et

preposition. out (of)

The basic Quenya preposition for “out”, as seen in et Eärello Endorenna utúlien “Out of the Great Sea to Middle-earth I am come” (LotR/967). It is derived from the root √ET of the same meaning. In most of its appearances, the following noun also has the ablative case, and in The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien said “et with ablative = out of: Et elendellor” (EtyAC/ET).

It is less clear whether et can be used without the ablative, and what it means in such cases. We have only one example: et i péti, untranslated but probably meaning “✱out of the lips” (VT47/35). This example seems to have the same meaning as et + ablative, meaning movement out of the mouth. But I think et without the ablative might also be used to indicate position as in et i coa “out of the house” = “outside the house (not leaving from it)”. It might even be possible to use the allative with et, such as et i ulonna “out into the rain”.