man pron. "who" (Nam, RGEO:67, FS, LR:59, Markirya, MC:213, 214); cf. PM:357 note 18, where a reference is made to the Eldarin interrogative element ma, man). However, man is translated "what" in LR:59: man-ië? "what is it?" (LR:59; the stative-verb suffix -ië_ is hardly valid in LotR-style Quenya) _Either Tolkien later adjusted the meaning of the word, or man covers both "who" and "what". Cf. also mana, manen.
Quenya
man
pronoun. who, who; [ᴹQ.] what
man
who
mana
pronoun. what, what, which; [ᴹQ.] who
A Quenya word for “what”, used as both a pronoun and an adjective “which”. Examples include mana i coimas Eldaron? “What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?” (PM/395) and mana arano? “Which king’s” (PE23/135). ᴹQ. mana was an adjectival interrogative “what, which” in Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 (PE23/105), but could also be used substantially for “what” (PE23/104).
In the sense “which” (indicating a choice) it was used together with the genitive, such as mana tana márion “which of those house”. But it could also be used as a direct adjective: mana nér “what man”. Inflicted forms are generally based on the base interrogative element ma, as in masse “where” using the locative suffix -ssë.
man cenuva lumbor ahosta?
Who shall see the clouds gather?
The twenty-third line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed the future tense of cen- “to see”. The object of the phrase is the subordinate clause lumbor ahosta “clouds gather”, with the plural of the noun lumbo “[dark] cloud” followed by the infinitive of the verb hosta- “to gather”. The prefix a- in ahosta marks the infinitive as an object of the primary verb “see” rather than its subject.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man cen-uva lumbo-r a-hosta = “✱who see-(future) cloud-(plural) (object)-gather”
Conceptual Development: In the first draft, Tolkien used na- for the object-prefix, which he retained initially in the second draft before changing it to a- (MC/222).
man cenuva métim’ andúnë?
Who shall see the last evening?
The thirty-eighth and final line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb cen- “to see”. The object of the phrase is andúnë “evening”, preceded by the adjective métima, which is elided because of the initial a in the noun it modifies.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man cen-uva métim’ andúnë = “✱who see-(future) last evening”
Conceptual Development: In the first draft, Tolkien used a different form of the noun “evening”: andúnie (MC/222).
man hlaruva rávëa súrë?
Who shall hear the wind roaring?
The fourteenth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed the future tense of the verb hlar- “to hear”. The object of the phrase is the noun súrë “wind”, preceded by the adjective rávëa “roaring”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man hlar-uva rávëa súrë = “✱who hear-(future) roaring wind”
man tiruva fána cirya?
Who shall heed a white ship?
The sixth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed by the future of tir- “to heed”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective fána “white”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man tir-uva fána cirya? = “✱who heed-(future) white ship”
man tiruva rácina cirya?
Who shall heed a broken ship?
The thirty-second line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). The first word is man “who” followed by the future tense of the verb tir- “to heed”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective rácina “broken”, itself the passive-particle of the verb rac- “to break”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man tir-uva rácina cirya = “✱who heed-(future) broken ship”
manu
departed spirit
manu noun "departed spirit" (MAN)
ma
adverb. interrogative particle
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.
sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
now who the cup for me will refill?
The 8th phrase in the prose Namárië, which is essentially the same as its poetic version, differing only in its more literal translation.
This phrase is interesting in that it places the direct and indirect objects of the phrase (i yulma nin “the cup for me”) in between the subject (man “who”) and the verb (enquantuva “will refill”). This indicates that even in ordinary speech, the normal Quenya subject-verb-object word order was somewhat free, with objects able to appear in other positions.
sí man i yulma nin enquantuva?
who now shall refill the cup for me?
Eighth line @@@
lér
man
**lér noun "man" (NI1; hypothetical Q form of PQ dēr; the form actually used in Quenya was nér)
nér
man
nér (1) (ner-, as in pl. neri) noun "man" (adult male elf, mortal, or of other speaking race) (MR:213, VT49:17, DER, NDER, NI1, VT45:9; see also WJ:393)
vëo
man
†vëo noun "man" (WEG; etymologically connected to vëa "manly, vigorous"; the more neutral word for "man" is nér. According to VT46:21, Tolkien indicated that vëo is an archaic or poetic word.) Tolkien at a later point defined the word as "living creature" (PE17:189). Cf. variant wëo, q.v.
nér
noun. man
aratan
masculine name. *Noble Man
atan
noun. Man, (lit.) the Second (People)
This is the most common Quenya word for “Man” as a species, most frequently appearing in its plural form Atani (LotR/1034). In notes on Words, Phrases and Passages from the Lord of the Rings (WPP) from the late 1950s or early 1960s, Tolkien wrote:
> The name Atan, pl. atani was already given in Quenya in Valinor to the “Second Kindred” whom the Eldar learned were to appear (or had appeared) in Endor. It meant “the Second”. The Sindar had no name for Men, until they arrived in Beleriand and were first found by Finrod. They borrowed the Q atan and gave it Sindarin form adan. For a long time this word therefore referred only to the three “houses” or kindreds of the “Elf-friends” or Elendili; and always tended to refer primarily to them. But when the Eldar became aware of other kinds of Men (more or less parallel to their own division into Eldar and Avari) they distinguished the Elendili as Núnatani, Dúnedain (pl. of Dún·adan) “western men” ... Other men were called Hrónatani, Rhúnedain [Easterlings] (PE17/18).
Thus while Atan applied to all humans, there was a bias towards considering the Elf-friends as the “true Men”, and Atan was sometimes used only to refer to them. Tolkien typically translated this word as “Man”, but the Elvish word has no particular association with the male gender, and actually means “the Second” (S/103; WJ/403; PE17/18) being related to the word atta “two”, referring to the fact that Men were the second-born race of the children of Eru.
Conceptual Development: ᴹQ. Atan seems to have been coined in the 1940s, for example appearing in the phrase ᴹQ. atani koitar endoresse “men live in Middle-earth” in the Quenya Verbal System document from this period (PE22/125).
The last description of this word’s origin appeared in notes from the late 1960s, where Tolkien said it was instead borrowed from the language of Men: “The name is said to have been derived from atan ‘man, human being as distinct from creatures’, a word used by that kindred which the Eldar first encountered in Beleriand” (PM/324 note #38).
However, as pointed out by Christopher Tolkien: “The statement here that Atani was derived from a word in the Bëorian language, atan ‘man’, contradicts what was said in the chapter Of the Coming of Men into the West that was added to the Quenta Silmarillion”, referring to the footnote on WJ/219 in Silmarillion drafts from the 1950s. This footnote was the same scenario as described above where Atan meant “the Second”, which is also how the origin of the word was described in the Quendi and Eldar essay of 1959-60 (WJ/386). It is this scenario that Christopher Tolkien used in the published version of the Silmarillion (S/103, 143; SI/Atani).
atanalcar
masculine name. *Man Glory
atanamir
masculine name. *Man Jewel
elatan
masculine name. *Star Man
hallatan
masculine name. *Tall Man
nercë
noun. little man
nerdo
noun. large, strong man
An augmentative form of nér “man” given as nerdo “large, strong man” in notes from 1968 (VT47/33).
nér
noun. man, male person (of any kindred: elf, human or dwarf), man, male person; [ᴹQ.] adult male; [ᴱQ.] husband; warrior
The Quenya word for a “man”, or more specifically a person of male gender of any kindred (WJ/393; PE23/87). This word is derived from the root √N(D)ER, and the é is long in Quenya as a remnant of the lengthened vowel in the primitive subjective form ndēr, but the stem form is ner- because the vowel was not long in ancient inflective forms (PE19/102). Thus the singular is nér but the plural is neri (MR/213), and likewise for other inflected forms. Nér can be used regardless of species and so is equally applicable to male Elves, Men, or Dwarves, but is unlikely to be used of male animals, for which the word [ᴹQ.] hanu is more applicable.
Conceptual Development: This word was very well established in Tolkien’s mind, appearing as ᴱQ. ner “man, husband” in the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√NERE (QL/65), though in the contemporaneous Poetic and Mythological Words of Eldarissa it was glossed “warrior, etc.” (PME/65). The long/short vowel variation had emerged by the time the Early Qenya Grammar was written in the 1920s, where Tolkien gave singular nēr but plural nĕri (PE14/43, 72).
The Declension of Nouns from the early 1930s has this same long/short vowel split (PE21/20) as does The Etymologies from later in the 1930s which had ᴹQ. nér with plural neri as derivatives of the root ᴹ√(N)DER (Ety/DER). This remained the case in later writings as well, except that the unstrengthened form of the root changed from ᴹ√DER to √NER (WJ/393), though this only barely matters, since the actual derivatives were all from strengthened √NDER in pretty much all cases from the 1930s forward.
rúatan
proper name. Wose, (lit.) Wose-man
tarcil
proper name. High Man, Númenórean
A term for the “high men”, those of Númenórean descent (LotR/1131). It is a compound of tar- “high” and a shortened form of Hildo “Man”.
Conceptual Development: In the early tales of Númenor from the 1930-40s, Tolkien used the term ᴹQ. Turkil “Great or Lordly Man” in the different versions of the Lament of Atalante (LR/47, SD/246). The initial element of this earlier term was derived from the root ᴹ√TUR “power, control, mastery, victory”, as indicated in The Etymologies from the 1930s (Ety/TUR). The term ᴹQ. Tarkil also appeared in The Etymologies, and the two terms seemed to be equivalent (Ety/TĀ, TUR). In Lord of the Rings drafts from the 1940s, only the term ᴹQ. Tarkil appears (TI/8, 84; WR/310), so apparently Turkil became obsolete.
Elatan
star-man
Elatan, masc. name *"Star-man", cf. atan (UT:210)
Ercambo
one-hand man
Ercambo ("k") masc. name "one-hand Man" (VT47:7), the equivalent of Sindarin Erchamon, Erchamion as a title of Beren
Hallatan
tall man
Hallatan masc. name, apparently "tall man": halla + atan (UT:210)
Tarcil
high-man
Tarcil ("k") (#Tarcild-, as in pl. Tarcildi) masc. name, "high-Man", also used as a term for Númenórean (Appendix A, TUR, KHIL, VT46:17, PE17:101; the latter source provides the gloss "Great Man of Numenor"; tarcil(di) = "high-men = Elf-friends of Númenor"). Cf. the variant tarhildi, q.v.
aráto
champion, eminent man
aráto noun "champion, eminent man" (SA:ar(a) )
callo
noble man, hero
callo ("k")noun "noble man, hero" (KAL)
firë
mortal man
firë noun "mortal man" (PHIR), pl. firi given (the latter is not clearly glossed and may also be the archaic form from which firë is derived, since word-final short i became e in Quenya but since we would rather expect the spelling phiri if it were an archaic form, it is best taken as the pl. of firë.)
hanu
male (of men or elves), male animal, man
hanu noun "a male (of Men or Elves), male animal, man" (3AN, VT45:16)
istyar
scholar, learned man
istyar noun "scholar, learned man" (IS). According to VT45:18, Tolkien at one point also meant istyar to be the name of Tengwa #13 with overposed dots to indicate a palatal sound; the letter would thus have the value sty. However, according to the classical Tengwar spelling of Quenya as outlined in LotR Appendix E, such a letter would rather have the value *nty (since #13 is there assigned the value nt in Quenya).
nercë
little man
nercë ("k")noun "little man", a diminutive of nér (VT47:33). VT48:18 seems to hint that -cë is to be derived from older -ki; if so, nercë should have the stem-form nerci-. Compare wenci.
nerdo
large, strong man
nerdo noun "large, strong man" (compare nér) (VT47:33)
nernehta
man-spearhead
nernehta noun "man-spearhead", a battle-formation (UT:282)
nerwen
feminine name. Man-maiden
quendu
elvish man
quendu noun *"Elvish man", pl. quendur given (MR:229; changed by Tolkien from quendo pl. quendor). Compare fem. quendi.
quén
one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman
quén (quen-, as in pl. queni; as final element in compounds -quen) noun "one, (some)body, person, individual, man or woman", pl. queni = "persons", "(some) people", "they" with the most general meaning (as in "they [= people in general] say that..."). The element is combined with noun and adjective stems in old compounds to denote habitual occupations or functions, or to describe those having some notable (permanent) quality; examples include roquen, ciryaquen, arquen, q.v. Also in aiquen "whoever", ilquen "everybody" (WJ:361 cf. 360, 372).
vëaner
(adult) man
vëaner noun "(adult) man" (WEG)
man cenuva fána cirya?
Who shall see a white ship?
The first line of the Markirya poem (MC/221). The first word is man “who” (men [sic] in the published version, likely a mistake) followed by the future tense of the verb cen- “to see”. The object of the phrase is the noun cirya “ship”, preceded by the adjective fána “white”. In the published version, the adjective is given in the plural form fáne, but this may be a mistake, as suggested by Helge Fauskanger (AL/Markirya).
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> man cen-uva fána cirya = “✱who see-(future) white ship”
nernehta
noun. man-spearhead
farino
noun. hunted man, outlaw
vië
manhood, vigour
vië noun "manhood, vigour" (WEG)
wenci
woman, maiden
wenci ("k") noun, apparently a diminutive form of the stem wēn- "woman, maiden". It is possible that this is meant to be Common Eldarin rather than Quenya; if so the Quenya form would be *wencë (compare nercë "little man") (VT48:18)
Lindissë
woman
Lindissë fem.name, perhaps lin- (root of words having to do with song/music) + (n)dissë "woman" (see nís). (UT:210)
ehtar
spearman
[ehtar] noun "spearman" (EK/EKTE, VT45:12)]
ehtyar
spearman
ehtyar noun "spearman" (EK/EKTE). According to VT45:12, Tolkien at one point also meant ehtyar to be the name of Tengwa #15 with overposed dots to indicate a palatal sound; the letter would thus have the value hty. However, according to the classical Tengwar spelling of Quenya as outlined in LotR Appendix E, such a letter would rather have the value **ncy (since #15 is there assigned the value nc in Quenya), but since **ncy is not a possible Quenya combination, a palatal variant of #15 would not occur in the classical Quenya mode.
nissë
woman
nissë noun "woman" (NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS, VT47:33); see nís. Note: nissë could apparently also mean "in me", the locative form of the 1st person pronoun ni, q.v.
ní
woman, female
†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".
nína
woman
#nína (gen.pl. nínaron attested) noun "woman" (VT43:31; this word, as well as some other experimental forms listed in the same source, seem ephemeral: several sources agree that the Quenya word for "woman" is nís, nis [q.v.])
nís
woman
nís (niss-, as in pl. nissi) noun "woman" _(MR:213. The Etymologies gives _nis (or nissë), pl. nissi: see the stems NDIS-SĒ/SĀ, NI1, NIS (NĒR), VT46:4; compare VT47:33. In Tolkien's Quenya rendering of Hail Mary, the plural nísi occurs instead of nissi; this form is curious, since nísi would be expected to turn into *nízi, *_níri** (VT43:31). VT47:33 suggests that Tolkien at one point considered _niþ- as the older form of the stem, which etymology would solve this problem (since s from older þ does not become z > r). Even so, the MR forms, nís with stem niss-, may be preferred. - Compare †ní, #nína, nisto, Lindissë.
tano
craftsman, smith
tano noun "craftsman, smith" (TAN), cf. final element -tan in calmatan "lampwright" (PE17:123), Ciryatan *"ship-builder" (Appendix A).
nissë
noun. woman
atannahtar
noun. man-slayer
salyon(do)
noun. hero, dauntless man
-xë
oneself, myself, themselves
-xë ("ks") reflextive pronominal ending, presumably meaning *"oneself, myself, themselves" etc.; plural -xer, dual -xet (VT49:48). Presumably it can be used in constructions like *i nér tirnexë *"the man watched himself" (tirnesexë "he watched himself"), plural i neri tirnexer "the men watched themselves" (tirneltexer "they watched themselves"), dual e.g. i ontaru tirnexet "the parents watched themselves" (tirnettexet** "they [dual] watched themselves").
-ya
his
-ya (4) pronominal suffix "his" (and probably also "her, its"), said to be used in "colloquial Quenya" (which had redefined the "correct" ending for this meaning, -rya, to mean "their" because it was associated with the plural ending -r). Hence e.g. cambeya ("k") "his hand", yulmaya "his cup" (VT49:17) instead of formally "correct" forms in -rya. The ending -ya was actually ancient, primitive ¤-jā being used for "all numbers" in the 3rd person, predating elaborated forms like -rya. It is said that -ya "remained in Quenya" in the case of "old nouns with consonantal stems", Tolkien listing tál "foot", cas "head", nér "man", sír "river" and macil "sword" as examples. He refers to "the continued existence of such forms as talya his foot", that could apparently be used even in "correct" Quenya (VT49:17). In PE17:130, the forms talya "his foot" and macilya ("k") "his (or their) sword" are mentioned.
Atan
the second folk
Atan pl. Atani noun "the Second Folk", an Elvish name of Mortal Men, the Second-born of Ilúvatar. Cf. also Núnatani (WJ:386), Hróatani (PE17:18), q.v. Atanalcar masc. name, "Man-glory" (UT:210, cf. alcar). Atanamir masc.name, "Edain-jewel"? (Appendix A). Atanatar masc. name, "Father of Men" (Appendix A), also common noun atanatar, pl. Atanatári, "Fathers of Men", a title that "properly belonged only to the leaders and chieftains of the peoples at the time of their entry into Beleriand" (PM:324, SA:atar)
Tilion
the horned
Tilion masc. name, "the Horned", name of a Maia, steersman of the Moon _(SA:til; according to the Etymologies, stem TIL, _Tilion is a name of the "man in the Moon")
a-
see
a- (2) a prefix occurring in the Markirya poem (Tolkien first used na-, then changed it). It may be prefixed to verbal stems following a noun that is the object of sense-verbs like "see" and "hear" when the verb it is prefixed to describes what happens to this noun, as in man cenuva lumbor ahosta[?] (changed from na-hosta), "who shall see the clouds gather?" (hosta = "gather").
men
who
men (3) pron. "who", evidently a misreading or miswriting for man (MC:221, in Markirya)
nin
to me, for me
nin pron. "to me, for me", dative of ni (FS, Nam). Sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? "Now who will refill the cup for me?" (Nam), nás mara nin *"it is good to me" = "I like it" (VT49:30), ecë nin carë sa* "it-is-open for me to do it" = "I can do it" (VT49:34). See also ninya**.
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.
ohtar
masculine name. Warrior
é
indeed
é adverbial particle "indeed" that may be prefixed to a sentence (VT45:11). Short e in the sentence e man antaváro? "what will he give indeed?" (LR:63).
-wë
person
-wë a suffix occurring in many personal names, generally but not exclusively masculine (Elenwë is the sole certain example of a fem. name with this ending); it is derived from a stem simply meaning "person" (PM:340, WJ:399). In Etym, -wë is simply defined as an element that is frequent in masculine names, and it is there derived from a stem (WEG) having to do with "(manly) vigour".
Istar
wizard
Istar noun "Wizard", used of Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast etc. Pl. Istari is attested. Gen. pl. in the phrase Heren Istarion "Order of Wizards" (UT:388). "The istari are translated wizards because of the connexion of wizard with wise and so with witting and knowing" (Letters:207); by this translation Tolkien tries to reproduce the relationship between Quenya istar and ista- #1, 2.
curuvar
wizard
curuvar _("k")_noun "wizard" (LT1:269 but Gandalf, Saruman etc. were istari)
mahtar
warrior
mahtar noun "warrior" (MAK; original gloss "swordsman", VT45:32)
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.
rú
proper name. Wose
Given as the Quenya word for “Wose” (UT/385), most likely an adaptation of its Sindarin cognate S. Drû.
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
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.
-ndor
land
-ndor, final element in compounds: "land" (Letters:308, UT:253)
-o
person, somebody
-o (2), also -ó, "a person, somebody", pronominal suffix (PM:340)
-rya
his, her
-rya 3rd person sg. pronominal ending "his, her" and probably "its" (VT49:16, 38, 48, Nam, RGEO:67), attested in coivierya *"his/her life", máryat "her hands", ómaryo "of her voice" (genitive of *ómarya "her voice"), súmaryassë "in her bosom" (locative of súmarya "her bosom"); for the meaning "his" cf. coarya "his house" (WJ:369). The ending is descended from primitive ¤-sjā via -zya (VT49:17) and therefore connects with the 3rd person ending -s "he, she, it". In colloquial Quenya the ending -rya could be used for "their" rather than "his/her", because it was felt to be related to the plural ending -r,e.g. símaryassen "in their [not his/her] imaginations" (VT49:16, 17). See -ya #4.
-zya
his, her, its
-zya, archaic form of the pronominal ending -rya "his, her, its", q.v. (VT49:17)
-úmë
large
-úmë (3) suffix "large" (of quantity)", as in liyúmë "host" (VT48:32)
Amarië
good
Amarië fem. name; perhaps derived from mára "good" with prefixing of the stem-vowel and the feminine ending -ië (Silm)
Námo
person, somebody
námo (2) noun "a person, somebody" (PM:340 writers may prefer the synonym quén to avoid confusion with # 1)
Quende#
noun. Elf
Elf
a
cardinal. one
airefëa
proper name. Holy Spirit
A Quenya name for the Holy Spirit in Alcar i Ataren, Tolkien’s unfinished Quenya version of the Gloria Patri prayer (VT43/36). It is a compound of airë “holy, holiness” and fëa “spirit”.
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.
alat-
large, great in size
alat- prefix "large, great in size". (ÁLAT, cf. VT45:5). In Alatairë.
alta
large, great in size
alta (1) adj. *"large, great in size" (root meaning)(ÁLAT). Alat- in Alatairë, q.v.
cambë
noun. hand, (hollow of) hand
cen-
verb. see, behold
cen- ("k")vb. "see, behold", future tense cenuva ("kenuva") "shall see" in Markirya. Imperative cena ("k"), VT47:31.Also #cen = noun "sight" as the final element of some nouns (*apacen, tercen, q.v.) Compare the root KHEN-, KEN-, KYEN- "look at, see, observe, direct gaze" (VT45:21)
cenya
verb. see, perceive
er
one, alone
er cardinal "one, alone" (ERE, VT48:6, VT49:54), in an early source also adv. "only, but, still" (LT1:269); Eru er "one God" (VT44:17; er was here emended by Tolkien from erëa, which seems to be an adjectival form *"one, single".)
erëa
cardinal. one
erëa adj.? "one" or *"single", apparently an adjectival form (see er) (VT44:17)
hanuvoitë
male
hanuvoitë adj.? "male" (prob. adj. rather than noun; the word as such is not clearly glossed, but connects with hanu "a male") (INI)
hanwa
male
hanwa noun "male" (INI)
mehtar
noun. warrior
min
cardinal. one
min numeral "one", also minë (VT45:34, VT48:6)
min
cardinal. one, one, [ᴱQ.] one (in a series), the first
minë
cardinal. one
minë numeral "one", also min (MINI, VT45:34)
mir
cardinal. one
mir (2) cardinal "one" (LT1:260; in LotR-style Quenya rather minë)
mo
one, someone, anyone
mo, indefinite pronoun "one, someone, anyone" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 20, 26)
mordo
warrior, hero
mordo (2) noun "warrior, hero" (LT1:268 - probably obsoleted by # 1 above)
má
noun. hand
hand
má
noun. hand
mára
adjective. good
nassë
person, an individual
nassë (1) "a person, an individual" (VT49:30). Also translated "true-being" (pl. nasser is attested), the inner "true" being of a person. With a pronominal suffix in the form nassentar "their true-being" (PE17:175, cf. -nta #2), in the source referring to the "true" spiritual nature of the Valar, as hidden within their visible shapes. The word nassentar would seem to be plural, *"their true-beings". Not to be confused with the verb nassë/násë "he/she is"; see ná #1.
neuro
follower, successor
neuro noun "follower, successor" (NDEW)
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.
nóre
noun. land
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)
ohtacáro
warrior
[ohtacáro] ("k")noun "warrior" (KAR). In the Etymologies as printed in LR, the accent of the word ohtacáro was omitted (VT45:19).
ohtar
warrior, soldier
ohtar noun "warrior, soldier" (UT:282)
ohtar
noun. warrior
pol
large, big (strong)
pol (2) adj. "large, big (strong)". Since this would be the sole example of a monosyllabic Quenya adjective, it may be that Tolkien is here citing the root POL rather than a complete word. Cf. polda.
quendë
elf
quendë noun "Elf", the little-used analogical sg. of Quendi, q.v. (KWEN(ED), WJ:361)
sairon
wizard
sairon noun "wizard" (SAY); according to LT2:337 and GL:29, Sairon is also the Quenya (or Qenya) name of Dairon (Daeron).
sarta
steadfast, trusty, loyal
sarta adj. "steadfast, trusty, loyal" (PE17:183)
sorna
steadfast
sorna (þ) adj. "steadfast" (PE17:113)
sorna
adjective. steadfast
tunta-
see, notice, perceive
tunta- "see, notice, perceive", pa.t. túne (QL:95)
véla
verb. see
véla (2) vb. "see" (Arct); present/continuative tense of a verbal stem #vel-? The context of the sentence where it occurs ("till I see you next") suggests that this is "see" in the sense of "meet".
>> yomenië
vórima
adjective. faithful, faithful, *(lit.) able to endure; [ᴹQ.] continuous, enduring, repeated; [ᴱQ.] everlasting
ye
who
ye (1) singular personal relative pronoun "who", maybe also object "whom" (plural form i). Compare the impersonal form ya. Also attested in the genitive and the ablative cases: yëo and yello, both translated "from whom" (though the former would also mean *"whose, of whom"). (VT47:21)
ye
pronoun. who
yá
when
yá (2) conj. "when" in the sentence yá hrívë tenë, ringa ná "when winter comes, it is cold" (VT49:23). Compare írë #2.
yá
conjunction. when
A relative conjunction “when” appearing in various phrases in Tolkien’s writings of the 1950s and 60s, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ya.
Conceptual Development: Demonstrative, Relative, and Correlative Stems (DRC) from 1948 had ᴹQ. í glossed “(relative) at the time mentioned, at the same time”, a vowel-lengthened form of the relative pronoun ᴹQ. i (PE23/109). This was also given the gloss “when, whenever” in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from this same period (PE22/121). Earlier still, ᴹQ. íre was used as the relative conjunction “when” in Fíriel’s Song of the 1930s. In the Early Qenya Grammar it seems ᴱQ. yan “when” served this function (PE14/59).
yára
ancient, belonging to or descending from former times
yára adj. "ancient, belonging to or descending from former times" (YA); evidently it can also simply mean "old", since Tolkien used the intensive/superlative form #anyára to describe Elaine Griffiths as his "oldest" or "very old" friend in a book dedication (see an-).
í(qua), illume, iquallume
conjunction. when, whenever
írë
when
írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare yá #2.
úra
large
úra (2) adj. "large" (UR), probably obsoleted by #1 above
malumë
adverb. when
nacil
noun. victor
ranyar
noun. wanderer
A neologism for “wanderer” coined by David Salo in PPQ (PPQ) from the early 2000s, an agental form of [ᴹQ.] ranya- “stray, ✱wander”.
The most common Quenya word for “who”, most notably appearing in the Namárië poem in the phrase sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “who now shall refill the cup for me?” (LotR/377). It is based on the interrogative element ma (PE17/68). Man might be a general interrogative element “who, what, which”; at one point Tolkien said man was a reduction of mana before vowels (PE23/135). However, in the Markirya, man was used for “who” before consonants, such as man tiruva fána cirya “Who shall heed a white ship?” (MC/222).
In writings from the 1930s and 40s, man was used for “what” (LR/59, 72) or as a general interrogative marker (PE23/99). However, it was used for “who” in the versions of the Oilima Markirya from around 1930 (MC/213-214).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would mostly use man in the sense “who”, before both consonants and vowels. For “what” I would use mana, and as a general interrogative marker I’d use ma. In cases where you want an unambiguous word for “who = what person”, I would use mamo.