ní (3) prep. "beneath, not touching, under" (PE17:95)
Quenya
ní
woman, female
ní
beneath, not touching, under
ní
preposition. beneath, not touching, under
Cognates
- S. di “beneath, under, beneath, under; [N.] in” ✧ PE17/095
Derivations
- ✶ndī “beneath, not touching, under” ✧ PE17/095
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ndī > nî [ndī] > [nī] ✧ PE17/095 Variations
- nî ✧ PE17/095
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.
nís
noun. woman
The usual Quenya word for “woman” or more exactly a “female person” of any race, in later writings appearing as both nís (MR/213, 226, 229) and nisse (VT47/18, 33). Even in the cases where its singular was nís, its plural form was given as nissi, indicating a stem form of niss-. In rough notes from 1968 Tolkien said “The monosyllabic nouns (especially those with only one stem-consonant) were a small dwindling class often replaced by strengthened forms (as nis- was [by] nisse)” (VT47/18).
Thus it seems the ancient form was ✱nis- from the root √NIS, which like its male counterpart Q. nér “man” inherited a long vowel from the ancient subjective form ✱nīs. But the voiceless s was felt to be intrinsic to word, and it was thus strengthened to niss- in inflected forms to avoid the sound changes associated with an isolated s. From this a longer form nisse was generalized. In practice I think either form can be used, with singular nís being preserved by analogy with nér. However, I think inflected forms are probably all based on nisse, such as genitive nisseo “of a woman” rather than ✱✱nisso.
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien had both ᴹQ. nis and nisse “woman” derived the root ᴹ√NIS, with plural nissi in both cases (Ety/NIS, NDIS). He explained this variation as follows: “nis was a blend of old nīs (nisen) and the elab[orated] form ✱nis-sē” (EtyAC/NĪ¹). Hence it is was essentially the same as the scenario described above, but in the 1930s the long vowel in ancient nīs did not survive in the later short form nis.
In Quenya prayers of the 1950s, Tolkien experimented with some alternate plural forms nínaron [genitive plural] >> nísi [ordinary plural] (VT43/26-29, 31), the former apparently representing a variant singular form ✱nína, but in later writings plural nissi was restored.
Derivations
Element in
- Q. aistana elyë imíca nísi “blessed art thou amongst women” ✧ VT43/31; VT43/31
- Q. Artanis “Noble Woman”
- Q. Hávanissi “Bread-women”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources √nis- > nisse [nisse] ✧ VT47/18 √nis > nisse [nisse] ✧ VT47/33 Variations
- nisse ✧ VT47/18; VT47/33
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)
ni
pronoun. me, I
Cognates
Derivations
- ✶ni “I, me” ✧ PE17/068; VT49/50
Element in
- Q. antanë ninna “*he gave (it) to me” ✧ PE17/147
- Q. cé tulis, ní nauva tanomë “*if he/she comes, I will be there” ✧ VT49/19
- Q. ecë nin? “please, may I?” ✧ VT49/20
- Q. ecë nin care sa “I can do that” ✧ VT49/20
- Q. ecuva nin carë sa nöa “I ‘may’ do that tomorrow, I have a chance of doing that [tomorrow]” ✧ VT49/20
- Q. imni “myself”
- Q. ma Varda enquantuva i yulma nin sí “will Varda now refill the cup for me?” ✧ PE22/161
- Q. nai nin híres “it may well chance for me to find it” ✧ PE22/151
- Q. nás mára nin “I like it” ✧ VT49/30
- Q. ora nin “it warns me” ✧ VT41/15
- Q. orë nin caritas “I feel an urge/wish/desire to do it” ✧ VT41/13
- Q. orë nin caritas nó namin alasaila “I would like / feel moved to do so but judge it unwise” ✧ VT41/13
- Q. órenya quéta nin “my heart is saying to me” ✧ VT41/13
- Q. órenya quetë nin “my heart tells me” ✧ VT41/11
- Q. quenten tulil márië nin “I said: you come happily (for me)” ✧ PE22/158
- Q. quí(ta) la tuldes, nánë márië (nin) “[if he had not come], it was well to me (I was glad)” ✧ PE22/158
- Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “who now shall refill the cup for me?” ✧ LotR/0377; RGEO/58
- Q. sí man i yulma nin enquantuva? “now who the cup for me will refill?” ✧ RGEO/59
- Q. tultauvas sa nin “he will send it to me” ✧ PE22/156
- Q. umbë nin i hríve nauva urra (si loa) “I have a feeling that winter will be bad (this year)” ✧ PE22/168
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶NI > ni [ni] ✧ PE17/068 ✶ni > ní [ni] ✧ VT49/50 Variations
- nī ✧ VT49/19
- ní ✧ VT49/51
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.])
-n
suffix. I
-n(yë)
suffix. I
Derivations
- ✶ni “I, me” ✧ VT49/50
Element in
- Q. Mettanyë “?I End”
Phonetic Developments
Development Stages Sources ✶ni > -n [-ne] > [-n] ✧ VT49/50 Variations
- -n(ye) ✧ PE17/057; PE17/190
- -nye ✧ PE17/075; PE17/075; PE22/161; VT49/16; VT49/48; VT49/51
- -n ✧ PE17/075; PE17/075; VT49/16; VT49/48; VT49/51
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.
nissë
noun. woman
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)
inyë
i, too
inyë emphatic independent 1st person sg. pronoun, "I" with emphasis, translated "I, too" in LR:61 (and, according to one reading of Tolkiens manuscript, in VT49:49).
nessa
young
nessa adj. "young" (NETH), alsoNessa as name of a Valië, the spouse of Tulkas (adopted and adapted from Valarin, or an archaic Elvish formation: WJ:404 vs. 416). Also called Indis, "bride" (NETH, NI1). The fem. name Nessanië (UT:210) would seem to incorporate Nessa's name; the second element could mean "tear" (nië), but since Nessa is not normally associated with sorrow, this #nië is perhaps rather a variant of ní "female" (compare Tintanië as a variant of Tintallë).
vinya
young
vinya (1) adj. "young" (VT46:22, VT47:26, PE17:191) or "new" (cf. compounds Vinyamar, Vinyarië below; cf. also winya "new, fresh, young" in a deleted entry in the Etymologies, VT45:16; there the word was first written as vinya.) Vinya "the Young", original name of the isle of Númenor among its own people (SD:332).
†ní (2) noun "woman, female" (NI1, INI (NĒR ) ). Not to be confused with ní as a stressed form of the pronoun ni "I".