nahta-

verb. to slay; to hurt, injure, wound, to slay, [ᴱQ.] slay cruelly; [Q.] to hurt, injure, wound

A verb for “slay” based on the root √NDAK (PE22/156). Conjugations from 1964 (PE17/77) and 1969 (PE22/156-157, 159, 164) indicate it was a half-strong verb with past tense nacante, though it also had an (archaic) strong past nance.

Conceptual Development: This verb dates back to the Early Qenya Phonology of the 1920s where Tolkien had ᴱQ. nahta- “slay cruelly” based on primitive ᴱ✶ndagta- from the early root ᴱ√DAGA (PE14/66). In The Etymologies of the 1930s this root became ᴹ√NDAK “slay”, but this verb was not mentioned (Ety/NDAK). The verb ᴹQ. nahta- “slay” was mentioned again in the Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948, but there its root shifted back to √NDAG “slay” (PE22/102, 114-115).

In 1959 revisions to the Outline of Phonology (OP2), the root again became √NDAK “hew, slay”, but Q. nahta- was derived from an unrelated root √SNAG “wound” and was itself glossed “hurt, injure, wound” (PE19/91). A conjugation for nahta- appeared in notes from 1964, but without glosses (PE17/77). The verb nahta- appeared in quite a few examples in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969, and in those notes the gloss was again “slay” and its root was again √NDAK “hew” (PE22/156).

Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I’d stick to the meaning “to slay” for nahta-, and for “wound” I’d use [ᴹQ.] harna-.

nahta-

slay

nahta- (1) verb "slay" (nahtan "I slay"). Possible variant #nehta- see #nehtar. Passive participle nahtana in the phrase nahtana ló Túrin *"slain by Turin". (VT49:24)

nahta-

verb. slay

nahta-

verb. hurt

hurt, injure, wound

nahta-

verb. to confine, oppress

nehta-

to slay

#nehta- (2) vb. "to slay" if such a stem can be isolated from #nehtar (see below). The (variant?) form nahta- is given in VT49:24.

nehtar

noun. slayer

An element in Morinehtar “Darkness-slayer”, a name of one of the Blue Wizards (PM/384). It seems to be an agental form of nahta- “to slay”, but the reason why the vowel is e is unclear.

mala-

hurt, pain

mala- vb. "hurt, pain" (QL:63)

nehtar

slayer

#nehtar noun "slayer", isolated from Morinehtar "Darkness-slayer" (PM:384, 385). It may be that a verbal stem #nehta- "to slay, kill" can also be isolated from this noun, though the attested form is actually nahta- (a possible example of A/E variation).