Quenya 

ola-

verb. grow

Quenya [PE 22:113,116,124] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

ola-

verb. to become, to become; [ᴹQ.] to grow (up)

An a-verb appearing with the gloss “grow” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) of 1948 (PE22/113, 125), replacing ᴹQ. ala- of the same meaning (PE22/113 note #80). In the same document Tolkien coined a distinct basic verb ᴹQ. ol- “become” (PE22/113). Various other inflections throughout the document belonged to one or the other of these verbs. There are glosses indicating that Tolkien was not entirely certain of the distribution of meaning between the two, however. For example, he had ᴹQ. olinwa (not ✱olanwa) with the sense “fully grown, adult” (PE22/116). Also ola- was given both a weak and strong past tense: olane “grew, were growing” and óle “grew, finished growing, grew up, became” (PE22/116), as opposed to the past tense of ol- which was olle “became” (PE22/103).

In QVS the perfect form of both verbs were the same: (ol)ólie “it has grown up, it has reached its prime, become” (PE22/103, 116), and such similarity of inflected forms may have been the basis for the confusion of meanings. The perfect form olōlie “has become” reappeared in Common Eldarin: Verb Structure of the early 1950s (PE22/133), and again could be from either verb. However, in that document Tolkien had a primitive a-verb ᴹ✶olā- “become, come into being, turn into (another state)”, appearing along with a restored ᴹ✶galā-, which had the more limited sense “grow (of plants)” (PE22/134).

Q. ala- “grow” continued to appear in Tolkien’s latter writings, but its root was usually connected more specifically to the growth of plants (PE17/25, 135, 153). Meanwhile, in notes from around 1959, Tolkien had several words indicating that √OL continued to be the basis of growth-words for people: Q. olmen “growth-year”, Q. olmië “growth” and Q. quantolië “maturity” (NM/84, 119-120).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use just the a-verb ola- with the sense “grow (up); grow into or become”. It can be used intransitively with people and animals with the sense “grow (up)” as in i Elda olane lintavë “the Elf grew quickly”; for plants, however, the word for “grow” would be ala- (see that entry for discussion). Used transitively, the verb ola- has the sense “grow into or become”, as in i Elda olólie nisse “the Elf has become/grown into a woman”. In this sense it can also apply to inanimate or abstract things: i taure olane ráva yonde “the forest became a lawless region”. Thus ola- refers to the process of growing, maturing and transitioning. If it has a direct object, that object is the thing one grows into or becomes.

Note that this verb is similar in form to óla- “to dream”, but confusion is unlikely since “dream” is an impersonal verb, where the purported subject would be in the dative: óla i Eldan “the Elf dreams, (lit.) dreams [come] to the Elf”, as opposed to i Elda ola lumba “the Elf becomes/grows weary”.

Cognates

  • ᴺS. ol- “to become”

Derivations

  • olā- “to become, come into being, turn into (another state)”
    • OLgrow, [ᴹ√] grow [into]; become”

óla-

verb. to dream (impersonal)

An impersonal verb for “to dream” based on the root √OLO-S, so that presumably the purported subject would be in the dative: óla nin “[it] dreams to me = I dream”. This verb says something interesting about Elvish psychology, in that dreams are seen as things that happen to a dreamer rather than an action of the dreamer themselves. This may be related to the Elvish experience of receiving telepathic visions through dreams, from other Elves or from greater powers.

Conceptual Development: The Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s has a verb G. oltha- that could likewise be used in an impersonal construction with the dative to mean “I dream” (GL/62).

Derivations

  • OLOS “dream, vision, fantasy, dream, vision, fantasy; [ᴹ√] sleep” ✧ UT/396

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
olo-s > ōla-[ōla-]✧ UT/396

Variations

  • ōla- ✧ UT/396

ol-

grow

ol- vb. "grow" (VT45:13; this may be a primitive root rather than a Quenya verb)

ala-

verb. grow

Quenya [PE 22:98; PE 22:164] Group: Mellonath Daeron. Published by

alta-

grow

[alta- (3) vb. "grow" (VT45:13) or "make grow" (VT45:14)]

lin-

many

lin- (1) (prefix) "many" (LI), seen in lindornëa, lintyulussëa; assimilated lil- in lillassëa.

li(n)-

prefix. many

Derivations

  • LI “many”

Element in

  • Q. lillassëa “having many leaves”
  • ᴺQ. lillumë “many times, often”
  • Q. lilómëa “very dark, full of darkness” ✧ PE17/081
  • Q. lilótëa “having many flowers” ✧ VT42/18
  • ᴺQ. lincantëa “diverse, (lit.) many shaped”
  • ᴺQ. lindóra “millions of, many millions”
  • ᴺQ. linima “of many kinds, manifold”
  • ᴺQ. linitë “plural”
  • ᴺQ. linquilea “having many colours”
  • ᴺQ. linvainëa “onion, (lit.) many-sheathed”
  • Q. liyúmë “host” ✧ VT48/32

Variations

  • li- ✧ PE17/081 (li-); VT42/18 (li-); VT48/32 (li-)
Quenya [PE17/081; VT42/18; VT48/32] Group: Eldamo. Published by

limbë

many

limbë (2) adj. "many", probably obsoleted by #1 above (LT2:342)

lina

adjective. many

A neologism for the adjective “many” derived from the root √LI, typically appearing in its plural form linë. Like English, it has the sense “many but not all, a majority (of)”: compare with nótima which can be used with the “some”. Early versions of this lexicon recommended using ᴱQ. lia, but that word’s plural form collides with Q. lië “people”.

Derivations

  • LI “many”
Quenya Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

Sindarin 

gala-

verb. to grow

Changes

  • galadgalast ✧ PE17/132

Cognates

  • Q. ala- “to plant, grow, to grow (of plants) [intr. and trans.], plant; *to thrive, flourish (of other creatures)” ✧ PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132; PE17/132

Derivations

  • GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive”
  • galā- “to grow (of plants)” ✧ PE17/131
    • GAL “grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, grow (like plants), flourish, be healthy, be vigorous, bloom, [ᴹ√] thrive” ✧ PE22/133

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
agālē > ãlē > aul[agālē] > [agāle] > [agǭle] > [aɣǭle] > [aɣaule] > [aɣaul] > [aul]✧ PE17/131

Variations

  • galad ✧ PE17/132 (galad)
Sindarin [PE17/131; PE17/132] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ol-

verb. to become

Cognates

  • Q. ola- “to become, to become; [ᴹQ.] to grow (up)”

Derivations

  • OLgrow, [ᴹ√] grow [into]; become”
Sindarin Group: Eldamo - neologism/reconstructions. Published by

gala

grow

gala- (i **ala, i ngalar** = i ñalar)

gala

grow

(i ’ala, i ngalar = i ñalar)

laew

many

laew (frequent); no distinct pl. form.

laew

many

(frequent); no distinct pl. form.

Primitive elvish

olā-

verb. to become, come into being, turn into (another state)

Derivations

  • OLgrow, [ᴹ√] grow [into]; become”

Derivatives

  • Q. ola- “to become, to become; [ᴹQ.] to grow (up)”

Variations

  • olā ✧ PE22/134
Primitive elvish [PE22/134] Group: Eldamo. Published by

li

root. many

This root was connected to words for “many” throughout Tolkien’s life. In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s it appeared as ᴱ√, with variant ᴱ√ILI “many” and extended form ᴱ√LIYA (LI + ya) “unite many as one” with derivatives like ᴱQ. lia- “entwine” and ᴱQ. liante “tendril” (QL/42, 53). In later writings there is no sign of the inversion √IL “many” (later √IL meant “all”), whereas ᴱ√LIYA seems to have shifted to unrelated ᴹ√SLIG with derivatives like ᴹQ. lia “fine thread, spider filament” and ᴹQ. liante “spider” (Ety/SLIG).

The base root ᴹ√LI “many” did reappear in The Etymologies of the 1930s, however (Ety/LI), and √LI “many” appeared again in etymological notes from the late 1960s (VT48/25). The long-standing connection between this root and the Quenya (partitive) plural suffixes indicates its stability in Tolkien’s mind.

Derivatives

  • Q. -li “partitive plural (suffix); many, some, a lot of”
  • Q. lië “people, folk”
  • Q. li(n)- “many”
  • ᴺQ. lina “many”
  • ᴺQ. lio “much”
  • S. “people (of one kind or origin), people (of one kind or origin), [G.] folk, many people, crowd of folk”

Element in

  • ᴺQ. lita- “to multiply”
Primitive elvish [VT48/25] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Noldorin 

oltha-

verb. to dream, to dream; [G.] to appear as an apparition

A verb for “to dream” in The Etymologies of the 1930s derived from primitive ᴹ✶olsa- based on the root ᴹ√OLOS “dream” (Ety/LOS, ÓLOS), where the primitive ls became lth as was usual.

Conceptual Development: In the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s G. oltha- was glossed “to appear as an apparition”, but could be used for “I dream” as an impersonal verb with the purported subject in the dative (GL/62). This seems to be similar to how Q. óla- “dream” was used in Tolkien’s later writings, which likewise was an impersonal verb (UT/396). The Gnomish Lexicon had another verb G. olma- “I dream” as well (GL/62). These Gnomish verbs were clearly based on the early root ᴱ√OLO (QL/69).

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(O)LOS “sleep; dream” ✧ Ety/LOS
  • ᴹ✶olsa- “to dream” ✧ Ety/ÓLOS
    • ᴹ√(O)LOS “sleep; dream” ✧ Ety/ÓLOS

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶olsa- > oltha-[olsa-] > [olθa-]✧ Ety/ÓLOS

Variations

  • oltha ✧ Ety/LOS
Noldorin [Ety/LOS; Ety/ÓLOS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

gala-

verb. to grow

Noldorin [Ety/357] Group: SINDICT. Published by

gala-

verb. to grow

Derivations

  • On. gala- “to grow”
    • ᴹ✶galā- “to grow” ✧ PE22/026
    • ᴹ√GAL “grow, thrive” ✧ PE22/098
  • ᴹ√GAL “grow, thrive” ✧ Ety/GALA; EtyAC/GAL²

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√GALA > galo-[gala-]✧ Ety/GALA
ᴹ√GAL² > galo[gala-]✧ EtyAC/GAL²
Noldorin [Ety/GALA; EtyAC/GAL²] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Beware, older languages below! The languages below were invented during Tolkien's earlier period and should be used with caution. Remember to never, ever mix words from different languages!

Qenya 

ola-

verb. to grow [up], to grow, grow up, reach its prime, become

Derivations

  • ᴹ√OL “grow”
  • ᴹ✶golā- “to grow” ✧ PE22/113
    • ᴹ√OL “grow”

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶golā > ola-[gola-] > [ɣola-] > [ola-]✧ PE22/113

Variations

  • ola ✧ PE22/125
Qenya [PE22/107; PE22/109; PE22/111; PE22/113; PE22/116; PE22/124; PE22/125] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ol-

verb. to become

Derivations

  • ᴹ√OL “grow” ✧ PE22/103

Element in

  • ᴹQ. olinwa “fully grown, adult” ✧ PE22/116

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√OL > olle[onle] > [olle]✧ PE22/103
Qenya [PE22/099; PE22/100; PE22/103; PE22/113; PE22/116] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ala-

verb. to grow

Changes

  • ala-ola- ✧ PE22/113

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶galā- “to grow” ✧ PE22/098; PE22/106
    • ᴹ√GAL “grow, thrive” ✧ PE22/098

Element in

  • ᴹQ. aldar olar sana nóresse “trees grow in that land” ✧ PE22/116 (aldar {alar >>} olar i·nóresse)
  • ᴹQ. i·aldar hinna ólar “the tree is still growing” ✧ PE22/116 (i·aldar hinna {alarye >>} olarye)
  • ᴹQ. alanwa “fully grown, adult, mature” ✧ PE22/112

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶galā > ’alā-[gala-] > [ɣala-] > [ala-]✧ PE22/098
ᴹ✶galā́ > ala-[gala-] > [ɣala-] > [ala-]✧ PE22/106

Variations

  • ’alā- ✧ PE22/098
Qenya [PE22/098; PE22/106; PE22/107; PE22/109; PE22/112; PE22/113; PE22/116] Group: Eldamo. Published by

lin-

prefix. many

Derivations

  • ᴹ√LI “many; large people” ✧ Ety/DÓRON; Ety/LI; Ety/YEN

Element in

  • ᴹQ. lilótime “*many-flowered”
  • ᴹQ. lindornea “having many oaks” ✧ Ety/DÓRON; Ety/LI
  • ᴹQ. lintyulussea “having many poplars” ✧ Ety/LI
  • ᴹQ. linyenwa “old, having many years” ✧ Ety/YEN

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√LI > lin-[lin-]✧ Ety/DÓRON
ᴹ√LI > lin-[lin-]✧ Ety/LI

Variations

  • lin- ✧ Ety/DÓRON; Ety/LI; Ety/YEN (lin-)
Qenya [Ety/DÓRON; Ety/LI; Ety/YEN] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Old Noldorin 

gala-

verb. to grow

Derivations

  • ᴹ✶galā- “to grow” ✧ PE22/026
    • ᴹ√GAL “grow, thrive” ✧ PE22/098

Derivatives

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ✶galā́sŏ > galṓsǝ > galṓs[galāsŏ] > [galāsǝ] > [galōsǝ] > [galǭs]✧ PE22/026
Old Noldorin [PE22/026; PE22/027] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-lin

suffix. many

Derivations

  • ᴹ√LI “many; large people” ✧ Ety/LI

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴹ√LI > -lin[-lin]✧ Ety/LI
Old Noldorin [Ety/LI] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Middle Primitive Elvish

golā-

verb. to grow

Derivations

  • ᴹ√OL “grow”

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. ola- “to grow [up], to grow, grow up, reach its prime, become” ✧ PE22/113

Variations

  • golā ✧ PE22/113
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE22/113] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olsa-

verb. to dream

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(O)LOS “sleep; dream” ✧ Ety/ÓLOS

Derivatives

  • N. oltha- “to dream, to dream; [G.] to appear as an apparition” ✧ Ety/ÓLOS
Middle Primitive Elvish [Ety/ÓLOS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

galā-

verb. to grow

Changes

  • galāgolā ✧ PE22/113

Derivations

  • ᴹ√GAL “grow, thrive” ✧ PE22/098

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. ala- “to grow” ✧ PE22/098; PE22/106
  • On. gala- “to grow” ✧ PE22/026

Variations

  • galā ✧ PE22/098; PE22/113 (galā)
  • galā́ ✧ PE22/106 (galā́)
Middle Primitive Elvish [PE22/026; PE22/098; PE22/106; PE22/113] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ol

root. grow

Derivatives

  • ᴹ✶golā- “to grow”
    • ᴹQ. ola- “to grow [up], to grow, grow up, reach its prime, become” ✧ PE22/113
  • ᴹQ. ol- “to become” ✧ PE22/103
  • ᴹQ. ola- “to grow [up], to grow, grow up, reach its prime, become”

Variations

  • ol ✧ EtyAC/GAL(AS) (ol)
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/GAL(AS); PE22/103] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olro-

verb. to dream

Changes

  • olro-olsa- “to dream” ✧ Ety/ÓLOS

Derivations

  • ᴹ√(O)LOR “sleep; dream” ✧ EtyAC/ÓLOS
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/ÓLOS] Group: Eldamo. Published by

n-

root. intensive

Derivatives

  • ᴹQ. an- “intensive prefix” ✧ EtyAC/N; PE19/055

Variations

  • nŏ- ✧ PE19/055
Middle Primitive Elvish [EtyAC/N; PE19/055] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Gnomish

olma-

verb. to dream

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OLO “*dream”

murtha-

verb. to dream

A verb for “dream” in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s (GL/58), based on the early root ᴱ√MURU “slumber” (QL/63).

Derivations

  • ᴱ√MURU “slumber”

lim

adjective. many

Cognates

  • Eq. limbe “a number” ✧ GG/15; GL/54
  • Eq. limba “many”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “*many”

Element in

Variations

  • lim ✧ GG/15; GL/17
Gnomish [GG/15; GL/17; GL/54] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-lim

suffix. many

Cognates

  • Eq. -li “many, multiplicative suffix” ✧ GG/15
  • Eq. limbe “a number” ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim

Element in

  • G. Goldothrim “People of the Gnomes” ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim
  • G. Gondothlim “Folk of Stone, Dwellers in Stone” ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim; LT2A/Gondothlim; PE15/26
  • G. Lothlim “People of the Flower” ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim
  • G. Rodothlim

Variations

  • lim ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim
  • -rim ✧ LT2A/Gondothlim
Gnomish [GG/15; LT2A/Balcmeg; LT2A/Gondothlim; PE15/26; QL/053] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Primitive Elvish

ili

root. many

Derivatives

  • Eq. ille “throng, crowd” ✧ QL/042
  • Eq. li(n)- “many” ✧ QL/042

Variations

  • ILI ✧ QL/053
  • ili ✧ QL/053
Early Primitive Elvish [QL/042; QL/053] Group: Eldamo. Published by

Early Quenya

ola-

prefix. many

ole-

prefix. intensive

oli-

prefix. intensive

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OLO “*increase, more” ✧ QL/069

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√OLO² > ola-[ola-]✧ QL/069
ᴱ√OLO² > olli-[olli-]✧ QL/069

Variations

  • ole- ✧ PE14/081
  • ola- ✧ QL/069
  • olli- ✧ QL/069
Early Quenya [PE14/048; PE14/081; PE15/78; QL/069] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olli-

prefix. many

lia(r)

adjective. many

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “*many” ✧ QL/053

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√ > lia(r)[liar]✧ QL/053
Early Quenya [QL/053] Group: Eldamo. Published by

sa-

prefix. intensive

Derivations

  • ᴱ√SA “demonstrative” ✧ QL/081

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√SA > sa-[sa-]✧ QL/081
Early Quenya [LT1A/Samírien; QL/081] Group: Eldamo. Published by

aka-

prefix. intensive

Variations

  • aka ✧ PE15/78
Early Quenya [PE14/081; PE15/78] Group: Eldamo. Published by

are-

prefix. intensive

ari-

prefix. intensive

Variations

  • are- ✧ PE14/081
Early Quenya [PE14/048; PE14/081; PE15/78] Group: Eldamo. Published by

olli

adjective. many

Derivations

  • ᴱ√OLO “*increase, more” ✧ QL/069

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√OLO² > olli[ollī] > [olli]✧ QL/069
Early Quenya [QL/069] Group: Eldamo. Published by

limba

adjective. many

Cognates

  • G. lim “many”

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ “*many” ✧ QL/053

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√ > limba[limbā] > [limba]✧ QL/053
Early Quenya [QL/053] Group: Eldamo. Published by

li(n)-

prefix. many

Derivations

  • ᴱ√ILI “many” ✧ QL/042
  • ᴱ√ “*many” ✧ QL/053

Element in

Phonetic Developments

DevelopmentStagesSources
ᴱ√ > li-[li-]✧ QL/053

Variations

  • li- ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto; QL/053
  • lin- ✧ LT1A/Tinwë Linto; PE16/077; PE16/077; QL/042; QL/053; QL/069
  • LĪ- ✧ QL/042
Early Quenya [LT1A/Tinwë Linto; PE16/077; QL/042; QL/053; QL/069] Group: Eldamo. Published by