?imsë, see insë (it is not entirely clear whether imsë is intended as a Quenya form or as the etymological form underlying insë) (VT47:37)
Quenya
insë
himself
insë
pronoun. himself, herself
Elements
Word Gloss im- “same” se “he, she, it (animate)” Variations
- inse ✧ VT47/37
imsë
imsë
insa
itself
insa *"itself", 3rd person sg. impersonal reflexive pronoun, e.g. *tiris insa "it watches itself" (but apparently the general reflexive pronoun immo may also be used, and it may even be preferable since the cluster ns seems unusual for Quenya). Compare insë, the corresponding personal form.
insa
pronoun. itself
Elements
Word Gloss im- “same” sa “it (inanimate); that”
se
he, she, it
se (1) pron. "he, she, it" also object "him, her, it", 3rd person sg. Used "of living things including plants" (VT49:37; the corresponding inaimate pronoun is sa). The pronoun comes directly from se as the original stem-form (VT49:50). Stressed form sé, VT49:51, attested in object position in melin sé "I love him" (VT49:21). Ósë "with him/her", VT43:29; see ó-. Long dative/allative sena "[to/for] him" or "at him", VT49:14, allative senna "to him/her" (VT49:45, 46). Compare the reflexive pronoun insë *"himself, herself".
imma
itself
imma *"itself", impersonal reflexive pronoun referring to the "same thing" (VT47:37) as the subject; compare immo.
essë
he
essë (2) pron? "he" (and also "she, it"?), possible emphatic 3rd sg. emphatic pronoun, attested in the sentence essë úpa nas "he is dumb" (PE17:126)
ista-
verb. to know
Derivations
- √IS “know” ✧ PE17/155; VT41/06; VT48/25
Element in
- Q. iluisa “omniscient” ✧ VT39/20
- ᴺQ. istalë “information”
- ᴺQ. istanómë “school, academy”
- Q. istan quetë “I can speak, I know how to speak” ✧ PE17/155; PE17/155
- Q. Istar “Wizard, (lit.) One Who Knows”
- Q. istima “wise (in sense knowing very much), knowledgeable, very well informed, learned”
- Q. laista “ignorance, (lit.) not-knowing”
- Q. lá istan “I suppose so, I don’t know” ✧ PE22/158
- Q. sinwa “known, certain, ascertained” ✧ PE17/068
- Q. sívë “knowing, knowledge”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ISI > istan [istan] ✧ PE17/155 √isi > istan [istan] ✧ VT41/06 √IS > is-ta [ista-] ✧ VT48/25 Variations
- ista ✧ PE17/052; PE22/164; VT49/16
- istā ✧ PE22/148 (istā)
- is-ta ✧ VT48/25
-ro
he
-ro pronominal ending "he", in antaváro, q.v. In Tolkiens later Quenya, the ending -s covers both "he", "she" and "it".
insë "himself" and "herself", 3rd person sg. personal reflexive pronoun, apparently covering both genders, e.g. *tiris insë "(s)he watches him/herself" (but apparently the general reflexive pronoun immo may also be used, and it may even be preferable since the cluster ns seems unusual for Quenya). Compare insa, the corresponding impersonal form. Insë is derived from earlier imsë, a form that was possibly also used in Quenya (unless "imse" in Tolkien's manuscript is intended as an etymological form only, though it is not asterisked) (VT47:37)