nan conj. "but" (FS); the Etymologies also gives ná, nán (NDAN), but these words may be confused with forms of the verb "to be", so nan should perhaps be preferred, unless for "but" one uses the wholly distinct word mal. In Tolkien's later Quenya, it may be that he introduced new words for "but" to free up nan for another meaning (perhaps the adverb "back", compare the prefix nan-).
Quenya
nan-
backwards
nan-
prefix. back (again), back (again); [ᴹQ.] backwards
Changes
nan-→ nan- “back or again” ✧ PE17/166Cognates
- S. dan “back to, (back in return) against, down upon, back on, back again” ✧ PE17/166; PE17/166
Derivations
- ✶ndan- “back-” ✧ PE17/166
- √(N)DAN “back (again); retreat, go back, give way (as one advances), revert, back (again), [ᴹ√] backwards; [√] retreat, go back, give way (as one advances), revert” ✧ PE17/166
- √(N)DAN “back (again); retreat, go back, give way (as one advances), revert, back (again), [ᴹ√] backwards; [√] retreat, go back, give way (as one advances), revert” ✧ PE17/166
Element in
- ᴺQ. nanhanquet- “to answer back”
- ᴺQ. nanquet- “to answer”
- ᴺQ. nallamya- “to echo, sound back, reverberate”
- ᴺQ. nampaitya- “to pay back”
- ᴺQ. nananta- “to give back, *return [something]”
- ᴺQ. nancal- “to reflect, (lit.) shine back”
- ᴺQ. nancam- “to receive back”
- Q. nancar- “to undo, to undo, *destroy” ✧ PE17/166
- ᴺQ. nancarpa- “to talk back”
- ᴺQ. nangwesa “answer”
- ᴺQ. nanhalya- “to unveil, reveal”
- ᴺQ. nanhat- “to cast back, reflect”
- ᴺQ. nannem- “to disappear”
- ᴺQ. nanquer- “to turn back, turn around”
- Q.
nanquer-“*to turn back”- ᴺQ. nanquet- “to talk back, speak against”
- ᴺQ. nantar- “to stand back”
- Q. nanwen- “to return, go/come back” ✧ PE17/166; PE17/166
- ᴺQ. nanwenta- “to send back”
- ᴺQ. nanwera “ransom”
- ᴺQ. nanwerë “ransom”
- Q.
nattir-“to look back” ✧ PE17/166 (nattire)Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶nana-/ndan- > nan- [ndan-] > [nan-] ✧ PE17/166 √NDĀ̆ > nan- [ndan-] > [nan-] ✧ PE17/166 Variations
- nat ✧ PE17/166 (
nat)
nan
but
nanwen-
return
nanwen- vb. "return" (go/come back) (PE17:166). The etymological form nan-men- indicates that the second element is #men- "go", changed to -wen- following nan- "back"; hence the perfect should perhaps be *naneménië.
lenna-
go
lenna- vb. "go", pa.t. lendë "went" (LED; cf. lelya-). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the word lenna- wrongly appears as **linna-; see VT45:27.
vanya-
go, depart, disappear
vanya- (2) vb. "go, depart, disappear", pa.t. vannë (WAN). The verb auta- may have replaced this word in Tolkien's later conception.
ná
but, on the contrary, on the other hand
ná (2), also nán, conj. "but, on the contrary, on the other hand" (NDAN; the form nan, q.v., is probably to be preferred to avoid confusion with ná "is", *nán "I am").
anat
but
anat conj. "but" (VT43:23; possibly an ephemeral form)
men-
go
#men- (4) vb. "go" (VT47:11, cf. VT42:30, VT49:23), attested in the aorist (menë) in the sentence imbi Menel Cemenyë menë Ráno tië "between Heaven and Earth goes the path of the Moon". In the verb nanwen- "return" (or go/come back), -men- is changed to -wen- following nan- "back" (etymological form cited as nan-men-, PE17:166). In examples from VT49:23, 24, Tolkien used men- in the sense of "go as far as": 1st person sg. aorist menin (menin coaryanna "I arrive at [or come/get to] his house"), endingless aorist menë, present tense ména- "is on point of arrival, is just coming to an end", past tense mennë "arrived, reached", in this tense usually with locative rather than allative (mennen sís "I arrive[d] here"), perfect eménië "has just arrived", future menuva "will arrive". All of these examples were first written with the verb as ten- rather than men-, Tolkien then emending the initial consonant.
lelya-
go, proceed (in any direction), travel
lelya- (1) vb. "go, proceed (in any direction), travel", pa.t. lendë / elendë (WJ:363, VT14:5, PE17:139) At one point Tolkien assigned a more specific meaning to the underlying root LED: "go away from the speaker or the point in mind, depart" (PE17:52), which would make lelya- a near synonym of auta-. The same source denies that the derivatives of _LED _were used simply for "go, move, travel", but elsewhere Tolkien assigns precisely that meaning to lelya-.
nalláma
echo
nalláma, nallama noun "echo" (LAM). The initial element may be nan- "back", hence "back-sound", sound that comes back (cf. láma).
apa
but
apa (3) conj. "but": melinyes apa la hé "I love him but not him" (another) (VT49:15)
apa
conjunction. but
Element in
- Q. melin sé apa lanyë hé “I love him but not him (the other)” ✧ VT49/15
- Q. melinyes apa la hé “I love him but not him (the other)” ✧ VT49/15
Variations
- apa ✧ VT49/15
mal
but
mal conj. "but" (VT43:23)
mal
conjunction. but
Element in
- Q. násië “but deliver us from evil: Amen” ✧ VT43/23
nó
but
nó (2) conj. "but" (VT41:13)
nó
conjunction. but
ono
but
ono conj. "but" (VT43:23, VT44:5/9)
ono
conjunction. but
Changes
anat→ one “*but” ✧ VT43/23Element in
- Q. násië “but deliver us from evil: Amen” ✧ VT43/23; VT43/23; VT43/23; VT43/23
- Q. ono alyë eterúna me illumë ilya raxellor “but deliver us always from all dangers” ✧ VT44/09
- Q. orë nin caritas nó namin alasaila “I would like / feel moved to do so but judge it unwise” ✧ VT41/13
Variations
- nō ✧ VT41/13
- anat ✧ VT43/23 (
anat)- one ✧ VT43/23
onë
but
onë conj. "but" (VT43:23)
onë
conjunction. but
entulessë
return
entulessë noun "return" (UT:171)
entulessë
proper name. Return
The name of the Númerórean ship that was the first to return to Middle-earth, six centuries after Númenor was settled (UT/171). It is the noun entulessë “return” used as a name.
Elements
Word Gloss entulessë “return”
entulessë
noun. return
Element in
- Q. Entulessë “Return” ✧ UT/171
Elements
Word Gloss entul- “to come again, *return” -ssë “abstract noun” Variations
- Entulessë ✧ UT/171
nan- (prefix) "backwards" (NDAN) or "back", as in nanwen- "return" (go/come back, PE17:166), cf. also nanquernë *"turned back", the pl. form of nanquerna _(VT49:17-18). _Apparently assimilated nal- in nalláma "echo" (if this represents nan-láma "back-sound", sound coming back).