sí adv. "now" (Nam, RGEO:67, LR:47, SD:310, VT43:34, VT49:18, PE17:94), sin (SI, LR:47) or sín _(SD:247, 310) _before vowels. Compare the distribution of a/an in English, though in his Quenya version of Hail Mary, Tolkien used sí also before a vowel (sí ar "now and", VT43:28). Si, a short (or incompletely annotated) form of sí (VT43:26, 34). In Fíriel's Song, sí is translated "here".
Quenya
si
here
sí
now
sí
adverb. now
si
adverb. here
sí
adverb. now
siqu-
sigh
siqu- ("q")vb. "sigh" (cited in form "siqi"), pa.t. síque (QL:84)
sír
river
sír noun "river", shorter form of sirë (PE17:65, VT49:17)
sís
here
sís adv. "here" (VT49:18, 23), also sissë
sís
adverb. here
sír
adverb. now
sí ar lúmessë ya firuvammë: násië
now and at the hour of our death: Amen
The seventh line of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer. The first few words are sí ar lúmessë “now and at [the] hour”, the last being a combination of the noun lúmë “time” (“hour”) and the locative suffix -ssë “at, in, on”. The next two words are a subordinate clause: ya firuvammë “✱when we will die”, the latter being future 1st-person-plural-exclusive form of the verb fir- “to die”. The last word, násië “Amen”, is also used by Tolkien in the Quenya prayer Átaremma.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> sí ar lúme-ssë ya fir-uva-mmë: násië = “✱now and time-at when die-(future)-we: amen”
Less literally: “✱now and at the time when we will die”.
Conceptual Development: The first few words sí ar lúmesse are the nearly same in all versions of the prayer, except (a) the accents are omitted from si and lumesse in version I and (b) Tolkien considered and rejected a variant form are for ar “and” (as he did in line four).
In the first two versions of the prayer Tolkien used a Quenya word for “of our death”: fíriemmo (I) and effíriemmo (II). In both cases, the noun is (ef)fírie “death” with the first person plural exclusive possessive suffix -mma “our” and the genitive suffix -o “of”. In the version I, these forms were preceded by some incomplete and difficult-to-decipher forms; for details see VT43/27, 34-35.
The word násië “Amen” appears only in the last two versions of the prayer (III-IV).
| | I | II |III|IV| |si|sí| |ar|{are >>} ar|ar| |lumesse|lúmesse| |{urtulm >> urt >> menya >>}|i fíriemmo|effíriemmo|yá firuvamme|ya firuvamme| | |násie|
sír(ë)
noun. river, river, [ᴱQ.] stream
The most common Quenya word for “river”, derived from the root √SIR “flow”.
Conceptual Development: This word first appeared as ᴱQ. sīre “stream” as a derivative of ᴱ√SIŘI [SIÐI] (QL/84), and this form and gloss also appeared in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/84). The form ᴹQ. siri- “river” appeared in the Declension of Nouns (DN) from the early 1930s, along with uninflected sire with short i and various inflected forms with siry- (PE21/10). The form sīre “river” with long ī appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of ᴹ√SIR “flow” (Ety/SIR; EtyAC/SIR). In several notes from the mid-1960s, it appeared in monosyllabic form sír (PE17/65) or sīr (VT49/17), but it had dual form siryat from the late 1960s implying a stem form of sirĭ- and a development similar to that of DN from the early 1930s (VT47/11).
Neo-Eldarin: Its form síre is probably better known and more commonly used in Neo-Quenya. For example this is the typical form in Helge Fauskanger’s NQNT (NQNT).
sív’ emmë apsenet tien i úcarir emmen
as we forgive those who trespass against us
The eighth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word sív’ is an elided form of sívë “as”. It is followed by the emphatic second person plural subject pronoun emmë “us” and apsenet “forgive [them]”, the aorist form of the verb apsen- “forgive” with a plural direct object suffix -t. The fourth word tien “those” is a dative (indirect object) form of tie, apparently a variant of the third person plural pronoun te.
The second half of this phrase is the subordinate clause i úcarir emmen “who trespass against us”, composed of i “who”, úcarir “trespass” (aorist plural of úcar- “to do wrong, to sin”) and emmen “against us” (dative of emmë). The last of these is unusual in that it has an emphatic pronoun used as an object rather than the subject.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> sív(e) emmë apsene-t tie-n i úcari-r emme-n = “✱as we forgive-them those-for who trespass-(plural) us-against”
Taken together, the first half of the phrase has a subject (emmë), verb (apsene), a direct object suffix (-t) and an indirect object (tien). The sense of the phrase is probably something like “✱as we forgive them [the trespasses] for those [the trespassers] who trespass against us”.
Conceptual Development: Earlier versions of the prayer (I-IV) used a different verb avatyar- for “forgive”, as well as different prepositions for “so”: ier (I-IIa) and yan (III-IV). They also lacked any Quenya equivalent of “those who” (tien i in versions V-VI). The literal meaning of this phrase in versions I-IV of the prayer seems to be “✱as we forgive our trespassers”.
Tolkien considered a variety of ways to express “trespassers”. In version I-III, he used a (?verbal) element meaning “trespass” with the agental suffix -ndo: lucando (I), lucindo (IIa-IIb) and rocindë (III), all meaning “trespasser” and all in the plural. In version IV, he used rohtalië “trespass-people”, a compound of the noun rohta “trespass” and lië “people”.
These he combined with either the independent pronoun menya “our” (I-IIb, IV) or the possessive suffix -mma “our” (I deletion, III). Finally, he used an ablative element meaning “from”, either the preposition va (I-IIb) or the ablative suffix -llo (I deletion, III-IV). There was a similar construction for the verb avatyar- in line 6.
In version V of the prayer, Tolkien corrected úcarer to úcarir. This second form is more consistent with the rules Tolkien followed elsewhere in forming the aorist tense of a (basic) verb: it ends in an -e if unsuffixed but has an -i- between it and any suffix (-r in this case). However, Tolkien still used the form úcarer in version IV of the prayer, for reasons unknown.
| | I |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |ier|yan|sív’| |emme| |{avatyarirat >>}|avatyarir ta|avatyarilta|apsenet| | |tien i| |{lucandollommar >>}|va menya lucandor|va menya lucindor|rocindillomman|menya rohtaliello|úcarer emmen|
For better consistency with Tolkien’s other writings, I have used the more typical aorist form úcarir for the entry of this phrase. As Helge Fauskanger points out (LP-AM), there is a similar issue with apsenet, which might be expected to be ✱✱apsenit, though in this case the variation may be due to the fact that object suffixes are appended directly to the verb instead of to a subject suffix.
siar
this day
siar, siarë adv. "this day", a form Tolkien apparently abandoned in favour of síra, q.v. (VT43:18)
sil-
shine
sil- vb. "shine" (white), present tense síla "shines, is shining" (FG); aorist silë, pl. silir (RS:324), frequentative sisíla- (Markirya comments), future tense siluva (VT49:38), dual future siluvat (VT49:44, 45)
sil-
to shine
#sil-cal- ("k") vb. "to shine" (silver and gold) < "Qenya" sílankálan *"they shine (silver and gold)" (VT27:20, 27); cf. sil-, cal-, q.v.
simen
hither
simen adv. "hither" (VT49:33), símen "here" (FS; cf. sinomë in EO). Compare tamen.
sin
now
sin (2) adv., a form of sí "now" (q.v.) often occurring before vowels; also sín (SI). However, sí itself (q.v.) may also appear before a vowel.
sindi
river
sindi noun "river" (LT1:265; rather sírë in LotR-style Quenya)
sinomë
this place
sinomë compound noun "this place" (EO), used as adverb (or uninflected locative) = "in this place" = "here" (VT49:18). Variant sínomë (VT44:36). Cf. sanomë, tanomë.
sinwa
known, certain, ascertained
sinwa passive participle "known, certain, ascertained" (PE17:68), connecting with ista- and sintë. Also sína.
sinya
new
sinya adj. "new" (SI)
sirya
river
#sirya noun "river", attested in the dual form siryat (VT47:11). Compare sírë.
sissë
here
sissë adv. "here" (VT49:18), also sís
síma
mind, imagination
síma noun "mind, imagination" (VT49:16); variant isima. Also attested with endings: símaryassen "in their imaginations" (with the ending -rya used = "their" rather than "his/her", according to colloquial useage) (VT49:16)
sína
known, certain, ascertained
sína passive participle "known, certain, ascertained" (PE17:68), connecting with ista- and sintë. Also sinwa.
síra
this day
síra compound noun "this day", used = *"today" as adverb (VT43:18)
sírima
liquid, flowing
sírima adj. "liquid, flowing" (LT1:265)
sírë
river
sírë noun "river" (SIR, VT46:13), "stream" (LT1:265). Also short form sír, q.v.Compare #sirya.
sívë
as
sívë (1) prep. "as", apparently ve of similar meaning with the prefix sí- "this, here, now"; sívë therefore makes a comparison with something close, whereas tambë (q.v.) refers to something remote. Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17). Elided sív' in VT43:12, since the next word begins in the vowel e-.
sívë
peace
sívë (2) noun "peace" (VT44:35)
sívë
knowing, knowledge
sívë (3) noun "knowing, knowledge" (PE17:68; probably never meant to coexist with #1 and #2 above, so istya may be preferred)
sindanórië
place name. Grey Country, Land of Greyness
The name of a land mentioned in Galadriel’s Namárië poem (LotR/337). In one place, Tolkien said it was the “name of a mythical region of shadows lying at outer feet of the Mountains of Valinor” (PE17/72). This name is a compound of sinda “grey” and nórë “country”, with the suffix -ië common in abstract nouns. In another note Tolkien said that sindanórië was an archiac formation that meant “land of greyness” and was equivalent to sindie-nóre (PE17/72), so perhaps the -ië suffix at the end was actually associated with the adjective sinda “grey”.
sinyë
evening
sinyë (þ) noun "evening" (THIN)
sir
hither
sir (2), also sira, adv. "hither" (primitive ¤sida, ¤sidā) (VT49:18)
sitë
of this sort
sitë adj. "of this sort" (VT49:18)
sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
now who the cup for me will refill?
The 8th phrase in the prose Namárië, which is essentially the same as its poetic version, differing only in its more literal translation.
This phrase is interesting in that it places the direct and indirect objects of the phrase (i yulma nin “the cup for me”) in between the subject (man “who”) and the verb (enquantuva “will refill”). This indicates that even in ordinary speech, the normal Quenya subject-verb-object word order was somewhat free, with objects able to appear in other positions.
sí vanwa ná, rómello vanwa, valimar!
now lost is, [to one] from the East lost, Valimar!
The 15th phrase in the prose Namárië, which is essentially the same as its poetic version, differing only in its more literal translation. The phrase still seems somewhat poetic. In most (but not all) cases, the Quenya verb ná- “to be” appears at the end of the phrase. Hypothetically, a more “normal” rendering might be:
> ✱sí Valimar vanwa Rómello ná “now Valimar lost from-the-East is
siar(ë)
noun. *today, this day
sil-
verb. to shine (white)
sinen
adverb. by this means, so
sinomë
adverb. here, (lit.) in this place
sinomë maruvan ar hildinyar tenn’ ambar-metta
In this place will I abide, and my heirs, unto the ending of the world
Second phrase @@@
sir(a)
adverb. hither
síma
noun. imagination, mind
sínen i·anda nyarnë metta ar taina andaurenya na quanta
*with this the long tale ends and my extended long day is complete
síra
noun. *today, this day
sítë
adjective. of this sort
sívë
noun. peace
sívë
preposition. *as
sinar
noun. today, today, [ᴹQ.] this morning
sirya-
verb. to flow, to flow [smoothly]
sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
who now shall refill the cup for me?
Eighth line @@@
sí man i yulmar men enquantuva?
*who now shall refill the cups for us?
sí vanwa ná, rómello vanwa, valimar!
now lost, lost to those from the east is Valimar!
Fifteenth line @@@
sívë
noun. knowing, knowledge
simen
adverb. hither
sissë
adverb. here
sí man i yulmar n(g)wen enquantuva
*who now will refill the cups for us (dual)
símen
adverb. [here?; hither (VT 49:33)?]
celusindi
river
celusindi _("k")_noun "river" (LT1:257; hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, where the terms sírë and sirya appear instead)
isima
imagination
isima (þ?) noun "imagination" (if a variant of síma, q.v.; the form isima as such is not clearly glossed) (VT49:16)
elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo
a star shines on the hour of our meeting
isima
noun. imagination, mind
-rya
his, her
-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.
-ssë
at
-ssë (1) locative ending (compare the preposition se, sé "at", q.v.); in Lóriendessë, lúmessë, máriessë, yalúmessë (q.v. for reference); pl. -ssen in yassen, lúmissen, mahalmassen, símaryassen, tarmenissen, q.v. Pronouns take the simple ending -ssë, even if the pronoun is plural by its meaning (messë "on us", VT44:12). The part. pl. (-lissë or -lissen) and dual (-tsë) locative endings are known from the Plotz letter only.
-ya
his
-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤-jā being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.
hyárë
this day
hyárë noun used as adv. (older hyázë) "this day", a form Tolkien apparently abandoned in favour of síra, q.v. (VT43:18)
ier
as
ier prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably rejected in favour of sívë, q.v.). In an abandoned version of the Quenya Lord's Prayer, Tolkien used ier...ter for "as...so" (VT43:17).
nen
river
nen noun "river" (LT1:248), "river, water" (LT1:262) (In Tolkien's later Quenya, nén with a long vowel means "water", but hardly "river" - that is sírë.)
tambë
so
tambë prep. (1) "so" or "as" (referring to something remote; contrast sívë). Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17).
untúpa
down-roofs
untúpa vb. "down-roofs" = covers (perhaps for *undutúpa-, cf. undu-). Present tense of untup- with lengthening of the stem vowel and the suffix -a (cf. síla "shines" from sil-)
ya
as
ya (2) or yan, prep. "as" (VT43:16, probably abandoned in favour of sívë)
ye
as
[ye (3), also yé, prep. "as" (VT43:16, struck out; in the text in question Tolkien finally settled on sívë, q.v.)]
yan
adverb/conjunction. *as
@@@ possibly modal adverb
-vë
as, like
-vë, (3) apparently an ending used to derive adverbs from adjectives (see andavë under anda and oiavë under oia). May be related to the preposition ve "as, like".
cal-
shine
#cal- vb. "shine", future tense caluva ("k") "shall shine" _(UT:22 cf. 51). Compare also early "Qenya" cala- ("k")"shine" (LT1:254)_. It is possible that the verbal stem should have a final -a in later Quenya as well, since this vowel would not appear in the future tense caluva (compare valuvar as the pl. future tense of vala-, WJ:404).
nin
to me, for me
nin pron. "to me, for me", dative of ni (FS, Nam). Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? "Now who will refill the cup for me?" (Nam), nás mara nin *"it is good to me" = "I like it" (VT49:30), ecë nin carë sa* "it-is-open for me to do it" = "I can do it" (VT49:34). See also ninya**.
se
at, in
se (2), also long sé, preposition "at, in" (VT43:30; compare the "locative prefix" se- possibly occurring in an early "Qenya" text, VT27:25)
sáma
mind
sáma noun "mind" (pl. sámar and dual samat [sic, read *sámat?] are given) (VT39:23, VT41:5, VT49:33, PE17:183)
hyárë
noun. *today, this day
ier
preposition. *as
hí
adverb. here
sáma
noun. mind
sérinqua
adjective. peaceful, full of peace
@@@ Discord 2022-06-17
-zya
his, her, its
-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)
Este
noun. Peace
Peace, name of wife of Lórien
accal(a)-
verb. shine
shine (suddenly and) brilliantly, blaze
cal-
verb. to shine
calta-
shine
calta- ("k")vb. "shine" (KAL)
celu
stream
celu _("k")_noun "stream" (LT1:257; rather celumë in LotR-style Quenya)
celumë
stream, flow
celumë ("k")noun "stream, flow" (KEL, LT1:257); locative pl. celumessen ("k") in Markirya (ëar-celumessen is translated "in the flowing sea", lit. *"in sea-streams").
hlóna
river, especially given to those at all seasons full of water from mountains
[hlóna (2) noun "a river, especially given to those at all seasons full of water from mountains" (VT48:27; the word is marked with a query and the note containing it rejected; it was apparently replaced by lón, q.v.)]
hí
here
hí adv. "here" (VT49:34)
intyalë
imagination
intyalë noun "imagination" (INK/INIK, VT49:33)
intë
pronoun. they (emphatic)
istanwa
known, generally recognized
istea
adjective. knowing
nausë
imagination
nausë (Þ) noun "imagination" (NOWO, VT49:33)
ninquita-
shine white
ninquita- ("q")vb. "shine white" (NIK-W)
nuinë
suffix. river
rainë
peace
rainë noun "peace" (VT44:34-35)
san
so
san (2) adv. ephemeral word for "so" (ya(n)...san "as...so"; san na "thus be" = let it be so, "amen"); this form was apparently quickly abandoned by Tolkien (VT43:16, 24, VT49.18)
sanar
mind
sanar noun "mind" (literally "thinker" or "reflector", suggesting an underlying verb #sana- "to think, to reflect") (VT41:13)
ta
so, like that, also
ta (2) adv. "so, like that, also", e.g. ta mára "so good" (VT49:12)
ter
so
ter (2), also tér, prep. (?) ephemeral word for "so" (see ier), abandoned by Tolkien in favour of tambë (VT43:17)
ve
as, like
ve (1) prep. "as, like" (Nam, RGEO:66, Markirya, MC:213, 214, VT27:20, 27, VT49:22); in Narqelion ve may mean either "in" or "as". Ve fírimor quetir *"as mortals say" (VT49:10), ve senwa (or senya) "as usual" (VT49:10). Followed by genitive, ve apparently expresses "after the manner of": ve quenderinwë coaron ("k") "after the manner of bodies of Elven-kind" (PE17:174). Tolkien variously derived Quenya ve from older wē, bē or vai(VT49:10, 32, PE17:189)
vinyë
evening
[vinyë noun "evening" (VT46:21)]
winya
new, fresh, young
winya (1) adj. "new, fresh, young" _(VT45:16; though the entry including this form was struck out in the Etymologies, _vinya "new" is a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, and it is meant to represent older winya. Compare winyamo, q.v.)
si adv. "here" (VT49:33; this may be a root or "element" rather than a Quenya word; see sissë, sinomë)