A fossilized allative suffix derived from primitive ✶-da appearing a few adverbs like öar “away from” and tar(a) “thither” (WJ/366; PE19/104).
Quenya
-da
suffix. product of an action
-da
draught, the amount drunk
-r
suffix. motion to or towards a point, motion to or towards a point, *archaic allative
carda
noun. deed, deed, *action
Quenya noun for a “deed”, a combination of the verb car- “to do” and the verbal suffix -da used for the product of an action (PE17/51; PE22/152), thus literally “✱a thing done” = “✱action”.
Conceptual Development: Perhaps the earliest precursor of this word is ᴱQ. karma “shape, fashion; act, deed” in the Qenya Lexicon from the 1910s of similar derivation (QL/45). ᴱQ. ká “deed, act, fact” also appeared in that document, derived from a different root ᴱ√KAHA cause” (QL/43). In The Etymologies from the 1930s, the word appeared as ᴹQ. kar (kard-) “deed” in a draft version for the entry of the root ᴹ√KAR “do, make”, but this word was revised to ᴹQ. kar (kard-) “building” when Tolkien decided the root meaning was only “make, build, construct” and not “do” (Ety/KAR), a decision he later reversed. The form karma “deed” also appeared in some later writings, but was rejected (PE22/138).
tal(da)
adverb. to the bottom, to the bottom, [ᴹQ.] downwards
Several specialized adverbs having to do with “bottom” appeared in various documents: ᴱQ. talta “to the bottom (of)” (PE15/71), ᴹQ. tal “downwards” and ᴹQ. talte “down, at the bottom” (PE21/21-22), and tăl or talda “to the bottom” (PE21/76), the first from the early 1920s, the second pair from the 1930s, and the last pair from the early 1950s. The last was derived from ✶tald(a), where ✶-da was the ancient allative suffix “to” also seen in Q. tar(a) “thither” (PE19/104; VT49/11). Its base root is √TAL “foot”, so its original meaning was “to the foot”. Compare also cas(ta) “to the top, (orig.) to the head”.
aldanil
masculine name. Lover of Trees
A name appearing only in some linguistic notes from the 1950s, beside variant form Alandil (PE21/83).
-na
no longer part of verbal conjugation
-na (4), ending used to form passive participles as well as some adjectives and nouns; see -ina. According to PE17:68, the ending -na was "no longer part of verbal conjugation"; the derived words are thus considered independent adjectives (sometimes nouns) rather than regularly derived passive participles, the obvious etymological connection to certain verbal stems notwithstanding. Where adding the ending to a root would produce the combinations tn, pn, kn (cn), metathesis occurs to produce nt, (np >) mp, nc, as in nanca *"slain" for older ¤ndakna, or hampa "restrained, delayed, kept" vs. the root KHAP "retain, keep, detain". Following -l, the suffix -na turns into -da, as in yulda "draught, the amount drunk" for older yulna (this being an example of a noun being derived with this ending, though Tolkien might also explain yulda as containing a distinct ending -da [q.v.] denoting the result of a verbal action). The word *turúna "mastered" (q.v., only attested in elided form turún) would seem to be a passive participle formed from the verb turu- "master" (PE17:113), suggesting that in the case of U-stem verbs, their final -u is lengthened to ú when -na is added.
an(da)-
prefix. superlative prefix
arata
high, lofty, noble
arata adj. "high, lofty, noble" (PE17:49, 186). Also used as a a noun with nominal pl. form Aratar "the Supreme", the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya "her sublimity"; Varda Aratarya "Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity" (WJ:369). In one source, Aratar is translated as a singular: "High One" (PE17:186)
canta-
verb. ?
car
deed
car (card-) (3) ("k")noun "deed" (rewritten >) "building, house" (KAR). Cf. carda.
carda
deed
carda noun "deed" (PE17:51). Cf. car #3. The word may contain the ending -da (q.v.) denoting the result of the corresponding verbal action.
carda
noun. deed
carma
noun. deed
halda
adjective. high, tall
hyanda
noun. pressed mass, crowd, pressed mass, crowd, [ᴹQ.] throng
indo
house
indo (2) noun "house" (LT2:343), probably obsoleted by #1 above (in Tolkiens later Quenya, the word for "house" appears as coa).
mar(da)
noun. dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home, dwelling, (great) house, residence, mansion, a thing or place dwelt in, home; [ᴱQ.] world
A word for “dwelling, mansion, hall” derived from √MBAR “dwell” (PE17/64), most notably as an element in oromardi “lofty halls” in the Namárië “poem” (LotR/377). Its plural mardi indicates a stem form of mard-, but its uninflected form appeared as both short mar (PE17/64, 163-4; PE21/80) and longer marda (PE17/107; PE21/76). Tolkien described its meaning more precisely in some notes from the 1960s:
> The derivative form ✱mbardā became in Quenya marda: “a thing or place dwelt in, dwelling” and since it could be applied to the actual dwelling-places or buildings (alone or grouped) approached the sense “house”. Though it did not in fact refer to “buildings”, and could equally well be applied to dwelling-places of natural origin, such as caves or groves (PE17/107).
And in an earlier version of these notes:
> The usual word in Eldarin for a “home”, as the established residence of a family consisting of one or more associated buildings, was ✱mbā̆r (stem mbăr-), and ✱mbardā (an adjectival formation). In Q mar (stem mard-), a blending of the two, was used like “residence”, usually with a defining genitive, for the “great house” of a family (PE17/164).
In Tolkien’s later writings, it seems this word was distinct from and coexisted with Q. már (mar-) “home” (PE17/106, 164).
Conceptual Development: This word for “dwelling” was often intermingled and confused with már “home”, making its conceptual development difficult to trace. There are some other earlier words for which some extension was added to √MBAR. In the 1910s ᴱQ. marda meant “world” as in ᴱQ. Talka Marda “Smith of the World” (LT1/180; 15/8); in The Qenya Phonology Tolkien said marda had a dialectical variant ᴱQ. mára (PE12/24) and in the Gnomish Lexicon it had the form Marwa “World” (GL/18).
The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s had an adverbial variant ᴹQ. marta “home” of ᴹQ. mar “house” (PE21/25, 27); this adverbial form became marda “home” in Common Eldarin: Noun Structure of the early 1950s (PE21/76). In the 1930s more generally the stem form of short ᴹQ. mar was frequently mard- (PE21/27; EtyAC/MBAR; LR/72) but not always (LR/63). The coexistence of már and mard- was not clearly established until the 1960s (see above).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use marda primarily as a “dwelling” as in “a thing dwelled in”, usable of buildings but also of natural dwellings like caves. Of constructed dwellings, it generally applies to larger or more elaborate dwellings such as mansions and halls, as in oromar “high hall”. I would assume the same was true of natural dwellings, with marda only applicable to a complex of inhabitable caverns rather than an individual cave. For the home of an individual or family I would use már “home”, and for the building itself I would use cöa “house” (dwelling or not).
I would use mard- as the stem form of this word as with its plural mardi. Strictly speaking its uninflected form would be mar < ✶mbardā̆ after the ancient loss of short final ă, but in practice this was generally reformed to marda to make it more distinct from már “home”. Thus sissë i luinë marda (ná) “here is the blue mansion” but tassë i ninqui mardi (nár) “there are the white mansions”.
melda
adjective. dear, beloved, beloved, dear, [ᴹQ.] sweet
melin
dear
melin adj. "dear" (MEL)
ná-
verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist
The basic Quenya verb for “to be”, based on the root √NĀ (PE17/93). It was typically used as the copula equating a noun to another noun or an adjective:
> √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).
In many circumstances this verb was optional:
> As a copula “be, is” is not usually expressed in Quenya where the meaning is clear: sc. in such expressions as “A is good” where the adjective (contrary to the usual order in Quenya of a qualifying adjective) follows: the normal Quenya for this is A mára (PE17/93).
For further discussion see the entry on the Quenya copula.
Conceptual Development: This verb dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was given as the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This verb and its root appeared regularly throughout Tolkien’s writings thereafter, but at times Tolkien considered alternative verbs for “to be”; see the entry ëa- for further discussion.
os
house, cottage
os (ost-) noun "house, cottage" (LT2:336; hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya writers may use coa or már)
quessë
feather
quessë noun "feather", also name of tengwa #4 (Appendix E, WJ:417, KWES, VT45:24); súriquessë "wind feather" (referring to a "tuft of radiating grass" in a drawing by Tolkien) (J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist & Illustrator, p. 197)
quessë
noun. feather
The Quenya word for “feather” and the name of tengwa #4 [z] (LotR/1122).
Conceptual Development: Some similar words appeared in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√QASA: ᴱQ. qasil “arrow-feather, arrow” and ᴱQ. qasilla “tuft, nodding spray, tassel, plume” (QL/76); quasil was only glossed “arrow” in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa (PME/76). ᴹQ. qesse “feather” first appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√KWES (Ety/KWES), already the name of tengwa #4 (EtyAC/KWES). It was also the name of this tengwa in notes on the Feanorian Alphabet from the 1930s and 1940s (PE22/22, 51, 61), and remained so into the published version of The Lord of the Rings.
sal-
verb. ?
sonda
dear, fond
[sonda adj. "dear, fond" (VT46:15)]
suhto
draught
suhto noun "draught" (SUK)
tar-
affix. high, high; [ᴹQ.] king or queen (in compounds)
A prefix (and sometimes suffix) meaning “high” as in Tarcil “High Man” or Tarmenel “High Heaven”. It is often used in reference to royalty and nobility, as in Tarumbar “King of the World” or Sorontar “Lord of Eagles”, as well as the names of Númenorean kings and queens. It is related to the adjective tára “high” based on the root √TĀ/TAƷ of similar meaning (Ety/TĀ).
tá
high
tá 2) adj. "high" (LT1:264; there spelt tâ. This is hardly a valid word in Tolkien's later Quenya, but cf. tára "lofty".)
tána
high, lofty, noble
tána (meaning unclear, probably adj. "high, lofty, noble") (TĀ/TA3). Compare tára.
yulda
draught, something drunk, a drink, the amount drunk
yulda noun "draught, something drunk, a drink, the amount drunk", pl. yuldar (Nam, PE17:63, 68, RGEO:66). See -da regarding etymology.
arata
high, lofty, noble
arata adj. "high, lofty, noble" (PE17:49, 186). Also used as a a noun with nominal pl. form Aratar "the Supreme", the chief Valar, translation of the foreign word Máhani adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:402). Aratarya "her sublimity"; Varda Aratarya "Varda the lofty, Varda in her sublimity" (WJ:369). In one source, Aratar is translated as a singular: "High One" (PE17:186)
minul(da)
noun. ingot
-da suffix used to derive nouns denoting the result of an action, like yulda "draught, the amount drunk" (the stem YUL is here given the meaning "drink"). (PE17:68) Cf. also carda "deed" (q.v.) vs. the verb car- "do".