The Quenya word for a “fist” or a “closed hand”. In 1968 notes on Eldarin Hands, Fingers and Numerals Tolkien specified that “its chief use was in reference to the tightly closed hand as in using an implement or a craft-tool rather than to the ‘fist’ as used in punching” (VT47/8). Tolkien represented this word as both quáre (PE17/42) and quár (VT47/8). Based on its Sindarin and Telerin cognates S. paur and T. pár, the vowel was long in the primitive ancestor of the word, which Tolkien represented as either ✶kwārē or ✶kwāră (PE17/42; VT47/8).
Conceptual Development: In The Etymologies of the 1930s Tolkien gave both ᴹQ. qár “hand” and ᴹQ. qáre “fist” in two different entries for the root ᴹ√KWAR, neither of which was deleted (Ety/KWAR). The form ᴹQ. qár had a plural form qari, indicating a primitive stem form ✱kwăr- with short ă where the long vowel was based on the ancient subjective form kwār, analogous to ᴹQ. nér (ner-) “man” and other similar words.
Neo-Quenya: For purposes of Neo-Quenya, I would assume quár < ✶kwār(ă) is the normal form of this word, with quáre an occasional variant perhaps extrapolated from plural quári. Since we don’t know the Quenya word for a “fist for punching”, I would assume quár can be used for a closed hand in general, either grasping a tool or empty, although the closed empty fist was not its only (or even its primary) use.
A word in the Quendi and Eldar essay from 1959-60 for “crow”, derived from primitive ✶k(a)wāk (WJ/395). In notes from the late 1960s Tolkien instead had Q. {koake >>} quácë “frog” < ✶kāwāk, with primitive ✶kā for “crow” (VT47/36).
See ᴹQ. korko for a discussion of earlier forms.