An adjective in notes from 1967 derived from primitive ✶ndakna (PE17/68) and hence based on the root √NDAK “hew, slay”, so perhaps meaning “✱hewn” or “✱slain”. For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume “✱hewn”, since nahtana likely means “✱slain”.
Quenya
nanca
slain
nanca
adjective. *hewn, slain
Derivations
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ndakna > nanca [ndaknā] > [ndaŋkā] > [naŋkā] > [naŋka] ✧ PE17/068
-na
suffix. slain
A shorter ending -na also occurs, e.g. nahtana "slain" (VT49:24); the example hastaina "marred" would suggest that *nahtaina is equally possible. In the example aistana "blessed" (VT43:30), -na may be preferred to -ina for euphonic reasons, to avoid creating a second diphthong ai where one already occurs in the previous syllable (*aistaina). In PE17:68, the ending -ina is said to be "aorist" (unmarked as regards time and aspect); the same source states that the shorter ending -na is "no longer part of verbal conjugation", though it obviously survives in many words that are maybe now to be considered independent adjectives. See -na #4.
-na
no longer part of verbal conjugation
-na (4), ending used to form passive participles as well as some adjectives and nouns; see -ina. According to PE17:68, the ending -na was "no longer part of verbal conjugation"; the derived words are thus considered independent adjectives (sometimes nouns) rather than regularly derived passive participles, the obvious etymological connection to certain verbal stems notwithstanding. Where adding the ending to a root would produce the combinations tn, pn, kn (cn), metathesis occurs to produce nt, (np >) mp, nc, as in nanca *"slain" for older ¤ndakna, or hampa "restrained, delayed, kept" vs. the root KHAP "retain, keep, detain". Following -l, the suffix -na turns into -da, as in yulda "draught, the amount drunk" for older yulna (this being an example of a noun being derived with this ending, though Tolkien might also explain yulda as containing a distinct ending -da [q.v.] denoting the result of a verbal action). The word *turúna "mastered" (q.v., only attested in elided form turún) would seem to be a passive participle formed from the verb turu- "master" (PE17:113), suggesting that in the case of U-stem verbs, their final -u is lengthened to ú when -na is added.
nahtana
adjective. *slain
A word that seems to be an adjective form of nahta- “to slay”, appearing in the 1969 phrase nahtana ló Turin which itself likely means “✱slain by Túrin” as suggested by Patrick Wynne (VT49/24). It is possible that nahtana is a simple adjective, but it may also be some form of passive participle.
Element in
- Q. nahtana ló Turin “*slain by Túrin” ✧ VT49/24
nanca adj. *"slain" (PE17:68); see -na