mi

preposition. in, in, [ᴹQ.] within

The Quenya preposition for “in”, very well attested. It was derived from the root √MI of the same meaning (PE17/92; VT43/30; VT47/30). In The Etymologies of the 1930s ᴹQ. mi was glossed “in, within” under the root ᴹ√MI “inside” (Ety/MI).

Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, the preposition mi appeared (untranslated) in the phrase ᴱQ. Uole·mi·Kūme “Moon King” = “✱Uole in the Moon” (QL/48). The main dictionary had the adverb ᴱQ. imi “in, inside” under the early root ᴱ√IMI (QL/42). In one place in Tolkien’s later writings from the 1950s, the preposition mi “in” had the variant form imi as well (VT43/30).