na (1) form of the verb "to be", evidently the imperative (or subjunctive): Tolkien stated that na airë would mean "be holy" (VT43:14), and san na (q.v.) must mean "thus be" = "let it be so"; see ná #1 Cf. also the sentence alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34). Inserted in front of a verb, na expresses a wish: aranielya na tuluva "may thy kingdom come" (ibid).
Quenya
na
to, towards
na
to be
na
preposition. to, towards
@@@ fix weird cognate bug
na-
verb. na-
[na-] (3) a prefix occurring in the Markirya poem, changed by Tolkien to a-, q.v.
na airë esselya
hallowed be thy name
The second line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word na “be” is a subjunctive or imperative form, which is generally the case when this word appears at the beginning of a sentence (VT43/14). It is followed by airë “hallowed” and esselya “thy name”, the 2nd person singular polite form of essë “name”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> na airë esse-lya = “✱be hallowed [holy] name-thy”
Conceptual Development: The words in this phrase remained the same in all versions of the prayer, changing only their word order. The one exception is in version III, where Tolkien considered and rejected aira for “holy” instead of airë. As suggested by the Wynne, Smith and Hostetter (VT43/14), this probably reflects Tolkien’s uncertainty as to the proper adjectival form of this word. Elsewhere, Tolkien stated that airë was a noun meaning “holiness, sanctity” while aira was the adjective (PM/363).
Tolkien experimented with different word orders for this phrase in different versions of the prayer. In versions I-IIba and V-VI he used copula-adjective-noun, while in the version IIa-IV he used noun-copula-adjective. The reasons for the different orders is unclear.
| | I |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |na|esselya|na| |{esselya >>}|aire|na|aire| |{aire >>}|esselya|aire {aira in III}|esselya|
na carë indómelya
thy will be done
The fourth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word na “be” serves a subjunctive or imperative function, followed by carë “done”, the aorist or infinitive form of car- “to make, do”. This is followed by indómelya “thy will”, the second person singular polite possessive form of indómë.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> na carë indóme-lya = “✱be done will-thy”
Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of this phrase (I-IV), Tolkien vacillated over whether to use á or na for the subjunctive/imperative element. Tolkien also used mendë for “will” instead of indómë in the early versions of the prayer, and he used different verb forms for car-: carina (I-IIa, likely a passive participle “done”) and cara (IIb-IV, perhaps a suffixed imperative).
There is a peculiar form carima in version V of the prayer, which resembles an adjective. Elsewhere, the suffix -ima has a function similar to the suffixes “-able, -ful” in English (PE17/68), which would give carima the meaning “do-able”, but this seems unlikely to be the intended meaning. This form carima is not a mistake, though, since Tolkien deliberately altered it from carina.
Helge Fauskanger suggested (LP-AM) that this sentence may be an example of an impersonal, subject-less sentence, meaning “[may it] be done your will”. There are other examples of Quenya verbs that can be used in such subject-less impersonal constructions, such as ora “[it] warns” (VT41/13), for your conscience (órë) warning you against an action.
| I |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |na|á|na| |carina|cara|carima|care| |mendelya|indómelya|
nai
be it that
nai (1) imperative verb "be it that", used with a verb (usually in the future tense) to express a wish. The translation "maybe" in Tolkien's rendering of Namárië is somewhat misleading; he used "be it that" in the interlinear translation in RGEO:67. Apparently this is na as the imperative "be!" with a suffix -i "that", cf. i #3. It can be used with the future tense as an "expression of wish" (VT49:39). Nai hiruvalyë Valimar! Nai elyë hiruva! "May thou find Valimar. May even thou find it!" (Nam, VT49:39). Nai tiruvantes "be it that they will guard it" > "may they guard it" (CO). Nai elen siluva parma-restalyanna "may a star shine upon your book-fair" (VT49:38), nai elen siluva lyenna "may a star shine upon you" (VT49:40), nai elen atta siluvat aurenna veryanwesto "may two stars shine upon the day of your wedding" (VT49:42-45), nai laurë lantuva parmastanna lúmissen tengwiesto "may (a) golden light fall on your book at the times of your reading" (VT49:47). Nai may also be used with a present continuative verb if an ongoing situation is wished for: Nai Eru lye mánata "God bless you" (VT49:39) or literally "be it that God is (already) blessing you". The phrase nai amanyaonnalya "be it that your child [will be] blessed" omits any copula; Tolkien noted that "imper[ative] of wishes precedes adj." (VT49:41). VT49:28 has the form nái for "let it be that"; Patrick Wynne theorizes that nái is actually an etymological form underlying nai (VT49:36)
ná
is
ná (1) vb. "is" (am). (Nam, RGEO:67). This is the copula used to join adjectives, nouns or pronouns "in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have certain quality, or to be the same as another" (VT49:28). Also in impersonal constructions: ringa ná "it is cold" (VT49:23). The copula may however be omitted "where the meaning is clear" without it (VT49:9). Ná is also used as an interjection "yes" or "it is so" (VT49:28). Short na in airë [] na, "[] is holy" (VT43:14; some subject can evidently be inserted in the place of [].) Short na also functions as imperative: alcar mi tarmenel na Erun "glory in high heaven be to God" (VT44:32/34), also na airë "be holy" (VT43:14); also cf. nai "be it that" (see nai #1). The imperative participle á may be prefixed (á na, PE17:58). However, VT49:28 cites ná as the imperative form. Pl. nar or nár "are" (PE15:36, VT49:27, 9, 30); dual nát (VT49:30). With pronominal endings: nányë/nanyë "I am", nalyë or natyë "you (sg.) are" (polite and familiar, respectively), nás "it is", násë "(s)he is", nalmë "we are" (VT49:27, 30). Some forms listed in VT49:27 are perhaps to be taken as representing the aorist: nain, naityë, nailyë (1st person sg, and 2nd person familiar/polite, respectively); does a following na represent the aorist with no pronominal ending? However, the forms nanyë, nalyë, ná, nassë, nalme, nar (changed from nár) are elsewhere said to be "aorist", without the extra vowel i (e.g. nalyë rather than nailyë); also notice that *"(s)he is" is here nassë rather than násë (VT49:30).Pa.t. nánë or né "was", pl. náner/nér and dual nét "were" (VT49:6, 9, 10, 27, 28, 30, 36). According to VT49:31, né "was" cannot receive pronominal endings (though nésë "he was" is attested elsewhere, VT49:28-29), and such endings are rather added to the form ane-, e.g. anen "I was", anel "you were", anes "(s)he/it was" (VT49:28-29). Future tense nauva "will be" (VT42:34, VT49:19, 27; another version however gives the future tense as uva, VT49:30). Nauva with a pronominal ending occurs in tanomë nauvan "I will be there" (VT49:19), this example indicating that forms of the verb ná may also be used to indicate position. Perfect anaië "has been" (VT49:27, first written as anáyë). Infinitive (or gerund) návë "being", PE17:68. See also nai #1.
nëa
to be
nëa (2) an optative form of the verb na- "to be"? (nëa = LotR-style Quenya nai?): ya rato nëa "which soon may (it) be" = "which I hope will be soon" (Arct)
namárië
Farewell
This was the poem that Galadriel recited to Frodo and the fellowship as they departed Lórien (LotR/377). It is the longest canonical Elvish text published by Tolkien, and one of the longest texts in the corpus. In the literature, it is usually called the Namárië or “Farewell” poem, though in one place Tolkien gave it the formal title Altariello nainië Lóriendesse “Galadriel’s lament in Lórien” (RGEO/58).
As a poem, this text is freer in word order and syntax than ordinary Quenya prose (RGEO/58). This makes it somewhat difficult to interpret the poem, since the English translation of the poem does not correspond directly with the Elvish wording. Fortunately, Tolkien published an extensive commentary on the poem within his lifetime (RGEO/58-62), making the proper interpretation the poem abundantly clear. In this commentary, Tolkien included a prose version of the poem, written in a “normal style” and with more ordinary (and therefore easier to follow) word order. The prose version of the poem is discussed in a separate entry.
The text below mostly divides the poem into one phrase for each line of the original poem. The exceptions are lines 5-6, 9-10 and 13-14 which are organized differently to facilitate discussion. The English glosses are from the translation of the poem in the 50th anniversary edition of The Lord of the Rings. Only proper names are capitalized. Interpretations are discussed in the entries for individual phrases.
namárië
farewell
namárië interjection "farewell" (Nam, RGEO:67)
nan
but
nan conj. "but" (FS); the Etymologies also gives ná, nán (NDAN), but these words may be confused with forms of the verb "to be", so nan should perhaps be preferred, unless for "but" one uses the wholly distinct word mal. In Tolkien's later Quenya, it may be that he introduced new words for "but" to free up nan for another meaning (perhaps the adverb "back", compare the prefix nan-).
ná
but, on the contrary, on the other hand
ná (2), also nán, conj. "but, on the contrary, on the other hand" (NDAN; the form nan, q.v., is probably to be preferred to avoid confusion with ná "is", *nán "I am").
na-
prefix. plu-
na-
prefix. infinitive prefix
na-súrimar
noun. aspirate
aspirate [stops]
nan
adverb. again
alcar mi tarmenel na erun
Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun
Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer into Quenya, composed sometime in the 1960s (VT44/31), first published in the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” article in Vinyar Tengwar #44. Tolkien only translated the first two lines of the prayer. Tolkien did not provide an English translation of the prayer; following the editor of the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” article, I used a modern English (King James) translation of the prayer (VT43/31).
Tolkien made three translations of the lines; the version presented here is Arden Smith’s “reconstructed” version, which is version II with corrections from the incomplete version III. Note that Arden Smith was uncertain of the order of composition of the versions, suggesting that version I might have followed II and III, but his analysis (and mine) assumes that the versions were created in the order they appeared on the page (VT44/32).
Further discussion can be found in the analysis of the individual phrases. My analysis largely follows that of the “Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun” section (VT44/31-7).
aistana elyë imíca nísi
blessed art thou amongst women
The third line of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer. This is a declarative statement. The first word aistana “blessed” is the predicate. The second word elyë “thou” is the subject, the emphatic form of the pronoun lye “you (polite)”. The last two words are the prepositional phrase imíca nísi “among women”, the latter being the plural of nís “woman”. As in the second line, there is no Quenya equivalent of the English word “are (art)” in the final version of the prayer.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> aistana elyë imíca nís-i = “✱blessed [art] thou among woman-(plural)”
Conceptual Development: The first two versions of the prayer used manna for “blessed” instead of aistana. Tolkien considered several different prepositional elements for English “among”: mil (I deleted), mi (I-II), mitta (III deleted), mika (III) before settling on imíca (IV).
In version I-II, he used another word for “women”: nínaron, apparently genitive plural of an otherwise unattested word nína. In version I, he considered and deleted many variants before settling on nínaron. I’ve omitted them from this discussion because they appear nowhere else, and including them would obscure the development of the phrase. For further details, see VT43/27, 31.
| | I | II |III|IV| | |elye|manna|aistana| |{manna na >>}|na manna|nalye|elye| |{mil >>}|mi|{mitta >>} mika|imíca| |[various >>]|nínaron|nísi|
alcar mi tarmenel na erun
glory [be] to God in the highest
The first line of Alcar mi Tarmenel na Erun, Tolkien’s translation of the Gloria in Excelsis Deo prayer. The first word is alcar “glory”, followed by mi Tarmenel “in the highest”, more literally “✱in High-heaven”. The fourth na word is the imperative of the verb ná- “to be”. The last word Erun “to God” is the dative form of Eru “God”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> alcar mi Tar-menel na Eru-n = “✱glory in High-heaven be God-to”
Conceptual Development: In version I, Tolkien first wrote tarmenissen, apparently the locative plural of tarmen “?high place”, perhaps meaning “?in high places”. He revised this into an assimilated locative tarmenelde of Tarmenel.
In version II he first wrote the allative form Erunna “✱towards God” before changing to the dative form Erun “to God”, also used in version II.
In version III he only wrote the word alcar. For this reason, the phrase in this entry is derived from version II.
| I |II|III| |alcar| |{tarmenissen >>} tarmenelde|mi tarmenel|...| |na Erun|{Erunna >>} na Erun| |
ana-
prefix. to, towards
A prefixal form of preposition an(a) from The Etymologies of the 1930s (Ety/NĀ¹). It was mentioned as a verbal prefix {na- >>} ana- in Quenya Notes (QN) from 1957 (PE17/147), and while the paragraph where it appeared was rejected I think it likely the prefix itself was retained.
aranielya na tuluva
thy kingdom come
The third line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word aranielya “thy kingdom” is the 2nd person singular polite form of aranië “kingdom”. It is followed by the word na, serving a subjunctive or imperative function, and tuluva, the future tense of tul- “to come”. This future tense probably reflects the fact that God’s kingdom is not yet manifest on Earth, and its literal meaning may be “✱be it that thy kingdom will come”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> aranie-lya na tul-uva = “✱kingdom-thy be come-(future)”
Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of this phrase, Tolkien vacillated over whether to use á or na for the subjunctive/imperative element. He also considered other words for “kingdom”: túrinasta and túrindië. Finally, he used aorist forms or “double imperative” forms of tul-, such as tule or á tula, adopting the future tense only in version V.
Tolkien experimented with different word orders for this phrase in different versions of the prayer. In versions I-IIb, he used particle-verb-subject, while in the version III-VI he used subject-particle-verb. The reasons for the different orders is unclear.
| |I|IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |{na >>}|nā|na|á|túrindielya|aranielya| |{túrinastalya >>}|túle|tule|tula|á|na| |{tūle >>}|túrinastalya|tuluva|
cúna-
verb. to bend
A verb for “to bend” based on the adjective Q. kúna “bent, curved” appearing in the Markirya poem of the 1960s (MC/223).
Conceptual Development: Versions of the poem from around 1930 had ᴱQ. lunga(na)- for “bend” (MC/214), more exactly meaning “sag, bend down, hang heavy” (PE16/75) and thus clearly based on ᴱQ. lungo or lunga “heavy” (PE13/163; PE16/75). Another poem from this same period had ᴱQ. kauta- “to bend” (MC/216; PE16/100).
menel acúna
the heavens bending
The twenty-fourth line of the Markirya poem (MC/222). It consists of another subordinate clause menel acúna “heavens bending”, with the noun menel “heavens” followed by the infinitive of the verb cúna- “to bend”. The prefix a- in acúna marks the infinitive as an object of the primary verb, which is the verb “see” of the previous phrase.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> menel a-cúna = “✱heavens (object)-bending”
Conceptual Development: In the first draft, Tolkien used na- for the object-prefix, which he first retained in the second draft before changing it to a- (MC/222).
*turúna
mastered
*turúna passive participle "mastered", only attested attested in the elided form turún' (UT:138, apparently incomplete spelling turun in Silm ch. 21). The form may be understood as the passive participle of the verb turu- "master, defeat, have victory over" (PE17:113), the sole available example of a U-stem verb appearing in such a participle form. Compare -na #4.
-na
no longer part of verbal conjugation
-na (4), ending used to form passive participles as well as some adjectives and nouns; see -ina. According to PE17:68, the ending -na was "no longer part of verbal conjugation"; the derived words are thus considered independent adjectives (sometimes nouns) rather than regularly derived passive participles, the obvious etymological connection to certain verbal stems notwithstanding. Where adding the ending to a root would produce the combinations tn, pn, kn (cn), metathesis occurs to produce nt, (np >) mp, nc, as in nanca *"slain" for older ¤ndakna, or hampa "restrained, delayed, kept" vs. the root KHAP "retain, keep, detain". Following -l, the suffix -na turns into -da, as in yulda "draught, the amount drunk" for older yulna (this being an example of a noun being derived with this ending, though Tolkien might also explain yulda as containing a distinct ending -da [q.v.] denoting the result of a verbal action). The word *turúna "mastered" (q.v., only attested in elided form turún) would seem to be a passive participle formed from the verb turu- "master" (PE17:113), suggesting that in the case of U-stem verbs, their final -u is lengthened to ú when -na is added.
-nna
to
-n (1) dative ending, originating as a reduced form of -nă "to", related to the allative ending -nna (VT49:14). Attested in nin, men, ten, enyalien, Erun, airefëan, tárin, yondon (q.v.) and also added to the English name Elaine (Elainen) in a book dedication to Elaine Griffiths (VT49:40). The longer dative ending -na is also attested in connection with some pronouns, such as sena, téna, véna (q.v.), also in the noun mariéna from márië "goodness" (PE17:59). Pl. -in (as in hínin, see hína), partitive pl. -lin, dual -nt (Plotz). The preposition ana (#1) is said to be used "when purely dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that it can replace the dative ending, e.g. *ana Eru instead of Erun for "to God". In some of Tolkiens earlier material, the ending -n (or -en) expressed genitive rather than dative, but he later decided that the genitive ending was to be -o (cf. such a revision as Yénië Valinóren becoming Yénië Valinórëo, MR:200).
-nna
to, at, upon
-nna "to, at, upon", allative ending, originating from -na "to" with fortified n, VT49:14. Attested in cilyanna, coraryanna, Endorenna, Elendilenna, númenórenna, parma-restalyanna, rénna, senna, tielyanna, q.v. If a noun ends in -n already, the ending -nna merges with it, as in Amanna, formenna, Elenna, númenna, rómenna as the allative forms of Aman, formen, elen, númen, rómen (q.v.). Plural -nnar in mannar, valannar, q.v.
cúna
bent, curved
cúna ("k") 1) adj. "bent, curved", from which is derived 2) cúna- vb. "bend", occurring with a- prefix (changed by Tolkien from a na-prefix) in Markirya. Here cúna- is intransitive; we do not know whether it can also be transitive "bend".
am(be)na
adverb. nearer to
A word appearing as amna or ambena “nearer to” in notes from around 1967, an allative form of ambë “more” and more precisely meaning “to a further point in the motion towards an object” (PE17/91). It might be contrasted with ambela “further still beyond” or (hypothetical) ✱ambelo “further away from”.
ana
to
ana (1) prep. "to" (VT49:35), "as preposition _ana _is used when purely _dative formula is required" (PE17:147), perhaps meaning that the preposition ana can be used instead of the dative ending -n (#1, q.v.) Also as prefix: ana- "to, towards" (NĀ1); an (q.v.) is used with this meaning in one source (PE17:127)_
anat
but
anat conj. "but" (VT43:23; possibly an ephemeral form)
canasta
one fourth
canasta ("k")fraction "one fourth" (1/4). Also cansat, casta (VT48:11)
a anamelda na ar ilyan
A is dearest of all
a anamelda na epë b
A is dear before B
antanë ninna
*he gave (it) to me
á na márië
be well
amanar
proper name. Yule
ca(na)sta
fraction. one fourth, one fourth, *quarter
a anamelda na ep’ ilya
A is dearest of all
a arimelda na epe b
A is (very much) [dearer] than B
a arimelda na ilyaron
A is dearest of all
amna
adverb. nearer to
ana-
prefix. plu-
lendes pallan(na) i sír
he came (to a point) far beyond the river
san na
interjection. *amen, (lit.) may it be so
turúna
adjective. mastered
ana-
prefix. to, towards
har
near
har, harë adj.? adv.? "near" (LT1:253)
cemendë tambe erumandë
on Earth as [it is] in Heaven
The fifth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word cemendë “on Earth” is an assimilated locative form of cemen “earth”. The word tambë likely corresponds to “as”, while Erumandë “in Heaven” is an assimilated locative form of Eruman “Heaven”. The English words “it is” are not represented in the Quenya phrase.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> cemen-dë tambe Eruman-dë = “✱earth-on as [it is] Heaven-in”
Conceptual Development: In earlier versions of this phrase (I-V), Tolkien used menel for “Heaven”. Elsewhere, Tolkien said that menel referred to the dome of the sky or “the firmament”, and therefore was not proper for “Heaven” (MR/387, PE17/152), which is probably why he changed the word to Eruman in version VI of the prayer.
Tolkien experimented with various ways of comparing Earth to Heaven: ier ... ar tér (I), ier ... tier (IIa), ya(n) ... ar san (IIb) and san ... ya (III-IV), each probably meaning something like “as ... so ...”, as suggested by Wynne, Smith and Hostetter (VT43/16-7). In versions V and VI Tolkien switched to a single word “as”: sívë (V) and tambë (VI).
The English words “it is” are only expressed in version III-IV, with the Quenya verb na, appearing at the end of the phrase as is typical of declarative statements.
| | I |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| |{yé >> ye >>}|ier|ya(n)|san| | |menelle|menelze|menelde|cemende| |ar tér|tier|ar san|ya|sívë|tambe| |{kemenze >>}|cemenze|cemende|menelde|Erumande| | |na| |
i héru aselyë
the Lord is with thee
The second line of Aia María, Tolkien’s translation of the Ave Maria prayer. This is a declarative statement. The first two words i Héru “the Lord” are the subject. The third word aselyë “with thee” is the predicate, a combination of the preposition as “with” and the pronoun lye “you (polite)”. As noted by the editors of the “Aia María” texts, the “to be” copula is often omitted in Quenya (VT43/30), so there is no Quenya equivalent of the English word “is” in the final version of the prayer.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> i Héru ase-lye = “✱the Lord [is] with-you”
Conceptual Development: The first version of the prayer did have the Quenya word for “is”: na, but it omitted the word for “the”. Tolkien considered several different prepositional elements for English “with”: ó (I-II) and ca(r) (III) before settling on as (IV).
| | I | II |III|IV| |{héru na >>}|na héru|i Héru| |{le se >> lese >>}|olesse|carelye|aselyë|
mal ámë etelehta ulcullo: násië
but deliver us from evil: Amen
The tenth line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The conjunction mal “but” is followed by a combination of imperative particle á and the pronoun me “us”. This is followed by the aorist form of the verb etelehta “deliver” and ulcullo “from evil”, the ablative form of the noun ulco (perhaps a noun form of ulca). The final word násië, corresponding to English “Amen”, seems to be a Quenya word meaning “✱be it thus”.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> mal á-më ete-lehta ulcu-llo: násië = “✱but (imperative)-us out-free evil-from: amen”
Conceptual Development: The tenth line underwent more changes than any other line in the prayer. In version III of the prayer, this phrase was first written as a near match to the phrase in version IIb, but was radically altered to a form that persisted to version IV. The analysis below designates these two variations of version III as IIIa and IIIb.
In earlier versions of the prayer, the word for “but” was mostly ono (IIa-IV), though in version I it was {anat >>} one, and it was elided to on’ in version IIIa.
The earlier imperative element was either na (I-IIa) or a (IIIb-IV), and it appeared either before the verb (I-IIa, IIIb-IV) or in the middle of the verb (IIb-IIIa) as et·a·rúna.
The object pronoun me consistently appeared immediately after the verb in the versions I-IV of the prayer rather than before the verb as in version V-VI.
The early versions (I-IV) used a different verb et(e)rúna for “deliver”, still in the aorist tense but in (IIIb-IV) with an embedded imperative et·a·rúna, as noted above.
Tolkien earlier considered several words for “evil”: olca (I deleted), ulca (I), ulco (IIa) and úro (IIa-IV), the last of these possibly a noun form of úra “nasty”. These appeared either with the allative suffix -llo (I) or the preposition va “(away) from” (IIa-IV). In versions IIIb-IV only, the prepositional phrase va úro appeared before the verb rather than after.
Quenya words corresponding to “Amen” appeared only in a few versions: san na (IIa), násan (IIb) and násië (VI), each meaning something like “✱be it thus” or “✱be it so”.
| | I |IIa|IIb|IIIa|IIIb|IV|V|VI| |{anat >>}|one|ono|on’|ono|mal| |na etrúna me|et·a·rúna me|va úro|ám’ etelehta|áme etelehta| |{olcallo >>}|ulcallo|va ulco|{var-úra >>} va úro|aly’ eterúna me|ulcullo| | |san na|násan| |násie|
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).
ná-
verb. to be, to be, [ᴱQ.] exist
The basic Quenya verb for “to be”, based on the root √NĀ (PE17/93). It was typically used as the copula equating a noun to another noun or an adjective:
> √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another (PE22/147).
In many circumstances this verb was optional:
> As a copula “be, is” is not usually expressed in Quenya where the meaning is clear: sc. in such expressions as “A is good” where the adjective (contrary to the usual order in Quenya of a qualifying adjective) follows: the normal Quenya for this is A mára (PE17/93).
For further discussion see the entry on the Quenya copula.
Conceptual Development: This verb dates back all the way to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s, where it was given as the early root ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). This verb and its root appeared regularly throughout Tolkien’s writings thereafter, but at times Tolkien considered alternative verbs for “to be”; see the entry ëa- for further discussion.
átaremma i ëa han eä
our Father who art in Heaven
The first line of Átaremma, Tolkien’s Quenya translation of the Lord’s Prayer. The first word Átaremma “our Father” is atar “father” with the 2nd-person-plural-exclusive suffix -mma consistent with the 1st edition of The Lord of the Rings (after the 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, this suffix would be -lma).
The remainder of the phrase i ëa han Eä “who art in Heaven” is a circumlocution, literally meaning “✱who is beyond Creation [the Material Universe]”. This allowed Tolkien to avoid an explicit name for Heaven, though he did use Eruman for “Heaven” in the fifth line of the prayer.
Decomposition: Broken into its constituent elements, this phrase would be:
> Átar-emma i ëa han Eä = “✱Father-our who is beyond Creation [the Material Universe]”
Conceptual Development: The form Ataremma for “our Father” appears in all versions of the prayer, sometimes preceded by the interjection a or Ai “O”. Wynne, Smith and Hostetter suggested that the long Á of Átaremma in versions V to VI of the prayer may be a coalescense with this interjection (VT43/13).
In versions I-IV, Tolkien use menel for the word “Heaven” in various configurations, most involving an assimilated locative, such as meneldea “in Heaven”. In other writings, Tolkien said that menel referred to the dome of the sky or “the firmament”, and therefore was not proper for “Heaven” (MR/387, PE17/152). Perhaps because of this, in version V he switched to the circumlocution i ëa pell’ Eä, with an assimilated form of the preposition pella “before”. In version VI he changed the preposition to han, as above.
In the earliest version (I), Tolkien used the word na for “is”, added at the end of the phrase, but it was omitted later.
| | I |IIa|IIb|III|IV|V|VI| | |A|Ai| | |Ataremma|Átaremma| | |i| |i| |{menellea >>}|menelzea|meneldea|ëa pell’ ëa|ëa han ëa| |na| |
ëa-
verb. to be, exist, to be, exist, [ᴹQ.] have being, be found extant in the real world
One of two Quenya verbs for “to be”, along with ná-. The verb ëa- is derived from the root √EÑ (PE22/147; VT49/28) and so has an unusual past form enge (VT49/29; PE22/147). Strictly speaking, this verb is used only in statements asserting the actual existence of a thing within the world, so “to exist” is a better translation than “to be”:
> Verb nā- is used to assert qualities etc. of separate things in the Universe, verb eŋa (ëa) to assert their actual real existence extra-mentally (PE22/166 note #113).
As such, the verb ëa- is generally not followed by another assertion:
> Stem of verb “exist” (have being in primary world of history) was √EŊE, distinct from √NA joining adjs./nouns/pronouns in statements (or wishes) asserting (or desiring) a thing to have a certain quality, or to be the same as another. eŋe is not followed by any adj. or noun but only by a[n] adverb (or negated adverb) mainly[?] of time (PE22/147).
Thus one might say Aracorno enge “Aragorn existed” or Aracorno enge andanéya “Aragorn existed long ago”, but to say “Aragorn was tall” or “Aragorn was a Man” you would need to use the verb ná-: Aracorno náne halla, Aracorno náne Atan. See the entry on the copula for a further discussion of how “to be” statements are expressed in Quenya.
Conceptual Development: The verb ᴱQ. ná- “be” dates all the way back to the Qenya Lexicon of the 1910s (QL/64), but Tolkien often had a second “be” verb, sometimes coexisting with ná and sometimes replacing it. The earliest of these alternate “be” verbs was ᴱQ. ō- “am” under the early root ᴱ√Ō “be, exist” (QL/69), a document that also contained ᴱ√NĀ “be, exist” (QL/64). In the Early Qenya Grammar of the 1920s, the main “to be” verb was ᴱQ. e- (PE14/57).
By the time of The Etymologies of the 1930s, ᴹQ. ná- “be” was restored (Ety/NĀ²), but Tolkien mentioned another root ᴹ√YĒ for “to be” (EtyAC/YĒ), which in the 1930s was the basis for the so-called “stative suffix” ᴹQ. -ie seen in Fíriel’s Song from this period (LR/72). By the 1940s, ᴹQ. ye- seems to have become the ordinary verb for “to be”, most notably in the original layer of composition for the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 (PE22/123 note #130).
In QVS Tolkien revised the verb for “to be” to ëa-, derived from a root ᴹ√Ē or more properly eʒe or eñe (PE22/122). In the revisions to QVS, ëa was used for all “to be” statements, both for existence and for equating to adjectives or other nouns, such as in parka ëa nyé “I am thirsty” (PE22/122). But Tolkien eventually restored ná- “be” again, perhaps in the Namárië poem (LotR/378) where namárië “farewell” = na + márië “be well” (PE17/59, 162).
Tolkien retained ëa-, most notably as the basis for the name of the universe Eä “the World That Is” (S/20; Let/286; MR/39; NM/231). It is not clear when Tolkien decided that ëa- was used for statements of existence only. Its root √EÑ was still glossed “be” in the Outline of Phonology (OP2) from the early 1950s (PE19/96), and its past form enge was used for “was” in the Alcar i Ataren prayer from later in the 1950s (VT43/36). However, its limitation to existence only was well established by the late 1960s, as described above (PE22/147; VT49/28).
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").
násië
amen
násië interjection "amen", "may it be so" (VT43:24, 35. As a translation of "amen", Tolkien apparently abandoned the earlier form násan and the two-word variant san na, VT43:24)
san
so
san (2) adv. ephemeral word for "so" (ya(n)...san "as...so"; san na "thus be" = let it be so, "amen"); this form was apparently quickly abandoned by Tolkien (VT43:16, 24, VT49.18)
tul-
verb. come
tul- vb. "come" (WJ:368), 1st pers. aorist tulin "I come" (TUL), 3rd pers. sg. tulis "(s)he comes" (VT49:19), perfect utúlië "has come" (utúlien "I am come", EO), utúlie'n aurë "Day has come" (the function of the 'n is unclear; it may be a variant of the article "the", hence literally "the Day has come"). Past tense túlë "came" in LR:47 and SD:246, though an alternative form *tullë has also been theorized. Túlë in VT43:14 seems to be an abnormal aorist stem, later abandoned; tula in the same source would be an imperative. Prefixed future tense entuluva "shall come again" in the Silmarillion, future tuluva also in the phrase aranielya na tuluva* "may thy kingdom come" (VT44:32/34), literally apparently "thy kingdom, be-it-that (it) will come". In early "Qenya" we have the perfects tulielto "they have come" (LT1:114, 270, VT49:57) and tulier "have come", pl., in the phrase I·Eldar tulier "the Eldar have come"(LT1:114, 270). Read probably utúlieltë, Eldar utúlier** in LotR-style Quenya.
turmen follondiéva
place name. Realm of the North-harbourage
An old (Númenórean?) name for the region of Arnor (PE17/28). It is a compound of turmen “realm” and the possessive form of its shorter name Follondië.
turmen hyallondiéva
place name. Realm of the South-harbourage
An old (Númenórean?) name for the region of Gondor (PE17/28). It is a compound of turmen “realm” and the possessive form of its shorter name Hyallondië.
locin
adjective. bent, bent, *curled
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).
sí vanwa ná, rómello vanwa, valimar!
now lost is, [to one] from the East lost, Valimar!
The 15th phrase in the prose Namárië, which is essentially the same as its poetic version, differing only in its more literal translation. The phrase still seems somewhat poetic. In most (but not all) cases, the Quenya verb ná- “to be” appears at the end of the phrase. Hypothetically, a more “normal” rendering might be:
> ✱sí Valimar vanwa Rómello ná “now Valimar lost from-the-East is
-ië
suffix. is
-ië (3) "is", -ier "are", stative verb suffix occurring in Fíriel's Song: númessier "they are in the west", meldielto "they are...beloved", talantië "he is fallen", márië "it is good" (< *númessë "in the west", melda "beloved", *talanta "fallen"); future tense -iéva in hostainiéva "will be gathered" (< *hostaina "gathered"). Compare ye "is", yéva "will be", verbs that also occur in Fíriel's Song. This suffix is probably not valid in LotR-style Quenya: -ië is an infinitival or gerundial ending in CO, for ye "is" Namárië has ná, and the phrase "lost is" is vanwa ná, not *vanwië.
-ro
he
-ro pronominal ending "he", in antaváro, q.v. In Tolkiens later Quenya, the ending -s covers both "he", "she" and "it".
an
for
an (1) _conj. and prep. _"for" (Nam, RGEO:66), an cé mo quernë… "for if one turned…" (VT49:8), also used adverbially in the formula an + a noun to express "one more" (of the thing concerned: an quetta "a word more", PE17:91). The an of the phrase es sorni heruion an! "the Eagles of the Lords are at hand" (SD:290) however seems to denote motion towards (the speaker): the Eagles are coming. Etym has an, ana "to, towards" (NĀ1). The phrase an i falmalī _(PE17:127) is not clearly translated but seems to be a paraphrase of the word falmalinnar "upon the foaming waves" (Nam)_, suggesting that an can be used as a paraphrase of the allative ending (and if falmalī is seen as a Book Quenya accusative form because of the long final vowel, this is evidence that an governs the accusative case). In the "Arctic" sentence, an is translated "until". Regarding an as used in Namárië, various sources indicate that it means an "moreover, further(more), to proceed" (VT49:18-19) or ("properly") "further, plus, in addition" (PE17:69, 90). According to one late source (ca. 1966 or later), an "is very frequently used after a full stop, when an account or description is confirmed after a pause. So in Galadriels Elvish lament […]: An sí Tintallë, etc. [= For now the Kindler, etc…] This is translated by me for, side an is (as here) often in fact used when the additional matter provides an explanation of or reason for what has already been said". Related is the use of an + noun to express "one more"; here an is presumably accented, something the word would not normally be when used as a conjunction or preposition.
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.
cansat
one fourth
cansat ("k")fraction "one fourth" (1/4). Also canasta, casta (VT48:11)
car-
with
#car- (2) prep. "with" (carelyë "with thee"), prepositional element (evidently an ephemeral form abandoned by Tolkien) (VT43:29)
casta
one fourth
casta (1) ("k")fraction "one fourth" (1/4). Also canasta, cansat (VT48:11)
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)
essë
he
essë (2) pron? "he" (and also "she, it"?), possible emphatic 3rd sg. emphatic pronoun, attested in the sentence essë úpa nas "he is dumb" (PE17:126)
haila
adverb. far beyond
ni
me
ni (1) 1st person sg. pron. "I" (according to PE17:68 also "me" as object), with long vowel (ní) when stressed (VT49:51), cf. ní nauva next to nauvan for "I will be" (VT49:19), the former wording emphasizing the pronoun. The pronoun ni represents the original stem-form (VT49:50). Dative nin "for me, to me" (Arct, Nam, RGEO:67, VT41:11/15). Compare the reflexive pronoun imni, imnë "myself" and the emphatic pronoun inyë, q.v. The ancient element ni is said to have implied, originally, "this by me, of my [?concern]" (VT49:37)
se
he, she, it
se (1) pron. "he, she, it" also object "him, her, it", 3rd person sg. Used "of living things including plants" (VT49:37; the corresponding inaimate pronoun is sa). The pronoun comes directly from se as the original stem-form (VT49:50). Stressed form sé, VT49:51, attested in object position in melin sé "I love him" (VT49:21). Ósë "with him/her", VT43:29; see ó-. Long dative/allative sena "[to/for] him" or "at him", VT49:14, allative senna "to him/her" (VT49:45, 46). Compare the reflexive pronoun insë *"himself, herself".
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
eldar ataformaiti
the Elves were ambidexters
First phrase @@@
| | I | II |III|IV| V |VI|VII| |i Eldar| |i·Eldar|Eldar| |{nār >> nā >>}|nāner|...| |{nár}| | |{tatafor... >>}|attaformor|ataformor|{attaformaite >>} ataformaite|{ataformaite >>} ataformaiti|
ye
is
ye (2) copula "is" (FS, VT46:22); both earlier and later sources rather point to ná (q.v.) as the copula "is", so ye may have been an experiment Tolkien later abandoned. Future tense yéva, q.v.
-a
suffix. adjectival suffix
This suffix is frequently used to create the adjective form of a noun, especially in the form -ëa for nouns ending in -ë. This function dates back to CE. ✶-ā.
a-
prefix. infinitive prefix
antanen parma sen
I gave a book to him
melda
adjective. dear, beloved, beloved, dear, [ᴹQ.] sweet
násan
interjection. *amen, (lit.) may it be so
ono
conjunction. but
palla
preposition/adverb. far beyond
-ya
suffix. adjective suffix
apa
conjunction. but
aran linta ciryalíva
*king of swift ships
as
preposition. with
mal
conjunction. but
násië
interjection. *amen, (lit.) may it be so
sí vanwa ná, rómello vanwa, valimar!
now lost, lost to those from the east is Valimar!
Fifteenth line @@@
-ssë
at
-ssë (1) locative ending (compare the preposition se, sé "at", q.v.); in Lóriendessë, lúmessë, máriessë, yalúmessë (q.v. for reference); pl. -ssen in yassen, lúmissen, mahalmassen, símaryassen, tarmenissen, q.v. Pronouns take the simple ending -ssë, even if the pronoun is plural by its meaning (messë "on us", VT44:12). The part. pl. (-lissë or -lissen) and dual (-tsë) locative endings are known from the Plotz letter only.
a ancalima imb’ illi
A is brightest of all
apa
but
apa (3) conj. "but": melinyes apa la hé "I love him but not him" (another) (VT49:15)
aran linta ciryalion
*king of swift ships
arcalima ar eleni
A is brightest of all
arquen andamacilwa
Knight of the Long Sword
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.
ata
again
ata adv. "again", also prefix ata-, at- "back, again, re-; second time, double" (AT(AT), PE17:166, cf. ataquanta-, ataquetië) or "two" (PE17:166), also "ambi-" as in ataformaitë, q.v.
cansat
fraction. one fourth
cautáron
bent
cautáron ("k") adj.?"bent" (MC:216; this is "Qenya")
cenya
verb. see, perceive
ea
verb. be
be
ea-
verb. be, exist
lé
with
lé (2) prep. "with" (PE17:95)
mal
but
mal conj. "but" (VT43:23)
melin
dear
melin adj. "dear" (MEL)
numba
bent, humped
numba adj. "bent, humped" (PE17:168)
nó
but
nó (2) conj. "but" (VT41:13)
nó
conjunction. but
ono
but
ono conj. "but" (VT43:23, VT44:5/9)
onë
but
onë conj. "but" (VT43:23)
onë
conjunction. but
se
at, in
se (2), also long sé, preposition "at, in" (VT43:30; compare the "locative prefix" se- possibly occurring in an early "Qenya" text, VT27:25)
sonda
dear, fond
[sonda adj. "dear, fond" (VT46:15)]
ta
so, like that, also
ta (2) adv. "so, like that, also", e.g. ta mára "so good" (VT49:12)
tambë
so
tambë prep. (1) "so" or "as" (referring to something remote; contrast sívë). Sívë...tambë "as...so" (VT43:17).
ten
for
ten (2) conj. "for", in Fíriel's Song; apparently replaced by an in LotR-style Quenya.
ter
so
ter (2), also tér, prep. (?) ephemeral word for "so" (see ier), abandoned by Tolkien in favour of tambë (VT43:17)
tul-
verb. come
tunta-
see, notice, perceive
tunta- "see, notice, perceive", pa.t. túne (QL:95)
varnë
brown, swart, dark brown
varnë (1) adj. "brown, swart, dark brown", stem-form varni- (BARÁN)
ó
with, accompanying
úyë
is
úyë vb., a form occurring in Fíriel's Song (cf. VT46:22), apparently ye "is" with the negative prefix ú-, hence "is not" (úyë sérë indo-ninya símen, translated "my hearth resteth not here", literally evidently *"[there] is not rest [for] my heart here")
na (2) prep. "to, towards", possibly obsoleted by #1 above; for clarity writers may use the synonym ana instead (NĀ1). Originally, Tolkien glossed na as "at, by, near"; the new meaning entered together with the synonyms an, ana (VT45:36).