ista-

know

ista- (2) vb. "know", pa.t. sintë (IS, LT2:339, VT48:25). This past tense Tolkien called "certainly irregular" (VT48:25, where an alternative pa.t. isintë is also mentioned, but sintë is said to be the older form; compare editorial notes in VT48:32. Ista- is also used for "can" in the sense of "know how to", as in istan quetë "I can speak (because I have learned (a) language)" (VT41:6) Passive participle sinwa "known, certain, ascertained" (VT49:68)

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

ista

knowledge

ista (1) noun "knowledge" (IS). Also istya.

ista

verb. know

Istar

wizard

Istar noun "Wizard", used of Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast etc. Pl. Istari is attested. Gen. pl. in the phrase Heren Istarion "Order of Wizards" (UT:388). "The istari are translated wizards because of the connexion of wizard with wise and so with witting and knowing" (Letters:207); by this translation Tolkien tries to reproduce the relationship between Quenya istar and ista- #1, 2.

istya

knowledge

istya noun "knowledge" (IS). Also ista (#1).

istare

noun. knowledge

istanwa

known, generally recognized

isintë

knew

isintë pa.t. vb. "knew", irregular pa.t. of ista- (besides sintë) (VT48:25; in VT48:32 this is analyzed as being the same formation as oantë)

lerta-

can

lerta- vb. "can" in the sense "be free to do", being under no restraint (physical or other). Lertan quetë "I can speak (because I am free to do so, there being no obstacle of promise, secrecy, or duty)". Where the absence of a physical restraint is considered, this verb can be used in much the same sense as pol- (VT41:6)

issë

knowledge, lore

issë noun "knowledge, lore" (LT2:339; rather ista or istya in Tolkien's later Quenya)

sinwa

known, certain, ascertained

sinwa passive participle "known, certain, ascertained" (PE17:68), connecting with ista- and sintë. Also sína.

sína

known, certain, ascertained

sína passive participle "known, certain, ascertained" (PE17:68), connecting with ista- and sintë. Also sinwa.

curuvar

wizard

curuvar _("k")_noun "wizard" (LT1:269 but Gandalf, Saruman etc. were istari)

sairon

wizard

sairon noun "wizard" (SAY); according to LT2:337 and GL:29, Sairon is also the Quenya (or Qenya) name of Dairon (Daeron).

pol-

can

pol- (1) vb. "can" = have physical power and ability, as in polin quetë "I can speak (because mouth and tongue are free)". Cf. ista-, lerta- as verbs "can" with somewhat different shades of meaning. (VT41:6, PE17:181)

handë

knowledge, understanding, intelligence

handë noun "knowledge, understanding, intelligence" (KHAN). Note: *handë is (probably) also the past tense of the verb har- "sit".

Nolmë

knowledge, philosophy (including science)

Nolmë ("ñ")noun "knowledge, Philosophy (including Science)" (PM:360 cf. 344)

ithron

noun. wizard

curunír

noun. man of craft, wizard

gûl

noun. knowledge

n. knowledge, deep knowledge not 'occult' in modern sense, but applied to the deper knowledge of the 'wise' or skilled persons, not kept secret (as [?among the] Elves) but not attainable by all. Q. ñōle, B.S. gûl phantom, shadow of dark magic, necromancer, slave, servant?. The B.S. word gûl was prob. derived from ngōl-.

ista

have knowledge

(i ista, in istar), pa.t. sint or istas (VT45:18).

ist

knowledge

ist (lore); no distinct pl. form.

ist

knowledge

(lore); no distinct pl. form.

curunír

wizard

curunír (i gurunír, o churunír) (man of craft), no distinct pl. form except with article (i churunír), coll. pl. curuníriath.

ithron

wizard

1) ithron (= Quenya istar, one of the order Gandalf belonged to), pl. ithryn, coll. pl. ithronnath (UT:388), 2)

pol-

verb. can

sinnen

adjective. known

Element in

• ᴺS. palan-hinnen “famous, *(lit.) widely-known”

Elements

Word	Gloss
ista-	“to have knowledge, to have knowledge, [G.] know, be aware, perceive, feel”

ista-

verb. to know

Derivations

• √IS “know” ✧ PE22/129; PE22/134

Variations

• ista ✧ PE22/129; PE22/134; PE22/135; PE22/158
• is-ta ✧ PE22/134

is

root. know

The root √IS was the basis for words having to do with “knowledge” for all of Tolkien’s life, as represented by the verb Q. ista- “to know” which likewise retained the same form and meaning for decades. The root first appeared as ᴱ√ISI in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where somewhat cryptically Tolkien said its Gnomish form was GIS or IS (QL/43). This is mysterious because there were no such Gnomish words beginning with gis- in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon, but there is an Early Noldorin word ᴱN. gist- “to know” from the 1920s, probably derived from ᴱ✶ʒist- (PE13/144, 146); in this early period initial ʒ- > g- in Gnomish (PE12/17).

Tolkien seems to have abandoned this Noldorin variant, giving the root only as ᴹ√IS in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/IS). In this form it continued to appear in Tolkien’s later writings (PE17/155; PE22/129; VT41/6; VT48/25). In one place Tolkien gave the root in inverted form √SI (PE22/134), and such an inversion appeared in some of its derivatives, such as Q. síma “imagination, mind” (VT49/16) and sinte the irregular past tense of Q. ista-. However, the vast majority of its derivatives are from √IS.

Derivatives

• ✶ista- “to know” ✧ PE22/129; PE22/134
• Q. ista- “to know” ✧ PE17/155; VT41/06; VT48/25
• Q. síma “imagination, mind” ✧ VT48/25

Element in

• ᴺQ. atsinta- “to recognize”

Variations

• ISI ✧ PE17/155
• SI ✧ PE22/134
• isi ✧ VT41/06

si

root. know

ista-

verb. to have knowledge

ista-

verb. to have knowledge, to have knowledge, [G.] know, be aware, perceive, feel

Cognates

• ᴹQ. ista- “to know” ✧ Ety/IS

Derivations

• ᴹ✶ista- “to know”
  • ᴹ√IS “*know”
• ᴹ√IS “*know” ✧ Ety/IS

Element in

• ᴺS. sinnen “known”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√IS > isto	[ista-]	✧ Ety/IS

Variations

• isto ✧ Ety/IS

curunir

noun. man of craft, wizard