phā/apha

root. before of time

A root appearing in a list of roots for spatial and temporal directions from 1969, with an unglossed (primitive?) derivative ✶afar and the Quenya form fai with variant afea, apparently meaning “before” in the phrase Eru fai, sî, euva “✱Eru (was) before, (is) now, will be (after)” (PE22/147). Later in the same set of notes Tolkien seems to have reverted to earlier roots for these functions (PE22/168).

Derivatives

• ✶afar “*before of time” ✧ PE22/147
• Q. fai “*before of time” ✧ PE22/147

Variations

• PHĀ ✧ PE22/147
• APHA ✧ PE22/147

apha

root. before of time