limbë (1) adj. (stem limbi-, given primitive form ¤lĭmbĭ) "quick, swift" (PE17:18)
Quenya
limë
link
limë
noun. link, link, *joint
Cognates
- S. lîf “link, link, *joint” ✧ VT47/06
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶limi > lime [limi] > [lime] ✧ VT47/06 Variations
- lime ✧ VT47/06 (lime)
limbë
quick, swift
limbë
many
limbë (2) adj. "many", probably obsoleted by #1 above (LT2:342)
limbë
adjective. quick, swift
Cognates
- S. lim “quick, swift” ✧ PE17/018
Derivations
- ✶lĭmbĭ “quick, swift” ✧ PE17/018
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶lĭmbĭ > limbe [limbi] > [limbe] ✧ PE17/018 Variations
- limbe ✧ PE17/018
lin-
many
lin- (1) (prefix) "many" (LI), seen in lindornëa, lintyulussëa; assimilated lil- in lillassëa.
cala
light
cala ("k")noun "light" (KAL). Concerning the "Qenya" verb cala-, see #cal- above.
cala
noun. light, light; [ᴱQ.] daytime (sunlight), 12 hours
This is the most common Quenya word for “light”, derived from the root √KAL of similar meaning (RGEO/62; PE17/84). It appears in numerous compounds, either in its full form or in a reduced form cal-.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. kala appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “daytime (sunlight), 12 hours” and derived from the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), but it had the sense “light” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·kal’antúlien “Light hath returned” (LT1/184), and it was given as the cognate of G. gala “light, daylight” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/37).
ᴹQ. kala “light” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine” (Ety/KAL). Somewhat curiously in that document its primitive form was given as ᴹ✶k’lā́ (EtyAC/KAL), a form that also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/38). Tolkien may have used this variant form to explain N. glaw “radiance” (< ᴹ✶g’lā́), but in later writings S. glaw “sunshine” was derived from √LAW.
Derivations
- √KAL “light; shine, be bright, light; shine, be bright, [ᴱ√] shine golden” ✧ PE17/084
Element in
- Q. Anducal “*Light of the West”
- Q. Calacirya “Pass of Light” ✧ RGEO/62
- Q. calambar “*light-fated”
- Q. Calantar “Light-giver”
- Q. Calaquendi “Elves of the Light, (lit.) Light Elves”
- ᴺQ. calatengwë “photograph, (lit.) light-writing”
- Q. Calion “*Son of Light”
- Q. Caliondo
- Q. Calmacil “*Sword of Light, Shining Sword”
- Q. Calmindon “Light-tower”
- Q. Herucalmo
- ᴺQ. ruical(a) “firelight”
- Q. ú calo “without the light” ✧ PE17/143; VT39/14
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √CAL > Cala [kala] ✧ PE17/084 Variations
- Cala ✧ PE17/084; RGEO/62
calina
light
calina ("k")adj. "light" (KAL), "bright" (VT42:32) "(literally illumined) sunny, light" (PE17:153) but apparently a noun "light" in coacalina, q.v.
cálë
light
cálë ("k")noun "light" (Markirya; in early "Qenya", cálë meant "morning", LT1:254)
cálë
noun. light
A noun for “light” appearing in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s (MC/222-223).
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. kále “morning” was a derivative of the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), and kāle was mentioned again Gnomish Lexicon Slips as a cognate of G. gaul “a light” (PE13/114). The form ᴱQ. kale “day” appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, but was deleted (PE14/43). It might also be an element in ᴹQ. yúkale “twilight” (= “both lights”) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAL).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the better attested Q. cala “light”.
Element in
- Q. cálë fifírula “the light fading” ✧ MC/222
Variations
- kále ✧ MC/222; MC/223
linta
swift
linta adj. "swift"; pl. lintë attested (PE17:63. Nam, RGEO:66) Cf. lintië.
linta
adjective. swift
Cognates
- S. lim “quick, swift” ✧ PE17/147
Derivations
- ᴹ√(S)LIT “swiftly[?] speed[?]”
Element in
- Q. aran linta ciryalion “*king of swift ships” ✧ PE17/147
- Q. aran linta ciryalíva “*king of swift ships” ✧ PE17/147
- Q. lintië “swiftness, speed; swiftly, *quickly” ✧ PE17/059
- Q. yéni ve lintë yuldar avánier “the years have passed like swift draughts” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
- Q. yéni avánier ve lintë yuldar “years have passed away like swift draughts” ✧ RGEO/58
li(n)-
prefix. many
Derivations
- √LI “many”
Element in
- Q. lillassëa “having many leaves”
- ᴺQ. lillumë “many times, often”
- Q. lilómëa “very dark, full of darkness” ✧ PE17/081
- Q. lilótëa “having many flowers” ✧ VT42/18
- ᴺQ. lincantëa “diverse, (lit.) many shaped”
- ᴺQ. lindóra “millions of, many millions”
- ᴺQ. linima “of many kinds, manifold”
- ᴺQ. linitë “plural”
- ᴺQ. linquilea “having many colours”
- ᴺQ. linvainëa “onion, (lit.) many-sheathed”
- Q. liyúmë “host” ✧ VT48/32
Variations
- li- ✧ PE17/081 (li-); VT42/18 (li-); VT48/32 (li-)
lingwë
fish
lingwë (stem *lingwi-, given the primitive form ¤liñwi) noun "fish" (LIW)
lingwë
noun. fish
A word for “fish” appearing in its plural form lingwi “fish” in notes on The Lands and Beasts of Númenor from 1965 (NM/336) and appearing as ᴹQ. lingwe “fish” from primitive ᴹ✶liñwi under the root ᴹ√LIW in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/LIW).
Conceptual Development: Tolkien had ᴱQ. ingwe “fish” under the early root ᴱ√IWI “fish” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/43), and this word was also mentioned in the Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/43). The word {engwe >>} ingwe appeared unglossed in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/145). ᴹQ. lingwe “fish” with initial l first emerged in The Etymologies of the 1930s, as noted above.
Derivations
- ᴹ√LIW “*fish”
Element in
- ᴺQ. cullingwë “goldfish”
- ᴺQ. lingwëa “fishlike”
- ᴺQ. lingwileuca “eel”
- ᴺQ. lingwimo “fisherman”
- ᴺQ. lingwiremnë “fishing”
- ᴺQ. mórolingwe “squid, (lit.) ink-fish”
- ᴺQ. telpingwë “silverfish”
nixi
name. fish
Uinen
water
Uinen (Uinend-, as in dative Uinenden) fem. name, used of a Maia, spouse of Ossë (UY, NEN). Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:404), though it is also said that it contains -nen "water" (SA:nen); the latter explanation may be folk etymology. In the Etymologies, the name is derived from the same stem (UY) as uilë "long trailing plant, especially seaweed".
larca
swift, rapid
larca ("k")adj. "swift, rapid" (LAK2)
rindë
adjective. swift
Derivations
- ✶rindi “swift”
Element in
- Q. i roccor rindi “the horses are swift” ✧ PE21/78
alarca
swift, rapid
alarca ("k")adj. "swift, rapid" (LAK2)
tyelca
swift, agile
tyelca ("k")adj. "swift, agile" (KYELEK), "hasty" (PM:353)
arauca
swift, rushing
arauca ("k")adj. "swift, rushing" (LT2:347). Compare arauco.
nén
noun. water, water, [ᴱQ.] river
The word for “water”, a derivative of the root √NEN of the same meaning (PE17/52; Ety/NEN). Its stem form was nen- (Ety/NEN) and its primitive form was given as ✶nē̆n, the vowel length variation due to distinct subjective nēn versus objective/inflected nĕn- in ancient monosyllables (PE21/64).
Conceptual Development: This word first appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s with two senses: “river” and (archaic) “†water”. Tolkien indicated the two senses were based on distinct roots: ᴱ√NEŘE [NEÐE] and ᴱ√NENE respectively, with two distinct stem forms nend- and nēn (QL/64-65). The Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa also mentions the forms nen (nēn-) “water” versus nen(d-) “river” (PME/64-65). In the English-Qenya Dictionary of the mid-1920s Tolkien had both nēn “river” (PE15/76) and nēn “water” (PE15/78), but in the Early Qenya Grammar he had only nēn “water” (PE14/43, 72), also appearing as nen “water” in documents on The Valmaric Script from this period (PE14/110).
In the Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s, Tolkien had ᴹQ. nēn “water”, but in this document it had nēn- with long ē in its inflected forms as well (PE21/23). In The Etymologies of the 1930s, however, uninflected nén “water” had a stem form of nen- with short e (Ety/NEN), and the reasons for this variation was discussed in Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants from 1936, the nominative/objective distinction noted above (PE21/64). This seems to be the paradigm Tolkien stuck with thereafter, as evidenced by S. nen “water” rather than ✱✱nîn.
Cognates
- S. nen “water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, water; lake, pool; (lesser) river, [ᴱN.] stream” ✧ PE17/052; SA/nen
Derivations
Element in
- Q. Cuiviénen “Water of Awakening” ✧ SA/nen
- Q. Nénar
- Q. nenda “wet”
- Q. nendil “beast that lives in the water”
- Q. Nendili “Water-lovers”
- ᴺQ. nengarmo “otter, (lit.) water-wolf”
- Q. Nénimë “February, *Wet-ness”
- ᴺQ. nenungol “octopus, (lit.) water-spider”
- Q. Nenya “(Ring) of Water” ✧ SA/nen
- Q. Nísinen “*Fragrant Water”
- Q. Uinen ✧ SA/nen
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √NEN > nēn [nēn] ✧ PE17/052 √nen > nen [nen] ✧ SA/nen Variations
- nēn ✧ PE17/052
- nen ✧ SA/nen
Nénar
water
Nénar noun name of a star (or planet), evidently derived from nén "water" (Silm), tentatively identified with Uranus (MR:435)
nén
water
nén (nen-) noun "water" (NEN).
lina
adjective. many
A neologism for the adjective “many” derived from the root √LI, typically appearing in its plural form linë. Like English, it has the sense “many but not all, a majority (of)”: compare with nótima which can be used with the “some”. Early versions of this lexicon recommended using ᴱQ. lia, but that word’s plural form collides with Q. lië “people”.
Derivations
- √LI “many”
#limë (stem *limi-) noun "link", isolated from málimë, q.v.