Quenya 

-n

suffix. I

-n(yë)

suffix. I

Derivations

  • ni “I, me” ✧ VT49/50

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ni > -n[-ne] > [-n]✧ VT49/50

Variations

  • -n(ye) ✧ PE17/057; PE17/190
  • -nye ✧ PE17/075; PE17/075; PE22/161; VT49/16; VT49/48; VT49/51
  • -n ✧ PE17/075; PE17/075; VT49/16; VT49/48; VT49/51
Quenya [PE17/057; PE17/075; PE17/190; PE22/161; VT49/16; VT49/48; VT49/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

i

pronoun. that

Quenya [PE 22:124] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

i

article. the

Cognates

  • S. i “the” ✧ PE17/066

Element in

Variations

  • i ✧ DTS/54; LotR/0377; LotR/0377; LotR/0377; MC/221; MC/222; Minor-Doc/1955-CT; Minor-Doc/1973-05-30; Minor-Doc/2013-05-13; MR/049; NM/239; NM/351; PE16/096; PE17/013 (i); PE17/065; PE17/066; PE17/068; PE17/127; PE17/127; PE19/076; PE21/77; PE21/80; PE22/147; PE22/161; PE22/166; RGEO/58; RGEO/58; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/59; RGEO/59; S/190; UT/305; UT/317; VT21/06; VT43/19; VT43/29; VT43/31; VT43/35; VT43/37; VT43/37; VT43/37; VT43/38; VT44/35; VT47/35; VT49/08; VT49/12; VT49/22; WJ/166; WJ/369; WJ/369
  • in ✧ NM/240 (in)
  • I ✧ PE16/096; WJ/398
  • ✧ PE17/076; PM/395; PM/403; UT/008
  • in· ✧ PM/403
Quenya [DTS/54; LotR/0377; MC/221; MC/222; Minor-Doc/1955-CT; Minor-Doc/1973-05-30; Minor-Doc/2013-05-13; MR/049; NM/239; NM/240; NM/351; PE16/096; PE17/013; PE17/065; PE17/066; PE17/068; PE17/076; PE17/127; PE19/076; PE21/77; PE21/80; PE22/147; PE22/161; PE22/166; PM/395; PM/403; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; S/190; UT/008; UT/305; UT/317; VT21/06; VT43/19; VT43/29; VT43/31; VT43/35; VT43/37; VT43/38; VT44/35; VT47/35; VT49/08; VT49/12; VT49/22; WJ/166; WJ/369; WJ/398] Group: Eldamo. Published by

i

pronoun. who, what, which, that

Cognates

  • S. i “who, that, who, that, [G.] indefinite indeclinable relative particle”

Element in

Variations

  • i ✧ PE22/154; PE22/158; PE22/162; PE22/168; RGEO/60; UT/305; UT/305; UT/317; UT/317; VT42/33; VT43/13; VT43/14; VT43/21; VT43/34; VT49/08; VT49/12; VT49/27; VT49/28; WJ/391
Quenya [PE22/154; PE22/158; PE22/162; PE22/168; RGEO/60; UT/305; UT/317; VT42/33; VT43/13; VT43/14; VT43/21; VT43/34; VT49/08; VT49/12; VT49/27; VT49/28; WJ/391] Group: Eldamo. Published by

in

the

i (1) "the", indeclinable definite article (I, Nam, RGEO:67, Markirya, WJ:369, WJ:398, MC:215, 216, 221). A variant in (q.v.) is also attested. Hyphenated i- in i-mar "the earth" (FS), i-Ciryamo "the mariner's" (UT:8), i-aldar "the trees" (Narqelion), attached with a dot in i·yulmar "the cups" (VT48:11), I·Eldanyárë "the History of the Elves" (LR:199), i·arya *"the best" (PE17:57), directly prefixed with no hyphen or dot in icilyanna = i cilyanna in SD:247, also ihyarma "the left hand" in VT49:22 (but i hyarma in other versions of the same text).

in

article. the

ni

me

ni (1) 1st person sg. pron. "I" (according to PE17:68 also "me" as object), with long vowel () when stressed (VT49:51), cf. ní nauva next to nauvan for "I will be" (VT49:19), the former wording emphasizing the pronoun. The pronoun ni represents the original stem-form (VT49:50). Dative nin "for me, to me" (Arct, Nam, RGEO:67, VT41:11/15). Compare the reflexive pronoun imni, imnë "myself" and the emphatic pronoun inyë, q.v. The ancient element ni is said to have implied, originally, "this by me, of my [?concern]" (VT49:37)

ni

pronoun. me, I

Cognates

  • ᴺS. ni “I”
  • T. ni “me, *I” ✧ VT41/11

Derivations

  • ni “I, me” ✧ PE17/068; VT49/50

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
NI > ni[ni]✧ PE17/068
ni > [ni]✧ VT49/50

Variations

  • ✧ VT49/19
  • ✧ VT49/51
Quenya [LotR/0377; PE17/014; PE17/068; PE17/147; PE22/151; PE22/156; PE22/158; PE22/161; PE22/168; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; VT41/11; VT41/13; VT41/15; VT49/19; VT49/20; VT49/30; VT49/34; VT49/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

woman, female

(2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".

imbë

between

imbë (1) prep "between" (Nam, RGEO:67, VT47:11, PE17:92). This is "between" referring to a gap, space, barrier, or anything intervening between two other things, like or unlike one another (compare enel). The pluralized form imbi implies "among" of several things (ancalima imbi eleni "brightest among stars"); "in the sense 'among' before plurals [imbë] is usually pluralized > imbi even when a plural noun follows". As pointed out by Patrick Wynne, imbi may also be used in the sense of "between" before two singular nouns connected by "and" (as in the example imbi Menel Cemenyë "between heaven and earth"), whereas imbë is used before dual forms, as in the examples imbë siryat "between two rivers", imbë met "between us". Elided imb' in the phrase imb' illi "among all" (VT47:11, 30). A dual form imbit is also mentioned, used to express "in absolute form the sense 'between two things' when these are not named" (apparently meaning that imbit expresses *"between them" referring to two entities, with no noun following) (VT47:30, PE17:92)

imni

pronoun. myself

Elements

WordGloss
im-“same”
ni“me, I”

Variations

  • imne ✧ PE17/041 (imne); VT47/37
  • Imni ✧ VT47/38
Quenya [PE17/041; VT47/37; VT47/38] Group: Eldamo. Published by

imnë

myself

imnë, also imni, *"myself", 1st person sg. reflexive pronoun, e.g. *tirin imnë/imni "I watch myself" (but apparently the general reflexive pronoun immo can also be used) (VT47:37). In PE17:41, imnë is mentioned as an Old Quenya pronoun meaning "I, I myself" (cf. inyë).

imnë

pronoun. myself

inyë

i, too

inyë emphatic independent 1st person sg. pronoun, "I" with emphasis, translated "I, too" in LR:61 (and, according to one reading of Tolkiens manuscript, in VT49:49).

inyë

pronoun. I (emphatic)

Element in

Variations

  • inye ✧ PE22/140; PE22/162; VT49/49 (inye)
Quenya [PE22/140; PE22/162; VT49/49] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nís

woman

nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.

nís

noun. woman

The usual Quenya word for “woman” or more exactly a “female person” of any race, in later writings appearing as both nís (MR/213, 226, 229) and nisse (VT47/18, 33). Even in the cases where its singular was nís, its plural form was given as nissi, indicating a stem form of niss-. In rough notes from 1968 Tolkien said “The monosyllabic nouns (especially those with only one stem-consonant) were a small dwindling class often replaced by strengthened forms (as nis- was [by] nisse)” (VT47/18).

Thus it seems the ancient form was ✱nis- from the root √NIS, which like its male counterpart Q. nér “man” inherited a long vowel from the ancient subjective form ✱nīs. But the voiceless s was felt to be intrinsic to word, and it was thus strengthened to niss- in inflected forms to avoid the sound changes associated with an isolated s. From this a longer form nisse was generalized. In practice I think either form can be used, with singular nís being preserved by analogy with nér. However, I think inflected forms are probably all based on nisse, such as genitive nisseo “of a woman” rather than ✱✱nisso.

Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had both ᴹQ. nis and nisse “woman” derived the root ᴹ√NIS, with plural nissi in both cases (Ety/NIS, NDIS). He explained this variation as follows: “nis was a blend of old nīs (nisen) and the elab[orated] form ✱nis-sē” (EtyAC/NĪ¹). Hence it is was essentially the same as the scenario described above, but in the 1930s the long vowel in ancient nīs did not survive in the later short form nis.

In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, Tolkien experimented with some alternate plural forms nínaron [genitive plural] >> nísi [ordinary plural] (VT43/26-29, 31), the former apparently representing a variant singular form ✱nína, but in later writings plural nissi was restored.

Derivations

  • nīs “woman, female person”
    • NIS “woman”
    • NĪ/INI “*female, [ᴹ√] female” ✧ PE21/71
  • NIS “woman” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
nis- > nisse[nisse]✧ VT47/18
nis > nisse[nisse]✧ VT47/33

Variations

  • nisse ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33
Quenya [MR/213; MR/226; MR/229; MR/471; VT43/31; VT47/18; VT47/33] Group: Eldamo. Published by

írë

when

írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare #2.

mitta

preposition/adverb. between, [ᴹQ.] inwards, into, [ᴱQ.] in; [Q.] between

Derivations

  • MI/IMI “in, within, [ᴹ√] inside” ✧ VT43/30

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
mi > mitta-[mitta]✧ VT43/30

Variations

  • mitta- ✧ VT43/30

nissë

woman

nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.

nissë

noun. woman

nína

woman

#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])

quain

cardinal. ten

quain cardinal "ten" (also quëan); quainëa ordinal "tenth" (VT48:6, 20; VT42:25). Quain or quëan replaced the form cainen in Tolkiens conception.

quain

cardinal. ten

Element in

wenci

woman, maiden

wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)

cainen

cardinal. ten

[cainen] ("k") cardinal "ten" (KAYAN/KAYAR). According to VT48:12, Tolkien eventually rejected this word (cainen would only mean "I lay", sc. the pa.t. cainë with the ending -n "I"). See quain, quëan.

cainen

cardinal. ten

mitta-

between

mitta- (2) prep. "between" (VT43:30; the final hyphen may suggest that suffixes would normally follow)

Lindissë

woman

Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)

ta

that, it

ta (1) pron. "that, it" (TA); compare antaróta** "he gave it" (FS); see anta-. The forms tar/tara/tanna "thither", talo/ "thence" and tás/tassë* "there" are originally inflected forms of this pronoun: "to that", "from that" and "in that" (place), respectively. Compare "there" as one gloss of ta (see #4).

ná-

verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist

Changes

  • nāner ✧ VT49/09
  • nārnăr ✧ VT49/30

Cognates

  • Ad. -n “predicate suffix”
  • S. na- “to be”

Derivations

  • “be (the same as another), exist” ✧ PE17/093

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
> [nā]✧ PE17/093

Variations

  • ✧ LotR/0377; PE17/090; PE17/093; PE22/154; PE22/167; VT42/33; VT49/09; VT49/23
  • na ✧ Minor-Doc/1955-CT; PE17/057; PE17/074; PE17/074; PE17/090; PE17/162; VT43/13; VT43/30
  • ✧ PE17/058; RGEO/59; VT49/09 (); VT49/28; VT49/30
  • nā- ✧ PE22/166; VT49/27; VT49/28 (nā-)
  • nā̀ ✧ RGEO/58
  • ✧ RGEO/60
  • nā̆ ✧ VT49/30
  • nār ✧ VT49/30 (nār)
Quenya [LotR/0377; Minor-Doc/1955-CT; PE17/057; PE17/058; PE17/059; PE17/074; PE17/090; PE17/093; PE17/126; PE17/162; PE22/154; PE22/158; PE22/166; PE22/167; PE22/168; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; RGEO/60; VT42/33; VT42/34; VT43/13; VT43/14; VT43/15; VT43/16; VT43/23; VT43/30; VT43/34; VT44/34; VT49/09; VT49/10; VT49/19; VT49/23; VT49/27; VT49/28; VT49/29; VT49/30] Group: Eldamo. Published by

am(a)-

prefix. intensive prefix

an-

prefix. intensive prefix

Changes

  • an-an ✧ PE17/090

Cognates

  • S. an- “intensive prefix”

Derivations

  • andā “long, far” ✧ PE17/090
    • ANAD “long; far” ✧ PE17/090
  • am- “intensive prefix” ✧ PE17/090; PE17/092
    • AMA “addition, increase, plus”
  • AMA “addition, increase, plus” ✧ PE17/091
  • NA/ANA “to, towards; at side of, alongside, besides; moreover, in addition, plus” ✧ PE17/146; PE21/79

Element in

  • ᴺQ. amyára “elder”
  • Q. Anairë “*Holiest”
  • Q. Ancalimë “*Brightest (f.)”
  • Q. Ancalimon “*Brightest (m.)”
  • ᴺQ. anyára “elder, *senior”
  • Q. unqualë “death agony, death agony, torment, [ᴹQ.] agony, death” ✧ PE19/078

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
and(a) > an-[an-]✧ PE17/090
and(a) > anda-[anda-]✧ PE17/090
am > an[am-]✧ PE17/090
AMA > ama[ama-]✧ PE17/091
am > an[am-]✧ PE17/092
ANA/NĀ > an-[an-]✧ PE17/146
ANA/NA > an-[an-]✧ PE21/79

Variations

  • an ✧ PE17/056; PE17/057; PE17/090; PE17/092; PE17/092
  • ana ✧ PE17/056; PE17/057
  • ana- ✧ PE17/056
  • añ- ✧ PE17/090
  • am ✧ PE17/090; PE17/091 (am)
  • anda- ✧ PE17/090
  • ama ✧ PE17/091 (ama)
  • ama- ✧ PE17/092
Quenya [Let/279; PE17/056; PE17/057; PE17/090; PE17/091; PE17/092; PE17/146; PE19/078; PE21/79] Group: Eldamo. Published by

i, antevokaliskt in

conjunction. that

Quenya [PE 22:118] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

í(qua), illume, iquallume

conjunction. when, whenever

Quenya [PE 22:121] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

savin elessar ar <u>i</u> nánë aran ondórëo

that

i (3) conj. "that". Savin Elessar ar i nánë aran Ondórëo "I believe that Elessar really existed and that [he] was a king of Gondor" (VT49:27), savin…i E[lesarno] quetië naitë *"I believe that Elessars speaking [is] true" (VT49:28) Also cf. nai, nái "be it that" (see nai #1), which may seem to incorporate this conjunction.

analelya-

verb. to approach

Cognates

Elements

WordGloss
ana-“to, towards”
lelya-“to go, proceed (in any direction), travel”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

cëa

cardinal. ten

[cëa, cëan ("k") cardinal "ten", forms Tolkien later abandoned in favour of quain or quëan. An adjectival form caina ("k") was also listed, but must likewise be considered obsolete. (VT48:12-13, VT49:54)]

cëa(n)

cardinal. ten

Cognates

  • S. caen “ten” ✧ PE17/095

Derivations

  • KAYAN “ten” ✧ VT48/12

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
kayan > kea(n)[kajan] > [kean]✧ VT48/12

Variations

  • këa ✧ PE17/095
  • kainen ✧ PE17/095
  • kea(n) ✧ VT48/12
Quenya [PE17/095; VT48/12] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ea

verb. be

be

Quenya [PE 19:48] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

enel

between

enel prep. "between" = "at the central position in a row, list, series, etc. but also applied to the case of three persons" (VT47:11). This preposition refers to the position of a thing between others of the same kind; compare imbë.

malumë

adverb. when

Cognates

  • ᴺS. mallú “when, (orig.) what time”

Elements

WordGloss
ma“interrogative particle”
lúmë“time, period of time, hour”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

man

who

man pron. "who" (Nam, RGEO:67, FS, LR:59, Markirya, MC:213, 214); cf. PM:357 note 18, where a reference is made to the Eldarin interrogative element ma, man). However, man is translated "what" in LR:59: man-ië? "what is it?" (LR:59; the stative-verb suffix -_ is hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya) _Either Tolkien later adjusted the meaning of the word, or man covers both "who" and "what". Cf. also mana, manen.

man

pronoun. who, who; [ᴹQ.] what

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
ma“interrogative particle”

Variations

  • Men ✧ MC/221
  • Man ✧ MC/222; MC/222; MC/222; MC/222; MC/222
  • man- ✧ PE17/068
  • mán ✧ RGEO/58
Quenya [LotR/0377; MC/221; MC/222; Minor-Doc/2013-05-13; PE17/067; PE17/068; PE22/161; PM/357; RGEO/58; RGEO/59; VT21/06] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mat-

eat

mat- (1) vb. "eat" (MAT, VT45:32), also given as mata- (VT39:5), pa.t. mantë "ate" (VT39:7). The form matumnë is said to be future-past: "was going to eat", with the "OQ" (Old Quenya?) future-past element umnë (VT48:32; possibly this could function independently as a form of the verb "to be", hence "was to be"). It is not clear if the form matumnë is itself "Old Quenya" as if this is an archaic future-past formation, or it is just umnë (as an independent word) that is archaic. (Note: Tolkien's translation of matumnë is actually "I was going to eat", but the pronoun "I" does not seem to be expressed in the Quenya form.) Adj. or pseudo-participle #matya "eating" in melumatya "honey-eating" (PE17:68)

mat-

verb. eat

Quenya [PE 22:99ff,102,119,120; PE 22:132; PE 22:162] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

men

who

men (3) pron. "who", evidently a misreading or miswriting for man (MC:221, in Markirya)

ne

that

ne (2) conj. "that" (as in "I know that you are here") (PE14:54), evidently replaced by i in Tolkiens later Quenya (see i #3).

nor-

verb. run

Quenya [PE 22:155] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

quëan

cardinal. ten

quëan cardinal "ten", also quain (VT48:6, 12, 20). Quain or quëan replaced the form cainen in Tolkiens conception.

quëan

cardinal. ten

Cognates

  • S. pae “ten” ✧ VT48/06
  • T. pai(n) “ten” ✧ VT48/06

Derivations

Element in

Variations

  • quean ✧ VT48/06; VT48/20
  • quain ✧ VT48/06; VT48/20
Quenya [VT48/06; VT48/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sa

conjunction. that

Quenya [PE 22:119] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

sana

that

Quenya [PE 22:116] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

tana

that

tana (1) demonstrative "that" (said to be "anaphoric") (TA). According to VT49:11, tana is the adjective corresponding to ta, "that" as a pronoun.

tana

that

Element in

Elements

WordGloss
ta“that, there, that, there, [ᴹQ.] it”

Variations

  • tănā ✧ VT49/11

tanya

that

tanya demonstrative "that" (MC:215; this is "Qenya", perhaps corresponding to later tana)

u-

not do, not be

#u- vb. "not do, not be" (1st pers. aorist uin "I do not, am not"), pa.t. úmë (UGU/UMU). A late (ca. 1968) source gives the forms uin, uin() "I am not", uil() "you are not", uis "it is not", uilmë "we are not", uir "are not" and endingless ui *"is not" (VT49:29, 36); these forms were however struck out. The example uin carë "I dont" (PE17:68) combines this negative verb with a following verb in the "simplest aorist infinitive". Compare ua in another late source. See also ui, which (despite its use as an interjection "no") seems to be the endingless 3rd person aorist.

ua-

not do, not be

ua- negative verb "not do, not be". If a verb is to be negated, ua (coming before the verb) receives any pronominal endings (and presumably also any endings for plurality or duality, -r or -t), whereas the uninflected tense-stem of the verb follows: With the ending -n for "I", one can thus have constructions like uan carë "I do not" (aorist), uan carnë "I did not" (past), uan cára "I am not doing" (present), uan caruva "I shall not do" (future). The verb ua- can itself be fully conjugated: #ua aorist (or present?), únë (past), úva "(future), #uië (perfect) (the aorist and perfect are attested only with the ending -n "I"). In "archaic Quenya" these tense-forms could be combined with an uninflected aorist stem, e.g. future *úvan carë = later Quenya uan caruva, "I shall not do". In later Quenya, only the forms ua (present or aorist) and "occasionally" the past tense form #únë were used in normal prose (únen* "I did not, was not"). (PE17:144; compare FS for úva** as a future-tense negative verb "will not")

yana

that

yana demonstrative "that" (the former) (YA)

ye

who

ye (1) singular personal relative pronoun "who", maybe also object "whom" (plural form i). Compare the impersonal form ya. Also attested in the genitive and the ablative cases: yëo and yello, both translated "from whom" (though the former would also mean *"whose, of whom"). (VT47:21)

ye

pronoun. who

Derivations

  • YA “*there, over there; (of time) back, ago, [ᴹ√] there, over there; (of time) back, ago”

Element in

yur-

run

yur- vb. "run" (quoted in form yurin, translated "runs", but within Tolkien's later framework it looks like a 1st person aorist "I run")-QL:106 (cf. entry YUR in Etym)

when

(2) conj. "when" in the sentence yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). Compare írë #2.

conjunction. when

Derivations

  • YA “*there, over there; (of time) back, ago, [ᴹ√] there, over there; (of time) back, ago”

Element in

  • Q. násië “now and at the hour of our death: Amen” ✧ VT43/34; VT43/34
  • Q. yá hríve menë, ringa ná “when winter comes/arrives/is with us, it is cold” ✧ VT49/23 (yá hríve tene, ringa ná)

Variations

  • ya ✧ VT43/34
Quenya [VT43/34; VT49/23] Group: Eldamo. Published by