[cantil ("k")noun "fourth finger" (VT47:26)]
Quenya
cantëa
fourth
cantëa
ordinal. fourth
cantil
fourth finger
lepecan
fourth finger
lepecan ("k")noun "fourth finger" (counted from the thumb) (VT47:10, VT48:5), also lepentë
lepecan
noun. fourth finger
A name for the fourth finger in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from 1968, a combination of ✶lepe “finger” and a reduced form of Q. canta “four” (VT47/10). Rough drafts of these notes had lepekan(t) or Q. cantil with the initial element meaning “four” and the final element Q. til “tip” (VT47/27 note #25). Later version of these notes also had lepekan, along with a more obscurely formed Q. lepente (VT48/5), whose second element is likely related to Q. net(ë) “one more [beyond the middle]” (VT47/15), as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT48/14-15 note #5).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d use lepecan (lepecant-) for “fourth finger” as the best established of all the various forms, with Q. lepente as a more obscure variant.
lepentë
fourth finger
lepentë noun "fourth finger" (counted from the thumb) (VT48:5, 14, 15), also lepecan
lepente
noun. fourth finger
cantil
noun. fourth finger
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
can-
cardinal. four
can- (1) (prefix)("k") "four" (KÁNAT)
Víressë
april
Víressë noun, fourth month of the year, "April" (Appendix D). The Quenya name is apparently related to words for youth and freshness; compare vírië, virya.
alda
tree
alda noun "tree" (GALAD, GÁLAD, SA, Nam, RGEO:66, LR:41, SD:302, LT1:249, LT2:340, VT39:7), also name of tengwa #28 (Appendix E). Pl. aldar in Narqelion; gen. pl. aldaron "of trees" in Namárië. Etymology of alda, see Letters:426 and UT:266-7. The latter source states that primitive ¤galadā, whence Quenya alda, originally applied to stouter and more spreading trees such as oaks or beeches, while straighter and more slender trees such as birches were called ¤ornē, Quenya ornë - but this distinction was not always observed in Quenya, and it seems that alda became the general word. According to PE17:25, primitive galada (sic) referred to "a plant (large) and was a general term". Place-name Aldalómë ""tree-night" or "tree-shade-night" (LotR2:III ch. 4, translated in PE17:82); Aldarion masc. name, *"Son of (the) Trees" (Appendix A), Tar-Aldarion a Númenorean King (UT:210). Aldaron a name of Oromë (Silm); aldinga "tree-top" (VT47:28), aldarembina (pl. aldarembinë attested) adj. "tree-tangled", the cognate of Sindarin galadhremmin**(PM:17:26).Aldúya fourth day of the Eldarin six-day week, dedicated to the Trees (Appendix D). The word seems to include Aldu, a dual form referring to the Two Trees. The Númenóreans altered the name to Aldëa (presumably < aldajā), referring to one tree (the White) only. The dual Aldu seems to occur also in Aldudénië** "Lament for the Two Trees" (a strange word, since Quenya does not permit intervocalic d as in this word perhaps the Vanyarin dialect of Quenya did) (Silm)
nettë
girl, daughter
nettë (stem *netti-, given the primitive form listed in VT47:17) noun "girl, daughter" (but also "sister", see below), also used as a play-name of the "fourth finger" or "fourth toe" (VT47:10, VT48:6), in two-hand play also used for the numeral "nine" (nettë is conceived as being related to nertë, q.v.) Nettë is also defined as "sister" or "girl approaching the adult" (VT47:16, VT49:25), "girl/daughter" (VT47:15-16); it may be that "sister" was Tolkien's final decision on the meaning (VT48:4, 22) - The related word nésa seems like a less ambiguous translation of "sister".
seldë
noun. daughter, daughter; [ᴹQ.] child [f.], *girl
This seems to be the word that Tolkien favored for “daughter” in his later writings (PE17/170; VT47/10; PE19/73), though it had competition from other forms like Q. yeldë.
Conceptual Development: The earliest word resembling this form was ᴱQ. sui “daughter” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√SUẈU (QL/87), a word also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/87). This became ᴱQ. silde “daughter” in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/135).
In The Etymologies of the 1930s, Tolkien experimented with several different forms. He had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL, but this entry was deleted (Ety/YEL). Tolkien also had a root ᴹ√SEL(D) “daughter” with a derivative ᴹQ. selde, but the meaning of this root was changed to “child”, and masculine and neuter forms ᴹQ. seldo and ᴹQ. selda were added to the entry (Ety/SEL-D). Finally, under the entry for ᴹ√YŌ or YON “son”, Tolkien added a primitive feminine variant ᴹ✶yēn or yend “daughter”, producing ᴹQ. yende and (suffixal?) yen (Ety/YŌ).
These vacillations continued in later writings, where at one point Tolkien wrote “Q[uenya] Wanted: Son, Daughter” (PE17/170). In Notes on Names (NN) from 1957 Tolkien wrote Q. sel-de for “daughter”, but above it he wrote a variant form anel. In rough notes from around 1959 Tolkien explored a large number of masculine and feminine suffixes, and on the page he had yeldë “daughter”, though at the end of the sentence he wrote “also yen” (PE17/190). In notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, Tolkien wrote selyë as a diminutive/affectionate word for “daughter”, with seltil as a play name for the fourth finger representing a daughter (VT47/10, 27).
Also of note is Tolkien’s Quenya name for S. Tinúviel “Daughter of Twilight”, which he generally represented as something like Q. Tindómerel < ✶Tindōmiselde. Tolkien was fairly consistent in this Quenya form starting in the 1930s (Ety/SEL-D; PE19/33), with examples in the 1950s (PE19/73) and 1960s (VT47/37) as well. Indeed, in a couple cases he used this name to illustrate how medial s generally became z and eventually r in Quenya (PE19/33, 73), so it seems that for this name Tolkien consistently imagined the primitive form for “daughter” as ✶selde.
Neo-Quenya: I’d assume selde is the main word for “daughter” for purposes of Neo-Quenya, but I’d assume a variant form yeldë, especially since -iel was the most common suffix for “daughter of”. This variant probably arose very early under the influence of √YON “son”.
selyë
daughter
[selyë noun "daughter", used in children's play for "fourth finger" or "fourth toe" _(VT47:10, 15, VT48:4) _It is unclear whether it was the word selyë "daughter" itself that was rejected, or just its use as a play-name of a digit. Compare yeldë, yendë.]
-iel
daughter
-iel patronymic/matronymic ending -"daughter" (YEL, VT46:22-23) In the Etymologies, Tolkien struck out this ending and the corresponding independent word yeldë "daughter", changing them to -ien, yendë. However, the ending -iel later turns up in later forms: Uinéniel "Daughter of Uinen" in UT:182 and Elerondiel "daughter of Elrond" (Elerondo) in PE17:56. Hence it would seem that Tolkien changed his mind again and restored this ending, and perhaps the noun yeldë along with it. The form Elerondiel (from Elerondo) demonstrates that a final vowel is omitted before -iel.
-ien
daughter
-ien fem. ending in certain names like Yávien, Silmarien (q.v.) At one point -ien implied "daughter", see -iel above.
Ae
day
Ae (Quenya?) noun "day" (LEP/LEPEN/LEPEK - ae was written over ar [# 2] in the names of the Valinorean week, but ar was not struck out.)
ala
day
[ala (7) noun "day", also alan "daytime". The forms allen, alanen listed after these words could be inflected forms of them, genitive "of daytime", constracted (allen = al'nen) and uncontracted. However, Tolkien struck out all of this (VT45:13).]
alda
noun. tree
alda
noun. tree, tree, [ᴱQ.] branch
The basic Quenya word for “tree” (LotR/1113), derived from primitive ✶galadā and very well attested. This word dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s where ᴱQ. alda “tree” appeared under the early root ᴱ√ALA “spread” (QL/29). Tolkien seems to have switched its derivation to ✱galadā in The Etymologies of the 1930s, where ᴹQ. alda “tree” appeared under the root ᴹ√GALAD of the same meaning (Ety/GALAD). See also ornë “(tall) tree” for a discussion of another similar word.
Conceptual Development: There were a few instances where the word alda had a different meaning. In Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s, alda was glossed “branch” (PE16/139). In notes from 1959 Tolkien said “✱galadā, originally only large flourishing plant, as tree, and especially one that flowered, Q alda, S galað; the general word for ‘tree’ was Q orne ‘upstanding plant’ (PE17/153)”. But in its numerous appearance elsewhere, alda was simply a general word for “tree”.
anel
daughter
anel noun "daughter" (PE17:170), possibly intended by Tolkien as a replacement for seldë (q.v.). Compare anon.
anel
noun. daughter
A transient word for “daughter” in Notes on Names (NN) from 1957, written of above the more common sel-de (PE17/170).
ar
day
ar (2) noun "day" (PE17:148), apparently short for árë, occurring in the names of the Valinorean week listed below. Tolkien indicated that ar in these names could also be arë when the following element begins in a consonant (VT45:27). Usually the word for "day" in LotR-style Quenya is rather aurë (or ré), q.v.
ornë
tree
ornë noun "tree" _(Letters:308, SD:302: "when smaller and more slender like a birch or rowan", Etym stem ÓR-NI: "tree, high isolated tree"). For the etymology, see Letters:426; for (original) difference in meaning between ornë and alda, see alda. In ornemalin "tree-yellow"; see laurelindórenan lindelorendor... (LotR2:III ch. 4; cf. Letters:308), also as final element in malinornë "yellow-tree, mallorn" (q.v.) Masc. name Ornendil *"Tree-friend" (Appendix A)_, compound Ornelië "tree-folk" (Quenya name of the Galadhrim, the tree-people of Lórien) (TI:239).
ré
day
ré noun "day" (of the sun), a full 24-hour cycle (Appendix D) composed of aurë (day, daylight) and lómë "night" (VT49:45). Short -rë in compounds like Ringarë (q.v.). Allative rénna (VT49:45).
yeldë
daughter
yeldë noun "daughter" (YEL) This word was struck out in Etym, but it may have been restored together with the ending -iel, q.v.
yeldë
noun. daughter
A less common Quenya word for “daughter”, an analog of Q. yondo “son”.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had ᴹQ. yelde “daughter” under the root ᴹ√YEL of the same meaning, but the meaning of the root was first changed to “friend”, and then the root was then deleted (Ety/YEL). Meanwhile, under the root ᴹ√YŌ or YON, Tolkien introduced a feminine variant ᴹQ. yende “daughter” along with (suffixal?) yen, derived from primitive ᴹ√yēn or yend (Ety/YŌ). Previously this yende/yendi form was a feminine agent, but Tolkien rejected that meaning (EtyAC/ƷAN).
In between yelde >> yende for “daughter” in The Etymologies, Tolkien considered using the form ᴹQ. selde, and in later writings this seems to be his preferred Quenya word for “daughter”. However, yeldë “daughter” was mentioned again briefly in rough notes from around 1959 (PE17/190), and -iel remained Tolkien’s preferred suffix for “daughter of”.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I recommend seldë as the more common word for “daughter”, but assume yeldë also exists as variant due to the influence of yondo “son”; see the entries on seldë and the root √YE(L) for further discussion.
yen
daughter
yen, yendë noun "daughter" (YŌ/YON). This word replaced another form, but this form may have been restored; see yeldë. In VT45:16, yendë is said to refer to a female "agent", a word changed by Tolkien from yendi, but Tolkien deleted all of this.
árë
day
árë noun "day" (PM:127) or "sunlight" (SA:arien). Stem ári- _(PE17:126, where the word is further defined as "warmth, especially of the sun, sunlight"). Also name of tengwa #31; cf. also ar # 2. Originally pronounced ázë; when /z/ merged with /r/, the letter became superfluous and was given the new value ss, hence it was re-named essë (Appendix E)_. Also árë nuquerna *"árë reversed", name of tengwa #32, similar to normal árë but turned upside down (Appendix E). See also ilyázëa, ilyárëa under ilya. In the Etymologies, this word has a short initial vowel: arë pl. ari (AR1)
cantëa ("k") ordinal "fourth" (VT42:25)