ma, (1) neuter personal pronoun "something, a thing" (VT42:34). It may occur (with the meaning "thing") in the ejaculation yé mána (ma) = "what a blessing" or "what a good thing!"" (VT49:41) (2) Ma has also been theorized to be a particle used to turn declarative statements into yes/no questions.
Quenya
ma
conjunction. whether; {frågemarkör}
ma
adverb. interrogative particle
ma
something, a thing
ma
pronoun. something, a thing; anything
ma
something, a thing
ma caruvalwë ohta
shall we make war
má
noun. hand
The most common Quenya word for “hand”, which Tolkien usually derived from a root √MAH or √MAƷ “hand; handle, wield”. The weak consonant h or ʒ in the root was lost very early, so that primitive ✶mā was one of a rare set of ancient monosyllabic nouns ending in a vowel. Tolkien said that of the various hand words, má was “the oldest (probably) and the one that retained a general and unspecialized sense - referring to the entire hand (including wrist) in any attitude or function” (VT47/6).
As a part of the body, má “hand” was usually referred to in the singular (má) or dual (mát). This was true when referring to the hands of groups of people as well. For example, to say that “the Elves raised their hands”, you would say either i Eldar ortaner mánta (singular, one hand each) or i Eldar ortaner mántat (dual, both hands each), with the possessive suffix -nta “their”.
The plural form már “hands” (or archaic †mai) was almost never used, in part because it conflicted with Q. már “dwelling”. The singular form was also used in general statements and proverbs: “hand is cleverer than foot” má anfinya epe tál (ná). A collection of otherwise unrelated hands would likely use the partitive-plural form: máli “some hands”, which in this case could also serve as the general plural (VT47/12 Note 2). See the discussions on PE17/161 and VT47/6 for more information.
This word is also unusual in that it retains its long vowel before consonant clusters in inflected forms such as mánta “their hand” (PE17/161) or márya “his/her hand” (PE17/69). As Tolkien described it:
> Lá is usually shortened to la before 2 consonants, according to the usual Q. procedure, but the long vowel can be retained, especially for additional emphasis, as in other cases where pronominal affixes follow a long vowel, as in márya “his hand” (PE22/160).
Conceptual Development: This word dates all the way back to ᴱQ. mā “hand” from Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, derived from the early root ᴱ√MAHA “grasp” (QL/57). ᴹQ. má “hand” also appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s under the root ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ). Tolkien mentioned this word with great frequency, usually derived from √MAH or √MAƷ (as noted above) though he sometimes considered deriving it from √MAG instead.
mana
what is
mana interogative, a word translated "what is" in the sentence mana i-coimas Eldaron[?] "what is the coimas (lembas) of the Eldar?" (PM:395, a variant reading in PM:403) Either this is *ma "what" + ná "is", or mana may itself be a unitary word "what", and there is not really any word meaning "is" in the sentence. Since ma is assigned other meanings elsewhere, the latter interpretation may be the more likely.
mat-
verb. to eat
The verb for “to eat” derived from the root √MAT of the same meaning (VT39/7).
Conceptual Development: This verb and root are quite well established, dating all the way back to ᴱQ. mat- and ᴱ√MATA of the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/59) and appearing as ᴹQ. mat- and ᴹ√MAT in The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/MAT), as well as numerous other places albeit with occasional variants like mata- (PE12/26). This verb was one Tolkien often used in examples of verb conjugations and as such its inflected forms changed considerably over time, but that is more a topic of the evolution of the Quenya verb system itself.
má
hand
má noun "hand" (MA3, LT2:339, Narqelion, VT39:10, [VT45:30], VT47:6, 18, 19); the dual "a pair of hands" is attested both by itself as mát (VT47:6) and with a pronominal suffix as máryat "his/her (pair of) hands" (see -rya, -t) (Nam, RGEO:67). The nominative plural form was only máli, not **már (VT47:6), though plurals in -r may occur in some of the cases, as indicated by the pl. allative mannar "into hands" (FS). Mánta "their hand", dual mántat "their hands" (two hands each) (PE17:161). Cf. also the compounds mátengwië "language of the hands" (VT47:9) and Lungumá "Heavyhand" (VT47:19); also compare the adj. -maitë "-handed". See also málimë.
ma varda enquantuva i yulma nin sí
will Varda now refill the cup for me?
má
noun. hand
hand
má
noun. hand
tyulma
noun. mast
This was the Quenya word for “mast” for much of Tolkien’s life. It first appeared as ᴱQ. tyulma “mast” in Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√TYULU “tall” (QL/50). It was ᴱQ. tyulme “mast” [with an e] in notes associated with a draft of the ᴱQ. Earendel (Poem) from around 1930 (PE16/100); in the final poem it appeared in its nominative plural form tyulmin “masts” (MC/216). In The Etymologies from 1937 it was again ᴹQ. tyulma “mast” derived from primitive ᴹ✶tyulmā under the root ᴹ√TYUL “stand up (straight)” (Ety/TYUL).
At some point Tolkien changed the form of its root without changing the word itself. In notes on the Adûnaic language from this period Tolkien gave its primitive form of ᴹQ. tyulma “mast” as ᴹ✶kyulumā (SD/419). The primitive form ᴹ✶kyulma “mast” also appeared in an earlier document Primitive Quendian Structure: Final Consonants dated “Apr. 28 [19]36” (PE21/55 note #1, PE21/65) and as ᴹ✶kı̯ulmā “mast” in Notes for Qenya Declensions from the 1940s (PE21/68). Notes on Common Eldarin: Noun Structure from the early 1950s had both primitive ✶kjulmā “mast” (PE21/74) and Q. tyulma “mast” (PE21/80).
Neo-Quenya: Tolkien’s change of √TYUL to √KYUL is in keeping with his abandonment of palatalized dentals in Ancient Elvish; see the discussion of phonetic developments in Ancient Telerin for details. This has no effect on Quenya word forms, since ancient ky became ty in that language branch. It does affect Sindarin forms, however, and I prefer to retain earlier palatalized dental roots like √TYUL to preserve words like [N.] tulus “poplar-tree”, also derived from this root.
tyulma
mast
tyulma noun "mast" _(TYUL, SD:419). "_Qenya" pl. tyulmin "masts" in MC:216; read *tyulmar in LotR-style Quenya.
Silmarien
-riën
Silmarien (sometimes "-riën") fem. name, apparently incorporates sil(i)ma (Appendix A) and the feminine ending -ien, or -rien as a variant of -riel (garlanded maiden) as in Altariel (Galadriel).
Amarië
good
Amarië fem. name; perhaps derived from mára "good" with prefixing of the stem-vowel and the feminine ending -ië (Silm)
-ma
suffix. instrumental
roccor i erulingaron márë nár (ma naitë)?
the horses of the Rohirrim are good (are they not, lit. is it true)
yé mána (ma)
what a blessing, what a good thing!
Ma istanyel?
t# `B81D5Ì$jÀ interrogative. Do I know you?
Translates officially as: Do I know (formal) you?
ferna
mast, beechnuts
ferna noun "mast, beechnuts" (PHER/PHÉREN)
ur(u)ma
noun. coal, charcoal
@@@ Discord 2022-04-10
fanta-
verb. to veil, cloak, mantle
fanta- vb. "to veil, cloak, mantle" (VT43:22), mainly used of veils cast over things that shone, or that were brighter and more vivid (PE17:174); according to Tolkien usually the strong past tense fánë and perfect afánië were used, but later also fantanë in the past tense (and then perhaps *afantië in the perfect?) (PE17:179-180) Cf halya- (q.v.), the stem of which Tolkien contrasted with the stem of this verb (PE17:184).
taura
mighty, masterful
taura adj. "mighty, masterful" (TUR, PE17:115), "very mighty, vast, of unmeasured might or size" (VT39:10). Cf. túrëa.
o-
prefix. together
A prefix meaning “together” derived from primitive √WO (WJ/367). The modern Quenya form of the prefix is the result of the sound change whereby “unstressed wo was often reduced to o with loss of w” (PE19/106). Note that “when stressed the [primitive] sequence wo was usually changed > wa”, so in theory Quenya might have a variant prefix ✱va- “together” that was the result of an ancient stressed prefix, much like Sindarin go- vs. gwa-. However, there is no sign of such a prefix va- in Quenya. Instead, the short o- became ó- in those rare cases where it was stressed (WJ/367).
In the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 Tolkien said that o- was “used in words describing the meeting, junction, or union of two things or persons, or of two groups thought of as units”, as opposed to yo- used for three or more things (WJ/361, 367). In examples elsewhere, though, o- “together” seems to have a more general meaning in words like olass(i)ë “foliage, collection of leaves” or ombari “company, dwellers together” (NM/117). I would therefore assume yo- is only used when plurality was emphasized, and o- “together” was the default choice otherwise.
Conceptual Development: The earliest precursor to this suffix appeared in the Gnomish Lexicon of the 1910s as ᴱQ. ma- “together” derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a (GL/40). This was part of a paradigm in which G. go- was the result of unstressed ᴱ✶ŋu̯a, and gwa- was the normal phonological result. There was also an apparently related suffix ᴱQ. -ngwe in the Narqelion poem in phrases like ómalingwe lir’ amaldar = “✱(together) with voices singing gently”, which could also be derived from primitive ᴱ✶ŋu̯a. The Early Noldorin Dictionary of the 1920s had ᴱQ. va- as the equivalent of ᴱN. go- “together”, probably reflecting a change to primitive ✱wa- (PE13/162).
The Etymologies of the 1930s had both ᴹQ. ō̆- and N. go- “together” derived from the root ᴹ√WŌ̆ (Ety/WŌ). In this new paradigm, N. gwa- was the result of stressed primitive wó-. In Quenya primitive wō and unstressed wŏ blended to produce o- “together”, which could be either short o or long ó. In the Outline of Phonetic Development (OP1) of the 1940s, Tolkien seems to hint that stressed (g)wo- > wá- in Quenya as well (PE19/53). But as noted above there are no examples of prefixal wa-/va- “together” in actual Quenya words from Tolkien’s later writings.
yé
lo!
yé (1) interjection "lo!" (VT47:31), also occurring in Aragorn's exclamation when he found the sapling of the White Tree. (Compare yéta-.) Also in the ejaculation yé mána (ma) = "what a blessing" or "what a good thing!" (VT49:41). The more literal meaning would seem to be *"behold the blessing!"
lé
preposition. with
The preposition lé “with” was mentioned in a (rejected) etymology of S. di “with” in Tolkien’s notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s (PE17/94), from the phrase le nallon sí di’nguruthos (LotR/729), usually translated “here overwhelmed in dread of Death, I cry”. In this note, Tolkien eventually decided that S. (n)di actually meant “beneath”, and its Quenya equivalent was Q. nî.
Conceptual Development: Prepositional ᴹQ. le also appeared in the Lament of Atalante from the 1940s, in the phrase ᴹQ. Númeheruvi arda sakkante lenéme Ilúvatáren “the Lords of the West broke the world by [or with] leave of Ilúvatar” (SD/246, 310). Here “with” seems to be used in the instrumental sense “by means of”.
The Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s had ᴱQ. le “with (accompaniment)” under the early root ᴱ√LĒ (QL/52). Le was also mentioned in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon as the equivalent of G. li “with (of accompaniment only)”, but also used to mean “and” between nouns (GL/54). In this period the instrumental preposition seems to be ᴱQ. ma, which appeared in a few phrases from ᴱQ. Sí Qente Feanor from the 1910s: ᴱQ. malto ísier i nosta “✱by those from whom this birth was known” and ᴱQ. nalto fustúme ma Melkon “✱they can be smelled out by Melko” (PE15/32). Compare G. ma “with instrument or by agent” from the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/55).
Neo-Quenya: I would retain ᴺQ. lé for purposes of Neo-Quenya as a rarely-used instrumental preposition meaning “with, by (means of)”, reconceived as a derivative of √LEÑ “✱way, method, manner” (PE17/74).
málimë
noun. wrist, (lit.) hand-link
A word for “wrist” in notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals from the late 1960s, a combination of má “hand” and limë “link”, hence “(lit.) hand-link” (VT47/6).
Conceptual Development: There was a similar word in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s: ᴱQ. marikta “wrist”, a combination of suffixal ᴱQ. má “hand(s)” and some derivative of the early root ᴱ√RIKI “✱twist” (QL/57, 80), perhaps “✱hand-joint”.
an sí varda, tintallë, elentári ortanë máryat oiolossëo ve fanyar
for now Varda, Star-kindler, Star-queen [has] lifted up her (two) hands from Mount Everwhite like (white) clouds
The 9th and 10th phrases of the prose Namárië, corresponding to the 9th and 10th lines of the poem. They are combined here for purposes of discussion because Tolkien moved words between the two lines. Tolkien dramatically reorganized the text from the poetic version as follows:
> an sí Tintallë Varda Oiolossëo ve fanyar máryat Elentári ortanë >>
an sí Varda, Tintallë, Elentári ortanë máryat Oiolossëo ve fanyar
Tolkien grouped together the three names of Varda (Varda, Tintallë, Elentári) as the subject of the phrase. He moved the object máryat “her (two) hands” immediately after the verb, which is the usual Quenya word order. He also moved the two modifying clauses, Oiolossëo “from Mount Everwhite” and ve fanyar “like (white) clouds”, to the end.
The revised Quenya ordering would match the poetic English translation quite closely if the phrase “from Mount Everwhite” were moved closer to the end:
> “for now the Kindler, Varda, the Queen of the Stars from Mount Everwhite has uplifted her hands like clouds” »»»
“✱for now Varda, the Kindler, the Queen of the Stars has uplifted her hands from Mount Everwhite like clouds”
cala
noun. light, light; [ᴱQ.] daytime (sunlight), 12 hours
This is the most common Quenya word for “light”, derived from the root √KAL of similar meaning (RGEO/62; PE17/84). It appears in numerous compounds, either in its full form or in a reduced form cal-.
Conceptual Development: ᴱQ. kala appeared all the way back in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s glossed “daytime (sunlight), 12 hours” and derived from the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), but it had the sense “light” in the phrase ᴱQ. i·kal’antúlien “Light hath returned” (LT1/184), and it was given as the cognate of G. gala “light, daylight” in the contemporaneous Gnomish Lexicon (GL/37).
ᴹQ. kala “light” appeared in The Etymologies of the 1930s as a derivative of the root ᴹ√KAL “shine” (Ety/KAL). Somewhat curiously in that document its primitive form was given as ᴹ✶k’lā́ (EtyAC/KAL), a form that also appeared in the first version of Tengwesta Qenderinwa (TQ1) from the 1930s (PE18/38). Tolkien may have used this variant form to explain N. glaw “radiance” (< ᴹ✶g’lā́), but in later writings S. glaw “sunshine” was derived from √LAW.
fanwa
noun. veil, screen
ala-
good
ala- (3), also al-, a prefix expressing "good" or "well" (PE17:146), as in alaquenta (q.v.) Whether Tolkien imagined this ending to coexist with the negative prefix of the same form (#2 above) is unclear and perhaps dubious.
as
with
as prep. "with" (together with), also attested with a pronominal suffix: aselyë "with thee" (VT47:31, VT43:29). The conjunction ar "and" may also appear in assimilated form as before s; see ar #1.
as
with
o (2) prep. "with" (MC:216; this is "Qenya"; WJ:367 states that no independent preposition o was used in Quenya. Writers may rather use as.) See ó- below.
cálë
light
cálë ("k")noun "light" (Markirya; in early "Qenya", cálë meant "morning", LT1:254)
meletya
mighty
#meletya adj. "mighty", isolated from meletyalda adjective with suffix "your mighty" = "your majesty" (see -lda; meletya = *"mighty"). In full Aran Meletyalda "king your mighty" = "your majesty" (WJ:369). Compare melehta.
nórë
land
nórë noun "land" (associated with a particular people) (WJ:413), "country, land, dwelling-place, region where certain people live, race, clan" (NŌ, NDOR, BAL), also used = "race, tribe, people" (SA:dôr, PE17:169; however, the normal word for "people" is lië). Early "Qenya" hasnórë "native land, nation, family, country" (in compounds -nor) (LT1:272)
sarat
letter
sarat (pl. sarati given) noun "letter", any individual significant mark, used of the letters of Rúmil after the invention of Fëanor's tengwar (WJ:396). Cf. sarmë.
cálë
noun. light
A noun for “light” appearing in the versions of the Markirya poem from the 1960s (MC/222-223).
Conceptual Development: In the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, ᴱQ. kále “morning” was a derivative of the early root ᴱ√KALA “shine golden” (QL/44), and kāle was mentioned again Gnomish Lexicon Slips as a cognate of G. gaul “a light” (PE13/114). The form ᴱQ. kale “day” appeared in the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, but was deleted (PE14/43). It might also be an element in ᴹQ. yúkale “twilight” (= “both lights”) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/KAL).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the better attested Q. cala “light”.
melehta
adjective. mighty
An adjective for “mighty” derived from the root √MBELEK in a page of notes having to do with “large & small” words, probably from the late 1960s (PE17/115), apparently from the primitive form ✱✶mbelektā (with [kt] > [ht]). A variant form meletya appears with the 2nd-plural possessive suffix -lda as Meletyalda “your mighty” in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/369), likely from the primitive form ✱✶mbelekya (with [kj] > [tj]). This variant form has a more typical primitive adjective suffix ✶-ya, but is inconsistent with the attested Sindarin cognate S. belaith, so I’d stick with melehta for purposes of Neo-Quenya.
nór
noun. land
A term for “land” as in “(dry) land as opposed to the sea”, mentioned in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/413) and again in notes from around 1968 (PE17/106-107).
Possible Etymology: In the Quendi and Eldar essay this term was derived from primitive ✶ndōro, but in the aforementioned 1968 notes Tolkien clarified that its stem form was nŏr-. This means it was probably derived from ancient ✱ndŏr-, where the long vowel in the uninflected form was inherited from the Common Eldarin subjective form ✱ndōr, a phenomenon also seen in words like nér (ner-) “man”. I prefer this second derivation, as it makes the independent word more distinct from the suffixal form -ndor or -nóre used in the names of countries.
uo
adverb. together
The adverb uo “together” appeared as a derivative of ✶ówō in a rejected page of notes on the etymology about the prefix o- of the same meaning, probably from around 1959 (PE17/191).
Neo-Quenya: Though the page is rejected, the etymology of ᴺQ. uo “together” remains plausible, so I would retain this adverb for purposes of Neo-Quenya.
málimë
wrist
málimë (stem *málimi-, given primitive form ¤mā-limi) noun "wrist", literally "hand-link" (má + #limë). (VT47:6)
-nen
suffix. instrumental
tecil
noun. pen
-ndor
land
-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)
-nwa
passive suffix
-nwa is said to be "a passive suffix" irregularly occurring in the word vanwa "lost" (PE17:63), the word seems to be irregular since the underlying root means "go away" and so vanwa is in a sense a past active participle, *"having gone". Compare PE17:68.
cala
light
cala ("k")noun "light" (KAL). Concerning the "Qenya" verb cala-, see #cal- above.
calina
light
calina ("k")adj. "light" (KAL), "bright" (VT42:32) "(literally illumined) sunny, light" (PE17:153) but apparently a noun "light" in coacalina, q.v.
car-
with
#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)
hyar
plough
hyar noun "plough" (LT2:342)
lé
with
lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)
melehta
mighty
melehta adj. "mighty" (PE17:115), cf. meletya
nonda
hand, especially in [?clutching]
nonda noun "hand, especially in [?clutching]" (VT47:23; Tolkien's gloss was not certainly legible)
nór
land
nór noun "land" (stem nor-, PE17:106) this is land as opposed to water and sea (nor in Letters:308). Cf. nórë.
tecil
pen
tecil ("k")noun "pen" (TEK, PM:318, VT47:8)
tengwa
letter
tengwa (pl. tengwar is attested) (1) noun "letter" Tengwa (ñ) is defined as "any one visible sign representing (theoretically) any one audible teñgwe" (phoneme) (VT39:17). In non-technical usage tengwa was equivalent to "consonant", since only the consonants were full signs (WJ:396, TEK). In the Etymologies, tengwa was apparently emended from tengwë (VT46:17).
uo
together
[uo adv. "together" (PE17:191)]
vasarya-
verb. to veil
vasarya- (þ) vb. "to veil" (VT42:10)
as
preposition. with
cambë
noun. hand, (hollow of) hand
meletya
adjective. mighty
mára
adjective. good
nóre
noun. land
vasar
noun. veil
A noun meaning “a veil” that is a rare remnant of the root √WATHAR in Quenya, along with a related verb vasarya- “to veil” (VT42/10). In the draft version of the note where it appeared, Tolkien said this noun was “was not in daily use” (VT42/9). It is related to S. gwath, and possibly also the name Q. Avathar “Shadows” as suggested by Carl Hostetter (VT48/28 note #17).
wa-
prefix. together
ó
with, accompanying
hyar
noun. plough
uo
adverb. together
The base element for Quenya interrogatives, used to form questions. Add ma at the beginning of a declarative statement turns it into a question: carnelyes “you did it” becomes ma carnelyes “did you do it?”. See the entry on interrogative pronouns for more details.