).
Tolkien generally used the form cas for “head” in his later writings (PE19/103; VT49/17), but in his notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from The Lord of the Rings from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien was forced to contrive another explanation for Eldacar:
> What is -kar in names. How could it stand for helm? E.g. as stem ✱kāsā (√KAS, head) would give kāra, but in compound forms -kāsă > -kas. Would not an ă be lost before voicing of s or at least before z > r (PE17/114).
In this note Tolkien considered having Q. carma “helm” < kas-mā, but discarded the idea since he felt karma “tool or weapon” < KAR “do, make” + mā was the more likely meaning. He then said “Eldă|kāzā in compounds to -kār(ă) > -kar” despite its phonological implausibility, and indeed kāza/kára appeared in a discussion of helms within 1964 notes on Dalath Dirnen (DD: PE17/188).
As for the sense “top”, there is better evidence for it among Tolkien’s earlier writings, such as the glosses “head, top” in Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s (PE14/79) and the early-1930s allative form kasta “up (to the top)” (PE21/22). I see no reason to assume this alternate meaning did not survive in Tolkien’s later conception of the language.
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶kāza > kára [kāsa] > [kāza] > [kāra] ✧ PE17/188 Variations
- kára ✧ PE17/188
- kas ✧ PE19/103; VT49/17
cas
head
cas ("k")"head" (VT49:17), cf. also deleted [cas] ("k")noun "top, summit" (VT45:19). This noun should evidently have the stem-form car-. See cár.
aira
red, copper-coloured, ruddy
aira (1) adj. "red, copper-coloured, ruddy" (GAY)
carne (carni-)
adjective. red
nasar
red
nasar adj. "red" (in Vanyarin Quenya only). Adopted and adapted from Valarin. (WJ:399)
as
preposition. with
Derivations
- √AS “beside”
Element in
- Q. i Héru aselyë “the Lord is with thee” ✧ VT43/29
as
with
o (2) prep. "with" (MC:216; this is "Qenya"; WJ:367 states that no independent preposition o was used in Quenya. Writers may rather use as.) See ó- below.
as
with
as prep. "with" (together with), also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with thee" (VT47:31, VT43:29). The conjunction ar "and" may also appear in assimilated form as before s; see ar #1.
-da
draught, the amount drunk
-da suffix used to derive nouns denoting the result of an action, like yulda "draught, the amount drunk" (the stem YUL is here given the meaning "drink"). (PE17:68) Cf. also carda "deed" (q.v.) vs. the verb car- "do".
-ië
general infinitive
-ië (1) infinitive (or gerundial) ending, "general infinitive" (PE17:68), attested in carië (see car-), enyalië, q.v. (CO)
-ya
elvish
-ya (5) adjectival ending, as in the word Quenya "Elvish" itself; when added to a verbal stem it may derive a kind of short active participle, as in melumatya "honey-eating" (mat- "eat"), saucarya "evil-doing" (car- "do"). (PE17:68)
-ina
general 'passive' participle
-ina ending for what Tolkien called "general 'passive' participle" (VT43:15); compare nótina "counted", rácina "broken", hastaina "marred" (q.v.). The stem-vowel is usually lengthened when the ending is added to the stem of a primary verb (as in the two first examples above), though the lengthening fails to occur (or is not denoted) in carina as the passive participle of car- "make, do" (VT43:15).
yulda
draught, something drunk, a drink, the amount drunk
yulda noun "draught, something drunk, a drink, the amount drunk", pl. yuldar (Nam, PE17:63, 68, RGEO:66). See -da regarding etymology.
suhto
draught
suhto noun "draught" (SUK)
ó
with, accompanying
lé
preposition. with, with, [ᴹQ.] by, [ᴱQ.] with (accompaniment)
Cognates
- S. di “with” ✧ PE17/095
Derivations
- ✶dē “with” ✧ PE17/095
Element in
- ᴺQ. letinwessë “constellation”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶dē > lē > lé [dē] > [lē] ✧ PE17/095 Variations
- lé ✧ PE17/095 (lé)
lé
with
lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)
ó
preposition. with
Changes
yó→ ó ✧ PE22/162Element in
- Q. i Héru aselyë “the Lord is with thee” ✧ VT43/29
- Q. vá meninyë ó le “I won’t come with you” ✧ PE22/162
Variations
- yó ✧ PE22/162 (
yó)- ó- ✧ VT43/29
car- (1) vb. "make, do, build, form" (1st pers. aorist carin "I make, build"; the aorist is listed with all pronominal endings in VT49:16, also in pl. and dual forms carir, carit). Regarding the form carize- (PE17:128), see -s #1. Pa.t. carnë (KAR, PE17:74, 144). The infinitival aorist stem carë ("k") (by Patrick Wynne called a "general aorist infinitive" in VT49:34) occurs in ecë nin carë sa "I can do it" (VT49:34), also in áva carë "don't do it" (WJ:371) and uin carë (PE17:68); in the last example Tolkien calls carë an example of the "simplest aorist infinitive", the same source referring to carië as the "general infinitive" of the same verb. Pl. aorist carir "form" in the phrase i carir quettar ("k") "those who form words" (WJ:391, cf. VT49:16), continuative cára, future caruva (PE17:144), carita ("k"), infinitive/gerund "to do" or "doing" (VT42:33), with suffixes caritas "to do it" or "doing it", caritalya(s) "your doing (it)" in VT41:13,17, VT42:33. Past participle #carna, q.v.; VT43:15 also gives the long form carina ("k"), read perhaps *cárina. (Carima as a passive participle may be a mistake, VT43:15.) PE17:68 refers to a "simple past passive participle" of the form carinwa ("kari-nwa"). "Rare" past participle active (?) cárienwa* ("k") "having done" (PE17:68), unless this is also a kind of passive participle (the wording of the source is unclear). Some alternative forms in Fíriel's Song: past tense cárë ("káre") "made"; this may still be an alternative to the better-attested form carnë (LR:362) even in LotR-style Quenya. Cf. ohtacárë "war-made", made war (see #ohtacar-). Also cárië with various suffixes: cárier ("kárier") is translated "they made"; in LotR-style Quenya this could be seen as an augmentless perfect, hence "they have made", "they" being simply the plural ending -r. The literal meaning of cárielto* ("k") must also be "they made" (cf. -lto). Derived adjectives urcárima and urcarnë "hard to make / do", urucarin "made with difficulty" (PE17:154), saucarya "evil-doing" (PE17:68).