hand
Quenya
má
hand
má
noun. hand
má
noun. hand
má
noun. hand
The most common Quenya word for “hand”, which Tolkien usually derived from a root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield”. The weak consonant h or ʒ in the root was lost very early, so that primitive ✶mā was one of a rare set of ancient monosyllabic nouns ending in a vowel. Tolkien said that of the various hand words, má was “the oldest (probably) and the one that retained a general and unspecialized sense — referring to the entire hand (including wrist) in any attitude or function” (VT47/6).
As a part of the body, má “hand” was usually referred to in the singular (má) or dual (mát). This was true when referring to the hands of groups of people as well. For example, to say that “the Elves raised their hands”, you would say either i Eldar ortaner mánta (singular, one hand each) or i Eldar ortaner mántat (dual, both hands each), with the possessive suffix -nta “their”.
The plural form már “hands” (or archaic †mai) was almost never used, in part because it conflicted with Q. már “dwelling”. The singular form was also used in general statements and proverbs: “hand is cleverer than foot” má anfinya epe tál (ná). A collection of otherwise unrelated hands would likely use the partitive-plural form: máli “some hands”, which in this case could also serve as the general plural (VT47/12 Note 2). See the discussions on PE17/161 and VT47/6 for more information.
This word is also unusual in that it retains its long vowel before consonant clusters in inflected forms such as mánta “their hand” (PE17/161) or márya “his/her hand” (PE17/69). As Tolkien described it:
> Lá is usually shortened to la before 2 consonants, according to the usual Q. procedure, but the long vowel can be retained, especially for additional emphasis, as in other cases where pronominal affixes follow a long vowel, as in márya “his hand” (PE22/160).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to ᴱQ. mā “hand” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” (QL/57). ᴹQ. má “hand” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien mentioned this word with great frequency, usually derived from √MAH or √MAƷ (as noted above) though he sometimes considered deriving it from √MAG instead.
Cognates
Derivations
- √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE17/069; PE17/162; PE19/100; VT39/11; VT47/19
- √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ PE17/161; VT47/18
- ✶mā “hand” ✧ PE19/102; VT47/06
- ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/074; PE19/102; VT47/06; VT47/07; VT47/35
- √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ VT47/18; VT47/18
- √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
- √MAH “handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use, handle, manage, control, wield; serve, be of use; [ᴹ√] hand; [ᴱ√] grasp” ✧ PE21/70
- √MAG “good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state, good (physically); to thrive, be in a good state; [ᴹ√] use, handle” ✧ VT47/18
- ✶maha “hand, the manager” ✧ PE19/106; VT47/18
Element in
- Q. an sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë “for now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
- Q. an sí Varda, Tintallë, Elentári ortanë máryat Oiolossëo ve fanyar “for now Varda, Star-kindler, Star-queen [has] lifted up her (two) hands from Mount Everwhite like (white) clouds” ✧ RGEO/59
- Q. forma “right-hand” ✧ VT47/06
- Q. hyarma “left hand” ✧ VT47/06
- Q. Lungumá “Heavyhand” ✧ VT47/19
- Q. mahtanë yúyo má véla “*wield both hands alike” ✧ VT49/10
- Q. maitë “handy, skillful; having a hand, handed; shapely, handy, skillful, [ᴹQ.] skilled; [Q.] shapely, well-shaped; (as suffix) having a hand, handed” ✧ PE17/161; VT47/06
- Q. málimë “wrist, (lit.) hand-link” ✧ VT47/06
- Q. mátengwië “language of the hands”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √MAƷ > mā [maɣa] > [mā] ✧ PE17/069 √MAG > mā [maga] > [maɣa] > [mā] ✧ PE17/161 √MAƷ > má [mā] ✧ PE17/162 √MAƷ > má [maɣa] > [mā] ✧ PE19/100 ✶māh > mâ [māh] > [mā] ✧ PE19/102 ✶māʒ > mã [māɣ] > [mā] ✧ PE19/106 √maha > mā [maha] > [mā] ✧ VT39/11 ✶mā > má [mā] ✧ VT47/06 ✶māʒ(ă) > mā [māɣa] > [mā] ✧ VT47/18 √mag > mā [māga] > [māɣa] > [mā] ✧ VT47/18 √MAƷA > má [maɣa] > [mā] ✧ VT47/19 Variations
- mā ✧ PE17/069; PE17/161; VT39/09; VT39/11; VT47/18; VT47/18
- mâ ✧ PE19/102
- mã ✧ PE19/106
mannar
into (the) hands
mannar inflected noun "into (the) hands", allative pl. of má, q.v. (FS)
málimë
wrist
málimë (stem *málimi-, given primitive form ¤mā-limi) noun "wrist", literally "hand-link" (má + #limë). (VT47:6)
-ndor
land
-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)
cambë
noun. hand, (hollow of) hand
Derivations
- √KAB “hold, contain, retain, possess, have in hand, hold, contain, retain, possess, have in hand; [ᴹ√] hollow”
nór
land
nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) this is land as opposed to water and sea (nor in Letters:308). Cf. nórë.
nór
noun. land
A term for “land” as in “(dry) land as opposed to the sea”, mentioned in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/413) and again in notes from around 1968 (PE17/106-107).
Possible Etymology: In the Quendi and Eldar essay this term was derived from primitive ✶ndōro, but in the aforementioned 1968 notes Tolkien clarified that its stem form was nŏr-. This means it was probably derived from ancient ✱ndŏr-, where the long vowel in the uninflected form was inherited from the Common Eldarin subjective form ✱ndōr, a phenomenon also seen in words like nér (ner-) “man”. I prefer this second derivation, as it makes the independent word more distinct from the suffixal form -ndor or -nóre used in the names of countries.
Derivations
Element in
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ndōr > nōr [ndōr] > [nōr] ✧ PE17/106 ✶NDŌR/NDŎR- > nôr [ndōr] > [nōr] ✧ PE17/107 ✶ndōro > nór [ndōro] > [ndōr] > [nōr] ✧ WJ/413 Variations
- nōr ✧ PE17/106
- nôr ✧ PE17/107
nóre
noun. land
nórë
land
nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" hasnórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)
nonda
hand, especially in [?clutching]
nonda noun "hand, especially in [?clutching]" (VT47:23; Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible)
má noun "hand" (MA3, LT2:339, Narqelion, VT39:10, [VT45:30], VT47:6, 18, 19); the dual "a pair of hands" is attested both by itself as mát (VT47:6) and with a pronominal suffix as máryat "his/her (pair of) hands" (see -rya, -t) (Nam, RGEO:67). The nominative plural form was only máli, not **már (VT47:6), though plurals in -r may occur in some of the cases, as indicated by the pl. allative mannar "into hands" (FS). Mánta "their hand", dual mántat "their hands" (two hands each) (PE17:161). Cf. also the compounds mátengwië "language of the hands" (VT47:9) and Lungumá "Heavyhand" (VT47:19); also compare the adj. -maitë "-handed". See also málimë.