Primitive elvish

kwe

root. vocal speech

This root and its extensions √KWEN and √KWET were connected to Elvish words for “speech” for much of Tolkien’s life. The first clear manifestation of this root was as ᴱ√QETE in the Qenya Lexicon, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. qet- “speak, talk” and ᴱQ. qent “word” (QL/77). It also had derivatives like G. cweth “word” and G. cwed- “say, tell” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/28); the alteration of the latter to ᴱN. ped- “say” in the 1920s (PE13/132, 164) is one of the clearest examples of Tolkien’s introduction of the sound change whereby labialized velars became labials in (Early) Noldorin and later on in Sindarin.

In his earliest writings Tolkien also used ᴱQ. Qen (Qend-) plural Qendi (LT1/235, QL/92) and G. Cwenn plural Cwennin (GL/28) as the general name of Elves, as well as ᴱQ. Qenya as the name for their highest language. It is not clear that these words were directly connected to ᴱ√QETE “speak” in this earliest conceptual stage, however. In fact Tolkien’s use of the clearly unrelated ᴱN. Gwenn as an Early Noldorin word for “Elf” in the 1920s (PE13/146) hints that they were not connected.

The same was true in The Etymologies of the 1930s where Tolkien gave both ᴹ√KWET “say” and ᴹ√KWEN(ED) “Elf” without an explicit connection between the two (Ety/KWEN(ED), KWET). Both roots were also mentioned in the first and second versions of Tengwesta Qenderinwa from the 1930s (TQ1) and around 1950 (TQ2) as √KWET “say” (TQ1: PE18/50; TQ2: PE18/100) and √KWENED among roots for Elf-kindreds (TQ1: PE18/34; TQ2: PE18/84). The first clear connection between √KWENED and “speech” (as opposed to just the language of the Elves) was in the Outline of Phonology from the early 1950s where Tolkien said:

> It must therefore originally have been made direct from the simple base of √KWEN, of which the word ✱kwened, Q quend- is itself only a derived stem, and its original significance was thus “spoken, articulate” rather than “elvish”, though indeed at the time of its making the Quendi were the only people or creatures possessing articulate vocal speech (PE19/92).

After the point Tolkien regularly connected √KWEN(ED) to speech, but it is possible he came up with the idea in the 1930s or 40s and we simply don’t have a record of it.

The first clear mention of shorter √KWE as the basis for both √KWEN and √KWET was in the Quendi and Eldar (Q&E) essay of 1959-60 (WJ/392) and associated draft notes (PE17/138). In Q&E, the only survival of this most primal form was ✶ekwē > Q. equë meaning “quothe” and Q. eques “quotation, saying, dictum” (WJ/392). All other derivations were from √KWEN and √KWET, though (with the exception of the language name Quenya) the derivatives of √KWEN had more to do with Elves and persons than with speech explicitly. Tolkien’s commitment to this paradigm wasn’t entirely firm, since in OP2 he added a marginal note in green pen (which he used for ammendations to this document in 1970) that read:

> There is however in no Elvish tongue any √KWEN having reference to voice/speech and this seems to be a guess of the Loremasters, perhaps affected by √KWET “say” (PE19/93 note #114).

This note was struck through, however.

Derivatives

  • ekwē “say, says, said” ✧ WJ/392
    • Q. equë “say, says, said” ✧ WJ/392
    • T. epë “say, says, said” ✧ WJ/392
  • KWEN “speak with rational words” ✧ WJ/392
    • kwēn “person, one, (some)body” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/392
    • Ad. bên “servant, ?person”
    • Q. quén “person, individual, man or woman; one, somebody” ✧ WJ/360
    • S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ WJ/360
    • T. pen “man, somebody, someone” ✧ WJ/360; WJ/375
    • kwende “speaker, elf” ✧ PE17/140; WJ/360
    • Av. cuind “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Av. hwenti “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Av. kindi “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Av. kinn-lai “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Av. penni “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Av. windan “the People” ✧ WJ/410
    • Q. Quendë “Elf, (lit.) One That Speaks” ✧ PE17/137; PE17/141; PE17/152
    • S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ PE17/141
    • S. penedh “Elf” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/141
    • T. Pendë “Elf (as a race)” ✧ PE17/137
    • KWENED “spoken, articulate, spoken, articulate; [ᴹ√] Elf” ✧ PE19/093
    • kwendā “assembly of (all the) people” ✧ PE17/137
    • kwende “speaker, elf” ✧ PE17/137
      • Av. cuind “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Av. hwenti “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Av. kindi “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Av. kinn-lai “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Av. penni “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Av. windan “the People” ✧ WJ/410
      • Q. Quendë “Elf, (lit.) One That Speaks” ✧ PE17/137; PE17/141; PE17/152
      • S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ PE17/141
      • S. penedh “Elf” ✧ PE17/140; PE17/141
      • T. Pendë “Elf (as a race)” ✧ PE17/137
    • kwenyā “Elvish” ✧ PE19/093
      • Q. Quenderin “Quendian, of the Quendi, belonging to the Elves as a whole” ✧ PE19/093
      • Q. Quenya “Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech, Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech; [ᴹQ.] belonging to the Qendi, Quendian” ✧ PE17/137; PE17/138; WJ/360; WJ/393
      • Van. Quendya “Quendian language” ✧ WJ/360
    • Q. Quendë “Elf, (lit.) One That Speaks” ✧ PE19/093
    • kwenyā “Elvish” ✧ WJ/360
    • Q. Quenderin “Quendian, of the Quendi, belonging to the Elves as a whole” ✧ PE19/093
    • Q. Quenya “Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech, Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech; [ᴹQ.] belonging to the Qendi, Quendian” ✧ PE17/137; PE17/138; WJ/360; WJ/393
    • Van. Quendya “Quendian language” ✧ WJ/360
    • Q. quén “person, individual, man or woman; one, somebody” ✧ PE19/093; WJ/392
    • Q. Quendë “Elf, (lit.) One That Speaks” ✧ SA/quen; WJ/361; WJ/391
    • ᴺQ. quenna “saying, proverb”
    • Q. Quennar
    • Q. quenso “minstrel, reciter”
    • Q. quenta “story, narrative, account, history, story, narrative, account, history, [ᴹQ.] tale” ✧ SA/quen
    • Q. Quenya “Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech, Elvish, High-elven, Elf-latin, †speech; [ᴹQ.] belonging to the Qendi, Quendian” ✧ PE19/093; SA/quen
    • S. pen “one, somebody, anybody, one, somebody, anybody; [N.] Elf” ✧ WJ/376
  • KWET “say, speak, utter words” ✧ WJ/392
    • √Ad. BITH “say”
    • Ad. bêth “expression, saying, word”
    • Ad. bith- “to say”
    • kwentrō “speaker, reciter, narrator, minstrel” ✧ PE18/100; PE19/083
    • Q. quentaro “speaker, reciter, speaker, reciter; [ᴹQ.] narrator, minstrel” ✧ PE18/100; PE19/083
    • S. pethron “speaker, reciter, speaker, reciter, [N.] narrator, minstrel” ✧ PE18/100
    • kwet- “say!”
    • kwetnā “saying, proverb” ✧ PE19/086
    • Q. quenna “saying, proverb” ✧ PE19/086
    • Q. quet- “to say, speak, tell, to say, speak, tell, [ᴱQ.] talk” ✧ PE17/126; SA/quen
    • Q. quetta “word” ✧ PE17/046; SA/quen
    • S. ped- “to say, speak” ✧ SA/quen
    • S. peth “word” ✧ PE17/046; SA/quen
  • ᴺS. pess “saying, [G.] proverb”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. quetyar- “to pronounce, (lit.) cause vocal speech”

Variations

  • KWE/N/T ✧ PE17/138
Primitive elvish [PE17/138; WJ/392] Group: Eldamo. Published by

(e)kwē̆

adjective. afresh, anew

Changes

  • kwē(e)kwē̆/keu- ✧ VT48/07

Derivations

  • KEW “new, fresh; anew, repeated; live of vegetables” ✧ VT48/07

Derivatives

  • Q. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
  • Q. ceuta- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/07
  • S. cŷr “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
  • T. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
  • T. ceura- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/07

Element in

Variations

  • kwē ✧ VT48/07 (kwē)
  • (e)kwē̆/keu- ✧ VT48/07
Primitive elvish [VT48/07] Group: Eldamo. Published by

kew

root. new, fresh; anew, repeated; live of vegetables

This root appeared as KEWE, KWĒ “live of vegetables” in 1957 Quenya Notes with derivatives Q. quëa “vegetable” and (unglossed) Q. ceula, as well as being an element in Q. laiquë “herb” (PE17/159). The root KEWE reappeared in various notes from the late 1960s with the gloss “new, fresh” and “anew, repeated” where Tolkien connected it to the final element of Q. minquë, which roughly had the ancient sense of “✱a new ‘one’ (as in a second round of counting)” (VT48/7-8). In these 1960s notes √KEWE had a variety of derivatives having to do with newness and freshness in Quenya, Sindarin and Telerin.

Derivatives

  • (e)kwē̆ “afresh, anew” ✧ VT48/07
    • Q. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
    • Q. ceuta- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/07
    • S. cŷr “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
    • T. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/07
    • T. ceura- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/07
  • keule “*renewal” ✧ VT48/08
    • Q. ceulë “*renewal” ✧ VT48/08
    • S. cŷl “*renewal” ✧ VT48/08
    • T. ceulë “*renewal” ✧ VT48/08
  • keurā “*renewed” ✧ VT48/08
    • Q. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/08
    • S. cŷr “renewed” ✧ VT48/08
    • T. ceura “renewed” ✧ VT48/08
  • kēwā “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07; VT48/08
    • Q. céva “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07; VT48/08
    • S. cîw “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07; VT48/08
    • T. céva “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07; VT48/08
  • Q. ceula “?alive (of vegetable)” ✧ PE17/159
  • Q. ceuta- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/08
  • Q. céva “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07
  • Q. quëa “vegetable” ✧ PE17/159
  • S. cîw “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07
  • S. cýra- “to renew” ✧ VT48/07
  • T. ceura- “to renew, refresh” ✧ VT48/07
  • T. céva “fresh, new, renewed” ✧ VT48/07

Element in

  • min(i)kewē̆ “eleven, (lit.) fresh one” ✧ VT48/07; VT48/08
  • Q. laiquë “herb” ✧ PE17/159

Variations

  • KEWE- ✧ PE17/145
  • KEWE/KWĒ ✧ PE17/156; PE17/159
  • KWĒ ✧ PE17/158
  • KEWE ✧ VT48/07
  • kewe ✧ VT48/07
Primitive elvish [PE17/145; PE17/156; PE17/158; PE17/159; VT48/07; VT48/08] Group: Eldamo. Published by