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.
Quenya
mana
pronoun. what, what, which; [ᴹQ.] who
mana
what is
mána
noun. blessing, good thing, blessing, good thing; [ᴹQ.] blessed
manna
blessed
manna adj. "blessed" (also mána, q.v.) (VT43:30, VT45:32, VT49:41)
mána
blessed
mána 1) adj. "blessed" (FS); also manna, q.v. 2) noun "any good thing or fortunate thing; a boon or blessing, a grace, being esp. used of some thing/person/event that helps or amends an evil or difficulty. (Cf. frequent ejaculation on receiving aid in trouble: yé mána (ma) = what a blessing, what a good thing!)" (VT49:41)
manna
adjective. *blessed
man
who
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.
man
pronoun. who, who; [ᴹQ.] what
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.
manaitë
blessed
manaitë adj. "blessed" (VT49:41, 42)
manaquenta
blessed
manaquenta adj. "blessed" (VT44:10; see manquë, manquenta)
manar
doom, final end, fate, fortune
manar noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD (under MAN), VT45:32)
manta-
verb. to bless
A verb for “bless” appearing only in its “pres. continuative” form mānata in the phrase nai Eru tye mānata “God bless you, (lit.) may God you bless” in notes from 1967 (PE17/75). Carl Hostetter suggested that mānata may be a variant present tense form for a TALAT-stem verb manta (VT49/52); compare present tense talātā- from talta- (PE22/133).
Neo-Quenya: Given this verb’s peculiar formation, I would recommend using manya- instead for “to bless”.
mana arano? i máro
Which king’s? The good one’s
mana i coimas eldaron?
What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?
mana i·coimas in·eldaron?
What is the ‘coimas’ of the Eldar?
manaitë
adjective. *blessed, having grace
manaquenta
adjective. *blessed
amanya
blessed
amanya adj. "blessed" (VT49:39, 41)
amanya
adjective. *blessed
manar
interrogative. who (pl.)
manya-
verb. to bless
aman
blessed, free from evil
aman adj. "blessed, free from evil". Adopted and adapted from Valarin (WJ:399), though in other versions Tolkien cited an Elvish etymology (cf. VT49:26-27). Place-name Aman the Blessed Realm, from the stem mān- "good, blessed, unmarred" (SA:mān), translated "Unmarred State" (VT49:26). Allative Amanna (VT49:26). Adj. amanya "of Aman, Amanian" (WJ:411), nominal pl. Amanyar "those of Aman", Elves dwelling there (with negations Úamanyar, Alamanyar "those not of Aman"). Also fuller Amaneldi noun "Aman-elves" (WJ:373).Masc. name Amandil *"Aman-friend" (Appendix A, SA:mān), the father of Elendil; also name of the Númenorean king Tar-Amandil (UT:210).
manaitë
adjective. of what kind, of what sort, what kind of
manallë
adjective. how, in what manner
manan
adverb. why
manaurë
adverb. on what day
manaurëa
adjective. how old, how long lasting, (lit.) lasting or living how many days
mahtië
noun. management, management, *handling
mahtë
noun. management
mahta-
verb. to handle, wield, use, make use of; to manage, deal with, treat, control, to handle, wield, use, make use of; to manage, deal with, treat, control; [ᴹQ.] to stroke, feel; to wield a weapon, fight
A well-attested verb whose original sense seems to be “handle”, based on the root √MAH or √MAƷ for “hand”. It had other glosses such as “wield, use, make use of”, but also “manage, deal with, treat, control”. It thus seems to be usable for both “handle, wield, use” a concrete physical item and “handle, manage, deal with” an abstract process or situation.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s the verb ᴹQ. mahta- meant “stroke, feel, handle; wield” as a derivative of ᴹ√MAƷ “hand” (Ety/MAƷ), but also “wield a weapon, fight” as a derivative of ᴹ√MAK “sword; fight (with a sword)” (Ety/MAK). Earlier versions of the entry for ᴹ√MAK had glosses like “slay with sword” or “kill with sword” (EtyAC/MAK), which seem to be holdovers from ᴱQ. makta- “slay, slaughter” from the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s under the early root ᴱ√MAKA (QL/58).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would use mahta- for both “handle” and “fight” (mainly in the sense “wield a weapon”) as a blending of √MAH and √MAK, along with the meaning “stroke, feel” a physical thing.
anya-
verb. to reach, arrive at, go to, to reach, arrive at, go to; *to manage, succeed (at something) + infinitive
A verb for “reach, arrive at, go to” in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, derived from the root √ANA “to(wards)” (PE22/157, 163).
Conceptual Development: An earlier verb for “arrive” was tenya- “arrive, end (not at speaker’s[?] place)” in notes from the late 1950s or early 1960s (VT49/24; VTE/49). A similar verb reappeared in notes from 1968 as tene “arrive, come to, get to” from a root √TEN, but in that note the ten- forms were rejected and changed to men-. Elsewhere men- was used in the more general sense “go” or “come” (PE17/13, 16; PE22/162), whereas in the 1969 Ambidexters Sentence, the verb tenta- was used to mean “point at” (VT49/6-8).
Luinyelle suggested that a form of anya- “arrive” (or a similar verb) might appear in the sentence [ᴹQ.] Sorni Númevalion anner “The Eagles of the Powers of the West are at hand” from the 1940s, with anner being a strong-past from ancient ✱an-nē, so the literal meaning of the sentence is “the Eagles ... arrived”. I think this is a plausible theory, but given the gap in years between this sentence and the appearance of anya- “arrive”, it is hard to say.
Neo-Quenya: Of the various options, I think anya- is the best Neo-Quenya verb for “arrive”. I further assume it is a half-strong verb with past tense ananye “arrived”; I prefer this as more distinctive than a strong past anne. I would use it both intransitively and transitively (without a preposition), as in ananyen “I arrived” vs. ananyen i osto “I arrived [at] the city = I reached the city”.
In a post on 2024-01-31 in the Vinyë Lambengolmor Discord Server (VLDS), Luinyelle suggested it might be used in the idiomatic sense “manage, succeed (in something)” when combined with the infinitive of another verb: ananyen pare Quenya “I managed to learn Quenya” = “(lit.) I arrived [at] learning Quenya”
mahtando
noun. manager
mahtasta
noun. management
mahta-
wield a weapon
mahta- (1) vb. "wield a weapon", "fight" (MAK), "to handle, wield, manage" (VT39:11, VT47:18), also "deal with" (VT47:6, 19, VT49:10). Past tense mahtanë is attested (VT49:10). In an earlier version of the entry MAK in the Etymologies, Tolkien first glossed mahta- as "slay [or kill] with sword", then changed it to "fight with sword" (VT45:30-32)
mandë
doom, final end, fate, fortune
mandë (1) noun "doom, final end, fate, fortune" (usually = final bliss) (MANAD, under MAN)
manquë
blessed
manquë, manquenta adj. "blessed" (VT44:10-11; it cannot be ruled out that manquë spelt manque in the source is simply an uncompleted form of manquenta. Whatever the case, Tolkien decided to use the form manaquenta instead, q.v.)
mahta-
verb. handle
handle, deal with, manage, wield, treat
ainima
blessed, holy (of things)
ainima adj. "blessed, holy (of things)" (PE17:149)
almárëa
blessed
almárëa adj. "blessed". In a deleted entry in Etym, the gloss provided was "bless", but this would seem to be a mistake, since the word does not look like a verb. Another deleted entry agrees with the retained entry GALA that almárëa means "blessed" (GALA, VT45:5, 14)
firin
dead
firin adj. "dead" (by natural cause) (PHIR).This may obsolete the earlier "Qenya" word firin "ray of the sun" (LT2:341)
fëa
spirit
fëa noun "spirit" (pl. fëar attested, MR:363). The Incarnates are said to live by necessary union of hroa (body) and fëa (WJ:405). In Airëfëa noun "the Holy Spirit", Fëanáro masc. name "Spirit of Fire" (Quenya-Sindarin hybrid form: Fëanor), Fëanturi noun "Masters of Spirits", name of the two Valar Mandos and Lórien (SA:tur), fëafelmë noun "spirit-impulse" (impulses originating with the spirit, e.g. love, pity, anger, hate) (VT41:19 cf. 13, VT43:37). In one source it is said to mean specifically a "spirit indwelling a body", i.e. "soul" (PE17:124), which contradicts such uses as Airefëa or Fëanturi. Cf. fairë.
heren
fortune
heren (2) noun "fortune", etymologically "governance" ("and so what is in store for one and what one has in store") (KHER).Herendil masc. name *"Fortune-friend" = Eadwine, Edwin, _Audoin(LR:52, 56, cf. the Etymologies, stems KHER-, NIL/NDIL)_
hessa
dead, withered
hessa adj. "dead, withered" (LT1:255)
hó
spirit, shadow
hó noun "spirit, shadow" (PE17:86)
lára
blessed
[lára (3) adj. "blessed", also lárëa (VT45:26)]
marto
fortune, fate, lot
marto (2) noun "fortune, fate, lot" (LT2:348); cf. marta # 3 and see mart-.
men
who
men (3) pron. "who", evidently a misreading or miswriting for man (MC:221, in Markirya)
metta
end
metta noun "end"; Ambar-metta "world-end, the end of the world" (EO); mettarë *"end-day" = New Years' Eve in the Númenórean calendar and the Steward's Reckoning, not belonging to any month (Appendix D). The word Mettanyë, heading the final part of the poem The Trees of Kortirion, would seem to be related (LT1:43)
qualin
dead
qualin ("q")adj. "dead" (KWAL, LT1:264)
súlë
spirit, breath
súlë (þ) noun "spirit, breath", also name of tengwa #9; originally thúlë (þúlë), before the shift th > s that occurred shortly before the rebellion of the Noldor (Appendix E, THŪ). Its gloss, "blowing forth", was metaphorically used as "the emission of power (of will or desire) from a spirit" (PE17:124). If the element súlë appears in Súlimë and Súlimo (q.v.), the stem-form may seem to be súli-.
tyel
end
tyel (1) noun "end", stem tyeld- as in the pl. form tyeldi (FS, KYEL; the pl. form tyeldi_ was misread as "tyelde" in the Etymologies as printed in LR; cf. VT45:25 for this correction)_. Cf. tyelma.
tyel-
end, cease
tyel- (2) vb. "end, cease" (KYEL)
vilissë
spirit
vilissë noun "spirit" (GL:23)
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)
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.
írë
when
írë (2) conj. "when" (subordinate conjunction, not question-word: írë Anarinya queluva, "when my sun faileth") (FS). Compare yá #2.
aistana
adjective. *blessed
ambar
noun. fate, doom, fate, doom, [ᴱQ.] lot
isse
where
masse
interrogative. where
umbar
noun. doom
doom
ye
pronoun. who
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).
í(qua), illume, iquallume
conjunction. when, whenever
þúlë
noun. spirit
malumë
adverb. when
tel
noun. end
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.