[#hum- vb. "not to do" (cited as 1st person aorist: humin "I do not"; pa.t. húmë. (VT45:17). See #um-.]
Quenya
um-
not to do, not to be
hum-
not to do
ua-
verb. to not be, to not do
Element in
- Q. álamë tulya úsahtienna “[and] lead us not into temptation” ✧ VT43/21; VT43/21
- Q. uan carë “I do not make” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan cára “I am not making” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan carnë “I did not make” ✧ PE17/144
- Q. uan caruva “I am not going to make” ✧ PE17/144; PE17/144
Variations
- ua ✧ PE17/144
ui-
verb. to not be, to not do
Derivations
Element in
- Q. epetai i hyarma ú ten ulca símaryassen “consequently the left hand was not to them evil in their imaginations” ✧ VT49/13
- Q. ui “no, it is n[ot]”
- Q. uin carë “I do not make” ✧ PE17/068; PE22/152
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √ū̆gu/gū > ū- [ugu-] > [uɣu-] > [ū-] ✧ VT49/29 √ū̆gu/gū > ui [ugi] > [uɣi] > [ui] ✧ VT49/29 ✶ugilme > uilme [ugilme] > [uɣilme] > [uilme] ✧ VT49/29 Variations
- ú ✧ VT49/13
- ū- ✧ VT49/29 (
ū-)
un-
in evil sense
un- intensive prefix used before qu; the assimilated variant um- is said to occur before p, and "b" (the latter evidently = v developed from prehistoric b, but following um- its original quality would be preserved so that we would see umb-). This prefix is reportedly only used "in evil sense"; otherwise the intensive prefix is an- (and assimilated variants thereof). (VT45:5)
ú-
verb. not-, un-, in-
ú- (2) prefix "not-, un-, in-", denying presence or possession of thing or quality (VT39:14, UGU/UMU/VT46:20, GŪ, LT1:272), or simply suggesting something bad or immoral (see #úcar-, Úmaiar). Tolkien at one point considered redefining ú- as an element signifying "bad, uneasy, hard"; the already-published form únótima would then mean "difficult/impossible to count" rather than simply "uncountable" (VT42:33). However, Tolkien's very last word on the matter seems to be that ú- was to remain a mere negative (VT44:4). Compare úa, q.v. According to the Etymologies, the prefix ú- usually has a "bad sense", whereas according to early material u- (uv-, um-, un-) is a "mere negation" (UGU/UMU vs. VT42:32) According to a later source, ú- could be used as an uninflected verbal prefix, mainly in verse, but in a normal style the prefix was "verbalized" as ua-, q.v. (PE17:144). The stem Ū, as a negation, was accompanied by "pursed lips and shaking of the head" (PE17:145).
úmë
úmë
úmë (1) vb. pa.t. of um- (and u-?), q.v. (UGU/UMU)
an-
very
an- (2) intensive or superlative prefix carrying the idea of "very" or "most", seen in ancalima "most bright" (cf. calima "bright"), antara "very high, very lofty" and #anyára "very old" or "oldest" (the latter form occurring in the so-called Elaine inscription [VT49:40], there with the dative ending -n). Assimilated to am- before p-, as in amparca ("k") "very dry", and to al-, ar-, as- before words in l-, r-, s- (though Tolkien seems to indicate that before words in l- derived from earlier d, the original quality of the consonant would be preserved so that forms in and- rather than all- would result). See also un-. (Letters:279, VT45:5, 36) Regarding the form of the superlative prefix before certain consonants, another, partially discrepant system was also set down in the Etymologies and first published in VT45:36. The prefix was to appear as um- or un- before labialized consonants like p-, qu-, v- (the consonant v preserving its ancient pronunciation b- following the prefix, thus producing a word in umb-), as in- (technically iñ-) before c- and g- (the latter presumably referring to words that originally had initial g-, later lost in Quenya but evidently preserved following this prefix), and as an- otherwise. However, this system would contradict the canonical example ancalima, which would have been *incalima if Tolkien had maintained this idea. In a post-LotR source, the basic form of the prefix is given as am- instead (see am- #2). In this late conception, the prefix still appears as an- before most consonants, but as ama- before r, l, and the form an- is used even before s- (whether original or from þ), not the assimilated variant as- described above. General principles would suggest that the form am- should also appear before y- (so the form #anyára probably presupposes an- rather than am- as the basic form of the prefix, Tolkien revisiting the earlier concept in the _Elaine inscription). (PE17:92)_
lá-
verb. to not be
Changes
lamin→ lanye ✧ VT49/13Derivations
Element in
- Q. ála “do not” ✧ VT43/22
- Q. epetai i hyarma ú ten ulca símaryassen “consequently the left hand was not to them evil in their imaginations” ✧ VT49/13
- ᴺQ. laitë “false”
- Q. melin sé apa lanyë hé “I love him but not him (the other)” ✧ VT49/15
- Q. melinyes apa la hé “I love him but not him (the other)” ✧ VT49/15
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶lā > lanye [lanye] ✧ PE22/153 ✶lājā > laia [lājā] > [laijā] > [laija] > [laia] ✧ PE22/153 √(A)LA > lā- [lā-] ✧ PE22/156 √ala > lá [lā-] ✧ VT42/33 √ala > lā [lā-] ✧ VT49/13 ✶lājā > laia [lājā] > [laijā] > [laija] > [laia] ✧ VT49/13 Variations
- la ✧ PE22/154; VT43/22; VT49/15
- lā- ✧ PE22/156
- lá ✧ VT42/33; VT49/13; VT49/13
- lā ✧ VT49/13
- lamin ✧ VT49/13 (
lamin)
ita
very, extremely
ita, íta adv. 2) "very, extremely" (PE17:112). Like #1 above, this element emerged as part of Tolkiens efforts to explain the initial element of the name Idril (Q Itaril), so it is questionable if #1 and #2 were ever meant to coexist in the "same" version of Quenya.
lai
very
[lai adverbial particle "very" (VT45:8)]
lai
adverb. very
Derivations
- √DAY “*great”
#um- vb. "not to do, not to be" (1st pers. aorist umin "I do not, am not"), past tense úmë (UGU/UMU). Another version of this negative verb had the form #hum-, q.v., but Tolkien rejected it.