hya

or

hya conj. "or" or noun "other thing" (VT49:14)

hya

conjunction. or

Derivations

• √KHY- “other”

Element in

• Q. epetai i hyarma ú ten ulca símaryassen “consequently the left hand was not to them evil in their imaginations” ✧ VT49/14

Variations

• hya ✧ VT49/14

hya

pronoun. other thing

Derivations

• ✶khyā̆ “other thing” ✧ VT49/14
  • √KHY- “other” ✧ VT49/14

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶khyā̆ > hya	[kʰja] > [xja] > [j̊a]	✧ VT49/14

Variations

• hya ✧ VT49/14

hyana

other

hyana adj. "other", cf. hya (VT49:14)

hyana

adjective. other

Derivations

• ✶khyana “other” ✧ VT49/14

Element in

• ᴺQ. hyano “rather”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
✶khyana > hyana	[kʰjana] > [xjana] > [j̊ana]	✧ VT49/14

hela

or

hela conj. "or", apparently an ephemeral form, replaced by hya (VT49:14-15). The editor theorizes that hela literally meant "other than" (VT49:15)

exa

other

exa adj.? "other" (apparently as adjective) (VT47:10, VT49:33). Also eces ("k"), unless this is intended as the stem underlying exa (the root KES with prefixed stem-vowel) rather than a Quenya word (VT49:33).

exa

adjective. other

Derivations

• √KES “other” ✧ VT47/40

Element in

• ᴺQ. exanen “otherwise, in an other way”

Phonetic Developments

Development	Stages	Sources
√ekes > exa	[eksa]	✧ VT47/40

var

or

var (1) conj. "or" (QL:100). In Tolkiens later Quenya, the word hya appears for "or". A phrase involving a double var…var may mean "either…or" in one early (untranslated) text, according to Christopher Gilsons interpretation (PE15:32, 39)

herca

conjunction. or

Cognates

• S. egor “or”

ecar

conjunction. or

Cognates

• S. egor “or”

egor

conjunction. or

egor

or

egor

egor

conjunction. or

Cognates

• ᴺQ. ecar “or”
• ᴺQ. herca “or”

Element in

• S. egor ben genediad Drannail erin Gwirith edwen “or in the Shire-reckoning the second day of April” ✧ AotM/062; SD/129

egor

or

**

na

by

(near) na (followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salos reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

na

by

(followed by lenition), with article nan (followed by ”mixed mutation”, according to David Salo’s reconstruction). The preposition has various meanings: ”with, by, near” and also ”to, toward, at; of”

egel

adjective. other

Derivations

• √HEK “aside, apart, separate”

Element in

• ᴺS. egelren “different, strange”

khyā̆

pronoun. other thing

Derivations

• √KHY- “other” ✧ VT49/14

Derivatives

• Q. hya “other thing” ✧ VT49/14

Element in

• ✶khyana “other” ✧ VT49/14

khyana

adjective. other

Derivatives

• Q. hyana “other” ✧ VT49/14

khy-

root. other

Tolkien used a variety of different roots for “otherness” and “or” throughout his life. The earliest of these was ᴱ√VARA from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, unglossed but with derivatives like ᴱQ. vára “other”, ᴱQ. var “or”, ᴱQ. varya “different” and ᴱQ. varimo “foreigner” (QL/100). Similar words in the Gnomish lexicon such as G. far(o)n “separate, different, strange” and G. faronwed “foreign” seem to be based on a distinct but possibly related root, apparently being derived from G. far- “separate, sever, divide” (GL/34). The Gnomish words for “otherness” seem to be based on the (hypothetical) root ✱ᴱ√ELE, such as G. el “or” and G. eleg “other, else” (GL/32); see the entry on ✱ᴱ√ELE for further discussion.

In the Early Qenya Grammar, the “other” words were based on ᴱQ. etya (comparative) and ᴱQ. nyanya (general), but these words were on a page of demonstratives and their primitive basis isn’t clear (PE14/55). The next published “or” word was S. egor from the King’s Letter in the omitted epilogue to The Lord of the Rings, written towards the very end of the 1940s (SD/129).

The next set of “or/other” words do not appear until the 1960s. The primitive form ✶khē̆ appears in notes on reflexives from 1965 as the basis for Q. hé “him, the other” (VT49/15). In rough notes on numbers written in the late 1960s, Tolkien gave the possibly-related root √KES “other”, with derivatives Q. exa “other” and Q. exe “the other”, apparently adjective and noun (VT47/40). Finally in some notes written in 1968 or later, Tolkien gave the primitive element √KHY- “other”, with derivatives Q. hye “other person”, Q. hya “other thing”, and Q. hyana “other [adjective]” (VT49/14).

These primitive forms also seem to be connected to various words Tolkien considered for “or” in the Ambidexters Sentence composed in 1969: khe >> hela >> hya (VT49/14). Patrick Wynne suggested the first two of these might be connected to 1965 ✶khē̆, and the last one to 1968+ √KHY-. This last root may also be connected to Q. ahya- “change” (circa 1960); if so Tolkien may have been vacillating among various possible forms throughout the 1960s.

Neo-Eldarin: For purposes of Neo-Eldarin, I think it is better to use √KHY- and its derivatives, since they are a more comprehensive paradigm including the best available Quenya word for “or”.

Changes

• khe → hela ✧ VT49/14

Derivatives

• ✶khyā̆ “other thing” ✧ VT49/14
  • Q. hya “other thing” ✧ VT49/14
• ✶khyē̆ “other person” ✧ VT49/14
  • Q. hye “other person, him (the other)” ✧ VT49/14
• Q. hya “or”
• Q. hye “other person, him (the other)” ✧ VT49/15

Element in

• Q. epetai i hyarma ú ten ulca símaryassen “consequently the left hand was not to them evil in their imaginations” ✧ VT49/14

Variations

• khe ✧ VT49/14 (khe)
• khy- ✧ VT49/14
• khē̆ ✧ VT49/15

kes

root. other

Derivatives

• Q. exa “other” ✧ VT47/40
• Q. exe “the other” ✧ VT47/40

Variations

• ekes ✧ VT47/40