The Quenya word for “eleven” dating all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (PE17/95; VT48/6-8; Ety/MINI; PE14/49, 82; QL/61). In Eldarinwe Leperi are Notessi (ELN) from 1968 Tolkien said it was a combination √MIN “first” and √KEWE “new, fresh”, so originally meaning “the start (first) of a new decade, another min” (VT48/7).
Quenya
minquë
cardinal. eleven
minquë
cardinal. eleven
minquë ("q") cardinal "eleven" (MINIK-W, LT1:260, VT48:4, 6, 8, VT49:57). Not to be confused with minquë as the pa.t. of miqu- "to kiss", q.v. Etymology discussed, VT48:7, 8 (where the unorthodox spelling "minkwe" occurs besides "minque").