Primitive elvish

ke

pronoun. you (imperious/familiar)

ke/eke

root. may (be); have chance, opportunity or permission; it is open

This root appeared in various notes from the late 1960s as the basis for the particle of uncertainty Q. . This particle meant “if” or “maybe” in various contexts, but in notes from 1969 √KE was given the sense “may (be)” and paired with √KWI “suppose”, which was the basis for qui “if” (PE22/158). This can be compared to another paradigm also from 1969 associated with the Ambidexters Sentence where meant “if” and it seems the root √keye (with derived verb cíta-) meant “suppose” (VT49/19). Of the two paradigms, I think √KE “maybe”/√KWI “if, suppose” is more useful for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, but it seems Tolkien’s own thoughts on the subject were in flux.

In notes written in 1967, Tolkien gave what was apparently an inverted form of this root, √ek “it is open”, from which the impersonal Quenya verb ec- “may, can” in the sense “have the opportunity to” is derived (VT49/20). This inverted form is almost certainly related to √KE, as suggested by Patrick Wynne.

Primitive elvish [PE22/158; VT49/19; VT49/20] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-kē

suffix. 2nd person singular a (inferior)

Primitive elvish [PE23/117; PE23/118; PE23/125; PE23/126] Group: Eldamo. Published by

eke

root. it is open

khan

root. brother

A root for “brother” that Tolkien introduced in notes on finger-names from the late 1960s as a companion to √NETH “sister” (VT47/14, 26, 34). It conflicts with, and possibly replaces, earlier uses for √KHAN such as √KHAN “back” in notes from around 1959 serving as the basis for the prefix Q. han- in hanquenta “answer” (PE17/166). The root ᴹ√KHAN also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s glossed “understand, comprehend”, with various derivatives in both Quenya and Noldorin of similar meaning (Ety/KHAN).

It is unlikely that all these uses of √KHAN coexisted, but I think at a minimum both √KHAN “brother” and ᴹ√KHAN “understand, comprehend” should be retained for the purposes of Neo-Eldarin, as the latter has no good replacements in Tolkien’s later writing. As for hanquenta “answer”, it might be reinterpreted as “a saying providing understanding”, and so be derived from ᴹ√KHAN “understand”.

Primitive elvish [VT47/14; VT47/26; VT47/34] Group: Eldamo. Published by

-swē

suffix. 1st person dual b (inclusive)

Primitive elvish [PE19/069; PE23/117; PE23/118; PE23/125; PE23/126] Group: Eldamo. Published by

de

pronoun. you (pl.)

Primitive elvish [PE23/069; PE23/119; PE23/120; VT48/24; VT49/50; VT49/51; WJ/363] Group: Eldamo. Published by

ki

noun. you (imperious/familiar)

Primitive elvish [PE17/017; PE17/130; PE23/113; PE23/117; PE23/119; PE23/120; PE23/130; VT48/25; VT49/50; VT49/52] Group: Eldamo. Published by

nki

pronoun. *thou-and-I

Primitive elvish [PE17/130; VT49/51] Group: Eldamo. Published by

mor(o)kē

noun. she-bear

Primitive elvish [PE21/82] Group: Eldamo. Published by

the

pronoun. you (imperious/familiar)