[#nem- vb. "judge", attested as endingless aorist nemë, changed by Tolkien to hamë and finally to navë "in all but one case" (Bill Welden). Forms like námo "judge" and namna "statute" point rather to #nam- (q.v.) as a verb "to judge" (VT42:34); the verb namin "I judge" is even listed in Etym.]
Quenya
nem-
verb. *to seem, appear, [ᴹQ.] to seem, appear
nem-
judge
nem-
verb. appear, seem
nem-
sew
nem- vb. "sew" (cited in the form neme), pa.t. néme (QL:65)
nem-
verb. to judge
nam-
verb. to judge, to judge, *think (have as an opinion)
The verb nam- “judge” appeared in 1968 notes associated with The Shibboleth of Fëanor, attested in the phrase namin alasaila “I judge [it] unwise” (VT41/13). This version of the verb is consistent with the name Námo, given in The Silmarillion as the true name of Mandos (S/28).
In a marginal note within Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 Tolkien revised the root to √NDAB “to judge” with a new form Návo to replace Námo (PE22/154 note #53). These notes initially had nem- for “judge”, revised to ham- and finally to nav- (PE22/154 note #53, 55, 56); it was after all these revisions that he coined the new root √NDAB.
The verb nav- “judge” appeared in several phrases:
la năvin karitalya(s) mára “I do not advise you to do so, (lit.) I don't judge your doing (it) good”
lá karitas, navin, alasaila ná “not doing this would be (I think) unwise”
alasaila ná lá kare tai mo nave mára “it is unwise not to do what one judges good”
Based on the above phrases, it seems the basic sense of the verb is “judge” or “think = ✱have as an opinion”.
Conceptual Development: Tolkien introduced the name Námo in the 1950s, which is probably where this concept originated. It seems to have remained √NAM up through 1968, and then nam- >> nem- >> ham- >> nav- in 1969.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to use the form nam- “judge, ✱think [have as an opinion]” for consistency with the name Námo in The Silmarillion as published.
nam-
judge
#nam- vb. "judge", attested in the 1st person aorist: namin "I judge" (VT41:13). Compare Námo.
Námo
judge
Námo (1) noun "Judge", name of a Vala, normally called Mandos, properly the place where he dwells (WJ:402)
ham-
judge
#ham- (2) vb. "judge", attested in the aorist form hamil "you judge". (VT42:33; notice the pronominal ending -l "you". See nemë. The verb #ham- with the meaning "judge" may seem to be an ephemeral form in Tolkien's conception.)
ham-
verb. to judge
lelya-
appear, of beautiful things, hence attract, enchant (with dative)
lelya- (3) vb. "appear, of beautiful things, hence attract, enchant (with dative)", pa.t. lélinë (PE17:151)
nav-
judge
#nav- vb. "judge" (cited in the form navë, apparently the 3rd person aorist). Also given with pronominal suffixes: navin *"I judge" (Tolkien's free translation: "I think"), navilwë "we judge" (VT42:33, 4, VT48:11)
námo
noun. judge
séya-
verb. to seem
Quenya Personal Pronouns (QPP1) from the late 1940s had ᴹQ. nimin(ye) “it seems to me” as an example of an impersonal verb (PE23/73), and similar forms appeared throughout that document. Tolkien instead used the verb ᴹQ. nemini “appears/seems to me” in the Quendian & Common Eldarin Verbal Structure (EVS1), though he briefly toyed with ᴹQ. nimini before reverting back to nemin (PE22/93 note #6 and #7). The Quenya Verbal System (QVS) from 1948 used nem- “seem” throughout (PE22/99-100, 105, 111), and this verb was also indicated by Q. nemesta “appearance, seeming” Common Eldarin: Verb Structure (EVS2) from the early 1950s (PE22/137).
Conceptual Development: The forms Q. níma/nimulë and S. nîf/nivol appeared in 1957 notes, all glossed “phantom” or “seeming”, indicating Tolkien may have restored ✱√NIM “seem”. An unglossed past tense form nemne appeared in Late Notes on Verb Structure (LVS) from 1969 (PE22/152), but this could be the past form of Q. nem- “judge” appearing later in the same bundle of documents, a verb that Tolkien rejected and revised: {nem- >> ham- >>} nav- “judge/think” (PE22/154 and notes #53-55).
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I prefer to retain better attested nem- for “seem, appear”. For clarity in the model, I treat the 1969 past form nemne as “seemed” rather than “judged” so that I can use it as the basis for early 1950s Q. nemesta “appearance, seeming” and to avoid giving the mistaken impression that 1969 Q. nem- “judge” was not rejected.