nelquëa, cardinal "thirteen" (?) (VT48:21). This looks like an odd form next to other cardinals that simply end in -quë (like lepenquë, enenquë, otoquë = 15, 16, 17), and the form "nelekwe" also listed may indicate another Quenya form nelequë (q.v.) or *nelquë (but because of the uncertainties, yunquentë may be preferred as the word for 13). By another theory, nelquëa* is the ordinal "thirteenth", corresponding to the cardinal nel(e)quë**.
Quenya
nelequë
cardinal. thirteen
nelquëa
cardinal. thirteen
nelquë Reconstructed
cardinal. *thirteen
One of a set of Quenya “teen” numbers appearing in rough notes on numbers from the late 1960s appearing as nelekwe likely meaning “thirteen” (VT48/21). I am of the opinion that this is a primitive form and the modern Quenya form would be ✱nelquë as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (QQ/nelequë), as further evidenced by nelquëa “✱thirteenth” from the same page. There was also a variant form quainel.
Conceptual Development: The Early Qenya Grammar of the 1910s had ᴱQ. nelkea “thirteen” based on the earlier adjectival word ᴱQ. kea “ten” (PE14/49, 82).
quainel
cardinal. thirteen
quainel, cardinal "thirteen" (but yunquentë may be preferred) (VT48:21)
quainel
cardinal. *thirteen
yunquenta
cardinal. thirteen
yunquenta cardinal "thirteen" (12 and one more) (VT47:15), variant yunquentë (VT47:40), compare entë #1.
yunquentë
cardinal. thirteen
?nelequë ("kw") cardinal "thirteen" (VT48:21). The spelling "nelekwe" occurring in the primary source could suggest that this is really a Common Eldarin form; if so, one could theorize that the Quenya form would be *nelquë with syncope of the middle vowel (the same source lists "minikwe" as a word for 11, and the Quenya form is known to be minque). Compare nelquëa*. On the other hand, "tolokwe" as a word for 18 is listed together with definite Quenya forms and is apparently an unorthodox spelling of toloquë** (as observed by the editor); here no syncope producing *tolquë occurs. Thus toloquë could support ?nelequë as the Quenya word (but because of the uncertainties, yunquentë may be preferred as the word for 13).