matina

participle. eaten

matta

noun. food

matta

noun. food

A noun for “food” from the Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) of the early 1950s, derived from primitive ✶matnā, originally an ancient adjective meaning “eaten” (PE22/136).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s the word for “food” was ᴱQ. matl under the early root ᴱ√MATA (QL/59). This became ᴱQ. {masta} >> matso in Early Qenya Word-lists of the 1920s (PE16/141). In EVS2 the word was originally manna “food”, but this was struck through and replaced by matta (PE22/136 note #36), which likely reflects Tolkien’s shift in the phonetic developments of primitive tn, so that tn became tt rather than nn as it did in Tolkien’s earlier writings (PE19/85 and note #79).

Neo-Quenya: I find the phonetic developments associated with the above sound change to be problematic for various reasons. Therefore, I prefer to assume the primitive form of this word was an ancient noun: ✱mattā.

Changes

• manna → matta ✧ PE22/136

Cognates

• ᴺS. math “food”
• ᴺS. mann “food”

Derivations

• ✶matnā “eaten, eaten, [ᴹ✶] food” ✧ PE22/136

Element in

• ᴺQ. celvamatta “animal food”
• ᴺQ. laimamatta “vegetable food, (lit.) plant food”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶matnā > matta	[matnā] > [mattā] > [matta]	✧ PE22/136

Variations

• manna ✧ PE22/136 (manna)

mat-

verb. to eat

The verb for “to eat” derived from the root √MAT of the same meaning (VT39/7).

Conceptual Development: This verb and root are quite well established, dating all the way back to ᴱQ. mat- and ᴱ√MATA of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59) and appearing as ᴹQ. mat- and ᴹ√MAT in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), as well as numerous other places albeit with occasional variants like mata- (PE12/26). This verb was one Tolkien often used in examples of verb conjugations and as such its inflected forms changed considerably over time, but that is more a topic of the evolution of the Quenya verb system itself.

Cognates

• S. mad- “to eat”
• T. mat- “to eat”

Derivations

• ✶mat- “to eat” ✧ PE22/132; PE22/157
  • √MAT “eat”
• √MAT “eat” ✧ VT39/07

Element in

• ᴺQ. accamátala “over-eating”
• ᴺQ. accamatië “over-eating”
• ᴺQ. avamat- “to fast, (lit.) refuse to eat”
• Q. en i matinye “I shall eat then soon” ✧ PE22/131
• Q. lamate “fasting, a fast”
• Q. mátima “edible”
• ᴺQ. matimar “restaurant, (lit.) eating hall”
• ᴺQ. matina “eaten”
• Q. -matya “-eating”
• Q. umbestë matë “he was going to eat” ✧ PE22/132
• Q. vá matuvatyë mastanya “you are not to eat my bread, you shan’t eat my bread” ✧ PE22/162

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mat-ubā-ni/njē > matuvanye	[matubānjē] > [matuβānjē] > [matuβanjē] > [matuβanje] > [matuvanje]	✧ PE22/132
√MATA > mante	[mante]	✧ VT39/07

matl

food

matl noun "food"; read *matil in LotR-style Quenya (in which language final syllabic -l becomes -il) (QL:59); however, the word matso from a later source may be preferred.

matso

food

matso noun "food" (PE16:141)

matina

adjective. eaten

Elements

Word	Gloss
mat-	“to eat”

mad-

verb. to eat

The verb for “to eat” derived from the root √MAT of the same meaning (PE17/131; Ety/MAT). In Tolkien’s later writing it appears only in inflected forms, but the verb itself is well established, dating back all the way to G. mad- in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/56). This verb was one Tolkien often used in examples of verb conjugations and as such its inflected forms changed considerably over time, but that is more a topic of the evolution of the Sindarin verb system.

Cognates

• Q. mat- “to eat”
• T. mat- “to eat”

Derivations

• ✶mat- “to eat” ✧ PE17/131; PE17/131
  • √MAT “eat”

Element in

• ᴺS. madui “edible”
• S. madweg “gluttonous”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶mantinā > manthen > mannen	[mantinā] > [mantina] > [mantʰina] > [manθina] > [manθena] > [manθen] > [mannen]	✧ PE17/131
✶matina > maden	[matina] > [matena] > [maten] > [maden]	✧ PE17/131

mann

food

mann (i vann, construct man), pl. main (i main) (VT45:35).

mann

noun. food

Cognates

• Q. matta “food”

Derivations

• ✶matnā “eaten, eaten, [ᴹ✶] food”

mann

food

(i vann, construct man), pl. main (i main) (VT45:35).

math

noun. food

Cognates

• Q. matta “food”

Derivations

• √MAT “eat”

salph

liquid food

(i halph, o salph) (soup, broth), pl. seilph (if the word goes like alph ”swan”), with article i seilph.

mat-

verb. to eat

Cognates

• Q. mat- “to eat”
• S. mad- “to eat”

Derivations

• ✶mat- “to eat”
  • √MAT “eat”

matnā

adjective. eaten, eaten, [ᴹ✶] food

Derivatives

• Q. matta “food” ✧ PE22/136
• ᴺS. mann “food”

Elements

Word	Gloss
mat-	“to eat”
-nā	“adjective suffix; passive participle”

mat-

verb. to eat

Derivations

• √MAT “eat”

Derivatives

• Q. mat- “to eat” ✧ PE22/132; PE22/157
• S. mad- “to eat” ✧ PE17/131; PE17/131
• T. mat- “to eat”

Element in

• ✶aumata- “to eat away, corrode” ✧ PE22/136
• ✶matnā “eaten, eaten, [ᴹ✶] food”
• ✶matulā “edacious”
• ✶matˢtimā “edible”

Variations

• mata ✧ VT39/09

mann

noun. food

The earliest word for “food” in precursors to the Sindarin language was G. môs “food (of men)” (GL/56, 58), probably based on the early root ᴱ√M(B)ASA “cook, bake” (QL/59). This became ᴱN. math “food” in Early Noldorin Word-lists of the 1920s, appearing only in its lenited form vath as an element in ᴱN. orvath “foodless” (PE13/155). In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had N. mann “food” as a derivative of primitive ᴹ✶matna under the root ᴹ√MAT “eat”, but the version of the entry where this form appeared was struck out (EtyAC/MAT). The primitive form ✶matnā “food” did reappear in the early 1950s, however (PE22/136).

Neo-Sindarin: Of the above, I prefer ᴺS. math for “food”. I first saw math proposed as the Neo-Sindarin word for “food” in a list of neologisms by Elaran on the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS) from 2018. I prefer math because I tend to assume Q. matta is derived from ✱mattā rather than ✶matnā to avoid certain phonological difficulties; see that entry for discussion. If you are not concerned with those difficulties, ᴺS. mann “food” is also viable.

Derivations

• ᴹ✶matna “food” ✧ EtyAC/MAT
  • ᴹ√MAT “eat” ✧ EtyAC/MAT

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ✶matna > mann	[matna] > [madna] > [manna] > [mann]	✧ EtyAC/MAT

mad-

verb. to eat

Cognates

• ᴹQ. mat- “to eat” ✧ Ety/MAT; EtyAC/MAT
• ᴹT. mat- “to eat”

Derivations

• ᴹ√MAT “eat” ✧ Ety/MAT; EtyAC/MAT

Element in

• N. megli “bear, (lit.) honey-eater”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
ᴹ√MAT > medi	[mat-] > [mad-]	✧ Ety/MAT
ᴹ√MAT > mad-	[mat-] > [mad-]	✧ EtyAC/MAT

aes

noun. cooked food, meat